Jasmine's LAST email

December 22nd

Familia

Wow, I am very excited for Karen`s employee.. I think that is wonderful!! What a great time to share this time of the year. 

So, this is my last family letter.. I feel like it would be a lot better in person and not written. I am not very good at writing, but it is such a blessing that ya'll have been able to read the "blogs" to let others know the life of a missionary. 

This week we were able to go to the temple as a group of us missionaries that are leaving. Maybe you don't know, but I had asked Grandma and Grandpa Paredes  to send me names to be able to do in the temple. I was able to go through for my aunt Juana de Dios Sepulveda Sotomayor. It was a blessing to be able to go through for one of my own family names and to do it in "her" temple. The temple has such a special place in my heart and I am excited to come back home to go through the Phoenix temple.

We also had our baptism yesterday!! M____ M____. A little difficult through it all. The Bishop who was supposed to baptize her got there a little late. but such a wonderful experience through it all.- there it is. A baptism :)

 

I want to leave it all with my testimony knowing that this time is a time to think about our Savior Jesus Christ. He is the reason that we celebrate this time of the year. A scripture that our President mentioned is in 1Nephi 11:16. To think that Christ came down to be born of humble circumstances in His reign is unimaginable. There is no way we will ever understand or know what He had to experience to be born and live as man would live. He did it willingly and we must also do the will of God with a willing heart just as Christ did. I am so blessed to have been among the people of Chile for a time. I will never forget all of the small experience that made up all of my 18 months. What a blessing to come as a representante de Jesucristo. I know that Christ Lives and that His Atonemente and Resurrection is the reason we celebrate His birth. 

 

 

I cant wait to talk to Alex and to see the rest of you real soon. Love you and thank you for it all

FELIZ NAVIDAD!

Sister Jasmine Berthelson

Chile Santiago East Mission

December 15th

There isnt a whole lot to write this week. Thank you dad for finding me a place to live!! looks like everything will be ready when i get back . I am glad that you were able to take Cambria and Hunter to the temple :) they look so cute! 

k.- i am all up for activities.. sure go ahead with the singles activity lol 

i wont be bringing really any clothes home 

wow cant believe martha bale and brian nally are leaving!!!  they are heading on to do great things!!!! 

M_____ is preparing for this upcoming week to be baptized!! please pray a lot!
sorry there is no substance to this email. I love you and hope you are all doing well. 

I will be sending you a longer christmas email next week.. love you!!!

4th Nephi 3

My week has been pretty exciting!! We are doing a lot with the video  "Él es la Dádiva" and we have been assigned to show and keep a count of what is happening with the results of it. I tear up every time I watch it. 

Looking back on this week, it has just been a phenomenal one :) We put a baptismal date with M___ M____l. She will be baptized on the 21st. We had originally had it scheduled in September, but like all of our investigators and one point or another, we can´t find them. She had left for a long time to be with her daughter. A lot of Chilenos have depression and M_____ is one of them. She does the best she can to manage it and we have to teach her really slowly and carefully like a little kid. She is actually a lot better and she is excited to be baptized on the 21st! We are doing something really special on that day.- it will be called a "White Christmas" and we are going to have a baptismal service for the zone with their investigators on that day with us doing a choir number and everything. 

We have another investigator that I have mentioned. R_____--- he is absolutely awesome :) he is reading the Book of Mormon that we gave to him (in English) and says that he has good feelings every time he reads it. I will try and send a picture next week. He dresses in black and looks like a hard core rocker.. He came to church for the first time yesterday dressed in black, but he said he felt great after and that he wanted to make changes in his life..funny story is that we actually contacted his cousin, F____ this week too. We had a lesson with his cousin who we were going to teach for the first time and his mom was there. Apparently his mom was baptized over 20 years ago and we didn't know it until we got to the house. During the lesson, R_____ walks in. The story is crazy and I will have to explain some other time how we met R_____, but we are teaching a part-member family!

This scripture  really touched me this week, I don't know why, but I really love it. 

I am thankful for this time of the year. It is only hitting me now that once the new year starts, I won't be in Chile. I shared my testimony for the last time yesterday. It will be hard, but I am grateful that the mission has strengthened my testimony. Thanks for everything you guys. Have a great week.


4th Nephi 1:3

3nefi 17:20-23

We had a light Thanksgiving this year. I bought turkey laminas for us and we stuck them between chilean bread. It was really dilicious!!

I completely forgot to tell you in your last email that yes i did get Aunt Jessica`s Thanksgiving present. It was so sweet of her... unfortunately the cd/dvd doesn't work so I will have to see about figuring it out when I get home. But the pictures are way cute! 

There isn't a lot to share this week... It looks like it was a pretty eventful week!! ...........

We have been doing a lot of work with less actives. Sad to see that some don't want to come back . We are working a lot with D_____ C____ and R_____ C______. Please keep them in your prayers if you can they are progressing, just don'

t want to put a date to get baptized. 

I am excited to tell you about the stories and everything that is happening here. I am almost done, and there is a lot that hasn't made it to the weekly emails. I am grateful this week for prayer. I think I am a humbler person thanks to the mission. I am reminded daily of God´s love for me and really have seen His divine grace help me do things I couldn't do on my own. I read this passage earlier today and know that my Savior loves me. 

I hope you are all well. The time is flying. Love you :)

less-active E_____ L______.. she is definitely a cat lover-- she is the best :))

3rd Nephi 17: 20-23

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/17.20-23?lang=eng

November 24th

A short and simple email this week. Thank you for all of the updates! I was also cruising around the LDS website and found the dedication for the Phoenix temple. Sweet that President Monson was able to come and dedicate it!! wow, I am so excited to come home and see it! 

 

Dad, I appreciate you figuring out a few of my classes for me and talking to the Bishop! It will be a short time til I get home. Karen... i hope your surgery went well. I had a health scare as well. Some weird rashes started appearing on my stomach. The Mission Doctor told me I had Pityriasis Rosea. He said there is no origin, it is not contagious, and they will go away in about six weeks by themselves because there is no treatment. Weird huh?? they are just really bothering is all

We were able to find a really good investigator named R_____. I am actually really excited to teach him. He came to us wanting practice with English, but wants to learn more about what we teach. The spirit is so important in the lessons. It was incredible to me that he identified something special about us. It was really cool to hear coming from him. 

I hope you look into the HE is the Gift launch that is going on, it sounds really cool. 

 

http://www.mormon.org/christmas

 

I love you and am so grateful for your examples and for the opportunity to serve. Have a great week!

November 17th

Hey.. sorry this email is nothing glamorous. I didn't even bring my camera even after all of your compliments (dad&k) of sending pictures. This week has been pretty mellow and up until yesterday, loaded with craziness. It is so hard to live the law of Chastity in Chile! Well, other than that, it has been a pretty good week. We`ve also had a couple of small earthquakes and the lights were cut in the big city metro. We had our last cambio (transfers). It looks like I will be staying in this sector and am still with Hermana Villalba. I guess it wouldn't make much sense to leave at this point. I can´t lie, at times it is hard to work with the ward, but we have tried to make some changes. Now we are just waiting patiently for the results.

How cool that the temple was finally dedicated! It sure took a good while and a lot of sweat! I can´t wait to see it when I get back.

I appreciate the team effort re-registering me for classes. ........

Also the wedding looks good!! tell Lizzie congrats on my part

 As I was reading one day in Mosiah 3:19 I came across the words "someterse a cuanto el Señor juzgue conveniente imponer sobre él" I was definitely struck by that part. my motto "voluntad del Padre".- I am grateful for every blessing, hardship, sadness, joy, frustration, .... that i have had in the mission thusfar. because i have and am still learning how to apply mosiah 3:19

I hope ya'll have a great week. Take care. hugs and kisses