Week 19 - Wow, What an wonderful week for Hermanas Castleton & Cook!

December 8, 2013

Great, wonderful, blessed week. We've truly seen miracles in this sector. Largely it has to do with Hermana Cook. She is quite incredible. She is a blessing and miracle in my life. I am really enjoying the time I have with her and need to learn all I can.

This week we've really discovered the necessity for specific prayers. God has a very funny sense of humor. He will bless us with exactly what we ask for, but maybe not exactly what we need. For example, Hermana Cook was tired of feeling the heat during the day, and as she was saying the nightly companionship prayer, she asked Him if He could make it a little colder. Well, Sunday morning we woke up and it felt like winter. We had to wear longsleeves and sweaters and long skirts.

One of the more obvious miracles in the last week has been the amount of lessons. We had 15 lessons, which is 5 or 6 more than we've had the last 3 months. And we have 4 new investigators. I have a testimony of the power of the fast. Fasting is truly a sacrifice, especially when we are walking all day in the heat, but we have truly enjoyed the blessings of our fast. Tuesday after lunch, we decided to fast for investigators who have the desire to learn and that we can find a family to teach. Wednesday we found Juan Carlos. He is an olderish man with 2 children. He pulled up in his car in his driveway when we were yelling at his gate and he told us to come in without hesitation. We taught him the Restoration and left him a BOM. He is rather incredible.

Also, Ines is progressing. She has a FECHA [DATE]! We taught her the Plan of Salvacion and she accepted it well, then asked her to be baptized the 29 of deciembre. She told us she wanted to the 24. We told her if she feels ready and she's learned and has a testimony of everything by that date, she absolutely can. We're anticipating the 29 with mucho animo [very encouraging].

Wednesday we had quite the experience. We went to the TEMPLE. I was fairly near tears the other week because I wanted to go with all the energy of my soul and Presidente Cook, the most chill, fantastic and legit Mission President in the entire world, changed the rules so that we can go twice every 6 months. We went this time with our hermanas in the barrio. The video... Holy. Fetch. It is the most incredible miracle. Truly, I want to watch it 100 more times. I didn't want to leave. I felt comfortable there. I didn't realize how much I rely on the power I receive from the temple. I needed a spiritual charge. Badly. We received revelation of how to help our sector. Obedience. Strict and unwavering obedience is the answer to all our problems. Get to bed, wake up, study, proselyte, love your comp and obey the rules in the White Bible (missionary handbook) and we will witness tender mercies from God. Also, apparently God wants us to tell Him everything. it sounded silly to me in the principio, telling my day and everything we did to the Almighty and all-knowing Being. But He really wants to know. He wants to hear our prayers and loves when we give an account of all our accomplishments and fails and questions and doubts and successes. I can testify of that.

Yesterday was difficult. It was a trial of my faith. It was discouraging and disappointing and I wanted to lie down and eat ice cream and study, but I learned the importance of diligence and patience. They are renovating our capilla [chapel] and have to go to the estaca [stake] for church for 3 months. Which will confuse people. We had nobody come to church yesterday. It was truly heart-wrenching. It has happened many times in my time in this sector. The people just need to come. We invited Ximena y Alex, Maria Teresa y Clara, Ines and Adriana to church. They told me they'd come and didn't show. It is frustrating. We almuerzod with the Familia Garrido and they took really well to Hermana Cook as nearly everybody does. She is truly wonderful. From 1500-1800 [3-6pm] we door contacted. And yes, it is hard and trying, but usually it's not so bad because we are actually regected. But nobody answered their doors. For 3 hours. We went home to breathe for a bit and study and pray, then we went out again and knocked doors from 1900-2100 [7-9pm]. I know that sounds like nothing, but it is difficult, spiritually, physically and mentally draining. Around 9 we got discouraged, joking and laughing at how long we'd been contacting, and decided after one more door we'd go home. We knocked on a door Hermana Moody and I had knocked and nobody answered the first week I came. A man answered and told us to come in. He, his wife and his 5 year old daughter have  been living there for 4 and a half months and the wife, Fransisca, was baptized when she had 10 years but never went back. They are super interested in the gospel and want to learn about the church. We're going to teach them tonight. Pray for us to be open to their questions and the Spirit!

I don't know if any of you have tried Pan de Pascua, bread of Easter, but they really like it down here. I'm going to come home loving it. I hope. It is essentially fruit cake. Dry and rather tasteless bread with little different colored raisins scattered inside. I don't recomend it, but if you'd like, look for it. Totally the Chileno experience.

I understand now why my dad has no sense of urgency. Come live in Chile for several months and your horario [schedule] will be messed up. Entirely and completely. Everything runs an hour or 45 minutes behind. We tell the people the meetings start at 5 and nobody starts showing up until 530 or 6. We had a meeting for the hermanas Saturday at 5, but didn't start the meeting until 630, then it went into the night until 9. We wasted over 3 hours waiting. It was awful. Perdóname [forgive me] if I come home and never show up to anything on time... It's not necessarily my fault.

Anyway, I have a firm and steady faith and knowledge in the power of prayer. Prayer is a literal connection and direct communication with God. He wants us to talk to Him and it is a commandment to pray and to keep God and Christ continually in our hearts. If we do so, blessings will rain down from heaven and we will be blessed beyond our ability to imagine. God knows us. Don't be afraid to speak your mind because sometimes it's the Spirit.

I love you. God loves you. Blessings, love and miracles!

Hermana Castleton