Week 33: BATEM! BATEM!

Joel with our ward mission leader who baptized him.

Hola todos!!

Joel got baptized on Saturday!!! Batem means baptism in Creole haha. (Joel and his wife are from Haiti) Let me tell you guys his story. In the area book, we have lists of hundreds of names and addresses of people that the previous missionaries have contacted. They are just people that missionaries met on the street and gave their address. About 2 months ago we saw Joel's name and just added it to the list of people we were going to visit that day. We passed by the house and his wife opened the door and said we could come back on Saturday. We came back and Joel was home with a bunch of his friends. There was a bunch of bottles of alcohol out and as we started talking about the gospel Joel said he could never get baptized because he likes to drink too much. After that we weren't sure what to do but we went back the next Saturday and Joel opened the door and said he was preparing everything to go to church the next day!! AND HE CAME WITH HIS WIFE AND BABY! From that point on, we began teaching him the restored gospel and with lots of help from the Spirit and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Joel was able to quit drinking alcohol and coffee in like 2 weeks. He accepted everything we taught him and after about 2 months he was baptized!! All throughout those 2 months, he said he was trying his best to fix everything in his life to be baptized and he did it!! 

On Saturday he arrived early all dressed in his white clothes and we saw him enter the waters of baptism!! A lot of ward members came and it was such an awesome day full of the spirit! The atonement is so real and as a missionary, I have a front row seat in watching how it changes lives. It makes all the long days of walking in the hot sun or freezing cold (It's getting really cold in Vina) worth it just to help one person come unto Christ! I know Joel is going to stay a faithful member of the church and one day baptize his wife and daughter! Joel is so special and has really become a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to teach him and see him change!

And let me just say his daughter, Joessie, is the cutest little Haitianita I have ever seen in my whole life! Its so lame the mission rule that we can't hold babies. haha

Have a great week everyone!!

Week 32: Baptism next week, hopefully!

 At the Villa Dulce Ward Relief Society anniversary celebration! 

Hola Familia!

So I've been sick like all week with a sinus infection and then I got my companion sick. So we´ve basically been dying all week haha. 

Also Abraham wasn't baptized. He said he didn't feel ready so we are hoping and praying for this week! But Joel committed to be baptized this Saturday!!!! He has come to church 5 times, he chose who he wants to baptize him, he answered all the questions to the interview, no sweat! We have a lot of faith in him so PLEASE everyone set a little time aside in your prayers to pray for Joel!!

Not much to tell this week. We basically do the same thing every day haha. We had to drop a few people we were teaching because they weren´t progressing so now we are on the hunt for more!

But even on those hard long days where we walk and walk, I remind myself why I am here! I am not here for myself! This mission is not about me. It doesn't matter if I am tired, or bored, or sick of people rejecting us. I'm here because the Lord called me and because I am his mouthpiece! I have seen first hand that it is not missionaries that convert people, it is the spirit and the hand of the Lord! 

Love you all!! Until next Monday!

Week 31: Things are looking sweet in Villa Dulce!

Marcela and her whole family came to visit me in Villa Dulce! They are the sweetest!

Hola Familia!!

We are going to have a baptism this week!! So remember the family that just rolled into sacrament meeting last week? They came because the daughter wanted to bless her baby. Well, the family doesn't have much interest in the church but we started teaching their son, Abraham, last week. He said as soon as he walked into the church he knew it was the house of the Lord. He accepted to be baptized in the first lesson and was actually disappointed when he found out he had to wait a WHOLE 2 WEEKS  to be baptized haha. He is really sweet and so excited for his baptism! 

Joel also has a baptism date for this Saturday, but doesn't feel completely ready. He said he has to fix some things in his life before but won't tell us what he needs to fix. It's a little hard to help him because we don't know how. he was able to give up alcohol and coffee so I know he really wants to be baptized. So even though it's not this week I know it will be soon! 

We found another family where the mom is inactive but her daughters are really interested in the church and they came to church yesterday! The mom for the first time in like 20 years and her daughter Daniela who is 22! Daniela is the cutest! She is so friendly and outgoing and I just want to be her best friend. haha. The downside is that in relief society there was a heated argument about feminism between 2 sisters. It was super super uncomfortable and my companion and I just wanted to leave with Daniela and her mom before any real damage was done. We are still a little worried that they aren't gonna want to come back to church after that scene. 

ALSO, MARCELA AND HER WHOLE FAMILY CAME TO THE WARD IN VILLA DULCE TO VISIT ME YESTERDAY! IT WAS THE BEST DAY EVER AND MARCELA BROUGHT EMPANADAS FOR ME AND HERMANA DEL VALLE! 

But we have been working hard and finally seeing the fruits of our labors! I love the ward! and I love this sector! Some days are really hard but its all worth it! 

Con mucho amor!! 

Hermana Snyder

These pictures are of us with the Mardones family. They are probably one of my favorite families in Chile. Yesterday we had lunch with them and we laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. They went to a Daddy Yankee concert last night (Parker should know who DaddyYankee is) and so one of the pics is of us with Daddy Yankee masks. haha! They are the best!

Week 30: Miracles are happening!

Hola Familia!!

Miracles keep happening in Villa Dulce! Yesterday at church, Joel and his wife Mikerlande came to church with their baby! We had a lesson with Joel this week and we were a little nervous because we planned to teach the word of wisdom and we knew he likes to drink. When we first taught him a month ago he said he didn't want to be baptized because he liked to drink. But as we kept teaching him, we really saw the hand of God change him. Before we even started the lesson on the word of wisdom he said "Hermanas, I committed yesterday to stop drinking because I know I can't be a man of God if I am drinking"  He didn't even know it was a commandment to not drink!! He just stopped because he knew he needed too!! We taught the word of wisdom and he was a little disappointed that he can't drink coffee but he said if God can help him quit drinking alcohol, he can help him quit drinking coffee too! He is sooo awesome and I have really seen the gospel change his life in the past month!

Also a whole family who aren't members just walked into church yesterday out of nowhere! Ok not out of nowhere, the daughter in the family is friends with a member and wants to bless her baby in the church. After church, we talked to them and they want to learn more so we are going to teach them tomorrow!! MIRACLES!!!

We also found a family where the mom and one of the daughters are members (inactive) and the other two kids aren't members. We taught the whole family and the kids want to be baptized! The mom and daughter who are members came to church for the first time in like 10 years yesterday! The kids who aren't members (Carolina y Franco) couldn't come because they went to visit their dad for the weekend but we are going to try to get them to come next Sunday! 

Today was fun, Hermana Del Valle and I went to Viña to go shopping with Keila (a recent convert). Keila is hilarious and has such a strong testimony. She is like our best friend in the ward and she showed us all around Viña. 

Oh and one other miracle that happened this week...We started teaching a woman named Daniela. She just let us in her house and we started teaching the Doctrine of Jesus Christ. She lives alone and has been without a job for a long time. We could tell that she was feeling really sad and lonely. We started talking about prayer and she said it has always been hard for her to pray. That she has never fully trusted in God. We bore our testimonies of prayer and she started to cry and committed to pray that day. The next day we called Daniela and GUESS WHAT?!!  She told us that she prayed as soon as we left the house and the next day she found a job!!!! If that's not a miracle I don't know what is! Its pretty rare that we get answers that quickly to our prayers haha. We met with her again and I asked her if she believes it was the hand of God that helped her find a job and she said absolutely. She didn't come to church so that was a little disappointing, but we are going to keep teaching her!

But this week pray for Joel, Mikerlande, Carolina, and Franco!!! There is a lot of work to be done here in Villa Dulce! I love being a missionary and sharing the gospel! I love all the people I have met here in Villa Dulce but most of all I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ! There are so many people here that need to hear the gospel and I am blessed to be the one to deliver this message!! 

I love you all and am praying for you every day!!

Love Hermana Snyder

With Keila

Shopping in Viña