fare-lee-well!!!

Well, yesterday was my farewell! And I didn't write it out word for word, but... here are my notes!

"It's a bit surreal being here, giving my farewell talk because, for me, serving a mission was never part of the plan; I definitely had a different plan. But... 

• 16 driving home from church
• Patriarchal Blessing {peaceful thing} then 3 months later
• Making life plan to fill time
• Age change
• Waiting game to be old enough
• Possible delay for kaysie? Obviously I have somewhere i need ot be I knew the Lord had a different plan for me. 
• Opening call {peace & knowledge}

And looking back, even when I was about to open my call, I was doing it because I knew it was what the Lord wanted and needed me to be doing. A little like Nephi when he said,

 " I ^awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know 

that the Lord giveth no ^bcommandments unto the children of men, save he 

shall ^cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which 

he commandeth them."  

And once I opened my call and started learning about the people in Chile and studying more in depth Preach my Gospel and the scriptures specifically for the people in Chile, I found my own desire to serve a mission that had never been there before. But for me to get to this point, I had to take this huge step of faith to change from an obedience mindset to an excitement and love for the service to be done. So... Faith brought me here.

But what does it mean to have faith? 

We all know the Primary song about faith being like a little seed, but how do we obtain the seed is the question that kept stirring me, till I realized... we were all born with the seed. That seed is the light of Christ. And if we choose to nourish it, it will grow and blossom into a big flower of faith. The bible dictionary says, “Faith is a principle of action and of power” so in order to gain faith, we must act. The first action we must take is to study the scriptures and words of the living Prophets to know what Christ and Heavenly Father have done for us and the gifts they have given to us.

2nd we must pray to our Heavenly Father as it says in Moroni 10:4 

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye

 would ^aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things

 are not ^btrue; and if ye shall ask with a ^csincere heart, with ^dreal intent,

 having ^efaith in Christ, he will ^fmanifest the^gtruth of it unto you, by 

the power of the Holy Ghost.

We must pray with the small faith we have found through scripture study to know if it is true. And when we find that it is, {cause it is} our faith will grow more, and it will continue, Line upon line, precept upon precept.

Then, once we ask, we must continue to act, and to let our actions become greater. We must trust in the teachings, and as we act on the words to love our neighbor, repent, give service, and keep all the commandments, faith will be given to us. And by acting on the small seed that was planted when we began to act, we are changed. Our desires to do wrong are swept away by Christ in his loving atonement and our desires do what ever he ask of us are strengthened. 

Now, there are some times where we are trying and trying and it seems like we aren't gaining much. And when this would happen to me I would get so frustrated and I wouldn't know where to go until a stake conference recently where my Stake President slash Uncle gave a talk that changed it all. {and I hope my little summary can do it justice} He spoke of when John the Baptist was beheaded and Christ went to a private place and how the people followed him. When he came out he had compassion on them and taught them many things. At the end of the day the disciples told Christ that they should send them back home so they could eat and refresh, but instead Christ asked what food they had, and said to bring it to him. They had 5 loaves of bread, and 2 fishes to feed 5 thousand. 

Mark 6:41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

42 And they did all eat, and were filled.

43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.

44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about ^afive thousand men.

Now, the point made wasn't just in that specific miracle, but that this miracle can be experienced every day as we bring our 5 loaves and 2 fishes to the Lord and he will make up for all that we lack. This made a huge impact to me because I tend to be a perfectionist. I want to be able to do it all and do it alone. And I tried that and I did pretty well for a while, but soon it was driving me crazy, I felt I was working hard in school and I wasn't seeing results, I was putting a lot of effort into work but I wasn't getting what I wanted from it and I couldn't excel in my calling because I was so worried about everything else I was trying to figure out. And every time I tried to focus on one thing, my thoughts were taken to the rest of the things that needed my attention. And hearing this made me stop, and tell myself, "Bring your talents, and your efforts to the Lord. All of them. Work so hard every day. But at the end of the day, bring it to the Lord and say, "This is all I have." And he will turn and feed the five thousand. 

We don't have to be perfect to have faith. It is quite the opposite. Because we are all so flawed, are able to gain such incredible faith that we can be made perfect as Christ is. If we will study, and pray, and happily endure to the end. And as we do this, changes will happen. We don't have to think, man I need to find someone to serve today, but instead our hearts will be opened to the spirit's voice and we will know where our help is needed and where we can best be the Lords hands on this earth

I am so excited to serve the Lord and help my family in Chile. To know that everyday there will be an opportunity to have my Heavenly Father say, "This is my daughter. In whom I am well pleased." Our Heavenly Father said this of his Only Begotten Son because of his teaching and perfecting of others, his perfect life, and miraculous atonement. And because of Christ's atonement, everyday you and I can repent, and turn away from our imperfections. And I am so grateful I can teach my Chilean family that they can do the same. That they don't have to deal with their errors of yesterday forever. That they have a Father in Heaven, who loves them more then we can comprehend. And also that they have a Savior. And that because of Him, and His eternal sacrifice, we can say, "I'm trying" and mean it with everything we are, and it will always be enough.

I know that Christ and Heavenly Father live. Not that they lived. That they live. I know the resurrection is real, I know the atonement is the greatest blessing we have, and that through it we can always change for the better. I know my Father in Heaven loves me. I know he didn't want to leave me stranded with no guidance, so he sent Prophets to guide me towards Him. Prophets of old who are the writers of the scriptures; Bible, Book of Mormon, and Pearl of Great Price. I know these are the words of God through his Prophets. And living Prophets who guide me today. I know my Father in Heaven has a plan for me. And all that I do in this life is so I may return to Him. I know this gospel is true with every bone in my body. Never doubt. Always ask if you have questions, but never doubt. ALL things will be made known in the Lords time.

I encourage you to pray. Ask if it is true. 

It is, and He will testify to you all that you need to know.

You are so blessed.

Always remember that.

I want to close with a quote Nina Hill shared before she left oh her mission that had a huge impact on me. She shared: 

I won't give up, shut up, let up or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up and

 spoken up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop,

 preach till all know and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no

 problem recognizing me. My banner is clear: I am a part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."

Well. I am getting set apart in 6 hours so here is my last words for a while! I am so grateful I can serve and am so grateful for all the support I have had. I have so many amazing friends and family {including my ward family!!} who have supported me and taught me so I could do what I am about to! Now, I am going to leave with cheesy youtube song posts... haha enjoy!

p.s. if you want to get my weekly e-mails post below! 

signed with love,

the little hermana