See You On The Other Side

Hola Todos!
This is the last email I will send home as a missionary. My heart is breaking and tears are coming out of my ojos. :) This has been the best 18 months for my life. Maybe I didnt enjoy every minute but I sure did grow every minute. I have seen more miracles than I can even explain. I feel so grateful to come to know my Savior and His goodness through the lives of others and in my own life. I will never be the same. I feel as Alma felt when he said: Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.

I know that God is real. Because I feel Him. He answers my prayers. I know that the Church is true. Because I have seen the truth of it in my life. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God and did indeed see God the Father and His Son jesus Christ. I know that the Plan of Salvation is real. I know that the Atonement is the biggest gift we have been given. The atonement has changed me and continues changing me. I will never be the same. 

I invite you all to pray tonight and ask to feel His love. I promise you will feel it. I have felt it every day for 18 months. 

Thank you for all that have read, written, or sent me. I feel so much support. thank you thank you thank you. I cannot express my gratitude. 

Les amo! See you on the other side!

Con amor,

Hermana Kelson (for not much longer) 

Leah will be speaking on May 21st at 1:00. She will be speaking at the church on the corner of 200 N 200 E

 She hopes to see you all there. Thank you for all your support in her journey.

HE LIVES

Hola Todos!

This week we had 2 Easter Capilla Abiertas! Its was wonderful. WE talked about how to find peace in this life. It is so true that the gospel brings us peace in every part of our lives. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel. 

WE also had zone conference and enjoyed LOTS of easter candy. Its a big thing here too. :) Our President talked about the Book of Mormon. I am a testimony of the BOok of Mormon. The Book of Mormon has changed me. I know that the council from the prophet to read it every day is divine inspiration. If you want to have a clear mind and heart, read the Book of Mormon!

The area is a litle slow. There is a phrase here in chile that is ¨We walked more than the mormons!¨ And we have been using it to contact this week to make people laugh. Becuase we really have walked our tails off! My shoes are so dirty the dont look like shoes.

My companion is hilarious and we are speaking lots of english to help her learn it. She speaks really well actually. But it is funny when we start talking about Disney movies and she realizes the names of the characters and we laugh ourselves silly. 

I want to testify that HE LIVES! And not just sometimes. But always. He lives to hear our cries and help dry our tears. I am so grateful for my Savior. I can say now that I know Him. I love Him. 

I love you all so much. The mission is the best thing that has ever happened to me!

All my love,

Hermana Kelson

Savior On The Mount

Hola Todos!

This week was pretty under the radar. We did 2 exchanges and I got to be with some NEW missionaries. One that only has been here for 2 weeks and another that has been here for only 5 months. They gave me excitement and hopefully I could share some wisdom with them, but lets be honest. I STILL DONT KNOW ANYTHING! :)

I finished the new testament in SPANISH! I have grown so much closer to my Savior in doing so! Goodness I love the scriptures!

Also my companion is hilarious. I think I have more abs thanks to her.

This week after my slap in the face from conference with family history I was studying about it and realized the term ¨savior on the mount.¨As we do family history we act as the Savior did and do a work that these people cannot do on their own. How incredibly beautiful. So if you want to experience the atonement in a new way, DO FAMILY HISTORY!

I love you all so much!

Hermana Kelson 1

leah.kjeldsen@myldsmail.net

WRITE LEAH!

Good Intentions

Hola Todos!

I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves me enough to help me change. Goodness. I have learned so much this week. He takes us out of our comfort zones and makes us become more like him.

Meet this little dragonfly we found!

This week we found a new famliy to teach. The mom is named Maria and her daughter is Franchesca. Maria is the hardest worker I have ever met. She has 4 daughters that she provides for, is single, and didnt even finish elementary school. She has such a positive attitude aobut life. Even though she cant read very well she has been trying to read the Book of Mormon. We taught about temples with their family (a new tatic we are trying to invite people to be baptized which is AMAZING!) and we inviting them to be bapitized. The Spirit was SO strong and they said yes if they feel it is right. Straight up milagros!!

This week our toilet got clogged and went WACKO! I wont go into details but lets just say it was GROSS! We had to buy a powder that I am pretty sure wouldnt be legal in the US without a license because it has a chemical reaction and explodes. You ahve to use a mask and gloves to use it. Which I didnt have so we improvised. Pictures included. :)

This week we used the bikes a lot. It has been a while since I have been on a bike and my tushy is feelin it but it has been really fun too. I got a break from the bikes when we did exchanges and I got to know even more wonderful hermanas! It was Hermana Hill´s (she is in the picture with me) birthday this week so we decided to make her brownies. Our only pan was a circular one so they cooked really weird and looked a little burned on top. We decided to put powered sugar on top but only had normal sugar. We put it in the blender and put it on top without trying them because we just trusted that it would be alright. Turns out the ¨powdered sugar¨ was actually salt. Talk about nasty! I was thinking about how many times I do that in my spiritual life as well. Sometimes I have really good intentions and do the work at hand but not the way that is asked. Thus the results are less than desirable. We see this in scripture study, saying our prayers, visiting teaching, schooling, etc. . . We do the task at hand but without the necessary ingrediants. For example reading our scriptures but just opening to whichever palce and reading 3 verses and calling it our scripture study. It doesnt work like that. LIfe is SO much sweeter when we follow ALL the directions that God gives us. Luckily, He still sees our good intentions and blesses us still. He is so merciful. 

Also conference was the bomb and I have lots of things to improve. 

I love you all dearly!

All my love,

Hermana Kelson 1

leah.kjeldsen@myldsmail.net

WRITE LEAH!

Beggining of The End

Hola Todos!

What a week! Let me just go day by day
Monday: We had a Zone activity in Valpo and went to an art museum and ate the best churrasco of my life. (its like a heartattack on steriods) That night we went to visit Claudio: the husband of a wonderful member. He has heard about the church his whole life and suddenly this week decided he wanted to be baptized. (he got his answer) We showed up on Monday and he said he wanted to be baptized and we put the date for Saturday! HE WAS BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY!! Miracles in Placilla!

Tuesday: I had to say goodbye. I never thought I would love Placilla so much but I did. And all those people. I am crying now just thinking about it. 

Wednesday: CAMBIOS! Here I am in Olmue with Hermana Cordova. She is from Chile! You might recognize her because we were in the CCM together. SHe goes home the next transferr though. She is 25 years old, a convert of 3 years, and spunky, funny, and amazing. AND I get to be a real Chilean for my last 6 weeks. YESS!

Thursday: I got to know the sector. Its a little on the downlow so we are trying to pick things back up. But the house here is the ritziest of the whole mission. IT IS LIKE BEING ON VACACION!

Friday: CONSEJO de Lideres. It was amazing. My favorite part was when Presidente talked about Emma Smith. I gave my farewell testimony which is weird because I still have 6 weeks left but thats okay.

Saturday: Ward party. The ward is great and the people are so loving. Its a little pueblo so everyone knows each other but it is so fun. We ate lots of Chilean food and watched the Cueca. 

Sunday: I got permission to go to Carlas baptism.After speaking in my ward then I went and spoke at the baptism. Carla just glowed. I love that woman so much. It was so happy. Then lunch with hermana y Elder Gould. :) And ended the night with a NDH in the capilla. 

This week I am learning that Heavenly Father loves us enough to let us grow. If He didnt let us change, we would never become like Him. I am grateful for changes however hard they are.

I love you all!

Hermana Kelson

leah.kjeldsen@myldsmail.net

WRITE LEAH!

Hermana Leah Kelson

4 Norte 1112 Casilla 631 
Viña del Mar, Chile

Leaving the Comfort Zone

Hola Todos!

CARLA IS GETTING BAPTIZED! I AM BEING TRANSFERRED! Goodness glaceres what a week! We have literally seen more miracles this week than in my whole mission! I am so incredibly happy and so incredibly sad at the same time. Let me explain.

On Monday Carla calls us on our way to a NDH and she says she wants to be baptized. My companion was on the phone while I was talking with our investigator. When she gets off the phone she asks [What day of the week is the 24th and 25th of March?] My eyes got wide but we didnt talk about it until we got home and she said that Carla had made the decision to be baptized!!!!!!! The joy I feel is not even describable. I love this woman so much and am so happy that after 8 months she is making this big step. This was right after we had fasted on Sunday for Carla and for many investigators. It was the easist fast I had ever done because I was so focused on these people and in such need of miracles. FASTING BRINGS MIRACLES. She will be baptized this Sunday.

Julio recieved the Priesthood and goes to the temple the first time this Saturday.

 

Look at this weird tasty thing. Don't even know what it is called but it is a literal leg of dried meat. Talk about presentation!

 

 

Another miracle: in the morning we were walking and being rejected by everyone and their dog (because there are so many stinkin dogs here) and I just had a breakdown and started crying. It was a hard morning and I was just stressed out. After sitting and talking it out with my companion and being like [what is even my problem!? We do this everyday! We got this!] and getting back on our feet this guy in his car stops us and says [HEY ELDERS!] We walk over and try to explain that we are Hermanas. And he goes, [Oh sorry. I am less active and want to go back to church. Also my son here in the backseat is 10 and wants to be baptized.] I think I had to catch my jaw before it dropped. We took down their info and scheduled an appointment. My companion and I waited for him to drive out of sight before doing a happy dance and laughing and crying like fools. 

Carola twisted her ankle hard time this week. :( Right when we were helping her go to so many members homes (by walking) and she was progressing so much was right when the opposition came. She got really dehearted by it too. She is on rest and cant even work right now. But she recieved a blessing and is doing better. 

 

You know you are missionary when you eat celestial food. jajaja

In thinking about Opposition this week we also saw the new Joseph Smith first vision video (https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-06-01-joseph-smiths-first-vision?lang=eng).

 Es impresionante. Joseph, too, had to experience opposition while looking for the remission of his sins. We will all experience opposition. Especially when trying to repent. But that just means we are doing the right thing. Repentance is always the right and best thing to do. 

I am sadly being transferred from Placilla and my dear companion hermana Olsen. My heart is literally breaking. I have already bawled my eyes out but I am so excited for new adventures. Even if it is just for the last change. Heavenly Father will always take us from our comfort zones to help us grow and change.

Sorry for the novel today. I love you all!

Hermana Kelson 1

leah.kjeldsen@myldsmail.net

WRITE LEAH!

Hermana Leah Kelson

4 Norte 1112 Casilla 631 
Viña del Mar, Chile

Time Is Weird

Hola Todos!

Time is so weird. It goes fast and slow all at the same time. I cannot even explain it .

So Julio got confirmed! And has already been given assignments. THis man is amazing. Also CAROLA was another huge miracle this week! I think I have talked about her before because we taught her with Hermana Stauffer. This week we talked about the WOrd of Wisdom because we sensed it may be hard for her. She has gone from smoking 30 cigarrettes every day to 1. ONLY 1! That is incredible! She has also stopped drinking tea and coffee: a really hard thing for Chileanos with the tea. She came to church on Sunday and LOVED it. She even stayed for the Elders baptizm and just cried through it all. And the members were amazing and already invited her to 2 NDH. Yesssss. . . 

We had Zone Conference this week and learned about FAITH. Faith starts from your thoughts. If you want miralces you need to THINK miracles. If we walk around with this [pucha, I am never going to see a miracle today because its raining and no one wants to hear] then obviously you wont! OUr thoughts show our deepest desires. SO I am trying to correct my thoughts and have more faith.

There was in big fire in Viña that cut our power for a few hours. We are all good though. We started teaching English Classes again and when I teach I feel like I dont know Spanish nor English. Its a weird sensation. 

The church is so true. I hope you all know that. And if you dont, GO PRAY ABOUT IT!

Shout out to Adria Vancott that is comin to CHILE!! #bestcountryever #sipo

All my love

Hermana Kelson 1

leah.kjeldsen@myldsmail.net

WRITE LEAH!

Hermana Leah Kelson

4 Norte 1112 Casilla 631 
Viña del Mar, Chile

Remember Who You Are

Hola Todos!

This week was a little slower but still awesome! My body is slowly dying but I am happy. :) 

So this week Carla has been going through some tough stuff but it has helped her grow closer to her Heavenly Father. We are always wanting to talk about baptism with her because she is so amazing and just needs those amazing covenants in her life but we have been a little hesistant to do it. But this week we talked about baptizm and my amazing companion asked her to pray for a date. She said she had already been thinking about it! Sometimes its even cooler when an investigator takes a little longer because you grow to love them more. I want nothing more for this woman to be baptized. Not because we are baptizing robots but because I want the best for her.

We also had MAURICIO. Another miracle. So we were walking  a lot this week and our inspired district leader called to challenge us to contact all the people with blue shirts. So off in the opposite direction we see a guy with a blue shirt so we go that way and find it is Mauricio. We, hermana Stauffer and I, had taught him a few times and had lost contact. He is 19 and has so many questions. We ended up teaching him and inviting him to Stake Conference the next day. AND HE CAME! What a miracle because it was really far away! There are so many prepared people in our path.

Like I said it was stake conference and it was amazing. Our Mission President and the Temple President from Satiago came and spoke. It was phenominal. But the part that really stuck out to me was what the Stake President Said. He told a story of Elder Rasband. He came to Chile to meet with the goverment. The authority said [Hello, I am Mario Lopez. I am the Vice President of Chile here representing the President. It is nice to meet you.] To which Elder Rasband responded [I am Elder Rasband, apostle of Jesus CHrist and embassador of the Prince of Peace. Nice to meet you too.] WOW! If we all really understood who we are we would act much differently than we do.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Kelson 1

leah.kjeldsen@myldsmail.net

WRITE LEAH!

Hermana Leah Kelson

4 Norte 1112 Casilla 631 
Viña del Mar, Chile