Hello family!!

Thank you for letting me know about stake conference! I bet it was amazing. I wish I could have heard that song. I miss the music more than anything because the people here don’t have choirs or a piano to accompany, but you can still feel the spirit through the message of the hymns. I really love what Brother Miller said and I agree with it 100%. When we do what we are supposed to and when we make right choices we are constantly receiving more strength and are becoming more and more of who our Heavenly Father wants us to be. 

So this week. We haven't been able to see or talk to Olga so I´ll let you know about her next week. We did have an amazing experience. We were coming back from a lesson with Claudia and we decided to go to our investigator Maria. But on the way to her house we passed by a house of members active and inactive. We stopped and I felt that we should try and find the sister of one of our members active to teach her and know her a little more. So we knocked and the mom let us in (also inactive). We started to talk to her and she told us that her daughter wasn’t home and I felt sad because I had felt we needed to be there for her.  Within a few minutes we heard a car and the mom said that her daughter and husband were home. They came in and we started to get to know them a little bit more and we talked of a lot of things that had really nothing to do with the church. The daughter started talking about her room and how she loves the Jonas Brothers and then asked us if we wanted to see her room. We went in and it was just us 3 talking and she kept saying things like oh that photo was when I was mormon. Oh that was when I was mormon. And finally I said you’re still a mormon!! We then started to talk about everything that was going on in her life . We talked A LOT. But we were all talking as though we were best friends for YEARS. It really was amazing and we invited her to church with us on Sunday and she said no and then we said one more thing (I don’t remember what we said) and she thought for a minute and then said if I go to church with you guys on Sunday can I sit with you?  So we told her yes. And she said ok I´ll go to church with you. We went to search for her yesterday and seriously it was amazing. It was a complete miracle that we got her to go to church, truly by the spirit. I honestly know that God put us in that path so that we could talk to her and help her to go to church . The grandma and brother thanked us a million times and both told us that we are their little angels because it´s been a miracle they have been waiting for for some years now. But the biggest surprise as well was that when we got to the church yesterday and went to sit down, the mom walked in and sat with her mom and son.  It honestly was one of the best sacrament meetings because we helped answer someones prayers. 

Another experience that I want to share is what happened during an interchange with Hermana Mori. She came to my area and we went teaching a lot of people. During the morning we were teaching and one of our members called but we couldn’t answer in the moment. When we tried calling back she didn’t answer and I just forgot she had called. We went on with the day and about 5:30 Hermana Mori needed to use the bathroom so she asked for us to find the nearest member. I thought of Paula (the member that called) and we went over to her house. We came just as they had finished watching the tree of life video and invited us in.  As we started talking to them they told us they are without money for about a month and they don’t know what they´re going to do.  We talked a lot of the importance of family and of the plan of salvation. She had soo many questions.  We were there when she needed us.

We don’t have many investigators right now. We are trying to find new people to teach because all of those we have are not progressing and are living with someone and are not married so they can’t be baptized until they get married or they separate. So Please pray for us that we can find new people to teach this week. 

This has been the best experience of my whole life. And I really feel such a love for the people here in Chile.  I never want to leave Quillota. I love it here so much!! 

Well family I love you all soo much!  Please stay safe and do the things that the spirit tells you to do. It´s the only way to keep yourselves out of danger and out of satan´s traps. I love you!!! until next week!

con amor,  Hermana Tycksen

This week was hard. It started out good and then got harder about Friday through Sunday.  Patience is what I need to learn from this I think :) Ok so we did have interviews with President. That is what I want to focus on most today so I´ll leave it for last. 

This week we went to find Mauricio that is a new investigator that is so awesome... but he was no where to be found. We couldn’t find him at all this week. So that was a huge bummer. But we´ll just keep working this week to find him. Olga (I think of Ashley too) is doing good. She´s been really sick because she´s old but she is reading and has so many questions. She does not believe she has faith and so we are really trying to teach her and help her to recognize the spirit and that she has faith. She´s so amazing I really love her so much. She´s so special and it breaks my heart when she says she can’t come to church because of her health. I know she has bad health but I know that she can be baptized as well and it’s what I want most for her is to be able to do this special ordinance in this life. We went to her house twice this week and while we were there we actually started teaching 2 of her friends. They had a lot of questions as well but it was a really amazing lesson. I love going over to her house because literally I know she´s 80 years old, but she is hilarious!!!! We die of laughter every time we go over there and she loves it when we come because she says that we give her peace and she feels happier. She really is so special. I know that she is a very special daughter of God.

Ok Ignacio is doing great. He got sick and couldn’t come to church yesterday but Claudia is coming regularly which is awesome. She´s now friends with one of the less actives we reactivated named Paula. They are so awesome. Paula is the sister of Ignacio so we have connections everywhere now and it’s great. 

Alright. So interviews!! This was the best interview yet. I always am afraid to talk to President. Not because I have things to confess but because it’s President and he makes me nervous haha.  I know he loves us so much but still it’s intimidating.  He came and my companion went first into interviews and I helped the assistants with the things about the house.   Then I went in and we prayed and then started to talk about my mission and how I’m doing. I told him that I’m happy and that I feel like this is the best I’ve been in my whole mission and that I’ve grown more in these last 3 months than I have my whole mission and he asked me why and I said that my companion has helped me do a lot of changing. He then said that Hermana Huaman and I are a companionship of power. He said that we are both very special spirits. That really made me feel so good because even though I work hard I still have moments when something happens and I feel like I’m not doing all I can, so it was really nice to hear that he is really happy with the work Hermana Huaman and I are doing. He even talked to our district leader about us. But then he said something that really hit me. He told me that if I give it my all in the last 6 months of my mission and am diligent in all things that the Lord will bless me with all the things in my patriarchal blessing. I know that was revelation from God. If I work my hardest and am diligent the Lord will bless me to where all my patriarchal blessing will come to pass. Amazing.

i started talking about how I don’t want to lose a second of my time here in my last 6 months. And then he said hermana your glowing. I really feel like I’ve changed so much in these last few months and I’m so thankful to my Heavenly Father that I´m able to make these changes in my life. I know that I´m a better person. I still make mistakes, I still have moments where I want to be lazy but I know that through the Atonement of Christ I can be made perfect and I can always have the chance to do better. 

So basically interviews were amazing. I cannot believe that I´m at 1 year in the mission already. Its unbelievable. I feel like my body is finally getting to where I can’t give any more but somehow God gives me the strength to keep going. I´ve never been so tired, so exhausted, so happy in my whole life. It´s the weirdest feeling to be so tired and want to give up but then to be so happy that you can keep going. God blesses His missionaries so much. 

I love you all so much my dear family. I miss you but I´m so happy to be here in Chile in this time of my life. I have too many amazing experiences and so many amazing friends that will be friends into the eternities. Work hard and be happy. I love you! until next week!  

Hermana Tycksen

Hellos to my beautiful and favorite family!!! 

This week was good!!  But there are always things that are hard about the week, this week was that satan really was working on me to not want to go out and work. It was a struggle everyday to get up and do my exercises but I pushed through and finally came Sunday and I really felt the strength from taking the Sacrament. I love to be able to take the sacrament and to receive the strength I need for this week to push through and be obedient in all things. I realized that out in the mission we think that everything in our family and home will be perfect because we are serving the Lord but really I think that it’s only a matter of time until something happens that Satan does to try and destroy us as missionaries and have the feelings of wanting to come home.

I know that satan is real and I know he has power. But it’s like you said, mom, that when we do the small things we have more strength than we realize. I testify to you all that the power of the scriptures, prayer, fasting and going to church will SAVE YOU.  I´ve seen it in my mission. The little things are so important because if you can’t do the little things how can you do the big things such as the word of wisdom? We can’t.  At some point in time if we don’t do the little things, Satan will work so hard that we fall even deeper into his traps. One of the members (the RS president who works in the jail) told us one thing that really hit me about a young girl that wanted to kill herself and she told this young girl that if she did that she would not be running away from her problems, she would only give satan the power to have her feel the pain and guilt of her problems for eternity, that really freaked me out. I do not want satan to have power over me. There are always trials but the power of the Atonement is a million times more powerful than anything satan can do to us. The Atonement is what saves us. There is always hope.

Ok so this week. Yesterday Iganacio was confirmed a member of the church!!! YAY!!! it was so awesome. he´s really amazing. I have such love for him and he really is such a pure young kid. It’s such a joy to be around him because he is literally so innocent and pure. Yesterday was an amazing day because after lunch we went to do contacts with one of the converts that is preparing for his mission next month. We contacted this one guy that’s apparently friends with the grandparents of our convert. We started talking about God and about His creations and the man had sooo many questions. We talked a lot and used lots of scriptures and it was amazing to see the change in this man. He went from kinda not believing us to wanting us to come back again to answer all of his questions. I´m so excited to teach him because he´s so amazing and he has so much knowledge. We also found this old lady named Olga. She is amazing. She does all the homework we give her and she really wants to have more faith. she said she doesn’t believe the Book of Mormon but when we talked about how we can have more faith there was something that happened, I don’t remember what was said exactly but she then said, ok you convinced me and now she believes a little bit more in the Book of Mormon. There really are so many miracles that are happening everyday here. I love my mission and I love my life as a missionary.

OH HAPPY NEW YEAR!! totally forgot that that was this week haha. For new years... it was a little bit sad. We went to my favorite families house, the family Alfaro. and we had a BBQ but not an american BBQ. There was steak and chicken and pig. It was so huge we couldn’t eat all the meat. Then we did toasts and we had to be in the house at 11. They threw fireworks in the cities next to us but in Quillota they didn’t do anything. So for an hour and a half we sat there and played games and listened to church music. At 12:30 we went to bed. Luckily there wasn’t any parties going on next door. I think everyone went to the coast because they do something very famous that they shoot fireworks on the water in all of viña, valpo, con con, and reñaca. Its like 4 huge cities where you can see all the fireworks along the coast. If you get the chance look it up on google, cause I´ve heard its amazing. 

I still haven’t received your package but we have interviews with president this Friday so I should be getting it then. I love you all so much. Mom I´m going to need your help when I get home to keep me in the routine of studying because I don’t want to lose my studying habits.  I know that they are going to have to change with returning home because I’m not going to have 3 hours to study everyday. But I would really love to study with you in the mornings. You can be my companion :) Its going to be a hard adjustment so I´m going to need some help adjusting, Maybe Alyssa can help and do it with with us. :)  

I love you all so much my sweet family. Stay strong and stay together. Real life really is like the mission because you shouldn’t ever be alone. That’s why visiting teachers and the one for guys (I don't remember the name of it) are in pairs. The work of the Lord is perfect. "Do what is right, let the consequence follow." Always think "would I do this if Christ or my parents were here?"

Con todo mi amor, Hermana Tycksen

Dearest Family!!

Wow this week. I have learned so much this week. I don't think I´ve ever been happier in my whole life. I thought I would be sad to be away from home for Christmas but I´m 100% fine. I´m actually more nervous to call home than anything else.  This week we talked with Claudia and..... her boyfriend has permission to baptize her, she´s talked to her parents and we are preparing the baptism for Sunday!! YAY!!!  She´s so awesome.  We also have Ignacio that is preparing to be baptized the 29th (which happens to be his moms birthday and she was really excited about that).  We are working hard and really focused with the two of them. I can't even tell you how fast the time goes and how fast the work of the Lord is. We have to put everyday full of our energy and we don't have enough time. The beginning of the week is usually more quick than the end because we don't have many appointments in the weekend because people are really busy with family. 

We had a member of the 70 come and talk to us for Christmas and wow it was amazing. President Kahnlein also spoke and he told us that he wants to get things changing for next year and that he wants to focus more in the Book of Mormon SO.... We as a mission are going to be reading the book of Mormon 4 times next year. Every three months we need to finish the Book of Mormon. I´ll return home in the beginning of the 3rd time reading it as a mission, so I´m going to finish the challenge this next year even though I´ll be home. I´m so excited!! I´m almost done with the Book of Mormon in Spanish.  I have become like mom, I have too many things I want to read and things I want do but the study time we have just does not seem sufficient.  

There is this family that we are teaching just the children first because the parents are not wanting to listen to us as of right now but told us that maybe in the future they would listen. The kids are amazing.  I think I told you about them once before. When we go over there they take out their notebooks and take notes. We gave them each a Book of Mormon and they each have started to mark it and read it and they write down the words they don't know and then ask us the next time. They are adorable (Alexander has 12 years and Camila has 11). They came to an activity of the ward the other day and it was awesome. They were really nervous at first but then they really warmed up and we played games and I can't even begin to explain the love that I have for these two little kids. They are amazing and so special. I know that when they are members they will do great things in their lives. They are very, very special.

I love you all so much. I´m doing well and I´m so happy.  I love Christmas and I feel so privileged to be a missionary at this time. I feel like there is nothing more important for me right now than to bring the message of the Savior to the world. I love my mission, I love my investigators and more importantly I love my Savior. He has saved me in my life and He will continue to save me through everything that I do wrong in my life,  if I repent. I love my Heavenly Father, He is perfect. He is my Father and He loves me. He knows what I need in this life and He knows what I´m going through. I love you my family. Be safe this holiday season and know that I´m thinking and praying for you always. Remember the challenge to bring a less active or a non member to church before Christmas!! You all still have 10 days!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!! I love you!!  

Love Hermana Tycksen