Conference Weekend

Hey everyone!

So a little bit about what's going on right now.

Hernan is doing great! We taught him about his upcoming confirmation (he has to wait another week to be confirmed because this week was conference and next week he'll be out of town) and what it means to receive the gift of the holy ghost. I had a lot of memories flash back from my childhood of times I had felt the spirit. I told him about how many times as a child I would receive warnings or promptings from the spirit and would act because of them and be blessed. The spirit was also the reason I finally decided to serve a mission. I had been receiving gentle yet persistent nudges from the spirit just about everyday for a year before I finally surrendered and said okay fine I'll go haha. He's super excited to receive that same spirit as his constant companion and we are too. :)

I love seeing the way people react to hearing about the things for the first time that I have known all my life. It makes everything fresh and new to me and I really see the sweetness of the gospel and remember what it means to be a Latter-day Saint. I don't think I would've quite understood that without serving a mission. It helps to step outside the box and see yourself from the eyes of those outside. Seeing the way the gospel changes people and gives them a new light is beautiful and probably the most fulfilling thing I've ever done. 

We're working with someone named Eduardo (the one who is in a wheel chair and half blind) who has already had a notable change from realizing the existence of God. Ever since his accident 30 years ago he's been pretty angry. But we taught him about God, eternal life, and resurrection and even though he still hasn't developed full faith, the hope of having a perfect body someday has really lit up his countenance. We taught him how to pray and every time he does he can't stop smiling. 

Adrian is also doing super great! He came to all four sessions of conference! He is awesome. During one of the talks when it started talking about baptism he looked over at us and pointed to himself as if to say, "this one's for me." We are hoping that he will accept a date to be baptized this week. 

Were seeing lots of good things right now in Cristobal Colon. I just wanna stay here forever haha. I would love to spend the rest of my mission here if possible. We'll see! Plus I have the best companion ever. Hopefully she'll be the one to kill me haha (the one I end my mission with). 

Hope you guys are all doing amazing. I said a nice long prayer for lots of you last night so you're welcome haha. :) Love you sooooooo much!!! 

xoxo

Hermana Cannon II 

1. Haven't changed a bit

 

2. Me and my compy!! XD

 

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. 

 

: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