Week 76: One more week and last email as a missionary

Isabella and I. Isabella is the dog that follows us every day! All-day!

Wow! 

I can't even put into words what this last year and a half has meant for me. There is nothing that compares to the mission. It has by far been the hardest year and a half of my life... I can't lie, but I also feel like it has been the most worth it. I have grown so much, learned so much, and grown to love people from the other side of the world. Chile will always have a piece of my heart! I have grown to love so many people and so many families here. It's honestly gonna be really bittersweet to leave them. I know the gospel is true and that Christ is our Savior. I wouldn't be here if I didn't know it!

Being a missionary is so cool because I feel like we get a front-row seat to watch the power of the atonement work in other people's lives and in our own. I have seen people make incredible changes in their lives because they have relied on Jesus Christ completely. I have also seen changes in my life. I have had to trust 100% in Him in this work. There have been so many times on the mission where the only thing that keeps me going is knowing that the Savior understands me. He understands the fatigue, the rejection, the heartache when people don't accept the gospel. But He also rejoices with us when people do accept the gospel! He rejoices too when families come together and when people pray or read the Book of Mormon for the first time. It is incredible to know that I have the most powerful being at my side to share the most important message in the world. 

It's going to be really hard to say goodbye to all the amazing people I've met here. I've also met the most incredible hermanas! They have helped me grow into a better person. Through all the ups and downs that the mission has brought me, I couldn't be more grateful for this experience. It has helped me grow closer to the Savior in a way that I never could have if I hadn't come here. 

I love you all so much and I'm so excited to see everyone again! Thanks for all your support, love, and prayers! They have been felt all the way here in Chile. 

 

I've still got a week left to finish it off! Everyone, please pray for Manuel! He is so close to being baptized and is so ready but is having doubts. 

Con mucho amor, Nos vemos en un ratito!

Hermana Snyder

Me with Manuel and Josefa´s kids. They are the CUTEST EVER!

Hermana Vianka and I. She is the best! One of my favorite people ever!! She made me tacos to celebrate my birthday last week.

We found a pamphlet from the Jehovah's Witnesses in the bus. So we stuck our own right next to it... So at least people have a choice. :)

intercambios with the hermanas from La Serena

Last session of weekly planning (Hermana Souza and I drink mate every day and she made me sweet mate for our last weekly planning together. haha) 

California... here I come!

Week 75: Leonardo and Joaquin's Baptisms

Hola!

Thanks so much for the birthday wishes!! Sorry I didnt have time to respond to everyone but just know that I did read all of them and I appreciate it so so so much! I seriously have the best family in the whole world. I'm so excited to see you all again soon! I've had a great birthday so far! It's Pday so I got to sleep a little bit more (the best birthday gift ever, haha!) then we went to a crepe restaurant with the other hermanas and they sang to me and gave me a card. Also, I got calls all morning from all the members wishing me a happy birthday. 

We had such an amazing week! Joaquin and Leonardo were baptized and it was so so sweet. Leonardo said he felt so awesome after coming out of the water and Joaquin said "I feel so spiritually relieved." haha! I know they are only 9 and 11 years old but they have really strong testimonies of Jesus Christ. They are helping their families come back to the church too.

We also invited Joaquin's dad to be baptized on January 25 and he accepted right away! He actually told us that he has dreamed about being baptized and it is something he really wants to do, so he can be sealed to his family in the temple! If thats not the cutest thing you've ever heard I don't know what is! Seriously they are the cutest family in the whole world and I'm so grateful that I've had the opportunity to teach them and help their son be baptized. 

I went to my last zone conference and I had to give another dying testimony. It was a really good conference and left me really inspired and ready to work hard my last few weeks of the mission!!

We saw so many other miracles last week. We found so many new people to teach! Seriously the Lord is blessing us so much! I love sharing my testimony every single day as a full time representative of Jesus Christ! 

I love you all so much! Nos vemos in a quick 2 weeks! 

Hermana Snyder

Week 74: FELIZ 2020! Its gonna be a good year!!

Hola!

We spent año nuevo with a really awesome family that just moved into the ward. They are young and super fun. Here in Chile the tradition is to eat dinner really late like at 11 and then celebrate the new year. We were even later and we started eating at like 11:30 and had to rush to finish before 12. Normally in Coquimbo there is a big firework show but they didnt do it this year because of all the problems that Chile has been having. But there were still a bunch of people shooting off their own so we still got to see some. 

Everything is good to go for Joaquin and Leonardo's baptisms! We actually changed them to be on Sunday so that more members can go. We havent seen Gonzalo in a while becuase he has been really busy. We are really worried because he and his girlfriend who has been bringing him to church broke up. We arent totally sure what happened but he still wants to meet with us. So that is a good sign. About 2 weeks ago he told us he is not doing this for his girlfriend, he is doing this because he really feels its true. We havent gotten the chance to talk yet but on thursday we are meeting with him.  So keep praying for him!

I went to my last leadership conference in Viña and it was really emotional giving my last "dying testimony." It was also really really hard saying goodbye to the other hermanas. I know I'm going see most of the gringas back in the US but saying goodbye to Hermana Sanchez from Colombia and Hermana Del Valle from Mexico was the worst. I don't know when I'm going to see them again. (I havent said goodbye to Hermana Varela yet because I will see her my last day... thank goodness. Thats going to be horrible to say goodbye to her too) But seriously the hermanas that I have met here on the mission have literally become some of my best friends. That is one thing I love about the mission. If I had never come I would never be best friends with people from the other side of the world.

We went to the Cruz again for p day haha. Me and two other elders from the zone had already been, but today it was hot and sunny so the view was a little better this time. 

We have a big week coming up and we need all the prayers we can get for Leonardo, Joaquin and Gonzalo! 

Les quiero mucho! Nos vemos pronto!

Hermana Snyder

P.S. When we went to viña the bus got there super early the day before the conference. Usually we get to Viña at like 8 pm but last week we arrived at like 4pm. So with like 5 hours to spare Hermana Souza and I went to Villa Dulce because she also served there! I GOT TO SEE JOEL AND HIS BABY JOESSIE!!  It was so awesome and we totally surprised him haha. But he is super active and he and his wife go to church every Sunday!! We also went to visit the bishop's family. It was so awesome and wonderful to go back to Villa Dulce after a year and see that my convert is still doing good! 

A surprise visit to see Joel and Joessie!! 

Goodbye Hermana Sanchez

Goodbye Hermana Del Valle

Goodbye Hermana Rice and Hermana Beach

The Cruz

Week 73: Feliz Navidad!

With Hermana Souza on Christmas Eve

Hola Familia y Feliz Navidad!!

It was such a good week and such a great Christmas! Even though Christmas on the mission is spent away from the family I think it is spent a little closer to Christ than any other year. As missionaries, we are absolutely 100% focused on what Christmas is really about. Christ! Everyday we talk to everyone, we teach, we testify, we serve, we study, all about Jesus Christ. 

Here in Chile they celebrate Christmas the night of Christmas Eve and we spent it with the Familia Arqueros. They are an awesome family in our ward and they invited their extended family so in total we were like 20 people! It was so fun! We ate soooo much food, and so  many desserts and then we shared a message about Jesus Christ. Here they open all the presents on Christmas Eve so we watched all the kids open their gifts and the family also gave us some presents too... it was so fun. 

The people we are teaching are doing good! We started teaching a woman who is less active named Josefa. We found her like 3 months ago in the street and she told us that she's an inactive member and asked us where the church is. We visited her like 2 times after that and then lost contact, but about a month ago she showed up in church with all 4 of her little kids! She has been coming every Sunday since then and now her husband is coming! We started teaching the whole family and they are soooooo sweet. Joaquin (the oldest son) is 11 and wants to get baptized and her husband is also really receptive! Also Marialex told us starting the new year that she is gonna be able to come to church because her family is going to stop working on sundays! She wants to go soo bad and get baptized so keep praying for her. 

Seriously the Lord is blessing us so much here in Coquimbo I have never had so many people so prepared and ready to make the covenant of baptism! Please pray for Gonzalo, Leonardo, Joaquin, Marialex, Maria Josefina, and Camilo. They are all soooo close! 

I also did intercambios with hermana Folkman and she is definitely one of the funniest people I have ever met. haha! It was a very entertaining day with her.

Love and hugs to you all and Happy New Year! 

Hermana Snyder 

So many desserts!! I made American chocolate chip cookies and everyone was so excited about them. They were the first to get eaten. haha! 

the familia Matamala (one of my favorite families that just moved out of the ward 😢)

Hermana Folkman and I 

Week 72: Merry Christmas Miracles! So many people to teach, so little time left!

Singing Christmas carols for kids with disabilities (Hermana Souza is standing next to me)

Hola Familia!!

Oh my gosh the work is taking off here in Sindempart! First of all I absolutely love my companion! Hermana Souza is from Uruguay and she has already taught me so many things in our few short days together. She teaches so well and really knows how to follow the spirit. We had some incredible teaching moments last week so Ill tell a few.

We taught Gonzalo (not Gustavo dad) and he is progressing so well. As we were teaching him, he actually started telling us that he feels like his faith is failing. He actually got really emotional and said that he is having a hard time believing in God. I told him about an experience that I had not too long ago. I was in intercambios and the rudest women ever started calling us liars and saying that the Book of Mormon was from the devil. She said we are wasting our time and energy here and honestly I started to question a little bit if what I am teaching is true. If leaving home for a year and a half was for a good cause. I felt a little bad for doubting but that night I prayed and got a the clear confirmation that what I am doing is ABSOLUTELY TRUE. The book of mormon is true and the Church of Jesus Christ is the true church. I told Gonzalo that that expience of questioning and a little bit of doubt drove me to seek out the answer and in the end it strengthened my testimony so much. He is a really spiritual person and I know he will find his faith again. At the end of the lesson Hermana Souza read Mosiah 18 that talks about baptism. Gonzalos got so emotional that he actually had to leave the room for a minute and the spirit was soo strong. He knows that it is true and he told us it is the desire of his heart to be baptized. He feels like this is what he is looking for. If all goes well he is going to be baptized on january 11th and I am so so happy for him. 

We also found a girl whose whole family are members but she was never baptized. Her name is Maria Josefina and she said a ton of missionaries tried to baptized her but she never wanted to. But she said she feels something different from us and accepted with enthusiasm the invitation to be baptized! She also came to church yesterday with her dad so we are so excited for her! 

We also went and sang christmas hymns at an organization for kids with disabilities with all the missionaries from Coquimbo and Serena. It was so cute and on the final song we went out to meet them and we sang with them. The spirit was really strong and I know they loved it. 

For our zone activity we met up with La serena and we had a gingerbread house making contest ( pictures included) 

Overall a week of incredible miracles. Im so happy to be teaching the restored gospel! I know its true and I know everyone needs it! 

Have an amazing week and a merry christmas!! 

Hermana Snyder

Zone activity making gingerbread houses out of cookies and gift exchange. 

Week 71: Last Transfer!

Hola Familia!!

I don't have a ton of time so this is gonna be quick! We saw a lot of tender mercies last week. We met a lot of awesome people who gave us a lot of encouragement to keep going! 

Cambios (Transfers) are this week and I am staying in Coquimbo but hermana Brooks is leaving :( My new companion's name is Hermana Souza and we were actually in the same zone in Quilpue! She is from Uruguay and she is AWESOME! She is such a hard worker and I'm so excited to be her companion! 

We went to the hospital and sang Christmas carols to all the patients this past week. It was so sweet to see the patients faces light up when we sang and see how grateful they were for a little christmas cheer. One of the staff of the hospital actually took a bunch of pictures and posted them all over social media so we are basically famous now. haha. 

Gonzalo is doing good and really trying to learn all he can. We are also teaching a kid named Leonardo and if everything goes well they will both be baptized on January 11th! Please pray for them! I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and am so grateful to be a missionary.  

Love you all,

Hermana Snyder

Hermana Graciela and I (She is an hermana from a different sector, but I have done intercambios (exchanges) with her and I absolutely love her! She is one of the most christlike people I know)

Macarena - Another member I love!

Marialex (The venezolana we are teaching)

La familia Arqueros (One of my favorite families in the ward)

Leonardo and his family

Week 70: Christmas Time is the Best Time to be a Missionary!

Pictures with Santa for our Christmas Activity (Santa was actually an Elder in our mission who is a little on the chubby side. haha! He was so funny! )

Hola Familia!!

Ok, so I'm not gonna lie it has been a few hard weeks here in Coquimbo. We have been working so so hard, I think the hardest I've ever worked in my mission and we just kept hitting dead end after dead end. Some people we are teaching are now ignoring us and don't want to recieve us, other people just don't want to make commitments, and we are a little discouraged because we have just been doing every possible thing to bring people to Christ. Saturday night we were a little sad looking at all the work we did and the few "results" that we are seeing. But Sunday was a day of miracles! 

After sacrament meeting a women came up to us and said she wants us to teach the guy she is dating. The woman's name is Antionetta and her boyfriends name is Gonzalo. We went and taught him that same afternoon and the spirit was so strong when we taught about the first vision. After, we asked Antionetta to give her testimony about the Book of Mormon and Gonzalo started to tear up. He told us that this is what he has been looking for in his life and that he is interested in getting baptized. We set a date for him to get baptized on  january 11th!! its in about a month, and we have a lot of faith in him. He has already been going to church for about a month and a half and we have seen him every Sunday. That's huge! He seems really prepared and he is just the miracle we needed to not give up hope! 

Last week we also went to the center of Coquimbo and we put up banners of Light the World and sang christmans hymns with the zone. I think a lot of people thought it was kind of weird but I think a lot of people enjoyed it too. The Chilenos arent really used to people singing Christmas carols in the street, so it was kind of cool to see all the people smile as they passed us. 

Christmas is the best time to be a missionary! Its the best time to talk about Christ and his role in all of our lives.

Hope all went well with Zach and Maelynn's wedding. So happy for them!

Love you all,

Hermana Snyder 

Hermana Romeu (Pres. Romeu's wife) gave all the sisters matching bracelets

By the ocean. My happy place!