A New House, Antofa, a little "Snowstorm" and Stake Conference

Kristen Tuft with her BLIZZARD from all the Tuft family, done back in October but she just received!

Hermanas Kristen Tuft and Millaquipai in their new apartment Feb 2014 at Isabel's place.

Hermanas who went to Antofagasta for training this week. Feb 2014

Hello All!!

It seriously feels like 5 minutes ago that I was writing last Monday... This week's been a quicky. There's been tons of stuff crammed into 7 days. :)

To start things off, we were headed out of the ciber last Monday, and we got a call from one of the assistants. He said that on Wednesday I was going to go with one of the other hermanas from the other zone to Antofa for a capacitación and that Hna Millaquipai and the companion of Hna Albornoz would be staying together for the day. I was super confused, we had no idea what the capacitación was for really, but that was the plan. So after that, we had a great noche de hogar (FHE) with Isabel and the Ubilla's (the ward mission leader and his family). It was fantastic. Isabel's doing absolutely great. :)

Tuesday we spent the day scrubbing and cleaning up the house after the remodling projects, etc, and started to move stuff in. Our bus left at 4 AM, so we worked things out for Hna Albornoz to sleep with us, and one of our sister training leaders, Hna Rodriguez went with us too. So we slept until 3ish, got ready, and headed out to Antofa. Let's just make it known that buses are not a wonderful way of transportation. I complained on choir tour if we had to go long distances in our choir dresses...but 8 hours trying to sleep on a bus in a skirt.... Naw. :) But I did enjoy driving in to Antofa on the coast again watching the lovely sea. :)

We headed over to the mission office where we learned about working with records from Chile and finding less actives from our cimi lists, etc. It was a great meeting and we learned a lot! We're going to start implementing into our proselyting over the next little while. So the meeting was just about how to use the google doc, find the exact addresses of the members (because lots of the time the addresses don't exist anymore, or the house changed spots, etc) so this program makes it lots easier and I'm really excited!! :) And it was fun because the missionary couple that taught us (Elder and Hna Pulsifer from Cordelaine, ID) are serving in Concepción and live down the street from Hna Heslop!! (MTC Companion :D) So that was fun to hear about her. :)

Hna Albornoz and I headed back at about 9 on Wednesday night (Hna Rodriguez stayed for a leadership meeting on Thursday) and I got caught up reading all the letters from my missionary friends!! I had no idea that that was coming, so that was a great suprise. I read for a couple hours and finished all of them, and it was so incredible to me to hear all their stories and how much we've all changed. :) And there's more that have since left! It's so exciting how fast the work is hastening and how many people that are preparing for missions. I promise that whoever is even thinking about it, if you do decide to go, it will change your life, and the lives of those who you will teach. If I could go again, I would go in a heartbeat. And I haven't even finished the first one yet.... :P It truly is a miracle.

We got back good and safe and Thursday we worked with Hna Brewster (our other sister training leader) because she was infermita and couldn't go with Hna Rodriguez. So we had a great day, went out with the members and Thursday night Hna Millaquipai and I were SO happy to go back and live in our little cabañita and be together and start livin' normal again. :) I am SO grateful for the past couple weeks; I have learned LOADS, but we are both happy for a little bit of normalcy. :)

Friday and Saturday were great! We found a couple new great investigators, so we'll start working more with them this week. Saturday night we had a session of Stake Conference, and it was fantastic. We had our missionary choir, which turned out fantastic and I was definitely crying in Llamados a Servir (Called to Serve), and the congregation joined us in the last verse (there's 4 verses in Spanish). It was very powerful, after great talks from the Stake Presidency and conversion stories from members. We watched a video about the camping trip the youth did a couple weeks ago (it's like EFY, but called CEM) and they were all excited about missions and getting prepared, and then we watched a Mormon Message about Tyler Haws (BYU Basketball) and leaving for his mission. Needless to say it was a great meeting. We were all in tears; the Spirit was really strong.

Sunday we had a broadcast of Stake Conference, it was the Area Conference thing. The Spirit definitely carried over from Saturday night as we got to hear from Elder Cook, Elder Coorbridge, and Elder Arnold. They were actually broadcast from Salt Lake, so that was different, but it turned out great I thought. A question that Elder Cook asked was, "Si Cristo viniera este noche, ¿quien visitaría?" (If Christ came tonight, who would He visit?) He talked about how we need to ask ourselves that question with our friends and family who aren't members in mind. Who would Christ visit that doesn't have this Gospel in their lives? I loved that thought, and how truly this work is for the members, just as much as the missionaries.

I wanted to end today with my testimony of the Plan of Salvation. I know that God has a plan for each one of us. He knows. We need to put our trust in Him above all else. He will make our burdens light, lift up the heavy laden, but also it is our responsibility to be His hands. It makes me think of one of my 2nd moms, Mamita Patti Quezada, and her talk when I left. His hands went through it all. He suffered for our sins, died for every one of us, but He also conquered death, and through that miracle, we all will live again. I know that this is true. There are so many that are suffering so much because they don't have this knowledge in their lives. We are witnesses of Him in cada momento, y cada lugar. We are headed to a funeral tonight of a girl in the ward who passed away last night. Her boyfriend isn't a member, but the elders have been teaching him, and I know that because of this experience, no matter how hard it will be, he will see miracles in his life, because of Him who is Mighty to save. I love you all with all my heart. Know that I truly am praying for you all. This church is true!

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

Mom, you can add Natalie and Jenny, and Isabel too cause I think she should be on there...? We helped her add us... :P Thank you for keeping up on that! Yes, Jenny is the convert hace una semana. :)

It sounds like Valentine's day went great!! It is celebrated down here, but not as much I think....not quite sure because everyone's been on vacation anyway so... :P But we had a very peaceful, definitely boyfriend/finance/spouse-free day. :D I could almost smell the roses. :) BUT they do have roses here in Copiapó. :P I can't think of anything else that I need for the time being, unless you could maybeee get an Ivory 204 cream foundation from Karin Patrick and squish it in there... Just for the future. I'm on my last one, but I've only used one anyway, so I think if I had one more it would last. :) Thannkkksss. :)

I also loved hearing about Steven!! I am so happy to hear that he did great on his mission and he is back and well. :) I was wondering why you went down to St George.... :P AND I ALMOST JUMPED FOR JOY HEARING ABOUT DARREN AND JAMIE, and kids!!!

(I'm just scanning through your letters to be sure to respond to everything..... :)) I hope that they get things figured out about your knee, Dad!! I don't know if I'd ever go back to that doctor.....kinda sketchy sounding.... :) If I could play the organ, I would never be able to use that talent because they don't really exist here. :) But I do play our piano in Sacrament as the organ setting. :)

Isabel has been great!! We were so sad because she couldn't make it to Stake Conference. She's been planning on this vacation por el sur since the beginning of the summer, so she's actually gone for the week. She left on Saturday and will get back this coming Sunday or Monday. So I am hopinggg I won't get transfered because if so I might not get to see her, aaand I love my little Chañarcillo.... But I will go where the Lord needs me to go if that is the case....with a smile on my face. :)

We did have our district meeting with the family history specialists and it was great!! We're planning an activity for the ward in March to work on their family trees. Did you know we have Spanish roots?! I was super happy to find that line aaand I can work on that line with those records in Spanish when I get home. YAY!!! :D The new family search is incredible. :) Keep me posted please on what happens with Elder Shurts. :) I hope it all works out!

Thank you as well, for the thoughts on "work". It's been quite the week, but at the end of the day, all we can do is pick ourselves back up, go to bed, and wake up when that alarm goes off with smile on our face and ready to find new people in a new day. :) Mom, we don't have too many bad experiences with contacting, but lots of people shyly close the door saying, "Oh no, gracias, soy Catolica, gracias, gracias." Haha so at least they're mostly pleasant. :)

I love you both so very much!! Give everyone hugs, share your testimony with someone this week, give the missionaries a hug if you see them, and tell everyone in the fam THANK YOU FOR MY BEAUTIFUL BLIZZARD. :D I loved it. :D Thank you thank you thank you.

ALL my love,
Kristen

Hurrah for Israel!!

Kristen with a plate of  "Once."

Hna Tuft and Millaquipai on Caldera Beach 10 Feb 2014

Hna Tuft and Millaquipai

Ward dance Jan 2014 with Kristen and Hna Millaquipai.

Kristen writing in her journal.

Hnas Tuft and Millaquipai out working. 

Hna Tuft & Millaquipai's beds in Isabel's living room temporarily until their place is finished.

Workers working on Kristen's new place they are renting from Isabel.

Hna Tuft, Millaquipai, Isabel, Jenny, Elder James, Elder Oribe; 8 Feb 2014

Eating dinner with Isabel, February 2014

Hna Millaquipai, Isabel, Kristen Tuft

Kristen on Caldera Beach today with other Hermanas and Isabel, who was recently baptized.

Hey there!!

It's been a fantastic week here in Copiapó. Absolutely crazy insane, but we got through happily and are looking forward to this next week. :D Time has FLOWN by here. We're in week 5 of the transfer and Hna Millaquipai are here looking at each other scratching our heads and wondering where the time has gone! But in a great way. We've had a great transfer together so far. Can't wait for the next little while. :D

Speaking of Hna Millaquipai, we had a funny this week. :) We were looking through the primary song book (because we wanted to sing "Cuando me bautice," Dad, for the baptism! Thank you for reminding us of that song. :)) and we ran across "Oh what do you do in the summertime?" Hahaha so Hna Millaquipai starts singing it and gets to "¿Qué hacemos en verano?," started laughing, and said, "Well, as missionaries in the MCA, we knock on doors while everyone heads to the beach!" Which is so very, very, very true. :) I bet the summer in lots of missions have similar situations... But we've changed tactics accordingly, so no, we don't literally knock on doors, but we do lots and lots of contacting. Which is great! :) Sembramos semillitas. :)

Also a little bit of fun news! We were in the house of a less-active member named Carmen. She is fantastic, and we just barely met her, but Heavenly Father sure does have a way of preparing people, even when they've been baptized and have fallen away. He always gives us second chances. Anywho! We were talking to Carmen and she was telling us about her son that lives in West Valley, when the phone rang. And it just happened to be her son in West Valley! She told me to talk to him for a couple minutes, so that was super cool and weird and fun. So I got to talk to her son in West Valley this week. :) Small world. :)

And for the best news of all. :D We had 2 baptisms this weekend. Isabel's and the Elder's convert named Jenny. AND remember Benjamin that lived in our sector and then moved and Hna Severtson and I were super sad? Well he got baptized 2 weeks ago!!! I heard that news from our ward mission leader, and I just about jumped out of my seat from excitement!! :D So this next week we'll have Stake Conference and I'm excited to see him there.

The baptisms went great. Isabel was so so so excited all week long, counting down the days. She is learning so much, and we're working on getting her own family history account started, so we'll get that up and running for her, but we showed her ours and she started telling us about all her family and her grandparents, etc. The Spirit of Elijah really is a powerful tool. Tomorrow we are having a distict meeting where the stake specialists are coming to teach us, so we're super excited about that. When I saw Isabel in the baptismal font, that was one of those moments where I just thought truly, "Hurrah for Israel!" She was radiating. After the baptism, Isabel got up and bore her testimony. She was so happy and just radiating. She has had a really hard past ten years, and I know that we were led to her house because our Heavenly Father had prepared her to receive His Son. There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus Christ lives, and that He loves each and every one of us. He not only suffered for our sins, but He knows our joys and moments of happiness. He is always there to lighten our burdens and carry us in moments of need. I am always reminded of the poem of Footprints in the Sand; truly we are blessed to have a Savior who loves us infinitely.

Yesterday we spoke in church about putting our trust in Christ. (Confiar en Cristo, I think that's how it's translated....) I was reminded about the talk President Uchtdorf gave in October's General Conference. He shared a story about how he was skiing with his grandson and fell. He shared that he had no idea how he was supposed to get back up. It seemed absolutely impossible. His grandson came by, and he tried explaining it, but his grandson wasn't interested in hearing his excuses. All he said was, "Opa, you can do it now!" He put out his hand, and President Uchtdorf says he instantly stood. Christ always has His hand outstretched to pick us up. We have the responsibility to grab His hand as tight as possible, stand up, and allow His Atonement to help clean us off and keep walking forward. If you get the chance this week, I urge you all to go read that talk! I'll even put the link... :) http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/you-can-do-it-now?lang=eng

I know this church is true! I have seen it change Isabel's life, and many others. I love you all so very much. Have a fantastic week, enjoy the snow and rain, and love every minute of every day. :)

Con cariño,
Hermana Tuft

P.S. Mom, you can print pictures from the baptism on from Skydrive if possible! And the whole family can look at all of them with my mission email and password. :) XOXOXO :)
======================
Excepts from emailing back and forth before Kristen sent her main letter:
Hey Mom! We're just getting on for today! :P I printed off earlier, but we went to Caldera with Isabel and just got back. It was a fun day, but it's been an insane week and we're moving into our house on Wednesday. I couldn't be happier. :) It's great living with Isabel, but I HATE living out of my suitcase. Anywho. We're doing great though! Off to write and send pictures of the baptism!! I think I'll just send them through skydrive... :) LOVES!! :D

Regarding where I should send her bday package: 

Transfers are in two weeks, so yes they'll be before my birthday. The only thing I would say I would want is a bunch of those fun little pictures of paintings from Deseret Book. They're the little tiny ones, about 2x3 inches... Just a bunch of pretty ones of Christ. :) Lots of love!! I don't have time to write you and Dad separately today.... I am so sorry! Nor to respond to Megan!! Sending all my love, thanks, and lots of hugs and kisses. :) I love you all lots!!! Give Dad a big hug for me and tell him thank you for the story and sharing his experience again about my patriarchal blessing experience. :) I love you Mom! Happy Valentine's Day!! :)

In Between Houses...

3 February 2014
Hello all!!

It's been an absolutely crazy but fantastic week. We met some great people, moved, had Isabel's baptismal interview (YAYAYAYAY!!!!) and can I just say I love Chañarcillo. :) Hermana Millaquipai is fantastic and I love her lots. She is learning SO much faster than I did when I started and is helping me so very much. :)

This week we had a great district meeting and practiced the whole time making baptismal invitations/commitments, whatever that English word is.... It helped us a lot! We talked a lot about agency, and how if the people say no, it's their free agency, gift from God, to say no. We are here to invite people to come unto Christ, and they have the agency to accept the invitation or not. So that kinda helped me lots to not get nervous or anxious to extend that invitation. Obviously, it is the MOST important for them to see the importance and to accept, but they can say no, and then one day they will look back and say yes. One day they will. :) So we decided it was time to try it again with Roxana. We called the ward Relief Society president to go with us, and we REshared the first lesson with Roxana. The Spirit was so strong, and I was so very grateful for the testimony of Hna Clara. We invited Roxana to prepare to be baptized in March, and SHE SAID SHE WOULD PRAY ABOUT IT. Last time we asked her she said straight out NO and no she would not go to church, etc. But she said she would pray about it and I just was the happiest little girl. :) She actually is out of town for vacation now for the next 2 weeks....so we will see how that praying went. Please keep her in your prayers. :)

So I'm flipping through my planner looking at what to share and I just want to share all of it.... That is a problem. :) We did have a great experience with two less active ladies. Their names are Nevenka and Lidia. Their mom joined the church when she was 30, and raised all the kids in the church. They were all baptized and sealed as a family. Their dad passed away a few years ago, and their mom passed away at 50ish, two years back, just from a sudden heart attack. The kids all kinda stopped going to church when they were in their early 20s, but they do not deny that the church is true... We have been visiting them for months and they never have been to church since I've been here, but we got down to the bottom factor of why and we had an amazing lesson with them. Lidia shared a dream that she had about the tree of life, and that her mom was there beckoning to her to the tree. She shared that she knew that her mom was just waiting for them to all return to the tree and she said she thought it was time. We were just full of gratitude hearing of their experiences and truly how the Lord works miracles in each and every one of our lives.

Aaand Saturday to top things off, the elders moved into our old pension and we moved in WITH Isabel, because her little house that we are going to rent is being a little bit remodeled... So hopefully by next Saturday we will be in our house house. :) We're a little squashed in the meantime, but we're getting along fine AND can I just say it is fantastic living with an investigator? :D We knocked on her door yesterday morning to wake her up for church. :) Hahaha it was fantastic. :) She had her interview with the district leader as we were moving everything in and it went great. She passed. :) She also got up to give her testimony yesterday!! :) Unfortunately....Bishop got up at the same time to end the meeting and didn't see her start to get up...so she sat back down, but she said for sure next month. :) I love her, she is fantastic.

ALSO last thing. I have officially been the ward pianist since Hna Severtson left.... Just so that you know Mom and Miss Erlene (Hodgkinson), those lessons didn't go in vain. :) It's not perfect, but as the bishop's wife told me yesterday, the more I play and practice, the better I get so I should leave the ward playing like a pro. :) And we are singing as a missionary choir for Stake Conference in 2 weeks and as we got there to practice yesterday....the zone leaders asked me to be in charge and direct. So those singing & voice lessons and choir classes didn't go in vain either. :P I love playing and singing, so I was excited to help with that. :)

I have been so overwhelmed this week of the love of our Heavenly Father. He truly does know our needs, and I see His love in the lives of every one of our investigators. They have mostly left town for the time being, but I know that He loves them, and He is cheering them on. It is our choice to allow His love into our lives, or not. I choose to let His love in. That is through the Atonement of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I know that He lives. I know that He loves me, and it is our job to help others feel that love that He has for them as well. Even if they may be our enemies, they are His children and He loves them. If He loves them, why wouldn't we? I know this church is true. I am SO grateful to be here serving the Lord and the people of Chile. It makes me so happy to hear about those leaving or getting their papers ready, etc, because I know what a wonderful blessing it will be in their lives and of those they will serve. (Congrats especialllyyy to Nicole Decker for her call to Italy!! YOU'LL BE GREAT!! :D AND for my little brother Spencer for starting his papers. DAH!! I hope you come here to Antofa. Can you imagine? :D)

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

I forgot my camera cord today.....so I can't send pictures. If you saw the pictures, you would understand why. :) We're living in a tiny little room with our suitcases in the living room and all the rest outside in the back patio for the time being. :) It's chaos, but we're happy and doing great! :) I was so happy to hear about your cousin, Sheri Dad! That is such a happy moment, and I can't imagine the sister that first started teaching her and got to go back to see her baptism! I bet she is just SO happy. :) That is incredible. We also do the confermations in Sacrament Meeting, so no that's definitely a church-wide thing. ¿Saben qué? Yesterday we were in Sunday School and JUSTO we were talking about the creation and I was thinking about how much I miss the temple. I miss the temple sooo much. AND I realized that it was EXACTLY a year ago yesterday that I received my endowments. :) That was a great memory for me. Thank you for both being there and helping me enjoy that special experience. I will never forget that day. :) We did do some fun stuff this week with family history work, and we're planning a ward activity for March to get the ward excited to do their family history work and we're going to get the stake specialist involved to have their help. We're very excited about that. I just want everyone to be happy and excited and worthy to enter the House of the Lord. I want them all to see and feel and experience that joy that I have, and will enjoy with my family for the eternities.

The zone leaders are headed to Antofa this week so I will look for the packages. :) If they're here, which I have hope that they are... :) they will give them to me next Tuesday at our zone meeting. :) I'll check with Elders DeGraw and James about the garments. That is such a wierd question to ask elders.... Just so you know, Mom. :) Make sure to let their moms know what wonderful missionaries they are. They truly are working miracles.

Okay! I hope I'm not forgetting anything, but I love you both SO much. Thank you for your love and support and happiness that I can feel over the thousands of miles away. :) I LOVE YOU to the moon and the sun and the stars and back. :)

Con amor,
Kristen

P.S. I got my Chilean ID this week. :D Just thought I'd share that YES, I am officially Chilean (until it expires the 22nd of November...but still.... :P)

El Poder del Libro de Mormon

Hello All!

We've had another great week here in Chañarcillo! The dance was great, the people are fantastic, and we are continually finding and talking to just as many people as we can every day. :) Hermana Millaquipai has taken off and is a fantastic missionary! We are learning lots from each other, and I think I will continue learning so much more from her than she ever will from me... :) I love having this experience to train and to look back at all the things I've learned along the way and how much more I have to look forward to learning. :) I love love love missionary work. :D

I was happy to hear that the Hastening the Work stake conference went well and that Spencer did a great job, especially in embarrassing little Lindsay. :) I doubt she was embarrassed, but that did give me a good laugh. :) That also made more sense that we had a pair of sisters for the stake, not the ward.... :) I was running that one through my head and thinking....how in the world does our little ward have a set of missionaries....? But the stake makes more sense. SO exciting still though! :)

[Just decided to ADD this insert: I thought I'd let you know what Kristen was meaning regarding Spencer's talk in stake conference yesterday. They had their youth meeting at 8 am and then they came home to grab something to eat, and Spencer had gone in the bathroom and left his prepared talk outline inside his Preach My Gospel sitting with his scriptures on the counter. So Lindsay was saying to Brian how it would be so funny to take his outline OUT of his PMG and put in blank pages so when he got up to speak he'd have NO NOTES. (I don't know where she gets this streak from!) But she and Brian had a little laugh over that one and then she actually took his outline out and wrote on the top SPENCER LOVES HIS LITTLE SISTER, LINDSAY SO VERY MUCH! SO...when he got up to speak he didn't look at his notes for a couple minutes and then when he looked down to see them, he saw that and chuckled and announced to everyone that his sister had written that on the top. So everyone was cracking up! So that's what we told Kristen. The FUNNY for the day! :)]

Hermana Millaquipai is great. We have worked good and hard this week. It's been a little bit more of a struggle with people continually leaving for their family vacations, but we continue to find and teach, which is the most important, right? :) From what Bishop Martinez keeps saying, February gets a little worse, but it's all uphill from there. :) Roxana will be headed out for the month, as well as Jorge (I think I mentioned him last week....?). Anywho, I was going to say that Hna Millaquipai yes, is Mapuche, which is a native tribe here to Chile. Her mom is from Spanish decent, and she is a native Spanish speaker, although she does know a few words in Mapuche. So I am learning lots more Spanish, as well as a couple words in Mapuche, and she is starting to learn English. :) So we're having a lot of fun with our language abilities. :)

There was a couple thoughts regarding the Book of Mormon that I wanted to share from the week. We went to Roxana's on Tuesday and had a great lesson about prophets and their importance here on the earth. We challenged her last week to start reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning, and she accepted. So when we went on Tuesday, she had only read a tiny bit of the first chapter, which was a little disheartening, but we talked about the importance of daily scripture study again, with the importance of prophets, and how the Book of Mormon was the words of prophets. So we set an appointment for Friday, and headed out. On Friday we got to her house, and she had read 7 chapters in those couple days! We were thrilled!! She started out by saying, "Well, I liked most of it, but I got to that part about Nephi and cutting off that guys head, and I didn't like that part." ("Me choqué.") And then she continued to say that after she read that she didn't want to read more, but she was so interested to see what happened that she went back a couple hours later and realized that he had to do that, or else all of his posterity wouldn't have had the gospel in their lives. I was just overwhelmed with gratitude, to my Heavenly Father, and to all of your prayers in her behalf. Please continue to pray for her. She continually needs them, as do we.

That got the both of us thinking about the deep importance of the Book of Mormon in our lives. Roxana still is a little stuck in her ways, but she is reading the proof of what we are telling her. The Book of Mormon truly is the keystone of our religion. I have been overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity and blessing we have in our lives to have the Book of Mormon. I testify that I know that it is true. I know that reading that book will help us grow closer to our Savior, and that through its daily study we will become the instruments that the Lord needs us to be.

We ended the week with 2 baptisms in the ward. It's been quite some time that the ward has had a baptism, and we had an 8 yr old little boy named Maximo and a convert of the Elders, name Rosario, be baptized on Saturday. How blessed we are to live in these times where the Priesthood power of God has again been restored upon the earth! I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God that is leading and guiding our church in the way the Lord needs. I am so very excited this week as we help Isabel prepare for her baptism next week. She is so excited, as are we. Please keep her in your prayers. :)

Sé que esta iglesia es la iglesia de Jesucristo aquí en la tierra. No hay ninguna duda en mi mente. Estoy tan agradecida que yo tenga la oportunidad y poder compartirlo día tras día. La vida es el tiempo para nosotros a prepararnos a volver a la presencia de un Amoroso Padre Celestial. Sé que El ama a cada uno de uds. Espero que tengan una semana genial y lleno de sonrisas. :D Les quiero muchísimo. :)
Translation by Google:
[I know that this church is the church of Jesus Christ here on earth. There is no doubt in my mind. I'm so thankful I have the opportunity and sharing it day after day. Life is time for us to prepare to return to the presence of a loving Heavenly Father. I know that He loves each one of you. Hope you have a great week full of smiles. : D I love you so much. :)]

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Tuft
=============
Hello Mom and Dad!

I think I pretty much covered everything in the main letter. :) The week has been pretty calm and I have just felt such peace and love. Thank you both for your prayers and support. I feel of that love every single day. I sometimes wonder if Heavenly Father prompts you both and me to study the same things at the same times, because sometimes we have the exact same experiences in the same week. For example, this week Dad, I just studied that talk "We Never Walk Alone" from President Monson. That poem brought tears to my eyes as I reflected back on moments of the mission where I have felt so alone and afraid, but then as I focus on the love of my Savior, that loneliness and sadness seems to disappear and I have all the more drive to share this glad message with those around me. If they all just felt of a tiny bit of that love, they would gladly and happily accept the gospel of Jesus Christ into their lives. That is our tarea, to help them feel that infinite love and change their lives. Thank you for sharing that with me today. :)

I also teared up as I read that part, Mom, about you worrying about me in the middle of the night and praying until morning. I don't know if something would have happened, or if was just a bad dream, but thank you. I have the best parents, and I am so grateful for the both of you and your example for me, for raising me like you did. Thank you thank you thank you.

We haven't been in touch yet with the stake genealogist, but it's on the to do list for sure this week. The days seem to fly by, even with to do lists.... Also! I have gotten behind, so this week I will be focusing on memorizing the 5th and 6th Articles of Faith, but they are coming. It's not hard to memorize something, but the remembering it part on the spot is where I struggle. :) Hahaha "it's not hard to memorize, it's just the remembering part...." That's a Kristenism at it's finest... :P

How have Grandpa and Grandma been doing? Hermana Millaquipai mentioned this week that she was missing the temple, and then we got to talking about how she hasn't seen the old video, only the new one. So apparently it's gotten to Chile! And then I got to thinking about how Grandma/pa got to go see it in Logan last week. Anywho. A little roundabout. :) I love you both so very much! Have a fantastic week and give everyone my love. :)

All MY love,
Kristen

P.S. And, Mom, we got back safely in a taxi from the bus station last week at 2 AM. :) Aaand last thing, promise Dad, that girl that left for the summer our investigator, Tamara, is from Rancagua, and she lives in Kenna's zone! So we're in the process of working that out so Kenna can pass along her address! We don't have any media access permission for our mission yet... With time... :)

Can I just say......I LOVE being a missionary! :)

Hello All!!

It's been an absolutely fantastic week! We've been working like crazy and things have been going great! I picked up my little hijita on Wednesday and said goodbye to Hna Severtson, as she headed to Arica. It was sad, but happy at the same time. Change is happy! :)

So! We had until Tuesday night at midnight to work and do life as normal, Hermana Severtson and I. She and I then headed on a bus for 8 hours at about 12:30 on Tuesday night, and after a long night of sleeplessness and watching how BEAUTIFUL the full moon looked AND watching the sunrise, we arrived in Antofa. I have never been in Antofa during the day, so that was fun to see! It's a beautiful city, and we got to drive in along the coast, so I got to see my beautiful ocean for about 20 minutes. :) I know I was only in Arica for a short amount of time, but I sure got used to waking up and seeing the ocean every day from our house and feeling that breeze. So that was very refreshing. :)

We went to the Institute Building there in Antofa and we ate a quick breakfast and started our meetings. We had a training meeting with President Dalton about training our new missionaries. It was a wonderful meeting. Then we had lunch (PIZZA from Domino's in Antofa! Who'da thought I'd miss that stuff so much. :P) And then we had our "Opening the Sector" meeting where all the new missionaries opened their letters of their assigned sector and new companion.

My new companion is Hermana Millaquipai from Chile! She is from Punta Arenas, but has lived in Osorno for the past 3 years. From literally one end of Chile to the other, especially if she goes to Arica. :) She is wonderful! She's been a member her whole life, and her parents are converts from when they first got married. She's the youngest of 3 and is 22. It's been so much fun to get to know her and to see the energy of a new missionary again. :) She is teaching me so much and has so many great ideas in how to help our little Chañarcillo. I'm excited for the chance to work with her. We're going to have a great time together. :) (Plus I'm going to become more Chilean...bakan, ¿no? :D)

So I was there in Antofa for all of 10 hours. :) We headed back to Copiapó at about 6 and then got here at 2 in the morning and headed back to the apartment to sleep. :) The past few days have been great and we have found a good handful of new people to teach. We're planning a ward dance for this Friday, so we're pretty excited for that. It should be a great finding activity! So I'll let you know how that one goes next week. :)

In studying this week and seeing all the same MTC videos again, it's made me think about the excitement I had when I first started, and now how far I feel like I've come. There are always things to work on and improve. The scripture that keeps coming to my mind is in Alma 26:11-12;

"I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy and I will rejoice in my God.

"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things."

I know that life sometimes might send us a curve in the road, but as we turn the corner and face the unknown, God will bless us with a scenery that we could have never imagined and we will grow from those wonderful experiences. I know with all my heart that this church is true and that Christ stands at the head, leading us through President Thomas S. Monson. I love being a missionary. I love sharing this message of great joy with these people in Chile!

I love you all lots! Thank you for your love and continued support. You are in my prayers. :)

Con mucho cariño,
Hermana Tuft
=================
Hello Mom and Dad!

It's been a busy day so I don't have too long, but I did have to chuckle about your comment Mom about us gringas going to Antofa in the middle of the night and then relying on my "young gringo brains" to get us back! Hahaha we made it back alive, no worries. :D Thank you for all your thoughts and comments about the week, they are always greatly enjoyed on this end! :) Please tell my little Miranda how much I love her and I miss her lots. I would love to hear from her. :) My blizzard package did not come yet... :( Faith! It'll come. :D Also, thank you Dad for those thoughts you shared from your mission. Those circumstances are a lot like the ones that have happened this past week, actually. :) It truly has been a great few days though with my "verdecita". :P ALSO if there is room and you happen to be sending a package, I would LOVE 2 new pair of garments... I would have to get you the size next week if that's okay... And also a downeast white basic tee and the elbow length sleeve one too in white, if possible. If not, it'll be fine, I just have some pretty great sweat stains... :P I am sorry if I am forgetting anything! I've got to run but I will talk to you next week! I hope the FHE goes great tonight. I was thinking about that experience at the Sutt's just a few days ago actually. :) OKAY! LOVESSS!! :D

Tu hijita misionera,
Kristen

P.S. Dad, we're going to be getting in contact with the stake geneologist hopefully this week. Thank you for those thoughts! Perfect timing for me. :) XOXO

A Week of Craziness . . . :D)

Hello all!

It's been a crazy week, but great! We've had a great last week together as companions, Hermana Severtson and I. We had cambios on Saturday and she's headed to Arica and opening a sector AND training, and I will be training. So we're both headed up to Antofa together tomorrow at midnight, and then we'll be there for most of the day Wednesday and come back here to Copiapó and get here Thursday morning at about midnight. So it'll be quite the couple days! We're both nervous, but it will be a great experience. A whole bunch of different emotions are running through my head, so if this is a little scatter-brained....that would be why. :)

Okay. So Monday and Tuesday were pretty normal. Lots of walking, talking with people, alto calor, and a few great lessons. :) Wednesday was about the same as well. :) So, we get around to Thursday and we had a fantastic lesson with Roxana. Her "assignment" was to read the testimonies of the Book of Mormon witnesses, and the testimony of Joseph Smith. We got there, started talking about it, and she got shy and embarrassed. We asked her what was wrong, and she said that she had actually read it a couple times because she loved it so much. She then went through and told us exactly what had happened, and how she felt about it, everything. It was incredible. The spirit was so strong! We asked her if she herself had a testimony of the Book of Mormon. She said she thought she did, because it just made sense and she felt something every time she read it. She guards it away from her little daughter so no one will touch it, etc. It truly is amazing. We were so happy! And then, we were just talking and HER HUSBAND CAME HOME AND WE MET HIM!!! That is definitely a HUGE miracle, because we have never ever met him, and she always says that he doesn't want to meet us, but we just happened to be there... So we might just "happen to be there" a lot more often. :) So pretty much, Roxana has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon, we met her husband, and all they need to do now is go to church. Thank you ALL for your prayers, because she needs them, and so do we so that we can help them accept this gospel. By small and simple means. :)

Then, we did our transferly cleaning on Friday morning. (We clean every week, just for the record, but just a deeper cleaning. :)) We cleaned our house super good, got rid of spiders (with a little bit of screaming and LOTS of bug spray) and then we went to shower and get ready to leave for the day. Background information also, we are changing houses and living with Isabel in 2 more weeks. That being said, we were showering in our 2 bathrooms (Hna Severtson upstairs and I was downstairs) and Hna Severtson knocked on the door and said, "Ummm, Hermana... I think that the upstairs bathroom is flooding..." My reaction: "WHAT?!?! And what do you mean you think it's flooding....?" "Well I don't have my contacts in so I can't see for sure!" Bahahaha. My reaction in my head: "Seriously this cannot be happening again. 2nd flood in the 2nd apartment in 2 years." Something must be wrong. Anywho. "Okay. Hurry and call Elder DeGraw (District Leader) and I'll be right out!" So I hurry and rinse off, and she comes back about 30 seconds later... "Ummm...I think it's dripping from the bathroom into the kitchen!" Threw my towel on and ran out and yes, it was indeed dripping through the ceiling. So I run upstairs and it's about 2 inches deep of water in the bathroom and it was all leaking through the floor downstairs.... :)

Needless to say, we called Elder DeGraw, we got things taken care of for now (the main drain is plugged and the water's been dripping for a while), we are not using the upstairs bathroom, and we are moving out in 2 weeks and I could not be more excited. :D Bahahaha but we definitely had a great laugh. :) Lesson I learned the 2nd time around: Just laugh and life will work out. Life's too short to not have fun. :)

Saturday we had a great lesson with Isabel and Obispo. We talked about the 13th Article of Faith :) and Isabel is literally amazing. She just couldn't stop saying how grateful she is that we were sent to her at this moment in her life. She needs the Gospel so badly, and we are so grateful for the miracle that it is to share it with her. She went again to church on Sunday, and we're headed back tonight. She loves reading the Book of Mormon, and is just an absolute golden investigator. I love her lots. :) We are all very excited for her baptism here in a couple weeks.

Right after we left Isabel's, we got our transfer calls and it's just been craziness getting everything ready after that. But life is great and we are super happy little missionaries. :D On Sunday we all 4 missionaries spoke on faith, hope, charity, and love. It was a great meeting! Hermana Severtson played a beautiful Joseph Smith Medley, and it was just great. Lots of people are out of town for summer vacation, so we've started going down in attendance, but bishop just says that's normal for summer, and things will be back to normal in March. We just keep working though and the work goes on!

Also last little thing!! (Sorry this has been so informationalish today!) We were talking about hope as we were walking to a lesson the other day, because that was Hna Severtson's topic to speak on, and she was saying how when she thought of hope she thought of the pioneers. She said how she wanted to share a story about her ancestors, but she couldn't think of one. I asked her who she could share something about and she said, "Well, I know lots of stories of my Webb line, and they came from Nauvoo, so maybe I'll do something with them." I have a Webb line from Nauvoo!! So I got really excited and asked if it was the blacksmith shop Webb and she said yes and long story short, we are cousins. :D No wonder why we get along so well. :) So that is fun! Can't you see the resemblance?? :P

Anywho, I'd better be off, but I love you all so very much. Thank you for your prayers, love and constant support! I know without a doubt that this church is true, that we are lead by a prophet of God, and that Christ lives. We are so blessed! How wonderful it is to live in such a marvelous time. :)

Con mucho cariño,
Hermana Tuft
==================
Hello Mom and Dad!

I have lots of thoughts on conference talks and the Articles of Faith that I am looking forward to sharing next week, but for this week I have got to run! I am so sorry! But I was so excited to hear that you are all starting to memorize and study the Articles of Faith again! I have memorized 1 through 4 in spanish this week...but need to keep reviewing them. I even used them in lessons, which was cool and definitely a testimony builder that as we study, the words will be given to us in the precise moment that we need them. :)

I am not sure the significance of Cerro la Cruz, but maybe I should ask... Most northern Chilean cities have them, but I think it's a protection/Catholic tradition.... That's my pure guess. :) It was just like climbing to the Y, but it was a fun, short little hike. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss hiking... :P It was fun! :) I would teleport to the top if it were possible too, Dad. :)

Working with less actives is going ok, and we seem to find many more every day. I think most of Chile is inactive. :) It seems like they are all pretty stubborn, and we have tried everything up our sleeves to get them back to church, but with little progress to show for it... If you have any suggestions they would be GREATLY appreciated. :) If you get a second too Dad, I would love it if you could share a couple mission stories. :) I just thought of that, and how I would love to hear. :) How are the ward missionaries doing? What are their names? And do you go out on visits with them ever? I know we LOVE that when members just go with us for a couple hours. :) Just a thought. :)

I loved the thought as well about the Provo Tabernacle/Temple. I cannot wait for that. I get chills every time I reread that story. It is a miracle, and shows us definitely that everything is on the Lord's time table and in His design. Thank you for sharing that thought!

I didn't know about Shannon falling, and WITH TWINS!! I loved that little song though. :) Tell her I'm thinking about her and praying for her. I love her lots. :) I sent a little note for her in the family letter I sent a couple weeks ago. :) Poor girl.... I am glad a little cute family moved in across the street!! How old are their kids?? Love it. :) And I am SO happy you all went to the temple this weekend!! I miss it so very very very much. Words cannot express. :) We are truly SO blessed to have SO many SO close. I am glad you all got to go together. :) Also, you mentioned the Shurtz names you did, and speaking of which, how is the Peter Shirts work going? Any new updates lately? I've been thinking about Elder Davies and wondering how he's been! Send my love!

Kay!! I've got to run!! Next week should be full of stories and pictures of the little hijita. :) I love you both so very much! I feel like I'm forgetting something, but I guess I can ask next week! :)

All my love,
Kristen

P.S. OH! Mom can you send the homemade oreo recipe (I found devil's food cake mix!!) :P

Vale la Pena :)

Kristen with a jackhammer (facebook link)

Hermana Tuft brushing her teeth atop Cerra la Cruz 6 Jan 2014. She and her Dad climb to the top of the highest mountain and brush their teeth.

Hermana Tuft with her District on top of Cerra la Cruz

Hermana Kami Severtson and Hermana Kristen Tuft

Hello all!!

It's been an absolutely great week to start off the new year! Things have FLOWN by is all, but life is great and we're still alive in this awful heat. Por lo menos. :P But I am also super happy to hear you're all alive and surviving the freezing cold! Everyone here has been talking about how awful it's been in los Estados cold-wise the past week or so... Wish I could say the same honestly. :) But we are so happy! Because guess whaattt!

We found an absolutely amazing investigator this past week and she is getting baptized in a couple weeks! Her name is Isabel (she's the lady that we will be renting our house from) and she is just fantastic. She has had a really, really hard life, especially the past year or so with lots of family trials. She lives alone, and as we went over last Monday to do our contract stuff for the new pension, she asked us what we did and what we taught. It kind of took us a little off guard, because we were planning on having a quick lesson with her after, but she asked us as we were filling out the papers. We taught the first lesson and she started to cry. She was just so happy and felt that peace and love that she has been looking for. She accepted the baptism invitation and was just beaming. She came to church yesterday, loved it, and come to find out she knows quite a few ward members already from just living here in Copiapó her whole life. It was just such a beautiful miracle that we were blessed with this past week. I have been so excited (haha since last Monday night... :P) to share her story. Obviously it's only just begun, but we felt so very blessed to be a part of that beginning.

In other news, we have been working a LOT this past week with less actives and their families. It's been incredible to see the change that the less actives have made to make it possible for their families as well to receive this gospel. We still have a long way to go, but families truly are forever, and that's what we are here for, as missionaries, to help others become families for time and all eternity. I feel so deeply blessed to be sealed to my family and that I can live with them forever. How incredible it is that we live in this, the fulness of times, with the fulness of the gospel here upon the earth.

For New Year's Eve, we ate with a family here in the ward, the 4 of us missionaries. They are a great family! Hermana Maria Lydia and her husband, Claudio, have been on a mission and are getting ready to go again soon. They are such wonderful helps to us as missionaries, and are wonderful examples as well to the ward. We ate dinner with them, and then headed back to the pension. Hermana Severtson and I were up until just a few minutes after midnight in order to see the fun fireworks. New Year's day was just a normal day. :) We did change our district meeting again for this last week to Wednesday, so that was helpful, knowing that everyone was sleeping. :) (Our neighbors even went to bed, so we did actually get a great night's sleep! :P)

I'd better be running this week, but I just wanted to share my testimony that I know that this church is absolutely true. There is no doubt in my mind, and the gospel has brought such light and happiness into my life, and the life of those that I have had the oportunity to share it with. Sometimes the road might seem hard, but His yoke is easy and His burden is light, all we need to do is put our trust and faith in Him. He suffered for us all, but He also knows the things that bring us happiness and joy, and is just waiting for us to accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Christ lives and loves us. I know that to be absolutely true.

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

Crazy stuff!! I think my "blizzard package" might be here! I'll get it tomorrow if it is and then I'll let you know next week... :P We have transfers again on Saturday! Crazy!!! (Kristen and I went back and forth on email talking a bit this morning so I added in a few of the things we talked about. I told her I had a hunch Hna Severtson may be going because she's been there longer but that I thought there would be changes in their lives coming soon.) We've been thinking that too, ESPECIALLY because we just found out eight hermanas will be coming.... Our daily guess changes, but today it's that we're both training and that I'll stay and she'll train and open a sector.... So we shall see!  Our guess changes daily... :P  I've LOVED having these 3 months with her though.  She is WONDERFUL. :)  Hahaha tell Lindsay to hang in there with all that catching up on homework before the end of the term.  We've all done it. :P  BUT I love her enthusiasm. :)

Thank you for your letters and spiritual thoughts this week! I loved reading through that beautiful primary song and reading the couple thoughts from the Priesthood session of conference. I remember singing that song in Primary, and reading back through it brought back some of those memories and also had more meaning these days. I couldn't help but tie the 2 thoughts together, about Dad saying Christ is always there to help us get back up, with his hand outstretched and saying, "You can do it now!" Our invitation every day is to "Live like His Son," and we can only do that as we accept His loving hand to help us get back up. The Atonement of Jesus Christ continues to bring more and more meaning into my life. Although I will never fully comprehend it, I can learn so much and apply His sacrifice daily. So thank you for your thoughts!! Every week they help me more and more. :)

I'm so happy to hear that all went well with the New Year, that you stayed up late and had a great time with the family. :) That's what it's all about, right? :) Little Audrey is just growing up so very fast!! Tell Lindsay and Spencer too, to just relax a little, and enjoy the ride. Not to get lazy, but just to be happy DURING, not just AFTER the work is done. :) Any new news with the mission papers, Spencer?? I'd better run cause I want to get a few pictures sent too, but I love you both so very much. Thank you for all the love, support, and patience with your little Chilena. :) You are both the very best. Pero enserio. :) 

Thank you for all the pictures!  I loved them lotttsss. :)  It's also great to have an update of the friends :D  I am SO excited for Megan Marchbanks!! FUN!!!  Both the Megans are in Washington....hahaha :)

To the sun, the moon, the stars, and back,
Kristen

P.S. I just thought we could both keep a little check up on each other, as you all are memorizing the Articles of Faith, I'll keep asking you if you'll keep asking me... Just a little bit of motivation for the both of us... :) I'm hoping to do at least 1 through 3 memorized this week... :) LOVE YOU!!!