Week 10 - I Love My Area!

October 24, 2017,

Hola Familia y Amigos,

The cutest little girl!

It's crazy how time flies here. Another week gone! Ah, where is the time going!

Wednesday: We had a lesson with F. and a bunch of his family and friends were there, so we shared the lesson with all of them! There was a lot of translating to Creole, too. His cousin has investigated many churches to see what they believe in so he was very well read and asked us all sorts of deep and profound questions. I got to testify through the Spirit about the apostasy and about how many people didn't get to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in that time. I told him that God is a just God, but a merciful one too, and they would get the opportunity to accept His gospel just like he gets to. God is our Father, and he is going to give us opportunities in every way he can, trying to help us utilize our agency. I gave him a plan of salvation pamphlet and told him it would clear some things up:) They Spirit was really strong. The gift of tongues is so real! We also had a lesson with L., but when we got there (a little late) he didn't answer. Hermana S. started to walk away but I felt really strongly we needed to teach the lesson that night. I called him and turns out he was just about to call us! The lesson that night was the best one we've had with him and he opened up a lot. He also told me my Spanish has improved a lot...man, I hope so! And that when I was talking to him on the phone he was trying to decide if it was me or Hermana S., and when I said "oh yeah, yeah" it gave it away..nobody says "yeah" down here, ha!

Thursday: We found an old investigator from the hermanas before us who has had a really hard life. I'm excited to share more with her to help her find answers and peace in her life. I also realized this day how blessed I am to be in the area I'm in! Our area is really blessed and I have seen so many miracles here.

Friday: We went to a lesson of a woman who Hermana S. had visited before, but I had not. When we got there she asked where the other one was, meaning Hnas other comp. She told her she got transferred to another area and I was her new companion. She said she could come back with the other comp but not with new people who she can't trust. Then she told me "it`s not because of you" I thought about this after and how sad that she is letting a change in person get in the way of hearing about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and her salvation. It sounds so loco on paper! We all have been blessed with agency though, and for that I am grateful. While walking home we found one of our investigators getting of at a bus stop with a huge box of pots and pans that he had bought, and there he is limping and carrying the box in one hand. We both asked what he was doing?! He has a bad leg from an accident,and we hadn't been able to find him for a week. Luckily, we still had some time to help carry his heavy box to his house and set up an appointment. There are no such things as coincidences! Pretty sure I say that a lot.

Hermana S. and I doing language study at the park.

Saturday: We had a lesson with L. His dad was there too, who was super hard and unreceptive (and has sat in a few of our lessons). He told us how great he thought it was that we are out here and how he didn't believe in religion but wanted to learn more. Then he told us he forgot to do his assignment (he had taken L.`s family history worksheet, ha ha). The spirit really does soften hearts!! We also taught a Spanish class, which was ironic because I'm the one that needs a Spanish class! But there are Haitians here that have been here 1 to 2 months and know hardly a lick of Spanish and need to find work and communicate with people. It was really cool to help and be able to relate with them.

My new violin, I got today!

Sunday: We found out our investigator who had a baptismal date was moving in 2 days so that was really sad. We also had a lesson with an investigator who went off on how we are so deprived and our rules are terrible and we need to enjoy our time here etc. Hermana S. started crying as he was being really disrespectful to everything we believe and strive for. Finally I told him that I don`t understand some rules either, but I know there is a reason for every single one. Every single one is inspired by leaders who I sustain and I know I'll be blessed for keeping them. Following the commandments and rules of the mission keep me safe and happy. We also had a lesson with F. again who told us some pretty crazy stories about our area, which I will not share for the benefit of you mom:) Don't worry, we are super safe here and protected by the Lord.

I love this gospel and could not be happier anywhere but here in this time of my life! Remember to do the little things-sincerely pray and read your scriptures every day and you will feel the power of the spirit in your life and recognize the hand of God every day. Love you all! Make this week a good one:)

My Hermana Capacitador, Hermana H. from back home!

Mucho amor,

Hermana Briggs

1 Nephi 17: 51 - find a weakness you can strengthen with the Lord's help, for he can teach you to overcome anything-TEACH you but you need to put in your effort for him to help you. I'm working on patience this week:)

Week 9 - God is in Every Detail!

October 17, 2017

Familia y amigos,

This week. Wow so crazy how time flies!

Tuesday: We went to visit an investigator, R., but he wasn't home and when we called him he said sorry he was watching the soccer game, Chile vs. Brazil (fútbol is a big deal here). Now, normally that would be really disappointing, but after we stayed there talking about futbol outside in front of his house (which is weird because we always leave right after), a women came up who lived in the same complex house thing. We started talking to her and she eventually told us she had been at a church that day praying and crying to God for help. And then there we were on her front door. It was an amazing experience and shows how much God is in EVERY detail. There really are no such things as coincidences. She is excited to learn more and read and pray about the Book of Mormon!

Wednesday: Met with R. who accepted a Baptismal date! AH! So cool. Golden. Had a lesson with Ro. and A., a contact from a few days earlier was at her house, too! He started asking us all kinds of questions, like if we had boyfriends and such and what we were going to do after our missions and all about missions and how things work in the church. I think he honestly just wanted to know, but it was pretty funny. We kind of overbooked our schedule and had appointments every half hour, which were all over the place, so we were running everywhere! 

Thursday: Intercambios (Exchanges) with Hermana A. and Hermana Halling (from !!) So crazy, but it was super nice to talk about things from home with someone:) I learned so much this day. First of all, I got to sleep on the 18th floor on the top bunk next to a window overlooking the whole city of Santiago. How does it get better? Oh, but it does. Having a different companion that does things differently shows another way to do things, not wrong or better, but different. I learned I can and need to show personality while teaching. Because I'm trying to speak a different language and understand and teach the gospel by the spirit all at the same time sometimes its hard, but I was called here to this specific place for the person I am and my particular attributes, and I need to use them! I also learned I can teach in English, too! We taught a less active family from China who moved here about 6 months ago and opened a Chinese restaurant. They made us food and it was so good! We taught them about tithing and shared a scripture in 3 Nephi 13:26-33. It teaches that the birds-the fowls of the air- neither sow nor reap, yet Heavenly Father feeds them. Consider the lilies of the field, they toil nor spin, yet they grow. Are ye not better than they? That hit me so hard.  God blesses those who work hard. I've already seen God's hand here with many many miracles, but sometimes I feel alone and get really frustrated with myself.  But I know if I give my all, God will provide IF I put Him first.

Friday: The parejo (partner) of our investigator we couldn't contact found us! He called us out and we have an appointment with them. Ah, man, God is great. Also, Happy Birthday to my darling sister! Big 12. I thought of you a lot and how much I love you!

Saturday: Had a lesson that didn't go so good with L. We invited a member to come with us (which we were and are very grateful for his time and willingness to come) and during the lesson (which was about the Plan of Salvation and temples) he started talking about things that were going way over his head. Basically spraying him and his dad and sister with a fire hose. It was really hard to sit there and say nothing, and afterwards we felt so sick about it. We said a prayer to help him get the best out of the lesson and help us see the good. Afterward we realized that his dad, who is normally really anti and really closed to the church, opened a little and was showed a lot of interested in family history work. That was a blessing. There are always good things if we take the time to look for them!

Sunday: I love Sundays.

Monday: Don't have much time but let's just say it started out rougher but turned better. Communication is really important, and I had the opportunity to apply ¨reaching out when the natural man would look in¨ (from the talk by Elder Bednar I mentioned a few emails ago in the CCM. It's also in the Liahona for this month!) 

Click here to read Elder Bednar's talk from the Liahona magazine.

I love this gospel. I love being a missionary. It's hard, but God never said it would be easy, only that it would be possible and oh, so worth it with His help. Don't forget to do the little things this week! And find the good in everyday. God really is in every detail, we just have to open our eyes to see them. Love you all! Make this week the best one ever, or not. It's up to you:)

Much love,

Hermana Briggs

Week 8 - Chillin' in Chile

October 10, 2017

Hola familia y amigos,

Eating completos with the district.  

Amazing week of lots of ups and downs. It's honestly so crazy how easy it is to get frustrated with things, but I did learn a lot this week and every trial is a blessing! Really, God is blessing me so much out here; its unreal and I'm so grateful for his help.

Tuesday: We taught L., who I contacted the first night I came out to the field. He is so interested, and he also invited his sister to the lesson, who happened to go to a Liahona high school, which is kinda like a Mormon school, but not. It's a Christian school where they teach standards almost exactly the same with prayers and everything, and a lot of members go there. So, she had friends serve missions and such and because of they're examples she was really open to learn more. So cool how the Lord prepares people and puts them in our path! They both said they would read and pray about the Book of Mormon. So excited!

Wednesday: Tried to contact an investigator (the one I asked to get baptized), to no avail. The people she rents from are Evangelist (really strongly too), and when she let us into her house they told her after that they didn't want us there and she told them that we were good people, etc. and yeah, last we heard she was making our investigator find another place to live...super sad. And her little girl was in the hospital too. Ah, keeping her in our prayers. Stopped by F.'s and ahhh, one of his friends (a Jehovah Witness) told him when she found out that he was taking lessons that we were evil and liars. And all of his friends are telling him religion is a waste of time and now he can't drink with them, and all of this is really hard on him. As hard as it is I think this will be a good test of faith for him and will help him grow a lot stronger! I challenged him to sincerely pray about the Book of Mormon and the truthfulness of it. He's awesome and I know he can make it through because of the countless blessings that come through keeping the gospel!

Thursday: First lesson with a new investigator! M. and B. They are super ready for this gospel. Also side note..people in Chile talk so much. So much. Sometimes its hard to teach anything because they just keep talking and you don't even have to say a word! It's good, though, 'cause you get to know them really well..well when I understand it, ha ha. Also, Chileans speak so bad, they all admit it too! There's a lot of slang language and they speak really fast and don't say their "s" at the end of words and such. One day we talked to a Peruvian and, oh, my goodness I could understand almost everything, ha ha, it's so crazy!

Friday: Harder day with a really great ending. We invited two of our pregnant Haitian investigators to a Relief Society party baby shower with games and food (empenanadas, yum) and it was so fun. They are so, so funny I could go on and tell some pretty funny stories, but don't have time. The hermanas that came up and talked to our investigators were angels, because everyone wants a friend and to feel included. Wherever you are, make an extra effort to get out of your comfort zone and find someone that needs your help, because I promise there is someone who does and God will use you to bless lives!

Saturday: Taught L. again about the Plan of Salvation! Oh, man, he kept asking questions and wanted more and more. Nobody answered or wanted to talk to us this day. And we decided to drop one of our investigators who has been taking lessons for a long time, but just isn't progressing. We've spent a lot of time with him and that was pretty sad.

Sunday: I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting! So scary. But good at the same time. That night was a Charla Foganera (or fireside) with the entire mission for investigators with music, videos, and testimonies of recent converts. F. and L. came and the spirit was so strong! I know they both felt it. It was also so nice to see members of my district and other missionaries out in the field just like me! We are all in this glorious work together. 

Monday: District reunion. Super great. Talked to the Peruvian and he wants us to drop by tonight to share more. His brother who has passed away was a member and he told us how he remembers when he got baptized how he noticed how his life changed for the better and is super interested in everything we had to say. I was able to speak a lot more than normal, and I know it was because I had the spirit with me and within our companionship. I'm slowly getting the language, but only with the help of the Lord. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes with speaking Spanish when I have the spirit with me strongly. I have a really strong testimony of this now, that I need to be worthy and seek for the companionship of the Holy Ghost, and He is helping me more than I even realize.

Today! I got to attend the temple!! Almost my whole district in the CCM was there and it was so good to see familiar faces. Really, they're like my family out here. And I just love the temple. I'm so blessed I get to go so often out here! Also had an activity with our district (pictured below). We ate completos, which are like hotdogs with tomatoes and mayo and guac and are SO good. Then we played volleyball and soccer. 

So grateful for all I'm learning and experiencing out here! It's hard, but amazingly good too. I love you all and hope you find a way to make someone else's day. It will make your day, I promise! 

Much love,

Hermana Briggs

Week 7 - This Work is So True!

October 3, 2017

Familia y Amigos,

Ice cream, me and Hermana S.

What a crazy week! I hope you all took time out of your day to watch General Conference. Conference is a way God speaks to us directly, we just have to exercise our agency to take advantage of it! I encourage you all to go back and read through the inspired talks and you will find answers to your questions and be inspired by the Spirit to help you with whatever you need.

Thursday: My actual first lesson! We taught a young mother named Y. This was her second lesson I believe, and I was the one to ask her to be baptized, and oh, man, it was kinda scary and I don´t think she completely understood me but she said she would be in time when she learned more! This gospel seriously brings so much home in the lives of people. We added another hermana making a trio for the day while her companion was at a meeting at the mission office, so that was fun. We read the Book of Mormon with F., a Haitian whose family is still in Haiti but he came here to find work and support his family back in Haiti because politics are really bad and so is finding work. There are a lot, and I mean a lot of Haitians here doing the same thing or in the process of bringing their families here. It's amazing the courage and strength they have. Most of them are learning Spanish or only know a little, very similar to me, so I can relate with them really well. Some of them only know English because they took it in school (and French and Creole, of course). 

All the sisters in my apartment

Friday: one of the harder days. We taught J. (another Haitian) who has been taking lessons for a while and has been taught everything about the gospel. He had a baptismal date but it was moved back because his leg got ran over by a car I think, I could have heard wrong. But now it's a lot better but says he wants to wait until his Spanish gets better. I had the opportunity to strongly testify to him that it is not a requirement to God to know anything perfectly, and God trusts in us, but we need to trust in Him. I testified in my broken Spanish that God know what we are capable of, and we need to act on the faith we have. Faith without works is dead. I told him that God will bless him so much is he acts on the faith he has. I also promised him that if he read the Book of Mormon out loud in Spanish, he would learn faster and understand people and by the end he would know Spanish. This experience really helped me realize how much I need to trust God in my life. It's too easy to get frustrated or down, but I need to see beyond that because it's not possible to have faith and fear at the same time. And I have faith!

Watch General Conference here!

Saturday: GENERAL CONFERENCE!! And I got to watch it in English!! This was a really inspiring day for me. the Between the talks and during my personal study I found exactly what I needed to keep going. And it rained all day. It was crazy! The streets were flooded like rivers, and you know in movies when the water come up and splashes all the people on the sidewalks when the cars drive by and it doesn't seem like such a large of a splash is possible? Yeah. That's not just in movies. I think my favorite talk was President Uchtdorf's, talking about being a disciple of Christ. I love conference because not only are the talks good to listen to, but if we listen with spiritual ears, God will whisper thoughts and revelation into our minds, personal for our own lives. We stopped by L. that night, who was my first contact! He is super interested in knowing about his purpose here on the earth and I wanted to tell him everything in one visit! I can't imagine what it would be like to not know about the plan of happiness! We stopped by Felipe's (from Haiti as well) who has had a few lessons and told us he is getting baptized. We didn't even ask him too, ha ha. He and his family are amazing, and he's sharing the gospel with everyone in his family. He just needs to get married here in Chile and then he can be baptized! His brother was there that night and told us he wants to start taking lessons because he's noticed such a big change in his brother. Ah, so amazing!

I love this family!

Sunday: Another wonderful day of conference. F. and J. both came to conference and loved it! That night we stopped by F.'s again because he invited us to his and his nieces (the cutest baby in the whole world- she's in the picture, but she was kinda tired when we took it ha ha) birthday party! There were a bunch of Haitians there and he was so excited to share his culture and food and family with us! It was super cool, just being there with his family. I could feel the strong bond of love they had for each other. And many of them wanted to learn more about the gospel or had questions. And the food. Oh, boy, was unreal. 

Delicious Haitian food!

Monday: Zone conference, which was super good. 

I could go on and on with stories and feelings, but really the bottom line is this work is so real and so true. It blesses lives like nothing else can, and I'm really grateful to be a part of it. No it's not always easy, okay, never easy, but, oh, so worth it. Hope you all have a great week! Love and pray for you always.

Much love,

Hermana Briggs

Week 6 - I'm a Misionera Verdad! (Missionary for real!)

September 27, 2017

Familia y amigos,

Leaving a wonderful CCM President and family.

Wow, I don't even know what to write about, ha ha. So much has happened and changed!! I've been assigned to the Las Gardenias barrio (ward) and got here last night! My new compañera (companion) is Hermana S. and is superbueno! She has been in the mission for 8 months and is awesome. The last couple days have kinda just been a blur because there has been so much change and so much information, and now it's only in Spanish! So, sometimes it's kinda rough..but esta bien! Apparently it takes 6 weeks to get adjusted to a certain place, and as being in the ccm (missionary training center) for 6 weeks I was just adjusted to everything; the food, the schedule, teachers, people, culture. Then Tuesday I said goodbye to the wonderful CCM and set off for the real world. 

Santiago, Chile Temple

We first went to President Morgan's super pretty home in a nice part of Santiago, and WOW, Santiago is SO beautiful! Rolls of green hills and trees and flowers! If there wasn't so much smog and you could actually see the mountains across the valley it would be even more so! Hermana Morgan fed us a Cafe Rio type of a meal which was SO delicious and nice to have a home cooked meal! I had a little meeting with President where I shared my testimony of the Book of Mormon and while I did that he said that every time the missionary's trainer's picture comes into his mind and that's how he decides which trainer is for each missionary. Super cool. 

My AMAZING MTC (CCM) District.

We met our trainers and then left in a taxi to a place where a member picked us up to take us to our house. There's another companionship that lives in the house with us, and apparently they had a different house before but there were a lot of problems so they changed just yesterday. Genial. (Great). Let's see...All of this was really overwhelming. So much change in so little time and now I'm fully submersed in the Chilean culture, which is super cool, but kinda hard when you have no idea what anyone is saying and really just smile and look nice, ha ha. I know the language will come with time though.  Time and study and faith in God. 

All the sisters at the CCM.

This morning we traveled the 1.5 hours back to the mission office by metro!  Which is so super cool and there's so many people! Bus (or micro) and metro and taxi are the main ways of transportation. Our area is pretty small but there are a lot of people that are really open to listen, and I'm excited but really nervous to start teaching tonight. 

Adios to my two great companions

Last night we were contacting and I felt we should go right. We started knocking (okay not knocking, here in Chile there are gates in front of every house so when you want to knock you yell "alo!" like a doorbell sound..kinda different and it takes practice, ha ha). That side of the street didn't seem right so I said we should cross and we found a man who was super receptive and we have an appointment for Thursday! The spirit is so real. 

My new companion, Hermana S! It's kinda weird having a girl companion!

Sorry that was all so scattered! Hopefully it made sense. General Conference is this weekend, and please watch it everyone! I know that the words of God are coming from the mouths of the apostles and prophet and if we heed them we will find answers to our prayers. I love and think about you all all the time. Thank you for your prayers and support! I feel every one of them. Have a great week and do some good!

Much love,

Hermana Briggs

Week 5 - Fiestas Patrias!

September 20, 2017

Hola Familia y Amigos!

Last Wed: Got to go to the temple (with a family name! it was really special) and it was amazing. Seriously the best temple experience yet. I know if you go to the temple with a specific question in mind he will answer you! We went back into the city that night because we felt like we were supposed to give out a  Book of Mormon, or LdM (Libro de Mormon) to someone. So we walked to a nearby park and we all felt like we should talk to a lady sitting on the bench feeding her mom. So we did. She´s Christian and told us she doesn't talk to people much because she's always taking care of her mom. I told her about the Plan of Salvation and she was super interested and said she would be happy to meet with us! So we got her address and number and gave it to the missionaries serving in this area. It was really neat to see how God can use us as His instruments!!

Thurs: Met my mission president to be! He was dropping by the CCM (Missionary Training Center) for a meeting and came and talked to our district after (because my whole district is going to the same mission, East) and he's super nice and awesome! He told us he's assigning our trainers and oh, man, I´m so stoked!! I can't wait for the field! I hear he's an amazing mission president and I can tell already how inspired he is. 

Friday:  I started getting a little sick, and we played futbal (soccer) again with the latinos. Pretty sure we lost...like always, ha ha.

Satuday: Pretty normal day. I have better stuff to write about in the other days so hold on..

Sunday: BEST Sunday I've ever had, wow! I learned so much. In the morning we had a devotional where we watched a talk given by Elder Bednar on Christmas day 2011, and if you guys can find it, WATCH IT. It changed my life and whole perspective. I'm gonna quote from my journal and tell you a little of what I learned: Elder Bednar quoted Elder Maxwell saying, ´´There would have been no atoning sacrifice without the character of Christ.¨´ Think about that for a sec. Christ always, always turned outward with love, service, and compassion when we, the natural man, would turn in and be self absorbed, self centered, and self observed. My mission isn't about me. It's not about what I want or if I want to be changed or how many baptisms I have (see how many I's was in that?) It's about serving the Lord. Also, there's a large difference between a testimony and being converted. A testimony is what you know to be true. Conversion is consistently being true to what you know. and what do I know to be true? Christ. Christ who always turns out. So to be true to what I know I need to turn out away from myself through the atonement and strength of the Lord, because we can't do it by ourselves. Repentance was the topic this Sunday (I also gave a talk in Spanish during sacrament meeting!) and I learned that repentance is more that being forgiven of our sins. It's changing and turning ourselves to become more Christlike. Repentance, along with being a tool to be cleansed from sin, can be used to help us become better and develop Christlike attributes. I am striving to exemplify these.  All of us lack perfection, but repentance and the atonement can help and allow us to turn out, overcoming our self absorbed interests. We can't become Christlike without Christ's help. It's not possible. Repentance should always be active in our lives, not just when we sin. That's when we we begin to be truly converted, or consistently true to what we know. (2 Nephi 33:10, Mosiah 3:19, Alma 23:6)

Enjoying Independence Day in Chile!

Monday: BEST DAY EVER. Dieciocho is a HUGE holiday in Chile. It's like their 4th of July, or Independence day and they go crazy. So this day we got to wear normal clothes and we had tons of food and meat and played games with teams and cheers and more food and meat and relays and tug-o-wars and seeing traditional dances all day. It was amazing. Don´t have much time left to write about it but you can see the pics!:)

Tuesday: The second day of the big holiday! It´s the day to honor the military and armed forces, so there was a military parade down the street in front of the CCM with a band and each section of their armed forces. It was really cool and I have so much Chilean pride now, ha ha, like I think I'm half Chilean :) Also, I really encourage you all to take a fresh Book of Bormon, think of a question and read it, marking it up and looking for an answer as you go along. Elder Bednar suggested this in his talk to and I've been doing it and it's amazing!

Sorry I don't have much time, but this week has been amazing and next week I'll be writing from the FIELD in SANTIAGO!! I pray for you all and hope you're doing well! Go do some good in the world!

Much love,

Hermana Briggs