Going Up North...

hola familia,

How was your week? Mine was awesome!!! Thank you for the birthday wishes, it passed very well! One of the members, Jorge (good times and cousin to Libardo who got baptized last week) invited us for a birthday surprise. He and Libardo and his brothers cooked us typical food from Colombia and we had a FHE (Family Home Evening) there. They are awesome!

It’s a Chilean tradition that the birthday person gets to bite the cake before cutting it and while they bite it, someone shoves their face in the cake, so as I bit into the cake, hna Valle graciously shoved my face in the cake. There was caramel all around it so I go a nice clump of caramel in my hair.

The guys thought it was hilarious and were very surprised that I didn’t get all mad about it and that I shrugged it off haha...  

I’m so sorry, please don’t hate me, I’m not going to write a lot because my head is pounding and I think I’m getting a migraine. I’m having trouble concentrating and don’t feel good at all... Mom, I’ll answer your questions next week with a huge gigantic letter, I promise. 

Oh, and we have combios.... :´( I’m going to Puerto Montt! :)It is up north, about 2 hours from Osorno. Last I heard it was pouring rain there! haha but no wind, That’s good :) I’m really sad to leave Punta Arenas. This feels like my home here. I have family here and people that I love. It’s going to be really hard saying goodbye. I think this is one of the hardest parts of serving a mission...  

Sorry it’s so short, I had a huge list of stuff I wanted to write but I really don’t feel good... 

Have a great week! Love you all!

rosa lo our investigadora

when there's not a girl in the house...

on Tuesday we were walking and saw the voting through a window... so we stopped to see who was winning...

Elder Amaya is awesome

Zone activity last week, making completos

¿chile o colombia?

Hola familia!

How’s it going? Hope this finds you healthy and warm!

Sooo for all you that don’t know anything about Punta Arenas, winters are dark and cold. Summers and bright and freezing. Jaja

I thought it was going to warm up but I was wrong. It is sooo crazy here! It’s just the beginning of spring and already the sun doesn’t set until 9:30. In the middle of summer they say that there’s only 3 hours of darkness. Talk about being at the END OF THE WORLD. It’s awesome.

The sun is really strong here but we get no heat. Haha I’m going to come home with skin cancer. And lung cancer. Because everyone smokes and 2nd hand smoke is a problem.

Why don’t we feel the heat of the sun you ask? Buena pregunta (good question).  Because it is sooo windy!!! The Marilyn Monroe struggle is real. But seriously. I’ve never felt wind this strong before. And it is always windy. A nice freezing wind that kissed the icebergs in the distant estrecho de magallanes. I love it. It’s hard and I’m cold. But #dasboot I can do anything ;)

Dorothy

En Centro they have to put up rope along all the buildings so you can hold on while you are walking. There were a few times where we would be walking and then the wind would change and we would get pushed into a bush or the street.

We haven’t experienced it yet, but there are some days when we can’t leave the house because it is so windy and dangerous because stuff like street signs and roofs and trees take flight. It’s an adventure.

Also, we are at the start of tourist season. It’s funny because we can tell who’s not from around here because they are bundled up with hats, gloves, and huge jackets. Haha and we are walking around with a windbreaker and a skirt.

¿chile o colombia? We had a baptism last Saturday!! His name is Libardo and he is another Colombiano!

So far the majority of people I’ve taught and have been baptized are Colombianos. They are awesome!! So humble and meek. So cheerful and positive despite all the trials and disadvantages they face in their country and en Chile. Many come here for 3-4 years to send money to their kids and wives in Colombia.

Libardo is amazing!! I love him so much. He is going to be a great leader in the church. We taught him the plan of salvation and when he heard that there are missionaries in the spirit world teaching people (like many of his family members that have been killed) and that he can go to the temple and save them, he almost began crying and told us, “I never knew that! I thought they were lost forever. I need to go to the temple. I need to save my family.” He just got baptized and is already preparing to go to the temple in a year. I’ve never felt so happy to see someone come out of the water. I wish you guys could meet him. And it was awesome because his cousin is a convert of 11 months and had the opportunity to baptize him and give him the Espiritu Santo (Holy Ghost). We are working with his brother and the brothers of his cousin Jorge. (They are the good times family).

Libardo after his lesson on the Plan of Salvation

Libardo and his cousin, Jorge

Luis Edwardo received the priesthood too yesterday! He also is amazing. Got baptized without the support of anyone from his family and yet he has changed soo much. He now is preparing to go on a mission and to the temple. He is such a grande ejemplo (large example). He completely changed his life around when he heard the message of the Restoration and is still facing a lot of problems with his family but he is pushing through and learning little by little, growing precept for precept. I love him too.

Ahhh I am sooo happy!

I feel like I’m going to a new area in two weeks when we have transfers. It is going to be so hard to leave Punta Arenas. I feel like here in Punta Arenas, I became a woman. I have gone through some of the darkest moments in my mission and in my life here in Punta Arenas but I have also gone through the happiest most spiritual moments in my life. I feel like this verse in alma 28 :14 y asi vemos el gran llamamiento de diligencia a los hombres para obrar en las viñas del señor, y asi vemos el gran motivo del dolor, como tambien del gozo.

(And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing--sorrow because of death and destruction among men and joy because of the light of Christ unto life.) 

tengan una buena semana! les amo!

¡HURRAH POR ISRAEL!

It's Halloween?

Hola familia! 

First and for most, I want to say FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS A MI PAPI!! Dad I love you so much. You are my hero. I am so blessed to have a father like you. Honestly, I knew I was blessed before my mission, but now being here and seeing how other people are "fathers" or hearing the past experiences of comps, members, and investigadores sobre (on) their fathers, I am eternally grateful that you are my daddy. I love you so much and am trying every day to make you and mom proud. I wear my name tag proud. I represent my family bloodline and my Godly bloodline. Words cannot express the gratitude that I have for you. For everything that you have sacrificed so that my brothers, mom and I can be happy. Everything that you have given up so we can feel loved and wanted. You are an example to them all. Thank you for your service and THANK YOU for your example. I don’t know where I would be in the Gospel if it wasn’t for your and mom’s diligence in doing FHE (Family Home Evening) and standing firm in discipline love and obey with exactitude the standards of the Gospel. Thank you for your example and for teaching me always and showing me by your faith and example that the Gospel is true and that God answers prayers. I love you so much and cannot wait to see you again and hear your voice. I love you.

This week was awesome! We worked a lot! Walked a lot! Taught a lot! On Saturday Liset, my investigadora from Rio de la Mano got baptized!! It was awesome!! I am so proud of her. She is such an example of perseverance. All of her family is against it, they do not like the "Mormons" but she knows what she has felt and cannot deny it. I have been meeting some amazing people here like her that are true followers of Jesus Christ. 

Sooo it’s halloween today... haha i think it’s more of a North American holiday because there’s nothing going on here... it’s weird. 

And no se porque (I don’t know why), but on Saturday, I was doing my personal study and looked at my clock and saw that it was Saturday. Then all of the sudden, I got tons of flash backs of camping trips, back packing, races, birthday parties, going to the beach, watching cartoons... everything we used to do on Saturdays "family days" I started wondering what you guys were doing and what you had planned for the Saturday that passed. Thank you mom and dad for never putting us in sports so we could enjoy this time that we have as a family. I miss you guys a lot. And hope you are enjoying life as it comes. 

The family Treihuel invited us over for lunch today. They are awesome. I love them so much. They are my Chilean parents. They have been there for me for everything. I can’t tell you know many times hna Elizabet has wiped tears from my face and hno Danny has lifted up my tired head, both with a smile and a firm embrace. Today was no exception either. Hno Danny gave me a blessing. It was awesome. And another testimony that the blessings really come from Padre Celestial. In it he told me that I need not fear, it is in the hands of the Lord. And during this time to embrace my Savior with a humble heart. I need to remember the covenants of the temple and (this was awesome) remember the promises in my patriarchal blessing—they were given for this time. AND "Padre Celestial quiere que sepas que siempre tienes un angel a su lado, caminando contigo" Heavenly Father wants you to know that you always have an angel by your side, walking with you.

They don’t know about Russell. 

les quiero muchìsimo!

Weed central. All of Punta looks like this

Liset and I

the newest member of la iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias

My Chilean Family

Sunday pancakes! first time in 10 monthes! ·tradiciones

Summer's Coming!

Hola Familia!

So mom and dad, the leadership conference was super good. It was awesome, one because I got to see hna Braithwaite again (my mama). Two, I got to see hna Hoskins for the first time since I left the CCM (my comp in the Mexico City Missionary Training Center). And three, because I learned a lot.

The first half we talked a lot about planning and the importance of doing nightly planning and weekly planning, but not just planning to plan, planning with the spirit. Hna Valle and I have had some very spiritual moments during our planning that we both felt guided to pass by for someone (visit someone).

Then we talked about the new Christmas video that the Church is going to put out and practiced all the different ways we can contact people with the theme "ilumine al mundo" (enlighten the world). Then president spoke about the rules that he’s thinking about changing and we had a council about the pros and cons of changing tal reglas. He is a great man. I can feel the love and worry that he has for all of us. His wife also is amazing. I want to marry a man worthy of being a mission presidente. 

I’m seeing all the emails that you are sending me right now and it breaks my heart, I want to talk to you so badly, but one of the new rules president just made is that we can no longer talk and chat to friends and family on Mondays over email. If someone sends a reply to us, we cannot reply back. I love you guys! Just know that I want to talk so much, I need to talk, I want to hear you, but I testify that sacrifice brings forth blessings. Obedience is the first covenant we make in the temple and as a missionary, one of the ways that I find joy is through obedience. I love you so much, but we´ll be talking back and forth at Christmas. We can no longer have conversations over emails on Mondays... :´( 

We had stake conference this week back in Punta, which meant that I could see all the members from Rio de la Mano (my last area). I love them so much!! They are part of my family. Haha the members here in Fitz Roy don’t feed us nearly as much as los de Rio so I’ve been losing weight!! It’s great haha but funny because hna Elizabet, Marcela and Anto all were every concerned that I "wasn’t eating enough." They took my agenda and all wrote in their numbers and said to call if I ever need food or lunch. Then today, we stopped by where Alejandro works and he gave me a gift. It was a huge bag of noodles and tomato sauce and other fast lunch foods... I love them so much. 

I know this gospel is true. I love serving the Lord. I love being obedient. We taught, along with the zone leaders, a zone meeting. hna Valle and I taught for about 30 minutes about the importance of enjoying your mission and enjoying the work and how to find joy and happiness every day.

How do you enjoy your days? What are you doing every day to become the person the Lord wants you to be? What brings happiness to your life?

I love you all! Have a great week! Continue serving, inviting and loving. Keep helping the missionaries and love strengthen the new converts. All our work is in vain if we don’t have strong members that befriend the converts and help them adapt to their new life. Invite them over for dinner, FHE, love them and teach them.

les amo!

2 of my favorite people here in Punta... hna Elizabet y hno Daniel

the zone after stake conf

las hnas

mi hija

Luis Edwardo our new convert. He got baptised last week

I Love Traveling

hola familia!

Today I am writing in a little ciber in downtown Osorno. We have a conference with all the zone and hna leaders in the mission tomorrow with Pres. Isom. Should be fun!

We left Punta today at 10 in the morning and landed in Puerto Montt at 3, then took a bus to Osorno and arrived at 6 pm. My tush hurts.

And I’m having culture shock. I’ve been in Punta for about 5 months now and have completely forgotten that Punta is its own world. Haha I feel like I’m just arriving in Chile again. The sun is actually hot and there is no Antarctic wind. It’s the beginning of summer and I’m actually sweating! I’m not freezing cold in a cardigan and a shirt!

It’s really interesting and sad, I love Punta Arenas but it is hard. The people are every different than up north. Everyone here (up north) has energy. There are kids playing in the streets, the sun is out and I feel so happy and content. Punta has the highest suicidal rates in Chile... and being up here now for the 4 hours since I’ve arrived I feel so much different and better. It’s weird because it’s like I had a weight that I never realized I was carrying. I think I might suffer a little bit from seasonal depression... 

But on a happy note... mom, to answer your questions... I am hna leader with the beautiful hna Valle de honduras-Washington State. We are hna leaders over all the hermanas in Punta Arenas which happens to only be four. I did my first entercambio (trade-offs or exchanges) last week with hna Delmas de Brazil. She’s awesome. It’s really cool being able to help the hnas and serve other missionaries in this way. I think that was all your questions...

Dude being hna leader is fun but also sad because you hear about drama now from what’s going on in other areas. 

On Saturday we had the baptism of Luis Edwardo. It was scheduled for nine pm because he worked until 8:30 and then his boss made him stay later so we were all in the capilla (chapel) waiting for him for about an hour. The baptism started at 10:15 and went until about 11:45 pm. But it was awesome. He’s a good kid and has changed a lot to get to this point. He made me so happy on our last lesson with him when we talked about missionary work and he said he will start thinking about going on a mission! 

It’s been kind of a de ja vu moment today because I went through all the terminals and places that I went through 10 months ago when I started my mission. Time flies so fast. I’ve been thinking a lot about the person I’ve become and my goals for the future.

There are so many things I’ve learned through failure, experience, and patience. I never would have imagined everything I’ve seen, felt, heard and experienced. 10 months ago I was a teenager, ready for adventure and thought I knew what I wanted in the future. Now, I am an adult. I am wiser, happier, kinder and friendlier. I know my faults, I know what I lack, but I am working to change.

10 months ago I knew I lacked things but I couldn’t tell you what. Now I know and now I know what I need to do to continue to grow, continue to learn. 10 months ago I wanted to be a consecrated missionary. Now I know how to be. 10 months ago I believed in Christ. Now I believe Christ. 

And now I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I think I am just going to pull a “sons of Mosiah” and see y’all in 14 years! Jaja

Love you all so much!! Don’t lose your smile. Don’t lose your laugh. Don’t stop being you. You are great. You are great.

lLes quiero muchisimo! Jaja es dificil escribir en Ingles! Mi mente no funciona. bueno... iba a enviar fotos pero la hna Valle justo enchufo su camera y un virus entro y ahora no tiene sus fotos... entonces no enviare fotos esta semana. Lo siento. Les quiero mucho y por favor aprenden español porque no habla ingles jaja (I love you all very much! Haha, it's hard to write in English! My mind doesn't work like that. Well, I'd send photos but Sister Valle plugged in her camera and it has a virus and now there are no photos...so I won't send photos this week. Sorry. I love you all a lot and please learn Spanish because I don't speak English haha.)

Haha dude all I want for my birthday is someone that I know, a friend neighbor, family member to be baptized. I don’t want presents. I want you guys to help the missionaries out. I want you guys to visit the less actives. I want you guys to invite the missionaries and their investigadores over for noches de hogares (family home evening) I want you to befriend their investigators!

Jaja and remember the American girl we were teaching who works as a guide in Punta Arenas? We aren’t teaching her anymore because she is now working for the next 4 months on a guiding ship that goes to Antarctica... #dreamjob

les amo! bestios

Hey, what are the symptoms of pink eye? I think I have pink eye…

So Much Good

My return date: last day in the field June 14, June 15 in the Temple de Santiago, and I think I’ll be home june 16. Exactly 18 months.

Mom told me that June 16 is Kyle’s graduation hahaha guess I’ll have to extend... haha I’m not letting him have any glory... I left on his birthday and now I’m coming home on his graduation!

Hola familia!

haha yeah Chile is fun because we have like 3 holidays every month where all the stores and everything closes down... that’s what happened yesterday...  hahaha

I love you all so much!! And it brings me so much joy to hear your stories of what has passed and what you are learning in your scripture studies and how you are able to share your testimonies with others.

I just want to let you know that I am in the coolest named ward in the world. The Fitz Roy ward. Yeah baby! And I have the best comp ever. She is amazing and a great missionary. We’ve only been together for just under a week and already have witnessed so many Milagros (miracles). The work here is great, just like in Rio de la Mano. The area is a little poorer than Rio de la Mano. I love it. The people are so humble.

We are teaching a huge familia of 8 brothers and a sister ages 19 to 35 from Colombia Buenaventura. Haha I feel like I am in an episode of the t.v. show "Good Times." Literally. Hahaha it’s the best. I’ll send a pic next week. They are all progressing slowly because we teach them all together and someone makes a joke and then the lesson is lost. Also, most of them don’t know how to read or they read very slowly.

We have decided that we are going to start teaching them individually because they all have different doubts and needs. They make me laugh... ahhh I love big families like that. You can just feel the love they have for each other.

I admire so much the Colombians here. They are amazing people. All of them have their girlfriends and kids in Colombia and are working here to send money to them to support them. Next week I’ll tell you more about the family. I love and respect all of the Colombians here in Punta. They have sacrificed so much. They are such amazing people. 

Something funny... we were teaching Luis Edwardo, who is getting baptized this Saturday, the Word of Wisdom and read the part that says that we should avoid all types of things that cause addiction. He got all serious and asked very hesitantly, “What’s the church’s standpoint on video games?” Hahahahahaha we assured him that he can still play, just moderation in all things. haha

Also, we knocked on a door and a woman let us in. We shared a small thought with her and then she began to tell us that we were blind and misguided and began to laugh at us. She said some very insulting things to us. I have never felt such power to stand up with my comp and testify that I do know that Jose Smith was a prophet and God does speak to men today and that la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de Los Ultimos Dias es el reino de Dios en la tierra (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on the earth). The spirit was so strong. We felt like Alma and Amulek with Zeezrom (Alma 10-13). It was awesome.

Next P day I’ll be writing late on Tuesday because we have to fly to Osorno for a leader’s conference. Kind of lame that I’ll be spending a P day on a plane, but awesome because I’ll be able to see hna Braithwaite again for the last time in the mission! This is her last transfer.

Love you all!!

Hope all is well, hope of Israel!

¡hurrah por Israel!

Una cosita mas...just want to tell you how much I love being a missionary!!! I am soo happy and full. I love this Gospel. I love my Savior. I love my mission. It is the best decision EVER!!!

Miguel- we found him while he was working in his auto shop. He has a bap date for 22 de octubre. He is awesome and loves reading the Book of Mormon. The first chapter he ever read was Alma 32 and when we asked him what he thought of the chapter, he said, "It's true. It's all true." 

Alejandro y Anto. #coupleoftheyear

Questions and Answers

 hola familia!

Sooo.... what did you think about conference?? Sooo awesome! We watched it in the stake center in Punta. The Women’s and first session wasn’t working in English so we watched it in Spanish. During the two hour layover, some young men got working on it and we were able to figure it all out so we were able to watch the rest in English. For the last session we had two investigadores come so I watched it in Spanish with them in the Spanish room. It is very interesting.

One of my favorite Bednar talks is about writing on your small plates. He describes how Nephi had two sets of plates and on the large plates he wrote the history of his people (hearing what the speaker says and taking notes of the history of the talk). On the small plates, Nephi wrote about the revelations that he received and the spiritual history of his people (hearing what the Spirit says and taking notes on the personal revelation you receive). During the English sessions that I watched, I fell into the bad habit of writing on my large plates. But during the Spanish session, I was able to receive the encouragement and revelations that I needed to write in my small plates.

Which plates did you write in for conference? If you just have the history of who said what, I encourage you to re-watch it over the course of the week and begin to write in your small plates, thus allowing the spirit help you receive the revelation that you need. If you wrote in your small plates, I applaud you, now use the revelation you received and do it. Change, act. I invite all of you to ACT and REMEMBER. We now have the most recent words of God for the next 6 months. Padre Celestial literally just spoke to us through His anointed servants. Now be like Nephi and go and do. 

Also, I just want all of you to know that I love and sustain President Thomas S. Monson as prophet, seer and revelator. I love and sustain the twelve apostles as prophets, seers and revelators. Jesus Christ is guiding this church through His servant Pres. Monson. I SUSTAIN HIM! How blessed we are to have a living prophet of God. How blessed we are to live in a time were we know WHY we are here WHERE we are going and WHERE we came from. How blessed we are to know that God speaks to His children. 

How do you show gratitude?

I don’t know if you noticed one of the themes of conference... MISSIONARY WORK, sharing loving and testifying. I think that is a great way to show gratitude, by sharing what you have, the words of eternal life, happiness that lasts forever, with your family neighbors, friends, and brothers and sisters. Wherever you are. I promise you that there is someone who needs the Gospel. NOW IS THAT TIME THAT THE MEMBERS AND MISSIONARIES WORK TOGETHER. NOW!!! 

This Wed we have cambios! Hna Cookson has finished her training. It was an absolute pleasure training her. With all the good and bad times, I know I am changing for the better. I am more confident in myself and I love my Savior. 

I am getting transferred to right across the street literally. To the sector that borders Rio de la Mano (my old sector), Fitz Roy. And, I accepted another assignment from president. I’ve been called as Hermana leader with my companion, hna Valle. We have 4 hermanas. Not going to lie, I’m a little nervous, but super excited because now I will also get the opportunity to serve the other hnas and help them reach their potential. I know that God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called. 

mom, your questions:

1. We met our new mission president last week, Pres and Hna Isom. They are sooo awesome!! I love them and could feel the love that they have for me the moment we met. Haha it was funny because Hna Isom read my name and the first thing she said was, “You have a blog!! When Pres. Isom got interviewed, we started looking for missionaries that were serving there and when we walked out of President Bednar’s office after being set apart, you were the only missionary that we knew existed in our mission.” #thanksmom. (#Thanks Grandma for talking mom into making a blog) They are awesome.

2. We had 6 investigators in conference and they all loved it. Just about all of them said that they went in with a question and left with so many answers. 

3. I’ll send the pics of our investigadores

Hope this will hold you over until next week! I love you all so much! Les quiero.

The Church is true. Oh, and something to ponder:

“Too many of us are active in the church but inactive in the gospel. Are you foolish or wise? Do you have oil for your lamp? Are you prepared for the long dark night, awaiting the Bridegroom? Because He is coming, whether you are prepared or not.”

HURRAH POR ISRAEL 

Nachito. He's Veronica's 6-year-old son

Veronica

I'm gonna miss these guys!

Our zone...The hermana in the burgundy cardigan is my new comp!

Last pic with Presidente Obeso

Last pic with Hermana Obeso

General Conference!

las hermanas