08/21/23 Silly Goose

Me and compi and our cute faces

 Hi, 

Accidentally hiking a mountain

Yet again I am amazed and horrified by the velocity of time. I've said this a million times in my mission, but it's like one week lasts two seconds but one day sometimes feels like 3 months. We're already halfway through the transfer and we're already almost at the end of the month. It makes absolutely no sense, but anyways here's what happened this week: 

•wedding and baptism prep: this Friday our friends are getting married!! But unfortunately there's a conference that day and I asked for permission to skip it but president said I need to go to the conference. So I'll be in antofagasta. But I'm gonna make the cake beforehand a leave it with my comp to take care of!! Hopefully it'll be fine. It's been a little stressful but really awesome to see so many people chipping in time and resources and lending clothes and decorations so that this wedding can be a success!! We're also trying to plan everything nicely for the baptism but that part is less stressful, we're used to it!! 

•zone conference: same soup, just reheated. Haha, no actually it was pretty good. Specifically I love how they want members more and more involved in this work! It's not just us!! 

•interviews con presidente: he was proud of my progress, but possibly a little bit upset about how I supposedly have treated the elders, but to be honest, that's a rant that I'd prefer not to get into and I'm a little annoyed they even brought it up to him since it was their fault (they took one of our friends and put him on date, and basically were a little manipulative with him so now he doesn't want to talk to us, he only wants to talk to the elders, so the elders asked us to send over his profile, and we were more than a little annoyed and frustrated with the whole situation, especially considering last week one of these elders told us that if he had been with our friend,  the friend would already be on date. I'm getting a little annoyed just writing about it, and I'm just really really done with one of them. Aaaand apparently you can tell, and they told president, who told me that i need to sow love and unity in order to reap love and unity, but I'm also trying to not just get walked all over. Así que, eso. I'm just sick of elders who think they're big and important just because they have the title of zone leader. Good leadership= service and support for your team. Good leadership ≠ taking over or saying you can do things better or manipulation. Long rant aside, we're working on it.) 

Anyways. 

•exchanges with hna Gailey: 10/10 exchange, we tried to contact like 15 inactive members, a couple were around, and one of them is a family! 

• stake conference: to be honest, stake conference was a little bit long and a little bit hard to hear because we were sitting almost in the very back and there were a lot of children. But they talked about missionary work! 

Me and my significant other
(Yes I'm referring to the goose)

•magic middle cookies and chocolate chip cookies and banana bread and frosted lemonade and bread and brownies: I'm stressed out these days so I'm baking a lot. I don't think my comp is mad about it haha. Today I started on my wedding cake project. 

Me and my significant other
(Yes I'm referring to the goose)

•random hike thing: me and my comp were thinking it might be easier to go up and climb a hill instead of walking all the way around it. It was not faster, but it was prettier. And probably more dangerous. 

Creo que eso es todo po 

I'm feeling the stress a little bit of going home. Like I want to and I don't want to at the same time. It doesn't help that I'm going to have to register for classes and stuff while I'm still in the mission! I don't know if I'm ready to go back to the real world again. Which is so crazy because there have been so many moments in these nearly 16 months where that was all I wanted. But hey, that's life! You don't know how precious time was until it's gone :') how many times do I have to relearn the lesson of enjoying the moments while I'm in them? 

In Jumbo with the Elefante

I wanted to share a little bit about something I said last week. In my letter I wrote about how you can do anything, that is to say I can do anything. And I still believe it, but sometimes there are moments where I ask myself what's worth doing. I could get really good numbers here in the mission, for example, but what if it costs me my mental health? I could get a really good education but what if it costs me my relationships with others. I could become the world's best mom someday, but maybe it'll cost me the opportunity to work in a career. 

Everything is a sacrifice. 

The Lord doesn't expect us to suffer, but He does expect us to sacrifice. 

Ourselves, that is. 

Our will and our sins and our hearts. 

3 Nephi 9:19-20, 22

Yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings. 

20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

With our friend Maria, love her

22 Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. 

Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.

So I return to my invitation, over and over and over again... repent. Do it now and do it genuinely. Time is running out and God needs willing servants. 

God needs you. 

Your heart, little or broken though it may be. Your spirit, weak or contrite though it may be. Your life, short and insignificant though it may be... repent and find freedom. Repent and find joy. Repent and find yourself. 

I love you all, 

Birthday of a member, 10/10 torta

xo-hna griffin 

P.S. nobody make fun of me for the stark contrast between the beginning and end of my letter. I felt both of them this week. If you want ingenuity go read someone else's letters, I only write the truth.   

Fotos: 

-with our friend Maria, love her

-in Jumbo with the elefante 

-me and my significant other 

(Yes I'm referring to the goose) 

-in church 

Zone Conference

-accidentally hiking a mountain

-zone conf 

-birthday of a member, 10/10 torta 

-me and compi and our cute faces 

In church