Happy New Year :)

I remember New Year's Eve last year in that little pension in Los Errazurriz, making my very mission centered goals for 2014, thinking to myself "This is the only year in my whole earthly lifetime that I will be serving a full time mission. I hope that it feels like the longest year of my life." Well, I am here to tell you that it was just the opposite...2014 ended up being the fastest year of my entire life. I reflected on 2014 this last Wednesday night (as a pension we made pizza and stayed up till midnight to see the fireworks), and all I could think of was how fast it all went. Its interesting...all of my goals last year were for the mission. Almost all of my goals for 2015 are, well, trunkie. So I will just wait to think about them until I get home ;)

I actually wanted to share a great experience that we had this last Wednesday. it was New Year's Eve and we had received special instructions to return to our pensions, safe and sound, an hour earlier than usual, and to return earlier if we felt that people were going a little too crazy. Hermana Damian and I were determined to work up until 8:00, taking advantage of every moment to work. Our hopes got a little dashed as we found that everyone that we had planned was out of town or had family and friends over, loud music, BBQ out front...and not too willing to accept a message from the missionaries. Phooey.

BUT WE ARE DETERMINED MISSIONARIES WHO ENDURE TO THE END!

And at 7:30, we found a new family of investigators to teach :) Just one of those moments where you recognize that God blesses us for our efforts to endure, to work hard, to be obedient...one of the hardest days of the year to work, as missionaries, and we found a family! I love that!

I also have an epiphany from my studies that I want to share. (I'm sorry if you don't want to hear about my studies...I only have so many pdays left, and I want to share my studies! So ha!) Anyone who is even a little bit involved in mission work right now knows that it is very important to help and support the people who have been recently baptized. The problem is that in this zone, many- MANY- of the recent converts are inactive. They get baptized, and within one or two months, they have completely stopped coming to church and accepting the missionaries.

In our sector, we have 4 recent converts and none of them have come to church in over a month. We have tried everything that we can think of to help them, and it feels like nothing works. We have even gotten to the point of writing them letters with scriptures to read and activities to do, looking for the meaning and application of the scriptures, expressing how much we care about them...The only thing I can think of to describe it is that it makes a missionary sad. To see someone who, very recently, felt so full of love and testimony to make the choice to be baptized, and for some reason or another, they just...fell.

So I was reading the Book of Mormon, in one of the best parts, Alma 26. Verse 6.

Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm‍ cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them.

WHEN THE STORM COMETH THEY SHALL BE GATHERED TOGETHER IN THEIR PLACE.
Guys, this life is just hard. We don't preach that it will be perfect upon being baptized, we preach that we will have the ability to endure with FAITH and HOPE for a BETTER WORLD. We preach that we will receive a portion of the spirit of God, the GIFT of the Holy Ghost, to always be with us, should we live faithfully, to help us and to guide us. We teach that we can partake of the sacrament each week to renew our covenants, our cleanliness, to keep the stream steady of blessings and companionship.

We need to be "gathered together in (our) place." And we need to help them continue being "gathered in their place."

That's my epiphany. It pierced me.

I'm sorry that this is short, there was a problem with the connection and my time has been cut short, pero no se preocupen :) we can talk without any sort of Internet disconnection here soon :) Be bold, stay rad, do what you do and let your light so shine :)

Hermana Harkins