The heavens are opening!

This week has been absolutely incredible!!! This week was crazy but we worked so hard, and the heavens literally opened!!! We had an amazing zone conference this week! It literally was such a spiritual feast! And it gave us the motivation and determination to keep working, and to become better!!! It was especially remarkable because I saw a new spark in Hermana L that I never saw before! I saw an urgency and determination from the Spirit, and we put some great goals for ourselves and our sector and companionship! But I really love the theme of faith, and the more I learn about it, the more I realize I can always develop a stronger faith! But in my studies this week I read about Nephi, the son of Nephi, in 3 Nephi 7:18, and the kind of faith he had that says, ¨no era posible que descreyeran sus palabras, pues tan grande era su FE en el Señor Jesucristo que angeles le misistraban diariamente.¨ It was amazing to find that verse the day after zone conference! I know there are ministering angels! But more than anything, I want to develop THAT kind of faith! 

So Hermana L just shot right through the roof this week! I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH SHE HAS PROGRESSED!!! She is taking the initiative in lessons, and she is learning how to focus her studies! And she is smiling during the lessons, and now she gets SO excited when we teach and she gets to explain a principle!!! IT´S INCREDIBLE!!! She especially improved with the mornings! This morning she got up and did her exercises and didn´t fall back asleep in the morning! She has REALLY improved in all aspects of the work! In contacting, in working, in climbing the mountains, in focusing during studies, oh man, she really is going to be the GREATEST missionary ever!!! This week we had intercambios with Hermana E and Hermana L, and might I just say they were SO inspired!!! Hermana Eand Hermana L found four new investigators in one afternoon here in Conti!!! And three of them were a family! A family that the Lord has totally been preparing to receive the gospel! We taught them last night, and it was probably the best lesson of the restoration that I have taught in my whole mission!!! The heavens are opening! But as far as our goals for our sector, every day we want to invite at least one person to baptism! Whether it be in lessons, contacts, with investigators or future investigators, at least one person! And the Lord is totally giving us opportunities to do so! We invited Y to baptism on Friday and she said yes!!! We know God is preparing so many people!!! :)

With that being said, we have had some problems with our fechas. We have done everything to help V progress towards her baptism, but she still hasn´t come to church, so her fecha, along with J´s, fell through. So we are going to have an important discussion with those two about the importance of covenants, and if they really want to make this covenant, what that would mean for them.  Ju. is getting really close to being ready! He is really changing and really has shown he has a broken heart and a contrite spirit! He is excited to have an interview with the bishop to help him a little bit with this repentance process! But he is SO GOOD!!! He is really striving to be ready and clean before his baptism, but that´s all he wants! A remission of his sins! 

Hermana L is doing GREAT in 12 Semanas! This week she filled out the Informe de Progreso for our correlation meeting, and we made goals with our mission leader to work more closely and involve the members in missionary work! It was great!! Hermana L is really incredible! She is learning SO FAST!!! I am so lucky to be her companion! I love her so much! :) 

And from her weekly email to her mission president:

There was just one more thing I wanted to share. It was a story my Dad recently sent me while he was traveling and attending a ward in Thailand, and this is the experience that my Dad shared with me: 

¨It is amazing the power of the missionary work going on in Thailand. It truly is a miracle. There was someone who arrived just on Sunday to move back to Thailand.  In 2001, he and his family have lived in Thailand for nine years while he worked as an investment banker. He said that when he was there back in 2001 the mission  baptized about 20 people a month.  Today they are baptizing around 80 to 100 per month and in some months as many as 300-400! There's also a new temple announced to be opened in Thailand! It is amazing to see the church grow!¨

As I read that, I couldn´t help but think of our Mission Chile Rancagua, and our average for baptisms every month, but I know the Lord has bigger plans for us and our mission, and I know that everything you are doing for us missionaries, the members, and our investigators, is what is laying the foundation for us to elevate this mission, just like what happened in Thailand! So, I just wanted to say thank you President for all your hard hard work, because it is changing people’s lives, and allowing the Lord to accelerate his work! 

 Have a great week! 

Hermana Christensen 

I felt a guidance I have never felt before

WOW!! This week has been so incredible!! Heavenly Father has answered so many prayers! And on Saturday, the Holy Ghost was really working! I felt a guidance that I have never before felt from the Holy Ghost! He literally was there in every decision I made. I don´t quite know how to describe how the Holy Ghost was with us so strongly, but wow, it was incredible! 

 Hermana L is absolutely incredible! I felt like this week was just so much better than the previous two!! She really is starting to pick up on more Spanish, and she is learning how to study more efficiently, and she is just getting so excited to share the gospel with everyone! This week,  we got out of a lesson at night, and we had about 20 minutes before we needed to go home, and she said with a bunch of excitement, ¨Hermana, we could contact, can we contact?¨ :) It was so fun! YES Hermana! Of course we can contact! And so we prayed and started knocking on doors, and found some great people! She is SUCH a great missionary though! She is SO friendly! And not scared of anything! She just starts talking to the people in the colectivos, and she literally waves to EVERY person, and EVERY car that passes by! Every single one! She is such a joy!! Also, she is very wise! And has a deep understanding of the gospel, and I totally know why I had to be her companion in my last cambio, because she literally has all the answers to the questions I´ve had my whole mission, and my whole life! So it has been WONDERFUL learning and studying with her! Oh I love her! We laugh a lot! :) 

So for our sector!! V told us she feels SO happy and excited about her fecha! And that she is 100% going to be baptized on the 25th! She has progressed so much! And she is reading the Book of Mormon everyday!!!!!! WOOOO!!!! We had a family home evening with V and the Bishop and his wife and it was incredible! She is just so excited about her baptism, she is telling everyone about it!! :) J has also progressed so much! We had a great lesson with him this week, and we talked about fasting, and he was so excited he wanted to join in on our fast for the month! He decided he wanted to fast so that he could be prepared to be baptized on his date, and even though we went out of town this weekend to visit his Dad, he made him go with him to the church in Lincanten, and he stayed for the classes! He just wants so badly to be baptized! It´s truly incredible all the miracles we have seen in their progression! :) 

Well we are all up to date with 12 semanas! It is going great!! It really is such an inspired program! And we are practicing, practicing, practicing!!! This week we focused on teaching people, not lessons, and really focused on asking inspired questions, listening, discerning, and teaching the doctrine according to their needs, and that totally helped us in our lessons! Especially with one of our investigators, C, who we invited to baptism, and at first she said no, but because she had already been baptized, we listened, discerned, and Hermana L came in and promised her that if she prays and asks God, the he would tell her it´s all true. It was a powerful moment, because her testimony was just so pure and sincere, and I know C felt the spirit in that moment! I sure did! But then she accepted the invitation to baptism, if God responds to her question. 

Oh I just love being a missionary!! I am SO SO blessed!!! I just wanted to invite you all to pray for missionary opportunities this week! God is more than willing to give us these opportunities when we promise to open our mouths and share the GOOD NEWS of the gospel!!!! I love this great work with all my heart! I just want to serve our Heavenly Father for the rest of my life!!! So let´s open our mouths to share these glad tidings of great joy! I love you all so much! Have the best week! 

Hermana Christensen :)