Well it´s starting to rain everyday again...everything that I own is beginning to just smell mildewy...but all is well. So is the mission.
Another great week of letters. Thank you for all your cartas. They were great, and I am glad to hear that things are going well. Eric....I have the coolest story to tell you. So the world is so small. We brought pictures of our families to a zone meeting this week, and one of the Elders in my zone is from Constitucion...as he was looking at my pictures, I mentioned that you served in Concepcion, and he took a closer look and yelled "No!! Elder Perez!!" and I was shocked that he knew you!!! He began to tell me how awesome you are and that you were so great and on and on and on. His name is Elder Cisternas. He must have been about 9 years old when you were there, but he totally remembers who you are and says that he has a picture of you in his house. He said that one time you came to his house with a big ‘ol hole right in the front of your rain pants. I´m going to try and send a picture with him next time so you can see him and his family. It was pretty neat to know that my big bro was such a great missionary that a 9 year old boy would remember him and serve with his sister 10 years later. Pretty neat!
Anywho, this week was AMAZING. It started out really pretty difficult. On Wednesday, we had a grand total of only 3 citas for the entire week. We were really frustrated, because all of our meetings were just falling through left and right. We came home on Wednesday night without entering a single house to teach. We reported our numbers, and pretty soon our Zone Leader called us and he gave us a really big pep talk, which helped, but he gave us some great advice. We applied it the next day and we went home Thursday with 5 citas and 2 new investigators. The rest of the week went the exact same way. We were so blessed. We found 14 new people this week and a really, really great family---in fact you know who it is--the family of MARCELO!!!!!! He´s back from vacation now and we went and taught his mom and little sister and they are just as ready as he is to receive this great message. They are the family that we have been praying for. We are hoping the next time that we teach his dad will be home to teach as well. Also, this next Saturday, Karen is going to be having her baptismal interview. We have been seeing her progress so much every time we talk to her. She still has a few little things that she is not sure about, but we taught her a lesson on faith and obedience, and she said that she received a testimony very strong of that that very night. Gosh. She is a miracle. So are Marcelo and his family. We have been so, so very blessed this week.
I really hope I don´t get transferred this at the end of this cambio. I don´t want to leave this place. The work is so strong here right now. And everyone is really starting to progress like crazy. I love working with Hna. Kelley. We teach really well together. We are really working hard to keep our Spanish up. We also want to get really good at asking questions so that the people that we teach can teach themselves through their answers. I like asking questions a lot, but I still struggle with the wording in Spanish a little bit, so that is something that I´m working on. Good stuff though. I just want to dominate teaching, but I´m learning more and more that the key is to teach with the Spirit. Hecho.
I just feel so blessed to be trusted enough to serve this mission. I am not even close to a perfect missionary or teacher or anything, but I am just so grateful that the Lord gave me this opportunity to serve in the Chile Osorno Mission, and to wear a name badge everyday that has my name and His name on the same plaque...sometimes I really don´t feel like a missionary...missionaries are supposed to be perfect...they are the people that are basically like the Bishop. (Dad, we both know now that neither of the two parties are perfect, huh) But we just try our best to do what the Lord will have us do and to remain worthy of the call. Gosh. I love this work. I am so humbled by the lessons I learn every day. Sometimes I just really can´t figure out what I did to deserve such a grand blessing in my life....actually most of the time I wonder that. I do love this. I have never been happier. Thank you family and friends for your love and support. One thing that I have realized so strong is that I am so blessed to have a family that is faithful and strong in the Church. There are so many here that do it all by themselves. Some struggle outwardly and many struggle inwardly, but they are faithful and trying, just like all of us. We are blessed. Don´t ever forget to share your blessings with people that need them too. Share the Gospel. It is our sacred duty. Help the missionaries. Offer to bring people to Church for them. Offer to be their "last minute" person...our lives are crazy...don´t get upset if they call you at the last minute. Offer it. Offer to help them teach. Offer to share your conversion story to their investigators. Be a missionary. The only reason that missionaries have the Spirit with them more often is because they share the Gospel with everyone they see every day. They have to have the Spirit...it´s a requirement of sharing the message. That´s the only thing that makes them different than anyone else in the Church. This is such a beautiful and exciting message. Please share it.
I love you all so so so so so much. Never ever forget that. I pray for you all every day.
LOVE YOU ALL TONS:
BESOS and ABRAZOS!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
I am just loving the heck out of this...
Thank you all so much for your letters this week. They were just awesome. And as a sidenote to friends, I am getting really bad a writing and then not going to the post office....so just so you know you´ll all be getting letters soon. I just always forget to send them. Lo siento! :)
I am so glad to hear about your experiences this week. I loved hearing about your spiritual experiences, and also about the fact that you all get to house the missionaries for a few days! YAY! What a blessing. Also, Dad, when I heard about the fact that you were not sure you had enough people for them to teach, I thought to myself that you need to invite the neighbors over to the house and invite the missionaries over and have a Noche de Hogar (FHE). Seriously though, do it. :) If you can´t do it this week do it sometimes. I am learning that we cannot be the ones to hinder the work. The members are so so so very crucial in this work. The missionaries really are the worst friends ever to the investigators, because in the end we all leave them. They have to have trust in the members. You have to invite people to your house and have the missionaries come teach them in the house. That is where the success is. The Spirit is different in the houses of members, we all know that, we just have to take advantage of that. We learned something this week that amazed me: if every member brought one friend into the Gospel every year, the entire world would be members in 9 years. Why should we wait? There is no time to wait. There is work to be done. I promise that if the entire ward´s focus was on missionary work, the entire ward would have more success (more active, happier, less family problems, whatever the case may be). The only thing that makes missionaries different that regular members is the fact that they are baring their testimony all the time. Because we are doing that we have the Spirit with us all the time...and we are so so so happy all the time! Gosh, I just am learning so much. I told President in my letter to him this week, that I really just feel like I am getting the behind the scenes of success in life and in the Gospel. It´s living what we are teaching...but really we gain an undeniable testimony of these things by teaching them. I am begging anyone who reads this letter to please please please pray about your friends and family and pick someone, invite them to your house, and invite the missionaries to come over and have a Family Home Evening with them. This is important, and you will see miracles in your life and theirs. BE A MEMBER MISSIONARY. Those are the best missionaries that exist. Missionaries like us are not able to do this work without members...it is so very impossible without you.
Well, enough of my preaching. Can you tell I am working on trying to be more bold when I teach? This was my goal for this week, and I finally feel like my Spanish is to the point that I can carry on pretty well in conversation, and so I am using that in my teaching. I am trying to testify and teach with more boldness. It has been really cool this week. I am realizing that there has to be boldness in this message...it is a message that will change lives. It is different because Jesus Christ was different...and so is His message. We can´t treat it like it is just some book on a shelf. The Book of Mormon is the journal of Prophets who saw and touched the hands of Jesus Christ Himself. We can know how that is to see His face; we have all this at such easy access...why would we keep that to ourselves?
Well, some really great things happened this week. I don´t know if I told you all about Karen, but she is getting baptized at the end of this month! I really feel so so good about her. She was prepared, and she had so many perfect questions. We are so excited about her.
Also, I got to eat McDonalds this week! We were in Puerto Montt for our Zone Conference on Wednesday so we went to the mall food court...I got a Cajita Feliz (Happy Meal). It´s pretty legit.
Conference was spectacular, as always....so good that I don´t have time to write all my notes or feelings, but it was about working harder and having faith that we can meet our goals.
Also the coolest part of this week is that our investigators are really starting to progress. This is really the first time that I can see people really changing...a lot. Gosh. The best part is that it is happening with a lot of our families that we are working with. We are so so blessed right now. I am in love with this. I don´t remember if I have talked to you all about Jose and Cecilia but Cecilia joined the church maybe 6 or 7 years ago, and was inactive for much of the time...her husband never joined, and now they have 3 little girls. Cecilia is starting to come back to church, and Jose is showing great progress. So we are pumped about them. Also we are going to try and start working with the husband of the RS president who has been working with the missionaries on and off for a really long time, but is afraid that a year after he is baptized he will be branch president (yeah he is that great...I would believe it too.). Also the COOLEST thing that happened this week is that we have been working with a family that is the family of the District President´s daughter´s boyfriend (if that makes any sense). We found them knocking doors, and they let us in and then we found out who they were, but we have been working with them for about 2-3 months now...Erna and Roly. Roly has been really sick with a tumor in his brain, and we went over last night with President Pinto (the district president), and he gave him a blessing. Roly and his family have changed completely. Roly offered to say the closing prayer...in all these months I have never heard him pray. His pray was of gratitude for the Spirit he felt when the hands were on his head. It was the most beautiful and sincere prayer I have every heard. It was so powerful. We are going to see lots of progress with them, and they are going to be a great strength in the Church.
Well this is all I have time for. I wish I could write more...I always do. But you´ll just have to read my journal when I get back! Love you all so so so so so very much. Take care..
I am so glad to hear about your experiences this week. I loved hearing about your spiritual experiences, and also about the fact that you all get to house the missionaries for a few days! YAY! What a blessing. Also, Dad, when I heard about the fact that you were not sure you had enough people for them to teach, I thought to myself that you need to invite the neighbors over to the house and invite the missionaries over and have a Noche de Hogar (FHE). Seriously though, do it. :) If you can´t do it this week do it sometimes. I am learning that we cannot be the ones to hinder the work. The members are so so so very crucial in this work. The missionaries really are the worst friends ever to the investigators, because in the end we all leave them. They have to have trust in the members. You have to invite people to your house and have the missionaries come teach them in the house. That is where the success is. The Spirit is different in the houses of members, we all know that, we just have to take advantage of that. We learned something this week that amazed me: if every member brought one friend into the Gospel every year, the entire world would be members in 9 years. Why should we wait? There is no time to wait. There is work to be done. I promise that if the entire ward´s focus was on missionary work, the entire ward would have more success (more active, happier, less family problems, whatever the case may be). The only thing that makes missionaries different that regular members is the fact that they are baring their testimony all the time. Because we are doing that we have the Spirit with us all the time...and we are so so so happy all the time! Gosh, I just am learning so much. I told President in my letter to him this week, that I really just feel like I am getting the behind the scenes of success in life and in the Gospel. It´s living what we are teaching...but really we gain an undeniable testimony of these things by teaching them. I am begging anyone who reads this letter to please please please pray about your friends and family and pick someone, invite them to your house, and invite the missionaries to come over and have a Family Home Evening with them. This is important, and you will see miracles in your life and theirs. BE A MEMBER MISSIONARY. Those are the best missionaries that exist. Missionaries like us are not able to do this work without members...it is so very impossible without you.
Well, enough of my preaching. Can you tell I am working on trying to be more bold when I teach? This was my goal for this week, and I finally feel like my Spanish is to the point that I can carry on pretty well in conversation, and so I am using that in my teaching. I am trying to testify and teach with more boldness. It has been really cool this week. I am realizing that there has to be boldness in this message...it is a message that will change lives. It is different because Jesus Christ was different...and so is His message. We can´t treat it like it is just some book on a shelf. The Book of Mormon is the journal of Prophets who saw and touched the hands of Jesus Christ Himself. We can know how that is to see His face; we have all this at such easy access...why would we keep that to ourselves?
Well, some really great things happened this week. I don´t know if I told you all about Karen, but she is getting baptized at the end of this month! I really feel so so good about her. She was prepared, and she had so many perfect questions. We are so excited about her.
Also, I got to eat McDonalds this week! We were in Puerto Montt for our Zone Conference on Wednesday so we went to the mall food court...I got a Cajita Feliz (Happy Meal). It´s pretty legit.
Conference was spectacular, as always....so good that I don´t have time to write all my notes or feelings, but it was about working harder and having faith that we can meet our goals.
Also the coolest part of this week is that our investigators are really starting to progress. This is really the first time that I can see people really changing...a lot. Gosh. The best part is that it is happening with a lot of our families that we are working with. We are so so blessed right now. I am in love with this. I don´t remember if I have talked to you all about Jose and Cecilia but Cecilia joined the church maybe 6 or 7 years ago, and was inactive for much of the time...her husband never joined, and now they have 3 little girls. Cecilia is starting to come back to church, and Jose is showing great progress. So we are pumped about them. Also we are going to try and start working with the husband of the RS president who has been working with the missionaries on and off for a really long time, but is afraid that a year after he is baptized he will be branch president (yeah he is that great...I would believe it too.). Also the COOLEST thing that happened this week is that we have been working with a family that is the family of the District President´s daughter´s boyfriend (if that makes any sense). We found them knocking doors, and they let us in and then we found out who they were, but we have been working with them for about 2-3 months now...Erna and Roly. Roly has been really sick with a tumor in his brain, and we went over last night with President Pinto (the district president), and he gave him a blessing. Roly and his family have changed completely. Roly offered to say the closing prayer...in all these months I have never heard him pray. His pray was of gratitude for the Spirit he felt when the hands were on his head. It was the most beautiful and sincere prayer I have every heard. It was so powerful. We are going to see lots of progress with them, and they are going to be a great strength in the Church.
Well this is all I have time for. I wish I could write more...I always do. But you´ll just have to read my journal when I get back! Love you all so so so so so very much. Take care..
Monday, August 2, 2010
Tengo 5 meses in la mision...
I feel so unable to express how blessed I feel right now. I know that the Lord had a plan for this in our lives, but I´m so grateful for the power of prayer and the comfort and blessings we receive through it. I know that our Heavenly Father will never leave us alone. He´s right beside us always. I am learning a great lesson on this mission. I hope that it´s not my last mission. I love being a missionary--it has completely stolen my heart--I have never been so happy in my life...and I just keep getting happier. It´s pretty cool.
Well, the big news this week is that I got a new companion. LOVE HER! Her name is Hermana Kelley. She has been in the mission 9 months. She has great ideas and is a really hard worker. We had such a great week this week. We were talking and we have decided that we really want to find a family...a whole family...that is prepared to hear this message. We are praying hard and we are knocking a lot of doors and having a lot of faith that there is at least one family that we are going to find this cambio. Pray for us, too, please. They are here...I know it. We just have to be obedient and follow the Spirit. We are going to find them. Oh, and she knows Elise Sherwood and Jessica Bertagnole! Jessie was her RS president in BYU Idaho
One really great thing that I found out this week pumped me up so, so much. Remember Vanesa? The woman that we taught who was living with her pareja and was in a really bad situation? Well, a few weeks ago, she told us that she was going to take the bus to Osorno and visit her mom. As much as we loved her, obviously we were hoping that she would just stay there and make a new life for herself. We didn´t know if she would end up staying or not, but we got her in contact with the missionaries there so she could meet with them, too, and we haven´t really had news since. Well, Hermana Kelley was the missionary that she has been working with, and she told us that she is getting baptized at the end of the month. She doesn´t want to come back to Ancud. She loves the branch there. And the really cool part is before she left we told her to do the Book of Mormon challenge with us...she´s through ALMA!!!!! She remembers all of it too! This is such a miracle for me. I KNOW that the Lord would make a way for her to be baptized, because that is what she really wanted more than anything. I am so so, so excited for her. I love that woman. She is so prepared to be baptized she knows so much, and studies so, so much. It´s amazing.
I have been so tired this week. Even though I´m not older in the mission, I have been kind of the lead comp for the week, only because I know the sector and the people. It´s exhausting, but it has been such a good week. I have been praying so hard that the Lord would direct me. I had tried to line up a lot of members to go with us, too, so that if we got lost, we had a crutch...luckily, we never got lost though. I am so grateful that the Lord has helped us keep up the productivity in the sector. We are so blessed.
Something really great that happened yesterday was that one of the inactive, but really strong members that we have been working with, came back to church, and he bore a very powerful testimony of the importance of keeping the covenants we make, and the blessing that we miss out on when we don´t. I am always so amazed that the Lord is ready and waiting for us to change. He knows we can...He is the one that made it possible. He knows that all we have to do is try...He is waiting for us to try and then He´ll step in, give us His hand and help us stand back up. The theme of our Zone for this cambio is change. I am so grateful for this opportunity in this life to progress and change. I think sometimes we get comfortable with ourselves and where we are at, but I realized our purpose in this life is to push ourselves to progress and grow...if we aren´t doing that everything else we are doing is for nothing because we aren´t fulfilling our purpose. All the pain, all the tears, all the happiness, all the love, all the studying...everything is for nothing if we are not progressing and becoming more like our Brother Jesus Christ. Period. That has to be and remain the priority always in our lives. Everything else will take care of itself...or should I say our Heavenly Father will take care of.
One really great thing about focusing on the family (thanks Scott for your email and advice...it was awesome!) is that we are going to start working with the family of Marcelo and a lot of incomplete menos activos families to get them baptized and get them to the temple. I know we are going to see some great success. I just have a whole new energy for the work right now. I´m so excited and happy.
Thank you for everything. I can´t write much more, because I´m running out of time here, but a funny thing that happened this week is this Thursday we were contacting in centro. And after we finished the contact and were walking away, I realized that I forgot my name tag at the house, so I was looking down and I ran straight into an electrical box on a pole with my head. It made the same sound as those big tambourine drums and it nearly took me out. I was fine because I had padding from my hat, but it was hilarious and sooo loud. Everyone turned, and Hna Kelley and I were just cracking up. It was so embarrassing, but so, so hilarious. It´s times like that when I´m grateful to have a companion to laugh with. So great.
LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for everything. I am loving you all more and more every day. I´m realizing how very blessed I am to be in this family. I feel unspeakably blessed. Thank you for everything. En serio. :) I love you.
Take care. Be missionaries. Love you.
Well, the big news this week is that I got a new companion. LOVE HER! Her name is Hermana Kelley. She has been in the mission 9 months. She has great ideas and is a really hard worker. We had such a great week this week. We were talking and we have decided that we really want to find a family...a whole family...that is prepared to hear this message. We are praying hard and we are knocking a lot of doors and having a lot of faith that there is at least one family that we are going to find this cambio. Pray for us, too, please. They are here...I know it. We just have to be obedient and follow the Spirit. We are going to find them. Oh, and she knows Elise Sherwood and Jessica Bertagnole! Jessie was her RS president in BYU Idaho
One really great thing that I found out this week pumped me up so, so much. Remember Vanesa? The woman that we taught who was living with her pareja and was in a really bad situation? Well, a few weeks ago, she told us that she was going to take the bus to Osorno and visit her mom. As much as we loved her, obviously we were hoping that she would just stay there and make a new life for herself. We didn´t know if she would end up staying or not, but we got her in contact with the missionaries there so she could meet with them, too, and we haven´t really had news since. Well, Hermana Kelley was the missionary that she has been working with, and she told us that she is getting baptized at the end of the month. She doesn´t want to come back to Ancud. She loves the branch there. And the really cool part is before she left we told her to do the Book of Mormon challenge with us...she´s through ALMA!!!!! She remembers all of it too! This is such a miracle for me. I KNOW that the Lord would make a way for her to be baptized, because that is what she really wanted more than anything. I am so so, so excited for her. I love that woman. She is so prepared to be baptized she knows so much, and studies so, so much. It´s amazing.
I have been so tired this week. Even though I´m not older in the mission, I have been kind of the lead comp for the week, only because I know the sector and the people. It´s exhausting, but it has been such a good week. I have been praying so hard that the Lord would direct me. I had tried to line up a lot of members to go with us, too, so that if we got lost, we had a crutch...luckily, we never got lost though. I am so grateful that the Lord has helped us keep up the productivity in the sector. We are so blessed.
Something really great that happened yesterday was that one of the inactive, but really strong members that we have been working with, came back to church, and he bore a very powerful testimony of the importance of keeping the covenants we make, and the blessing that we miss out on when we don´t. I am always so amazed that the Lord is ready and waiting for us to change. He knows we can...He is the one that made it possible. He knows that all we have to do is try...He is waiting for us to try and then He´ll step in, give us His hand and help us stand back up. The theme of our Zone for this cambio is change. I am so grateful for this opportunity in this life to progress and change. I think sometimes we get comfortable with ourselves and where we are at, but I realized our purpose in this life is to push ourselves to progress and grow...if we aren´t doing that everything else we are doing is for nothing because we aren´t fulfilling our purpose. All the pain, all the tears, all the happiness, all the love, all the studying...everything is for nothing if we are not progressing and becoming more like our Brother Jesus Christ. Period. That has to be and remain the priority always in our lives. Everything else will take care of itself...or should I say our Heavenly Father will take care of.
One really great thing about focusing on the family (thanks Scott for your email and advice...it was awesome!) is that we are going to start working with the family of Marcelo and a lot of incomplete menos activos families to get them baptized and get them to the temple. I know we are going to see some great success. I just have a whole new energy for the work right now. I´m so excited and happy.
Thank you for everything. I can´t write much more, because I´m running out of time here, but a funny thing that happened this week is this Thursday we were contacting in centro. And after we finished the contact and were walking away, I realized that I forgot my name tag at the house, so I was looking down and I ran straight into an electrical box on a pole with my head. It made the same sound as those big tambourine drums and it nearly took me out. I was fine because I had padding from my hat, but it was hilarious and sooo loud. Everyone turned, and Hna Kelley and I were just cracking up. It was so embarrassing, but so, so hilarious. It´s times like that when I´m grateful to have a companion to laugh with. So great.
LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for everything. I am loving you all more and more every day. I´m realizing how very blessed I am to be in this family. I feel unspeakably blessed. Thank you for everything. En serio. :) I love you.
Take care. Be missionaries. Love you.
Monday, July 26, 2010
I'm losing my "momma" of my mission (first companion)
July 26, 2010
Another Cambio is OVER! I cannot believe how fast the time flies. President called my comp Tuesday and told her that she is being transferred to Punta Arenas. I´m really sad, but it was bound to happen sometime. My new companion will be a Hermana named Hna. Kelly. Obviously she is a gringa. I have heard really good things about her so I´m excited. I am a little nervous as I will have to show her around the 1st week until she gets used to the new sector. I´m a little nervous because I still feel like I got here about a week ago. But all is well. Oh esta, todo bien.
This week was a great week. It´s been a little crazy trying to get Hna Aponte set to leave. We had to run many errands and things and begin the goodbyes, so it´s been a little sad, but good. I think I might be leaving the next transfer, so it´s been sad to know how it´s going to feel. This is the worst part of the mission I think. UGH. Oh well.
Thank you all for all your letters this week!!!! It sounds like things are going so great. Keep up the updates. I loved getting the letters. They were really cool ones this week. Not that they aren´t always cool, but they were especially great this week. Keep em´ coming. In answer to your questions. I am in 2nd Nephi also.....It takes a really long time to read in Spanish. I am trying hard though to have a good balance of Spanish, speed, and significance. Other question, we have a stove that is gas that we burn during the day for 2 hours at a time, and then we have a fireplace kind of stove, but it seals. We burn that at night and in the mornings while we are studying. Just so you know, I´m learning how to build a mean fire, and also how to picar lena....aka chop wood. How quaint, cierto?! We have all sorts of CO2 detectors and fire detectors, and the members make sure that we know what we´re doing, so it´s all pretty fool proof. We´ve had about 5 members come to our house at one point or another to help us and lecture us on the safety factors for all this. It´s sweet. I am going to be pro. Speaking of being pro...crocheting is not going to be something that I will excel at. You asked if I had a project? No. No time. Never enough time for all the missionary stuff we have to do, much less for fun stuff...maybe after the mish.
As far my life goes, we had great success this week and hopefully more to come this next week. Right now most of the students are on vacation, so we lost 2 of the people we were teaching for three weeks. They are in various parts of Chile visiting family, but they come back this week (including Marcelo and Daniela)!! We are teaching a young woman (20) right now who is awesome. We contacted her in the morning, in one part of Ancud, and then we contacted her Mom that night in a totally different part of the city. They were both so great, and eventually we made the connection that they were mother and daughter! It was a miracle. Unfortunately, she goes to school in Puerto Mont, and so we´ll lose her as soon as school starts again, but she says she comes home almost every weekend. Hopefully we´ll still be able to teach her.
We had many activites this week with church, and our investigators Yeni and her mom Susana came to all of them and 2 weeks of church in a row!!!! This is a huge step for them. I´m so proud of them, they are starting to make friends in the church too! Susana is not married to Marcelo (the dad of Yeni and her "husband"), but we taught them the Ley de Castidad last night, and we are setting goals with them to get married and be baptized. I love this family. They are hilarious. They are so so, so great. I love them so much!!!!!! I am going to miss them TONS when I leave. So good.
I taught a lesson to a menos activo this week practically solo---and my comp just sat there and was shocked that I could speak so much and understand so well in Spanish. It was outside and she couldn´t really participate because of how we were standing by the fence...it´s hard to explain, but I basically was the one that had to speak. But I felt great to know that my Spanish was good enough to get my point across, and teach with boldness and power. Yay, success! (But with much room to improve, obvio)
I taught Paola and her kids (our neighbors) how to make smores during a family home evening that we had with them this week. It was great and the kids loved it. I love our neighbors. They are so, so kind to us. We are working to get the kids baptized, they are so great. The little boy Pablo is 10 years old and he is in charge of directing family prayer. He loves saying prayers, it is so awesome.
Well, that is all I really have time for this week. Sorry if this letter is a bit choppy. I was trying to write it all really fast to get it all in.
I am happy. I love this work. I am trying to become the missionary that the Lord wants me to become. I love this Gospel and the truth that it has. It is so, so perfect. Thank you for all your love, support, and prayers. I couldn´t do this without you. Thank you, and I love you all A TON. I miss you and I am praying for you all. Keep up the goodness.
-Con Amor
Hermana Bertagnole
Another Cambio is OVER! I cannot believe how fast the time flies. President called my comp Tuesday and told her that she is being transferred to Punta Arenas. I´m really sad, but it was bound to happen sometime. My new companion will be a Hermana named Hna. Kelly. Obviously she is a gringa. I have heard really good things about her so I´m excited. I am a little nervous as I will have to show her around the 1st week until she gets used to the new sector. I´m a little nervous because I still feel like I got here about a week ago. But all is well. Oh esta, todo bien.
This week was a great week. It´s been a little crazy trying to get Hna Aponte set to leave. We had to run many errands and things and begin the goodbyes, so it´s been a little sad, but good. I think I might be leaving the next transfer, so it´s been sad to know how it´s going to feel. This is the worst part of the mission I think. UGH. Oh well.
Thank you all for all your letters this week!!!! It sounds like things are going so great. Keep up the updates. I loved getting the letters. They were really cool ones this week. Not that they aren´t always cool, but they were especially great this week. Keep em´ coming. In answer to your questions. I am in 2nd Nephi also.....It takes a really long time to read in Spanish. I am trying hard though to have a good balance of Spanish, speed, and significance. Other question, we have a stove that is gas that we burn during the day for 2 hours at a time, and then we have a fireplace kind of stove, but it seals. We burn that at night and in the mornings while we are studying. Just so you know, I´m learning how to build a mean fire, and also how to picar lena....aka chop wood. How quaint, cierto?! We have all sorts of CO2 detectors and fire detectors, and the members make sure that we know what we´re doing, so it´s all pretty fool proof. We´ve had about 5 members come to our house at one point or another to help us and lecture us on the safety factors for all this. It´s sweet. I am going to be pro. Speaking of being pro...crocheting is not going to be something that I will excel at. You asked if I had a project? No. No time. Never enough time for all the missionary stuff we have to do, much less for fun stuff...maybe after the mish.
As far my life goes, we had great success this week and hopefully more to come this next week. Right now most of the students are on vacation, so we lost 2 of the people we were teaching for three weeks. They are in various parts of Chile visiting family, but they come back this week (including Marcelo and Daniela)!! We are teaching a young woman (20) right now who is awesome. We contacted her in the morning, in one part of Ancud, and then we contacted her Mom that night in a totally different part of the city. They were both so great, and eventually we made the connection that they were mother and daughter! It was a miracle. Unfortunately, she goes to school in Puerto Mont, and so we´ll lose her as soon as school starts again, but she says she comes home almost every weekend. Hopefully we´ll still be able to teach her.
We had many activites this week with church, and our investigators Yeni and her mom Susana came to all of them and 2 weeks of church in a row!!!! This is a huge step for them. I´m so proud of them, they are starting to make friends in the church too! Susana is not married to Marcelo (the dad of Yeni and her "husband"), but we taught them the Ley de Castidad last night, and we are setting goals with them to get married and be baptized. I love this family. They are hilarious. They are so so, so great. I love them so much!!!!!! I am going to miss them TONS when I leave. So good.
I taught a lesson to a menos activo this week practically solo---and my comp just sat there and was shocked that I could speak so much and understand so well in Spanish. It was outside and she couldn´t really participate because of how we were standing by the fence...it´s hard to explain, but I basically was the one that had to speak. But I felt great to know that my Spanish was good enough to get my point across, and teach with boldness and power. Yay, success! (But with much room to improve, obvio)
I taught Paola and her kids (our neighbors) how to make smores during a family home evening that we had with them this week. It was great and the kids loved it. I love our neighbors. They are so, so kind to us. We are working to get the kids baptized, they are so great. The little boy Pablo is 10 years old and he is in charge of directing family prayer. He loves saying prayers, it is so awesome.
Well, that is all I really have time for this week. Sorry if this letter is a bit choppy. I was trying to write it all really fast to get it all in.
I am happy. I love this work. I am trying to become the missionary that the Lord wants me to become. I love this Gospel and the truth that it has. It is so, so perfect. Thank you for all your love, support, and prayers. I couldn´t do this without you. Thank you, and I love you all A TON. I miss you and I am praying for you all. Keep up the goodness.
-Con Amor
Hermana Bertagnole
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Time is flying by!
July 19, 2010
Hello my beautiful family. Thank you for your letters this week, I am so glad that things are going ok.
Well, this week was so, so great. Hna. Aponte and I decided that this week was going to be different. We decided to work and focus focus focus on being as exactly obedient as possible (which is a lot harder in the field than in the MTC. In the MTC I heard "be exactly obedient" about a million times, and I always thought to myself..."how hard can that be...just do what you´re supposed to do!"....well, I am learning that it is much more than that. I am learning to try as best I can and then forgive myself when I fall through. One of the hardest parts about the mission for me right now is it really just seems like there is not enough time to do everything. It seems like I wake up and an hour later I go to bed exhausted. The days fly by so fast. It really is a day full of constantly trying to figure out what is most important to do, because you can´t do it all. Prioritizing is HUGE. I love this work, though. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever done. Definitely the hardest and most exhausting thing I have ever done, but I never want to quit. Que triste! Anyway, we saw amazing results this week and I know it was a result of our efforts to be better missionaries. The Lord blesses us when we improve for Him and His children. I am serving His children right now and I need to be the best for them--they deserve the best, so I need to always be aware of what I must improve to be better for them.
We found this 15 year old kid this week that came to an activity with one of his friends. His name is Marcelo. He is de oro. (Golden!!!!!) We talked to him a little bit and he is amazing. We set up a time to teach him and invited him to come to church. I think as a joke his friend gave him a copy of Our Heritage (the history of the church) that was lying on a "free" table, and told him to read it. When we taught him on Monday, we were teaching about the Restoration and he began to recite the church history right down to how many pages of the manuscript were lost!!!!!! He had read almost all of that book in 2 days!!!!! We taught him about baptism and he accepted a fecha to be baptized. I can´t believe him. So great!!!!!! Right now he is on vacation visiting his Abuelita in Concepcion, but he comes back in another week and a half, so we will proceed teaching him and hopefully his family then. I know that he is going to be baptized and be a great missionary some day!!!!
We learned how to make fire this week! Everyone here uses a fire stove to heat their house. The air smells smoky always, but I´m used to it now. But anyway, we didn´t have time and didn´t know how to make fire, not to mention we didn´t know how to buy wood. Anyway, a member and the Elders taught us how to do it all, and with practice, I made a very legit fire. It heated the house for the whole morning. I was very proud. I may or may not have bragged about it. It really is a lot harder than it sounds. Trust me.
Also this Saturday we had interviews with President, and Hna Lovell taught us how to crochet. It was a great morning! Then we got to go to some menos activos with President to visit. It was so great to get to teach with him. He can teach with incredible Spirit and boldness with understanding....this is my goal. I want to teach like this someday...I´m going to work on it.
Fun facts about Chile:
They use a broom to do everything here...mop the floor, wash the car, clean the windows, etc....oh, and sweep the floor. But it´s so funny the things you see people doing with brooms.
Also, in relationships age seems to have zero significance....at least in the people that we are teaching. Our neighbor is has a daughter that is 20 years old, so I´m guessing that would make her about 37 at least...she´s dating a 24 year old. Her other daughter is 14 and is dating a 20 year old. There is another investigator of ours who is 11 years old and she is dating a 17 year old (this one actually is a huge problem and legally the 17 year old boy isn´t allowed to be near her, but the mom says that they are still sneaking out together, and we see them together sometimes too.) Oh and there´s a couple in the church that she is 10 years older than the RM that she just married, who got back from his mission about a year and a half ago......Oh man. This is one part of culture shock that I wasn´t expecting, but me and my comp are always surprised when we hear about this stuff. What?
Well, I am happier than ever. The language is coming along pretty well. I love the mission. I miss you all tons, but I´m so, so happy. You are in my prayers. I love you all more than I can say. This is all that I have time for this week. I wish I could write you all individually but there is no time and it´s not allowed, but I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!
-HNA BERTAGNOLE
Hello my beautiful family. Thank you for your letters this week, I am so glad that things are going ok.
Well, this week was so, so great. Hna. Aponte and I decided that this week was going to be different. We decided to work and focus focus focus on being as exactly obedient as possible (which is a lot harder in the field than in the MTC. In the MTC I heard "be exactly obedient" about a million times, and I always thought to myself..."how hard can that be...just do what you´re supposed to do!"....well, I am learning that it is much more than that. I am learning to try as best I can and then forgive myself when I fall through. One of the hardest parts about the mission for me right now is it really just seems like there is not enough time to do everything. It seems like I wake up and an hour later I go to bed exhausted. The days fly by so fast. It really is a day full of constantly trying to figure out what is most important to do, because you can´t do it all. Prioritizing is HUGE. I love this work, though. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever done. Definitely the hardest and most exhausting thing I have ever done, but I never want to quit. Que triste! Anyway, we saw amazing results this week and I know it was a result of our efforts to be better missionaries. The Lord blesses us when we improve for Him and His children. I am serving His children right now and I need to be the best for them--they deserve the best, so I need to always be aware of what I must improve to be better for them.
We found this 15 year old kid this week that came to an activity with one of his friends. His name is Marcelo. He is de oro. (Golden!!!!!) We talked to him a little bit and he is amazing. We set up a time to teach him and invited him to come to church. I think as a joke his friend gave him a copy of Our Heritage (the history of the church) that was lying on a "free" table, and told him to read it. When we taught him on Monday, we were teaching about the Restoration and he began to recite the church history right down to how many pages of the manuscript were lost!!!!!! He had read almost all of that book in 2 days!!!!! We taught him about baptism and he accepted a fecha to be baptized. I can´t believe him. So great!!!!!! Right now he is on vacation visiting his Abuelita in Concepcion, but he comes back in another week and a half, so we will proceed teaching him and hopefully his family then. I know that he is going to be baptized and be a great missionary some day!!!!
We learned how to make fire this week! Everyone here uses a fire stove to heat their house. The air smells smoky always, but I´m used to it now. But anyway, we didn´t have time and didn´t know how to make fire, not to mention we didn´t know how to buy wood. Anyway, a member and the Elders taught us how to do it all, and with practice, I made a very legit fire. It heated the house for the whole morning. I was very proud. I may or may not have bragged about it. It really is a lot harder than it sounds. Trust me.
Also this Saturday we had interviews with President, and Hna Lovell taught us how to crochet. It was a great morning! Then we got to go to some menos activos with President to visit. It was so great to get to teach with him. He can teach with incredible Spirit and boldness with understanding....this is my goal. I want to teach like this someday...I´m going to work on it.
Fun facts about Chile:
They use a broom to do everything here...mop the floor, wash the car, clean the windows, etc....oh, and sweep the floor. But it´s so funny the things you see people doing with brooms.
Also, in relationships age seems to have zero significance....at least in the people that we are teaching. Our neighbor is has a daughter that is 20 years old, so I´m guessing that would make her about 37 at least...she´s dating a 24 year old. Her other daughter is 14 and is dating a 20 year old. There is another investigator of ours who is 11 years old and she is dating a 17 year old (this one actually is a huge problem and legally the 17 year old boy isn´t allowed to be near her, but the mom says that they are still sneaking out together, and we see them together sometimes too.) Oh and there´s a couple in the church that she is 10 years older than the RM that she just married, who got back from his mission about a year and a half ago......Oh man. This is one part of culture shock that I wasn´t expecting, but me and my comp are always surprised when we hear about this stuff. What?
Well, I am happier than ever. The language is coming along pretty well. I love the mission. I miss you all tons, but I´m so, so happy. You are in my prayers. I love you all more than I can say. This is all that I have time for this week. I wish I could write you all individually but there is no time and it´s not allowed, but I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!
-HNA BERTAGNOLE
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Hey everybody,
We went to the "campo" this week to visit a member and spend time on their farm/ranch. It is GORGEOUS there!!!!!! But we spent too much time there and now are having to rush to write emails before our meetings start. So I am going to have to make this short. This week was a good one...it had its tough moments, but it had its miracles too.
Like I said last week we are working with a lot of inactives to reactivate. It´s a challenge but a big blessing. I liked A LOT what Dad wrote about every soul counts. It´s very easy to get caught up in the numbers and baptisms, and forget that we can have "bautismos inactivos" tambien. So far we haven´t seen tons of success, but I have faith that these people´s hearts will be softened and they will remember that their covenants should always come first.
I am making lots of friends here in Ancud. We have some great investigators right now. They are so great. This Sunday, however was a little frustrating in the sense that no one really came to Church, but we´re going to visit and inquire as to why tonight and tomorrow. I know this work has its ups and downs, but right now we are trying to just do everything we can and be in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. I feel like the time goes incredibly fast here. It scares me. Honestly, when I was in the MTC, I thought...."wow, a whole day to do nothing but preach the Gospel! We´ll be able to get so much done!"....and right now is seems like a day lasts for about 30 minutes. I cannot believe how fast it goes. We are trying to focus this week on making EVERY minute count, and have more short and powerful lessons.
The weather is getting pretty cold (colder) here. But because we are so near to the ocean, we don´t see snow ever. It rains pretty frequently, but the good news about that is that we see rainbows casi cada dia!!!!! Son lindos. Mom, we did a good job shopping for clothes. I stay pretty warm. Sometimes when it rains really hard the water gets in under my two coats, but for the most part that´s unavoidable. The mission gives us waterproofs, but I am still waiting for my size to come in...I am hoping that this week during interviews with pres. they´ll bring them! Cross your fingers. Oh, and the withdrawals from my bank account are correct. I bought a pair of extra boots. I don´t really use my other shoes right now, it´s too cold. So I got another pair of boots. My comp bought some too, but I paid for them with my card, and then she paid me back when we got to the house. So that´s why there are two.
Also, I lost my agenda this week, which is also really sad. I am hoping that someone will give it back someday in the street. Pray for it. I know it sounds lame, but that had some really good and important stuff in it. Ugh. I´m lame sometimes :) But I am keeping the faith that I will find it!!!!!
Sorry I can´t write much this week, but as for the pictures: the ones with the puppies were today in the campo with Familia Huencher. She is the RS president and she is the bomb.com :) I may or may not bring a Chilean puppy home. Oh, the other picture is of a door that we tried to knock, but we didn´t have much success there. :)
That is all for now. Thank you all again for your letters. I love hearing from you all. You all are the best!!!! Thank you for your prayers and examples.
Until next week.
Hna. Bertagnole
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Hola familia!
Well, I can´t believe that I have been a missionary for 4 months. I cannot believe how fast time is flying by....que triste. So much to do and so little time!
I am trying to practice being bold without overbearing, but we are working with a lot of inactive people right now and they are inactive for reasons that are honestly kind of chistoso...the worst reason that we heard this week was a lady that had dogs that were dangerous and they needed to be watched carefully. I gained a strong testimony this week of the blessings that we receive when we attend church and take the ordinance of the Sacrament seriously. I think that if we understood how sacred this ordinance is and that we can literally start fresh and be perfectly clean every week, if we take it seriously with real intent...if we understood that we would crawl to the Church if we had to. It is very sad to me to see that there are such problems with inactivity here in Ancud. So many covenants are being broken. To paint a picture for you...There are 1,000-ish members in Ancud...enough to have a stake, and there are 50 ish members attending every week...enough to have a branch, no mas. It´s sad, but we are trying hard to help this branch out so that they can receive the blessings that come with the Gospel. We are praying that people´s hearts can be softened, and that they can understand the sacred and eternal things that they are sacrificing because they don´t want to walk to Church when it´s cold, because someone was mean to them 7 years ago, because their children don´t want to go with them, they don´t want to have a calling, they have to chop wood, or because they need the extra little bit of money that they could earn on Sundays....etc. This was the frustrating part of the week, if you couldn´t tell :) But I am happy to be trying to help. I know we have a lot of support in the Rama, and I am really grateful for that. The past few years have been very rough for this Branch. A lot of problems have happened, so right now we are in the healing process I believe.
Anyway, some good-ish news this week is that we are teaching our neighbor Paola and her son Pablo. I know the missionaries have been working with her for a long time, as we live next door to her. She is always super receptive, but she´s never really accepted any sort of date for baptism. The other day we felt that we should reteach baptism and set a date for her and her son (10 years old...he´s perfect!!!!) and as we were teaching her, she began to cry and then "confessed" that she was baptized when she was 18 years old. What! It was like a secret to her; she was so ashamed that she hadn´t been attending, and when she was married, her husband objected to the Church. Right now they are separated, and she wants to change. I hope that her heart can be softened through repentance and obedience. Her son is so great. Pablo came to church one week by himself, because he wanted to! He wants to be baptized, and we hope that his mom can help him make right choices and stay active in church. But she was so relieved after she told us "her secret" and she told us she needs and wants to change. So it turned out really well.
Also, happy 4th of July...one day late. Don´t worry, the other Elder gringo, and 2 sister missionaries (that finished their mission and were back visiting), and I all belted the National Anthem in the street outside one of the member´s house yesterday. Afterwards the member came out of their house and told us that they thought it was the Jehovah´s Witnesses singing outside their door…so funny. We are going to have a barbeque and make brownies today to celebrate (we are also celebrating for Argentina (mi compi) because their special day of the year is the 9th of July.) I can´t wait for Chile´s day (18th of September---shout out to Chelsea for your birthday :) I hear it´s a huge, huge deal...bigger than Christmas. Lots of meat :)
Well, that´s about all I have for this week. It was a very tiring week. I came home last night compeletly exhausted. Phewww. It´s nice to have this Pday, but we have a big week in front of us. Thank you for your prayers. I need them lots. And thank you all for your letters and emails. They are so great. This is why I love Pday! I get to hear from you all, so thank you muchisisismo. Also, thank you for the pictures everybody! (Mom, from the family reunion, and Jimmy for the pictures of Sean and Abby´s wedding!!!!!) Congrats Sean and Abby! Abby, your dress is beyond words gorgeous. :)
Love you guys.
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