mom-o-six, nana-o-three

BREE IS ENGAGED!!!

2011-12-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

Bree has met the love of her life...Sam Hillam. He seems perfect for her. He is crazy about her. She is crazy in love. I know you are wondering where and when...

Jan 28th in the Idaho Falls Temple...yes you read that right. So during the Christmas season you know what we will be doing...planning planning planning a wedding across the country! Maybe my last child will get married where we live...HA... Probably not!!

We are so happy for her and we look forward to meeting him in a week!!

2011-05-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

http://youtu.be/ZY-2vor3MtA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYSON

2011-05-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

People often wonder if there is truly love at first sight. Well of course there is!! The day I laid my eyes on you I fell deeply in love. When I come to visit and you yell "Na Na" and squeeze me tight I fall in love even more. You are adorable my little guy. My heart aches that I am not with you on your special day! You changed our life the day you were placed into your parents arms and we will never be the same!!!

Love you Tyson all the way to the moon and back!!

Child of my child Heart of my heart.

Your smile bridges The years between us...I am young again,

discovering The world through your eyes.

You have the time to listen and I have the time to spend,

Delighted to gaze at familiar,Loved features made new in you again.

Through you, I see the future.Through me, you'll see the past.

In the present, we'll love one another As long as these moments last.

BRANDON & WHITNEY ARE HAVING TWINS

2011-04-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

BRANDON & WHITNEY ARE HAVING TWINS!!! DUE OCTOBER 20th WHAT A BIRTHDAY PRESENT I WILL GET!

2011-03-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

THIS IS CHRIS REDFERN

THIS HANNA BENNION

THEY STARTED DATING WHEN SHE WAS 16

THEY WERE HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS

HE LEFT ON A MISSION...SHE WAITED

SHE WILL BE HANNA REDFERN ON AUG 5TH

IN THE OAKLAND TEMPLE WHERE THEY WILL

BE TOGETHER FOREVER. AND WE FEEL BLESSED!

FAMILY PICTURES

2010-12-20T23:53:00.001-08:00

HOLIDAYS & GRANDSONS

2010-12-05T17:59:00.000-08:00

HOMECOMING

2010-11-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

GOT MY BABY BOY HOME FINALLY!

THE FAMILY...MINUS A FEW IMPORTANT UTAH PPL...WE WILL ALL BE TOGETHER FOR THANKSGIVING

HIM AND HIS BFF JOEY WHO CAME OUT AND SURPRISED HIM

MEETING HIS NEPHEW GAGE DOR THE FIRST TIME

2 MORE DAYS....

2010-11-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

HIS LAST BAPTISM

Hey everybody! Well this week was another great one. My comp received a new comp from the MTC and so it was a lot of this this week being with him and watching him progress. But the best part was the fact that on Saturday we had the very first baptism of the new branch of Teteles. It was truly a very special experience and I thank God that he allowed me to be able to be there and participate in this historical moment for this new growing branch. He is Beto, a 56 year old man who loves the book of mormon and is so excited to be a worthy priesthood holder. He is great and it was a very special weekend. Tonight we are opening the first official house of prayer that is here, it is a house we are renting but it is way nice and very comfortable to be a adequate house of Prayer. Every day i thank the Lord for the wonderful opportunity he gave me to serve in this amazing area, to witness such miracles and to start the work in these small towns. What a blessing it truLy is i don't understand how the Lord could have blessed me so. The mission has been a life changing experience, I will not pass a single day without remembering the sweetness of the Lords work. THe true joy that is only found in service and diligence through helping His children find the way back to him. I know i have done nothing, and this is truly His work, but i feel ever grateful to have been a part of it, to witness it, and to feel this joy. I give thanks to everyone of you whom have supported me during these two years, i just cant believe how fast they have gone. I still dont believe I will return home this week. I think I´ll stay, Our branch President doesnt have a second counselor and he said he would call me if i offered to stay. We´ll see. I know that this is the one and only living and true church of the Lord Jesus Christ here on this earth, that Jose Smith was truly the Lords Revelator in these last days. I know the my Redeemer lives, and loves each and every one of us. I love you all and have a great week!
Elder Redfern

This Weeks Email

2010-10-20T16:32:00.001-07:00

Hey all! Well things a re going great here in Teteles, always plenty of work to get done, and plenty of service to give. I love the mission. This week we found a sister and her daughters that just are in so much need of the restored gospel in their vidas. Her name is Socorro, and she has passed through so many trials that I cant even comprehend. But i know that the Lord can. He truly is the only one who could have suffered all things so that he could know how to ¨socorrer a los de su pueblo¨ I don't remember what it says en el english but something like help those of his people. He truly went through it all, and there is not a pain or suffering that he knoweth not. HE is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and i beg to one day fully understand his everlasting atonement. I give so much thanks that the Lord saw fit to send me here, to let me learn and grow, and to experience the joy that is felt preaching to His children. There is just so many people that deserve the same opportunity that many of us have had to receive the message of the restoration. I love God and thank him for the parents He gave me that were always willing to teach me this Gospel. My brothers and sisters who have put the example before me, and my friends who have done so as well. I pray for each of you, and know the Lord is by your side. So much work still to do! I love you all
Elder Redfern

2010-10-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! Wasn't this weekend just amazing! being able to hear the voice of a true Prophet of the Lord is a blessing that not all have had nor even lived in the time to do so. I love the fact that the Lord loves us so much that he still sends us Prophets and Apostles. Every day i realize how ungrateful i have been for all the blessings the Father has given me. What an opportunity is truly is to live in the time of the restoration of the True Gospel of Jesus Christ. I feel so blessed to have strong and fiathful Parents that have lead and guided me and supported me in all that we´ve done. Well here in Teteles things are moving forward. We have the chance to be peoples first glance upon the one and true church and it is def a humbling experience, at least i thought it was until i heard Pres Uchtdorf speak and realized how incredibly prideful i still am ha. Here I'm wearing gloves and a sweater because yes it is like 55 degrees. Talk about cold my friends. We are looking constantly and knocking all doors and talking to everybody in the streets to be able to find those prepared children of God. Every minute does count. And being a little alejado from society when have to travel a little bit but even than there is a way to use the time efficiently. I love you all and give you thanks for your grand support and love that you have demonstrated. i hope you all have a great week!
elder Redfern

CONFLICT & PEACE

2010-09-26T05:27:00.000-07:00

Adult Session of Conference
11 Sept 2010
President Bradley Hansen

Introductory Story – Danna saying that she hope, knew that as a babysitter, he was “in charge of peace.” We all should be in charge of making peace wherever we are.

Source of Conflict/Contention
· Unmet desires or expectation: James 4: 1-3.
o Some desires are inherently wrong: lust, greed, revenge.
o Good desires: peace and quiet at home, clean and orderly home, a new car to haul the family around, professional success so you can provide for your family, a close and intimate relationship w/ a spouse, obedient and respectful children, close & loyal friends.

Response to Unmet Desires/Expectations
· Do we respond to unmet desires or expectations Satan like? (Note: When you see the unmet desire, even the good desire) as the key to your happiness or contentment, the desire has become an idol.) .
o Probing Questions to test if your good desires have taken on the role of idols:
§ What do I think about the most?
§ What do I fear the most?
§ What do I wish would come about the most?
§ “If only _______, then I would be happier?
o Examples of a good desire becoming a false God or idol:
§ Mother who seek obedient and respectful so her life is easy.
§ Husband who wants a higher paying job so he can indulge more of his worldly fancies or because he aspires to the honors of men.
· Do we respond to unmet desires or expectations Christ like?
o Learn from it – James 1:2-4.
o Cultivate charity and a deeper commitment to obedience from it – 1 John 4:19-21
o Chance to live the Law of the Gospel (celestial law) vs. the Law of Moses from it – Luke 6z:27-28
o Become sanctified from it – Romans 8:28

Role of Judging in Conflict/Contention
· Proper use of judging (to minister to others) – Gal 6:1-3.
· Improper use of judging – Matt 7:1-5.
o Careful not to play God – criticize, nit-pick, nag, attack, condemn.
o It is ok to have high expectations of others, but if someone you have high expectations for fails to meet those expectation and you find yourself feeling superior, indigent, condemning, bitter, or resentful; then your judging is not to minister.

Role of Punishment in Conflict
· Idols demand sacrifices. When we punish others for unmet expectation, we are in many ways sacrificing our relationship with that person on the altar of our idol.
· “Sending subtle, unpleasant cues over a long period of time is an age-old method of inflicting punishment. For example, a friend of mine mentioned to me that his wife was not pleased with the fact that he was giving so much time to a particular ministry. He closed by saying, “And as we all know, when momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” He laughed as he said it, but his comment made me think of the Proverb, “A quarrelsome wife is like constant dripping on a rainy day” (Proverbs 27:15). A woman has a unique ability to set the tone in a home. If she is not careful, she can pervert that gift and use it to create an unpleasant or uncomfortable atmosphere that tells her family. “Either get in line with what I want, or you will suffer.” Such behavior is an act of unbelief: instead of relying on God’s means of grace to sanctify her family, she depends on her own tools of punishment to manipulate them into change. Of course, a man can do the same thing; by being perpetually critical and unhappy, he too can make everyone in the family miserable until they give in to his idols. The usual result of such behavior is a superficial, splintered family.” Ken Sande “Peace Maker.”

Suggested Actions - to rid ourselves of the desire/expectations that have become idols
· Removing
o Asking yourself the probing questions.
o Record in your journal what influence your unmet desires are having upon you.
o Pray that the negative influence of your unmet desires will be removed.
o Get priesthood and professional help, if needed.
· Replacement
o See 1 Thess 5:15-23 for a list

2010-09-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

Hey mommy! it was crazy seriously we were out in the middle of the hurricane trees falling down tin flying everywhere in the mission SUV hat we have in the offices going to pick up missionaries trapped in their houses. It was something else seriously. WE had to get out several times to move things out of the way and within 5 sseconds completely soaked everything. It was pretty cool haha because well no1 was hurt and everything was over in a couple hours. But yes mom i am out of the offices! My last change Will be here in the field. President Johnson the area President of Mexico put in a policy that means the assistant's should not finish their missions i the offices when their work is too valuable to train new missionaries. So I get to have a once in a life time chance to open a brand new branch where missionaries haven't been ever assigned. Its awesome truly the best way i think i can finish my mission. WE a re going to work so much, we have nobody ha but we will find and teach and try to establish the work in all the tiny little towns that make up this branch. I know I'm nothing special but I don't understand why the Lord has blessed me with so many great opportunities in the mission. My companion is a GREAT young elder and humble. Maybe we wont have so much success right now, but the Lord will get his work done here, maybe i´ll see part of it or maybe we´ll just work and the blessings will come later, but I'm excited. Its going to be hard but fun. I love you mom i hope that i can everyday learn to be more humble i know that I'm just a normal elder, not the greatest teacher nor the best in anything, but i do want to finish working strong. I love you mom!
Elder Redfern

Hey everybody! Well everything fine and calmed down. The hurricane came fast and went fast. It was a crazy experience and a good amount of damage done. Lots of flooding, lots of trees down, and the saddest part was how many people had tin and or wood houses blown away. It was insane too see the damage. But actually i am no longer in the city or sate of Veracruz. I'm now in Teteles, Puebla, a brand new branch that was created yesterday in ward conference and my companion (E. Vargas) and I are having a great opportunity to be a part of this. I am so happy to be out working here up in he mountains! Yup its cold here its crazy! Well by cold i mean like 60 degrees but im freezing. It gonna be so much fun though we are so ready, we went around getting to know the area and its been awesome. My companion is a great young elder and ready to work. So we are happy. Also the day i left we baptized Oscar Eduardo a son of a recent convert, it was so amazing to see the tender mercies of the Lord who allowed the heart of the father of that boy to receive a valid baptism. The Lord truly blesses us more than we understand. I love the mission i hope all is well and that everyone is doing great. I love you all!!
Elder Redfern

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-09-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

Amador,Canseco,Holman,Redfern
Hey! Well this was just a great hard working week! Man the Lord is always willing to let us press forward in the work if we put in the effort. We knocked and searched and searched and talk to hundreds of people in the street. Sometimes there are just times where patience becomes your foundation as you keep searching diligently for the answer, the blessing, or the evidence that God does hear you. MY companion had read the last general conference talk (FALTA POCO POR LA PROXIMA!) by Presidente Uchtdorf about patience and we talked about it in companionship study, it was great. Man how cool is the mission? Everyday you study the gospel, live it, and preach it. Wait we can always do that! Cool! There are truly people that God has prepared to receive the Gospel now, but we have to open our mouth. I Cant express my feelings about this properly, i truly hope that I have learned and still will learn everything i need to be faithful in this commandment after the mission. Today Jesus will be getting baptized, his whole family almost is members and he is so ready to enter in the baptismal waters. It is such a blessing to be witnessing such types of ordinances every week. To watch people truly become closer to God through this sacred action. I love it, I love the mission. I love you all and hope you have an awesome week!
Elder Redfern

THIS WEEKS EMAIL

2010-09-08T08:17:00.001-07:00

Hey!
Well we had another great and busy week here. The Lord is truly merciful in all that He does and gives us. Yesterday was the baptism of Elena, who had been an investigator since I got to the area, and she started out really great. She was so ready to change and when we found her she was drinking at least 6 cups of coffee every day! But through various lessons and prayers, she finally was able to stop drinking coffee, but than she stopped going to church! We were like what, she was keeping her commitments, and she had her baptismal date like 2 times, and she just kept on thinking she wasn't ready. Her sister and her son kept going to church and got baptized, so we left her for about a week. We came back and we applied some new techniques on teaching the importance of prayer. It was a really spiritual lesson, and the day we went back she said she had kneeled down, and prayed, and she received her answer, knew it was true and desired to be baptized. The Lord truly prepares his children here on earth so that they can listen to the Gospel. She was so ready yesterday and it was a great feeling to watch her enter the baptismal waters. We also witnessed how the devil confuses Gods children and makes them feel uncertain, but in the end the Lord always prevails. I truly am so grateful to be here in the mission and trying to be a better person everyday. I hope everyone has a great week and keeps on fighting the good fight, its always worth it. I love you all
Elder Redfern

THIS WEEKS EMAIL

2010-08-29T04:21:00.000-07:00

Hey all!
Well this week was another great and awesome week in Veracruz! We were extremely busy with lots of work but that is always the best part. Tomorrow my little nephew Gbaby turns two! Man how time has flown by! Everyday more there is always experiences that just make you Love the mission more. It is so great to put in the effort and try to comprehend the spirit and to rejoice together with the investigators when they than feel the love of Christ and understand that this is the truth. We are relearning many things from the new lessons from Preach My Gospel which are supposed to help missionaries be better, and more spiritual teachers. Ha I which i had like no time to be able to do this things for some reasons i havent been doing all my mission. Most of them are just simple adjustments but that can truly change a lesson and invite the Spirit more. What a blessing it is to be guided by living Prophets. I love the Gospel and I know it is true. I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love
Elder Redfern

this weeks emails

2010-08-22T05:07:00.000-07:00

hey everybody!
Well this was another great and busy week here in veracruz always lots of fun things going on. There was a new capacitation going on with like a third of the mission and there was some very interesting things we learned. It seems like the First Presidency is telling us, we gave you Preach my Gospel and you couldnt understand even that, so heres PMG more simple. But turthfully it was awesome. I love being a missionary there is always new things to learn, I was talking to a good frined Elder Selvas, and we were saying, man why do you have to learn how to really do mission work when you have not very much time. seeing as Elder Selvas is going home in sept, pobre cuate. We have a baptism today, Aurelio has progressed really well and the key to his conversion has been prayer. Ever since the first lesson his prayers have been so humble and sincere and one can really feel the difference between that type of prayer and one said just to be said. He truly is a great example and it has been a pleasure to be able to assist in his finding of the Gospel. Thats why the mission is the best! You get to observe people as they make there way back to Heavenly Father as they complete their commitments that we leave for them. time goes by too fast but i sure am enjoying it. I hope you all have a wonderful week!!! I love you all
Elder Redfern

More Homecoming Pix!

2010-08-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-08-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! I cant believe Bree is home! Thats just crazy, but what makes me so happy is just to know that she put in all her effort for all the time she was able to spend as a missionary. Felicidades hermana!!! Well this week was another great one. Today Monse will be getting baptized, she was so ready. We gave her and her mom a blessing last night, and it was really a spiritual experience. Monse is really learning to be sensitive to the spirit, and she could really feel it. Also a great help has been that the single youth have really took her in as a friend, which has been the changing factor. Members make or break missionary work, their spirit, service, love, and effort is what can change an investigators feeling about going to church. I love being able to work in this calling. Also this morning we went to the beach and played some soccer and were able to enjoy some time together. Time just goes by so fast and its weird. We are already in august and things are just going and going. But it is truly great to be able to see the progress of the investigators and ones self. Sometimes we go to a recent converts house and share a scripture and they are just still so excited to go to church every week, to keep praying and reading, and its one of the best feelings to know that there life has been changed. Rosario and her daughter who were baptized last week are just so happy, so ready to keep on fighting and not give in. the Lord is truly blessing his children everyday, and he has prepared thousands and thousands here in Mexico to hear his word. I love you all so much and i pray everyone keeps strong in their testimony.
Elder Redfern

SHE'S HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-08-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

Making posters

Is she on the plane???? Mama dying with anticipation

Meeting Gage for the first time

Daddys hugs

One happy mama and daddy

Seeing the virginia family

Sweet Daniel drew a picture for her arrival

2010-08-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

Hey all!
Things are going great down here in veracruz. The highlight of today will not be going to carls Jr which is definitely an up there, but will be the baptisms of Rosario, Esther, and Monse. They all three are going to enter into the baptismal convannt in a few short hours. What an amazing moment to witness someone taking the first step and ordinance of the Gospel. There is truly an opposition in all things, as each one of them had trials leading towards there baptism, but are more than ready and willing to keep fighting the good fight. This week we received a reference from a Sister that came from a different city on vacation, and as she left the church building she had found by her own account, she contacted a man and returned back to the church to give us the referral. It was such a blessing, considering now he and his family are receiving the lessons and preparing for a baptism on the 14th of August. This is such a perfect example of a true disciple of Jesus Christ. on vacation, found the Church and hour, and than contacted someone and gave the missionaries the referral. Wow, if all us members were more like that there sure would be a lot more success in missionary work. The Scriptures and Prophets always encourage us to open our mouth, and not worry what we shall say. Missionary work is also a way that we retain the remission of our sins, if we shame to preach the Gospel, it shall be difficult to retain the remission of our sins. I know the Lord is content with the good discipleship of that Sister, and I encourage all of you to follow her great example, the missionaries would love it! On a second note, i cant believe Bree will be home this week. wow. Time truly flies by, I'm so glad i still have a good 3 months left to keep at it. Thee field is truly white and ready to harvest. Seeds have been planted, its time to reap. i love you all so much and thank you or your constant support.
Love
Elder Redfern

SHES COMING HOME! SHE GETS ON THE PLANE IN ROSARIO TUESDAY AND WILL ARRIVE NEWPORT NEWS AIRPORT AT 10AM WED! DYING....

Pioneer trek 2010

2010-07-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

Some of our youth in the Newport News Stake participated in a Trek to commemorate the pioneers trekking all the way to the Salt Lake Valley from Illinois...They had to dress like them eat like them and push and pull their own handcarts. They were amazing! Not a complaint...the week was record breaking heat in Virginia! So proud of all of them! The Hand Cart

My SIL...happy to see her hubby

they worked harder than most ever have in their life...

they are coming into the "valley" to find family and friends awaiting

Jamestown Ward carried their 'Ma" in

Heat index that day...115 degrees

So glad they made it

The cooker that met them full of pork...they ate similar to the pioneers too so they were happy to see food!

preparing the food!

Steven Brooke & Gage

2010-07-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

These guys will be here this week to live with us until December...I cant wait! Steven will be working for me right next door to our house.

I will get to come home from work everyday to this...isnt he delicious? We look forward to babysitting as often as they let us! I only get them for a few months but it will be worth it!

And we get the pleasure of getting to know our DIL better...we have only been together a few times and always short visits or with lots of ppl around. She is talented and sweet and a great little mommy! I look forward to learning alot from her! Our extended family and ward family are excited too! Lots happens while they are here...next week BREE returns from her mission in Argentina...Chris returns from his mission in Mexico November 4th.

Hurry guys! We can't wait!

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-07-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hola a todos,
This is my last letter here in the mission field and I feel like I should have some super inspiring words but I’ll be honest I really don’t feel like writing too much, I’ll be seeing y´all next week. I can’t believe this whole experience is coming to an end. The feelings are so weird, you want to stay because you love the people and enjoy the time you get to testify of the truthfulness of the gospel but then again you are excited to see you family and begin your life with all that you have learned and applicate them. I decided to read about Job these last few weeks of my mission and am learning a lot from him. He suffered EVERYTHING possible and even his friends turned on him. In chapter 4 of Job his friend reminds him how he had preached so much before and now he has to actually apply the things he has taught to his own life as he has had to suffer. I thought about myself. All the times that I have walked into homes and cried repentance to the people and begged them to change their lives and do the small things like praying, reading and going to church. All the times I told couples to apply love and forgiveness in their relationships, or the times that I told the men they need to step it up, or the kids I remind to stay away from dance clubs and parties. Now I need to go home and live these teachings, I need to be an example for my converts. It is a scary thought but I know that as long as I am obedient the Lord will provide.
I KNOW WITH ALL MY HEART AND MIND THAT THIS IS THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH OF GOD. I know that Joseph smith was a Prophet and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God along with the bible. I know that Christ is our Savior and through him we can be saved!
I LOVE YOU ALL, KEEP THE FAITH
Hna Redfern

Hey all! well this week was another great one. The best thing about the mision is just being able to watch how fast people progress in the Lord. To watch the change of their countenance, watch them really start to believe and desire to do well. I love the Lord for giving me this wonderful opportunity to be here, its miraculous. Everyday we stop people in the street and present ourselves as representatives of Jesucristo. Isn't that so cool. I know im not the most amazing representative of Him, but i know that the Lord has always put me where i need to be. Its truly amazing, next week there will be 5 baptisms, and its going to be a marvelous day. I know the Lord has blessed us with success and I know it comes directly from Him. Like the Lord told the sons of Mosiah, if the were willing to be patient in their afflictions, and be diligent, the Lord would give them success. I know we have to put in our best even more, and work harder everyday, give a more constant effort. Everyday is a chance to learn and to grow, and to keep fighting for a spot in the mansions of the Father. Ive started to realize how much satan does really blind us here on earth with things that aren't necessarily bad, but keep us from doing really good things. The Internet movies and all types of entertainment can be used wholly and worthily, but can also distract us from the goal of this life, return with God, that's the reason we came here. I see it more as a missionary now, now that we don't watch TV or movies or barely use the Internet. What I'm really trying to relate is is that there is absolutely nothing in front of the Gospel. There are elders in all of the world that when they left there homes to begin a mission their families no longer talk to them, but they did it because they understood this. I am so grateful that God has given me a family that has supported me so much in my whole life. I truly hope to be a better instrument in the Lords hands everyday, and use my time wisely, because i know that it goes by fast. i love you all so much and hope you have a great week.
Elder Redfern

2010-07-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! well this was another great and eventful week here in Veracruz. Things are moving along in the work and we had another baptism this morning at 9am, just a great way to start off the day. Alejandra was so excited to be able to get into the baptismal waters and receive the remission of her sins, i truly am coming to understand the ordinance of the baptism here on the mission, something that maybe us who were born in the church didn't appreciate as much being 8yrs old and getting baptized. She was so joyful to know that her sins had been truly washed away. what an amazing burden to be lifted up off ones shoulders. The Lord truly is so merciful with all of us, giving us this great opportunity. We also have a couple other families that are being taught and prepared for baptism for these upcoming weeks. it is truly a wonderful blessing to be here in the mission, it is incredibly that the Lord allows young men and women like us to HELP in this work. I love being here so much. I have been able to communicate with the Elders who are in my old area in Poza Rica, and they have had the opportunity to baptize 4 of the investigators that we had found and taught. it feels so cool to know that they were able to make that choice and receive those blessings. I truly do love being here, time is just flying by. i cant believe my sister will be home in just a few weeks, but i know she is working hard everyday. What an example she has been for me here on the mission. I am so grateful the Lord has always given me good examples to have in my life and learn from them. I hope that all of you are doing great and enjoying the time together as families in this summer. i love you all so much!
Elder redfern

Hola a todos,

WE had the blessing of seeing another man enter into the waters of baptism this weekend. Rodolfo Rivoira is a father of three, his family all have been baptized one by one these past few months and he finally started to show interest. His family had some tough trials of faith these past few weeks, someone stole 200 pesos from their son, Julian in the church at an activity and he was feeling super down, the mom, Gridselda was diagnosed with diabetes, their friends son almost died in a car accident. It was so interesting to see how broken they were the night before his baptism; they were fighting and just not wanting to be around one another. Gridselda, like most moms have felt once in their life was feeling woe is me and saying, “no one helps me with anything!” And then said she wouldn’t go to the baptism! Surprisingly, the only one who was doing fine was Rodolfo he just sat back and listened to everyone else. We tried to animate them and talk about what they could do as a family. They told us they weren’t reading their scriptures or doing prayer as a family and not doing FHE. We reminded them of the importance of these things, it’s not that these are just suggestions but they are COMMANDMENTS, we must do these things if we want to have the spirit in our homes. We learn in Alma 37:6;
“…that by small and simple things are great things brought to past.”
Luckily they were able to calm them down and they all showed up to the baptism, late (which was freaking me out a bit) but they came! I think I have found my nitch…family and marriage counselor, but for real, it seems like these past few weeks it is all that I have been doing, my comp told me that “si o si” (yes or yes) I need to change my major and go into social work, follow in the footsteps of my big bro. I guess we will wait and see.
I love this work and though at times I feel trunky and ready to go home I understand how precious this time is and that I have the eternity to be with my family, thanks to the gospel! This is the one and only true church of God where the priesthood has been restored and I am not afraid to share it. God is on our side and he will protect us. I know that it is so important that we focus on the little things in our life like prayer, scripture study and FHE we will see great things come to past!
I love you all!
KEEP THE FAITHHna Redfern

It's 3:30am...

2010-07-16T00:22:00.000-07:00

And I cant sleep...AGAIN...It's becoming commonplace.

But as I lay in bed and toss and turn and worry...I decide to get up...do some work on the computer and I read this...

http://kissesforamy.blogspot.com/2010/06/reflections-by-light-of-full-moon.html

And then I cry...Ask Heavenly Father to forgive me...and feel grateful for my many blessings.

In my prayers I ask him to guide me to serve those around me...I fail many times...but I keep praying and I keep serving.

I am grateful for my family...grateful they are serving each in their own way.

I miss my children and their families...and then I re-read the post...and I am grateful for cell phones...skype...computers and that we are all healthy and alive...soon to be together again.

2010-07-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

hey all! well this was a great week down here in Veracruz! We had a baptism this morning early and it was quite an experience. She is an older lady and has a stomach problem which made it possible for her to go backwards for the baptism, and it was quite a struggle, but she got baptized and was so excited that she could do it after. It was great. We have also had some great lessons, and learned some lessons this week. There is a saying in spanish, echando a perder se aprende, or something like, ruining it is how you learn, that's not very good english i dont think. But im learning from my mistakes and learning how to do things better and more efficiently. Things are going great we have a great companionship and the work is fun. Lots of new things going on still with the division of the mission, but we are all learning and seeing miracles. In my old area 3 investigators i had found are getting baptized today or next week and it is such an awesome feeling truthfully, I love the Lord and know He has truly prepared thousands and thousands of people to receive the Gospel here in Mexico and we just need to reap the fruits. The Lord is so merciful, and it is such a miracle the fact that He forgives us for all that we do. I have been trying to study more and understand on a larger scale the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I just realize, first of all how little i understand it, but even then just catching a glimpse of what He has done is overwhelming. I know that He lives, I know he is my Savior. I hope that you are all having a great week and enjoying the summer. I love you all and hope and pray you have a great week.
Elder Redfern

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-07-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

PREPARATION DAY
¡Hola! ¡Como les va! ¿Como andan? ¿Todo Bien?
I want to share with you an experience we had this week and why I KNOW that God loves his children. Our first few days here we were trying to get to know the area, making contacts but not too many in fear that we wouldn´t know how to get to there house. As we were walking down a street during the siesta (when NO one is outside) our first Saturday here we saw a young boy washing his car ahead of us, I was having a debate in my head of whether we would talk to him or not and finally chose not to, we past him and the spirit turned me around like it has done time and time again and we stroke up a conversation.
His name is Pablo, he is 23 and said doesn’t believe in God, or miracles. I shared with him some miracles I have had in the mission and he said they were just coincidences. We tried to bare our testimonies, tell him that God loves him and get an appointment with him but he didn’t want it, so we testified and left.
The next day, Sunday the 27th, we saw him leaving a house and he waved to us and something came over me again and I ran across the street just to say hi to him and his mom, we congratulated them on the win Argentina had in the world cup and just left. As we walked away I said how badly I would love to give him a book of Mormon so we decided we were going to mark up one with special scriptures and take it to his house one day this past week.
We tried everyday to remember where he lived but could not find it. On Friday I told my comp I would like to take the book of Mormon out of my bag because it was heavy but knew if I did we would run into him, so I didn’t. We headed out to work and to be honest had a tough day, no one wanted to listen to us all morning. Then the miracle, we had to change our plans up for the day and headed to an appointment early, when we left the house guess who drove by us, Pablo! I ran the car down like a crazy sister missionary and excitingly yelled at him how we had a gift. He graciously took it, said he would read and in this moment you could see in his eyes that he could feel the love of God. And then he accepted an appointment!
Just so you know, this place is large; it is not common to randomly see the same person in the street in three completely different places in one week. I know that the Lord answered our prayers, I know how much he loves his children and how badly He wants them to accept this wonderful gospel. I know that this is the Church of God that was restored through a living Prophet. IT IS TRUE!
I love you all! KEEP THE FAITH

THE FOUR NEW AP's...TWO WILL BE LEAVING SOON!

Hey all! well things have just been all crazy here in the new mission. Well just so you all know, its not a new mission. Veracruz has always been a mission, we just got changed missions because the boundaries changed, and now I'm in the city of Veracruz, far away from tampico. they work in a different way here, and i have a great comp and we are going to have some good success. Its def been a change getting use to everything new, new rules, new way of doing things, and like 100 new missionaries that i don't know but its cool and its been a good experience. There is a great feeling and attitude here and President Hansen is a great guy. He is so funny but also respected and knows how to get this work done. his wife is so sweet and makes some mean brownies. Well we met some new people this week who already have baptismal dates! its so exciting to be able to truly find people that are chosen, that the Lord has prepared to receive the gospel. The Lord is truly so merciful with all of us, and I'm trying to develop more Christ like attributes. We had some conferences this week with the new president and the new ways of doing things, and it seems like it should be great. The work is the same wherever you go, and its always true. i love you all so much and hope you are having a fantastic week! love ya
Elder Redfern
Oh and so that all of you know i cannot recieve emails now from anyone but my family, but i would appreciate letters!

BIG NEWS...

2010-06-28T02:59:00.000-07:00

Elder Redfern has had quite a week! He is in a brand new mission. He is now The AP in the VERA CRUZ MEXICO MISSION. His new Address is:

Mision Mexico Veracruz

Altamirano 27 entre 1 de Mayo y Carranza

Postal Apartado 103

Colonia Flores Magon

91700 Veracruz, Veracruz

Mexico

Hey all!! well lots of very inters ting things going on with the change of mission. Lets start with the least interesting.. i got stomach sick all week and lost ten pounds and still haven't eaten well. and on Saturday i had the BEST day of my mission arguably. Well earlier this week i got a call from an elder who gave me some grand news of a convert and his family from last year in Altamira. So we got on a bus and at 11 am on Saturday morning Jorge Mercado Paz was sealed to his wife and three daughters as a family eternal!!! IT WAS SWEET!! oh i cannot explain the joy. it was full. It was such a great experience. And it just so happened to be my last day in the mission here. I'm currently in veracruz. I got home from tampico to poza rica at like 10 at night, and then at 11 on sunday morning we left to veracruz me and my comp and here we are. The mission isnt new. we just got added onto it, actually it is very, very organized and Pres Hansen is already going on his last year. This will truly be a great and wonderful experience, and I'm truly grateful to be able to be part of this change. I love and treasure President Call and sis Call so much, they are wonderful wonderful people. i will miss them. But it is exciting to get to know a new mission. I feel kind of weird, almost as if i was new. Its cool though. i love the mission just like always. Oh man.. so much joy, watching a family get sealed.. I love this work!!! i love you all!!! have a great week.
Elder Redfern

THEY HAVE WALMARTS IN ARGENTINA!

Hola a TODOS,
So here I am in my new area, Venado Tuerto, the best comparison I can think of is Sacramento, CA. It is large but not like San Fran or New York. I about died the first night we were here, I felt like I was home walking the streets of a city. There are lights everywhere, big buildings, bars open all day and stores with large windows and nice clothes, things I have not seen much of the past 8 months of my mission.
My comp is a gem. She is so loving and so excited to work, she asks a ton of questions and things are so different for her which is weird for me because everything to me seems pretty normal, like showering from a bucket, oh how excited I am to have a real shower! Yesterday at church she said “where are all the people?” I said “welcome to the mission” It is normal to have 300 members and only 50 that go. I hope that is not the same odds in the states. Something the church and the missions down here are really striving to do is retain and help those to come back, it is just hard for us to understand at times because we have parents who made us wake up and made us go to mutual, something these people don’t have.
This area is wonderful; the members have been through a lot. They lost 3 active priesthood holders in 3 months due to health problems and haven´t been able to recuperate. Of the 50 people at church 5 were priesthood holders. How lucky we are to have a variety of priest holders to choose from!
I am feeling very anxious and stressed as I am nearing the end, SO MUCH TO DO. I read about the life of Christ in his last week before he died. He worked so many miracles and He really worked hard trying to bring more people unto Him. I hope that as I near the end I am able to forget myself and give it all that I have, with the knowledge that I am going to DIE!
I love you all! KEEP THE FAITH!!!!!
Hna Redfern

MY DIL IS AN R.N.

2010-06-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

CONGRATS WHITNEY!!!! WE ARE SOOOO PROUD OF YOU! I AM THE LUCKIEST MIL...I HAVE 3 INCREDIBLY INTELLIGENT WOMEN WHO WILL BE RAISING MY SONS...I MEAN GRANDCHILDREN. SO BLESSED....

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

2010-06-20T10:12:00.001-07:00

My multi-faceted husband. Do you kind of understand our children now? He is a great man. Fun, funny, and most of all he loves his childrens mother and he loves his children!

My funny dad! You have been a great father full of lots of stories...sometimes the same one...but thats OK. You worked hard to provide for our growing family and took great care of our mom!

Steven embarked on fatherhood this year and is a natural. I knew he would be! He was always good with the kids in the ward, the neighborhood, wherever we went he was like the pied piper they would be following him, tackling him and he loves it. He is a great husband and father and will always do the right thing when it comes to his family! The love is apparent everytime I see you hold him!

My favorite picture of josh and his boys! Josh has had a different journey to fatherhood. WOW! You have amazed me! The tender feelings I feel when I see you with your boys.... I feel so proud of you and your unconditional love you have for them and their mother! However many little ones the Lord blesses you with will be some pretty lucky kids!

I look forward to two more boys that will become fathers. I know they will be just as amazing in their own ways! I feel so blessed to have such terrific kids who will know raise an incredible new generation! Love you guys so much!

Missing y' all today...

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-06-18T05:04:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Well this was a great week here in the mission. I went to tampico for the last time in my mission for two days this week and it was kinda weird but i know great and interesting things lie ahead. Things went well and it is always a great opportunity to be able to talk to President Call face to face and hear his great wisdom and power. I love being part of the Hosts of the Lord, knowing that we are truly combating against satan and his forces, it just feels great to disturb his awful work and yet watch people save themselves from his grasp. We had a great lesson with the father of some two young men that were baptized about 2 months ago, and he is a step closer to realizing what a wonderful blessing it would for his whole family to be part of the ONE TRUE CHURCH of God. I love so much the invitation that we as missionaries give, because it is impossible to let us trick you, all we do is invite the people to talk to their Heavenly Father and ask him if it is right, if one does it with a sincere heart and true intention, the Lord will reveal them the truth by the Power of the Holy Ghost. I know my words have done nothing, i know I'm just a mere speck in this great work, but i know the Lord has chosen us and we have answered the call. I also know, painfully, that one day the call ends, or mejor dicho, the call changes, and one goes home. Boo. I cant believe Joey started school already(preparate ya mero llega mi hermanita...ja), but i know after one has served as well as he did their is no fear. I still do not have the new address of the new mission which will be parting July 1st, but i will try and get it by next week. The work moves on and i feel so privileged to be here, i hope you all have opportunities to share the gospel with your Friends and family, truly their is no joy sweeter than this. I know the Lord loves his children, i now know without a doubt that fasting is something powerful, very powerful. My good friend Elder Jones taught that praying is us knocking on heavens door, and praying and fasting is knocking on heavens door screaming HELP ME PLEASE!!. I liked that. I hope you all have a great week filled with spiritual experiences, letting the Lord guide you each and every day, there is absolutely nothing more important than what the Lord has commanded. I love you all!! thanks for your support!
Elder Redfern

Hola TODOS!

It has been yet another interesting week filled up ups and downs. I have always been honest with people and I will be honest I had quite the break down this Saturday. I really did not want to leave the house, but I didn´t want to stay in either. As we were getting ready to leave my boot broke (it was raining all morning) and I just broke down and balled my eyes out to my comp about how I wanted to be home. She held me for a min which was nice (though it would have been better if it were from my Daddy). I then just grabbed my other shoes and we left to work. My mind was going crazy with negative thoughts as I dreamed about being with my family. We didnt teach all morning.
We went to activity we had planned in the afternoon where there were only a few teenagers and there leaders who had just had mutual. I cried some more and sadly some of the members saw. I thought I had made a fool of myself but interestingly enough Hna Juarez, the presidents wife said “I wish I had your patience” I guess she was having a bad day too and had just yelled at one of the youth. Every seemed a little down and my comp suggested that we play “SIGNS” a fun game that we played all the time at BYU. At first everyone was frustrated because they couldn´t understand us very well, my Spanish vocabulary is not up to par to teach how to play games. As the game started going we just started to laugh and play and enjoy one another. It was exactly what I and everyone else needed. Tender mercies!
We then left and worked all night and it was wonderful. We have a family who are progressing so well. They told us about how they feel like since we have been in contact they have started to change and they like this new feeling they have. Rocio and Axel siblings that we are teaching still want to be baptised and we were able to have permission from there parents and we were able to visit a family who have not been to church in four years and guess what… they came yesterday!!!!! The Lord blesses us as we work. Even though our hearts are not always in the right place, if we just go to work He will provide for us what we need, He loves us and wants us to succeed and He will help us! I KNOW because He has and continues to help me! I miss you all, but really I miss you and though at times I want to be with you I know that this is where I need to be!
KEEP THE FAITH

Hna Redfern

ECUADOR

2010-06-10T01:59:00.000-07:00

2010-06-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

Hey alls! Well today was change day and yet again i stayed in my area here in Totolapa Poza Rica, but my kid left me, who was only here for one change, and me arrived elder de Jesus, o sea, Elder from Jesus. That's a pretty sweet last name isn't it. Hes a good elder i have known him lightly for a couple months. Well in midst of all the problems of the world life is great. There are wars and many rumors of wars. Druglords and shootings reign in many parts of the world but the Lords hand is always over us protecting our way. I love the mission so much and it was great to read a little about Joeys reporting the HC (which ill be doing in another stake now..) and learn that he has grown so much makes me want to cry happily and painfully, the fact that he grew spiritually is more than a brother could ask for, and physically, well that does make me want to cry. Well there are only three weeks until the division of the mission but everything is going on normal in the zone. The Lord is so merciful unto us, and all of His children. I am trying everyday to let the Lord work through me and let me became the man i need to be. I know that i still have so much left to grow and learn, but the best part of it is i get to watch other people do it as well. I know that i do nothing, that the Lord is the only one who converts, but i feel utterly grateful that he chose me to be here at this time, sometimes i ponder why, what should i learn from this day, from that lesson, from that investigator. I know that if i could only be humble the Lord could work through me with so much more power and authority. The battle to humility is tough, i{ve been in it for about 21 yrs failing humiliatingly, but i know its what i need to do. Because every time i meet a truly humble person, they accept the Gospel con facilidad and become members firm and strong. I love you all so much and give ye thanks for the support constant which has helped me here. Have a great week! my little sister is growing soooo much!! oh my joy is full!
love Elder Redfern

Sisters Sleepover
Hola todos,

I don’t even know how to begin my letter this week. I am feeling very scared as my time is running short I feel as though there still is so much I have not done or changed. Being with a newbie makes me a little jealous. She is setting all these goals that she is going to try and accomplish in the next yr and 3 months that she has while as I will be home in 8 weeks. I can’t even believe it and I feel like I still have so much to fix before I can head on that plane home. I still open my mouth too much at times, I still fight with the elders and my patience still is tried time and time again. I know that we cannot expect to be perfect, all we can do is recognize our weaknesses and try to be better. Oh, how I love Ether 12:27:
“And if men come unto me I will show them their weakness…for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong.”
I know that as we come unto Him he will help us to see the things that we can make better. We must repent speedily and come unto him like it says in D&C 109: 21:
“And when thy people transgress, any of them, they may speedily repent and return unto thee and find favour in thy sight.”
My testimony has grown tremendously as I have been out here in the field. I know that our God is always by our side and even though we fail Him at times He never gives up on us. We can repent and change quickly and try again.
I love you all so much. I love this work with all of my heart. I know that my father lives and loves us.
KEEP THE FAITH!
Hna Redfern

A LETTER FROM HAYLEA

2010-06-02T04:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

I don't have all of ya'lls emails addresses so this is only going to a few...but I wanted to write ya'll a message and tell ya'll a little bit about what I do here. But first I would like to tell you how much I love you, and how grateful I am to have ya'll in my life. I want to thank each and every one of you for always sticking by my side, and always having me in your hearts and prayers. Being here in Ecuador has made me learn and grow more than I ever thought I would. My time is half way up and it is killing me, I cant believe how fast it has gone by. I am in love with the kids, the country, and everyone in it.
First off I live with 17 girls and some visitors stray in and out. The house I live in is actually connected with another where the project directors of OSSO live as well. They are all so wonderful, and it is definitely a family away from home. There are 5 MAIN sites we have the privilege to go to everyday, here we have to opportunity to play, teach, and take care of the kids. The first orphanage is named OSSO and that is where the kids with disabilities reside. We feed, change, do activities and therapies with these beautiful kids. Most of them are severely handicapped and cannot speak and spend most of their time in their wheelchairs, but they are perfect and so easy to fall in love with. I wish I had enough time to tell you about each and everyone of them but I am sure that you will hear enough about them when i get home ;) Yesterday we actually played baseball, basketball, and volleyball with them and had a blast! In OSSO there are 3 different sites, and 2-4 people work in each site every shift. They continue to teach me everyday, I can only pray that they learn as much from me as I do from them. The second orphanage is called Todeo Torres and all of the kids here are beyond amazing! There are two different sites in this orphanage called "Cunas" and "Casas". In Cunas there are 8 ninos ranging from 1-3 and 4 young babies ranging from 20 days-9 months. The Casa ninos are 3-8 and there are 8 of them as well. Most of these kids suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome and a few others have different problems that we are unaware of. These kids are full on energy and life and I am in love with everyone single one of them. During the day we feed, change, teach and do ALOT of playing with these kids. We also have about 2-4 girls working at theses sites everyday every shift depending on how many volunteers we have at a specific time. So now you are probably wondering what shift is. Well we have two shifts a day, morning shift from 7 am until 12 pm and afternoon shift is 2 pm until 6 pm. We leave the orphanage at 12 pm but it usually takes about 15 minuets to drive home, so about 12:15 to 2 we have a lunch break. We are blessed with an amazing cook for lunch, Catalina, and we get a delicious Ecuadorian meal every day (except Sundays). During the week we do get 3 shifts off, unless we have a field trip that week we only get 1 or 2 shifts off depending on the circumstances. We never have a full day off, unless for certain field trips, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Even going a shift without seeing these kids makes me miss them so much. If my body didn't need sleep, I would go without any offs! So besides the 5 main sites we go to everyday we also have 4 more that we go to once or twice a week. We have HML that everyone gets to go to on Monday and Thursday nights from right after shift until 7:30. This orphanage is full of girls that have been physically or sexually abused. There are about 30 girls, they come in and out. We do anything with the girls, we have dance parties, they love to do our hair, and sometimes we will bake cookies with them. I have connected so well with these girls, they are so humble and grateful, I even get to help them with their English homework. HML ladies is another one we attend once a week during an actual shift, so only a few girls get to go at a time. It is pretty much a nursing home, we paint their nails and feed them. These ladies are so much fun and always give us a good laugh. Another site is an orphanage we call Remar. We go once a week on Saturdays during an actually shift, so once again only a few girls get to go. I am actually "mom" of this site, so I have the honor to go every week, and it is TRULY an honor. Remar is run by a Christian group and there are 40-50 children who live together, but split up into multiple bedrooms. One of there missions in providing a drug and alcohol rehabilitation to poor people, so a lot of the kids here do have parents but they suffer from these addictions. Some of the kids don't stay for long, while others stay for years and a few of the older girls have babies of their own. The children here have stolen my heart. They don't have very good manners, and they cant sit for longer than 5 minuets...but I cant even explain how much I care for them. I wish I could go everyday! The final site is Trinidad and it is actually a day care for children of all ages. We go every Tuesday during our afternoon shift and today was actually my first time going, since once again not everyone has the opportunity to go every day. Today we read books to these sweet kids then we helped them make their own. After our activity was done we gave them bread and apples and they were in heaven. One little boy was crying because he wanted more bread and two of the older girls gave him their bread. These kids have nothing, but yet are so willing to give to others, I see it everyday...every single day. So there is just a little bit of what I am doing here in Cuenca, Ecuador. I really wish I could write all of my experiences here but trust me I would be writing for days..and it could possibly take you hours to read. I am sincerely grateful for this experience and for all of yall that helped me get here. Everyone in my life has prepared me for my time here. All of ya'll that helped me have this opportunity...I truly hope you know how many others you have blessed besides me. THANK YOU! I wish I could tell ya'll how happy I am here and how much I love these kids but there are not any words to describe my feelings. Those of you who have kids...I now understand your love for them. I can only imagine how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ loves each and every one of us.

Once again, THANK YOU!

Sincerely,Haylea M. Redfern

2010-06-01T18:42:00.001-07:00

PICTURES FROM ECUADOR

2010-05-30T05:38:00.000-07:00

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-05-25T02:55:00.000-07:00

Hello! well this was a very interesting week in Poza Rica. We had one of our investigators of 4 months have a baby! And considering we and the members are the only people really financially stabling them in the incredibly hard situation, i got a call at 11 am and took off running to the church with her hospital papers that we had for a current problem. There the bishop took her to the hospital and she gave birth in o about 15 Minutes. Ya it was fast. We had already gotten back home and little Esperanza was born. This week we will probably give her a blessing and name for the church. The mission really lets you have some experiences you wold truly never have. I love this opportunity, truly is amazing. We also have had some really spiritual lessons with a young woman who had been to church for a year and will now be getting baptized this week, the Lord is truly Omnipotent and can do all things. My testimony of the fast is something that has grown extremely. Well i had interviews this week and it is ab out 100 percent certain that i will be changing to the Mission Mexico Veracruz when they make the division, so that will be the first of JULy so send the last mail you want to send me in this next week or two and than stop.... and later i will give the address for the new mission. It will be a very different change change but it is also a little exciting to be able to get to know even more of Mexico. New president, new missionaries, new people cities and culture. But not until July. So yea. We are just going to keep on working and doing what we need to be doing and let the Lord handle the rest. I love you all so much, i got a couple letters this week which was good because it had been while that anyone has written me besides Lindsey ha(your the best). Remember to keep the Sabbath day holy, i have been studying a good amount of words of the Prophets, and it is a day muy abused. Have a great week everyone!!
elder redfern

Hola!

I have been reflecting a lot today on my mission. As the time is coming short I am feeling many different emotions, I didn’t think it would still be so hard at this point. I am realizing that there is still so much to learn as a missionary and I would love a whole other 6 months to applicate everything I am learning now. I hope these boys realize how lucky they are to have the last six months that they have. But to be honest I don’t if physically I could do it. I feel my body dying. The last few nights we have had to run in super hard to try and make it in on time and I just want to cry. As I lifted my feet (we have been wearing boots because of the tremendous rain) pain rushed through each part of my body. I am doing my workouts daily but the walking all day gets to you. But every time we have made it in on time and I have literally felt the hand of the Lord push me the last few blocks to the house.

The hand of the Lord has been in all of our work. Finally this weekend Betty and Salustiano Alvarez are going to be baptized. We started teaching Betty in January but after many spiritual lessons and against my will we had to leave her because she wasn’t progressing. A MEMBER told us to stop buy again and every since then we have been teaching her and her husband. My heart if so full of joy! I just know their two kids that are home will follow.

We are also teaching stubborn Miguel, he is 100 percent Hippie and loves to fight with us but the spirit has been doing its work and he is changing. He came to church yesterday and my comp said he was tearing up a bit during my talk. It is amazing to watch the faces of people change as we testify of the truthfulness of this gospel.

I know that the greatest work we can do is share the gospel. People will listen, the spirit will touch there hearts. Something I wish people would have taught me more as a young women is how important it is that we preach this gospel instead of focusing so much on marriage. The right person will come at the right time, right now is the time to teach and preach to those who have not been able to have the gospel in their lives.

I love you all!!!!!!!!!!! KEEP THE FAITH!

HAYLEA IN ECUADOR

2010-05-18T14:35:00.001-07:00

YOU KNOW THEY LOVE HER

DONT YOU WANT TO JUST TAKE THESE LITTLE ONES HOME?

THEY ARE GETTING LOTS OF LOVE FROM THESE GIRLS! SO GRATEFUL SHE GOT TO GO!

SOME OF THESE GIRLS LEFT THIS WEEK AND ANOTHER GROUP COMES IN,

Haylea is having an incredible experience. She is already worried about how she is going to leave these kids. We talk a few times a week if we are lucky. She is always so busy. She works 3-5 shifts a day and is exhausted at night. She is taking Spanish classes at night also. She loves all the girls she is working with. A new group comes in this week. She was able to go to the Temple last week. She had to fly to Guayquil. It cost her $150 but she wanted to go so bad. Then she realized she left her reccommend and her bishops number in her wallet back at the orphanage after she was already on the plane. She bawled like a baby when the girls all got to go to baptism. One of the Temple Presidency came out and he said I am not supposed to do this but I feel like I should and he interviewed her and she was able to do baptisms...TENDER MERCIES...One grateful girl...and a beautiful exp! She is journalling each night. I hope she will be able to share some of her exp when she has time. I am so thankful she got to have this experience. Thank you to all who gave her your support. We love you all!

2010-05-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

Hello!Well things are going great down here. Time is truly flying by demasiado fastly and it seems untrue that we are midway through May. I am truly looking for the ability to change my complete self into a more worth faithful bolder servant of the Lord. I read the stories of Alma, Amulek, Ammon, especially Nefi and Lehi the brothers and with how much power and authority they truly taught. I read those stories and know that, if someone were to be as faithful and true in fasting and praying and sacrificing time energies and emotions in this great work, they could really become as one of them, after all we are all children of God. I know the scriptures are here to give us the example, teach and guide us. Those stories are as true now as they were back then. But it all comes down to faith and obedience. The more obedient I am i gain more faith, and the more faith i have the more easier it is to be obedient. I love this work. I know it is true. I know that Satan is angry when we try our best and he wants our investigators in his hands. i know that fasting is a protection for them. Like Ive said many times, it has been amazing to have the chance to serve a long side my sister, a great missionary, and my brother (cuñado pues quien sabe) Elder Sanchez, an example to the world. I know they are serving with allk their hearts and it strengthens me to do the same as well. I know this church is true, and the Jesus is the Christ, I have learned so many things on the mission that i hope to never forget, and i still have so much yet to learn. I hope you all have a great week and can search for the spirit in your daily lives.
Love Elder Redfern

Hola a todos!!

Hugo was confirmed yesterday and in his blessing Hno Perez said that he would be an instrument in bringing many souls to the Kingdom of God. He is progressing really well and it is so fun to hear about all the changes that have happened with him since he was baptized last week.
We are continuing to see miracles happen. I feel truly blessed to be apart of this work. This Sunday Cristian Ortiz came to church by himself and he was sitting before sacrament started which is more punctual then many of the members. He is 21 and a very prepared young man. The other day I asked him why it is that he wants to listen to us and he told me that he wants to progress and learn how he can avoid sinning. His answer was so tender and so pure. And he was just a regular contact in the street that we almost didn’t past by because of the lack of time that we had.
I am continuing to learn more and more about myself as the mish goes on. I thought that by now many of my faults would diminish but I am reminded constantly that there is always so much more I can do. I was reading in Mosiah this morning where King Benjamin addresses the people from his tower and he reminds them that they are NOTHING and compares them to the dust of the earth. When they realize that these things are true they bow themselves to God out of fear and plead for forgiveness. They repent of their sins and then it says that they are filled with the spirit and are filled with joy and happiness. We must humble ourselves before our God. We must recognize that we are nothing ask for forgiveness and then the Lord can bless us with the Spirit which then brings joy and happiness to our lives. Want to have more joy and happiness. Repent! Daily we must plead with the Lord, we must humble ourselves and then we will find joy in our lives. I know these things are true and I know that true happiness lies within repentance. I love you all with all of my heart.
Keep the FAITH!!!!

Hna Redfern

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-05-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Hola a todos,

I want to share with you an experience that may be one of the greatest miracles of my mission. As you all remember I was really not too excited to have a girl from the branch I am working in be my comp, but the Lord new better and he told me that she would know people who are ready to accept the gospel. As you know we had much success, but the success was the work of us two together and not people she had known. Towards the end I get pressuring her to take us to someone she knew who was ready to hear the gospel. But little did we know that we had already contacted him. Hugo Narvaez, was the non-member husband of my comps visiting teaching companion. Everything started going well with this family when she was my companion because she had already had their confidence. Many of you know that I have been now teaching him for a while.

About a month ago we had given him a goal to get baptised this weekend. And everything started falling into place. Our president of the mission came and was able to give him an interview and sneaky us didn’t tell him it was actually a baptism interview, he just thought they would chat because he still wasn’t sure about baptism (still didn’t feel he had received his answer about Joseph Smith). So they did, and President passed him but he still didn’t want to be baptised. This happened on Sunday and we decided to invite ourselves over everyday for lunch this week because his wife was going to be off work ;) So we went everyday, even p-day (oh by the way starting next week my p-day is going to be on Monday). Everyday he had some other doubt. We studied prayed and fast but we still were not able to get him to budge. By Thursday I was ready to throw in the towel but we asked them to join us in one last fast. We reminded his wife that she cannot drink MATE during this fast and she was not too happy about it. We told them that they had to do it for real, 24 hours without food, without water, without MATE. He accepted easily but his wife struggled more. So we fasted, that whole day I was praying the whole time, worrying, begging God to help me, never have I had to pray so hard for an investigator. Never had I had to beg God so much for understanding of why all this was happening and never in my mission have I learned so much about teaching others.

Friday morning we planned for him and decided to teach things more on a logical level, to show him the fruits of the first vision. When we got to his house you could tell his wife was not happy. She told us she knew that the devil had been working so hard on her this week and at one point she was so frustrated she just wanted to leave the lunch on the table and leave the house, good thing she didn’t. We started teaching right away as we were eating, the spirit then told me to tell him to believe that his son believed that he had the power from God. We shared D&C 20:37 and reminded him that baptism was about following Christ, not about whether he knew for sure for sure Joseph smith was a prophet. Of course that is important but sometimes we just need to have faith and that’s what he needed to have. We then asked him to be baptised this weekend and he said yes. The spirit was so strong. His wife jumped for joy and they began planning everything right away. On Sunday the whole branch was super giddy and after church Hugo was baptised by his son.

This has been such a wonderful experience and I feel so grateful to have been apart of it. The Lord knows his children He loves them and will not let them be destroyed. Now one more family has the opportunity to be together forever. There are so many more details that I would love to tell but don’t have time. I love you all so much. Thank you for your love and support. I know that this is the work of the Lord. I know that this is the ONLY way we can be cleansed of our sins and return to live with our Father in Heaven. KEEP THE FAITH!!!!!

Hna Redfern

Hello all!
Well this week was a good and hot one. And as usual it was great to be able to hear the voices of my fam! I cant believe how big Tyson and Gavin are talking and whatnot. Time is just flying by. Here in Poza Rica everything is going well. WE are in the middle of a 6week consecration act that the President has put toward us as a goal, and it really has been a unique experience, I'm sure the Lord has many plans for his missionaries here if we can put in the extra effort.. The opportunity to be here is just utterly ridiculously amazing. To serve the Lord and do nothing else more, i dont worry about bills and how ill pay them or food or anything or school. Just the lives of everyone else. It is the only time for 99 percent of us that we will be able to give absolutely all our time to the Lord. what a blessing. The fact that it has to end someday is not so cool. Watching the people learn and grow is better than any paycheck that Bill gates has received, and that's true. I hope to be able to continue serving with all my heart might mind and strength, and your prayers and letters ha are always appreciated. I love you all so much.
Elder Redfern

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

2010-05-09T05:20:00.000-07:00

MY Mother in Law...I never understood why girls didnt love their MIL. They raised the man you love...they gave birth to him. They love him more than anyone in the world. If your MIL is nice to you why would not you revere her also? Just saying... I loved my MIL. She gave me my husband and a whole family to love. I miss you. I hate that my children didnt get to know you better.

I miss you Mom...so much has happened I wish I could tell you about. Your kids are all doing well. You grandchildren are amazing, happy, successful. Your great grandchildren are the BOMB!!!! We miss you every day! Till we meet again...

Thank you Nikki for being the mother to Tyson...unselfish, kind, loving. Thanks for picking our kids! YOu rock girl.

Joniece...Thank you! That 6 months we knew you in Washington was meant to be. Thank you for loving our family enough to give us our sweet Gavin...he is a lover! You are the BEST!!

Lindsey...thank you for embracing adoption. You have two of the most amazing little boys. They are the love of my life!! You are an amazing mother who puts those boys needs above your own daily! Have a beautiful Mothers Day!

Brooke...you are a loving and kind mother. I love watching you play with Gage. I was so happy to be there this last week and get to love on him. He is lucky to have you! Happy First Mothers DAy! I hope it is amazing!

There are so many other mothers that I would love to honor. I have so many friends who are amazing mothers. My sisters who have raised incredible children. My Sisters in Law who have been and continue to be such examples to me and whom I have learned so much from.

I honor them all...HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-05-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

MY NEW COMP FROM ARIZONA
Hola
So it sounds like you all didn't get my last email so I will give you a recap. It has now been two weeks with my new comp and it has been awesome. She is a mini mi. Seriously, even don to that fact that we both love fiber bars and reeses. Everyone day we learn one more thing that is the same like fighting for black American rights when were in high school, and always competing with the boys thinking we could take them on. We have now just taken on competing with the elders together and fighting for the lost souls of Argentina. I love my comp and feel truly blessed tho have her. She is a hard working and likes to run so we have been staying active all day. She is also kicking my butt back into shape in our workouts in the morning!
We just had the baptism of Paola Ortiz the mom of our recent convert and he baptised her. I feel bad we didn't do a very go job of instructing them on how to do the baptism and she freaked out as she went under and it scared him so it was a little bit of a mess but she walked out of the water super happy saying „i just wanted to be baptized!“
We have had a very interesting week filled with miracle after miracle. I don't have the time to write all that has happened. In just a few minutes we will be heading to lunch for the 3rd time this week with Emi (a member of 13 yrs) and her husband an investigator who has his baptism date for sat but still isnt sure. We are working super hard with him. Just yesterday we figured out a little more about him and how he struggles to love. He has lost his love for people and doesnt believe in forgiveness. But he wants an answer from God about Joseph Smith. We explained that you cannot expect God to show you his love by talking to you through the spirit if you cannot love others. His heart has been very cold for a very lone time. I am seeing now the fruits of our love affect him and the changes he has made these past two months. He said how he loved the other day when we walked past his worked and waved to him. Some people just need a little love. I hope this week we can all love a little more. Find someone who is hurting and show them the love that god has for them!
I got to roll. I love you all. Even Steven and Brandon whom i have not heard from for practically my whole mission ;) KEEP THE FAITH
Hna Redfern

ZONE CONFERENCE

Hey All! well life is good and hot here in Poza Rica, we got up to 115 on Saturday and its been past 100 since than, good ole Mexico, ya gotta love it. We had a baptism on Saturday of a girl named Natalie who was able to be baptized by her brother who is preparing to go on a mission. There has been many trials here in the ward, knowing that Satan cant stand that one single thing be done without his counterattack. But the Lord is blessing his children here and we can feel it. Time is going be quickly and its tough to believe that this week we will be talking to the family again and for the last time before I'm home. We are looking to having a really great change this change, and have put some great goals so that we can try to keep helping this ward out. One of our investigators named Laura is 8 months pregnant and should be having her baby any day now, this will definitely be a first in the mission, considering we will prolly be the ones to rush them to the hospital because of the extreme situation. She is such a strong woman and weeks ago personally gained a testimony of the divinity of the book of Mormon, and thrives to get baptized is not able to in this moment. I hope everyone is doing amazing, and keeps on fighting through the daily trials that you may have, God will truly give you the peace and power to be able to beat any temptation or trial that may come your way. I love the mission too much. It sure is hard, but every moment is worth it. i hope you all have a great week!
Elder Redfern

YA! BYU GIRLS RUGBY

2010-04-21T08:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700026094/BYU-womens-rugby-team-enjoys-national-support-for-forfeiting-rather-than-play-on-Sunday.html

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-04-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hey all!
Well you just have to love life don't ya! Sometimes I find myself awestruck realizing all of the trust that God puts in some 20 yr olds to do His work, and to take care of His children. there are nights one cant sleep praying and thinking meditating of how one can fix a certain problem or doubt. But i have never felt more joy than i have here in the mission. I love it. I don't really no how to describe this week. it was filled with some of the most exquisite joy causing 13yr old girlike giddyness, and some of the hardest brain racking life and death problems. Any time someone does something good, Satan will not stand for it. His grip can be so tight on sometime it is shocking. Alcohol and drugs are just one of the biggest problems in the world, and it is truly heartbreaking to watch it tear families apart. I love the mission. My best friend completed two years and hes still there, what a life long example he will be for me. This week my older brother gets older and my little sister becomes a legal woman, which i will not stand for nor accept until i am home and than we might sort out the details. I find myself at a lost of words, but i want to say that this is the truth. There is no separation of Life and God. There is no reason to ever do anything that god doesn't condone or hasn't commanded. i know we are weak, feeble, i know i could be such a better representative of Christ, but i know that forgiveness truly is a miracle. It is asombroso. I love you all so much, your example, love, and support is invaluable. Have a great week
love
Elder Redfern
gracias cuate, de verdad eres un heroe y ejemplo para todos nosotros

Her A.P. HE will be attending BYUI, also
Hola!!!
My child is on her way. Right now I am stuck in the offices with the elders wasting time. This week was super great, my comp worked as hard as she could to finish off the week but by Monday she was ready to finish. She told me about her interview and how she had to take off her plaque and it made me think about how one day I am going to have to do that and it broke my heart. I am not ready for that day yet.
I just had my interview with President and it went super well, I love the few moments I have with him, he is such an inspired man and helps me to see the big picture. He reminded me of all the change that has occurred in this past year. It has almost been a yr since I arrived here in Argentina and I feel truly blessed for every moment that has been cherished here. He told me I have to take it easy on my comp because she was really sick in the MTC and if she works too hard she could have to go home. It should be an interesting change but I am excited to put more focus into my comp. I think I have lacked that a lot in the mission; I want to try to be better in thinking about the needs of the one closest to me, something I have lacked a lot in my life.
The other way awesome thing is that next week we have two baptisms! Our Recent Convert Ruben is going to baptize his mom and the sister of our other recent convert is going to be baptized! We continue to see miracles here in the mission field and I love it. We are promised that we can see miracles everyday, we just have to let them happen and have faith that they will.
I love this work. I love my Father in Heaven. I KNOW without a doubt that this is the church of our Savior and King Jesus Christ. I love you all!!!
KEEP THE FAITH
HNA REDFERN

CONGRATULATIONS

2010-04-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

Brooke is married to our 3rd son Steven.

He chose well...all of our sone have so far.

She graduated from BYUI with a BA in Political Science.

We are so proud of her.

And grateful that our grandkids will be raised by such a smart woman.

SO far all of our DIL will be college graduates.

( Whitney graduates from nursing school in May, Lindsey graduated from BYU and was a elementary school teacher before momhood)

It has been tough...her last two semesters she was pregnant and had a newborn. She made it though...with the help of her family and a good husband and excellent grades I might add.

Brooke we are so proud of you!

Now on to fulltime motherhood and I am sure many other things!

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-04-13T10:02:00.001-07:00

Hey all!!
well this was a great week! we were so happy to see the Lords hand in our work as we had two baptisms on Saturday. One day like a month or two ago we were looking for a man that we had an appt with and were kinda lost. One man passed by and said ¨elderes¨ which you can imagine only say members or old investigators. So we talked to him and he said you I'm a rm and my wife isn't a member, we took her and my nephew too church last week. you should stop by sometime.. Well, yea!! So we got to know Toña and Hector and they were baptised this week. But the blessings of the Lord are so in sight. He just put the man in our way, and a little of talking and we had two golden investigators. They are already talking about planning their sealing and everything. Oh the Lord is... indescribably merciful. His blessings make you want to cry. I love him so much because i know i have been a child of His that has caused Him much pain, and even the fact that Hes given me the chance to serve is completely and truly remarkable. It shows His love for is perfect, without a doubt. i feel it so much and know others still need it. i just started the ¨4th quarter¨ of my mission, and time is going by tooo fast. The division of the mission is coming up and if i stay this change here i might stay and be part of the other mission, it would be crazy. But who knows. Whatever the Lord wants, I'm down. i hope you all have an amazing week, please know that i truly love you all and you have all supported me so much throughout my mission. I would like to say thanks to Bishop Baird who was more than a helping hand to get me here on the mission, what a loving Bishop and a great example. I truly am grateful for your help and guidance.Hope everyone wished my pops a happy birthday!!
Elder Redfern

THE SISTERS IN HER ZONE

HOLA!!!

I just want to share with all of you how wonderful my companion really is. The fact that she has taught me how to really clean and how to cook some really good Argentine food she has also taught me how to really give of myself in the service of God. She thought that for sure she would be finishing her mission as of 2 weeks ago and she was super excited to get back to drinking MATE (it is a hot drink here that the Argentines are completed addicted to that we can’t drink as missionaries). She accepted to stay with me not knowing how long it would be. Then they called this weekend to say my child was going to be here today. But they called Monday night to take it all back, that she has one more week. My comp had already told her family once again that she was done. She willing accepted that she needed to stay another week. They then called in the morning yesterday to say that I would be having another “mini” for this week so that my comp could finish. But then they called 3 hours later with the news that she really needs to stay for another week. Not one negative word came out of her mouth. I was more bugged then she was and told the elders we want peanut butter for all the mixed emotions they made us have (if you are thinking about get a package out some I would love some JIFF ;). She is an example of someone who really will “GO and DO the things the Lord commands”.
I was reminded this week of how important it is that I work every moment of everyday because if not I am withholding the opportunity for people to have the gospel in their lives and the opportunity the members here have to see miracles. I want to see miracles, I want the members to see miracles and I know that they can but the miracles come after we show our faith. We must work, and we must be diligent and obedient. How grateful I am that the Lord has given us the chance to repent and change, to become better. How awesome is it that everyday we can wake up to a new day!!!!! I hope tomorrow is a better day for all of us. I hope that we can all apply the power of the atonement in our lives, repent and promise to do better. A few words from a fav song of mine: “tomorrow is another day, and I am thirsty anyway, so bring on the rain!!!!!!” No matter what tomorrow brings lets all promise to give it all we have, to serve with all our hearts!!!
I love you all so much.
KEEP THE FAITH

Sprig Break 2010

2010-04-11T04:56:00.001-07:00

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-04-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hey all!
Well this was a great week here with a large part of that due to the fact that it was conference weekend. Oh you just have to love conference. The opportunity to listen to scripture being spoken by the words of Prophets, Seers, and Revelators is simply amazing. It was great because we had a good amount of investigators that went and were able to listen to the Prophet. President Monson is truly a prophet of God. The family was so incredibly focused on in the conference that it seems we all need to double up pour efforts on really following the Lord in everything that we do, beginning in the home. This week we have to baptisms planned and we will be praying that everything goes through as planned. We also have had some really great investigators that have been progressing fall into their old ways. It hurts. You try and do everything for somebody so that they can accept the gospel, and they say they want to, but than you find them doing things they shouldn't be doing. It is sad, and you feel it. Please, stay as far away from the Devil and his temptations as you can, don't even go near it. And if you fall, remember that Adam did too, but he got right back up. And just because you took one step down the wrong road, doesn't mean you have to take two. Satan is sly, elusive, and cruel. Our Savior is everything the opposite. Im sure you all had a great Easter remembering what He did for us. I am so grateful that i can take all of my many imperfections and weaknesses and sins to the Lord, and he can help me change. I love the atoning power of His blood. I hope you all have a really great week and can start to put in practice what the Lord has taught us in this conference. I saw pictures of Elder Sanchez(don't worry, skinny is the new style), he was in a picture with Ammon from my BYU ward.I love you all so much. thanks for all your support.
Elder Redfern

HOLA TODOS
So it finally happened, exactly what I really thought would never happen to me…we got robbed! Luckily it was only our gas tank, a few bananas, an apple and our yogurt. We spent all morning Saturday trying to get the back door fixed up.
We were en debt to the elders this week because they came twice to our area to help bring one more soul unto Christ. Rubén Rivero had his interview on Wednesday and wanted to be baptised the next day so of course we had the baptism. It went really smoothly and the spirit was really strong.
So sat we headed to the area of the Elders which is 45 min away. I was super sad that we were going to work in another area and not to watch conference (either way we weren’t going to be able to watch because our area doesn’t show conference). The rule in our mission is that you can only watch Saturday session if you have an investigator. The elders told us if we brought someone we found in their area we could go. I was DETERMINED. We were going to find, someone ANYONE. I wanted so badly to hear the conference. At 4:30 we went to work, we had 30 before the session started. I knew that we could find someone who needs the gospel. We taught one lesson with an investigator of the Elders but she wants going to come. So we headed out to make contacts in the street. It was hilarious how hard we were trying. After about 5 contacts we met Fauricio, a 26 single guy who only wanted to talk about money and Britney Spears (he said I reminded him of her, HA!). But he CAME, after much convincing... 30 min into conference we entered. I was so happy to listen. And then all I could think about is how I could help Fauricio to understand what was happening. I missed a lot of what was being said trying to think about the needs of this young man. He stayed the whole hour and half and after conference there was a change in him. They way he talked changed. He ended up staying and talking with the missionaries afterwards. It was so wonderful to see the work of the Lord. He gave me the desires or my heart while using me to help another person come unto Christ.
I love my Savior, I love my Father in Heaven. I know that he wants to help us, he wants to give us the desires of our hearts, but he wants us to work. To give Him all that we can. I know that this is the true church and that if we continue on this path we will one day return to our Father in Heaven.
KEEP THE FAITH
Hna Redfern

THIS WEEKS EMAIL

2010-03-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Yet another week has flown by in the mission field. It is going by way to fast! Today we decided to go to a Relief Society activity for lunch and it was super fun, we have two investigators come and we really enjoyed the time together. I have grown to love this place as my home. The people are so wonderful and have such strong testimonies. Thats what I love about being here is that almost everyone that comes to church here has there own testimonies. They prayed and asked our Father in Heaven if what we teach is true and they can testify with all of there heart that it is the only true church on the face of the planet.
We have 7 interviews tonight (Norma, Sabrina, Ayelen, Maira, Carla, Sabrina, Juan-Jose) and I am just now starting to feel the nerves. I have been pretty calm all week but right now I am feeling a little uneasy. I know that we just need to have faith. If they are prepared they will pass and will feel ready to make it to the waters of baptism this weekend. I have been thinking a lot about faith lately. As missionaries we hear about a lot of the negative things that have happened in the past and as a result there is a lot of negative attitudes and energy which breaks my heart. We have to remember that with God ANYTHING is possible. We have to keep the faith and work, show our faith through our actions and the Lord will bless us. I was reading in D&C today and found this scripture which I love, “and the time speedily cometh that great things have to be shown forth unto the children of men...but without faith shall not anything be shown forth”, 35:10-11. It is by our faith that great things come to past. It is by our faith that miracles happen. Let us all have more faith. Let us work. Instead of having faith that people will come to church next week, ask the Lord in faith to help you to help them come to church. Instead of just asking, promise the Lord that you will do everything you ca to help them and in return would like to see great things happen. The Lord is obligated when we do what he says (D$C 82:10).
I love you all. I love this work. And even though I didnt get into BYU Provo AGAIN (This is like the 4th time I have applied) I know that the Lord will bless me with the desires of my heart if i keep working in his vinard. Which means that my super hot super spiritual husband is going to be at BYU Idaho ;).
KEEP THE FAITH!!!Hna Redfern

Hey all!
Well another week here in Poza Rica. The weather has been weird, raining, heat, cold, really hot. Its crazy we are almost into April! General Conference this weekend! Man i am so stoked! The chance to listen to living prophets, to soak in their words and know it came as though from the Savior himself. They speak scripture. I hope you all can have a wonderful and prayerful conference. I would LOVE for President Monson to stand up and just say, Saints, lets get to building Zion. I love the mission. Such a great experience. Yesterday we were talking to Toño who we are teaching him and his family, and he was just talking about how he has been feeling inside. He just lost his job and has pretty much no money. But he just says ever since he{s been looking into the church, his attitude has completely changed. He also mentioned that he loved how welcomed he felt when almost everybody went up to shake his hand and tell him to keep moving forward in Sunday on church. The members can have such a great affect on the investigators. Always remember that! On Wednesday we finished building a wooden wall and door. It was pretty legit, I'm glad my comp knew somewhat of what we were doing, because sometimes we offer service and than realize, um wow this is gonna be tough. ha. But it was a great experience. I just feel so privileged to be here in the mission knowing my sister and my best friend are just such missionary STUDS! Someone tell elder sanchez hes my hero. I love seeing great missionaries do what they do best. I'm not the best teacher, I'm not even close to being the example missionary. But i do love the mission. I love the doctrine, i love the truth. I love you all for everything you have given me, have a great week!!!
Elder redfern

Free Book Giveaway

2010-03-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

http://andreapearsonbooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/spread-word-book-giveaway-contest.html

OSSO

2010-03-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

Haylea gets the opportunity to go to Ecuador in a few weeks to work for an Orphanage.http://www.orphanagesupport.org/

Please take a few minutes to look at all the good they are doing.

She is NOT going to PLAY...she will be working for 3 months 50 plus hrs a week.

This has been a dream of hers for a long time. We didn't think she was going to be able to go but the opportunity came up quickly.

If you want to help support the ORPHANAGE donate on their website. Better yet if you know someone who has a few months to spare they need help badly. They run 8 orphanages thru out Ecuador. And the money is spent for the CHILDREN. Any money donated in her name goes to help these kids.

We know a few girls who have gone and done this and it has changed their life!

Its hard for me to let my 3rd child live out of the USA this summer but the sacrifice is worth it!

And to those who have already contributed. Your generosity is amazing ...“And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple.” (D&C 52:40.)

Sacrifice is defined as “the act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else more important or worthy.” Sacrifice comes in many forms and they are not all convenient

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-03-22T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Yet another week has flown by in the mission field. It is going by way to fast! Today we decided to go to a Relief Society activity for lunch and it was super fun, we have two investigators come and we really enjoyed the time together. I have grown to love this place as my home. The people are so wonderful and have such strong testimonies. That's what I love about being here is that almost everyone that comes to church here has there own testimonies. They prayed and asked our Father in Heaven if what we teach is true and they can testify with all of there heart that it is the only true church on the face of the planet.
We have 7 interviews tonight (Norma, Sabrina, Ayelen, Maira, Carla, Sabrina, Juan-Jose) and I am just now starting to feel the nerves. I have been pretty calm all week but right now I am feeling a little uneasy. I know that we just need to have faith. If they are prepared they will pass and will feel ready to make it to the waters of baptism this weekend. I have been thinking a lot about faith lately. As missionaries we hear about a lot of the negative things that have happened in the past and as a result there is a lot of negative attitudes and energy which breaks my heart. We have to remember that with God ANYTHING is possible. We have to keep the faith and work, show our faith through our actions and the Lord will bless us. I was reading in D&C today and found this scripture which I love, “and the time speedily cometh that great things have to be shown forth unto the children of men...but without faith shall not anything be shown forth”, 35:10-11. It is by our faith that great things come to past. It is by our faith that miracles happen. Let us all have more faith. Let us work. Instead of having faith that people will come to church next week, ask the Lord in faith to help you to help them come to church. Instead of just asking, promise the Lord that you will do everything you ca to help them and in return would like to see great things happen. The Lord is obligated when we do what he says (D$C 82:10).
I love you all. I love this work. And even though I didn't get into BYU Provo AGAIN (This is like the 4th time I have applied) I know that the Lord will bless me with the desires of my heart if i keep working in his vinyard. Which means that my super hot super spiritual husband is going to be at BYU Idaho ;).
KEEP THE FAITH!!!
Hna Redfern

Hey everybody!
Well it was another good week here in the mission field. WE had stake conference and it was great because we were able to get a good amount of investigators there. we sat there in the second row which they had set apart for the investigators and missionaries and one of the families that we had brought have two little crazy girls. it was tough having to try and keep them quiet for two hours. seeing as our mission president was there, we wanted to make sure everything was tip top shape ha. It was funny because the two little girls thought that president and his wife were my mom and dad,and went up and asked them it was funny. We have been blessed with some great references from missionaries and members, and its always great to be able to find a lot of great people to teach with Out knocking thousands of doors. So yet again encourage each and everyone of you to give references to the missionaries, and even accompany them to the appointment, it really makes a difference. I am grateful for ll the support that i have received here in the mish, i just got package full of letters and goodies from the primary of the cordelia ward. Its good to know people still remember even though the fams not in that ward anymore. I love you cordelia ward! One being here really realizes all the blessings that one has. Life is always just so much different in other parts of the world. We truly are blessed with a country that things are easier. I dont know many women that are six months pregnant and sleep on a dirt floor in the states, but until we found a fam here Laura and her kids were. As a missionary you try to do everything you can,but you cant do everything. But its amazing to be able to take part in that helping for any child of God. Help more, be more charitable, like it says in the Book of Mormon, if you dont have charity, you cant enter into the kingdom of God. I love you all and am soo grateful for your example! have a great week!
Elder REdfern

Sabbath Message

2010-03-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

INDULGE ME!!!

2010-03-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

The cutest grandkids EVER. Boy do I miss them! April cant get here fast enough!

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-03-16T09:44:00.001-07:00

Mission Presidents Wife
Hola!!!

Yet another awesome week has clown by in the misión field! We saw many wonderful blessings this Sunday. The teenage girls we are teaching came dressed in skirts and everything. We had 8 investigators again and a few inactive members who we always invite to come to church actually came. One of them is a taxi driver so we asked him to help us find some people in the morning and then to stay in the first hour of church and he did!!! Sometimes people just need an invitation.
We had a special conference where we got to go stay at the mission home for 2 days. We played games and had so many wonderful spiritual moments. I realized that it would be the only moment that I would be in the mission home with that many missionaries for that much time and I really enjoyed it. The focus was working as a team and having a positive attitude. And of course I have to let you know that the sisters beat the elders in almost everything. Luckily they were good losers and we were able to keep the spirit of unity ;). Seriously, we beat them in a relay race and basketball! Ha ha I have calmed down a lot but there still is a competitive nature in me. You should have seen me eat the alfajor (a type of chocolate brownie thingy here) and somehow I still can shoot once in a while…
This week we are preparing 4 young girls to be baptized. Carla, 19, our golden investigator loved church and wants to be baptized asap. And the sisters Sabrina 17, Aylene 15, and Maira 13 are all progressing so well, I love these girls with all of my heart we have had many special moments together. And hopefully we will have a really spiritual baptism so that the family we are working will feel the spirit strongly!
I love this work so much. My friend recently reminded me to finish off my mission strong here in the last stretch, he said just like basketball coaches use to say “run through the line”. I hope I can find the strength in my Savior and push it these last few months, I know there are miracles to be seen!
I love you all! Keep in touch and KEEP THE FAITH!!!

Hna Redfern

OFELIA
hey all!
well we finished another change here in poza rica and me and my comp are staying together. We are hoping to have a good change this up coming one, and trying to keep up0 the hard work. We had a great week. On Friday a lady got baptized that we had been teaching for three months and it has been a process long and journey but completely worth every minute of it. its was amazing to be able to see her enter the waters of baptism. so much testimony born and given, and it feels so good to know that she can have these blessings forever. This is is exactly why we come and do this work. TO bless the lives of others. We have been teaching a really really humble family that has had many problems.. and we have been trying to help them in all we can do. we were able to find a house, clean it all up make some makeshift windows and floor so that they could live there, and it just so happens to be in the some complex that we live in. they are right next to and below us. Some members thought we were helping them to much, but i was talking to one of my great friends who just became the assistant and he said, ah let them be, we have only two years to worry about everyone else except ourselves, maybe if you had a family and everything you wouldn't be able to do all this, but this is your only chance to leave everything, and just serve the children of God. Oh what a true blessing that is. To completely focus ourselves in the service to the sons of our Lord. I love it. I just want to keep on doing this. Time is going by too fast. This change there was a lot more baptisms in the city than there had been in a while, and its great to know that the other elders are having success. I hope you all have an amazing week and keep moving forward.
elder redfern

HIS IMAGE IN YOUR COUNTENANCE

2010-03-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-03-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

Hola!!!

Yet another awesome week has clown by in the misión field! We saw many wonderful blessings this Sunday. The teenage girls we are teaching came dressed in skirts and everything. We had 8 investigators again and a few inactive members who we always invite to come to church actually came. One of them is a taxi driver so we asked him to help us find some people in the morning and then to stay in the first hour of church and he did!!! Sometimes people just need an invitation.
We had a special conference where we got to go stay at the mission home for 2 days. We played games and had so many wonderful spiritual moments. I realized that it would be the only moment that I would be in the mission home with that many missionaries for that much time and I really enjoyed it. The focus was working as a team and having a positive attitude. And of course I have to let you know that the sisters beat the elders in almost everything. Luckily they were good losers and we were able to keep the spirit of unity ;). Seriously, we beat them in a relay race and basketball! Ha ha I have calmed down a lot but there still is a competitive nature in me. You should have seen me eat the alfajor (a type of chocolate brownie thingy here) and somehow I still can shoot once in a while…
This week we are preparing 4 young girls to be baptized. Carla, 19, our golden investigator loved church and wants to be baptized asap. And the sisters Sabrina 17, Aylene 15, and Maira 13 are all progressing so well, I love these girls with all of my heart we have had many special moments together. And hopefully we will have a really spiritual baptism so that the family we are working will feel the spirit strongly!
I love this work so much. My friend recently reminded me to finish off my mission strong here in the last stretch, he said just like basketball coaches use to say “run through the line”. I hope I can find the strength in my Savior and push it these last few months, I know there are miracles to be seen!
I love you all! Keep in touch and KEEP THE FAITH!!!

Hna Redfern

Hey all!
Well another great week here in Poza Rica. We are working hard in finding many opportunities to do service and help the people in all the ways we can. We weeded a huge lawn, or better said, used machetes to carve through a forest of a lawn- It was beastly, it was so dense i cut down a palm tree without noticing, and the brother saw after and said who cut down my palm tree.. oops ha. Sometimes the people still amaze me here what they do just to be able to eat. Yesterday we saw a old lady who was carrying huge heavy bags of scrap metal from the street with a band on her head so it could hang on her back. We stopped her and offered to help and she said no no no but ya we convinced her, and man, they were heavy bags! and she was in her late 70´s. Than after we started talking we realized that she is actually member less active and hadn't been to church for 20 something years. She is such a humble little old lady, but such a strong one. We had a good number of investigators in church this week and it was great being day of testimonies. We also found a family this week that just got here from tijuana, we contacted them in the super market, and found out the son of 11 years was baptized by the missionaries, but no one else in his fam are members. They have close to nothing, we gave them a mattress and all the food we had and bought some pillows, the wife is 6 months pregnant and was sleeping on the floor! They all came to church yesterday except her husband because of work. But he says hes gonna ask for next week off. We should have two baptisms this week and we are happy just trying to work, work , work. I love this church, I love the mission, i hope you guys all have a great week! love you all
Elder Redfern

WOW!

2010-03-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

Dear Everyone,
I am writing to let you all know how very grateful we are for your prayers, concern, and love. Please keep praying! We need the Lord's help and guidance in order to do all He would have us do to learn what He would have us learn from this earth quake tragedy, and to minister in the way He would have us minister.During the past few days, we have witnessed many events which serve to remind us that the Lord is in charge and that as missionaries and members of His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are performing His work, and as President Monson teaches, "When we are on the Lord's errand, we are entitled to His help." I want to share with you a few miracles that will help you to understand our profound feelings of gratitude.When we were set apart for this calling, Elder Scott of the Council of the Twelve Apostles taught us many important lessons. He spoke from personal experience when he was a mission president in Argentina. One message that he shared with us is this: "At times, during your mission, you will be awakened in the middle of the night or the early morning hours with thoughts of specific things you should do for certain missionaries. Do not ignore these thoughts. They are promptings from the Holy Ghost who will communicate with you in the stillness of the night or the peace of the early morning hours. He will speak to you then because that is when you are still enough to hear."Elder Scott further instructed us to keep a notebook beside our bed so that we could record these precious promptings. He said that by the next morning, we would be likely to forget the promptings if we didn't write them down.We have been astonished at the fulfillment of Elder Scott's prophetic words. We have received many promptings in the exact manner that Elder Scott described. We are so thankful that Elder Scott taught us how to recognize and act upon these precious promptings. Had he not taught us, we may not have given these promptings the attention they require.Nearly two-and-one-half weeks ago, I was awakened at around 4:00 AM by just such a prompting. I did not hear a voice, but the thought was as clear as if it had been in the form of spoken words: "There is going to be an earthquake. Prepare your missionaries." I sat up in bed and immediately remembered Elder Scott's counsel. That morning I told Larry what had happened. He immediately set to work organizing our missionaries to prepare for an earthquake.In talking with our office missionaries to arrange for them to put together a list of everything we would need to prepare...in both Spanish and English...we discovered that the Lord had also let two of our office missionaries know of the possibility of an earthquake (in the form of dreams) and the need to prepare our mission.

We set a goal and arranged our schedule so that we could visit every apartment in the mission to check for safety and to review with our missionaries what to do in case of an earth quake. What a wonderful experience we have had as we have met with them and shared scriptures with them about being spiritually and physically prepared. "...if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30).We instructed every missionary to have a "go-bag" (36 hour kit). We reviewed our emergency action plan with them of where to go and what to do if they had phone service and in case they did not. We gave everyone a paper with all instructions in English and Spanish, and we reminded them that "this life is the time to prepare to meet God" (Alma 34:32-34). We shared with them our thoughts and feelings about the need for spiritual and physical safety.Some of them became frightened and asked us if we knew something they didn't know. We smiled and repeated "...if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." We didn't want to unduly alarm them, but we did want to impress upon them the need to be prepared. We tearfully reminded them of our recent transfer conference where we had shared our feelings about our dear Elder McKay Burrows who was unexpectedly called home in January while serving his mission in Romania...how he was prepared in every way to meet God. We reissued our challenge to "be prepared" in every way. Then we knelt with them in their apartment and dedicated each apartment, asking for a blessing of safety and security to be upon every apartment.When the earthquake came, we were prepared. We did not experience the panic that many felt. We knew we were prepared. Because of the words of the Lord's chosen Apostle, Elder Scott, we had listened and heeded the quiet, but clear promptings of the Holy Ghost. We were blessed with peace in the midst of chaos. We learned an important lesson: our preparation helped us to avoid panic and fear, but the Lord, in His wisdom, allowed us to experience enough discomfort to know that He has all power. He is in charge. We are nothing without Him. We are dependent upon Him for every breath we take. Only He can save us from death and destruction. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is our perfect example. If we follow Him, we will be saved through obedience to the laws and ordinances of His Gospel.As the earthquake became more violent, the mission home groaned and wailed. The power died, so the whole city was black. The windows made a hideous screeching sound, and flying objects banged against swaying walls. The printer/fax machine, books, book ends, and fifty-pound television burst from the entertainment center and crashed to the floor, cabinets emptied, drawers flew open, the refrigerator moved, water sloshed out of the toilets, the floor jolted up and down as we ran across it trying to hold onto the walls to keep from falling down, and the piano toppled over like a small toy. As we made our way to the back yard, I remember thinking, "God is all-powerful. He is our only refuge from this horrible mess." I prayed and prayed for Him to still the earth.When we reached the back yard, we watched in terror. By the light of the moon we could see the swimming pool water form giant waves and crash out onto the rocks. House and car alarms screamed into the night...some from being crushed by falling debris and others, I guess, from the bizarre movement of the earth. I am not sure if the intense rumbling sounds came from the earth itself or from everything else that was shaking so violently. Finally, it stopped.When the calm came, we had to sit down because our legs were weak and unstable. My legs stayed wobbly all day and night yesterday. Today the muscles in my legs hurt like I ran a marathon. The aftershocks have been extremely unsettling. Each one begins like the one last night started. We just close our eyes and wait to see if it escalates or dies down. .I have never experienced anything like this!We were awakened this morning by a very strong after shock. Larry jumped out of bed and yelled, "Welcome to another glorious day in Chile!" We just had to laugh. We moved a mattress into the floor in our bedroom and made Landon sleep in our room. He was in his room with the door locked the night before and we couldn't wake him up. He never locks his door, but he was playing a joke on Larry because every morning Larry wakes him at 5:30 AM for seminary by tickling him unmercifully. So Landon had decided to stop him.When we couldn't open his door, in the middle of the quake, we thought he was trapped, so we screamed and banged. Landon thought that everything was falling off the walls because we were banging so hard on the door. I think we scared him more than the earthquake did!Today, we attended a strong ward where Larry was invited to speak. The entire chapel and beyond was filled. People were so humble and so teachable. Larry taught the importance of doing the small things. He taught about Jesus Christ and the opportunity we have to love one another and to share what we have with others.It was a great blessing for us to be with these beautiful Chilean people. Some have lost their homes...or at least parts of their homes. But they are strong and they want to serve the Lord. He taught of the scripture in Luke 21:11,13 which says, "and great earthquakes shall be in divers places...and it shall turn to you for a testimony." He also welcomed the sweet young woman who was in the congregation with the missionaries...her first time attending church...and then he invited her to be baptized from the pulpit. He asked her to please invite us to her baptism, and she said, "I will." The Lord always knows what His people need.Landon was reading in Alma 15:17 today. He said, Mom listen to this. This is what is happening here in Chile just like in happened in Ammonihah. The people were humbled and "checked as to the pride of their hearts and began to humble themselves before God, watching and praying continually that they might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction."

Our hearts are filled to the brim with gratitude for all of the blessings we have received in the Chile Santiago East Mission. We see miracles every day. In the midst of great pain and suffering, we can always find our Savior. He stands with His arms open, pleading for all of us to humble ourselves and come unto Him. He loves us. He invites us to accept His gift...the atonement. He invites us to repent. He wants us to love one another and to serve one another. He wants us to bring our families and those we love to Him. We can do it. We can do all that He asks, no matter how difficult it may seem. "With God all things are possible"We are having a devotional tomorrow for all of our missionaries to talk about the last week of Christ's life in preparation for Easter. We want to remind our missionaries to teach and preach with increased vigor of Christ. Last Monday in our office meeting, Larry suddenly stopped in the middle, and said, "During the prayer, I had a very strong impression that March 2010 is going to be our best baptizing month we have ever had in this mission."Now we know why he received that feeling. We are going to prepare to bring many souls to the waters of baptism in March. Please continue to pray for us and for the people of Chile. Please pray for the missionaries to have strength and courage to do all that is being required of them, even in difficult times.We are so thankful that the tsunami did not turn out badly in Hawaii. Who would ever think that an earthquake in Chile could threaten the shores of Hawaii? Thankfully, the Lord is in charge. He is the one to whom we must turn for refuge from every storm. He has the power to save us.Editor’s Note:The letter ends here, but President and Sister Laycock told us:“We’ve never experienced anything like the earthquake. We have had 90 aftershocks, some stronger than others. Our legs are wobbly. It is a scary feeling to experience an aftershock because it brings back all the feelings we had during the earthquake.“We love being with our missionaries. Because they were prepared, they were immediately able to turn their attention to helping others. They were never concerned about themselves. They were concerned with those who need help and by mid-morning the day of the earthquake, we were able to dispatch them to help others. We told them to investigate the needs of their neighbors and help in any way they could.President Laycock noted, “The Spanish translation of Luke 21:13 says that there will be earthquakes in many places, and it will give you the occasion to bear testimony. We met with 10 sisters this morning, and one of them mentioned a neighbor next door whom they always asked if she would have time to speak with them, and she always said no. Yet in the crescendo of the toll of the earthquake, she was speechless with fear and not prepared. When the sisters said, ‘Could we pray with you?’, she answered, ‘I have time to pray with you.’ It opened the door to a teaching opportunity to share the gospel.President and Sister Laycock said, “Everyone we talk to has been so willing to talk about Christ and God’s power. We’ve been sharing God’s love with them. We are seeing God’s love everywhere. People are reaching out to one another. They are serving one another. The news reports looting. We are seeing a different side. We are seeing people who want to communicate with God, who are sincerely looking for the truth.”

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-03-05T02:55:00.000-08:00

Hey all! Well hope you guys all had a great week. We continue to see great things happening around the mission and in our area to know that things are really picking up. We had some great experiences this week me and my comp. one we were talking to a lady that we a re teaching named Ofelia, and she is planning on getting baptized. We hadn't even got to teaching the sabbath day and its importance yet, but she asked some questions that we answered. The thing is she works on Sundays, and has for the last 9 years in the same job, and its not very common to be able to have had the same job for so long, and so when we briefly explained that God wishes and commands that we respect that day, and don't work, she was a little not encouraged. But we weren't teaching that principle so we kind of left it for latter. But than on Friday we got to to appt with her, and she tells us, right off the bat, that she asked her boss to change her off day to Sunday instead of Wednesday, and she got it! it was awesome, something completely unexpected and it was wonderful to see the hand of God in her life. She has made a lot of progress, she has come a long way. And we are really seeing the blessings of God here in the mission, but also seeing the ever strong grip Satan has amongst these people. We can see he works on the people investigating the church through rumors and other people, so that they don't get to participate in a valid and true baptism. But his astucia(somebody help me here with English) is nothing compared to the wisdom of God. The book of Mormon is such an amazing book. When you have a testimony of the gospel, and look at things with eyes that God gives you, you really see that everything just falls in place, there is not a single doubt that cant be answered, the only problem is we don't always understand the answer. Comfort, its what gives the Holy Ghost. He is the Comforter. I love the mission. Every time the Lord touches you through a certain experience you just want to work harder, be more obedient, so that you can have more like it. Its fun to see that the zone I'm in is really doing a great job, working hard, and its just fun when you're doing it like you should. These principles that we learn here are everlasting, things i am gong to be able to take over for the rest of my life. Talking to the Mom of a recent convert about her son going on a mission, she was giving us the normal, hes going to lose two years of schooling!. Oh man, if someone could really understand the benefits of serving God for two years, there would be no complaint. Sure, it doesn't guarantee anything, but i feel MUCH more prepared to go back to BYU now with the habits that i am trying to develop. I love you all so much, you are all such an example to me, have been such a great support. I love you all so much!!! e
elder redfern

Hola!!!

Yesterday I was blessed with a few wonderful packages and letters from loved ones! Thank you so much, your support is needed and appreciated!
It has been yet another wonderful week full of blessings and surprises. We have a golden investigator! Carla is her name, she is 19 and has been prepared her whole life to accept this message. We randomly contacted her 3 weeks ago and has progressed so fast! She has already invited everyone to her baptism which we can’t plan yet because she got sick and wasn’t able to come to church. But she informed us the other night that she did not drink and talked to her boyfriend about the law of chastity and he wants to come to church with her!
This Sunday after 2 months of teaching Betty, begging, pleading with her to come to church she came and with her husband! I figured out the secret…Her husband likes to be “a man of his word” so I talked him up and got him to promise to wake her up and come with her. And he did, white shirt and all! The morning of we were in a taxi with some of our other investigators and I saw them walking towards the church, I about had a heart attack! We had 8 investigators and there was 79 in church which we normally only have 60. It was a wonderful Sunday filled with so many blessings, but towards the end I just felt a huge burden. I left feeling so tired think, “what a successful day but now we have to get these people to baptism”!!! I felt arms wrap around me and a thought came to my mind “hna redfern, remember you CANNOT do this alone”. It is so true and more and more I see in the mission that it is not possible for me to do this work without the help of my Father in Heaven. I know that as I work hard, follow the counsels of our leaders and try my best the Lord will make up for the rest, he will make things happen.
I love you all!!! Keep in touch!
KEEP THE FAITH!!!Hna Redfern

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-02-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

Hola family and friends!!!

From what it sounds like you guys didn’t get my letter from last week. I have a feeling the Lord was protecting you because it was a very depressing letter, but don’t you worry this week was awesome!! My favorite scripture Alma 26:27 came alive again for me.
Here is the deal. A few days before transfers I heard that I would be getting a mini (a missionary from Argentina who is not a full time missionary, sometimes its girls who have served before or teenagers). I was worried all week, not knowing what happened. The day of transfers they told me that I would be having a 17 year old from here from my branch. She was going to be with me the whole transfer. I was devastated. I was so scared, worried that the drama from the branch would effect the work even more. I was also scared about feeling completely alone being the only person not from Argentina. I will be honest, I was not happy. I balled my eyes out the whole night. I have never been so upset in the mission. It was the devil hard at work, not feelings from God. Then they decided to change things up. The 17 yr couldn’t do it because she needs to start school next week. I was feeling excited, hoping they would find someone from another city. But instead the just found another women from here. Her name is Maria Altamirano, she recently has been back to church. She is 28 and comes from a family really, really humble. She has not had the benefit of good dental work and is missing almost all of her top teeth, she is quite, and reserved. To say the least I was still a brat and feeling like there is now way I could do it. The Elders gave me the option to go and work in a different area until they could find someone from another area. But I knew that I was being a brat and not submitting to the will of the Lord. I prayed hard, received a blessing from an elder and decided to start the next day working in our area. So that is what we did, we went straight to work. She is a trooper!!!! She is excited to share the work and to learn. She is everything I am not and I LOVE everything about her. We have had such an amazing week. We have seen so many miracles and are preparing a family of 6 to be baptized in two weeks. Looking back I see how hard the Devil was working on me because he knew that we were going to see wonderful things happen. I have had one of the best weeks of my mission and feel so grateful that the Lord forgives me of my weakness and still blesses me. I have so many high hopes for this transfer. FA, I am so content. I love this work. I love my Father in Heaven and I am so grateful for his tender mercies!!!
I love you all. KEEP THE FAITH!!!!
LOS QUIERO!!!
HNA REDFERN
Hey all! well this was a good week we had. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary in these times, it really is such a blessing. And really i thank all of you for your support always has been marvellous. This week on Friday we put a baptismal date with a señora that we have been teaching, she is really great but has been really slow in progressing, but now she is all animated for her baptism and we are excited that she is doing it because she feels it is what God wants her to do. We also found a new family to teach hermano valentin and his wife and kids, and they beat us to church! we passed by there house at 930 to take them and no one was there, and we were kind of worried because we had stayed in that we were going to pick them up, but it turns out that a sister from the ward passed for them first and they arrived at church before we did, we got there and it was such a grate feeling. Its always great when the members help out with the work, it just goes so much better, so much more success that way. Also Axel who we baptized last week is already going to go to the temple this week to do baptisms for the dead. It will be a great experience for him. Also this week i got attacked by a murderous goose, it almost got me. I love the mission, it really is such a blessing to be here and to participate in this work. I know you guys all are doing what the Lord has commanded to, and we aren't any more important than you, everyone has this great chance to help in the preaching of this gospel. You all have helped more more than you can know. my new email address here in the mission is christopher.redfern@myldsmail.net for the fam who wants to write me. I love you all keep doing what your doing!
Elder Redfern

ANOTHER NICE EMAIL

2010-02-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

My name is Annette McCabe from Marshfield Wisconsin. My husband Steve and I were in Papantla Mexico with a group from the Wisconsin Lions Club, giving used eye glasses to the people who cannot afford to buy glasses. Your son Chris and some of the other LDS missionaries helped us as translators, since many of us are not fluent in Spanish. I want you to know what a fine young man Chris is! He not only was very helpful as a translator, but he was very kind and compassionate to the people we were working with. We were very impressed with him, and I am sure you are proud of him. I was supposed to call you on Valentines Day, but I did not get an answer and was not 100% sure I had the right number, so did not leave a message. So this is a late Valentine greeting to you from Chris!I also want to assure you that Chris looks very healthy and happy, and seems to be completely enjoying his Mexican experience. We are glad we got to meet him.
Sincerely, Annette McCabe

Sometimes you wonder if your kids really understand...and then you get something like this

2010-02-16T15:47:00.000-08:00

i did want to tell you and mom something. I love you both soo much. I cannot thank you guys enough for the fight you guys have put up to have an eternal family, this is such a blessing. really, it hit me, if you guys wouldve just quit one day, we would all have been lost 5 missionaries, tyson gavin gage. all of anything that we have done, converts familes here in the misions, would never have happened if you guys had given up on the gospel. Even if you hadnt given up, but just not been as strong as you have been, we wouldve been a wreck. I see it, because we were talking to a sister in our ward that is completely faithful, but never will get married in the temple. she doesnt want too. its completely insane. And i just remembered how truly blessed i am, i love you guys so much for doing everything you do, keep on fighting, you guys are heros, thank you for putting that example, i know it hasnt been easy, i love you guys
elder redfern

TEARS...SOMETHING A MOM NEEDS TO HEAR EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE...

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-02-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

NO EMAIL THIS WEEK FROM HERMANA REDFERN BOO HOO!!!!!

Hey! Well this week was a good one. Axel Roberto Su Sanchez was baptized on saturday and confirmed on sunday, it was really great. He is a great kid is 15 and the only member in his family, so far, we are still wokring with the rest of his family, and are praying that his example will help them a lot. He really is a great kid, and it was so cool when he told us how he found out Thomas S Monson was a prophet of God. He said he meditated, reflected upon it, prayed, and came to a conclusion by the Holy Spirit that he really indeed is a prophet true. Oh baby! Its just such a good family, when çsomeone follows the exact formula that you invite them to do! Because thats how you find out the truth, you study it out in your mind, and ask the Lord. It was sweet. His confirmation was something else though. We were on the way to church when the bishop called and told us we had to speak, which isnt a problem, there was still ten minutes left before church started and it happens often. We had gone for other investigators, and we get there and axel and his fam arent there. I call them but no1 picks up, after sacrament his grandma gets there saying they left before her adn still hadnt got there. My comp is already speaking and they get there at 1030! what a relief! We had sent people to there house and everything noone could find them. Then we confirm him and there was 20 minutes left and it was myturn to speak, i had been outside waitng looking praying for them to come. Ha but it was good. But it was a good week. We have been searching for a family to teach, and i know we will find a good one, thats just waiting for the gospel. Its always suich a good feeling to teach an entire family that is willing to listen to the restored gospel, what a blessing. So its been a ,little rainy lately, but thats ok we have to get all the rain we get until it gets 120 degrees everyday again. I love you all sincerely and hope you have a great week.
Elder REdfern

2010-02-09T12:09:00.000-08:00

Baptismal Font

Hey all! well another great week here in Poza Rica. We have a fecha bautismal for this week on Saturday with Axel the young man that we've been teaching. It was great on Saturday we talked to his parents to get permission, and now they are interested in listening to us for the changes that axel has made in his life. One of the sweetest moments of this week was when he got up and bore his testimony! It was awesome, In the meeting i explained to him that this day was special and those who wanted to could bare their testimony. And he looks at me and says I'm going and just gets up and goes and than gives his testimony. It was short, but great really. He participates in the classes and does everything he needs to. We hope to be able to get his family into the gospel soon as well. We also had a stake activity on Saturday with the whole zone. We had planned a lot, and not very many came but it was a good experience anyways. We are already planning another one. I hope everything is going great for you guys, i pray for you all the time. I hope the spirit can guide you all everyday.
Have a great week!
elder redfern

Hola Familia!!Another great week in the mission. Lautaro, 19 got baptized on Saturday and everything went fairly well. There is ALWAYS something that goes wrong, but most importantly is that he got baptized and he has a strong, strong testimony. It is so fun to have him in gospel principles because he asks deep doctrine questions. I have to be careful sometimes not to give too much of the juicy stuff. You can´t feed a baby meat, you have to start with the milk first!!But I have to go, I have no time left. I love you all. I miss you. I know that this work is the work of the Lord!!! I LOVE MY LIFE!!
KEEP THE FAITH
Hna Redfern

2010-02-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

Hola Familia!!!

I had a really neat and humbling experience this past week The mission is =hard and I have had some trying moments but I have never not wanted to leave the house and go to work but recently at times I have felt this way. And for some reason last week I was having crazy feelings like something was going to happen to Hay Bay and my mom on their road trip to Idaho (I am so g=lad you left a day later with the roads being how they were). To say the least I was feeling pretty down on Thursday.We had just finished planning for the week all the things we needed to do to help our investigators progress. I wanted to called our branch president

and ask for a blessing and right then our phone rang, it was him. He wasnt calling us to offer me a blessing he was calling to tell us that the brother of our convert Maxi (whose name is Lautaro) just called and wants=to listen to the discussions (he listened to us once before but has been avoiding us ever since). He said to call his wife and set up a time we could do it in their house. When I called her she said I am going to

let you in on a little secret he wants to be baptized!Tears just flowed from my eyes. My comp was just staring at me wondering why I was crying and I am sure the presidents wife was a little stunned too but I couldnt hold back the tears. They were tears of joy. In that moment the scripture in Alma 26:27 came to life for me Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto =you success.I know that this church is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet an=d he restored the keys of the priesthood on this earth once again never, never to be taken from the earth again. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it will bring us comfort and guide us in our lives.I love you all. KEEP THE FAITH!!!

Hna Redfern

THE BOOK OF MORMON CHALLENGE

2010-01-26T09:50:00.000-08:00

The Book of Mormon Challenge by Hugh Nibley
(Lehi in the Desert, in Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, ed. John W. Welch, Darrell L. Matthews, Stephen R. Callister, 13 vols. (1986-94), 5:119).
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If one scoffs at the missionary?s explanation of the Book of Mormon, he is in so many words claiming it to be false: That it is a deceiving fraud formulated through the efforts and talents of a common man. What is produced by one man can always be duplicated by another. The challenge that the Book of Mormon makes to the world is that of duplication. Because the book complies with every one of the following conditions, in order to produce a similar record, one must comply with the same conditions.
Here is the challenge: Can you accept it?
1.? Write a history of ancient Tibet covering a period from 600 B.C. to 450 A.D.
Why ancient Tibet? Because you know no more about Tibet than Joseph Smith (or anyone else) knew about ancient America.
2.? You are 23 years of age.
3.? You have had no more than three years of formal school education, and have spent your life in backwoods farming communities.
4.? Your history must be written on the basis of what you now know. There was no library that held information for Joseph Smith. You must use none. There is to be no research of any kind.
5.? Your history must be 531 pages and over 300,000 words in length.
6.? Other than a few grammatical corrections, you must have no changes in the text. The first edition as you dictate it to your secretary must stand forever.
7.? This record is to contain the history of two distinct and separate nations, along with histories of different contemporary nations or groups of people.
8.? You must describe their religious, economic, political, and social cultures and institutions. Cover every phase of their society, including the names of their coins.
9.? Change your style of writing many times. Many ancient authors contributed to the Book of Mormon, each with his own style.
10.???? Weave into your history the religion of Jesus Christ and the pattern of Christian living.
11.???? You must claim that your smooth narrative is not fiction with moral value, but true and sacred history.
12.???? You must include in you book fifty-four chapters dealing with wars, twenty-one historical chapters, fifty-five chapters on visions and prophecies.? Remember, when you begin to write visions and prophecies, you must have your record agree meticulously with the Bible. You must write seventy-one chapters on doctrine and exhortation, and you must check every statement with the scriptures or you will be proven a fraud. You must write twenty-one chapters on the ministry of Christ, and every thing you claim he said and every testimony you write in your book about Him must agree absolutely with the New Testament.
13.???? Many of the facts, claims, ideas, and statements given as absolute truth in your writing must be entirely inconsistent with the prevailing beliefs of the world. Some of these worldly beliefs must be the direct opposite of your claims.
14.???? Included in your narrations will be authentic modes of travel; whether or not those ancient people used fire; description of their clothing, crops, mourning customs, and types of government. You must invent about 280 new names that will stand up under scrutiny through the years as to their proper application and derivation.
15.???? You will have to properly use figures of speech, similes, metaphors, narrations, exposition, descriptions, oratory, epic lyric, and parables.
16.???? You must invite the ablest scholars and experts to examine the text with care, and you must strive diligently to see that your book gets into the hands of those eager to prove it a forgery, and who are most competent to expose every flaw in it.
17.???? Thorough investigation, scientific and historical evidence, and archeological discovery for the next 125 years must verify its claims and prove detail after detail to be true, for many of the details you put in your history are still buried beneath the soil of Tibet.
18.???? You must publish it to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people declaring it to be the word of God and another witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
19.???? The book must not contain any absurd, impossible, or contradictory statements. Your history must not contain any statement that will contradict any other statement elsewhere in the volume.
20.???? Many theories and ideas as to its origin must arise, and after discovering and examining the facts, they must fail. You have claimed that your knowledge had come from divine origin, and this claim continues to stand as the only possible explanation. The strength of this explanation must not decrease as time passes, but actually increases to the point where it becomes the only logical explanation.
21.???? Your record is to fulfill many Bible prophecies, even in the exact manner in which it shall come forth, to whom delivered, its purposes, and its accomplishments.
22.???? Call down an angel from heaven in the middle of the day and have him bear testimony to four honest, dignified citizens of your community that the record is the word of God. These witnesses must bear the angel?s testimony to the world, not for profit or gain, but under great sacrifice and severe persecution, even to their death beds. You must put that testimony to the test by becoming an enemy to these men.
23.???? Thousands of great men, intellectual giants, national and international personalities, and scholars for 165 years must accept your history and its teachings even to the point of laying down their life rather than deny their testimony of it.
24.???? You must include with within the record this promise: ?And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost.?
25.???? Missionaries must bear record to the world for the next 165 years that they know the record to be true because they put the promise to the test and found it to be true. The truth of it was manifested to them by the power of the Holy Ghost.
26.???? Over 52,900 plus competent salesman must be so sold on your book that they gladly give up two or more years of their lives to take it to all parts of the world for distribution. They not only pay their own way during these years, but return bearing testimony that the time spent will remain as one of the highlights of their lives. They receive nothing in return for their efforts but the joy of having shared your book with others.
27.???? Your book must not only raise the standards of millions of people but do it in such a way that they become one of the great moral, ethical, and dynamic marvels of the day. They must become world renowned for this.
28.???? For the next 20 years you must watch those that follow and you, your family, and the dearest of your loved ones persecuted, driven time after time from their homes, beaten, tortured, starved, frozen and killed. Tens of thousands must undergo the most extreme hardships in your presence just because they believe your claims concerning the origin and content of what you have written on ancient Tibet.
29.???? You must gain no wealth from your work, but many times lose all that you have. Like those that believe you, you must submit yourself to the most vile persecution. And finally after 20 years of this, give your own life in a very savage and brutal manner, for your testimony concerning your history book. This must be done willingly on your part.
30.???? Start right now and produce this record which covers 1,000 years of history, doing it, not in the peaceful atmosphere of your community, but under the most trying of circumstances which include being driven from your home several times, and receiving constant threats upon your life. Please have your book completed, talk a friend into mortgaging his farm to raise money to have it printed - all in 60 days.
?
There is only one answer: The Book of Mormon is a divine record. If not, its origin must be stated and its claims must be explained by the critic. It isn?t enough to merely discard it as false and forget about it!? The first thing to do in examining any ancient text is to consider it in the light of the origin and background there is no need to look farther, since historical forgery is virtually impossible.

--

If God loves us enough to send us prophets, then we need to love Him enough to follow them." Sheldon. F. Child

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-01-26T06:02:00.000-08:00

Hola Familia y amigos!
Today for the first time in my misión I have done something not really “mission like” I took a bike ride with my comp and two other sisters for the coast of Rio Paraná. It was so wonderful. It is BEAUTIFUL here. I was able to relax for a moment (all the sisters were saying I need it, I am supposedly the “work too hard stress sister” here in the mission. Who would have ever thought…). It was absolutely wonderful, oh how I love Argentina.I continue to see the hand of the lord in my work as a missionary. This week we were really trying to focus on getting people to church. We felt so sure that there were going to be a good amount of people this week. We planned to pick up two families. The first family we banged and banged on the door until one of them finally woke up but told us this week was “impossible” (a word argentines love) and that they will next week. Then we headed to a family of kids who I had called 20 min early and they said they were ready. But when we got there it was the youngest whom was ready to go but everyone else was sleeping, she wanted to come but wasn’t going to come without her siblings. As we left I was super sad but I tried looking at the bright side, we still had 2 that were for sure going to be waiting for us in the church with a member by there side. We got there and I didn’t see them. The member called us over and told us that she stopped by but no one came out, she waited for 10 min. I was so exhausted. So sad. As we sat to sing for the opening song “I know that my Redeemer Lives”, tears just rolled down my face. Feeling so sad, like everything we had done was for nothing but knowing as I sang the words that my Savour knew exactly how I was feeling at this moment.Then the hand of God comes in. My comp nudged me to look out the door right as the sacrament was being passed. And there he was, Hernand, a kid we have taught a few times but just hasn’t been progressing, we decided to leave him but sometimes see him in the street. Yesterday I invited him to come to church as we passed by super fast. I really did not believe he would come, and he did. Then 5 min later another investigator walked in. And then we saw another kid we have never met who is not a member was sitting next to a member. My heart was filled in this moment. I remembered how merciful our God is. How is ALWAYS looking out for his children. He reminded me that I wasn’t a failure and that I was here for a reason.I love this gospel. I love my Father in Heaven. I love being a missionary! I love you all. Keep the Faith and keep writing letters.
Love, Hermana Redfern

Branch Activity that Chris and his Comps planned
Hey..Well another busy week here in Mexico, just trying to get everyone excited about this great message of everlasting happiness. We had our conference of zone this week and it was great to be animated by president. He is gaining a little more confidence with the elders, without losing a stride of his character and seriousness of obedience, but its good to see him happy. I also got a package from a special person and it had many fotos, and it was funny, because they were all with at college or with the fam, but mostly the college ones made me think...What a boring life.. haha. Sorry but really i was looking at pics and thinking, college does not even compare the slightest bit to the mission, i know. This is just so much cooler than any other thing i could be doing right now. That will all be there when i get back. I do not want to leave the mission. I am so grateful i still have a good amount of time to serve. One of my favorite comps goes home Friday, and I'm so glad i still have the PRIVILEGE to be here. Oh what a blessing. Obviously i am not saying that special persons life is nothing:).. I'm just saying, ..man... I love being a missionary (Im still a ninja turtle at heart ask my mommy). We are teaching a chavo of 15 years he is just awesome. He has read 140 pages of the book of Mormon and can tell us what he read. The only problem is his parents are drunks, and its really hard to be able to talk to him. I was also informed that in valles a family of 4 got baptized on Friday we found there. its such a good feeling. Well i love you all, and hope life is going good in 2010 so far. Keep up the effort. Hagan lo justo.

Elder Redfern

2010-01-20T14:25:00.000-08:00

Hey!
Well sorry we didn't get to write yesterday there was some issues and appts and things we had to fix but it is all good. This week was great. We have some great progressing investigators, who are close to taking the step of a bautismo and we are so grateful to be able to be helping them. The cold is gone and the sun looks to be taking its spot for the rest of the mission, its not hot but we all know its coming. This week we´ll have conference so we´ll get mail or packages which is always a boost. The mission is just wonderful, you get to see so many blessings and changes in Peoples lives, That's why we need to be always putting in the effort and finding more and more people to teach, there is only dull moments when you let them be dull. The pure fact of putting Jesus Christs name on your chest everyday is such an amazing blessing. I'm so glad to have had 3 brothers serve before me, have my best friend be such a stud en Ecuador, and have my own sister serving at the same time as me. I know when we return to see each other that we will be like Alma reuniting with the sons of mosiah, as brothers(and sisters) frim in Christ. What a blessing. We are just gonna keep on working, no hay pretextos jalale por las orejas si tienes q hacerlo.
I love you all so much, you have all been an incredible support, thank you all!
Elder Redfern

QUE TAL!!!

We had quite another interesting week. I have found that life really doesn't slow down, there is always something new. It is a good thing I enjoyed my, not worrying about anything except boys, changing homes and jobs, sleeping in, nomad college life because I am realizing that I will never get it back! From here on out it is work, work, work. We had zone conference on Friday this past week. The president told us that instead of taking the 3 hour bus ride we were going to head with the Elders and the other sisters in their van to our area. It brought me back a little to my life before and the road trips I had taken. We ended up missing the turn off to our town and didn't realize it until we were in the other city and by then it was midnight and just told the elders not to worry about it. The assistants had other sleeping bags that they said they would give us so we decided to head to the house of the sisters. When they dropped us off and not until they started driving away did we realize we hadn't grabbed the sleeping bags so I took off running but didn't catch it. (Oh by the way it just so happens the sisters live right at the end of the NATIONAL TRIATHLON they were having here, I am not going to lie, it made me super sad, I am so out of shape and will def be working on doing another tri when I get home!) So I slept on a hard wood floor with absolutely nothing, I mean nothing. I think it was the first time in my life that I have had to sleep like that. Not even a sheet. It was quite the experience. I couldn't help but feel so much gratitude for all the blessings that I have had in my life. A bed, a pillow, a sheet. Things that we have LOADS of in our house. A luxury that really is not enjoyed here. There aren´t many luxuries and I am contanstantly reminded of how lucky I really was. Maxi did it, he got baptised! We were getting a little worried right before the baptism because we hadn't talked to him much in the week. He doesn't have a phone and we couldn't´t go by his house because his parents really don't like the church. We found out on Friday that he finally told his parents and that they were just like “do whatever you want”. It continues to shock me that parents really don't want their kids to make such a good decision to try and better there lives and draw closer to God. I am so grateful that I was able to help bring him to make this wonderful decision. I love being a missionary! And how cool is it that he wants to go on a mission. Another testament that the Lord will help us have the desires of my heart. Since I started in the field I have said that I want to teach someone who can head out on the mission exactly one year after his baptism and Maxi can!!! The Lord is ALWAYS mindful of us.I love this work, I love the mission. Thank you all for your support. I hope you all know how much it means to me. KEEP THE FAITH!!!

Con amor Hna Redfern

BEACH, FAMILY, CHRISTMAS

2010-01-17T04:19:00.000-08:00

THE BIG DAY

2010-01-16T15:54:00.000-08:00

skip david diane whitney brandon brooke steven haylea

right before he gets a name and a blessing

daddys love

one happy mommy

so cute

the temple cake amanda made...14 hrs of work!

beautiful luncheon thrown by lindseys parents after the sealing

daddy contemplating before he gives his son a blessing

A BEAUTIFUL DAY! SO GRATEFUL FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!

The Missionarries Are Safe

2010-01-13T12:12:00.001-08:00

Church Response to Haiti Earthquake

SALT LAKE CITY 13 January 2010 We express our sympathy and prayers on behalf of the citizens of Haiti following the recent devastating earthquake. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is immediately shipping humanitarian relief, including personal hygiene kits and supplies for newborns. Efforts are underway to determine further humanitarian response in coordination with government and disaster relief organizations. Donations for relief efforts can be made at http://give.lds.org/emergencyresponse.

All missionaries serving in the country are safe, and we continue efforts to account for Church members in the area.

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-01-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

Caroling at Christmas
Hola!!!
It has been a very interesting week so far. So we had transfers and they decided to send some sisters up to help some elders out in there area (our zone) but they forgot to find them a house. The sisters came up without any clue thinking they had a place to stay and everything. I apparently was the only one who knew kind of what was going on and spent 4 hours one afternoon making all the phone calls, oh nineteen year old boys. The sisters ended up staying with us every night this week which was super fun, but we didn’t get a lot of sleep and I was feeling it yesterday. Something I learned while the sisters were here was the power of obedience. We talk about it all the time, I feel like it is the main topic of every single one of our meetings but we continue to talk about it because we continue to need it. I love these other sisters that were with us but something I noticed was the lack of success and happiness they had from their last area. They had taken on a very cynical and negative humor. They seemed to be having a good time, laughing enjoying each other but when it came to the night time we were talking about the blessings of the mission, I bore my testimony about all the blessings I have received and continue to receive. One of the Hermanas couldn’t say the same, she asked me when I was able to see all this and I told her everyday. She has been out almost six months now and hates every single day. I tried to help her but there is nothing I can do. In this week I have seen why she isn’t happy. She hasn’t given of herself, and wants to live a normal life while she is a missionary. She wants to walk the line, get as close as she can with out falling over. That is NOT how it works. We have to stay as far away from it has we can. We have to have obediencia con exactitud (exactly obedient). That is how satan comes in, he finds every little whole he can and creeps in. If we aren’t careful he slips in and before we even know it we have become subject to him. We have another baptism this week. Maxi, he is 20 and wants to go on a mission! I am so excited for him. He has been tough to teach because he doesn’t show ANY emotion whatsoever which as you all know is very hard for me. But I had a very sweet experience with him the other day. The spirit testified to me in a lesson with him as we closed with a prayer that he was ready and that just because I couldn’t see it doesn’t mean I have any right to judge him. God does the judging not me. I love my life, I love being here. I hope all of you who have had the opportunity to serve a mission can think back and remember to these wonderful times, the spirit you felt and the happiness you had and strive to have those feelings again in your life. I know you can!I love you all.
KEEP THE FAITH!!!
Hna Redfern

Toriba Baptism
Hey all!
Well itsfreezinnnggg here in Mexico, yea freezing, just wait.. it got down =to 45 degrees!! Yea, Were all dying! Ha I'm not gonna lie, i am cold ha. Everyone its going crazy and buying blankets and walking around in snow gear. =But let me remind you all, we are all used to walking around all day in 120=degree weather, 105 and people put on a long sleeve shirt. But ha its funny to see how crazy everyone is going. But i do have cold, i got used to =being in the heat for 11 months of the year and this one month of cold is tough. I cant imagine how my friend is doing in Ukraine. But it was a good =week. We had some really great lessons, some great compromisos(english?) t=hat people are willing to fulfill. We are putting together a stake activity and trying to get people to come to church, including the members, when it=s 50 degrees out ( they cancelled school on friday because it was 45!!but seriously they did.) We hope that this week will be one of much success, and=progression of the investigators we have, some are just on the point of doing what they need to do to know the truth. Man what an amazing message that we share. We tell you something, and than tell you not to believe us, but to ask God if its true, and let him tell you Its something said with =so much confidence, faith, and love for the person that one delivering it c=ant help but be swelled with emotion. I love it. Well I hope you all have=a great week, and hope we can all keep trying with all our heart might min=d and strength to obey and love the Lord. I testify that this is His true =church, and i dare something to try and tell me its not.
I love you all!
Elder Redfern

THIS WEEKS EMAILS

2010-01-05T15:36:00.000-08:00

hey all!

Well this was another great week! Cant believe we are already in 2010! That is just amazingly crazy. The ridiculously loud fireworks woke us up at 12. Here in Veracruz, they burn the Viejito, or the old man. The make a scarecrow type old man out of old clothes and news paper. Than they put fireworks inside of him, than, yea you guessed it. They burn it. And it is super loud. The do it as a symbol that the old year is out and let the new one in. WE helped make one but obviously we didnt get to get it see burnt. We are teaching a man from venezuela that knows english but he speaks like a redneck and he says so himself its really funny to here. We have some other people that are starting to look that they could progress well, but we are still laking investigators as it usually is here with a change of area. I'm just so happy though that my little nephew has been sealed to the eternal family! even though no one sent me pics that i asked for:) I'm sure there will be some. Man what a true and amazing blessing. I just love being a member of Gods gospel, the one endowed with the power and authority to seal things on the earth and in the heavens. Its amazing beautiful and sometimes just unbelievable the love God has for his children. We can all know him personally. We can all come out on top of a horrible situation, one you think that no one could survive, that seems to be drowning you. But we are all children of God, and we all have the right to call upon Him in the name of his first born Son. I love it. I love you all. Today we went to Tajin, ruins thousands of years old, i love to see the Book of Mormon up close. Have a great week!

I love you all

Elder Redfern

Hola todos!Right now I am sitting in a Cyber like I do every p-day to write you a nice letter, but this pday is a little bit different because I am sweat from every single pore of my body. I feel like I am doing one of those classes of yoga that have in 90 degrees. It is incredible the humidity that exist here and the heat is…absolutely wonderful, at least ill be loosing a few pounds .We had the most successful week of my mission and everything was wonderful. Omar, Victor and Gabby all got baptized. It was a little crazy the day of. The baptism was suppose to start at 7 and 5 min till Omar still hadn’t showed up, he had a stroke and struggles walking so we just figured he was in camino but when we looked and didn’t see him anywhere we freaked and I just booked it. My companion was a good 10 strides behind and I am pretty sure all the people outside thought we were crazy, but I was not about to let Omar miss his baptism. When we got to his house he told us a button had broke on his shirt so he had to change, and you can imagine how long it takes for him to change with only one arm that moves. It was a really special moment for me to help him put on his tie and help him roll up his sleeves so that he could look nice at his baptism. He is wonderful. Oh and Victor for the first time yesterday (at our follow up chat after baptism and confirmation) prayed a loud with us. He had never done it before, was always so scared. I seriously don’t know if I have ever been happier. The whole time he prayed I had the biggest smile on my face, my checks started to hurt. Then he told us that he wants to start preparing for a mission. And today I got news that someone I had been teaching in my old area finally got baptized. Fa, the little things in life are just the best!Transfers were this week and I am staying with my comp which I am super excited about. We are going to start another English fast which should be interesting (two Americans who enjoy chatting in English cutting it all out, should be fun) but I need to enjoy this moment I have to be swimming in the Spanish language. I can’t begin to even express the joy that I continue to feel everyday in my mission. I am also learning that it is a joy that I could have everyday of my life even after the mission if I want it. I just need to always remember what is important. In church this Sunday in Relief Society the women were talking about how they need to start thinking about themselves more, one in particular said she has just done too much for the church and needs to focus on herself. I couldn’t help but feel like these women had it wrong. And of course my bold self I raised my hand and shared Matt 10:39 basically it says the man who tires to find his life will lose it, while the man who looses his life for Christ shall find his. This is not an easy thing to do. But we all wonder why it is that missionaries are so happy, and it is because they are trying to forget themselves( I def still not perfect at this). It is what we should be trying to do all our lives. Forget ourselves and go to work. I hope one day I will be able to give ALL of myself. I love you all. I love this gospel and I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!

Keep in touch. KEEP THE FAITH!!!

Con mucho amor

Hna Redfern

2010-01-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

HOLA!!!FELIZ ANO NUEVO!!!! WOOP WOOP. We are going to finish off this year strong with 3 baptisms today! We are super excited. It’s my comps first baptism in her mission so she is super stoked. 5 more hours… How great is it on the day that my nephew is going to be sealed to my family I am able to participate in helping 3 more people receive the blessings of life eternal! Oh happy day ;) Just got another email from Daddio saying they just left the Temple and Gavin is going to receive a name and a blessing, FA!!! Gal, this day couldn’t be better. It was really wonderful to talk to everyone, even though it was only 2 min each, but it was worth it just to hear every ones voices. Yesterday I had the opportunity to teach two districts at our district reunion. I got the call from our Zone leaders the night before asking me to do it. I of course said yes because I love to teach but immediately felt nervous that I would have to stand in front of members of the church, whom most speak Spanish better then me and teach them how they can be better missionaries. Ahh. That morning we listen to Brother Bythyway while doing our usual workouts and felt inspired to talk about rising above, living the higher law and putting our desires aside. I tried preparing but nothing really profound was coming to mind but I knew that they Lord would direct my words as I relied on him. And he did, it went well, I think. My comp told me I am the next Sherri Dew but married, haha! (Fa, I would love to be the next Sherri Dew and of course I hope I am married ;) But I have learned on the mission that it really doesn’t matter how much you know, or how well you speak what matters is if you turn yourself over to the Lord and let him do the teaching through you. And then he teaches you. I reminded myself of the importance of letting go of my desires, my passions, and my wants for this time that I have to devote to the Lord and serve. But not only for now, there are a few things that I still need to give up for after the mission so that I can continue to be an instrument in the hands of God. I love this work, I love my life. If there are people who still doubt just take a look at my family and the wondferful blessings we continue to receive. Its incredible!!!I love you all! Keep the Faith!Hna Redfern Well i hope that everyone had a great Christmas this year, and that we all remembered the real reason we are celebrating it, Christ. What a blessing it is to get together with the family and share the holidays together, and i hope that you all took advantage of that this year. Appreciate and love the time you have with your fam, it is really a true blessing. It was great to be able to talk to my parents all of my brothers and sisters, and sisters in law, and my nephews! Although i didnt get to talk to Whitney, but i assume she was talking to her brother in the mission. I loved how tyson told me they were talking gavin to the temple!! oh how amazing. This week will also be something so especial. Here in Poza Rica everything is great, just working on finding more people to teach. I love being a missionary. Verdad que si elder sanchez? its just so amazing. I got Brookes cd and my sister in law has got talent!! whooP! even though Christmas already passed, i have only christmas music so ni modo. I hope everyone has a great new year(campanita) and that we can start off this year and make it a year of taking steps. If we havent gone to the temple, lets go, if we have, lets go more, if we pay 8 percent of Tithing, lets pay the ten. If we watch tv on sundays, lets not. If we we sometimes fast, lets do it AT LEAST once a month. The small and simple things arent really so small, but they are simple. God takes the small and simple and makes them great. Let this year be a year of change,. But for the better. I love you all soo much, have a great week!

Elder REdfern

A Forever Family

2009-12-31T06:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday redeemed my feelings about 2009...its been a hard year. A year of pain, struggles, joys and wonder.

The faith has been there...

We knew this day would come we just didnt know when...

And this morning as I watch little Gavin toddle around the house.

Tyson encouraging him in his endeavors..."Come on Gavi. I will help you"

I cant help but feel my eyes fill with tears...

They are a FOREVER FAMILY...

I feel the stress and tension leave my body...

I see the relief in my son and DIL eyes...

We fianlly were able to see Gavin blessed by his father...

It was a day full of miracles...

I had the priviledge of holding Gavins hand on his parents as they were sealed. He wanted to get up. I wasnt about to let that hand go. This would be forever. A few minutes of crying was nothing compared to the tears that have been shed this year.

It was joyous having all my kids in the Temple that are in the country...but knowing that each one of my children could enter the House of the Lord was the real joy!

“What a blessing to have once again on the earth the sealing authority, not only for this mortal life but for the eternities.”

We are grateful for the sealing power...in fact...feel special that we get to go to the Temple each time to seal these precious children. It has been a journey, a challenging one at times.

I have felt your prayers for our family. I am thankful for your fasting. For your pleadings. I have felt loved...the words seem so trivial but

THANK YOU!!!!

"Because Jesus Christ suffered greatly, He understands our suffering. He understands our grief. . . . Sometimes the very moments that seem to overcome us with suffering are those that will ultimately suffer us to overcome."