Santiago at Night

"Me with my mini me.  There is a dog that had 6 puppies, and we gave them all names.  

And this one is named Bailey.  She´s the cutest." :)

"Guess who completes a year in the mission this week?!  ME!!!!  I get the papers to buy my plane ticket home this change. But it could be worse, my companion got her flight itinerary today. 

We´ve had a good week this week.  We´re both sick.  I´m pretty sure its because they made us get flu shots last week and we´re having an adverse reaction to it.  It's started getting cold again. Not quite coat weather yet, but definitely sweater weather.  I bought hot chocolate today at the grocery store.

We had another big temblor the other night.  It was really strong and long, almost a minute.  Apparently there are some big wig Brazillian scientists that predicted it and they say that they have found some way to detect it.  They are saying we´re going to have a big earthquake soon.  But they also said we were going to have another strong temblor last night and nothing happened...so we´ll see...  

As far as missionary work goes, things are going really well.  We taught Susana again this week and we have another appointment with her tonight.  So we´ll see how that goes.  We had another lesson with Scarlet and her family and she seemed a lot more receptive.  I think it probablly helped that their mom wasn´t there.  But they didn´t come to church yesterday :(  But guess who did come to church?!  ERIK Y ELIANA!!!!  Yay!  They were actually waiting for us by the door when we stopped by to pick them up in the morning.  It was great.  They seemed to really like it, but we didn´t get much of a chance to talk to them afterwards.  But we have an appointment with them tonight so we´ll be able to find out.  Also, another family Menos Activo that we´ve been working with went to church for the first time in over a year.  We didn´t have a chance to meet with Mario or Paloma this week but we´re going to try and track them down in the next few days."

Lost in Santiago!

This week we had a great lesson with Hermannia and Mario. Last time we talked a lot about the temple so we decided to talk about the family this time and it went so well. He had a lot of great questions and seems to be genuinely listening and thinking about what we teach. Hermannia is thinking about going through the temple to receive her endowments, so he is really interested in the idea of an eternal family. However, they didn´t show up for church yesterday. I think he still doesn´t feel a need or strong desire to go, and with two little kids it's really hard for Hermannia to get there.

We had another lesson with Pablo and Paloma ( the parents of Valentina) it also went super well. He's kind of a nut and likes to talk about deeper stuff like the creation and evolution and dinosaurs and how that all fits into what the church teaches, but everytime we bring it back to the basics Paloma responds really well and when she expresses her opinion its almost always inline with what the church teaches. I think we´ve started off on a good foot and if we keep going she´ll continue to progress and see the need for the church and a baptism because that's her biggest difficulty right now. However, they too, failed to come to church yesterday.

Eric and Eliana are doing great. They are reading in the Book of Mormon and are excited about everything we teach them. They promised to come to church and they didn´t show. I was so sad. I think we´re going to be a little bit more frank with them this next time because if they aren´t willing to come to church there isn´t much else we can do to help them progress. But, I have confidence they´ll be there next week.

The good news is that Scarlet, our atheist, came to church!!! I´m pretty sure her dad made her and her brother come, but the important thing was that they were all there! She slept most of Sacrament meeting, but then they stayed for Gospel Principles (which I got stuck teaching at the last minute) and she started the lesson with her headphones in and her music really loud but by the end she had turned her music down and had the book out and was following along! Well, at least until her mom tried to push her to make a comment and she slammed the book shut and screamed that she was an atheist! But we´re making progress. She came to church and she was listening.

Elder and Sister Richards Visit the Mission

"During the month of February, we experienced the blessing of a mission tour with Elder and Sister Richards. Elder Richards is a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy and serves as the second counselor in the Chile Area Presidency.

We started the week with a dinner on Monday night where President and Sister Laycock were able to discuss the needs of our mission with Elder and Sister Richards.

On Tuesday, we met with some of our Zone Leaders early in the morning so that they could learn from Elder and Sister Richards. At 9:00 AM one third of our missionaries arrived for a whole day of conference taught by Elder and Sister Richards. We had a short break for lunch, and then Elder Richards interviewed some of our Missionaries while Sister Richards conducted a scripture activity with those waiting. Tuesday night, we were able to meet with all of the Stake Presidents and the Area Authority Seventy over our mission.

On Wednesday morning, we met with more Zone Leaders and received more wonderful instruction by Elder and Sister Richards. At 9:00 AM another third of our missionaries arrived for another day of spiritual enlightenment, lunch, and interviews. At the end of the day, Sister Richards took all of the Sisters in our mission and taught us and answered our questions. Wednesday evening, we held a fireside for all investigators in our mission. It was a miracle. The entire chapel and back to the stage was filled with missionaries and investigators and new converts. Elder Richards again taught us! It was so beautiful. We loved every minute.

On Thursday, we began with another Zone Leader meeting and another conference. Then at the conclusion of the day, we held a Zone Leader Council and learned how to council together.

This was truly a blessed event for our mission. We will feel the affect of Elder and Sister Richards' teachings forever in our mission. We experienced an outpouring of the Lord's love and the enlightenment of the Spirit. We will treasure this mission tour forever and ever."

Missionaries are Prepared for an Earthquake

From Sister Laycock:

7.2 Magnitude Earthquake Sunday, March 25, 2012

Dear Parents and Families,

You will hear reports that Chile experienced a 7.2 magnitude earthquake today, Sunday, March 25, 2012. We certainly felt the quake in the Santiago East Mission, but we suffered no damage, and we are all safe and protected here. Today's quake was near Maule which is approximately 130 miles South of Santiago. We are grateful for your consistent prayers and for your love and support. We are thankful for the opportunity we have to serve here in this beautiful country, with our Missionary Angels, and we love the Chilean people very much.

Our missionaries are prepared for this type of occurrence, and we know that when we are prepared, we need not fear (D&C 38:30). As many of you know, we completed a mission tour last month. President Laycock and I visited every single apartment in our mission. We prayed with every companionship in their apartment, and we asked for a blessing of safety to be upon each apartment. We requested and confirmed that every missionary update and/or prepare their 36 hour kit. Also, during the last two weeks, we updated and delivered a copy of our mission emergency plan to each missionary. Our missionaries are prepared. They are brave and strong and capable in every way. We love them dearly, and will continue to serve beside them as we strive to do the Lord's work in the Lord's way.

We will continue to pray for those who live South of our Mission who may be affected, and we will update you as we learn more.

Con amor,

Presidente y Hermana Laycock