Another week

I can´t write very much this week, because we are going to the cemetery here in Punta Arenas…sounds exciting huh? But really though apparently it´s world famous, and BEAUTIFUL….you all should google it today and check out what I´ll be standing in. Be jealous. Just kidding…but seriously google it.

GUESS WHAT?! Another baptism. It was awesome. Claudia and Boris got married Friday morning and then she got baptized on Saturday. It was such a special weekend. I am pretty sure that she understands better than anyone I have taught so far in my mission. I feel like it is because she really just has to pay so much attention to understand anything. At first I was really worried about the ward here more or less ignoring her because they didn´t know how to communicate, but I was proven to have faith insufficient. The ward has welcomed her with open arms. Many people try to talk to her and everyone just gives her big hugs. All the primary kids there learned how to say congratulations on your baptism in signs, and they all told her one by one…so cute. I hope that this endures as she becomes a faithful member in the ward. We are going to try and set up sign language classes for the members to come to while we do English classes. There is one young man here that knows sign language and so hopefully we can help him help others. I think he would be very willing. He baptized her, and he loves her family. I am trying to learn signs to teach her better. She can read lips really well, so she can understand what I don´t know how to say with my hands. She is just so special. This was a very special weekend for her and her family. For us, too.

I am really starting to get to know the ward here better. I am excited to work with them. We ate lunch with Hermano Ayancan yesterday (he was the old Stake president here). He was telling us that the ward is really struggling. We want to help them. When it is my time to leave Magallanes, I just really want to leave it in better shape than when I got here. I know that change takes time to become reality, but I just really feel like we need to really focus on the members here, and their families. I want to really work closely with Bishop Muñoz to help figure out what his goals and visions are for the ward here, so that we can help him. He does so much by himself here. He doesn´t have a bishopric, and I can´t help but think that it would be overwhelming without one.

This next week we have a lot of members signed up to go with us, so I am really excited about that. I really think that we need to find a lot of nuevos this week. We are still praying to find a family that will be a strength in this ward. We have a few couples that might be great potential, but we need to work more with them still. But the Lord knew what we needed, and the next meeting we had, we was with a woman named Karin and we watched the Restoration video with her, and she told us that she got piel de gallina (goosebumps) during the 1st Vision. It was neat. She has lots of progress to make before baptism, but I am really willing and ready to help her through it.

I am happy. I am focusing on trying to have a great attitude all day long. There are times when I just have to remind myself that I am on a mission, and though things may not be going as I would always like them to, I am still a missionary! And that is something that always brings a smile to my face. I feel very blessed to be trusted with this magnificent work.

So far this has been a mas o menos harder sector, but I am really excited for the challenges that I´ll have here to help me progress and develop as a person and a missionary. I hope that I can help in anyway possible here. I am excited to work hard and love the people. I know that is when I have the most happiness in the mission. Gosh, I am very happy right now, I hope that I can learn a ton this cambio, and that I can just love every second of it. Even the hard ones.

Anyway, that is about it for today. Tell everybody that has to get hand written letters that I am sorry that it´ll take longer to get to them now because I am at the tip of the world…and I live pretty far away from the post office. But they are written and will be on their way soon.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!! Thank you for all your love and support. You are all the very greatest. Thank you for being in my life.

-Hermana Bertagnole