Let me dump my thoughts on you. 

All the time Hermana Fardos HAS in the mission is how much I LACK. Which is weird. I`m not even trunky... but it just scares me because I have yet to have an Ammon-Alma-Sons of Mosiah Missionary impact here. Liiiikkkkee..... I am trying my hardest, loving even hearder and learning a TON. So it´s not so much like ``¿Was this good enough to be worth it?`` because, DUH, it´s the greatest choice I have yet made in my life on earth and the one that already I can see will have the grandest impact on my eternity. 

But at this moment I am feeling like. . . small... I guess.

I mean I guess I am pulling an "Alma" and wishing I was a grand angel that greatly inpacted this land of Lamanite descendentes fo the beter instead of just some sweaty young adult dirtbag willing to try to do Gods will, yet still learning the ropes on this whole discerning all the things the Spirit urges. Sometimes being a grain of sand on the beach you wonder if you´re adding to the scenery and I kind of feel like that. 

They say on your mission some reap and some sow and , if you are LUCKY, you do both. (Depende de lo que DIOS quiere y tiene preparado para SUS hijos,... No de TUS esfuerzos, no de TU fe, no de TU habilidad de enseñar claramente... Todo depende de Dios y el Albedrio de Sus Hijos) .

She understands, She doesn´t comprehend. 

 There is no fomula: If you do this or if you work THIS hard or if you pray THIS much or If you have THIS much faith.... You will see THIS result 

The only Fomula is Faith and Obedience. 

The only SURE thing, is if I stop, then it is SURE not to go forth. . .  and if I go forward, then SOMEHOW, SOMEWAY, SOMETIME.... I am contributing. 

I know this to be true.

At the Very VERY least I have continually been becoming more and more converted myself.  (Which to ME is no small thing at all)

I sure hope I have helped someone else too (and will yet help more).... but at the very least, I helped myself

and you but your bottom dollar that I am not a seed that easily dries up the first sign of sun. I am in the sun ALL DAY and I am still going strong! (this is literal and metaphoric)

The seed of my OWN testimony has grown past recognition to what it was 1 year and 1 month ago and that is Enough for me. I will keep offering this to anyone who will LOOK and LIVE....

and then my time will be up in This Feild.... (but I will ALWAYS be a missionary)

And I will forevermore have and meticulously care for my Own Seed- And thats the best part about seeds... You can count how many seeds are in a fruit, but you can not count how many fruits will come from one seed.

I had a hard week. We had a particularly hard experience. I will spare details, but basically we prayed for guidance and help in a trying situation that we did not want to have to face. We wanted to either not face it, or at the very least have an adult member there to help us... In the end, The impression came that we were going to have to do EXACTLY what we did not want to (confront a particularly stern Father and his wife and ask if he would give his consent to his son joining the Church of Jesus Christ) and that we were to do it alone. 

We didn´t know what we were going to say. We put on our shoes and obeyed.

The outcome was EXACTLY what we did not hope for (No, Marcos would not be able to get the consent of his Father at this time. No, the family was not intterested to know if our message and this eternal promises were true. We were invited to not return.)

And it was probably one of the coolest moment of my life. I was WELL aware of the gravity of the situation. We knew (from prior rude remarks said in Guarani, but HEY! I speak Guarani!) how they felt about us. I recognize the miracle that it was to have even been let in the door. My spirit was awake and hypersensitive so that I would know what to say and boy, I listened. Although the end results were the same as they would have been had we gone in ready to contend, convince or plead, because of the guidance of the Spirit, that is not what took place. We invited, we taught and we testified. 

And as we walked away, crushed.... My seed... my testimony... the Spirit... swelled inside me and looked up at the night sky. 

Yeah, I wasnt super happy... yeah it still is the PITS to get rejected... No I am not going to lie and say some sort of Peace hit me... It SUCKED. BUT.... I realized that it doesnt matter how bad it sucks because the Gospel is TRUE! 

And I said that out loud between sobs walking home on crooked empedrada streets... "It doesnt matter because it´s true." 

The hurt of rejection. The pain of watching someone choose doubt over faith or tradition over hope... That is a real hurt. That is a real pain, but it doesnt matter, because the Gospel is true. 

Thanks to the Gospel, I can drink the biter cup and look forward with HOPE! and LIGHT and FAITH! 

It`s not happy that they dont get to enjoy all the blessing of the gospel right now, but hope is never lost.  I know they are Gods children and that He hasnt given up on them. Thanks to the Gospel the pain is worth is because the JOY is reachable! 

Accepting agency of others hard, but its part of the plan. 

I know that when people CHOSE to live the Gospel, they will be blessed. I know that when people study the words of the Lord, His way will become clearer and Obideince ceases to be a chore and become a blessing of an unfailing guide to selfdominion and joy. Living a life based in the Gospel truths will bring the blessings and happiness and peace promised by God. I know it. I have had the HONOR to be the person who got to tell a few soulds this.... but its not my Gospel... It´s His. These are not promises I make to the people, they are promises HE has made to the WORLD!

At this moment All but 1 of my Converts are struggling (including my Bestfriend Fransisca de YbyYau)... I lost the priorly mentioned progresing investigator this wek and the one other con fecha, Mirtha, is still unsure if she wants to be baptized into the True Church and recieve a remission of sins and the companionship and guidance of the Holy Ghost

 and it suffocates my heart with worry , frustration and saddness for them. I think "OH NO! maybe I didnt teach it clear enough or maybe ! could have or maybe i CAN do something more! I ned to do something to help them remember the way! I love these people and I want them to be happy and THIS is the way, the ONLY way, to lasting happiness! I should do something..." and I kind of get down on myself... 

A misunderstanding of truth or a fear of comitting to live a true principle is the only explination... 

I know this is God´s Church. It teaches Christ´s gospel and does so with His power and authority. Just because my dear friends are forrgetting their promises to God and more importantly His promises to them does not mean the Gospel stopped being true. It doesnt mean obedience to the Commandments stopped being the way to happiness.  Those things do not change. 

Gods promises do not change, but neither do our responsabilities.You cant stop praying and expect your faith to remain. You cant stop studying His word and expect your understanding to grow. You can´t stop partaking of the sacrament and expect to always have His Spirit to be with you. Just because you get sick of eating right and excersising doesnt mean you can stop and expect to stay healthy.

(D&C 130: 20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—

 21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.)

You can´t stop living the commandments of God and expect that His light to remain in your life and His Spirit to continue to comfort you. 

You will lose His light and this comfort. These 2 things are the greatest gift I have. I love them. They make me happy, literally no matter what. I had the "worst week" and yet... Im like really happy because because of this "worst week" my testimony is stronger and... I am actually even happier. The more and more sure I become of the ressurectiong of Christ, the Restoration of His church and the Sureness of His eternal promises... the happier I am. Everything else in life is just really temporary and makes me stronger. I am Human (for now) and I breathe and bleed and cry and get down, but because I am fighting the good fight, all of these things will give me experience and be for my good. 

Chose Faith, It makes you happy, NO MATTER WHAT!

It so crazy and yeah its hard sometimes, but... its the BEST choice you can make. 

Chose to keep the commandments and LOVE them. They are so great! In them there really is safety and peace!

Chose the Right!

Chose to follow Jesus because He really is the Son of God.

That is my advice and I would just like to clarify that my motivation in inviting you all to do these things is that I know from experience propia that they will make you happy and I REALLY love you all and want you to be happy too.

I am happy and I am going to be happy forever as long as I keep keeping God´s commandments. 

Thanks for listening to my thoughts.

My week was rough, but gave me experience and served for my good. hahaha

Please pray for my Converts to find strength to fight to good fight of faith!

Their names are:

Joana Godoy

Viviani Arevalos Alvarez and Anibal Alvarez (And their son Tobias)

Marcos Sanchez

Pascual Insaurraldte

Ana Arzamendia

Andrea Arzamendia

Analia Franco Valdez

Fransisca Vera (Also pray for her husband LORENZO and her son Joel)

 Please also Pray from Mirtha Espinola. She is AMAZING and just needs to trust herself I think... but God knows better what she needs so pray that she can recieve whatever that is.

Also, Please pray from my ward. They have good intentions, we just ned better organization and execution. We also need to help our fellow members who have fallen off the path. Pray that we as a ward can do it. 

Until Next week

-Hermana Valenzuela

p.s. There were changes but I just stay here (con Hermana Fardos). that means I will spend half my mission in MARIANO ROQUE ALONSO

How was my WEEEEEEEEEEKKK???

Well, its hot, but there was a change in how we RENDIR in south america. We dont rendir ANY numbers (not how many con fecha, how many lessons with member how many otras how many progressing,...etc) NOTHING except how many baptisms, how many Recent converts at church and how much as the Asistencia. 

We are like WAY focused on MINISTRY... not numbers except those which show REAL growth. The people who get baptised, who stay active or who come back to church. 

its new, its crazy, but it helps us focus on PEOPLE and I LOVE it

That´s what my Big Brother Jesus the Christ did and I really wanna be like that guy.

Today was Hermana Santos´s Last Pday

We celebrated like KINGS!

So Elder Plasencia Dies this week and... even though we dont know him that well and we arent that close... Hermana Fardos and I thought it would just be nice if someone did it for US if we were dying, to we did it for him. We made him this package that is! complete with colored pencils and a custom coloring page for him to color on the way home to Peru, Muddy Buddies (Chex Mix, that turned out SO well), a 4 day countdown page and a picture of an airplane. We gave it to him in a box decked out with wedding pictures. We also gave his Comp "our condolances" and a Plan of Salvation folleto with a card that says "Can our Companionship continue on after death" and of course, more Muddy Buddies.

What do you call 2 Elders that get caught in a Paraguayan rain storm?

MUDDY BUDDIES! hahahahaha

Happy One Year to me

PIZZA! YEAH! yes yes yes yes!! SI!

New years we were not permitted to be out later than normal, so the Gimenex family prepared their meal early so that we could still have a mini celebration. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOO goooooodddddddd and super Paraguayan! I dont want to say it was better than Chsitmas, because I am grateful for both acts of kindness, but if I had to chose which night to repeat I would chose new years. 

They also gifted us FIESTA KIDS Apple Cider of Violetta and Disney. We Partied so Hard. hahahaha

Thanks for the Trunky Calander Dad! I filled 2/3 of it now!

This is me this morning (Jan 5th) over the RIO PARAGUAYO bridge

It seperates Argentina and Paraguay

How "A Walk to Remember" of me.

I, Libertee, write an email in the style of Jarom (from the Book of Mormon).

This week we did things. I was sweaty. We celebrated New Years.

I forgot to write in my journal and I wrote a bad blog update to make up for it (this). I am no Nephi, Moroni or Wilford Woodruff when it comes to record keeping. I will regret this later. I must work on this trait with dillegence to be better at recording my life.

I know God is real and that the Gospel of Christ, His Begotten Son, is True. I know that this Gospel is found in whole and unconfused only in His restored church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know He loves us and yearns to bless us. 

I will now push this record keeping responsibility stuff off until next week. 

XoXo Hermana Valenzuela

Well since I verbally SPOKE with my peeps on Christmas day, I¨ll save myself some tiempo and spare the dirty deets of all my Christmas. BUT Here is an overview: 

 Here they celebrate christmas on christmas eve like new years. 

They eat a ton of food and set off fireworks and countdown til midnight. (Sidenote: then the next day there are a ton of pictures on the news of people missing hands and stuff) 

We had like a nice awkward dinner with Brian and Noelia Solis (theyre gonna get married) It was iiiight. Then we went home because they were going to go to thier REAL party at 10 so we were in our house pretty early. We went to "rest our eyes" and slept til like 5 minutes before midnight. Then it sounded like WWIII with all the bombas. 

My comp slept on and I went chrtistmas crazy. I watched joy to the world... I wrote santa.... I put cookies out for the Jolly elf.... I finally Crashed. 

 The next day was CHRISTMAS GERMAN PANCAKE BREAKFAST ZONE ECTIVITY OF BAYBLADES AND PINGPONG AND CHRISTMAS STEALING SECRET SANTA GIFT GAME ( I got a 3 cups... LAME) SINGING AS A ZONE AT THE HOSPITAL OPENING PACKAGE EATING CANDY AND CRYING SKYPING FAMILYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VISITING PEOPLE (did not score any food.... was let down) RENDIR AND PLAN NEXT DAY SLEEP Then the week and other stuff happened but my time is up at ciber so.... talk to you next week 

 XOXO LIB

We made cookies for the families that give us lunch

I made a paper version of the CASINO star.... because its a christmas MUST

Rivalry snowflakes

We made Christmas Cookies.... I made the Cyclops because I feel like Rudolph takes a lot of heat for being the only "freak" reindeer

I made German Pancakes for Christmas Breakfast (dutch babies for Pheebs)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Cuando Misioneros quieren una foto del Grupo

Awkward Famliy Photo: Missionary Style

I was taking pictures of everyone and... Elder Ruiz saw me

Christmas Secret Santa steal presents game

Christmas with the hooligans with black tags

MERRY CHRISTMAS

OUR ZONE GOT TOGETHER FOR SOME CHRISTMAS BAYBLADES AND PINGPONG (MY ZONE)

Yeah... The shoes came off and I DUELED with Elder Mejia from Ecuador... Just like the 3 wise men in ancient times hahaha Merry Christmas

This year Santa left my presents in this Postage Box! HOLLA!

It was a roller coaster of emotions

In all honesty.... my candy is almost gone already.... but it was christmas... and its what the forefathers would have wanted

Opening Moms special present!!!

Gingerbread (Cardboard) Houses 

We played with the fireworks and explosive that southern south americans lose their hands to every year! YAY CHRISTMAS 

RIVALRY SNOWFLAKES GO UTES 

(.....I should have never taught her how to make this! jk. hahaha)

This week is will be Christmas. I have been focusing this Chritmas season on the Dadiva that God The Father sent us. It was a small boy, born in humble circumstances, yet His life is of Catral importance to the Human Race. 

But the birth and death of the Savior was NOT the end of His miracles, wonders or plans to help us.

This week The Savior of the world and Atoner of mine and your sins guided me through His Holy Spirit to read His very testimony and promise that Joseph Smith Jun. was His prophet chosen to restore truth and light and blessings for me and all of the earth. Jesus Christ testifies that Joseph Smith Jun. did only what He, Christ Himself, mandated in D&C Section 20. 

The book that that unschooled, faithful and humble boy brought forth, suffered persecutions for testifying of and eventually died defending is true. I know it. I testify of it. 

The Book of Mormon testifies that Jesus is the Christ. Reading it causes faith in the Lord to grow, heals the sorrows of the souls and secures the truths restored and clearly taught in the Church that is based upon it and the fact that it came forth by the hand of the true and living God of the world. 

Jesus Christ also testifies that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His and is the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, and that He, the Lord, is well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually (D&C 1:30)

Have faith in His and The Father´s unconditional love for us. Accept their invitations given throughout the history of the Earth to seek and find, knock and have it opened unto you. 

I testify that the Spirit will bear record to your heart. I implore you to faitfully act upon the impressions and answers you recieve from the Holy Ghost. I promise that as you do, God will pour out all of His priceless blessings upon you and your family. I have seen it in my life. I praise God for all He has blesses me with. I love Him for restoring His gospel and all the blessing that came with it for me now and forever. He loves me. He loves you. He asks only for your faith so that he may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act (Isaiah 28:21). The act of selflessly loving and giving is indeed strange in this fallen world, but in the eternities it is glorious. Thanks to this act, Thanks to His plan, Thanks to His Atonement, I and my family can be exhalted on high eternally on the condition of repentance and endurance until the end. This is His work and His glory.  

We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

He showed His love in times of our fathers. He shows His love now.

He is the same forever. He has loved us since forever and continues to love us now. 

I love my God.

This is why I am so far away from you all. 

I share this testimony and invitation to recieve this same witness from the Spirit as I have, promising you that it is the only way to everlasting happiness and peace, in the name of my Lord and Redeemer, Jesus the Christ,

Amen.

Hermana Linares is HOME!

We made Christmas cards!

We are awkward... but thats cool

We held a surprise party for the birthday of our investigator. then we had like a testimony meeting of how each member came to know the church was true. it was AWESOME.... then she didnt come to church the naxt day and now she wont answer her phone. please pray for Mirtha

I painted this for the primary program so here it is hung up at church

We painted this for the Primary Program

Thanks for the Package Grandma!!!! I opened all but the Christmas portion:) 

at the cyber we always go to , Peter, the owner, made HNA Linares a sign.... Cute

Linares and Valenzuela outside of their beautiful Orange house together for the last time

We would get out of the car. WE DIDNT WANT CHANGES!!!!

But its cool cause the next saturday we went to the temple with Viviani Anibal Analia and Marcos

Viviani and Anibal (from "THE BODA")

And of course we love Marcos :) 

It was the last time Hna Linares would see Familia Alvarez :(

We really love them

BUT THE BEST PART OF MY WEEK WAS WHEN I GOT A CALL FROM YBY YAU!!! FRANSISCA AND HER HUSBAND LORENZO WERE GOING TO DO BAPTISMS FOR THEIR GREAT AUNTS AND UNCLES AND FAMILIA AGUERO WERE GOING TO BE SEALED! 

I stayed with Fransisca,Lorenzo, Airton and Dahiani while the sealing took place! OH how happy I was to see my YbyYau-anites again! and all the more in the House of the Lord!!!! Seriosuly... the best day EVER!!! I LOVE YBY YAU!

We also Love the Samaniego Family (here is Sara and Hna Samaniego)

This is Hermana Farods and My Christmas Card... it was her idea to do the Stinky Srings Pose. I like her. hahahaha We love Pizza

We ate Chinese food.... and weve basically been talking about MULAN since... so thats nice

We went bowling

This is a Lomito Arabe.... its KIND OF like a burrito.... So.... :D YES!!!!!!

Thats also like Garlic Mayo (so good) and HOT SAUCE that Doesnt taste like Vinegar! The Juice is Tutti Frutti and its like a smoothie. This Restrant right outside the Temple, im pretty sure its because if Jesus comes to visit the Temple, thats what He would eat too. Im not even blasphamous... its SO good

Also Hermana Beta was my comp for like 5 seconds... we took a picture with our skirts like this