Week 42

Week 42 January 14, 2020 Well this week flew by! and i dont really remember what happened other than... I LOST THE KEYS WOHOOO GO ME IM DOING GREAT. haha long story short, my companion climbed in the window tuesday and i felt left out so as we left the house i had the keys in my hand, and then i decided to be a magician and make them disappear. not sure when they left my hand or where they ended up but no one has entered our apartment. Yeah but we went back to our house and i was brilliant and locked the big window wohoo for saftey and then climbed through the bathroom window in a dress. MISSION ADVENTURES but our faithful district leader is bringing us our spare and then i think i will take better care of the keys. But from that experience i learned a very valuable lesson. And no i dont know how to be more organized and not lose things but i did learn how to make any situation a happy situation. We had left early that morning for a lesson with an hermana who asked us about the bible that was in my hand and she ended up opening up completley and crying with us. It was such a special moment and we were super excited to have another lesson with her. We called her and she said she was really busy and hung up. Then i realized i didnt have the keys and had left things at the house for our consejo de distrito a reunion with other missionaries that we had in an hour. So then i had to take a few deep breaths to keep the tears of frustration in my eyes. i was also tired. and we said a prayer, walked into a store, bought 25 cent icecream and i climbed through the window like a ninja and changed my attitude. President Chacon sent me this little message this week and it was exactly what i needed to hear about being in charge of our own happiness, “So much in life depends on our attitude. The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference. To do the best we can and then to choose to be happy about our circumstances, whatever they may be, can bring peace and contentment. … We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude.” President Thomas S. Monson, “Living the Abundant Life,” Ensign, Jan. 2012, 4 ITS SO TRUE as we live the gospel, do everything we can to be obedient, bad things are still going to happen and that is okay! it is part of life, and the special part about the whole thing is that we determine our happiness. We determine whether we want to sit on the side of the street and cry, or eat an icecream and be a ninja. Its something special that we are given and so lets take advantage of Christs love and be happy about the life He has given us. We are here because he suffered everything so that we can get knocked down and get right back up again. and whats better is that he is lifting us up always. NEVER GIVE UP OR GET DISCOURAGED. God knows us and knows what we are going through and He will bless us with the strength we need! THE MISSION IS THE GREATEST THING I HAVE EVER BEEN APART OF AND OOF I LOVE BEING ABLE TO JUST OPEN MY MOUTH AND SHARE THE JOY I HAVE even if it comes after eating a lot of politos. the best 25 cent icecream i have ever found in my whole entire life and i love ice cream. also for all those who read my emails my last email i meant helaman 5:12 my bad. whoops. BUT HAVE AN INCREDIBLE WEEK WITH SO MUCH JOY AND ICE CREAM BECAUSE YOU ALL DESERVE IT WOHOOO CHAU Fe en Dios incluye Fe en Su tiempo Hermana Campbell

Week 41

What a week. First of all, FELIZ AÑO NUEVO WOOOHOOOOOO This week was such a good week! Such a good start to the new year!!! And let me tell ya, i have learned so so much here in the mission and even more just being here in Calderon! I have never met so many people so ready to hear the gospel! Lets just say this week was something special. 1. I was able to finish the book of mormon for the first time in spanish and wow spanish, english, french, etc., it does not matter, the book of mormon is the most powerful book i have ever read in my life and as i begin to read it again it just oof makes me feel so good inside. Literally i love promising to all the people we meet and teach that this book is not just any book, but the answer to all of our questions. The map to our happiness and salvation. Now i talked about the book of mormon in my last email, but we can never talk enough about it! But mas que todo, i would like to hit a point that we talked about at church. A cute hermana mentioned that only missionaries have the authority to give away a book of mormon, and i would just like to clarify that for anyone who is confused. We as members are called of God to teach and preach anyone who will listen. If spreading the gospel and giving copies of the book of mormon was only for missionaries, oof there would be no converts. Very little would know about the book of mormon. Us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have the calling to share the gospel with everyone. With a plaque or without. but as someone with a plaque in this moment, i am here to tell you that those without plaques are just as powerful if not more powerful. We come and go, you are here for a lot longer, you are here to help each member of the church endure to the end. As we learn to be a missionary in every moment, not only will we strengthen others testimony but you will also strengthen your own and as this world gets harder and harder to live in, you will be stronger and ready to fight against satan. Helaman 12:5 as we build our lives on the gospel of jesus christ, we will be able to withstand whatever trial that comes our way! THIS GOSPEL IS OUR PROTECTION AND THIS WORLD IS A BATTLE GROUND. DONT WALK INTO WAR WITHOUT PROTECTION LEARN OF THE GOSPEL AND LIVE THE GOSPEL AND I PROMISE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND WHATEVER COMES YOUR WAY. Now onto the chistes of the week, 1. we got the flu shot this week and i almost cried. but im okay dont worry 2. 2 very kind boys asked for our number and wanted to go on a date with us... well they didnt want to learn about god, so they didnt get our number and they didnt accept our offer to allow them to accompany us to church.. so they didnt get the date either. nice boys though.  3. My comp decided to forget her tag on the way to church, good thing i always have two and always wanted a twin. Shes now called hna campbell 2.  4. I ran into a door 5. we locked the keys inside our house... but good thing my comp is skinny and im tall. She stood on my hands and i lifted her inside the tiny bathroom window and she did it. We got inside and ate our cookies.  Yeah well, i hope you enjoyed because it was a pretty funny, fantastic week. I learned an incredible lesson this week that doesnt only apply to the mission. As missionaries we are constantly inviting people to change, through the invitations we leave. As they begin completing the invitations they start to feel the desire to grow closer to God. and as missionaries we have the opportunity to invite them to make that covenant and be baptized. This week as we found many elect sons and daughters of god we put that to practice. We were ableto see the change in there hearts and invite them to come closer to God. I used to be scared to make that invitation but this week it dawned on me that if we dont invite people to grow closer to God, they may never realize thats what they need. Now my invitation for you all this week, is invite someone to do something. Whether it is going to church with you, reading the introduccion with you or by themselves, or praying to god, invite them and help them have those desires to learn more and grow closer to God. I love you all so very much and im so proud of the people you are becoming. Continue growing and progressing and always follow the spirit. THE HOLY GHOST IS OUR GUIDE SO LET HIM GUIDE YOU!  This life is one in a million and we only have a short time to prove to God that He can trust us. Make Him proud and keep working on being better always. I love this gospel and everything that i get to be apart of in this life and oof i could go on but ill let you all go, heheh have such an amazing week!!!!!! FE EN DIOS INCLUYE FE EN SU TIEMPO HERMANA CAMPBELL

Week 40 - Oh what a two weeks it has been!

Week 40 – Oh what a two weeks it has been! December 30, 2019 FELIZ NAVIDAD (a little late! sorry) Oh my how are all of you incredible people?!?!?!?!!? I am doing fantastic thank you very much. We have had an incredible 2 weeks here in Calderon. (the city thats not even a city but to me is a giant city with lots of cars and noise and people and NO COWS OR CHANCOS. its fine.) with the holidays it actually made me really happy. So we have these pass along cards that we write our numbers on them and hand them out to people on the streets in the bus wherever we are really and heheheh with the light the world cards that were literally the cutest i had so much fun with them. We would finish lunch and be heading back to the house for studies and i looked at hermana oswald and was like, alright here are you cards. We dont enter the house until we have talked to at least 5 people each. We just started talking to everybody and giving everybody the tarjetas and we ended up talking to almost 10 people each and we were the happiest little (were actually giant gringas here) missionaries ever. But yes that was a cute fun story that i just felt like sharing with you all. The point of the story is that this christmas was the best christmas i have ever had. I have never been so excited to give someone the gift that will never go away. I hope you all took advantage of this christmas season and shared that gift with as many people as you could. and if you didnt, hey guess what, WE CAN SHARE THIS GIFT OF CHRIST ALL YEAR LONG SO WHOOHOOOOO I LOVE IT. Anyway something else that i would love to share with you all this week is a question that we were asked in a lesson. We left the previous lesson leaving her to read the introduccion del libro de mormon and when we showed up we asked if she had read it, and she had!!! WHOOOHOO LOVE THAT. But she then goes on to ask us a question that i had never been asked before and it was "why was the first thing you wanted me to read the intro?you could have left me with a story or something else but why the intro?" and as i thought about it i realized it was just what my trainer would do, you always left them with the intro but as i thought moreabout the intro i realized why. The Book of Mormon is the key stone of our religion. If the bood of mormon is true, that means Joseph Smith restored this gospel, that he truly saw our Father and His son Jesucristo. It also means that Jesus Christ is our savior. That He died for us and suffered in Gethsemane for each one of us and each one of our trials and difficulties that we have had. And that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints is the TRUE CHURCH. the only church that has the plenitud del evangelio restaurado. The introduction explains to us that and has the power to testify to us that all of what we teach is true. We ended explaining to her that if she gains a testimony of the book of mormon that means that everything we are going to continue teaching her is true without a doubt. and so i challenge you all the same. This week, no matter where you are at in the book of mormon i challenge you all to go back and read the intro. Read the introduction and pray to know whether the book of mormon is true. I promise you with all my heart that if you read it with an open heart and mind, you will receive an answer and in a way that you will know without a doubt. You will also feel complete, whatever troubles or doubts you have had about anything with no longer be doubts. you will know what you need to do and you will feel the love of God in your life. I truly love this gospel so much and am filled with so much joy as i go day to day sharing the one thing that has completed me. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without the gospel, without jesus christ, i dont know where i would be or what i would be doing. all i know is that i would be lost. Yet Im not, imay not know the street names or where people live, but i do know that i am exactly where i should be. I hope you all had a very merry christmas and have a very happy new year. SET GOALS THAT WILL HELP YOU GROW CLOSER TO GOD AND GET YOUR GYM MEMBERSHIPS HEHEH i love you all so much and talk to you next week!!! CHAU FE EN DIOS INCLUYE FE EN SU TIEMPO HERMANA CAMPBELL

Week 39 - Christmas Eve

Week 39 – Christmas Eve December 24, 2019 For many reasons, Ashlyn did not get an email out this week. She misses San Pablo but is excited about her new area. There's a lot of work to be done and lots of people interested in the Gospel. She and her companion are learning a lot about each other and getting along great. She continues to love being a missionary! She loves being a witness of Jesus Christ and wearing His name as a missionary. Here are a few pictures she managed to send off to me in the short time she was on for p day and a couple from our visit with her on Christmas day.

Week 38 - Sad Day! I Left the Campo!

Week 38 – Sad Day! I Left the Campo December 17, 2019 well everybody, i have left the campo... and it was a sad sad day. 7.5 months in san pablo and i have finally adventured outside into the real world!!!! i ate my first chicken nuggets in a long time and lets just say im gonna miss my rice and beans and pollo. but wohooo still get some of that!!! One time in the same sector is not the easiest. you become so relaxed and so used to everything and it got a bit difficult to contact and really dedicate everything. BUT that isnt a reason to stop working. There truly are people we found these last few weeks that really we wouldnt have found if we wouldve stopped working. That doesnt just happen on the mission but in real life. We get so used to one thing that it becomes natural. We lose the real meaning of things. for example this christmas. What is christmas? presents, christmas tree, candy canes, snowman, sledding, santa clause... i could go on. But when we truly take time to rethink things that happen all the time we realize that there is so much more to learn about every little thing. So when we think about it, What is Christmas? What ive learned here in the mission is that there is no snow, presents dont exist, christmas trees are super rare but one thing that is the same is Christ. We dont need to have the brightest christmas lights or a christmas tree super bright, because when we have christ as the center of our lives we have the best light we can ever find. Christ truly is the only thing we really need in this life. Christmas is so fun but i dont think i have ever had so much love for christmas until now. Really being able to serve and dedicate all of my time to help others find the light of christ is the only thing that i want to do this christmas and i challenge you all to make that the focus this week leading up to christmas. Find someone who needs light, who needs hope, and who needs the love of God and give them the best christmas present they could ever recieve!! Today during my study i truly learned how hard it is to stay strong the gospel, let me explain. In 4 nefi 1 it talks about the begining of the great apostasy, the time where the gospel of jesus christ was not on the earth. and as i was reading it dawned on me that God had been working with different profets for more that 600 years, and when Christ came to the americas that is when everyone converted to Christ and converted to the true gospel. but then it explains that not even 200 years after christ came, there began to be wickedness again in the land and then bam it just fell hard. It truly doenst matter how long it takes us to gain our testimony because we could chose to be converted in 1 day or in 10 years but if we do not continue strengthening our testimony it will fall and we will turn away faster than you know. Once you have the one thing that will give you the most joy in this world, dont play with it, dont slack on your reading, dont stop talking to your father in heaven, STAY STRONG AND SPREAD THE GOSPEL. LIVE LIKE CHRIST IS WALKING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU AND YOU WILL HAVE SO MUCH MORE JOY AND HAPPINESS!!! I’m now in Calderon which is in quito but a cute subburb and my comp is from south jordan utah and her name is hna oswald, SUPER CUTE! but yeah im doing so incredibley amazing and have never been happier!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND HAVE A GOOD WEEK ILUMINA EL MUNDO EN CADA MOMENTO WOHOOOO - HERMANA CAMPBELL

Week 37 - I'm Surrounded by Pigs, I Just Wanted to be One

Week 37 – I’m Surrounded by Pigs, I Just Wanted to be One December 10, 2019 yeah i dont have a picture of what happened this morning but long story short we hiked up basically an iceberg on a mountain.. cool right? and the mud was super slippery and i biffed it so hard and the left side of my body was completely covered in mud... it was hilarious and when i get a picture of it, youll see. hope you found that as funny as it was. BUT WOHOOO THIS WEEK WAS INCREDIBLE. There were so many miracles this week and not enough time to share them all but ill mention a few... Wednesday - wow, we have been teaching a family for a really long time now, for like 7 months and they have read the intro many times, but this time when they read it, they understood it and oh the joy that was in there home. We may not understand everything we read in the scriptures or everything we hear in life, but never give up. Keep searching for the answer because i testify that it will come. Thursday - intercambios!!! i was in a different sector for the day and may i say i love eating 25 cent icecream. its so good. but we had an incredible lesson with a part member family who have been through so much. People, never stop sharing the gospel, even with members because everyone is going through something and they need what we have to share!!! SHARE IT Friday - Feeling the spirit in the home of those we visit is one of the most incredible things i have ever experienced. Do everything in your power to invite the Spirit into your homes ALWAYS Saturday - WOHOOOOO the introduccion in the book of mormon is incredible and i invite you all to read it! It has touched the hearts of many this week and i testify that you will recieve an answer you have been searching for if you will read it with complete faith! Sunday - We have watched the video of the Jesus Child, not really sure what its called in english but if you get anything out of my email this week, i hope you all understand the importance of our savior Jesus Christ. The video may be in a different language but i have never felt the spirit so strong watching a video. The light of Christ shines so bright in the video and what is even more incredible is that He was just born. As a child Jesus Christ had such a light and that light is something we can have, something we should desire to have. This christmas season isnt about gifts, isnt about lights or trees or snowman, although those things are so amazingly fun, but this christmas season like they talked aboutin the christmas devotional is about giving the gift that never stops giving. which is the light and love that jesus christ himself offers to each and every one of us that actually looks to have it in our lives. GO WATCH THE VIDEO AND SHARE IT WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/live-broadcasts?lang=eng I love you all so much and i know that Jesus Christ is the only way we receive what we need in this life, LET HIM IN. Fe en Dios incluye Fe en Su tiempo Hermana Campbell