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

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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