Mixed Emotions

 just a normal tracting day in Chile

hola familia!!

Just a side note…Kyle, Jake and Joey, if you could please stop writing me so much that would be great. I just don’t have time to read all the letters you (never) write me. Thank you! jeje

This week this week.... many things happened.... first off the bugs and fleas got worse, so we bombed our house. That was fun. From then I’ve only got bitten like 3 more times, so I think it killed the most  part of the fleas in my sleeping bag. Haha it’s funny because they only bite my feet and lower legs. I have like 30 bites.

It’s fun... what next.... we knocked a lot of doors and found an amazing person! Her name is Lisa. She lives with her boyfriend and told us when we went in her house that she is looking for something more and that she wants to make changes in her life.

We invited her to the relief society activity that we had to celebrate the 175 year anniversary and she told us, “Well my church has an activity that night, and I already said I’m going, but I’ll tell them that something came up so I can go with you guys.”

She went and didn’t understand a lot because we had a lesson on why and how the soc soc was formed. (In Spanish, Relief Society is Sociedad de Socorror or soc soc for short). It was really boring and we felt really bad for Lisa.

Then after we ate a ton of food and talked with her and the members she said that she didn’t understand much but that she feels really good here. She feels a peace that she has never felt and she didn’t want to leave the church.

She came on Sunday but had to leave early for work and said the same thing, that she didn’t understand much but she felt a lot of peace and comfort. She’s had a really hard life and I think is a recovering drug user.

Do you guys feel that when you attend church? Before the mission I just went to church because that’s what we do. It wasn’t until high school that I began to feel a peace inside the church and now, every time I enter, I can feel something special, something clean. Do you feel it too?

It is amazing just how strong and pure the peace is to someone outside of the church, how blessed we are to have and experience the same feeling in the walls of our own home and how much more need there is to help others and those around us feel the same peace. The world is so dark. There is so much sadness and darkness. Upon entering the church, we invite peace and light into our lives. No one likes to walk in the dark, especially when we don’t know the path. The church and gospel give us the map, compass and light that we need. INVITE ALL TO COME TO CHURCH!!!!!! 

The soc soc party was on Friday. The day before, on Thursday, I went to my first Chilean wedding. There is a couple that the elders were working with and teaching!!! They are sooo great! On Thursday they got married and on Saturday they got baptized.

The wedding was very causal and very unorganized, but that is how everything is in Chile. I think that the church services and ordinances are the only things in Chile that are actually organized and put into effect well. Enserio (really). But it was really cute.

#trunky dad, have you found me someone to marry yet? Unfortunately we had to leave when the party started but hey... at least they saved us some cake! Their baptism was super special also. They looked soo happy and talked a lot about making plans to go to the temple to be sealed in a year. I am so grateful for this gospel that unites us as a family for time and all eternity. I can’t wait for my wedding. It’s going to be a party.

This gospel is really a gospel of happiness and hope. Life is hard, but with the saving ordinances that we have it makes everything a lot easier. I am so grateful to live in a time and place where we have the temple so close. How often do you go?

The Chileans here go once a year as a ward. It is a 15-hour bus ride to Santiago. On my second day in Puerto Montt we stopped by the church to say goodbye because the members were going on their trip.

They rent a huge bus and all that can, go. 15 hours driving. 24 hours in the temple (they literally stay in the temple all day and night) and then 15 hours back home. Everyone goes as families. I want to be more devoted like them to go to the temple. For them it’s a sacrifice. They are always talking about it, in church and youth nights about the next temple trip and what names they are preparing and who’s going to get sealed, who’s going for the first time. Eduardo too is preparing to go!!!! :) So it looks like I’ll be coming back in diciembre to go through with him.

We have cambios this Wednesday. We got a call from president last night. I’m leaving Puerto Montt  :´(   I’ll be heading up to Osorno! and I’ll be in the same ward as President and Hermana Isom.

Like that's not intimidating....

And I got released as hermana leader. I’ve been called again to train!!! I’ll be training a girl from Brazil. haha looks like I’ll be learning Portuguese!

I’m really sad to leave Puerto Montt. I love the people here. They are sooo amazing. And the members are some of the best friends that I have here. Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas will always have my heart. It is always so hard to leave a sector, to leave your family behind. I hate transfers. Pero bueno... la vida sigue...(life goes on…)

The Volcanoes

Um um um  that pretty much sums up our week. Weather’s been bipolar like always... luckily hasn’t rained too much.

when it decides to rain and you're not prepared

I’ve learned a ton from my 3 cambios here in Puerto. hna Cordoba and hna Adams have taught me a lot and have helped me more fully put off the natural woman in me to become more like Christ. I love this gospel and I love my mission. I never want to go home!!!!

I hope all is well with you guys. Know that I am happy, healthy and fat :D

love you!!!

pics from last week's adventure

when 7:30 is just too early to study and it's freezing