Last week in July

Jasmine's email from 7-30-13

Another 2 weeks have gone by which means that there is one more group of missionaries are coming in. This will be my last two weeks here in the CCM, crazy but I have been very blessed thus far. It´s been a struggle for me to continue with the language which sounds strange, but we are still learning (as a district) all of the simple Spanish and we don´t get too much time to associate with the Latinos like the first group. But it´s still routine and I have been gaining a lot with my personal study. 

We´ve had the chance to walk around the temple a few times now to talk to the people who visit. Man do Chilenos like to talk! they Talk so fast here it´s crazy! By the time I understand what they are talking about, I don´t get a chance to say anything because the start talking again. But I love it. The people that we have gotten to talk to are so sweet. There is also an extra love for missionary work. I see a lot of "futuro misionaro" bands on the kids around here. They love when we walk by. 

So every other Sunday the 75+ missionaries are given an assignment and then by random assignment, 2-3 are called to speak. This week our topic was on dilligence. They are called from the pulpit after the sacrament is admisistered. I had a feeling that they would choose me, and of course the did, and I was incredibly nervous and hardly remember how it went, but the Latinos said I did a good job. I talked about playing basketball in hs and having the dilligence to practice as much as I could and work as hard as I could for four years. I talked about Enos vs 12 and how the Lord will see that we are dilligent when we have a desire to do so. Because of the dilligence of the prophets of old (and Enos) the records that were compiled to be the Book of Mormon were saved for our time. I also talked about how we need to be dilligent as missionaries through obedience, faith, and doing all that we can in the time allotted to us. Time is a very precious gift, and If we use it to our advantage, the Lord will work through us to bless so many more people. And by the end of the Mission, or our lives, we will remember that it was all worth it. 

We had an area 70 come and talk to us the other day who was a convert to the church at 17, and at 18 he decided to go on a mission and was called to South of Chile. His testimony was incredible. He shared with us an experience that he had about the end of his mission. As he went into the last meeting with his mission presdent, he told him that he had a goal to baptize 30 people. His last area was a group of about 15 active members, and on a whim he said his goal was 30 baptisms before he went home. To even get 3 in that difficult area was unheard of. He baptized 21 people in that area before he went home. It was so overpowering to hear that through hard work and sacrifice, experiences like that can and will happen only if faith is put into action and we dedicate 100% of ourselves to the Lord. 

La obra es perfecta. Esté Evangelio es perfecto. Yo sé que Jesucristo vive y somos hijos de Dios. Nos ama y hay muchas personas que les quieren que tenemos. 

con amor

-- 

Sister Jasmine Berthelson

Chile Santiago East Mission

We got our weekly SHORT email from Jasmine.  She is still in the MTC in Chile and doing quite well.  We even got pictures this week.  

Please read the end of Alma 32. dilligence, patience, faith. something I have been pondering a lot on this week. I have come to realize that when our ground is soft, the best fruit will be produced. I know this to be true. The Lord prepares his children for His word. This includes us.  

I am loving every minute here.  

One of the pics is of me eating a completo which are my favorite!! hot dogs with everything on them.

 We went to the Temple a few days ago. I love it. I love having the temple so close. I can personally say that I have never felt closer to my Savior. I know that when we ask with faith, our prayers will be answered. I know that when we do all that we can to follow Him, he will not leave us. I am ready to share and to find these people. The Lord prepares his people. We can find miracles every day if we look for them


We love getting emails from Sister Berthelson like this!  What a great experience she is having in the Chile MTC!

New Church dress guidelines

http://m.deseretnews.com/article/865583066/LDS-Church-tweaks-dress-and-grooming-requirements-for-missionaries.html

Week Two

Best line of Jasmine's email this week...

Working my hardest. Love you a lot. Chao

Jasmine got the news about our sweet Sydney.  She was told by her MTC mission president. 

"My companion, Hermana Viera is from Brazil. She knows a little bit of English, and a bit of Spanish. The first thing I told her when we were assigned companions was that she looks like Alex´s friend Sydney. I told her that everyday until I got a call in on Friday night. She was there to comfort me. I love Syd so much. I really wish I had the opportunity to meet her, but I know I will get to someday. I know our Heavenly Father had a differnt mission for her. I know that everything happens for a reason. And yes I know her and Alex´s relationship does not stop in  this earthly existence."

Jasmine's first email

We got our first email from Jasmine today. She made it safe to Chile and is already loving it. 

Made our day to hear her enthusiasm for being on her mission.  We love her and are proud of her. 

 ....mtc life is awesome so far. yes it is cold. feels like Christmas. lunch was a lot of rice and some stew on top. soda all the way, no water. and some apracot dessert. from the airport, the driver and i had a good convo in spanish. i have been speaking spanish like crazy. no one else knows how to talk in spanish very well. the mission pres found out and now i am with all of the natives- rooming with them. had spanish classes. talked to a guy on the plane about the gospel. i know how rex bale feels. i have no time for punctuation here. .....

Jasmine saying good bye to her dad

Jasmine said good bye to Bret at the New Orleans airport 

Here is a pic of the two of them.  She was so happy and ready to go. 

She will fly through Atlanta where she will meet up with other missionaries to fly to Santiago. It will be a long travel day for her. 

Saying Good Bye to Jasmine

It was so great to spend the weekend with Jasmine.  Denise and I are with her by the "lakes of LSU" saying our good bye.  Bret gets to see her one more time so his good bye wasn't as hard. 

Jasmine's day at the Baton Rouge Temple

Jasmine got this picture of the Baton Rouge Temple.  It says "I'm going there someday".
THIS DAY was THE day that she got to go through the temple.  She picked the Baton Rouge temple as her temple of choice.  It was such a great day.  We were blessed to take Denise with us too! 

Jasmine home for a week

Jasmine came home.  She was home for one amazing week.  We had friends in town and family.  We had a great open house to celebrate her and Alex leaving for their missions.  She got to speak in church with her brother.  It was so nice to have her home one last time. 

She also got to have a portrait missionary pic taken as well.