May 13th Update

Hey everybody!

Well, it really isn't as cold as you'd think it would be. When it rains, it rains A LOT. But, it's not so much. Not since Solange took us shopping so we could find where to buy some sweet polar shirts and pants that are super warm. That's a win :)

Hermana Berbert and I are still rocking up Conti. We've really been focusing on setting goals that are manageable, but still push us. We've got to meet a lot of crazy, wonderful chilenos, like always, and we're still having a great time.

We had a ward activity that was through the rough incredible! They had food, flamenco dancers, and the funniest sketch. By the missionaries. Oh why yes, I HAVE learned how to be funny in Spanish. That's been a very long time goal of the mission. It was pretty silly. There's some pictures on the photobucket account. 

I'm really loving to study about agency nowadays. So many times we feel sad or disappointed about the way life is going with us, when in reality SO MUCH of it is in our control. 2 Nephi 2 is one my favorite chapters because it talks all about this. Really in life, in order to be happy, we've got to separate between what we can control and what we can't control. We can get very unhappy we try to mix the two into one category of our lives. The things you can't control, you put all your faith in Heavenly Father and know that He'll guide that part, because He really watches over each one of us individually. The things we can control, we can take every opportunity we can to be accountable for our actions. 

We can have every desire to be better, and we have all days of our life to work at it! But, we definitely have got to be happy along the way. 

Set some goals, crazy kids. Do the stuff that you just dream about doing. Like President Uchtdorf said, "Life isn't meant to be enjoyed only in retrospect."

I love you! Drop me a line if you've got time. 

Love,

Hermana Lovell 

May 6th Update

This week was pretty sweet.

 

We had a zone conference, and Yovana and Jorge got baptized.

The zone conference is always pretty interesting because we get to hear the testimonies of the missionaries that are going home. It's always good to hear about what things they've realized were the most important things in the mission. Love everybody and do your best. That's solid council, right? :) Nah, but there was other things, too. Like never to forget eternal principles. That miracles really do exist. And that real happiness is found in the service of others. Aren't we so lucky that happiness and love is built into lives? That's why we've got families! We just keep serving each other, and keep getting happier and happier. That's a win. 

 

The baptism of Yovana and Jorge was so wonderful. They really are the best cute little family. At church yesterday, they were holding hands and listening to the testimonies while I was playing with their son Alonso. There really isn't anything sweeter that I've felt than to see the people I love enjoying the blessings of the gospel. I felt like a little proud parent when somebody starts to talk to Flor, or Solange. I'm sure I'm just going to be a crazy mom. Every time someone is nice to them, I just want to run up and hug and say THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LOVING THEM BECAUSE THEY REALLY ARE THE BEST, RIGHT!?! Ha ha. Just kidding. Kinda. I have such big hopes for all of them. Because they really do feel like they're part of my family now. I love them all so much. 

 

I feel like I've hit the point of the mission where I've got to step it up a notch or two. That I've got the basics pretty much down. Now I just want to be an all star!! I'm learning a lot about goals. Before the mission, and up to this point in the mission, I've been so good to set goals, but not so good to reach them. This week, I let all my crazy goals go, and started by setting realistic ones. Good idea, right? I just really focused on one thing: Keeping my stuff clean and organized. Shout out to my mom for what she's told me all 21 years of my life about having a clean room. I'm finally getting around to figuring out that little detail. If other things aren't going right, I can think back on my one little goal: My room being clean. If I'm nailing that goal, I'm feeling pretty good about life :) It's a little bit silly, but simplifying stuff is so important! So, I'm working on being better than that. It's hard to hear Spirit when you're worrying your socks off about the zillion things you're wanting to try to accomplish!

 

Well, We've had quite the flurry of baptisms. And now, we have gracefully passed into a lot of finding. But it's fun. We're really wanting to work with our new converts to find some really great people. 

 

Thanks for all your love and support. I love you so much, and I hope that everything is well with you with all your different lives. Keep up the faith! The why of the gospel is that Heavenly Father wants us to be as joyful and blessed as possible. Test it! He'll never let you down.

 

Love,

 

Hermana Lovell 

April 29th Update

So, I know you've been all holding your breath but....

 

FLOR GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! 

 

Along with her beautiful daughter, Solange. It was so so great. I love them so, so much. They have so much faith. They're excited to get to know other people in the ward. It was incredible.

 

We're looking to help Johana and Jorge get baptized this Saturday! They told us last Sunday that they wanted to be baptized. Isn't that GREAT!?! They are the cutest little family. They are taking everything really seriously and really want to be prepared. There really isn't anything that brings more happiness than the people that you love make good decisions for their lives.

 

Conti is just starting to get cold. I never realized that I really don't like being cold until now... But! Here's the thing: Cold didn't really bother me in the US. I liked it really. Know why? Because it was CHRISTMAS SEASON. Solution: Me and my comp will be listening to Christmas music for ALL of winter here. Merry Christmas, everyone.

 

Did you know you can be unhappy even you really have a successful life? I sure knew that before the mission, too, but true story. Sometimes, even if it seems like we have everything we could ever want, we can still feel unhappy. Happiness isn't just a feeling, or something that comes and goes. Happiness should be a state of being. It doesn't matter if terribly frustrating things are going on in our lives. We can at the least have the peace in our hearts that the gospel can bring us. Of course there are painful things that happen in life, and we definitely have to work through our feelings and not just throw them under false pretentions of perfectionism, but because of the atonement of Jesus Christ we have the opportunity to feel peace amidst our storms.

 

Humility really is the way to happiness and spiritual growth.

 

Men are that they might have joy.

 

I think those are definitely underlying themes of my mission thus far :)

 

Humility is really just our opportunity to accept ALL that the Father has for us. And that will always be better what we can choose for ourselves.

 

I love you guys! Keep me updated on the changes in your life. It's crazy to think that life still changes there, too :)

 

Hermana Lovell

 

April 22 Update

What a week!

 

I am happy to announce that Clara and Luis got married! They got married last Friday in the morning. The following Saturday Clara and Ignacia were baptized. How great is THAT!?

 

Flor and her daughter Solange are getting baptized this week! Here goes nothing to get them prepped!

 

This week has had some hard times, and some really good times, too. I've been really thinking more about what makes a successful experience in the mission, but really it's kind of the same of thinking what makes a successful experience in life. It all depends on what you are using to judge your success. Having a lot of stuff is success to some. Or maybe a lot of friends. Or maybe sparkling shiny beautiful numbers in the mission could be success :) But really, it isn't. True success is trusting the Father, and having the faith to trust His will. Having the faith that He CAN give us all the righteous desires of our hearts is the way to true happiness. That doesn't mean that He WILL do it in our timetable, but it is trusting that whatever happens really is His will. Then, as we are obedient and listen to the Spirit and do the best we can, we can know that what happens in life is His will.

 

But think about it, folks! Between the point of an event happening, and when the actual event happens, there's usually quite a time difference. During all the time of waiting for our righteous desires to come to pass, we can have the faith that if it were the will of God, of course He CAN do everything and anything to make His will come to pass. And we can be happy for  And we can be at peace that if it doesn't happen, it wasn't His will. It wasn't part of this specific plan that Heavenly Father has for each one of us to give us the maximum happiness and bliss.

 

Well, I'm not even sure if that last bit, but the point is that we find peace everyday if we do all we can, and then be happy that Heavenly Father will just take care of it.

 

17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us ^acheerfully ^bdo all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the ^csalvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.D y C 123:17

 

Love you all!

 

Thanks for everything.

 

Love,

 

Hermana Lovell

 

My comp has a blog, too, it's annathemissionary.wordpress.com if you want another take of the work in Conti!

April 15 Update

¡Hola!

 

This week was pretty crazy. It was a lot of time in a bus. 17 hours in a bus this week... Wooow. Ha ha.  Hna Chavez, Hna Garcia, and I mosied on down to Conce to pick up nuestras hijas! My companion's name is Hermana Berbert. She is GREAT! She is my first gringa gringa companion that I've had. I told her we lost a little street cred, now that we're two blue eyed gringas running around, but we're managing :P Her Spanish is already great, and we had a pretty fun week together!

 

We've been prepping up Clara and Ignacia for their baptism. I'm so happy for them! They're getting baptized this Saturday. Clara and Luis are getting married this Friday. At first they were worried about doing a big party, but now Luis just said that it doesn't matter anymore. They don't even care if they just get married in jeans, they're just going to go for it.

 

Flor also is progressing. She is still one of the funniest woman I've ever met. There really has been a change in her since she's had the gospel in her life. She's still super hilarious, but she's calmed down. I love her, honestly!

 

I guess one little quick thing I've learned this week is that if there is any thought or feeling that keeps you from feeling the love of Heavenly Father and the presence of the Spirit of your life, it shouldn't be happening. Just get that right out of your head fast! Life's definitely better when you can remember who you are and who Heavenly Father will help you become, little by little, as you follow his plan of happiness.

 

Love you all!

 

Hermana Lovell