"The first twelve weeks"

HI! GUESS WHAT? I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

guess what else? i got bit by a dog this week. so that was emotional. i cried a lot that day. it hurt.

also, i got sick this week. i still don´t feel very good. but it was crazy because i never get sick in the mission. but it was the typical nose, ears, throat stuff. i felt like i was talking in a cave all week. 

despite my lack of energy, it was a good week. i learned lots of stuff. ah i just love the mission. we´ve been studying out of a book called "the first 12 weeks". and this week we talked a lot about the fact that we teach people, not lessons. as missionaries, we have to ask inspired questions, listen, then disern the needs of the investigators and then teach. then i can be guided by the spirit to help my investigators. i haven´t been too good at asking questions lately...so i set goals to be better in that. i know that God knows his children better than i do, so it´s important for me to "go to heaven" and figure out what God wants me to say. the lesson is never ever about us...it´s about the investigators. and when we teach people instead of lessons, it´s not "here do this" its "how can we help you to want to do this. heaven respects agency, so when we ask questions and then listen what they say, it draws out of the person rather then drag them.

also, we´ve been working harder in doing street contacts. when elder ballard came to the mission he told us if we want to teach more people we have to talk to more people. last week in district meeting we talked about doing contacts, and doing them good. we saw a lot of miracles this week with our contacts...and we talked to almost 80 people in the streets. it was pretty great.

anyways, i still loving being a missionary! i can´t believe today is the first day of the last week of the transfer. IT WENT BY WAY TOO FAST! hermana jenkins and i are praying we´ll get one more transfer together! 

i know the chruch is true! i love the gospel with all my heart.

con amor, hermana steele

Loving the New Testament (Matt. 13)

hola familia!

general conference was so great right?! did you love it!? do you have favorite talks? what did you learn? we watched it in spanish this time so that was cool...i felt the same spirit as i do when i listen in english. i had 6 questions that i wanted answered and guess what? i got answers to them all! cool right?! it´s so obvious that this is the true church. i feel so blessed to be a member of it. i know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. i know he has been called of God to lead and guide us back to our Father in Heaven. I love him and all the other apostles. 

i loved how almost all the speakers talked about who we are (children of God) and who we can become if we follow Chirst and His perfect example & if we use our agency wisely. the gospel is so simple and all we have to do is live it and keep the commandments to be truly happy.

so i´ve been reading the new testament a lot lately! I LOVE IT. who knew right? i love love love reading about the life and miracles of Jesus Christ. this last week i studied the different parables of Chirst in Matt. 13. i think my one of myfavorites was the parable of the sower. it applies to us now that conference is over and what we will do with what we learned. in the parable, Christ talks about 4 different kinds of soil. the wayside path where no seed can take root, the thin layer of soil covering bed-rock where a seed may sprout but can never mature, the weed field where a seed may try to grow but will be killed by the thorns and thistles. and then there´s the seed that falls in good, deep, rich soil...free from weeds and prepared for the sowing. so it takes root and grows. so we all have the same seed to plant...we all heard the same words at conference. where will we plant our seeds? will we let it fall upon a hardened heart? or will we let it take root for a "season" but then let it die? or will we let the tempations of satan tangle us up in the weeds? or will we plant our seed in the clean rich soil...will we APPLY and LIVE what we´ve learned and felt? it is my hope that we plant the seeds in the right soil. and remember why we do the things we do and to remember that it´s important to follow the prophet because he knows the way. 

ok funny story. saturday we went to lunch at a members house (like always) and the lady gave us SO MUCH food (like always). so she left the table to get our dessert and we fed our food to the dog. it was SO funny. so just so you know, it really does happen.

well family i love you LOTS. i hope you have a great week! thanks for all your prayers and support. i love being a missionary!

love, hermana steele

We aren't obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see!

this week i´ve been thinking a lot about obedience and how it relates to the love we have for the Lord. i know that being obedient isn´t always easy. when we obey, we are showing our love for our Heavenly Father by saying "this isn´t easy for me, but i´m doing it anyways because i know it´s the right thing to do." there are lots of people here who don´t want to listen to us becuase they think we have too many rules. but i know that when we obey, we are truly happy. we aren´t obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see. Christ told us to be like Him...and obedience is the path to perfection. i know i´m not perfect but it´s my job to try to be everyday. i want to be like my Savior. i will make lots of mistakes in my path to perfection...it´s impossible not too. but the atonement of jesus christ makes up for those mistakes. but something i´m learning in the mission is that the atonement not only makes up for the mistakes i make but it´s also there to help with the things that are hard for me. i know that the Lord is there for me, helping me, even before i fall. through the atonement i can recieve strength beyond my own...strength to keep going when it´s hard. elder bednar said "not only does the atonement of jesus christ overcome the effects of the fall of adam and make possible the remission of our individual sins and transgressions, but his atonement also enables us to do good and become better in ways that strech us far beyond our mortal capacities." i know without any doubt that the atonement is for the sinners AND for the faithful who know what they want to become. 

OH MY GOSH I AM SOOOOO EXCITED FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

being a missionary is hard. it´s SO hard. this week has been a very very challenging one. it´s just super frusterating sometimes! haha but at the end of every day there are always miracles that happen...and those miracles make it ALL worth it. i know god see´s our efforts and blesses us for working hard. i still love it here in puerto varas and i´m loving training hermana jenkins. it´s been a lot of fun!

hope you have a great week! i love you all soo much!!

hermana steele

Hello from Puerto Varas!

hello from Puerto Varas! the most beautiful sector in the mission. SERIOUSLY. HOLY COW. i can´t believe how pretty it is here. i never ever want to leave! the ward is awesome, the members are great...the bishop actually goes to church every week and helps us out a ton. we are teaching a lot of people and i have A LOT of faith that we are going to see miracles here. this sector has a lot of potential to progress. i feel SO blessed to be here. the greatest part is that our mission leader has a fruit shop, so we get fruit for free.

also, MY DAUGHTER. oh my gosh. i love her. that is all.

haha no just kidding. she´s so dang cute! and she´s working so hard! she reminds me of me when i first got to the mission. i´m learning A TON from her example! i´m so so grateful for the opportunity i have to be with her this transfer. what a blessing. i´ve loved it so far because i´ve been able to remember some things that i´ve forgetten. i´ve also learned that teaching is a lot more than just talking. i could talk to her all day about the things she should and should not do but i think what will have the most impact on her is what I MYSELF am doing and not doing. i love asking questions to see what she understands and then going out in the streets and actually applying what we learn and study. i always want to treat her as the missionary i know she is capable of becoming. she has LOTS AND LOTS of potential!

the other day we had a special training for the sisters in my zone. IT WAS AWESOME! i loved it! we talked about about the power of our thoughts. we are what we do. we do what we think. and what we think we want to become. so we are our thoughts! haha...we talked about how there are 3 types of people in the world. there are the negative people, the people that have the desires to do the right things but never do them, and then there are the people that take advantage of every moment of everyday..the people that know what they want to become and they work toward becoming that person. so if we have good thoughts, those good thoughts should lead us to ACT. so my goal is to be postive. and to act on those positive thoughts. i want hermana jenkins to always have a good attitude...even when someone slams the door in our face. 

well i hope you are all doing well! i love you guys so SO much! i love being a missionary here in chile! it´s the best thing ever. i can´t believe how fast time is going by. i don´t want it to end! anyways, have a great week! i hope we all wake up every morning and fall on our knees to ask our heavenly father what we can do to find his children that are ready to hear the gospel.

love, hermana steele

Another transfer...I'm going to Train!

hey family! so much to say, so little time. shoot.
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> well first of all we have transfers this week and I´M GOING TO TRAIN! crazy right? i´m leaving Valdivia and going to Puerto Varas to finish training a new missionary! i´m super excited but WAY nervous. advice? i feel so very blessed that the Lord is giving me the opportunity to help a new missionary learn and grow...i hope i can be the trainer she needs! i think the best thing i can do for her is to be a good example of a hard working, obedient missioanry. im super excited to go to puerto varas. i´ve heard it´s beautiful! i´m very sad to be leaving valdivia but ready for the change. i can´t believe that i´ll be going to my 3rd sector.
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> last week we had exchanges with the sister training leaders. it was my first time leaving my own sector. usually i stay in the sector and the sisters come work with me. but this time i left. it was different...i think i like staying in my own sector better! one thing i realized on this exchange was that certain missionaries are in certain sectors for a reason. i know that president obeso recieves revelation from God about where each missionary needs to be. while i was in the sector of the sister training leaders, i did NOT feel like it was my "home"!! i´m grateful for that reminder... especially now as im leaving valdivia and going to a new sector. changes are usually a little rough at first but i trust that God wants me in Puerto Varas for a reason.
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> anyways, i love you all so so much! thanks for all the birthday wishes!! i hope all is well in texas! have a great week!
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> the church is true! hermana steele