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

Temple!

Hey everyone!

This week was so awesome :D. We got to go to the temple with Jaime for his first time which was sooooo sweet. I've been with him from the beginning... taught him every lesson, saw him be baptized, confirmed, worked with him on his family history, and now we got to see him be baptized in the temple for his ancestors. Literally the best feeling in the world. He wrote us the sweetest letter afterwards and talked about how his life has been changed and that we'll be his amigas forever. 

Felicita, another amiga, came to church for the first time finally! She cried all throughout sacrament meeting and said she felt a constant flow of the holy ghost. She shared her testimony in Sunday school about how she was about to die a few years ago from cancer but God saved her. And now she's just trying to live like her life is a gift because that's how she feels. She has a baptismal date for July 4. Hopefully I'll still be here! Transfers are coming up this week and I almost have 10 months here haha so we'll see what happens. 

We went to Cerro San Cristobal today for P-day which was fun. 

Oh yeah! Sooooo remember how I got my mission call to the same mission as the visiting teachers I had at BYU right before I left?? Well, one of them, LJ, showed up at church on Sunday to say hi!!!!!!! Can you believe that?!?! she came back to visit and stopped by to give me a visit. It was so awesome. And actually just what I needed. After being out here for almost 10 months my brain was starting to go crazy and I'm pretty sure i was forgetting my life and it was kind of giving me anxiety hahaha but just seeing her and talking to her was an answer to my prayers and let me know that everything at home was just fine and will still be there when I return hahaha. It was such an awesome day. :)

Oh yeah fun fact... the cup of America starts in like 2 weeks or something and the stadium is in my sector!! So yeah we'll probably hear the game from our apartment haha. 

Love you guys!!!

Hermana Cannon 

1. Me and Hna. Andersen with Jaime, our recent convert at the temple for his first time!

 

 

 

2. Santiago temple. hermoso.

Baptism!

Hey peopleeee!!!

Diego got baptized and confirmed this weeeeeeek!!! It was so awesome and so fun. There were like 10 people there from other faiths which was awesome because he invited his whole family and a few friends. Two of them were interested in hearing from the missionaries so we passed along their information. DIEGO WAS JUST GLOWING THOUGH. I just sat there during the talks thinking about everything that had to happen to bring us all together in that moment.... It all started when me and Hna. Garcia contacted Carlos, Diego's grandpa in the street one day about 8 months ago. Me and Hna. Garcia passed by their house like a bajillion times but they never wanted to let us in. So then one day with Hna. Gil we contacted another guy. Turned out to be Andre, Diego's brother. So we passed by and he wasn't home but then out came Paola. Then she got baptized in March and now Diego! It's the best feeling in the world knowing all those times we passed by for Carlos in the beginning payed off even though he didn't show interest at first haha. Because now he feels like family to me and MIRACLESSSSSS. Can't describe how much I'm gonna miss them once I get transferred.... tengo miedo jaja. But we don't think about that. For 2 more weeks. ow it hurts my stomach. Moving on. 

so yeah it was a great week!!! We wanted to make no-bake cookies today for Pday but they didn't have peanut butter at the grocery store so we just blended up some peanuts and MADE OUR OWN. haha so basically we're the best. We also made french fries. I think we were missing the clog-your-arteries American diet. Felt right at home. Complete with fry sauce. Chileans eat super healthy if you didn't know. And no one really uses salt haha which I've actually gotten used to. 

Daniel also has a baptismal date for July 4 but still hasn't came to church so we're working on that. Felicita, Andrea's mom also has a baptismal date and we are working on her family history which is awesome. Juan Camilo, Diego's friend also has a baptismal date, and Valentina, Diego's sister also wants to get baptized but we haven't even gotten to teach her yet! haha so we're excited to find out what her testimony is and to help her make that covenant. 

Today during personal study I was reading about the Holy Ghost and the light of Christ and how that all works. In the GEE (spanish scripture guide) it describes the light of Christ as energy that is in all of us that gives us life. So I thought of the sun and how it gives life to the plants and helps people with depression and what not, and thought hey, the son is the sun. And then right after thinking about that I read in D&C 88:7 which says "he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made." Cool right??? So now whenever we see the sun we can think of the son and remember we're not alone. :)

I love you guys so so much and hope you can feel my love!!

Con cariño,

Hermana Cannon II

Us with Diego!

American Feast

More feast

Heyyyy!!!!

Hey everyone!! 

This was a great week. Everything is still good to go with Diego so we're super excited!! He should be getting baptized this Saturday. He brought his friend Juan Camilo to church yesterday which was an awesome surprise haha. The bishop and young men's president said they're gonna do all they can to make sure Diego has a special baptism and that lots of people come. :) I LOVE YOU ÑUÑOA. Best ward ever. 

Three weeks left until we find out if I'm gonna be transferred! Weird. Trying not to think about it haha. 

SO HAPPY FOR AMANDA AND KYLE oh my gosh those were literally the cutest photos I've ever seen. And oh my gosh the card board cut out!!!! hahahahah LOVE IT!!!!!! Made me soooo happy :D :D :D

Also lately I've been thinking about the simplicity of the gospel and how sometimes the fact that it's so simple makes it hard for some of us to accept. I read a super interesting talk called "From the Beginning" by Neil A Maxwell maybe?? I think? Can't remember who its by haha. But it talked how simple truths were lost like "God is my loving heavenly father who has a body of flesh and bone" because philosophers and other deep thinkers chose to reject the simple truth and rather look "beyond the mark" to try to understand an incomprehensible relationship. That's where we get the whole--God is energy, God is everything, God is nothing, and lots of other confusing things. And while those are all interesting, it makes it hard for us to see our purpose in life as children of God because we start to lose that relationship. Its hard to explain haha but bottom line I got from it was: we should just accept the gospel truth and embrace its simplicity and be thankful that it is comprehendible and then just jump in and live it. And then when the blessings come we'll be glad we chose faith, and then want to choose it again and again until one day we find ourselves with God. 

I love the gospel. It's probably the best news I've ever heard in my entire life. I love Christ my Savior. He died, but He lives again. And so will we. Its that simple. Choose faith, witness change, live happy. 

Love you allllllllll,

Hermana Cannon II  

Fotos del reunion

Me with the other sister training leaders getting ice cream with President and Sister Wright!

Hey there people

Hehe. I quoted the Lovestrange. :)

HEY EVERYONE!

How are you all? I am in an especially good mood today. Probably the after effects of MOTHERS DAY! Thank you skype. It was so good to hear your voices and see your faces and belly hahaha. Love you guyzzzzz. :) Just wish I could've met Kyle!! Welcome to the family! :D

This last week was pretty great. We had an awesome lesson with two girls named Daniela and Genesis. I think I told you about them last week maybe? but anyways I asked Daniela if she wanted to know why she was here, if life has consequences, other questions of the soul, etc etc and she was like YES that's exactly what has been on my mind lately. So basically miracles! Super excited to see their progress. They couldn't come to church this Sunday because of family stuff but they said they would come next week.

Mothers day was so fun over here! We got to go around and deliver cute Relief society invitations for the sisters that didn't come to church and they felt pretty special when we showed up. :) I love this ward soooooo much. And I get a knot in my stomach whenever I think about transfers.... so we just don't think about that haha. I've been here 9 months now still in my first area. Crazy!

We also had an awesome lesson with a less active member named Nelly. Her husband passed away a few months ago and she was telling us how worried she was about him and if it was possible to see him again. And we had already planned to talk about the plan of salvation so it was perfect. We also talked about temples and that gave her hope. 

Missionary work is the best. :) People are the best. Even the crazies haha. But don't worry, we're being safe. At zone conference I gave a whole schpeel on health and safety as directed by President's wife. Oh yeah I forgot to tell you guys that since I'm a Sister training leader, I help teach zone conference! It's super fun! We have an awesome zone. Everyone is super nice and hard working. 

I just realized that I like never update you guys on the day to day details of what goes on over here haha sorry bout that. If I think of anything else I'll let you know. 

Love you guys!!

Hermana Cannon II    

1. Me and Hermana Jimena Navarro, Mi mam chilena. Basically the best lady in the world. She takes care of me and always gives me gluten free food haha. Love her.

2. I'm an elf! Its starting to get cold over here so just thought I'd whip out the christmas cheer. 

3. Me and my beautiful comp! Everyone here calls her "muñeca" which means doll haha. like literally EVERYONE. The community is her personalized self-esteem booster. 

 4. Us with the Familia Navarro. We spent Mother's Day with them and had a blast!!

Life!

Hey everyone!

This was a great week! we went to stake conference with our investigator, Sonia, and she really liked it. Our mission President was there and gave a talk on the worth of souls. He took a 20 dollar bill, crumpled it up in his hand, then asked the congregation if it was still worth 20 dollars. then he drop in on the ground and stepped on it. Still worth 20 dollars. Same thing with our souls. No matter what we've been through, the choices we've made, the way others have treated us.... we are still grand in the sight of God. He's our father. I never get sick of telling that to people. I love letting people know that they have a father in heaven who loves them. It really creates a paradigm shift in the perspective of people who have never heard that before. 

We also got to teach a less active member this week who we had lost contact with for a little while. She was just full of questions about the church. She stopped going as a girl so when we teach her we kind of approach it like an investigator lesson because she doesn't remember much. It was amazing to see the change and sudden interest she has in the church. 

Earlier today on the Subway a man came up to us and told us he was looking for us. Said he had talked to the elders before. Wanted to know if reincarnation existed. We taught him the doctrine of resurrection and how we don't need to be afraid of death because Christ made it so that we will live again. He said his spirit had left his body before and asked if that was possible. I said I don't know! haha! It was a pretty crazy experience. Then he got off at the next stop and I don't think we'll ever see him again. 

My trainer, Hermana Garcia, goes home to Guatemala tomorrow! So crazy. So me and my companion Hna. Andersen went to go say goodbye. It was bittersweet. Shared some tears and I gave her a letter and bracelet I had made for her. 

Last week during divisions (splits) with Hna. Mendoza, our first two appointments fell through but then we got to teach a  spontaneous miracle lesson to some people that were sitting in their house and asked us if we were lost. We said no but that we had a message that we wanted to share with them. They said sure come on in and we taught a little bit about the Book of Mormon and gave them one to keep. They were 3 cousins, all in their 20s, and had a certain interest in their eyes that told me this was an important moment for them in their lives. So then we went back for the next appointment and they weren't home. :/ dang. But we have them present in our thoughts and prayers and hoping we can teach them again soon! Named Genesis, Daniela, y Francisca. 

On Sunday we passed by an investigator to see if she was home. She wasn't... But her next door neighbors were having a family reunion of like 10 people so we walked up to them and I said, "Buenos tardes!" and to my surprise (cuz yeah I was kinda nervous talking to such a big group of people haha) they all echoed my greeting with huge smiles and immediately started asking us where we were from and what we were doing here in Chile. So then we taught a mini lessons right there in front of their house about the gospel and the Book of Mormon! We left them a pamphlet of the plan of salvation and a Book of Mormon to read as a family. We gave each of the girls a hug and a kiss at the end and to the men a handshake, and during that, one of the women hugged me longer than strangers do and thanked me for the words that were said. It was so awesome!!! They said they have family reunions every first Sunday and that we were welcome to come back anytime. Praying for miracles!!! 

Love you all! Can't wait to talk on Mothers Day! You're all in my prayers. :)

Hna Cannon II

Me and my district: me, Hna Andersen, Elder Turner (leader) Elder Fisk, Elder Robbsinson, and Elder Norris

 

Me and the hermanas in my zone! We cute.