Fishing

3 March 2014
Hola a todos!

Haha I'm not sure that sounds completely grammatically correct, but ya know...the Spanish nor the English sound grammatically correct to me anymore.... I'm not quite sure which is which these days. Which could be a blessing I guess. :P The point of this rant is that my Spanish speaking skills definitely are improving with Hna Millaquipai. Along with learning all my Chilean "dichos". :) I have loved having these past 7 weeks with her, and look forward to the next little bit as well. :D

This week we had a couple of very important experiences and moments to learn and grow. One has to do with Peter becoming a fisher of men, and the other has to do with the Book of Mormon. Both of which I value very highly and meant a lot to me this past week. :)

To be open and honest, the past couple weeks have been rough when it comes to finding people to teach. We were searching and searching and searching (it's an ongoing process throughout the whole mission, of course) but this week I learned a very important lesson. We were sharing what we had learned last Tuesday in our personal studies, and I had been reading in Luke 5. I have always loved the story of Peter being called by Christ to be a fisher of men, so as I was reading, I kinda just skimmed through because I thought, "Well, I've read this story a million times." But that is something that we shouldn't do. That is why Heavenly Father gave me a second chance to learn the lesson I needed to from that story. I skimmed over it in my personal study, but I had a strong impression to read a part of it to my companion in companionship study. I'm going to include the scriptures for you to read, too. :)

1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying,Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not;from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

I was reading that to Hna Millaquipai and started to cry as I was reading the part where Simon Peter is talking to Christ. He was probably tired and exhausted from working all night and not having anything to show for it. He probably wanted to go home, to forget the night that had just passed, but the Lord asked him to toil a little longer, and to thrust in their nets one more time. As Peter showed his faith and said, "Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net," the Lord blessed him and their nets were so filled that they did brake! Here he was, after 12ish hours of working and trying everything he could think of to earn his living, that when the Lord walked along in the morning he said, "Just one more time, cast in your nets." When Peter handed it all over to the Lord, he was blessed. Why was he blessed? Because he showed his faith. I felt so humbled as I read that out loud to Hna Millaquipai. I felt a little like Peter, tired of casting in the net and not getting anything, but when I read that, I remembered that it is His work. He has asked us to trust in our nets, to show our faith, and hand it all over to Him. As Peter realized that it was all in the Lord's hands, he repented, left all of his workings behind, and followed the Lord. It doesn't even mention that they did something with all that fish! They forsook it all and followed the Master. That was my own personal lesson this past week, and it has made quite an impact on me. I have tried so hard to remember that my hands are working for the Master; they must do what He needs them to do. So with that in mind, we found 3 families/different houses this week that we have started to work with. I am very excited to see what the Lord has in store for them and their families. I will keep you updated... :) But for now we are continually fishing. :)

The second big lesson that I learned, is once again, the power of the Book of Mormon in our lives. There is a training handbook that we follow to train new missionaries, which is an incredible book, and this week the focus was on the Book of Mormon. As we focused on the Book of Mormon this week, I have been continually amazed at the power that it brings. We had quite a few incredible lessons in which we talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon. One that was especially impactful was from last night. We have been working with a lady named Evelyn, who has been inactive, and her daughter named Lucia. Lucia is 22 and isn't a member, nor the rest of her family, but they are the 2 that have stuck with us and continually wanted to learn. They were talking to us last night about a show they watched earlier that day on the TV that talked about the evolution of religion, and really how religion is just a thing we've invented, according to the "experts". They were saying that they talked about the Book of Mormon in the documentary and that there is absolutely no way it could be true, because it has no "proof". And that was about that. They just left it at that, without much explanation. It made me think of a talk by Elder Holland a few years back entitled, "Safety for the Soul". He said,

“For 179 years this book has been examined and attacked, denied and deconstructed, targeted and torn apart like perhaps no other book in modern religious history, perhaps like no other book in any religious history. And still it stands. Failed theories about its origins have been born and parroted and have died - - - from Ethan Smith to Solomon Spaulding to deranged paranoid to cunning genius. None of these frankly pathetic answers for this book has ever withstood examination because there is no other answer than the one Joseph gave as its young unlearned translator. In this I stand with my own great-grandfather, who said simply enough, “No wicked man could write such a book as this; and no good man would write it, unless it were true and he were commanded of God to do so.” I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this latter-day work – and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in these, our times – until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies.

I add my testimony to his, that I know that the Book of Mormon is true. As we shared that thought with Evelyn and Lucia, they got tears in their eyes. Here they had been looking at the world's standpoint of the Book of Mormon, but they hadn't read it themselves to find out for themselves. If we haven't read it, if we haven't asked with real intent, we can't say it's not true. I have read it, and I have asked, and I know that it is true. We have seen many miracles this past week, many similar experiences, and I know it is the hand of the Lord guiding His children back to His presence.

I love you all so very much! I wish you all a wonderful week! You are all in my prayers. :)

All my love,

Hermana Tuft
=============
Hello Mom and Dad!

I'm not sure what's happening to the computer but the letters got really small.... Not sure if it's the same for you, but I can't fix it, so I hope it's fixable on that end... :P To answer a couple questions before I go... :) Yes Dad, the weather has been changing here in Copiapó! I LOVE it!! At night it does get cold enough for a jacket, but the daytime is still just as hot.... But we're getting there, little by little. I think in a couple months I might be complaining about the cold... :P Naw. I love the colder weather. :D But from what it sounds like, we don't change time until the end of April...? From what we've heard. So we'll be 3 hours different again?? We haven't heard from Tamara yet, but her pololo says that she gets back on the 17th, so I'll keep you updated! :) Isabel is doing great, she's just starting up work at the school again, so she's been busy with back to school stuff lately. We actually sang as a missionary choir at a Primary activity again this past weekend, and I directed again, and it was pretty good. I thought it went well at least. :) We've been making an effort to sing in every lesson lately, and that has made a difference in the lessons, I do have to say. :) And I continue to play in Sacrament for the time being... :) Aaand we've been slow in learning the Articles of Faith, but we've set the goal this week to review 1-6. :) I am still puzzled that you couldn't find the Spanish lines, but I'll go back and check again on that....because I KNOW it's there.... Stay tuned... :) I am also SO glad that Grandpa's up with his Spanish lessons again. I'll have to write them a little note. :) And with the food, we do eat more rice, not too many beans, but we do also eat a good bit of mashed potatoes. Hna Millaquipai says they eat them a lot more in the south. I'm a little sick of the rice... :P But eat it I do! :)

CONGRATS on making Varsity to Spencer!! Good job Bud!! Hope that goes well. :) Mom just sent me a voice video of Lindsay, so I'll be sure to watch that before I sign off. :) I bet it will be FANTASTIC!! :) I'd love to hear from the 2 little stinkers. :) I have lots of thoughts on the question you asked last week about Christ coming to our houses, and what we would ask, but I think I would stick to what I said last week. We talked about it as a companionship, but I think it got lost in translation a little bit, because Hna Milla was a little confused... :) I will look up "I Stand All Amazed" though and we'll sing it. :) Thank you also for sharing that story and the progress of the mission prep class. I love that there are lots involved in the stake, it sounds like. I pray for them. We just got a little 18 yr old here in our ward that E James is training, and he reminds me soooo much of Spencer. It'll be fun to work with them here. He doesn't speak any Spanish, but he's learning quickly. :)

I was sad to hear about Sister Oldroyd.... I will keep her in my prayers, thank you for letting me know. The Lord has a plan for her and for her family, but I know that it must be hard. I hope Nate will stay strong out there and remember that it will all work out. I'm sure he will! I hope also, Mom, that you two really will serve a mission some day!! That little comment wasn't just a joke...I will hold you to it.... :P You both have always been such a wonderful example to me of service and charity. Always thinking about those in the ward and those around you, so thank you for that example you have always been and continue to be. :) I had better run!! Tell the family hello and that I love them and I apologize if I'm forgetting something!! Put it in bold if it's super duper duper important. :) I love you both LOTS!! Be safe this weekend in Arizona and send my love to the Bradfield's (hey a Sister Platt just got here from Chandler...) and enjoy the week with little Audrey Lou and be sure to KEEP ME POSTED about little Baby Tuft. :) I'll be on my toesies. :)

LOVE YOU!!
Kristen

Cambios pasaron....Y NOS QUEDAMOS. :D (Changes passed...and we remain.)

Hey All!

It's been a great week. We've done lots of walking and contacting and we're really excited because....we get another transfer together!! :) We were very excited Saturday afternoon when we found out that we were staying. :) From our district, we have 2 that left, but other than that we're all staying here in good ol´ Copiapó. :) It should be a great transfer.

Other than that it has been quite a calm week. Not too much different happened than normal... We have been working a LOT with less actives and their families, so that has been great. Most of their families aren't members, so as we work with them we can help them get back to church and bring their families with. I truly do have such a strong testimony about temples and forever families. I know that families are forever. The thing that most people remember, if they have been inactive, etc, is their baptism and that families can be forever. I love that! The door for us to enter is baptism, in order to make our families eternal through the temple. Those two things to remember for these people is vital; now the job is for us to help them remember why they took the step to be baptized in the first place. :)

With that thought, yesterday in Sacrament meeting, we had a high councilman speak that talked about agency. I loved a little sentence that he said. He said, "Las pequeñas decisiones toman parte, un parte vital, en nuestras vidas; nos guían al reino celestial, o hacia camino del mundo. Es su decisión." It truly is incredible the difference those little decisions make. We can choose to be happy, or sad. Helpful, or grumpy. Choose to become more like the Savior, or turn away from Him and head the other way. It's a daily, vital decision. Es su decisión. Ojala que escogeremos el Señor cada día. :)

And it was fantastic at church yesterday! Everyone's been heading back from vacations so that has been great! :) We had just about a full house yesterday at church, so that was a happy thing. :) Dah...I really wish there was a fun story or something to share from this week, but it truly has been super tranquilo here in Chañarcillo. :) Isabel's headed back this week and we have lots of follow up appointments to work with this week from contacts, so next week for sure there will be more to share. :)

I apologize for being brief! I do know that this church is true. I do without a shadow of a doubt that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that he restored the church of Jesus Christ in these latter-days. It is our job to ask our Heavenly Father, with real intent, if these things are true. I know they are true! I know that families are forever. I love my family so much and I want to be with them forever. :) Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we can be. What hope and joy that gives me! I love you all so very much. I hope that you all have a wonderful week and that you get sprinkled with a little bit of snow... :)

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

Okay. I don't know exactly which line it's in, but I was on my own family history tree, on the new family search website, looking at OUR tree and I found people from Spain. So there you go. :) It wasn't the colonies from Mexico, it was definitely Spain and I was SO excited. :D That is my tarea. :D Or Kyle's or Spencer's, etc, but I will take it on if they don't... :) I'm pretty sure it was part of Dad's lines still though....not 100% sure. But it was there.... :) It was kinda fun too, because Elder James was showing us his family tree and he is related to Shakespeare and it was traced back to 200 BC more or less. That was cool to see. :) Family history is SOOO important. :) Thank you for your examples in that aspect as well. :) I also haven't mentioned Mom, but I am SO happy you're working on making your journal writing habitual. Please please please keep doing it. :) I just finished my journal last night! When I was in Arica I had a member bring me one back from the temple though, so I have another one for the other half of the mish. :) Dad, you do keep one as well, don't you?? I have seen you writing in it before, so that might be a silly question. :)

And please keep me posted about the poor Ukrainian missionaries.... That's scary.... And strange that they're still sending them there.... But the Lord is in control. :)

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to hear where Spencer's going. Chile Antofagasta Mission. Haha I would die. :D Please film it. And send it. In a month from now... :)

And thank you for the comments about the fireside! I do need to go back and read them more carefully later today, but I loved what I did get to concentrate on. :) The question you asked to end though, Dad, has got me thinking..... "If Christ visited your home, what question would you ask Him?" I would love to hear what the both of you would ask as well. :) Hna Millaquipai and I will have to talk about that one... Thank you for the food for thought! :) I would be so amazed and in awe that I don't know what I would ask... I know it would have to do with the Atonement, but I'm not sure exactly what. Or what He taught the Nephites that says that those things could not be written... Obviously they weren't written for a reason, but that always makes me wonder what else He taught them while He was here. It's also incredible along those lines to hear stories from Hna Millaquipai that are common "tales" for the Mapuche Indians in the south. They have a lot to do with stories from the Book of Mormon... It's interesting to hear. :)

I love you both lots, Mom and Dad. I was thinking this week how much I truly needed to thank you both for raising me the way you did and for giving me the chance to learn and grow, especially in the sense of being able to leave for the mission. Thank you for helping me prepare and be ready when the call came. I love you both so much!!

All my love,
Kristen

P.S. Homework for the week: Go on the new family search and find the Spanish line.... :) It shouldn't take up too much time honestly... :)

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