Hermana Hess en Chile: Tantos Milagros (So Many Miracles)

Hola hola Familia!

Mom, to answer your questions: with the rama (branch), we are just doing our part, fasting, praying and working, and just waiting for them to want to become a ward…gotta love the gift of agency…our investigators with fecha (a date to be baptized) haven’t been completing their compromisos (commitments), so…we are studying Preach My Gospel (the missionary teaching book) Chapt. 11 for companion study this week (“How Do I Help People Make and Keep Commitments.”)

Fleas fleas fleas…the problem is walking because it is dirt trails and bush whacking, so…sufferer con gozo! (suffer with joy). The weather has been freezing and raining then hot and humid the next day…fall weather, but for winter yes, I will need heavy duty leggings. They don’t sell great clothes here, so please send me leggings J

The food is oil and grease…yum! They fry everything and put oil for salad dressings and other dressings…please send some veggies!

There were two days this week that were amazing!! Milagro (miracle) after milagro!

MIERCOLES (Wednesday)

We had a lesson with a woman. She works all day, every day, so we teach her in her clothes store. Milagro (miracle)—no one came in the 45 minutes we were teaching her. The Spirit was really strong. The week before, I felt prompted to tell her about Russell and how I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation. Then on Miercoles (Wednesday), she told us that seven years ago her brother was shot and she turned to me and painfully asked how I found relief and acceptance with Russell. I could see the pain and grief in her eyes and wanted so badly to tell her everything that helped. It started out rocky, but I just spoke from my heart, because I wanted so badly to help her. I testified of the power that comes from the Book of Mormon, and attending Church, I testified of the Atonement and Christ’s love for us. The Spirit was so strong. After we left, I felt great, but felt that she might not have understood me, because I hadn’t focused at all on my Spanish. I was sure I sounded so bad. Then Hermana Braithwaite turned to me and told me that that was amazing and I spoke almost perfect Spanish when I was talking to Angela. Talk about the gift of tongues!

JUEVES (Thursday)

Today was a day of lateness—which is not good! We were late to every cita (appointment) because of a late bus from Paillaco (we had district meeting), and then we had to get on another bus in Futrono to go to Llifen which is part of our sector about 30 minutes away and that bus was late too. BUT the Lord works in mysterious ways. Because we were late to cita one, the girl’s mom was there and we showed a video that softened the mother’s heart and she talked to us. She shared with us her experience with prayer (in the last cita, the mom made it really clear that she hated us). Because of that, we were late to cita 2. We helped her take paint off her house for an hour and then taught her. Because we were late we were there when her boyfriend came home and we got to meet and teach him as well—nuevo (new) investigator! Then, we were walking to the bus stop to go home, and we stopped to talk to a woman and her daughters. When we told her we are also known as the Mormons, her eyes got big and she said that she had been looking for us for 20 years! She started taking the lessons as a teen but the people she was living with wouldn’t let her continue. Then she lost track of the missionaries and has been looking for them ever since! If we had been on time, we would have never seen her. Hahaha, now the fun part! By that time it was 7:45 pm. The last bus left for Futrono at 7…the members that do have cars (who could pick us up) were at work in the city, which meant we were about 20 miles away from our home. Time to make like the pioneers and walk! We got about 3 miles in when a bus, A BUS, came around the bend!! We were able to get on and ride the 18 or so miles to home. The Lord is mindful of all of us.

Other cool things:

We had a broadcast for all missionaries in Chile, Argentina, Paraguay y Uruguay. Elder Bednar spoke for three hours. It was amazing.

We have finally become a stake!! AND you know why? Because they only build temples where there are stakes! There have been a few apostles visiting sur de Chile (Southern Chile) to look for land. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A TEMPLE EN SUR DE CHILE IN THE COMING YEARS!!!!
Anyways...I love you all. Keep doing what's right. The church is true, read your scriptures.