Monday, May 21, 2012
"It was a good week. We worked really hard and taught a ton of lessons. We now have an hermana in charge of our lunches which is great because now we get to eat everyday. We still don´t have a ward mission leader but it now looks like we´re going to have our correlation meetings directly with the bishop now. Which is a huge step of progress.
Singleton was sick this week...food poisoning...poor thing...she barfed her guts out.
We made some huge progress with Erik this week. I
can´t remember if I told you, but we had a lesson with him and his mom the other day and we kind of hit a road block when he refused to say the closing prayer because this wasn´t his religion. But we went with a member this week and had a lesson with just him. We talked about all his concerns and his beliefs (saints, virgin mary, etc) and it went really well. And when we went back the other day we asked him if he had thought about what we had talked about and he said, ¨Yeah, I´ve decided to just denounce all religion and just believe in God...¨ at first we were like...Uh oh... we didn´t want you to renounce your religion. But then we realized it was a good progress, because it meant he was really thinking about what he believed and what the truth is and relying on God. So I think we´ve made good ground towards him gaining a testimony. Eliana is still doing great. In the same lesson where Erik refused to say the prayer, she told us she had recieved her answer and feels really good about everything so far. Unfortunately, they didn´t show up to church yesterday. We tried to stop by in the morning before church but nobody answered. So we´ll see what happens.
Hermana Singleton finishes her mission so I´ll have a new companion for sure, but I don´t know if I¨ll stay in this sector. So we´ll just have to wait and see.
I love you all tons and tons!"
Monday, May 14, 2012
I completed a year on the mission last Friday. We ordered pizza to celebrate. I was sick for most of the week, which wasn´t fun. We actually had to stay inside one whole day. But I´m all better now.
We had a bit of a cold spell but it started to warm up again yesterday. But not before it rained cats and dogs the other day. It rained cold and hard for almost 2 days straight. All the streets flooded and we had to wade through it. Some of the water came up to the knees of Hermana Singleton. It was ridiculous. I had my boots and my rain coat so I was okay.
Anyways...want to hear a funny story from this week? So we went to visit a menos activa in our ward named Iris, I think I might have talked about her before. Anyways, shes in her 80s and recently had a midlife crisis and got married out of the blue and moved to the middle of nowhere. She still has her house in our sector and is there occasionally, and we were able to catch her this week at home. We talked to her for a bit and asked her how things were going with her new husband and her new house and she told us how there is a Catholic church right next to where they are living and how she decided to go over and share the gospel with the priest who runs it. Now keep in mind that Iris has been inactive for 12 years. So she goes over and starts explaining the priest the Word of Wisdom...and she says "basically there are only five things that we can´t use, Tobacco, Alcohol, Tea, Coffee, and Aji (which is a spicy pepper like a jalapeño)." She then went on about how it was so hard to keep the Word of Wisdom because she loved Aji. Hermana Singleton and I had to try our hardest not to laugh as we explained that there was nothing in the Word of Wisdom about spicy things. But I still don´t think she understood.
Erik came to church yesterday! We were going to make them breakfast and then he and his mom were going to come, but when we got there Eliana was sick with the same flu that I had. So we made pancakes real quick and gave her breakfast in bed. And then we went with Erik to church. It was really good.
Two of the menos activo families that we have been working with came to church which was great. But two people that had started coming back and that we´ve been working really hard with didn´t show up. But we´ve already talked with one of them and she said she´ll be there for sure next week. She actually had a legit excuse.
But things are going really well. The mission is wonderful. It's amazing to work so hard to help other people make changes in their lives that you know will make them happier and then all of a sudden notice all the changes God has been making in you. Its amazing.
I don´t think I share my testimony often enough in my e-mails, I think its because I don´t want them to be those cheesy, super spiritual, and ridiculously boring missionary e-mails, and plus I get to share my testimony with people a million times a day. But just so you know, I know it's all true. What we are doing is real and is of eternal importance. We are the only true and living church with the authority to carry out saving ordinances. God is real. He loves us, He is involved in every moment of our lives. He is working with us and for us. And with everything the world has to offer, there is nothing that compares to the happiness and joy that comes from having an eternal family, that you can protect and guide with sacred covenants, and have the Lord's promise that they will be yours forever.
I love you all very much. If you´re thinking about serving a mission. Do it. It is the best decision I have ever made.
We had a bit of a cold spell but it started to warm up again yesterday. But not before it rained cats and dogs the other day. It rained cold and hard for almost 2 days straight. All the streets flooded and we had to wade through it. Some of the water came up to the knees of Hermana Singleton. It was ridiculous. I had my boots and my rain coat so I was okay.
Anyways...want to hear a funny story from this week? So we went to visit a menos activa in our ward named Iris, I think I might have talked about her before. Anyways, shes in her 80s and recently had a midlife crisis and got married out of the blue and moved to the middle of nowhere. She still has her house in our sector and is there occasionally, and we were able to catch her this week at home. We talked to her for a bit and asked her how things were going with her new husband and her new house and she told us how there is a Catholic church right next to where they are living and how she decided to go over and share the gospel with the priest who runs it. Now keep in mind that Iris has been inactive for 12 years. So she goes over and starts explaining the priest the Word of Wisdom...and she says "basically there are only five things that we can´t use, Tobacco, Alcohol, Tea, Coffee, and Aji (which is a spicy pepper like a jalapeño)." She then went on about how it was so hard to keep the Word of Wisdom because she loved Aji. Hermana Singleton and I had to try our hardest not to laugh as we explained that there was nothing in the Word of Wisdom about spicy things. But I still don´t think she understood.
Erik came to church yesterday! We were going to make them breakfast and then he and his mom were going to come, but when we got there Eliana was sick with the same flu that I had. So we made pancakes real quick and gave her breakfast in bed. And then we went with Erik to church. It was really good.
Two of the menos activo families that we have been working with came to church which was great. But two people that had started coming back and that we´ve been working really hard with didn´t show up. But we´ve already talked with one of them and she said she´ll be there for sure next week. She actually had a legit excuse.
But things are going really well. The mission is wonderful. It's amazing to work so hard to help other people make changes in their lives that you know will make them happier and then all of a sudden notice all the changes God has been making in you. Its amazing.
I don´t think I share my testimony often enough in my e-mails, I think its because I don´t want them to be those cheesy, super spiritual, and ridiculously boring missionary e-mails, and plus I get to share my testimony with people a million times a day. But just so you know, I know it's all true. What we are doing is real and is of eternal importance. We are the only true and living church with the authority to carry out saving ordinances. God is real. He loves us, He is involved in every moment of our lives. He is working with us and for us. And with everything the world has to offer, there is nothing that compares to the happiness and joy that comes from having an eternal family, that you can protect and guide with sacred covenants, and have the Lord's promise that they will be yours forever.
I love you all very much. If you´re thinking about serving a mission. Do it. It is the best decision I have ever made.
We had a ward talent show this past Friday. It went SO well. I was a little stressed out because we started an HOUR AND A HALF late!!! But it turned out really well. We were the last act and we danced the cueca, which is the national dance of Chile. I¨ll attach pictures but I´ve heard there are videos of us dancing on facebook. I´ll try to figure out who has them so I can send you their names so you can watch it. It was super fun.
We are still teaching everyone. It was really frustrating because Eric and Eliana promised to come to church yesterday. And we made arrangements to stop by and pick them up. But when we got there yesterday morning they wouldn´t answer their phone, we knocked on their door, their bedroom windows, rang the doorbell, called, yelled, and they didn´t answer. I was so sad. But Scarlet and Benjamin came to church again. And Scarlet made a comment and read a scripture with out complaining or yelling that she's atheist! A great success!
We also had one of the menos activas that we´ve been working with since I got here finally come to church. Her grandson is in the mission and we visit her every week and every week she says shes going to go to church and then she finds some excuse not to go, but yesterday she came! I was so happy!
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