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Mom and Sis.. waiting...

Waiting with Abuelita..

She is at the top of the stairs...

She is coming down...

Here she is...

Mom is sure happy to have her back...

Dad is also happy...

All together once again...

Home Sweet Home..

Welcome flags..

Chile - Osorno - Week 72 - .. Conclusion..

I can´t believe this is going to be my last blog update from Chile. I really have no words to express how I feel, but overall I feel pretty calm.

 These last few days I have had lots of time to reflect on this past year and a half, and I have come to the conclusion, that my mission is just beginning. This time in Chile was just preparation for a bigger mission that the Lord has in store for me. I was just here to learn and help people along the way. I do not end my mission this week, I'm just ending my training. 

The mission was the "MTC" for my life. There were so many things that I needed for my future that I wasn't going to be able to learn it at home.  The Lord called me on the mission not only to help others, but to help myself. I needed the people more than they needed me. I needed my companions more than they needed me. I needed to be converted, I needed to learn how to pray and study and trust in the Lord. Even though I went for others, I needed it for me. Now that sounds a little self centered, but its true. 

These 18 months changed my future and I will never be able to thank my Father in Heaven for giving me this opportunity to serve and represent my Savior Jesus Christ. .-I tried my best and He trusted me enough to do his work for a time and blessed me so much along the way.  What more could I ask for?

I am going to miss the mission so much, but I know there is nothing left here for me. I did what I needed to do, and now I am needed at home. I have another mission ahead of me, and I am looking forward to applying the things that I learned in this mission! 

My treasure that I am bringing home from the mission is my testimony. Not only my testimony, but my conversion. I know without a doubt that my Savior lives. I know that His gospel has been restored and is on the earth today. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that by the power of God he translated the Book of Mormon. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it is our map to get back to our Heavenly Father. This gospel is true. I feel like saying that "its true" just doesn´t do it justice.  Its the truth and the only truth. 

The mission was the best choice I could have made for my life. I don`t think I will go a day without thinking about my mission. I loved every moment, the good and bad. I have grown so much thanks to those hard times and I wouldn´t change a thing. I am so grateful for the person I have become and I'm so glad I get to bring her home with me! 

Just because I won´t be "Hermana Segura" anymore doesn´t mean I have to go back to being the person I was before, and that comforts me. I´ll be "Hermana Segura" forever, everyone will just call me "Sam" for short. =) 

I really don't know what else to say. I feel like my thoughts don`t really make sense, but that's okay!

I just want to thank you all for your support and your prayers for the missionaries around the world. They are God´s army and are saving much more than lives. They are saving the souls of our brothers and sisters. This is God's work and he needs our help. 

May we never be ashamed to share this wonderful message with everyone!  

Glory be to our Father in Heaven. 

See you Friday.....

Hermana (Sam) Segura ;)

Last pic at the plaza...

Volcan Osorno on the way to Purranque.

Chile - Osorno - Week 71 - .. LAST WEEK....Coming HOME!!!!

I never thought I would say the words "Ill be home next week." However.....

I WILL BE HOME NEXT WEEK!!!! 

Where did the time go? These last 18 months have passed by so fast, but they have been so wonderful. 

Excited to start my last week on the mission, not because I will be coming home after (Although that is a bonus) but because I am going to be able to apply everything that I have learned in the last 18 months, to these last 10 days! What a blessing! 

I am going to be the best missionary I have ever been, and ever will be!

Going to enjoy every moment of this week! Not sure what else to say cuz I want to leave my "last words" for next week! ;)

Time to leave it all on the field! 

Hermana Segura

We had another Baptism! This is Yasna, I actually met her in Punta Arenas,
and then she moved here were we finished teaching her!
Saturday she was baptized with her Parents! Small world!

Selfie with the storm that was coming to attack us....
we got a little wet after...

With my Colombian Sistas!! Hermana Cordoba is from Bogotá and
Hermana Acosta is from Cartagena!  It was so fun doing intercambios with them!
They accepted me as one of their own even though I'm only half! ;)
Going to miss all my Hermanas.

"Yo quiero ser soldado fiel, alado del Señor...."

Gonna miss being apart of a district. 

Chile - Osorno - Week 70 - .. Bautismo !!!!

Well, as you can see Claudia was baptized this weekend! I really am so happy for her and for her family! It was quite the process to get here to this point, but it was all worth it!

At her baptism, I learned an important lesson. We actually were not sure if she was going to get baptized this weekend or not, so we didn't tell or invited anyone until after her interview on Thursday. Her interview went a lot better that we had expected and she was much more prepared that we thought so we decided to go ahead and  have it this weekend! We found ourselves with a problem because suddenly we had a baptism in two days and we didn't have anyone attending, speaking or doing anything! 

There was no program or preparation.....nothing....

Saturday we found ourselves inviting every random person we could find and asking other missionaries to bear their testimonies and such. I was so stressed out and then the thought came to me, "what are you freaking out about? these things aren't even important. She is making a covenant with Gad, that is what's important."  I didn´t realize it then, but I'm pretty sure that was the Spirit telling me to take a chill pill.  It was so true.  We were worried about every little detail, except for the one that mattered most.   I feel like we do that a lot of times in life.  We worry about every other little thing, except for what really matters.  Claudia most likely wont remember who said what at her baptism or who was there, she is only going to remember how she felt. That is what matters.

 

So folks, take a chill pill. Don´t stress about the little stuff. Focus on the important things, and do what you need to do to accomplish them. Much easier said than done, but it will put things into perspective! 

Hope you all enjoyed General Conference! How blessed we are to have a Prophet and Apostles to guide us to Eternal Life! 

Have a lovely week! 

Hermana Segura

Claudia's baptism. This is what happiness looks like!

Can't wait to see this cute family in the Temple one day!
On the road to becoming an Eternal Family!! 

I seriously am so happy about this baptism!
I got to be part of the whole process and I'm so grateful for that! 

This is my "I cant believe we just pulled this baptism off" face...
The Lord was merciful to us this weekend! 

With Sister Obeso !

Intercambios with Hermana Gardner and Hermana Arroyo!

We had a leadership meeting on Friday and
I got to see a few of my fellow hermanas
who will end their missions the same day as me

My companion is a hoot! She is what Gabby is going to be like when she grows up!
That's probably why I love her! 

WARNING !! Mormon Sisters on Board !!

Chile - Osorno - Week 69 - .. lost of pics..

As you can see, it was a little difficult for 10 missionaries to fit into the bus
on the way home.. there were 52 people on that little bus and the majority
were not happy to be on the same bus with us..Mormons.....=)
Our travels may have consisted of a little hymn singing and contacting...

My Chilean family! Mamita, Papito, and Pequeña, their dog
She eats at the table with us everyday! =) Love them so much!!

Splits - Intercambios =)

Thursday our district went to the fair with our own table full of Pamphlets
and copies of the Book of Mormon! We had a good time! 

Family home evening at Bishops house!

Look at who we contacted in Rio Negro!
She received us with her arms opened wide! =)

We got Popsicle's on the way! Pardon my weird selfie......

Saturday we had a missionary activity in Rio Negro, 

about an hour away from Osorno. Here is the Rio and 

it is indeed Negro! ;) 

Chile - Osorno - Week 68 - Dying here... lost of pics..

When a missionary is about to end their mission, all the other missionaries say that they are "dying". It's just starting to really hit me that I only have one month and that I am one of those missionaries. One month from today, I will be on an airplane home. For that reason, this past week has been a little rough, but in ways that I've never experienced. 

Everyday that we get rejected, appointments fall, my feet hurt, we are tired, the usual. I'm used to all of that, it's nothing new. It's the fact that pretty soon these struggles are not going to be struggles anymore.  I'm not going to be in the street everyday walking, looking for people to teach, bearing my testimony with all that I come in contact with, coming home exhausted from a long day's work, but waking up the next morning excited to do exactly the same thing. That's what's rough. I don't know if I'm ready to leave all of that behind. 

The good thing is that I still have a month of it left, so I am going to try to enjoy every moment! 

This last week has actually been pretty incredible! Amazing what my new comp and I have been able to do in our sector in just a short amount of time together!  Companionship unity really makes a difference! This last week we were able to find 4 new people to teach and we now have 2 people with a baptism date! 

If all goes well, which I know it will, we will  have two more baptisms before I go! One on the 2nd and the other on the 9th! It's going to be a great way to go out!  I'm sure after those two baptisms, I will feel better about coming home!  It's that I still have so much to do here this next month, It hurts to think that pretty soon I wont be a part of it, but I just need to focus on fulfilling my purpose her, and when 

I do, then I will be ready! (happy face, happy face, happy face.. 😁 this is my face on the outside, but this is how I really am on the inside 😲😖😞😆😓🤔😣😕😔😤😟😢😭😩😬😦😧😨😵😳😶 now you understand my dilemma. Lots of emotions....) 

Pero bueno! Super excited for these next few weeks! They are gonna be super crazy, but I'm ready to see some miracles! We are gonna go out with a BANG!!! This is the last time I am going to ask for your prayers.....Help me to end this thing well.

Hermana Segura

Chile - Osorno - Week 67 - Quick note and pics..

Got a new companion this week.  Hna Olson from California.  We were in the same district
in Punta Arenas for about 3 months and I was her Hna. Leader for another three months.
I'm super excited to finish my mission with her.  It is going to be a blast !!!

Mi casa...

My new comp, Hna. Olson.

Hna. Leiva, my trainee from Chile.
She is going to train a new hermana.  

Chile - Osorno - Week 66 - Last Six Weeks.. !!!

     Well folks, today I officially start my last transfer!  Can`t believe how fast the time has gone! 

Six more weeks no mas! I'm super excited and super scared at the same time. I know so much has changed since I left, myself included, but I'm sure everything will be fine.

Let the countdown  begin! 

These last six weeks are gonna be the best! We have so many good people in our sector! This week our investigator Claudia accepted a baptism date for the 26th of this month! She is progressing so fast it's amazing! She has come to church every week for the last month and is participating more every time!  We are so excited for her and her family!

Like I said, we have so many good people, but they have been hard to find!  We have had so many appointments in the last few weeks, and every time we  go to visit they are never there! 

We have been a little frustrated, but maybe it's just the Lord testing our faith.  

It's been a little rough, but I know these next few weeks we are gonna see lots of miracles!! 

Well time to leave it all on the track! Im at my last 50 meters! Lets  GO!!!

Hermana Segura

My comp Hna. Battiato from Argentina

Chile - Osorno - Week 65 - No letter this week.

Need new boots !!!

I thought my boots would last me the whole mission....

Chile - Osorno - Week 64 - Familia Zapata.

Well this week was full of walking, lots of contacting and door knocking, but we are hoping that this week as the summer vacations are ending we will be able to find more people at home!

Saturday we had an awesome lesson with the Familia Zapata! Camila was baptized  last month by her dad who is now active and was just called to be the Executive Secretary of the ward! 

We are now focusing on her mom Claudia, who was present in our lessons with Camila but didn't participate much. After Camila was baptized we started the lessons all over again but with more focus on her. In this past month she has progressed so much! We invited her to be baptized a few weeks ago and she said that she wanted to pray and receive her answer first. We asked her how it went with her prayer and she said that she was waiting to feel the "feeling" that everyone has told her that they get when they pray to ask if something is true, but said that she either didn't get it or didn't recognize it. She said that she wanted to continue learning and then go back and ask again later! I was so stoked for that answer! 

This last week we taught about Temples and eternal families, then Saturday we showed them how to hold a Family home evening! We shared a video with them, about sacrifice and about how we should all be willing  to sacrifice a little bit more for the Lord. It was really good! They even had food waiting for us at the end which I wasn't expecting because we said that we were gonna bring some food, but they had some made for us so we ended with that and it all turned out great! 

Claudia has formed a lot more trust in us and is participating so much more! She Even came to church yesterday and went to all the classes with us! It was so awesome! We are going to have another lesson with them this week and we are going to invite her to be baptized again! I'm super excited for their family! I know they are going to make it to the temple one day! =) 

Today I officially have only 2 months left until I come home.......Where did the time go?! It feels like a dream. Hoping that we will be able to see lots of miracles these next 8 weeks!! 

Hermana Segura

The things I do to get a handful of blackberries......=)

Chile - Osorno - Week 63 - No blog letter this week - just a picture..

                  The field is white and ready to harvest! 

Chile - Osorno - Week 62 - No blog letter this week..

Chile - Osorno - Week 61 - The Book of Mormon.

Bueno, this week I would like to share the experiece that I have had on my mission with the Book of Momon.

Confession: Before the mission, I had only read the Book of Mormon one time. When I began my mission, if you had asked me what my favorite story in the Book of Mormon was, I wouldn't have been able to tell you. When I hit six months on the mission, I decided to start reading it from the beginning. 

I finished it in about 4 months and that helped me a lot! I finally new some of the stories and could remember where to find many of the scriptures that I used a lot as a missionary! 

In October, President Obeso came out with a challenge to read the book of Mormon In 3 months and gave us an outline of the chapters that we had to read daily. I started reading my copy of the Book of Mormon in Spanish at the beginning of November and was able to finish it yesterday! It was such an awesome experience! I don't know what the difference was this time, other than it was in a different language, but the stories and people became real to me and I began to feel a love for the Book of Mormon that I have never had before! 

Last night I decided to take up the challenge that Moroni left at the end and ask Heavenly Father if the book is true. I am happy to announce that YES, the Book of Mormon is true! I didn't see a vision, an angel didn't appear to tell me that it was true, but the Holy Ghost testified to me very clearly that these ancient records are true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God, and that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that he lives! It wasn't anything grand, but just enough to let me know that it was true and that I never have to doubt. 

For those who have never read the Book of Mormon, I invite you to do so. If you have never asked to know if it is true, I also invite you to do so! But I testify that it is! 

Hermana Segura

Chile - Osorno - Week 60 - Another transfer has come to an end.......

I seriously cannot believe how fast this transfer went. I swear I just got to Osorno last week, not even kidding.

This transfer has been full of so many miracles! I have no words to explain how we were able to baptize all of these wonderful people, other than they were already prepared and we were only instruments in the hands of the Lord to bring them the truth, because seriously I did absolutely nothing. 

I studied, I prayed, we taught, and they were baptized. That was it! So incredible. 

This weekend we had the baptism of Carlos and the wedding and baptism of Catherine! Everything went super well! There were a few obstacles of course, as there are with every baptism, (for example I had to get into the font again...) but in the end everything was good! =) Everyone is happy, us included, and we are ready to keep seeing more success in our sector! 

My companion will be returning to her homeland of Argentina this week, and I will be receiving another companion from Argentina! She will be my last companion of my mission! I hear she is great so I´m excited! I'm going to miss Hna. Dávila a lot. We saw so many miracles together, but I am grateful for the time we had  and for all the things I learned from her. I have seriously had some of the best sister missionaries as my companions and I am the missionary that I am today thanks to every single one of them. So, so grateful for them. 

This week is the start of my second to last transfer of my mission. Time is flying and I really don't know what to do with myself. The more work I have, the faster time goes and I still have so much to do! I pray that I will be able to complete everything the Lord has sent me here to do and that in 3 months I will be able to say that I gave it my all. 

3 months left.....no regrets!

LETS GO!!

Hermana Segura

CATHERINE and JOSE LUIS GOT MARRIED!!!!

It was so awesome! They were super happy!
And their family was happy too...

Jose Luis surprised Catherine with this guy!
Ha he appeared out of no where and started singing! Scared me a little.....

And Catherine got baptized on Sunday!! It was super awesome! She was so happy! Lots of tears. =)

Carlos Got baptized on Saturday!! 

I went to the mission office for the first time this week!
My area is about 15 minutes away!