Home...

Well, here I am at home!  One year earlier than I thought I would be.  It has been so hard to leave Chile and I will miss it so much.  Not for the food, not for the beautiful scenery, not even for the fun wood chopping, but for the people I loved and for the work I was doing.  It was the hardest thing I have ever done, but the best thing I could have been doing.  I was blessed with so many tender mercies from the Lord and I got to share my testimony of the Savior with some of God’s beautiful children in Chile!

I have talked to my doctor and he has a great plan: Get me healthy again!  I will be in AZ for at least the next three months working on that.  There will be some ups and downs, but everything is going to be fine.  My muscles might ache, my head might hurt, and my hands might be a little bit shaky, but everything will work out how God wants it to work out.  When I am finished with my treatment I will try to return to the mission and do whatever the Lord wants me to do, wherever he wants me to do it.

This week I got a letter from my companion Hermana Zortman.  She and I were together our first four months: First in the MTC, and then out on the field.  She is one of the best missionaries in the mission and one of the sweetest girls in the world.  She has blessed my life and I wanted to share with you the testimony that has strengthened mine.

Well I think the thing that has probably hit me the hardest this week is that two of my companions had to return home due to health problems. I can honestly say that I have learned a lot from all of my companions, but I will honestly and sincerely say that I learned and grew the most with Hermana Wood and Hermana Zanetta. They both had to go home for medical reasons, but they are planning on returning to the service as soon as possible, if possible. My first thought with this was: shoot i´m a danger in the mission. my comps are dropping like flies (alexis do you remember that week haha?). But i´ve decided something: the Lord has a grand work to do here in the south of Chile. He has a purpose here that is much grander than what I understand. Satan will work and work and work, but the Lord will always prevail. Due to unfortunate circumstances the mission has temporarily lost 2 of the best missionaries that it had, but the work will go on and we will do our part. I know that the Lord has a plan for my two sisters (i say sisters because I value them as such) and that with time that purpose will be discovered. I can only pray that they recover quickly and that the problems they have can be solved quickly and effectively. 

With this I have found a renewed desire to work here in Rio Bueno. I´ve realized that I have the privilege to be here in the mission, the privilege to serve the Lord and to help Him in HIS great work. Sometimes I get caught up in the "work" of a mission and I forget that it is a privilege to put on a name badge on my chest every morning that carries the name of my Savior. I´ll work even harder now. I´ll try to do the work that I know my sisters want to be doing here. 

I know the Church is true and that it was restored to the Earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that it is only through the gospel that we can find eternal happiness. I know, from experiences this week, that when we really come to understand the Atonement and everything that Christ really did for us, we will develop the desire to share the message of the Atonement with everyone around us. I know that the mission is exactly where the Lord needs me right now. 

Thank you for supporting me in my mission. I know I am so blessed to have such a family supporting and loving me from the states and from their missions. I love you! Until next week!”

LOVE,

Chelsey Zortman

I testify that what Hermana Zortman says is true.  I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church.  I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.  I know that Thomas S. Monson is our current prophet today.  I know that The Book of Mormon is true.  It is the word of God and we will find all of the answers to life’s great questions in that holy book.  I know that the Bible is also the word of God.  I know that Jesus is the Christ.  He is our Savior and Redeemer and it is through His Atonement that we can be cleansed from sin.  I am grateful for the covenants I have made with God and I testify that His plan for us is perfect. “All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” Isn't that beautiful?  No matter how weak we are, no matter how hard life is, the Atonement of Jesus Christ will make everything okay.  What a blessing it is to know that, and how important it is to share!

Thanks to everyone for all the love and the prayers.

With all my love,

Lexie

Coming Home to Recover

You are probably stressed and anxious to hear my news this week.  That´s kind of a bummer because what I have to tell you is probably going to make you more stressed and anxious, but please remain calm for the duration of this letter.  EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE.

So, normally if your missionary needs more than 2 weeks to recover from an injury or illness you should send them home to recover.  At home, they can focus on getting healthy, in the field they start getting depressed and stressed because they can´t work and the clock is ticking…Then after they get all healthy at home they come back to the mission and are super studly again.  I talked to President and the doctor and there is a high probability of me coming home for a little while to get better.  Obviously then the bad news is that I am going to need more than 2 weeks to get better.  The good news is I will get better faster at home then I can come back to work!  Coming home would probably be the best thing for me at this point but the only reason I am open to the idea is because I want to work and not die and I can´t work if I am dying...right?

So now you are probably all stressed out and worried.  Honestly...I've been better...but actually I've been worse so it´s okay.  I tell people every day that the gospel of Jesus Christ can heal our troubled hearts.  What kind of missionary would I be if I didn't believe that?  My problems are pretty non-threatening but I have still been blessed to experience the healing power of the Atonement.  It is amazing.  I have been sick on and off a lot the past few years but this time I didn't experience the frustration and anger that I had before.  I am kind of sad obviously because I don´t want to come home, but I really am fine.  I hope you are all fine.  Don´t stress out, don´t worry about me, don´t be frustrated or upset.  Heavenly Father wants me to learn a few things and this time I am finally starting to learn them.  Life is good.

Anyway, I've been indoors all week basically, but that has given me lots of thinking time and I have the GREATEST ANALOGY EVER!  It is how laundry applies to the gospel...

Picture your favorite T shirt.  It is new and clean and fresh.  Absolutely spotless.  But what happens to our clothes when we wear them?  They get dirty!  What do we do to make them clean again?  We wash them!  We take the favorite shirt, put it in the washing machine with soap and water and we wash out the stains.  We are like the T shirt.  We come to this earth clean and spotless, but with life´s experiences and the choices we make we become stained.  We are impure, we are unclean, and we need washing.

God has given us the washing machine:  It is Christ´s Atonement.  Through Christ and His Atonement we can be cleansed from sin.  How do we run the cycle?  Through the gospel of Jesus Christ which is faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Baptism is like the water, the Holy Ghost is like the soap.  We need both to wash out the stains.  But what happens if I forget to plug in the washing machine? Without electrical power I can´t start the cycle, and no matter how many times I try the shirt will still be dirty.  Without the Priesthood power of God, we cannot be cleansed through baptism.  The proper power and authority of God is essential for the cleansing process to work.  Without it we cannot fully apply the Atonement because we do not receive the baptism or confirmation in Christ´s name. 

Now, after the cycle has been run and the shirt has been washed, it´s still probably going to get dirty and stained.  So what can we do to keep the shirt clean?  We wash it again.  Who does laundry once in their lifetime?  When we are baptized we make a covenant with God to keep His commandments, to take Christ´s name upon us and to always remember Him.  We renew our promise every week by partaking of the Sacrament.  In return we are renewed and sanctified week by week, we are cleansed, we receive forgiveness of our sins and we have the promise of God´s constant companionship through the Holy Ghost.

Remember that this is your favorite shirt.  Don´t you want to keep it clean?  As children of our Heavenly father He wants us to be clean.  He knows we've been stained and marked, but He has given us a very sacred, very special, and very specific cleansing process through Jesus Christ.  "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."  (Isaiah1:18).  No stain is too deep for the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Now all we have to do is run the cycle. 

Isn't that the greatest analogy EVER?  I think so.

Well...I need to go now but someone will contact you this week to talk to you about me...sorry I am a problem child...oops:)

I LOVE YOU!

Love,

Lexie

God Loves Us

Hi!!!!!  How are you?   Basically I had a full relapse (back related)...I have been super tired, I have had tingling in my whole body, I have had a headache for about three weeks, and I have even had the twitch.  I have hardly worked in three weeks...I move...slowly...but I move.

The physical therapist has been helping lots.  I don´t have my twitch anymore and the tingling isn´t as bad.  So that means I am feeling better.

I went to the chiropractor and he told me pretty much what I already knew.  One leg is shorter than the other, my shoulders are misaligned and apparently I am just one crooked, unstable mess.  Of course I am a crooked, unstable mess!  I am 5´11" and I live in Chile where the tallest people come to about my shoulder.  Ok that is a lie, but still...I also carry the word of God around with me all day and that is pretty heavy...

I am keeping my President informed, don´t worry.  I call his wife like every other day... we are basically BFFs...

It has been a hard three weeks, I will be honest.  But I am fine.  I mean, I am in pain, but I´m not angry or frustrated or dying.  Obviously I want my mommy to come give me a big mommy hug, but that is probably the hardest part.  Lots of people are really nice to me.  The mamita lets me stay in her house so my companion can go out and work.  My companion is an ANGEL and I don´t think you could even pretend that I am "training" her at this point.  She is a stud, and she is helping me a ton.  And the zone decided they wanted to fast for me so I have been receiving lots of love.  Probably WAY more love than I deserve, but how can you say to someone, "Stop loving me."  That´s just stupid.

So...the good news...My physical therapist has a Book of Mormon and he is going to read it.  Haha, yeah, that´s right, best missionaries EVER.  Actually I was doing my therapy so Hermana Núñez is the best missionary ever.  But I pretended like I wasn´t finished so she could keep talking so I helped.  Haha, oh...God loves us...A LOT.

We have basically lost all of our investigators...That´s kind of a bummer.  I never understood the concept of "War in Heaven" until my mission.  It makes a lot more sense.  It also makes sense why there are so many war chapters in the Book of Mormon.  Because we are fighting a war right now!  Doesn´t that just blow your mind?  Anyway, I was praying for a miracle this week.  We haven´t had an investigator in church for 3 months...we have done everything we can to have investigators in church...so this Sunday the little granddaughter of a member came to church.  We have taught her one time, but we did absolutely nothing to help her come to church because she doesn´t live here...You might all think that doesn´t count, but let me just reiterate that God loves us A LOT.  And he really does answer prayers, but it is almost never in the way that we want.

I am doing good, I promise.  I will be healthy soon.

Love you all!

Love

Lexie