It's been a loooong week. 
To make a long story short my companion and I definitely had some challenges thrown at us. But we're just like "get thee hence satan". 

The deets:

- We're been trying REALLY hard to get the members excited about the work. We're picking a few families and a few individuals every week to visit and help them be excited to share the gospel. We'd start with a scripture, usually tim.4:12 about being an example of the believers, then we'd show them a typical practice we do in the mornings to prepare to share the gospel then they'd do a practice after. The families really loved it and really got into it. It was so cute to see them share the gospel so simply and even cooler to feel the spirit as they testified of the simple truths. We don't need a fancy testimony to make a difference. We were able to get a few references from them as well! You guys, give the missionaries references.

- Last email i talked about M, the lady we found that accepted a date for baptism. Well, sad news, we haven't found her since. She wasn't home for our next appointment and we've been almost everyday since and she's never home. So we're back to zero with a baptismal date.

- We've been working super hard with this SUPER SUPER LINDA less active family. I love them with my whole heart!! but i just want to shake them! We're praying so hard to figure out what we should be sharing with them to help them and everytime we go it seems to go so perfect and they're all pumped to go to church and then... they're not there. Any ideas? We're running out. On the other hand there's a less active family that has been coming to church everyweek since before Christmas! They're incredible!! The youngest daughter turned 8 but they don't think she's ready for baptism so we'll start teaching her.

- Every time I think we're hitting a turning point with our investigators they fall again. It's frustrating! I'm starting to understand just a fraction of what I think Heaven Father might feel with all of His children. As a missionary is SO easy to see the difference the gospel and living the principles makes in peoples lives. I'm grateful God has patience with us. It's something I've definitely had to learn here. 

So yeah, the missions tough. and this week's been tough, but I can't even explain to you the love I've also felt this week. I know as we do our best the Lord blesses us. and even when we don't do our best the Lord says "it's okay, we'll try again tomorrow". I'm so grateful for the examples I have in my life. I think of the people in my life and it helps me to keep going and try and little hard with a smile. 

1 Nephi 3-4. READ IT.  I love Nephi. We really can do anything that's asked of us. But we have to look forward with faith. My friend send me this talk (shout out to Anziano Atwood for all the mail he sends me #youdabomb), it's called "Remember Lot's Wife" By Elder Holland. READ IT. It's not faith if we're looking back. We have to trust in the Lord that the Lord has great things in store for us and the best is not behind us.

Fun facts:

- My companion is the cutest. We have too much fun. 

- I have 44 flea bites. yay. 

- I have the strangest dreams

- I met the cutest little boy that is literally Asher's twin, but with black hair.

Love you all

Hermana Meacham

Last week I said I wished you could all just come  in my shoes for a minute to experience what I'm experiencing. I started thinking about what it is you really would see and experience. 

You'd probably notice the millions of wild flowers and roses that grow everywhere, all the stray cats and dogs (no doubt get a few flea bite (that itch like crazy) and maybe even a dog bite), you'd probably get rained on, eat meat, and hear music coming from the church Evongelica. But most importantly I'd hope you'd see the people and the hand of God in their lives. 

Lately I've really been trying to focus on the people here as Children of God. My sweet sister missionary, Sister H in Alabama, said something along the lines that we should remember that Christ suffered for every person! It makes it a lot harder to pass someone by or give up on them. 

...Speaking of giving up, C and G still aren't progressing like we'd like them too. They're not willing to open their mind to the Book of Mormon or the Restoration (which is like the main message we have to share to the world). We found a few new people this week that I really think could progress! We set an appointment with a lot of them for Saturday and we were going to be so busy and we were so excited! annndd... they all fell through, every appointment for that day. Except one, with two in active girls, I and S, that were baptized 3 years ago. We went and began to teach the restoration, like we always do, day after day. But as we read James 1:5 and the experience of Joseph Smith the spirit really hit S and she began to cry. She explained that she had lost that testimony she once had and had begun to have some doubt but that hearing this lesson again reminded her of what she once knew. Of course, you all know me, I began to bawl with her. Through tears we bore testimony that she could once again have a witness of these things to be true and the promise in James 1:5 applies to us for the rest of our lives. They both said they would pray to recieve that witness again and we promised we would too. I realized that day the power of the message of the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's incredible! And we have a promise from God that we can receive a witness of it's truth EVERY TIME WE PRAY. We just have to ask. 

Well we also found a lady outside and she invited us into her house, we tried to teach the Restoration but she didn't understand all that well (and she kept laughing at my Spanish and trying to give us tea and cake, so that was distracting) But she wants to do the will of God so she accepted a date to be baptized! We hoping for P and V (a new investigator who is the girlfriend of an inactive) to both accept a date this week too! 

Things are going well and I really am so happy to be doing the work of the world. Love you all so much! you're all in my prayers! and thank you for all your emails and letters! 

p.s. today we went to Saltos de Petrohue. it was beautiful! also I'm staying here in puerto varas with Hermana steele! we're so happy and excited to continue to see the work of the Lord move forward here.

Hermana Meacham

Seguir Adelante!

¿que pasa?

everytime i email i think my brain turns off cause suddenly i can never what happened that week! I wish i could just show you all everything, let you borrow my eyes for a second and get a glimpse at Chile. 

This week we had a goal as a district to get the members more involved in the work and show our trust in them to be missionaries too. One day we went to an appointment with our investigators, C and G, with a really sweet Hermana in the ward. We were excited to watch "the restoration" with them and have this member share her testimony. Unfortunately our investigators aren't ready to accept our message yet... They believe in the Bible and the Bible only. It's hard to see people reject a book from God full of truth that simple shows His love for us. But after we said "esta bien, seguimos adelante! (ok, go ahead!) We'll find contact someone that will accept this message". 

So we began the next day knocking doors, looking for new investigators. But the only two people who would listen were one man (still recovering from his new years party i think) and a priest, who persisted to tell us we didn't know anything about the bible or Jesus Christ. Rough day. But the next day we set out with our hopes still high. We taught a lady the plan of salvacion that has been inactive for YEARS, and she thought we were crazy when we said we are literal spirit children of God and who lived with Him before this earth.

It's tough to go day in and day out with people telling you that you're wrong. But it makes it easier when I think of my Savior, who was rejected everyday, yet no one would call Him a failure. If I do my part with all of my heart and a smile the Lord is pleased. I know I'm making the difference the Lord has asked me to make. 

We really can make such a difference in the lives around us, whether we recognize it or not. We just have to seguir adelante! (go ahead)

Love you all! 
thanks for your prays! 
and read the Book of Mormon!