I'M ALIVE

So this was the craziest week everrrr!!!!! hahah I'm sure most of you heard about the earthquake right?? Yeah that was the craziest scariest thing I've ever experienced ever!!! hahaha. Me and Hermana Maxfield were just sitting there in the apartment doing weekly planning as usual, when all the sudden we feel the room start to quiver a little bit. We just sat there still for a while and didn't really think anything of it since we had already felt a few small earthquakes since being in Chile. but then after about 20 seconds right as I was expecting it to stop, it starting getting wayyyy stronger!!! hahhaa  So of course I start freaking out and Hna. Maxfield's just like "Get to the door frame! Get to the door frame!" So I get to the door frame and am just gripping the sides of it for my dear life and just start praying harder than I ever have before!! I literally saw my life flash before my eyes!!!!! hahahah It was so crazy. I have never felt so vulnerable ever in my life haha. Then when things calmed down we peaked out side and saw our neighbor Isabel who was out of breath and trying to calm down her dogs. She told us to get out of there so we got out of there haha. When we got down to the bottom floor (we live on the fifth floor) we saw that the majority of the residents had also come downstairs and among them we saw one of our investigators that also lives in our building. When I saw her I just hugged her as hard as I could and was so happy that she was okay!! But then we had to leave because we had an appointment with Hernan haha. Missionary in any weather!!! So then we went to teach Hernan and he was totally calm and just like, hey if it's our time to die it's our time to die! haha. Then during the lesson there was like two aftershocks!! haha but they were just small. Since then I've felt two others in the middle of the night and another small one during the day. People are saying that we are still waiting for a bigger one so I'm just getting my last confessions in! haha. Nah I think we'll be fine. Santiago is built for earthquakes. Nothing fell and no one was hurt over here. But there were about 12 people in northern Chile that died but its super far from where we are. But I was pretty shocked to hear that. Calling all prayers for northern Chile! 

But yeah so that was the craziest thing from this week haha. But don't worry I am totally fine and even though I was scared out of my mind for a second there I thought it was overall the awesomest experience ever haha. XD

An another note, Hernan is doing awesome and is getting baptized this Sunday! :) He is so awesome and is amazingly prepared. It's been a really great experience teaching him and has been amazing how readily he has accepted all the new commitments. We were a little worried about tithing so we had our ward mission leader teach about that during gospel principles. Another investigator, Ruben, was also there that day to hear the lesson and last week, our ward mission leader said he saw him filling out a tithing envelope. 

The faith of these people is so inspiring and strengthens me every day. We're also teaching someone named Adrian who is just amazing. We asked him to share his testimony with us and then found out that he had been receiving little signs every few days that made him think about us, The Book of Mormon, and baptism, and let him know that this was the path for him. He went away on vacation for the Idependance Day weekend (Sept. 18th in Chile) and when he got home he told us that he had brought with him 2 books-- his Book of Mormon and another novel he was reading but that he couldn't read the novel because all he wanted to do was read the Book of Mormon. We went through the chapters he read and he showed us the connections he had made between the stories and his own life. I saw something in him that I had seen before in myself and it brought tears to my eyes. It's amazing to see someone discover their spirituality and to feel a personal connection with God. I felt such a deep love for him and knew in that moment that when I opened my call back in Provo in April 2014, God wasn't just calling me to Santiago, Chile, he was calling me to Adrian. It's something I haven't always felt out here but something that I keep feeling more of as my conversion runs deeper and deeper. There is something eternal about the relationships I'm developing out here, and I can't deny the feeling that tells me we've always been a family and that these people are truly my brothers and sisters. It gives me an amazing sense of identity no matter where I am or who I'm with. And it is amazing to testify of that to the friends we are teaching, feel the spirit, sense in their eyes that they felt it too, and flash back for an instant beyond the veil and feel the love that has always been between us, regardless of age, gender, race, or nationality. Its so incredibly beautiful. 

I love this gospel. I love this work. I love being a missionary. I love being a disciple of Christ. I love all of you. I love Chile. I love everything!!! Even earthquakes haha. :)

Sending allllllllll my love,

Hermana Cannon II   

1. Me and my cute companion :D

 

2. Unclogging the nasty drain that had never been unclogged since the beginning of time

 

3. We love food. Gluten free pasta. 

 

4. Elevator because why not

 

Transfers!

Hey everyone!!!

Well I'm staying another transfer in Cristobal Colon! Yay!! But I'm getting a new companion which is super crazy!!! Hermana Vega and I only had one transfer together which is suuuuuper short for this mission. So we'll find out tomorrow who my new companion will be! I'm super excited :) Definitely gonna miss Hermana Vega but change is always good. 

So last week we contacted a few young girls in the street and made an appointment to come back a few days later. Then at church on Sunday, a member from the other ward that meets there came up to us and said, "Hey you guys met one of my students in the street!" Turns out she is a local high school English teacher and the girl we contacted was her student! She said that once everyone found out she was Mormon they all started asking her questions and made a pretty big deal about it, haha. She also said that the girls we contacted started passing around the cards we had given them to the other kids in their class. So now the whole school knows about the church all because we contacted those two girls in the street!! Super cool. I loved hearing about that because sometimes its hard talking to so many people and never really knowing the effect we are having on them. All we can do is just pray every night that the people we gave cards to can just open their heart and start their search. And when they do it's pretty incredible. 

Lately I've been telling people about how I've been growing my testimony that the gospel is true. I realized that before my mission, I would pray to know if the Book of Mormon was true but hadn't felt that I really received "the answer." I had had spiritual experiences and felt that it was all true, but it seemed more like a "I hope this is true because I've spent my whole life following it so far and the blessing of an eternal family would be pretty amazing!" instead of a truly secure feeling of truth. I've realized now that before I don't think I was really praying with "real intent." I just wanted to know so that I could say that I knew. But out here on the mission I realized that I need to have an action plan, or feel an urgent need in preparation for some future happening if I want to receive a more direct answer. It was the same with Moses. God wouldn't have parted the Red Sea if there hadn't have been an urgent need--saving lives. After realizing that I contemplated my life and told God that if these things were true, and if he really was going to give me an eternal family, I was willing to do "such and such and such" and I told him specifically the direction I was willing to take my life and the sacrifices I was willing to make. It was kind of scary and I was nervous, but I told Him. Then later that day I received another witness, but this time stronger and more dawning, that this gospel is true. Those moments and feelings are usually the only things strong enough to keep me on the path when my doubts seem to get the better of me. They fill me with hope and reassure me that tomorrow the light will reappear. And it always does. Sometimes it takes longer than just a day haha but it always comes back. 

The security that I have felt during this transfer through this spiritual growth have been pretty incredible. I hope to always always always remember how powerful diligent, sincere, and direct prayer is for the rest of my life.

Wish I had time to write more but that's it until next week! 

Love you guys! :)

Hermana Cannon II

1. Got to see a bunch of people from Ñuñoa at a huge multi-stake devotional we had with President and all the missionaries! Soooo good to see them again. 

 

2. Me with Juana and Leonardo from Ñuñoa. Hna. Andersen tells me that Leonardo is on date to be baptized next month!!

3. Our last P-day together with Hna. Vega. (me, Hna. Vega, Hna. Bajaña, Hna. Mendez)

 

4. Me and Hna. Vega :)

 

 

Hey fam! (from Sept 1, 2015)

Hello everyone!!

hope you're all doing great as usual. :) 

This has been another great week! We went to the temple again but this time with a newly married couple named Jaime and Evelyn. Evelyn is a member and Jaime is Catholic, but has been totally supportive and willing to listen to our message. He even comes to church with Evelyn almost every week. It's pretty awesome teaching them because all Evelyn wants is an eternal marriage and family and is constantly bearing testimony to her husband about that possibility for them. Hoping to see more progress in him this week!

We're actually teaching 2 other couples like them, so we've been teaching a lot about eternal marriage and family these days. It has got me thinking about what and who is really the most important in life. I've also been studying a lot about repentance lately--it just keeps jumping out at me haha--which has made me take a look back into my past and see what I've done wrong. It's been kind of heart-wrenching haha but also incredibly eye opening. As I recognize the things I've done wrong, it gives me an incredible hope for the future. It's super frustrating to know you need to change, but not know how. But by having awesome companionship inventories and being slapped in the face by the scriptures, it has helped me to figure that out. I still have a long ways to go but each time I make progress, I feel a LOT happier and hopeful. Moroni 8:25-26 and Alma 5:26 are becoming some of my favorite scriptures because of that because they describe how someone feels after having a change of heart. And it's sooooo true. 

We also taught Hernan this week who is on track to be baptized Sept. 20! We're also teaching Jose Jimena, Sergio, and Patricia who have also accepted baptismal dates. Not sure if I mentioned them before... but yeah it'd be awesome if you guys could all pray for them so that they can keep progressing and make it to their baptismal dates. :) They're doing great so far, but some of our appointments have fallen through which is never good. But I know they'll be okay if we do all we can to help them. :)

Hope you all have the best week ever!! Love you!

Hermana Cannon 

1. Yayyyyyy finally got your package Momio!! thank youuuu! 

2. Us at the temple with Jaime and Evelyn :)

3. Me with my sister training leaders and bffs :D Hna. Aponte who I've been together with since the MTC and Hna. Clawson (oh and I forgot to tell y'all that I got released this transfer from being an STL)

 

 

4. Me and my cute comp. We did our hair today. Go us.