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. 

 

:D

Hey everyone!!

It's been another great week here in Cristobal Colon! We're already in week five out of six of this transfer which just blows my mind. Hna. Vega and I have already been through so much and I feel like I've been with her forever even though I'm technically still new in this sector haha. Time is flying. I had like a kind of sureal time warp experience today haha. We went to some other hermanas apartment so they could cut my hair (yay my second trim during my whole mission haha hooray) and saw some missionaries walking down the street so we stopped to say hi. Turns out this was like their last day in Chile because they were all finishing up their missions and as we got ready to say goodbye they were like, "ahhh the last six months fly by sooooo fast!! Enjoy every second of it!!!" And I was like, "YEAH IT DOES." So that gives me anxiety haha. But not really though because Hna. Vega is teaching me a lot how to really live in the moment and absorb every bit of happiness the moment has to offer. Also I've been studying repentance a lot this week and that has really opened my eyes to a lot of things I was missing out on before. I feel like my eyes have opened up like on the Claritin Clear commercial when they peel away the fuzzy film and everything brightens up a little. IT'S SO COOL. That's what a change of heart will do for you. Aka repentance. Pride is so funny because you truly do believe you're right, but then when you open yourself to the possibility you could be wrong, and then you actually learn you were wrong, and then you change, life gets soooooo much better. But when we are still blinded by pride, we honestly think there could be nothing better than our own ideas, and we end up missing out on a whole bunch of awesome happiness. I feel like I accepted Alma's invitation in Alma 5:26. It talks about how when we experience a change of heart, we get filled with this awesome desire to just sing the song of love at the top of our lungs because we feel redeemed. Then we asks at the end, if we haven't felt that way yet, can we feel that way now?? If we have a heart and it's still beating, the answer is a yesssssss! :) As long as our clocks are still ticking, we can just go ahead and be redeemed as much as we want. 

So yeah. I love the gospel. :) And I love teaching it. We had a really cool lesson this week with a girl named Jimena. She's 17 and we were explaining the plan of salvation. She had a lot of really great questions and by the end she said that she had received a lot of answers that she had been wondering about for a long time. She accepted to be baptized on Sept. 27. :)

We were also teaching Hernan this week, who was a reference from the mission office, who also accepted to be baptized. We also went on a temple tour with him this week which was really beautiful. They let visitors stand in the reception area so we just stood there for a while to look around and feel the spirit. I swear it's tangible in the temple. It was a really cool experience being there with him and getting to see it through new eyes. I think sometimes we take the temple for granted, especially if we live in Utah and there's five temple in every city haha. But by seeing the temple through the eyes of our investigators, it's really opened mine up too and I've really come to appreciate and marvel at the temples. Not only are they magnificently beautiful but they're the house of God. 

Hope you guys all have an awesome week! Also go to the temple if you can because it's the best ever. Or even just to the grounds if you don't have a recommend just to sit there and feel the spirit. It's almost just as tangible in the gardens haha. 

Love you guys. :)

Hermana Cannon II  

1. Hna Vega hit 9 months in the mission and the baby's showing ha ha

 

2. We went running! Woohoo! Go us.

 

 

3. Temple tour with Hna. Vega, the other Hermanas, Hernan, and Danny

 

 

 

 

4. Gettin' my hairs cut XD

 

 

 

House Upon a Rock

Hey everyone! :) 

Wow, what a week it has been. I've learned sooooo much this week. I knew progress was awaiting me with transfers happening, and now that I've been here for about 2 weeks, it has come true haha. 

There have been a lot of challenges this week--new sector, new companion, new everything. I felt like I started my mission all over again haha, since it was my first time being transferred after a year. And through it all, I've learned now more than ever what it means to rely on Christ. I have never felt so strongly the strengthening power of the Atonement. It makes me brave. It makes me endure. It makes me not worry about what other people think. It gives me a reason to believe I can and should do difficult things. And as I do the right thing, no matter how difficult, no matter how much it seems like I should be suffering, I feel extremely happy. And that happiness is overwhelmingly reassuring because it's undeniable. My faith is becoming unbreakable. And wow is that something I needed to learn. This for me, is a testimony of many things. That God really does inspire the transfers, that I can learn more through the spirit, faith, and action than I ever could just through study, the power of Christ is real, the spirit really is a comfort, everything that Jesus taught in Matthew 5 is true, and so much more. 

So now I'm just praying with all my heart that I can stay firmly built upon Christ, because if I can, I won't fall. I know that, not just because it is written in Helaman 5:12, but because I've lived it. 

Love you all so much :). Keeping you in my prayers.

Hermana Cannon II   

Starting from scratch!

From August 4, 2015

Hey everyone!

Just finished week one in my new area--Cristobal Colon. I loooooove the area. Seriously so beautiful. Trees, green, the sweetest apartment buildings ever, and really nice people. It feels like a completely different world haha. My new companion is Hermana Vega from Peru! So far I've had 2 Peruvian companions (Hna. Gil and Hna. Vega), 1 from Guatamala (Hna. Garcia), and 1 from California (Hna. Andersen). Just in case you wanted an update haha. And this is my second area. We'll see if I finish my mission here since I was in my first area for 11 months! haha. We'll see. I'd be happy with that. 

So miracles. 

Literally such an awesome sector. 2 weeks ago, Hna. Vega and her other companion (before I got here) were walking down the street and met Evenlyn. They just randomly said hi to her and then she stopped to talk to them. Turns out she was a less active member and wanted to know where the church was. So they gave her the address, got her contact info, and made an appointment. She came back to church that Sunday for the first time in about 15 years. Then I got here and we had a lesson with her and her husband Jaime, who is Catholic. We talked about the temple and eternal marriage and my heart was literally about to melt off my chest when Evelyn testified to Jaime about how she wanted to be with him forever and how grateful she was to have met the sisters. He's been totally supportive to her about getting reactivated but has been kind of closed off himself. Until the other day when she told us that a friend had asked him if he was going to join the church and he said "ya never know." Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh they are so incredible. Her example is so inspiring to me.... coming back to the church after 15 years of no contact whatsoever. Her faith is so strong. 

So yeah! It's been a great week despite the fact that I feel like I just started my mission over again haha. It's okay though. Growing pains. Change is good. I can't let myself think about Ñuñoa too much though or my heart starts to hurt haha. I had to leave behind a lot of people I love and a lot of progressing investigators who I still think about and pray for constantly.... But Hna. Andersen and her new companion are AWESOME and I'm excited to hear about the miracles they're gonna see. :)

Love you guys so so much!!!

Hna. Cannon II 

Here Comes the Son

Helllllooooooo everyone :)

It's has been SUCH a great week. I've finally resurfaced and am breathing fresh air again haha. And learned a TON. I've realized yet again that the only one I can truly trust is Christ. He is stable. Unchanging. Constant. Perfect. And the only one whose footprints we can follow without getting dizzy or confused. I keep learning that no matter how well-meaning people can be or how hard we try, we just fail haha. We truly do need Jesus Christ because he is the center of our lives, whether we realize it or not. He is the center of the universe and all the life in it. I learned a little bit more about that when I was reading about Astronomy in the guide. Did you know theres a whole section on astronomy in the topical guide?? Yeah. It's awesome. 

But yeah! So realizing this again made for a good stream of self progression, and companionship progression, which was reflected in the progress of our sector. So weird how that works. Carlos, Paola's father in law, finally came to church for the first time and I got to sit by him. It was so much fun helping him through the hymns, explaining the sustainings, etc. We even got to take the gluten free sacrament together. It was a really great experience and he seemed happy and nervous all at the same time. 

Emilio also came to church and we had a really great lesson with him last week. It was the first lesson I've ever given as a missionary in ENGLISH. It was soooo cool. He lived in the states for a while and actually requested that we do it in English so that's why we did it. But it was so refreshing to hear my testimony in my native tongue haha. It was somehow more personal. I could really just reach inside and express more acturately what was going on in my heart. And Hna. Andersen did the same. We made a really special connection with him that night and were happy to hear of his intentions to join the church. Now we're just hoping to be able to explain to him that being baptized is much more than that. 

Love you all soooooo so much. Hope you have the best week ever and that you can remember where the center of the universe is and keep your eye fixed on Him and that way feel more balanced. 

All my love,

Hna. Cannon II  

Progress, sucking, rock bottom, and charity

Hey everyone!

 

So I had kind of a defining moment last week. We went to go teach an investigator and we found her in the street outside her house, grinding marijuana for her dad. He took the container of weed, took a nice long sniff and shoved it towards my face and said, "you guys don't take this do you?" I immediately backed away and said no. He said that was a shame and went on to roll it, lite it, took the first drag, and then handed it to his 15 year old daughter who followed his example and smoked it as well. It broke my heart. I told them that the weed was controlling them, but that Christ could free them if they would let him. I asked them if they wanted to stop smoking and the dad initially said no, but then thought twice and said, "well if I could start my life over again I wouldn't do it, but I'm 50 years into this now and I don't want to stop." I told him that if he really has the desire, he can start over. That he can start over and this time, in Christ. He refused and we walked away with my heart still beating--feeling a little short of resources as far as how to help him. 

I don't think I would have stood up like that at the beginning of my mission. So even though I felt bad about him not wanting help, I felt happy because of the progress I saw in myself. 

Still trying to stay focused and motivated every single day. Sometimes it's hard to be in one sector for such a long time, but that just means I need to pray harder and search deeper, passed the failed attempts of the past and try to see these familiar streets as untouched possibilities and open doors. But I also love being here for such a long time because I get to see the progress from start to finish, like I mentioned with Jaime the other week. Contact, lessons, baptism, confirmation, and then the temple. And that has been SO cool to see.

Also have been learning huge lessons about charity. Trying to wash my window instead of viewing the world as the dirty thing. Trying to be like Christ. Trying to learn more. Pray more. Trust more. Believe more. Everything more haha. 

It's crazy the difference in my life when I really pray verses just chatting. Or reciting. For me I've seen that sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom to bring me to my knees in such a way where there is nobody else in my world... just me and God. Even though its kind of painful--falling from such a high place to rock bottom (aka realizing I suck and developing humility haha) those experiences are some of the most sacred and special times I've had on my mission. It's exilarating and touching to see other people make covenants and change lives, but there's nothing like realizing the necessity of my own salvation. And the sensation of being rescued. Even if I have to learn it on my knees on the bathroom floor of our apartment.

So my prayer is that God can use my lame-ness in such a way that these people really can get the help that they need. I know He will. It's his specialty. Making miracles out of the weak and dismal. 

I'm down for that. :)

Love you all more than gluten-free anything.

All my love,

Hermana Cannon II

Last picture with President and Hna. Wright! Our new President will be coming in the next couple of weeks (President Marty Morgan. Hear he's awesome too!)

 

 The best district you have ever seen.

These "American" chips came with ketchup. Who do they think we are?

 

 

 

Still in Ñuñoa!

Hey everyone!

So we just had transfers and I'm still here!!! hahahaha crazy right? By the end of this transfer I will have been here for 11 and a half months. Almost a year. And actually a few weeks ago I was thinking that maybe I needed a change to stay focused, but then after me and Hna. Andersen had like literally THEE best weekly planning session ever, I got really scared that I wouldn't get to see the miraclessssss. So when they told me I was staying I was SO HAPPY!!! We're teaching some really awesome people right now and are praying harder than ever so I can't wait to see what happens! 

So we've been working with a less active member lately named Juana and she finally came to church for the first time after 20 years of not going! And she brought her 21 year old son who isn't a member so we're gonna try and start teaching him. Also we had lunch with Jaime (our convert who got baptized in March) and his entire family who aren't members on Sunday. It was AWESOME. We talked about eternal families and how if they all accept the gospel and are baptized, they can live with the promise of having an eternal family. It was so awesome and so powerful. I could see in their eyes a flood of possibilities as they considered it. We've talked to Jaime's family before and always invite them to listen in on the lessons, but they've always said no. But then after talking about how important their family is to them, Jaime's sister and mother finally accepted to take the lessons and we made an appointment. Ahhhhhhhh we can't wait to teach them!!! They just kept saying they can't believe how much Jaime has changed... and that to them is proof that miracles happen. He really has changed so much. 

Oh! and Diego's friend came to church again this week-- for his third time. They both came in button down shirts. One of the members in the ward bought a tie for Diego so he's excited to start wearing it. :) Also we'd never met his friend's parents but we called his mom yesterday and she said that she was also interested in getting to know what the church is all about and to see what her son has been learning. So we're gonna meet with her as soon as she accepts an appointment! She said see was busy this week but hopefully she can next week. 

Oh yeahhhhh.... remember Jorge Manriquez?? The investigator that I was teaching with my first companion at the beginning of my mission?? The one whose baptismal date kept falling through? Well we stopped teaching him for a while but last week we decided to invite president and Hna. Wright to come with us to the appointment to see if they could help him out. I just couldn't drop him without one last push. I mean, he read the entire Book of Mormon and said he believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet!!! So we had a pretty intense appointment with President and Hna. Wright but nothing changed :(. He's a good man and doesn't have a bad life by any means but I know he would be so much happier living with the promise of a covenant and learning how to be more like Christ. That's probably one of the most valuable things I've been learning while being out here. There's a huge difference in my mood and temperment when I'm trying to be like Jesus.

So yeah it was an awesome week. :) Love you all sooooo much!!!!! 

Hna. Cannon II