Partícipes del Don Celestial.

Hello Family and Friends!                                                                  

I know I say this every single week, but this week was the best week ever. :D  Honestly, I still don't know if all that happened is real, because it still just leaves me in awe how merciful and wonderful the Lord is.  I love Him, and I know He lives, and I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and listens to our every prayer.  Every single one.

So, I mentioned a bit about Virginia's story last week, and honestly I was super excited to meet her and her kids, but I never thought that they would be SUCH a golden family.  The elders had told us how prepared they were and how they wanted to be baptized, etc, but when they said that I feel like there was a little bit of doubt and reserve....  Not that they would be baptized, but the fact that they are going to be baptized THIS WEEKEND made our week.  I wish I could just share this joy I feel with you all.  But I hope that you understand this jumble of words trying to explain the gozo that we feel. :D 

So starting out the week, we had a family night last Monday with Ermelinda and a ward family named la Familia Torres.  They've been great hermanadores with her, and the hna is in the presidency of the relief society of the stake.  O see, the stake relief society presidency... :)  She's doing well, but please still keep her in your prayers, because she's just getting used to the swing of things as a member of the church.  But she's doing well. :)

 

We also had two intercambios this week that went well.  I got to work with Hna Andes (Lehi) again, and this is her second transfer and she is doing great.  She's come a long way and is speaking well!  It made me think of a certain Elder Tuft that I know that's in Honduras that's just starting his third transfer and how I bet his Spanish is coming along just as great. :)  SO that was fun to see.

 

While we were on our intercambios on Tuesday/Wednesday (I was with Hna Salinas de Mexico), we went to visit Virginia.  Her kids were at school, but we had a good talk with her and we taught the Plan of Salvation.  She got really excited when we talked about the Celestial Kingdom, and she asked about temple work, because Miguel (her 13-yr-old son) wants to go to the temple with the young men in January to do baptisms.  So we explained a little about that, and she said, "Well, I also told him that he couldn't go unless he was a member of the church, and he said that he wanted to be baptized, so how does that happen?"  And as we got talking about it, she said that she wants to be baptized as well, so we set a baptismal date for November 1st.  :D  We stopped by every day last week, and they were always waiting for us with their pamphlets and Books of Mormon ready with all their assignments done, and it was just incredible to see.  Virginia also has a friend that is a member from another ward, and she has been very helpful and encouraging through all this.  They had their interviews on Saturday, and on Sunday it was announced in church, and we think that the attendance will be great at the baptism.  SO pretty much we're walking on sunshine over here.  :D

Yesterday and today, I was thinking a lot about faith, goals, and the things we do to show the Lord what it is that we really want.  As Kyle shared with me last week, the Lord truly does know the desires of our hearts.  And how true that is!  The interesting thing was that this morning, I was reading Ether 12, and that kinda just summed it all up for me. 

 In Ether 12:3 it says:
3 For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled—

4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

As we show our faith in God, we are saying that we know that these things, righteous desires, will be fulfilled, and that we might earn a place at the right hand of God, or in other words, living in God's presence.  And the part at the end shows us the importance of faith with action, hoping for a better world. 

And then Moroni makes a promise:

8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.

9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.

So because of our faith, we can believe in Christ and that He has made possible all of this: life!  He has prepared the way so that we can be partakers of the heavenly gift, living in the presence of God with our families. Seeing Virginia and her family made me think about it all this week.  They want to be an eternal family, and because of their faith, the Lord will make it possible, and has made it possible, as he has for each and every one of us.  So what does all this mean?  We have hope.  We've never done anything so bad that can't be fixed through the Atonement of Christ.

This week is going to be fantastic.  We have a ward activity on Thursday that we're organizing, baptisms on Saturday, and lots to come. :)  I love Chile.  I love being a missionary, and I love serving the Lord. 

Have a great week, all! We'll be seeing you soon. :)
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Tuft

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Hey Mom and Dad!

What mixed emotions.... :)  This is my last week in Chile, and I am super duper sad.  But at the same time, I get to see my wonderful family again SO soon.  So I am super duper happy.  Remember when I was getting ready to leave, and I would just about start jumping up and down cause I was so excited??  Well, I sometimes get that excited, and then other times I get really emotional and don't want to leave.  And I'm sure you both understand. :)  BUT I'm super excited for this week and for all that it brings.  Thank you for your love and support and thoughts. 

I loved reading back through all those names of the people that you put in my letter, Dad.  Thank you. :)  That brought back some great memories, and there are so many other names in there that are missing, but it feels good knowing that I might have just helped those people enough to show them and teach them about their Savior. I hope I've done all that He needed me to do.  And I hope this week I'll do all that He needs me to do. :)

I was shocked by the news that happened this past weekend.... I opened the letter to copy and print it, Mom, but the first line caught my attention, so I kept reading and just started crying there in the cyber.... I know that all will work out, and that by doing Ryan's temple work, he will have the chance to progress as we all have/are doing.... The Lord is merciful and understands all things, so I know that he is in a better place.  How are the Allison’s doing?  How is Aunt Julie, and Miranda?  Please tell them that I love them, and I am praying for them.  When will the graveside service be?  How is Katherine doing as well?  What happened exactly.... with Cody?  What a strange little man to do something so dramatic and fome like that.... :(

I'm glad that apartment stuff is all finalized.  SO MUCH TO DO in so little time.  Good thing that for the next week I won't have to worry about any of that.  Wahoo! :)  But thank you, and Megan, for helping in all this.  I'm sure the little lovely transition will go a lot smoother having a few things set in stone. :)  But that is SUPER dumb about the washer and dryer.  I don't want to payyy to wash my clothes if I'm paying for the apartment.  No importa.  :)  Hope the roomies are great and that the ward is awesome. :)  Hey, another question....  I know I'll only be in the ward for a couple months, but is there something that I can do, a little calling or assignment with the Young Women or something that I could do in the meantime....?   I think I would like that. :)  Some things that I want when I get home is to see the whole family and go to the temple..... :)  That's all. :)  And then a couple 2 or 3 days to sleep..... :)  Hna Smith (or Cassi.....weird to say that, but that's her name.... :P) said that Hna Dalton gives us the option of checking our email on Monday, so I might, I might not.  So if you do write, I will be able to read it and respond algo chico, but if not and if there's lots to do this weekend, I will see you on Wednesday.  :D  Fun that the Rindlisbachers will be there!  :P 

Glad that the Primary program went well!  I'm glad little Lindsay's doing better!  I LOVE YOU BOTH LOTS.  Have a great Halloween and take lots of pictures and SAVE SOME OF THOSE CANDY CORN PUMPKINS for me. :P  Can't wait to see you all, and meet my little nephew and niece. :D 

Loves from your Chilean missionary,

Kristen

La Mudanza y Los Milagros

Hey there everyone!!

It's been a great week, as usual. :) We moved! Wahooo. :D I'll have to send pictures next week, cause it's not working today, but the apartment is perfect. It's our humble little abode, but we love it and things are much better and MUCH more peaceful and without EXCESS water. :) What a blessing that is. :) We got to practice our patience and carpentry skills as we put our new desks that the office missionaries dropped off to us. With a screwdriver and all. :) BUT we did it, and the important part is that we have desks. :) And not to mention a house.... :)

Liset is doing great! She is progressing very well, and went to church yesterday and loved it! The ward was GREAT and helped her feel very welcome. We talked to her about her pareja, Santos, to see if we could get to know him and teach them both, but she said she has been trying to get him to listen to us, so that we can go to their house and whatnot, but he said no, cause all we'd do is talk about "girl stuff" and that if we came he would leave.... So we're wracking our brains to see what we can do at to least talk to the guy... :( We're praying for them.

We taught Liset about the Plan of Salvation this week, and it was an incredible lesson. At first, she wasn't really reading what we left her in the Book of Mormon or the pamphlets, so we decided to leave her a couple pages of the Plan of Salvation pamphlet to read there at work (she works in a little librería, so she has plenty of time to read and such) and came back the next day. We asked her if she had read, and she said that she read not only the three pages, but the whole thing twice, just to make sure she didn't miss anything. :D And she loved it. We asked her what she remembered, and she taught us the whole Plan of Salvation, including that she wanted to go to the Celestial Kingdom. :) We talked a little about how to get there, and about following the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and about baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost. I was reading the Liahona this week, and a little phrase from Sister Carol McConkie stood out to me about this topic. She said, "When we were baptized, we stepped out of the world and into the Kingdom of God." That's what baptism allows us to do. BUT we have to continue on the straight and narrow path to lead us there, or else we're not headed in the right direction... So, we are very excited for Liset. We have to talk to hear about all her papers and visa and such, because she can't get baptized if she's not married, and she can't get married (1), if she doesn't want to....and (2) if she doesn't have all her visa stuff under control in order to get a marriage date with the good ol' registro civil. Sadly to say....I don't think I'll be here for her baptism...but miracles do happen AND if not, it's all on the Lord's time table. :)

I promised to tell you all a little more about Virginia this week too, and honestly, I wish I had more to tell, but I will tell what I know and what's up with her. :) So about a month and a half ago, her friend from a different ward got baptized, and her friend invited her to the baptism. And she and her kids went, and wanted to know more, so the Assistants called the Elders in our ward because she lives in their sector, and they went to teach her and her kids. Well, she's recently separated and so the Elders can't teach her....so they passed her off to us, and things have been a little crazy with the whole "passing" process, BUT we do have a cita with her this Wednesday morning, and she said maybe in the afternoon, as well. Hahaha - that's never happened before... But she wants to know a lot more about the church, and she and her two older kids have all expressed their desires to be baptized. SO we are excited to actually get to know them and help them progress. Their progress will/has been VERY quick, because they showed up at church solitos and the ward took them right in (can I just say I love my ward here in Angamos? :D) and her 14 year-old is going to mutual and everything. So they will have no problem in that aspect. More to come... :D

A little miracle that happened this week that was super incredible. :) This is another testimony of the Lord putting us in the right place at the right time AND the incredible-ness of member/missionary work. :) So we were working in the morning, and all that we had planned had fallen through. We had gone through all that we had planned an hour before we were supposed to go back to the pension to study.... So we started talking to a lady on the street selling fruit, and as we were talking to her, a man walked by in a hurry, but what we didn't realize is that he walked past, and then turned back around and was standing behind us waiting for us to finish talking with the lady... So then I felt a tap on my back when Hna Arenas was giving her a pass a long card, and it was that man. He went on to say that he was from Origenes (the ward right next to us) and that he's the dad of our ward mission leader, Hno Becerra. (There's a picture of him & his wife with us after Ermelinda's baptism, and also with the Elders at their house in skydrive....) Anyway, he said that he was going to drop a school paper off for his son at a lady's house, and that he would love for us to go with him to meet her, because she's passing through a hard time. So we thought, "OF COURSE we will go with you!" :D We walked around the corner and the lady was waiting for him outside her house, and we started talking, he introduced us, had to go to work, and she said she would love to share with us. So we shall see how things go with Susanna this week. :)

I know that this church is true, and that this is the work of the Lord. I read this today in Mormon 3, and would like to share it. :)

20 And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;
21 And also that ye may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye shall have among yo​u...​

​I hope that we can all believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which we have among us. :) I love you all lots! Have a fantastic week!
​
Love,
Hermana Tuft
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Hey Padres Míos!!

I love you both so very much, just so you know. :D Thank you for all your support and love. :) Quick question.... Hermana Arenas got a letter from a lady that I don't know that said that she is friends with you, Mom, and that her husband served with Dad on his mission....and I was confused.... :) She thinks I have something to do with that, cause I did talk to President to make sure he knew that she doesn't have that family support....and President talked to her mom's stake president and yadadahhh... Long story short, her mom lives in Iquique.  This past week President went to go see them, and she was just SO happy. So now she thinks that I have to do with this lady writing her as well. But I do not. :P

I'm glad that Justina Quezada's talk went well; I loved hearing that story. Thank you Dad! Hahaha We have written our whole missions, but never really shared stories....it was more of just a "Hey I'm great, hope you're doing great too, love ya chaoito!" So that's fun to hear that story. I remember seeing a picture of her at their wedding, and we're going to go back for their sealing hopefully. I mean, I hope to be able to go with her.... :P Jajaja :) Speaking of speaking.... BLAH I was looking forward to having two weeks to work all that out and write my talk tranquilamente.... Pero bueno. :) By chance do you know what the topic will be...? I will have a very long plane ride to put a few thoughts together hopefully.... :) That would be great to have by next week if possible!
I loved hearing about the short little Monroe trip. Does that mean that the house is sold and that we'll never being going back down there then....? :( I hope we could go back, even if just in passing. :) I have lots of fantastic memories from down there. :) Especially with that big ol' pine tree.... I remember once when we had a cousin pine cone war that I'm pretty sure ended with a few tears, but we had fun, that's for sure. :D I also had to laugh about Grandma saying that Grandpa and Peter were probably laughing there at you guys. I bet they were. :) Grandpa now knows the whole story..... Wouldn't that be nice if he shared with us? :) After all that going to New Mexico, I bet he just loves that we're still left in mystery.... :P

​And thank you for those thoughts from Elder Richard G. Scott. I am excited to go through those questions and do a little self check. :) I'll share my thoughts next week. Thank you! This morning, I got to reading my Father's Blessing again from right before leaving for the mission, and I wanted to share a part that caught me by surprise, that I hadn't really paid a ton of attention to before. It said, "I give you a reminder, Kristen, that the time will pass quickly, much more so than you expect. So, be diligent, make the most of each day, plan properly, and then listen and watch as our Heavenly Father's plan unfolds." I promise to have that in mind! Time has passed by ever so quickly, but oh what a miracle it is. These next two weeks will fly, but I will use that time diligently, and plan properly, and listen and be an instrument in the Lord's hands. Promise. :)

Spencer! I have LOVED ward council, just for the record! Thanks Mom for saying that. :) It's not always been easy. In fact, it's almost always been a little bit of loving "pestering" from me to the dear Bishop, but it always results IF it's with love, and with the Spirit. Hope it works out for you there in Honduras. :D

And also, Mom, the whole Ebola thing is all over here. Every one tells me that the USA is FULL of it, and that I had better be careful. Plop.... I'll try....? :) I also am glad that YES, I am not going to be living in "The House." :) Cause I like being with people, but I love having some quiet time and space, and my OWN keys and rights to my own house.... So I think that was for the best. :) Sounds like that apartment will be great. I don't know how far away I would have to park if I don't have a parking place, but $100​ is a lot, especially for just a semester..... So I can walk, and snow will be all over, so it probably won't be a huge deal, but if it's covered, I would probably do it. If not.....I think just do whatever your motherly instincts tell you.... I trust you. :D We'll have to see all those plans and such as it comes. Don't want to think too much into it right now, cause not much can happen right now anyway.... :P Hna Arenas was freaking out that I'll be living with five other people that I don't know and it's just normal to do that! :P  I hope that they're actually normal too! :D ​

​I hope Lindsay's doing better! That poor girl, I honestly think she's been sick at least half of my mission..... :( But as always she's in my prayers. :) PLEASE tell her that I read her email, but I don't have much time this week to respond. NEXT week I will, promise. :) I also promise to hold up and share that Light this week. It's hard not to share, honestly. :)

Lots of love to you both. Have fantastic weeks! TTYL. :P

#Seeyoushortlyyyy, :P
Kristen

​

(Kristen & Spencer both acknowledged their Mom's "#loveyougobs" as I ended my email this week. HA HA!)

Taking a Page Out of Noah's Book.

Panoramic view of Antofagasta, Chile October 2014

Hellloooo!

First off, I would just like to wish my Dad HAPPY BIRTHDAY on Friday. I love you Dad! No worries, I won't say how many years old you'll be turning.... :P Thank you for everything, and thanks to you and Mom, I am who I am. I could not have asked for better parents; thank you both so very much. :)

It's been a fantastic week everyone. :) Honestly I have loved this week. We had lots of desafios, but things have work out great, and the most important part is that ERMELINDA GOT BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY. So that's the most important thing, and that she is doing sooo great. She is loving life. More details en un ratito...

So, this week I learned (yet again) what it means to be "flooded". I never thought I would have so many water issues being in a desert. But needless to say, we were flooded this week in our apartment. And life was just peachy. :)

Here's what happened:

So once upon a time our apartment had problems with draining in the shower. The drain was clogged. So for a year, the sister missionaries have just lived with it and life goes on. But it also gets more clogged.... And one day, (last Monday) we talked to the office elders to help us get it fixed (because other quick short story is that we are renting from a missionary couple that's on their mission in Ecuador, and they're coming home in November so things have to be ready for them and we have to find a new apartment....) Bueno so the elders in the office were on top of things, a couple hermanos came to fix it, but instead of fixing it.....things got more complicated..... So they took out the shower, and our whole bathroom was in the living room. We had to stop for the night, and the next morning we went to the sisters apartment in the other sector to shower, came home, studied, left to do visits in the morning, aaand when we got home.....dun dun duuun there was water ALLL OVER THE APARTMENT. Plop. Soooo we called the son of the couple (who's in the ward and has been in this whole process) and anywho long story short the whole flooding thing happened a few different times, but there was nothing they could do about it because we live on the bottom floor, so all the used water from the apartments above come down to ours, etc. Yep. So we have been taking a page out of Noah's book this week. And can I just say I hope that I never have a flood in my house/apartment ever, ever, eeevvvverrrrrr againnnnnn. :D

Two weeks before the above mentioned flood! EWWWW!

The GREAT news is that last night, a ward member called us and said that they have a small apartment that they would like to rent to us, so after 2 months of steadily looking and calling and checking up on apartments, we think we have finally found the winner. The thing is just to approve it all with President, and hopefully next week we will be in a different apartment and they'll be able to get things fixed accordingly in the one we're in(ish) right now. The other part of the story is that we have been sleeping for the past week in the other sector of sisters (Origenes) and the little air mattresses deflated every night. Slowly but surely. :) How wonderful is all of this. But we've learned lots and we're happy little campers. :D

Ermelinda had a great baptism on Saturday. It was SO great, because everything seemed to go so smoothly and perfectly, so that is definitely a blessing. Thank you all so much for your prayers. She is doing so great. She is so excited to be a member of the Church and to have finally found the right path. She just kept saying thank you all night long and all day on Sunday. :) On Sunday, we were able to talk more a fondo about family history work, and she loved it. While we were waiting for her baptism to start, we were watching videos of the temple, and she was asking questions and listening to Hermana Arenas explain everything about being able to do the work for our families. And she just got so excited, saying that it didn't make much sense all of this coming to the earth in families, if we were all just going to die and not see each other again. I think the whole Plan of Salvation kinda clicked for her a little bit more in that moment. :) Line upon line. :)

I've been reading in the Book of Mormon this week in 3 Nephi when Christ comes to the Americas. This part has always, and I believe will forever be, my favorite part. I remember when I was 12 when I would go to the temple, I would always read 3 Nephi 8-11. The change that takes place in just a matter of chapters is incredible. The majority of these people are wicked and evil people, but they are humbled by all this destruction, and then comes the 3rd day, when the darkness ceases, and they rejoice.

9 And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land, and the earth did cease to tremble, and the rocks did cease to rend, and the dreadful groanings did cease, and all the tumultuous noises did pass away.

10 And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer.

I couldn't help but be filled with joy as I read this. Here we are, watching Ermelinda, and many other investigators, make changes in their lives, and we got to see her take great steps in order to follow Christ, and literally she has changed inside and out; her whole countenance has changed! I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives. Even though we cannot touch the prints in his hands and feet physically, right now, we can accept the sacrifice that He paid for us and follow Him.

14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.

15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.

16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:

17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.

I know that He lives and that He loves each and every one of us, no matter what we have done or where we have walked in the path of life, but that we can do better, and return to Him. I love Him. This is His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

All my love,
Hermana Tuft
======================
Hey Mom and Dad!

Dad, I tried checking that website, but it doesn't work.... :( I also tried searching it in the search bar, and the videos didn't come up.... I did like the principles that he shared though. I couldn't help but smile as you said to think about who currently needs help in experiencing the Spirit of Elijah and what we were able to experience with Ermelinda yesterday. :) There are many other people that came to mind, and most of them are recent converts, so we really need to get on that one and help keep them active and helping out with their family history work so that they can feel the power and importance of temples and what their ancestors are waiting for them to do. :) Thank you for sharing that! I can't remember if you shared that with me a while back, or if we reviewed it in our mission council, but I had seen those before....not sure where. But they are a great reminder. Also, thank you so much for that thought from Elder Scott. I want to translate that and share it with Hermana Arenas and Liset.... Thanks for the idea. :) Women of the world are a lot different than women of the church. It is incredible, but also incredible to know that every single one of us once knew, and will know again, of our divine importance. I think that invitation to "let us help them as much as we can" can apply to all of us, men and women, as we help others who don't quite see the full picture...

I didn't mention in the main letter our other investigators from this week, but we are working with a great family of a single mother and four kids, and hope to have more time to share about them next week a little bit. Her name is Virginia and she is great. More to comeee. :) Sad story about Katiuska.... :( She moved to Peru just like that.... She went for vacation and decided to stay... She's from Peru and her whole family is there, but she was working here and just up and left.... :( So that's the scoop with her. BUT she sent me a request on Facebook, so I can send her address to the missionaries there in Peru.... :D

As far as housing and such goes, I think it would be good to put the deposit down.... I don't know much about it, but I did get Justina to send me a couple pictures and things looked good. I never really thought about having to look for housing mid-semester. It's close to campus so that's nice, and anywho. I think it would be good. If it's not good, everything happens for a reason and I'll learn lots. And spend lots of time at Megan's house. :P Not quite sure what's in store, but things will work out. So yes, it's a yes for the apartment..........

I laughed about Bella and Floppy...... Silly bunnies. I'm sad to hear about Grandma's sister passing away. I don't remember too much about meeting them on the way to Nauvoo.... I do remember something, but I thought that was Marvin and Dee Schultz...? I get them all mixed up. :) Are you going to the funeral this week? And I also had to chuckle about your little KRASH BOOM BAAAAHHHHH, cause it seems to run in the family between you, me, and Lindsay dear. :P Hermana Arenas fell in the shower this morning..... We heard a big krash booommmm and when she came out she was cut up and bleeding on her arm and has a good goose egg on the side of her head. She would also kill me if she knew I was telling you this. Two good things: She will never read this, and she doesn't read English anyways..... :P We're just fallin right and left here now aren't we? :)

Thank you for your letters and all the time you put into them. :) I love them and they always make me smile. I had better run, but I love you both and hope you both have a fantastic week. :) Enjoy Fall Break and tell everyone I said hello and send my love. Nos estamos hablandddooo. :)

Love,
Kristen

¡Feliz Martes! :P

Kristen with Hna Millaquipai (who used to be her companion a couple areas ago.)

Self explanatory for her sister, Megan Schmidt. :)

Training meeting in Antofagasta Oct 2014

Hello Everyone!

Well, as you now know, we're having P-day today instead of yesterday. :)  Surprise! :P  We had interviews with President Dalton yesterday, so our district leader called this week and said that P-day would be Tuesday instead.  So Mom, you will have two happy days with Spencer's letter yesterday and mine today.... :P

It has been an absolutely crazy, but fantastic week. :)  As usual. :)  As I have said before, things would just be easier if you all could just be here and live the week as Hermana Arenas and I have. :P  But as that is not possible, I'll try to share a few things that have happened. :)

This week has been full of conferences!  We had our consejo de liderazgo on Thursday, and that was a great meeting.  I loved it because we were able to talk together about our own scripture studies on a topic that we all studied mutually, and were able to learn from one another in how we can act more in the faith that we have and have faith sufficient enough to be blessed with the miracles that we pray for.  (The lame thing is that I forgot my notebook where I wrote everything down from this conference, and General Conference.....whoops....) We were also invited (6 of us that are finishing our missions) to share our testimonies, and that was quite the special experience for me.  I stood up, and felt and knew that I am a very changed daughter of God than who I was 17 months ago.  I love being a missionary, and I know that this is His work and that truly He has restored the only true gospel here on the earth once again.  Oh how He loves us!

I also loved General Conference. :D  It ended all too quickly, but it was beautiful to be instructed by the prophets and apostles, as well as our other church leaders.  There were two main themes that Hna Arenas and I talked about that was mentioned in just about every talk.  In almost every talk (if not in every talk), the Prophet Joseph Smith was mentioned.  In one of my favorites, was by President Eyring, he talked about the Prophet and how he, being so young, was blessed by the Lord with such wonderful revelation that would change the world.  We probably will not recieve revelation such as Joseph Smith did, but we can receive our own personal revelation.  I know that this is true!  I know that prophets are here upon the earth once again, and that President Thomas S. Monson, lovingly, leads and guides us today.  The other subject that caught our attention was the Sacrament.  I cannot think of those who spoke about the Sacrament off the top of my head, but a lo mejor, para la pròxima..... :P  I'll be sure to share more thoughts next week. :)  One of my favorite quotes was from President Uchtdorf in the Women's session when he was talking about keeping the commandments and said, "I think God knows something that we don't."  So true. :D

Things are all lined up and doing great for Ermelinda's baptism!  PLEASE KEEP HER IN YOUR PRAYERS.  The week before baptisms is when Satan seems to work his hardest to persuade the person to NOT get baptized, and we are praying very hard for her.  She is great and I know that she will be okay and that Saturday will be very beautiful. :)  Liset is now reading the Book of Mormon and is doing very well. :)  We also had an interesting little experience yesterday when a member called us and said that there were a few high school age kids that needed to do a report in their religion class on what we believe, so we met with the four of them yesterday and actually had a great lesson with them. :)  One of them lives in our sector, and invited us over to her house, and they all said they would love to go to church on Sunday (let's hope they feel the same way on Sunday morning at 9 am :)).  So we are excited to get to know Consuelo and her family this week... :)  

Just one scripture that I wanted to share from my study of the Book of Mormon this week.  A little food for thought, and hopefully you can read all of Helaman 3, but here's verses 29 and 30:

29Yea, we see that whosoever will lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked-

30And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out. 

I love you all lots and hope that you have fantastic weeks. :D  This is the true church of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Con mucho cariño,

Hermana Tuft

=================

Hey Mom and Dad!

First off, I love you both lots.  And secondly, life is fantastic and we are so greatly blessed. :) Thank you for your letters and love and concern every week. :)  I AM SO HAPPY YOU GOT TO MEET THE TAPIA QUEVEDOS!!! :D  They are wonderful people. :)  I am sooooo sad about Isabel.....  That one got me... :(  But I know that they will keep trying with her.  She has a veryyy hard life, but I know that she knows it is easier if she is walking along side the Lord.  I hope my good ol Chañarcillo will not forget about her and help her along this path.... They are great people.  Hno Patricio is in the bishopbric right now and it is a great ward.

I love you both so much and feel of your love always.  Thank you for everything and for keeping me and Spencer in your prayers always.  Tell everyone hello and keep Lindsay in good spirits. She'll get through this all okay. :)

Love you lotsss!

Kristen

PS - Mom, that cute MaryAnn Nelson sent me a package. :)  I just got it this past week, and was so tickled that she would do that.  If you get a chance this week, please stop by at the CornWagon and thank her for me. :)  Or maybe a note on Facebook, but something. :)  I wore the yellow scarf she sent to our consejo, so there's a picture of that on skydrive, and the little "lost sheep" she sent is sitting in our apartment as a reminder. :)  THANKS!!!!

PSS

 I DIDN'T KNOW MARGENE PASSED AWAYYYYY! :(

Te Damos, Señor, Nuestras Gracias

Hello All!!

It has been a FANTASTIC week that has absolutely flooowwwwn by. But we have loved ever single second. :) First of all, FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS A MI MAMI!!! I love you so very much and I am so grateful for everything that you and Dad do for me, and all of us. You are an example to many, and especially to me. :)

And second of all, ERMELINDA'S GOOD AND READY FOR HER BAPTISM ON THE 11th! :D We had her baptismal interview on Saturday and she was just so happy and Elder Pakar said that she answered everything perfectly, as if she was already a member.... She truly is a miracle. And miracles happen every single day here in the field, but she is a miracle bigger than big. :) They also announced her baptism yesterday at church, and had her stand up, etc, and everyone came up afterward and was congratulating her on her decision, etc. And it was absolutely fantastic. She is amazing.

This week has been a week where I have just felt every single day such gratitude and love for everyone and everything. Honestly, I feel like if someone slammed a thousand doors in our face I would just have said, "Well, at least they opened and we got to say hello!" Luckily....that didn't happen. But I have just been so happy and full of gratitude to my Father in Heaven, who loves me, and you, and every single person down here living in Chile so very much. So that, my friends, is the reason that I have had the song, "Te Damos, Señor, Nuestras Gracias" stuck in my head. :) And I want to include the words in Spanish and good ol' English. :)

1. Te damos, Señor, nuestras gracias
que mandas de nuevo venir
profetas con tu Evangelio,
guiándonos cómo vivir.
Y gracias por todos los dones
vertidos por tu gran amor.
Tenemos placer en servirte
a ti, nuestro gran Bienhechor.

2. Al sobrevenirnos peligros
que amenazan quitarnos la paz,
tenemos en Dios gran confianza;
vencido será Satanás.
De Dios no dudamos en nada;
probamos ya bien Su bondad.
Los que a Sión se opongan,
al fin sentirán su maldad.

3. De Dios cantaremos la gracia,
bondad, compasión y amor.
Gozamos de Su Evangelio,
alegres de ver su fulgor.
Así, a la dicha eterna,
los justos y fieles irán,
mas los que el mensaje rechacen,
tal gozo con Él no tendrá.

1. We thank thee, O God, for a prophet
To guide us in these latter days.
We thank thee for sending the gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays.
We thank thee for every blessing
Bestowed by thy bounteous hand.
We feel it a pleasure to serve thee
And love to obey thy command.

2. When dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us
And threaten our peace to destroy,
There is hope smiling brightly before us,
And we know that deliv'rance is nigh.
We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness.
We've proved him in days that are past.
The wicked who fight against Zion
Will surely be smitten at last.

3. We'll sing of his goodness and mercy.
We'll praise him by day and by night,
Rejoice in his glorious gospel,
And bask in its life-giving light.
Thus on to eternal perfection
The honest and faithful will go,
While they who reject this glad message
Shall never such happiness know.

Dad, you asked me what song I would sing, and this is it. :D We'll see if we can't sing it tonight.... I LOVE the message that this hymn holds! I realized what most people don't have in their lives is gratitude for the things they do have. So, just as a little food for thought, make a list of all the things you're grateful for, and when you're having a hard time and don't think that things will work out or you feel like complaining just look at your list of blessings, and things seem to work out a little bit better. :)

We had a great experience this week. We were making copies of our progress record for our ward mission leader, and we've made copies there before, but we usually are just there in passing and are running here and there, but we had a little humbling moment as the lady that works there asked us who we were... We had just given her the money to pay for the copies, and she asked us where we were from. We told her "Peru y los Estados Unidos," (we thought that's what she was referring to, because she, too, is a foreigner here from Colombia) and she said, "No, like where are you from? The paper you copied and your badges have the same symbol/name. Where are you from?" A little embarrassed we responded that we were from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and we were here as missionaries to share a message of happiness with everyone, and we would love to share it with her. It was a strange little moment. We finished saying that, and in walked a friend and his son, and we also talked to them and they invited us over, and two seconds later in walks her pololo, so we met everyone in just a matter of seconds. :) Come to find out, Liset (the girl that works there) is 4 months pregnant with her first, and it was great to talk to her and hear that she is wanting something sturdy in her life so that her baby has two good parents and a good life. We watched an "I'm a Mormon" video with her, and talked about the plan that our Father has for us, and it turned out to be a great little mini-lesson. The Lord truly does prepare the hearts of many, and there are so many people around us, even as missionaries, that we don't realize sometimes that they're just looking for a bit of sunshine and truth in their lives. More to come with Liset! We're excited about her and Santos (her boyfriend). :D

GENERAL CONFERENCE IS THIS WEEKEND! How fantastic. I hope that you all get to watch it! Can't wait to hear all your thoughts from what will be said and taught. :) I know this church is true and that we truly are led by a living prophet, President Monson. I know that Jesus Christ lives and He is our Savior. I love you all so much! Thanks for your prayers and support always. :)

Love,
Hermana Tuft
====================
Hey Mom and Dad!

Thank you so much for those pictures Dad! I got those sent off to Hno Thomas, and I'm sure he'll be very grateful. :D

It was great to hear that all is well there in good ol' Springville! If you could just send some of that moisture this way please.....? Or just keep it all there so there will be LOADS of snow this winter. I think that might make up for things alright. :) Don't let me complain about the cold weather, ya? :) It has been more "Springish" here in Antofa. In Calama, it's a freezer at night and an oven during the day, so we didn't get much of one thing, rather we had to carry around all of our winter clothing, and here it's gradually getting warmer and warmer, with more sun and longer days, so that's fun. :) More sunscreen that's for sure.... :) My freckles are REALLY noticeable, and they were fading. Plop....

I couldn't believe that Cesar's headed out so soon!! Actually, that poor kid's been waiting forever, so I guess that's great that he finally gets to go. :) And JUSTINA. She'll be home tomoorrrrrroooowwwww. PLEASE GIVE HER A HUGE HUG FOR ME. :D She was "complaining" in her letter that she wishes that she wasn't the first one going home cause she said she's going to be all alone and her friends will all be on missions....or married. :P But I'm pretty sure she'll be great company to that mom of hers that's missed her lots. :) Fun stuff. I'm glad to hear that things went well with the talks and what not. Do you have a copy to send me, Dad? I'd love to read it. I was also VERY happy to hear about the Sargent's doing family mission plans, and yes I would love to be part of that. :)

It's interesting that you would mention that account of Heavenly Father and Adam, cause Elder Bednar also addressed that. However, when you worded it, "Brian, where art thou, what desirest thou?" made me think instantly in how I would respond to that, and I've been pondering it all day. Thank you! Also, thank you both for the talks that you sent last week. I enjoyed reading those throughout the week and studying them.

Mom, would you tell Hna Delgado that I said hello! I don't have her new email I'm thinking, so I haven't been able to write her and hear things here and there on how she is, but just let her know that I'm thinking about her and love her lots. :) Thank you also for that note from Facebook from President Bruce. :) Even though he was my president for a short time...2 weeks.... :) I feel like he was it for longer cause it was from January until July technically that he was my president, even though I didn't get to work much as a missionary with him here. :P

PLEASE TELL THE TAPIA QUEVEDOS HELLO AND THAT I LOVE THEM LOTS!! They are just two very special people, along with their whole family. When do they head back here? I guess I could just email her....but I would love to see them. :) Chile is very, very up to date with technology, so yes mostly everyone has phones and iPads and laptops and SmartTv's, etc.

I put new pictures up on Skydrive, so you can go look at those.... :) We made a special video today, so I hope you get to watch that one super duper soon, like today. :) ENJOY OLIVE GARDEN. :P

Lots of love,
Kristen

P.S. President gave me my money this week, so he took out $250. Did you get that sent off okay to his mom? And I got the suitcase today, so that should be there as well....thank you!!!

El 18 de Septiembre...Round 2. :)

Hello All!

Okay....it's been a fantastic weekkk - Chilean Independence Day is 18 September. :D BUT it has been soooo full of empanadas, completos, MUCHO carne, mote con huesillo, carne, empanadas, a little bit of salad, a little bit more carne, and MORE mote con huesillo. Oh and sopaipillas. Or let's just say, LOTS of food. Thanksgiving times a million, and that's what we've eaten this week. :) So here I am writing you all, with about 10 pounds more than what I was last Monday. :P But it was a great fiestas patrias, all in all. :)

This week we had zone conferences and that was great. We started out by singing "The Army of Helaman" and that just about killed me. There were probably 80 missionaries(ish) and all of us singing that... It was incredible. I love being a missionary. :) We also got to share our testimonies about our Savior, Jesus Christ, as we finished up reading the Book of Mormon as a mission in the past month or so from the invitation of Elder Spannaus. I know that my Savior lives and loves me, and we are on His errand, His time, and we are instruments in His wonderful and powerful hands.

We also talked a lot about helping the members know how to share the gospel with their friends. President said that every family in the church should have a family mission plan, and I loved that idea! I had never thought of that... So our job as missionaries is to help the families of the ward find their own plan, something that will work for them, and not something that we throw on their shoulders that never results. :) For example, all we want is that they can get their friends and us in the same place at the same time, and we can do the rest. :) We become their friends/acquaintances and with that, we can share our testimonies and they will know what we are saying is the truth. Unto every man is given the light of Christ, and they will know. Something SUPER awesome happened this morning. We went to send a couple letters, and as we were leaving, a member of the ward and her daughter walked out of one of the rooms, and they we were with a friend. So we went and said hi, started talking, and the hermana said, "I've been trying to get her to listen to the missionaries for yearsss and she never says yes!" Well...she said that in front of her face...whoops. But it worked out okay. :) We started talking about how the lady is always going to the mission office to drop off packages, and then she asked if we had the recipe to cookies that Sister Garrison (the Garrison's are the missionary couple in the mission, from Idaho) and we said that we did not but that we could get it and have a family night and share them with her. :D Bwahhahaha. :) So she said yes and we have a family night set up with her, and the member family for next week. :D It's just that easy. :)

Thursday was Chile's Independence Day, and it was pretty awesome. :) We had weekly planning in the morning and went to the stake center at 1 pm for the stake party. It was a huge barbeque (asado) and there was a great turn out. The rest of the afternoon we enjoyed watching all the dancing and fun games that were going on, and were very happy that a few of our investigators could attend. :D Ermelinda was going to go, and it turned out that her son ended up coming and she couldn't go... :( But needless to say, it was a great day.

This week we had something happen that has never happened in either one of our missions! We have been teaching Ermelinda all of the commandments (she's getting baptized on the 11 of October, by the way...) and we taught her the law of chastity on Tuesday. I don't know if this is a normal thing for all missionaries, but anyone who has seen the missionaries in The District teach it, it gets a little awkward sometimes. Not that awkward how they do it on The District, but something like that. :P So we went to teach the Law of Chastity, and it was one of the most spiritual lessons I have ever had in the mission... She fully understood that her temple is a temple of God, and that we need to respect and care for it, and we started talking about families and how the world has lost that respect and importance for marriage, etc. She expressed the desire that she has to share the Gospel with her kids, cause they're not doing the things that they should be, and she councils them, but they don't really listen much... It was an incredible lesson. The Lord truly prepares His children, and Ermelinda has been prepared her whole life to receive this Gospel, and she is doing great.

I know that the church is true! I know that Christ is at the head of this church and that he leads and guides us through His living prophets and apostles. I hope we can all be preparing for General Conference, so that we can listen to the prophet, President Monson, and learn what the Lord needs us to hear and apply in our lives!

With lots of love,
Hermana Tuft
====================
Hey Mom and Dad!

Thank you so much for all your spiritual thoughts that you both shared this week, they were just what I needed. :) I'm excited to be able to go back and study them a little bit more this week. It's incredible that the things I learn from what you both say always helps out throughout the week in what we are doing. :) So thank you! I love you both so much. :)

I'm glad to hear that the Ogden Temple Dedication went well yesterday. I love being part of those. I remember that my first one was the Nauvoo Temple, and that was also the first temple that I went to to do baptisms. I love the temple so very much. :) That's also fun that Kyle and fam and the Allison's were able to join you all. Do the Allison's these days include Miranda....? Or is she still struggling? Did she ever get my birthday note I sent her....? She never responded if she did. :( She's in my prayers.

As well as little Lindsay! Poor girl! If it's not one thing it has to be the other. :( I showed Hna Arenas that picture of her on the couch with the crutch straight up on her head, sleeping...and she died laughing. She too, Mom, wants to meet the family one day. She says we must be very funny people. :P Bahaha little does she know.... :P I think she must look at me sometimes and just think, "Where do you come from....?" :P Send Lindsay my best, and tell her I love her, and that I would LOVE to hear from her, ESPECIALLY right now with all the great things she's saying. :D Bahaha. I'm pretty sure that is not Dad's profession, and I don't know WHERE in the world she would get that one......... :P What does she think I'm doing....? :)

Also Dad, I thought that was interesting the comments from Elder Bednar. I was listening to a talk from him the other day, and he invited the congregation, I'm assuming, to read 1 Nephi 11 through 13 and to really focus on the invitations that the angel makes to him. He asks, "What desirest thou?" Knowing that he wanted to see what his father saw, but the angel gave him the chance to learn spiritually that way, and I thought of that when he talks of the first important steps in acting in faith. So I did that, and loved what I learned. I would love to know your thoughts! I will also tell Hno Thomas that the pictures will be coming next week if all goes well. :) He's been on vacation with his family and they get back on Wednesday, so I doubt he's thought much about it in the last couple weeks anyway. :) I'll also be sure to keep you both updated with Sol and Carolina, but they were out of town this past week with las fiestas... Keep them in your prayers. :)

I cannot believe that Kim Stratford and the Shaw boys are getting married!! I mean....I guess that's what happens when your friends get old and back from their missions and are at college, but I had no idea. :) Who's NOT going to be married by the time I get home? :P Just kidding (kinda). :P BUT please send Kim my best. I love that girl, and she has been such an example to me throughout my whole life. :)





And I had a small world moment last night with a returned missionary that got back from Puebla, Mexico. Ha Ha he knows Elder Alex Knowlton! I asked him if he knew him and he said yes, and pulled out pictures! That was strange. But tell him HEY from Elder Gerhardt Schmeltzer here in Chile. :P

Thank you for being my goodly parents. Part of the reason I cried so much during the Army of Helaman is because the first part says that we have been born of goodly parents, and I truly have, and I love you both so very much. THANK YOU. :D

Love,
Kristen
====================
Hey Spencer!!

I love you lots and I know that you are doing what the Lord needs you to be doing. :) And I know you know that. :) Hey, I wanted to ask you if you have the talk "The Fourth Missionary" by Elder Corbridge? If not I'm going to send it to you in the little package I'm putting together. :) Cause you need that one. :) It's helped me SOOO much throughout my mission. I can send it in Spanish and English if you'd like.... LOVES from your favoritest older sister in Chile,

Kristen :)