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
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Glad dieciocho is over...now back to work!
Hola Familia bonita!
Sounds like things are going pretty well back in the casa. Dad, thank you so much for your advice about the ward in your last letter. That was really exactly what I needed this week. It is a little hard to make the adjustment to a new ward, but I am trying to focus and all the good things that they do, instead of all the different things. I am very blessed to be in this ward. There is lots of work to do, and I am just trying to help in any way I can. You gave me some good ideas of how to help the Bishop here. He has a very big calling…no counselors to help either. Bless his heart. Mom, I really loved your message about being grateful. That is so true. I am really trying to work on that. Sometimes when I find myself complaining, I just have to stop and think about what I´m saying and just remind myself that I am a missionary. That is the biggest privilege that I have ever had in my life. I need to be willing to do anything that it takes to call myself a disciple of Jesus Christ. When life is hard…welcome to the Savior´s life. The best lives ever lived were not easy ones…they wouldn´t be fulfilling if they were. We have to be grateful for the trials we are given. They are only opportunities to improve and grow, and become closer to our Savior.
Things are really pretty much the same old thing here. We couldn´t work very much since the last time I wrote you all on Thursday, so to be honest not very much has changed. This week we didn´t have many appointments, and we couldn´t leave the house without set appointments…to say the least, I got pretty bored the last four days, but today is the last day of the holiday, and tomorrow all is back to normal. Thank goodness. I am really ready to get back to business.
We did get to go to the ward activity for Dieciocho. That was way fun. I got to see the Cueica for the first time…it´s pretty sweet. The Cueica is the national dance of Chile…everyone knows how to do it here. A little girl in the ward tried to teach me…I got it on video…I´ll show you when I get home. To say the least…it was clear that I am a gringa…I wasn´t the best Cueica dancer there. Oh well.
We are going to be having another baptism this Saturday! This will be Claudia…the woman that is deaf. She is such an amazing person to me. This ward is not an easy ward to be deaf in either. Mostly it is made up of very elderly people, and I worry about her being able to communicate with people very well, but she can read lips very well. I can communicate just fine with her, but then again, I do speak much slower than most in Chile. But we are going to work with the Bishop here to assign some people to help her understand, whether it is learning signs, talking slow to help her read their lips, or taking notes with good old pin and paper. Hermana McMaster can speak/sign pretty well in American, and there are some that are different, but she can understand pretty well. I am nervous that when she leaves it will be difficult for me, but I am trying to learn as much as I can and help the ward do the same so that she can get the most out of meetings as possible. She is so smart and so faithful. I am pretty sure she would come even if no one was helping her understand. She´s really pretty independent, which is good. There are a couple of inactive people that can sign fluently, so that actually might be something to get them motivated to come back and serve. Pray for us to come up with a solution. I know that she is doing her part; we just have to figure out how to best help her…we have to do our part now.
Well, also this week we had interviews and capacitacion with Presidente. It was awesome. I told him that I am a bit worried that soon I am really not going to be the new sister in the mission. He told me that I really need to be focused on progressing and growing up as fast as I can, because we have a lot of sisters leaving soon, and he´s going to need me as a leader. I am a little worried about this, to be honest. But I am going to really try and push myself really hard this cambio to learn as much as I can fit in my head, just so I can be a better servant and be available to do whatever the Lord requires of me. I am scared, though…I´m not going to lie, but President expressed his confidence in me, and that helped a lot. Now I just can´t let anything get in the way of my progress. I think this is the point in my mission that it is beginning to change from just a really cool experience to a whole lot of responsibility. But I am really grateful for the opportunity to become the missionary that the Lord has in mind. Yesterday was a hard day, just because I realized that this is not going to be easy to do, but really I know that I am going to grow so much. I am grateful for the opportunity. Here I go. Thanks for your prayers.
Well, because I don´t have much new news this week, I´ll tell you all a little bit more about Punta Arenas. It is a lot colder and really pretty windy, BUT the houses here are heated with gas stoves instead of wood stoves…and we are very blessed to have one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom, so when it is cold we turn them both on and we are roasting in no time! We have the warmest house in the mission I think. Unlike in Ancud, we don´t get to walk by the beach everyday to citas, BUT you can see the Magellan Strait from our house…pretty legit. I think one P-day we are going to get up early and go watch the sunrise over it…and touch the point of the world where the Pacific and Atlantic meet…who knew!? The food here is pretty much the same. Although the mamita here lets us serve ourselves, so we don´t have to eat as much food as we did in Ancud…thank goodness. Hopefully I can drop a few pounds here. Oh man, gotta love the fact that everyone is shoving food in your face. I love Chileans! Que mas…It´s warming up a little bit now. I got lucky to be here in the Spring and Summer…I hear it gets pretty bad snow in the winter. Also the Spring and Summer is when the penguins come!!!! So before too long, ya´ll will be getting pictures of me and the birdies! Get excited…I am.
Well, that´s about all that I have time for, Familia mia. I love you all tons. Thanks friends for your emails. Love you guys. Sent off some letters to you all this week.
Abrazos!!!!!!
-Hermana Bertagnole
Sounds like things are going pretty well back in the casa. Dad, thank you so much for your advice about the ward in your last letter. That was really exactly what I needed this week. It is a little hard to make the adjustment to a new ward, but I am trying to focus and all the good things that they do, instead of all the different things. I am very blessed to be in this ward. There is lots of work to do, and I am just trying to help in any way I can. You gave me some good ideas of how to help the Bishop here. He has a very big calling…no counselors to help either. Bless his heart. Mom, I really loved your message about being grateful. That is so true. I am really trying to work on that. Sometimes when I find myself complaining, I just have to stop and think about what I´m saying and just remind myself that I am a missionary. That is the biggest privilege that I have ever had in my life. I need to be willing to do anything that it takes to call myself a disciple of Jesus Christ. When life is hard…welcome to the Savior´s life. The best lives ever lived were not easy ones…they wouldn´t be fulfilling if they were. We have to be grateful for the trials we are given. They are only opportunities to improve and grow, and become closer to our Savior.
Things are really pretty much the same old thing here. We couldn´t work very much since the last time I wrote you all on Thursday, so to be honest not very much has changed. This week we didn´t have many appointments, and we couldn´t leave the house without set appointments…to say the least, I got pretty bored the last four days, but today is the last day of the holiday, and tomorrow all is back to normal. Thank goodness. I am really ready to get back to business.
We did get to go to the ward activity for Dieciocho. That was way fun. I got to see the Cueica for the first time…it´s pretty sweet. The Cueica is the national dance of Chile…everyone knows how to do it here. A little girl in the ward tried to teach me…I got it on video…I´ll show you when I get home. To say the least…it was clear that I am a gringa…I wasn´t the best Cueica dancer there. Oh well.
We are going to be having another baptism this Saturday! This will be Claudia…the woman that is deaf. She is such an amazing person to me. This ward is not an easy ward to be deaf in either. Mostly it is made up of very elderly people, and I worry about her being able to communicate with people very well, but she can read lips very well. I can communicate just fine with her, but then again, I do speak much slower than most in Chile. But we are going to work with the Bishop here to assign some people to help her understand, whether it is learning signs, talking slow to help her read their lips, or taking notes with good old pin and paper. Hermana McMaster can speak/sign pretty well in American, and there are some that are different, but she can understand pretty well. I am nervous that when she leaves it will be difficult for me, but I am trying to learn as much as I can and help the ward do the same so that she can get the most out of meetings as possible. She is so smart and so faithful. I am pretty sure she would come even if no one was helping her understand. She´s really pretty independent, which is good. There are a couple of inactive people that can sign fluently, so that actually might be something to get them motivated to come back and serve. Pray for us to come up with a solution. I know that she is doing her part; we just have to figure out how to best help her…we have to do our part now.
Well, also this week we had interviews and capacitacion with Presidente. It was awesome. I told him that I am a bit worried that soon I am really not going to be the new sister in the mission. He told me that I really need to be focused on progressing and growing up as fast as I can, because we have a lot of sisters leaving soon, and he´s going to need me as a leader. I am a little worried about this, to be honest. But I am going to really try and push myself really hard this cambio to learn as much as I can fit in my head, just so I can be a better servant and be available to do whatever the Lord requires of me. I am scared, though…I´m not going to lie, but President expressed his confidence in me, and that helped a lot. Now I just can´t let anything get in the way of my progress. I think this is the point in my mission that it is beginning to change from just a really cool experience to a whole lot of responsibility. But I am really grateful for the opportunity to become the missionary that the Lord has in mind. Yesterday was a hard day, just because I realized that this is not going to be easy to do, but really I know that I am going to grow so much. I am grateful for the opportunity. Here I go. Thanks for your prayers.
Well, because I don´t have much new news this week, I´ll tell you all a little bit more about Punta Arenas. It is a lot colder and really pretty windy, BUT the houses here are heated with gas stoves instead of wood stoves…and we are very blessed to have one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom, so when it is cold we turn them both on and we are roasting in no time! We have the warmest house in the mission I think. Unlike in Ancud, we don´t get to walk by the beach everyday to citas, BUT you can see the Magellan Strait from our house…pretty legit. I think one P-day we are going to get up early and go watch the sunrise over it…and touch the point of the world where the Pacific and Atlantic meet…who knew!? The food here is pretty much the same. Although the mamita here lets us serve ourselves, so we don´t have to eat as much food as we did in Ancud…thank goodness. Hopefully I can drop a few pounds here. Oh man, gotta love the fact that everyone is shoving food in your face. I love Chileans! Que mas…It´s warming up a little bit now. I got lucky to be here in the Spring and Summer…I hear it gets pretty bad snow in the winter. Also the Spring and Summer is when the penguins come!!!! So before too long, ya´ll will be getting pictures of me and the birdies! Get excited…I am.
Well, that´s about all that I have time for, Familia mia. I love you all tons. Thanks friends for your emails. Love you guys. Sent off some letters to you all this week.
Abrazos!!!!!!
-Hermana Bertagnole
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Una carta de su Magallanica
Hola familia mia:.
Well, I am no longer Chilota, I am Magallanica...but considering that I was born (in the mission) in Chiloe, I might always consider myself Chilota...we´ll see. So yes, Magallanes is my sector here in Punta Arenas. This whole area in the southern part of Chile is technically called Magallanes...You´ll have to do some research to find out all the reasons, as I am still not exactly sure. From what I understand, supposedly it is an "independent republic" but I am pretty sure that it is still very much part of Chile. They do have their own flag though...but I think that is kind of like the Confederate flag in the United States. :)
Anyway, my new compañera is Hna. McMaster. She´s awesome. This is her last cambio in the mission, so it´s kind of sad, but she´s a really hard worker, and I am learning a lot from her. She´ll be way fun to work with. My first Saturday here we had another baptism! It was a young man, Miguel, who´s mom and step-dad are recent converts from May, and he has been working with the sisters for awhile now. His step-dad got to baptize him! He is awesome. He´s 17 years old and just a really good kid. It was neat to see their family get completed. Sandra and and Amador (his parents) also have another little girl who is 4, and she is adorable. They want to go to the temple so badly so they can be sealed. They are just a great family that is going to be such a strength in the ward here. I am sending pictures!!! It was a great start to the cambio.
Also we will be having another baptism the 25th of September. She has been working with the missionaries for a little while now, and she has been coming to church as well. Her only problem was she was living with a menos activo member and they are not married, but they are going to get married the 24th so we challenged her to be baptized the 25th and she eagerly accepted. Claudia and her future husband, Boris, are deaf...so I am learning a new language now too. I am learning how to sign now! It´s so fun. It´s different than sign language in the US, so sometimes I get confused from what little I remembered from those classes that the sister missionaries used to teach, but it´s way neat. Claudia can read lips really well, and to be perfectly honest, she understands the concepts way better than almost any other investigator. She is so smart. It is such an inspiration to me. We are trying to get the members to at least try their best to communicate with her at church. There is one young man that can sign, so we are enlisting his help to teach a sign class to the members. I want to take it too. I can pray in signs now though! It´s fun and she is so sweet about it.
As far as the transfer goes, I have learned that it´s kind of like starting all over again...I am learning and praying for a love for the people all over again, just like I did when I first got into the mission. I hope that it comes sooner now that I can understand them, and communicate with them more now. I know that it will come. I am learning to work with different members, different leaders, different investigators, etc. but they are all great, so I think the love is coming quickly. I already just love Hna. McMaster. She´s great. I feel blessed to have her as my comp. Also I am SO happy because I get to see my Mama Aponte about 3-4 times every week. It is so so great!
My focus this cambio will be the same as last cambio. The family. I just have realized very quickly that that is where success is on the mission. I realized it with Miguel´s family. I am realizing that it is so much easier to become inactive when you´re family is not there to support you. I don´t worry at all about Miguel being inactive, because right now it is easy for him and his family to have the goal of the temple. It is within their reach, they are so close they can almost touch it. And that is driving them. Without that it is so easy to lose sight of what the real goal is. I really want to help the members activate or complete their families and GET TO THE TEMPLE! I learned this week just how important and crucial those covenants are. They too are necessary for our Salvation! We are praying hard to find a family that is prepared and ready to here this glorious message. I just love having that as the focus. And I feel even more strongly about it this cambio than the last. I know that there is at least one prepared and waiting in this sector.
As far as the weather goes here, it´s cold and windy, but it isn´t as bad as everyone makes it sound...but granted I am here during spring. ... but I hear the wind will get really bad. That´s ok... I´m tough. :)
Also, the reason that the Pday is Thursday is because of their Independence Day. It´s the 18th of Sept. and this year is the 200th birthday, so it´s going to be nuts. Lots of borrachos, so we are only allowed to work on set meetings for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It´s taking a hit on the work, but I know it´s for our safety...I´m going to get so bored in the house though. Oh well, supposedly this holiday is bigger than Christmas. And people just party for 4 days straight...I´ll send pictures of the Ward activity (it´ll be calm compared to the others, hahaha).
Well, that is all I have time to write for now....
OH funny thing: The law here for the 18th of September is that everyone has to have a flag waving outside their house for the entire month of Sept. or else you get a ticket...Luckily our house owner took care of ours. We have the Chilean flag and the Magallanes flags hanging. I figured Scott would get a kick out of that law.
LOVE YOU ALL TONS!!!!!!!!!
-Hermana Bertagnole
(HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHELSEA!!!!!! Love you!)
Well, I am no longer Chilota, I am Magallanica...but considering that I was born (in the mission) in Chiloe, I might always consider myself Chilota...we´ll see. So yes, Magallanes is my sector here in Punta Arenas. This whole area in the southern part of Chile is technically called Magallanes...You´ll have to do some research to find out all the reasons, as I am still not exactly sure. From what I understand, supposedly it is an "independent republic" but I am pretty sure that it is still very much part of Chile. They do have their own flag though...but I think that is kind of like the Confederate flag in the United States. :)
Anyway, my new compañera is Hna. McMaster. She´s awesome. This is her last cambio in the mission, so it´s kind of sad, but she´s a really hard worker, and I am learning a lot from her. She´ll be way fun to work with. My first Saturday here we had another baptism! It was a young man, Miguel, who´s mom and step-dad are recent converts from May, and he has been working with the sisters for awhile now. His step-dad got to baptize him! He is awesome. He´s 17 years old and just a really good kid. It was neat to see their family get completed. Sandra and and Amador (his parents) also have another little girl who is 4, and she is adorable. They want to go to the temple so badly so they can be sealed. They are just a great family that is going to be such a strength in the ward here. I am sending pictures!!! It was a great start to the cambio.
Also we will be having another baptism the 25th of September. She has been working with the missionaries for a little while now, and she has been coming to church as well. Her only problem was she was living with a menos activo member and they are not married, but they are going to get married the 24th so we challenged her to be baptized the 25th and she eagerly accepted. Claudia and her future husband, Boris, are deaf...so I am learning a new language now too. I am learning how to sign now! It´s so fun. It´s different than sign language in the US, so sometimes I get confused from what little I remembered from those classes that the sister missionaries used to teach, but it´s way neat. Claudia can read lips really well, and to be perfectly honest, she understands the concepts way better than almost any other investigator. She is so smart. It is such an inspiration to me. We are trying to get the members to at least try their best to communicate with her at church. There is one young man that can sign, so we are enlisting his help to teach a sign class to the members. I want to take it too. I can pray in signs now though! It´s fun and she is so sweet about it.
As far as the transfer goes, I have learned that it´s kind of like starting all over again...I am learning and praying for a love for the people all over again, just like I did when I first got into the mission. I hope that it comes sooner now that I can understand them, and communicate with them more now. I know that it will come. I am learning to work with different members, different leaders, different investigators, etc. but they are all great, so I think the love is coming quickly. I already just love Hna. McMaster. She´s great. I feel blessed to have her as my comp. Also I am SO happy because I get to see my Mama Aponte about 3-4 times every week. It is so so great!
My focus this cambio will be the same as last cambio. The family. I just have realized very quickly that that is where success is on the mission. I realized it with Miguel´s family. I am realizing that it is so much easier to become inactive when you´re family is not there to support you. I don´t worry at all about Miguel being inactive, because right now it is easy for him and his family to have the goal of the temple. It is within their reach, they are so close they can almost touch it. And that is driving them. Without that it is so easy to lose sight of what the real goal is. I really want to help the members activate or complete their families and GET TO THE TEMPLE! I learned this week just how important and crucial those covenants are. They too are necessary for our Salvation! We are praying hard to find a family that is prepared and ready to here this glorious message. I just love having that as the focus. And I feel even more strongly about it this cambio than the last. I know that there is at least one prepared and waiting in this sector.
As far as the weather goes here, it´s cold and windy, but it isn´t as bad as everyone makes it sound...but granted I am here during spring. ... but I hear the wind will get really bad. That´s ok... I´m tough. :)
Also, the reason that the Pday is Thursday is because of their Independence Day. It´s the 18th of Sept. and this year is the 200th birthday, so it´s going to be nuts. Lots of borrachos, so we are only allowed to work on set meetings for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It´s taking a hit on the work, but I know it´s for our safety...I´m going to get so bored in the house though. Oh well, supposedly this holiday is bigger than Christmas. And people just party for 4 days straight...I´ll send pictures of the Ward activity (it´ll be calm compared to the others, hahaha).
Well, that is all I have time to write for now....
OH funny thing: The law here for the 18th of September is that everyone has to have a flag waving outside their house for the entire month of Sept. or else you get a ticket...Luckily our house owner took care of ours. We have the Chilean flag and the Magallanes flags hanging. I figured Scott would get a kick out of that law.
LOVE YOU ALL TONS!!!!!!!!!
-Hermana Bertagnole
(HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHELSEA!!!!!! Love you!)
Monday, September 6, 2010
Me voy al parte mas sur del mundo…para ensenar los penguinos
Me voy al parte mas sur del mundo…para ensenar los penguinos J
The next time you´ll be hearing from me I will be writing you from a snow bank. I am getting transferred to Punta Arenas. Goodbyes are the very worst thing in the world.
Right now it is very bitter sweet news. I am sad to leave this magical place, Chiloe, but at the same time I am very excited to meet the people of Punta Arenas, see Hermana Aponte (!!!!!!!!), and meet my new companion. I am really grateful for the opportunity to serve there. It´s hard to say goodbye to these people here in Ancud though, they are so very special to me. It´ll be hard saying goodbye to Hermana Kelley, too. She is so special, and I really enjoyed working with her. I am grateful for change and the opportunity to improve through it. I hope that I live up to this calling as I should. I am trying to do so. Sometimes I feel like I don´t do it exceptionally, but I am grateful for the Savior and the opportunity to improve through Him. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve Him. How blessed we are to see miracles happen every day. They exist.
I am halfway packed...I still have to pack my clothes, but that should be pretty easy. This is when it really starts to set in that we are only missionaries. We are just the herramientos en los manos del Señor. I am really excited to get transferred there, though. I knew I had to leave, and if I could have picked that is where I wanted to go and at the time I wanted to go. I have always just felt like there is something special there that I need to be there for. From the beginning of this cambio, I have felt like I might go there next. I feel like my time down there is going to be a full of special miracles. I know that the Lord´s hands are guiding this work and people are called to different areas for a reason. It´s hard to know that my work in Ancud is done...it seems in so many ways that it has just begun, and that there is so much left to do...but that will have to be the work of those to come.
I can´t believe I completed one-third of my mission this week. THAT IS CRAZY! Time is going so quickly that it is frightening me.
In answer to your questions, Mom, I did give Karen the skirt, but the shoes I am packing. Karen looked so cute in the skirt I had to let her have it.) As far as souvenirs went, I stayed pretty cheap and little. I did invest in the lana (wool) here in Chiloe. Wool stuff here is so cheap....like 6 bucks for a wool scarf cheap. I bought a few wool things to bring home and also some wood work done by a friend of ours...se llama Domingo...he´s awesome. But that´s about it. I figure I can´t carry much around with me right now...especially a Punta Arenas. Also, you´re right...I need to polish my boots...I´ll get on that ASAP...the boots have been the least of my concerns, but I need to take better care of them. Spit shine, here we come! ;) As far as food. Lunch is HUGE here... at least when you´re feeding the missionaries. I usually just have a little snack for breakfast and dinner, although I think this next cambio I´ll just have tea (herbal....it´s huge down here...and they have some delicious flavors...mmm mmm) and a few crackers. Word has in down south they eat a ridiculous amount of meat...ugh. Oh well. It´s cheap down there.
Well, I am out of time this week. I´ll write with new adventures next week. Love you all tons!!!!!!! Miss you and am praying for you! Thank you for everything!
LOVE YOU.
----Hermana Bertagnole
PS: Well, also it sounds like everyone is getting hitched! Congrats everybody!
The next time you´ll be hearing from me I will be writing you from a snow bank. I am getting transferred to Punta Arenas. Goodbyes are the very worst thing in the world.
Right now it is very bitter sweet news. I am sad to leave this magical place, Chiloe, but at the same time I am very excited to meet the people of Punta Arenas, see Hermana Aponte (!!!!!!!!), and meet my new companion. I am really grateful for the opportunity to serve there. It´s hard to say goodbye to these people here in Ancud though, they are so very special to me. It´ll be hard saying goodbye to Hermana Kelley, too. She is so special, and I really enjoyed working with her. I am grateful for change and the opportunity to improve through it. I hope that I live up to this calling as I should. I am trying to do so. Sometimes I feel like I don´t do it exceptionally, but I am grateful for the Savior and the opportunity to improve through Him. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve Him. How blessed we are to see miracles happen every day. They exist.
I am halfway packed...I still have to pack my clothes, but that should be pretty easy. This is when it really starts to set in that we are only missionaries. We are just the herramientos en los manos del Señor. I am really excited to get transferred there, though. I knew I had to leave, and if I could have picked that is where I wanted to go and at the time I wanted to go. I have always just felt like there is something special there that I need to be there for. From the beginning of this cambio, I have felt like I might go there next. I feel like my time down there is going to be a full of special miracles. I know that the Lord´s hands are guiding this work and people are called to different areas for a reason. It´s hard to know that my work in Ancud is done...it seems in so many ways that it has just begun, and that there is so much left to do...but that will have to be the work of those to come.
I can´t believe I completed one-third of my mission this week. THAT IS CRAZY! Time is going so quickly that it is frightening me.
In answer to your questions, Mom, I did give Karen the skirt, but the shoes I am packing. Karen looked so cute in the skirt I had to let her have it.) As far as souvenirs went, I stayed pretty cheap and little. I did invest in the lana (wool) here in Chiloe. Wool stuff here is so cheap....like 6 bucks for a wool scarf cheap. I bought a few wool things to bring home and also some wood work done by a friend of ours...se llama Domingo...he´s awesome. But that´s about it. I figure I can´t carry much around with me right now...especially a Punta Arenas. Also, you´re right...I need to polish my boots...I´ll get on that ASAP...the boots have been the least of my concerns, but I need to take better care of them. Spit shine, here we come! ;) As far as food. Lunch is HUGE here... at least when you´re feeding the missionaries. I usually just have a little snack for breakfast and dinner, although I think this next cambio I´ll just have tea (herbal....it´s huge down here...and they have some delicious flavors...mmm mmm) and a few crackers. Word has in down south they eat a ridiculous amount of meat...ugh. Oh well. It´s cheap down there.
Well, I am out of time this week. I´ll write with new adventures next week. Love you all tons!!!!!!! Miss you and am praying for you! Thank you for everything!
LOVE YOU.
----Hermana Bertagnole
PS: Well, also it sounds like everyone is getting hitched! Congrats everybody!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Una Semana Hermosa
I just have to let you know I loved your letters this week. I am so excited to write you all and tell you about the great, great week that just happened. I know the Lord loves me. He has blessed us so very much this week.
Well, as you know, we had Elder Scott come and talk to us. It was a 6 hour conference...it felt like 30 min. It was so great. He is hilarious, by the way. I know that you all would be looking at the picture on the blog, so when we lined up for the picture, I made sure I got to stand in the middle....my height really helped too (thanks, momma). It was so neat. We got to shake his hand and talk to him for a little bit. And then we had a 20 minute break during the middle, and during it I noticed that he was just sitting on the stage by himself, while all the missionaries were talking amongst themselves and what not. I grabbed Hna Kelley, and I told her, "An apostle of God should not be sitting by himself talking to no one." So we went up there and we welcomed him to Chile and we thanked him for coming, and he talked to us about how special it is that we are sister missionaries. He said that there is no better place to prepare for being a mother and wife. It was so neat to talk to him for a little bit. He´s so, so nice. He was telling us that his wife served a mission, and he said she always told him it was the best thing she ever did. Not really mentioning the fact that she married him :) It was a very great special day.
READY......THE VERY BEST PART OF THE WEEK: KAREN GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes that´s right, we had our first baptism! It was such a testimony to me that the Lord´s hand is so very much in our lives. Karen was prepared before we met her to hear and receive this world changing message. She latched on to it, even when it didn´t make sense to her, and I am telling you there was such a great change in her after it happened. I could literally tell that she was a different person. She was so happy. She´s a happy person anyway, but I am telling you she was SO happy. Gosh. I really can´t do this justice in an email. It was just so powerful. Also, her mom was there--who has been menos activa for most of her grown life, but she was there and she was crying. Before she left, she pulled Karen, and us aside and asked to say a prayer with us. We were all in the chapel standing in a circle (holding hands...some people like to do that here) and her mom thanked our Father in Heaven for letting us find her daughter and showing her this path of happiness. She prayed for the work, and she prayed that Karen would seguir adelante en este camino and that she would maintain her heart clean and pure like it is right now. It was so neat to hear her mom pray and remember how she felt many, many years ago when she was baptized. We are going to work hard with her family to help them come back to church.
I gave Karen my red skirt to use for her baptism and to wear to Church (she hates the fact that she has to wear a skirt). But I am telling you she looked just like a missionary. We even put our name tags on her just to make sure it fit right. She really could be a missionary...and a very excellent one. We are going to tell her to pray about it. She´s kind of dropped hints that she has been thinking about it. She´s 20 years old, but she has been going to tons of citas with us just because she wants to learn more and more. We told her now that she is baptized, we are going to teach her how to teach little parts of the lessons so that she can practice "just in case you should decide to go on a mission" :) She just smiles at us. I would love to see her serve. I think part of her really wants to. Whenever we slip it into the conversation, she just smiles. She so, so great. I am really going to have a hard time saying goodbye to her. She really wants to go to the temple. Gosh, she´s just so perfect. It´s so great. I just love her so much. It was neat, yesterday we went to a cita with her and without us even asking, she just started teaching and explaining things, and then she´d turn to us and say, "Cierto?" It was fun. She´s so great.
Side note: also this week I might have gone swimming...it wasn´t my fault. There was the worst storm that I have ever seen in Ancud, and we had to walk along Costanera to a cita (the street that is right next to the ocean.) and the waves were so big that they were splashing up over the wall onto the sidewalk that we had to walk on...we got a little soaked that day. But now I can say that I have been surfing. :) It was pretty funny. I am sure that anyone that drove past just thought to themselves, "Man those missionaries, they must get paid a lot to work in conditions like this." It was pretty funny. I took a video of it, I´ll have to send it to you or show you when I get home. Funny stuff.
Well, I love you all so very much. Thank you to infinity for all your love and support. I really couldn´t do this without you all. Thank you for being such a blessing in my life. Tell the brothers that I love them so very much. I miss you all. I pray for you all often. Mom and Dad: you are so so, so wonderful. I can´t express how much I love you both. Gracias por todo que han heco en mi vida. LOVE YOU!!!!!!!
Les AMO,
Hermana Bertagnole
P:S. oh answers to questions: It is hard learning Spanish with a gringa. :)
Well, as you know, we had Elder Scott come and talk to us. It was a 6 hour conference...it felt like 30 min. It was so great. He is hilarious, by the way. I know that you all would be looking at the picture on the blog, so when we lined up for the picture, I made sure I got to stand in the middle....my height really helped too (thanks, momma). It was so neat. We got to shake his hand and talk to him for a little bit. And then we had a 20 minute break during the middle, and during it I noticed that he was just sitting on the stage by himself, while all the missionaries were talking amongst themselves and what not. I grabbed Hna Kelley, and I told her, "An apostle of God should not be sitting by himself talking to no one." So we went up there and we welcomed him to Chile and we thanked him for coming, and he talked to us about how special it is that we are sister missionaries. He said that there is no better place to prepare for being a mother and wife. It was so neat to talk to him for a little bit. He´s so, so nice. He was telling us that his wife served a mission, and he said she always told him it was the best thing she ever did. Not really mentioning the fact that she married him :) It was a very great special day.
READY......THE VERY BEST PART OF THE WEEK: KAREN GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes that´s right, we had our first baptism! It was such a testimony to me that the Lord´s hand is so very much in our lives. Karen was prepared before we met her to hear and receive this world changing message. She latched on to it, even when it didn´t make sense to her, and I am telling you there was such a great change in her after it happened. I could literally tell that she was a different person. She was so happy. She´s a happy person anyway, but I am telling you she was SO happy. Gosh. I really can´t do this justice in an email. It was just so powerful. Also, her mom was there--who has been menos activa for most of her grown life, but she was there and she was crying. Before she left, she pulled Karen, and us aside and asked to say a prayer with us. We were all in the chapel standing in a circle (holding hands...some people like to do that here) and her mom thanked our Father in Heaven for letting us find her daughter and showing her this path of happiness. She prayed for the work, and she prayed that Karen would seguir adelante en este camino and that she would maintain her heart clean and pure like it is right now. It was so neat to hear her mom pray and remember how she felt many, many years ago when she was baptized. We are going to work hard with her family to help them come back to church.
I gave Karen my red skirt to use for her baptism and to wear to Church (she hates the fact that she has to wear a skirt). But I am telling you she looked just like a missionary. We even put our name tags on her just to make sure it fit right. She really could be a missionary...and a very excellent one. We are going to tell her to pray about it. She´s kind of dropped hints that she has been thinking about it. She´s 20 years old, but she has been going to tons of citas with us just because she wants to learn more and more. We told her now that she is baptized, we are going to teach her how to teach little parts of the lessons so that she can practice "just in case you should decide to go on a mission" :) She just smiles at us. I would love to see her serve. I think part of her really wants to. Whenever we slip it into the conversation, she just smiles. She so, so great. I am really going to have a hard time saying goodbye to her. She really wants to go to the temple. Gosh, she´s just so perfect. It´s so great. I just love her so much. It was neat, yesterday we went to a cita with her and without us even asking, she just started teaching and explaining things, and then she´d turn to us and say, "Cierto?" It was fun. She´s so great.
Side note: also this week I might have gone swimming...it wasn´t my fault. There was the worst storm that I have ever seen in Ancud, and we had to walk along Costanera to a cita (the street that is right next to the ocean.) and the waves were so big that they were splashing up over the wall onto the sidewalk that we had to walk on...we got a little soaked that day. But now I can say that I have been surfing. :) It was pretty funny. I am sure that anyone that drove past just thought to themselves, "Man those missionaries, they must get paid a lot to work in conditions like this." It was pretty funny. I took a video of it, I´ll have to send it to you or show you when I get home. Funny stuff.
Well, I love you all so very much. Thank you to infinity for all your love and support. I really couldn´t do this without you all. Thank you for being such a blessing in my life. Tell the brothers that I love them so very much. I miss you all. I pray for you all often. Mom and Dad: you are so so, so wonderful. I can´t express how much I love you both. Gracias por todo que han heco en mi vida. LOVE YOU!!!!!!!
Les AMO,
Hermana Bertagnole
P:S. oh answers to questions: It is hard learning Spanish with a gringa. :)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Almost six months in the mission. No puedo creerlo!
Hola familia mia. Hey ya´ll, Hermana Kelley and I (apparently) are the two Hermanas in the missions with accents. I think President (being from Oklahoma and all) thought it would be a good thing to put us together to enhance each other´s accents...nice....I say ya´ll a lot more now...it´s kind of dangerous. Who knew I would pick that up in Chile, hahahah... I hope all is well back in the good old United States. It sounds like from the letters things are going pretty good.
Well, I have the most amazing news EVER!!!!!! KAREN IS GETTING BAPTIZED! She is a miracle in my life. If you´re wondering why you haven´t heard tons about her...well it´s because she had her baptismal interview exactly only one month after we contacted her in the street. She was so utterly prepared, it blows my mind. She is such a sweet girl. She is 20 years old, but looks like she is about 15 years old just because she is so tiny. She is a spit fire though, and she is always correcting our Spanish...it´s pretty funny. But she is so, so smart. She is very intellectual, and she told us the other day that she can´t believe she is doing this because it all doesn´t make perfect sense to her yet, but I just laughed and told her...well, everything doesn´t make perfect sense to me either yet, but that´s the Lord´s way of showing us that we have to work with faith more than intellect. I love her so much, and I am so grateful to get to see her change and evolve and understand more and more the past month. She is amazing. She just gets it. It´s so beautiful. She´ll be baptized the 28 of August. Please, please pray for her and her family. She means so very much to me. I think I am just as nervous as she is for this, but I didn´t tell her so. She is so, so ready and prepared. It´s so cool!
Also this week, we talked to Marcelo about baptism again and he really wants to get baptized. We found out that he is attending seminary and basically any other church activity he can get his hands on. He knows so much already that we haven´t even taught him. He´s going to get baptized the 11th of September. The only problem is that he has to get his parents’ permission to do it, obviously. We have taught his mom and his sister, and they are awesome. I think his mom doesn´t have any problem with it...she´s just happy he´s so happy, but I have yet to meet his father. Marcelo tells me he is very active in another church and is not happy at all that he is attending all these Church things. So please pray for him that his heart will be softened and that we will be able to teach his whole family these things.
What else is new....OH. Some really cool news: Tonight we travel to Puerto Montt (on the continent) and then in the morning we will head to Osorno to have a Mission Conference with Elder Richard G. Scott! We are so so, so excited. (I´m going to try and take a picture with my arm around him like Eric and Steve Young....just kidding....about the arm around him...I´m a missionary). Hahah. But anyway, we won´t get back to work until Wednesday, so that will be a little hard on our goals next week, but I´m not complaining at all :) I´m so, so excited. I am pretty sure he can speak Spanish too, so that will be neat to hear him speak in Spanish. Yay!
Oh mom, in reference to my little black jacket...it is getting pretty worn out just from being wet all the time, so I have been thinking about finding something else here to wear underneath my rain jacket. They have some really nice jackets here that are really warm, but still thin enough to layer under rain coats and great in the rain. I´m thinking I am going to try and find one of those. They are pretty pricey...I think like 80-100 dollars or something, but let me know what you think. A lot of the Elders have them and they say they are the best thing since sliced bread....a very good investment. Anyway...let me know your thoughts. I´m thinking I could probably get a month or two more out of mine, but I need to start looking for another that looks a little nicer. I am so glad that I brought my black jacket though...it´s like having two rain coats on at one time....HEAVEN. Eventually with all the rain..."waterproof" isn´t as waterproof as you might like...so it´s nice to have a double layer.
Anyway I love you all tons. Tons and tons. Thank you for everything. Dad, thank you for the pep talk at the end of your last letter...I needed that today. You are so great
Oh and momma, after the mish you and I need to road trip it to Alabama and hang out with Hna Kelley and her momma. We are making plans. From what she´s told me ya´ll (hahaha) will get along great. It´s going to be great.
Oh and Hna Aponte called me on Hna Lovell´s cell phone the other day during a conference and she told me that she is using cualquier ropa; hahaha pobresita! (I have a feeling that I might go there next....ummm yeah.)
Welp. Love you all tons!!!!
Well, I have the most amazing news EVER!!!!!! KAREN IS GETTING BAPTIZED! She is a miracle in my life. If you´re wondering why you haven´t heard tons about her...well it´s because she had her baptismal interview exactly only one month after we contacted her in the street. She was so utterly prepared, it blows my mind. She is such a sweet girl. She is 20 years old, but looks like she is about 15 years old just because she is so tiny. She is a spit fire though, and she is always correcting our Spanish...it´s pretty funny. But she is so, so smart. She is very intellectual, and she told us the other day that she can´t believe she is doing this because it all doesn´t make perfect sense to her yet, but I just laughed and told her...well, everything doesn´t make perfect sense to me either yet, but that´s the Lord´s way of showing us that we have to work with faith more than intellect. I love her so much, and I am so grateful to get to see her change and evolve and understand more and more the past month. She is amazing. She just gets it. It´s so beautiful. She´ll be baptized the 28 of August. Please, please pray for her and her family. She means so very much to me. I think I am just as nervous as she is for this, but I didn´t tell her so. She is so, so ready and prepared. It´s so cool!
Also this week, we talked to Marcelo about baptism again and he really wants to get baptized. We found out that he is attending seminary and basically any other church activity he can get his hands on. He knows so much already that we haven´t even taught him. He´s going to get baptized the 11th of September. The only problem is that he has to get his parents’ permission to do it, obviously. We have taught his mom and his sister, and they are awesome. I think his mom doesn´t have any problem with it...she´s just happy he´s so happy, but I have yet to meet his father. Marcelo tells me he is very active in another church and is not happy at all that he is attending all these Church things. So please pray for him that his heart will be softened and that we will be able to teach his whole family these things.
What else is new....OH. Some really cool news: Tonight we travel to Puerto Montt (on the continent) and then in the morning we will head to Osorno to have a Mission Conference with Elder Richard G. Scott! We are so so, so excited. (I´m going to try and take a picture with my arm around him like Eric and Steve Young....just kidding....about the arm around him...I´m a missionary). Hahah. But anyway, we won´t get back to work until Wednesday, so that will be a little hard on our goals next week, but I´m not complaining at all :) I´m so, so excited. I am pretty sure he can speak Spanish too, so that will be neat to hear him speak in Spanish. Yay!
Oh mom, in reference to my little black jacket...it is getting pretty worn out just from being wet all the time, so I have been thinking about finding something else here to wear underneath my rain jacket. They have some really nice jackets here that are really warm, but still thin enough to layer under rain coats and great in the rain. I´m thinking I am going to try and find one of those. They are pretty pricey...I think like 80-100 dollars or something, but let me know what you think. A lot of the Elders have them and they say they are the best thing since sliced bread....a very good investment. Anyway...let me know your thoughts. I´m thinking I could probably get a month or two more out of mine, but I need to start looking for another that looks a little nicer. I am so glad that I brought my black jacket though...it´s like having two rain coats on at one time....HEAVEN. Eventually with all the rain..."waterproof" isn´t as waterproof as you might like...so it´s nice to have a double layer.
Anyway I love you all tons. Tons and tons. Thank you for everything. Dad, thank you for the pep talk at the end of your last letter...I needed that today. You are so great
Oh and momma, after the mish you and I need to road trip it to Alabama and hang out with Hna Kelley and her momma. We are making plans. From what she´s told me ya´ll (hahaha) will get along great. It´s going to be great.
Oh and Hna Aponte called me on Hna Lovell´s cell phone the other day during a conference and she told me that she is using cualquier ropa; hahaha pobresita! (I have a feeling that I might go there next....ummm yeah.)
Welp. Love you all tons!!!!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
My rain jacket smells like feet, but I'm still smiling!
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!!!!!!!!
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!!!!!!!!
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