Week 58 (Rancagua, Zona Tupahue 1 [Villa el Sol] w/ Hna Huamán)

AHHHH NO TENGO TIEMPO PARA NAAADAAAAAA
[Ahhh, I don't have time for anything]

OK! HI! 

I'm a little more time crunched now because I´ve got to write a little more to the Pres. every week about how training is going and about how the sisters in the zone are doing. hehe

My new companion´s name in Hna Huamán (wah-MAN) she is from Lima, Peru. (<- yay! I don't have to speak English)  :) She is a convert of 4 years AND (fun fact:) before getting baptized she was a (drum roll please).... Catholic NUN!  That´s right, NUN! haha  She was a Nun for about a year and 8 months, then her family came and bailed her out and she started listening to the missionaries with her aunt´s family (who are members) and, long story short, HERE SHE IS!!!!! :)

We both have been studying like mad and learning lots, practicing LOTS AND LOTS, and doing all the other normal missionary type things. :)  My poor poor compi got fleas in her bed the second night. From one day to the next fall arrived and she isn´t accustomed to ANY form of cold, so we pulled out some old blankets that we had in the closet to help her keep warm, the next morning she woke up half eaten alive!  Poor thing was scratching all day so we gave her all the stuff we had for insect bites, that numbing first aid spray, hydrocortisone cream, EVERYTHING! haha and we washed all her blankets and sheets immediately and vacuumed her mattress and all the like (FULL flea killing/attack time). We´re still not sure if we killed them all or not because she somehow woke up with a couple more bites the next day, and then DURING the day she also got a few more, but we did buy some raid today and are going to do a second round of flea attack.  LUCKILY, I haven´t had any problems.  My poor greenie companion got ALL the bad luck! But I´ve been trying to help her all I can; encourage her all I can, and love her all I can. She´s great! :)

Tomorrow I´ve got my first mission leadership council, where all the Zone Leaders and coordinating sisters meet with the Pres and the AP's.  I´m actually really excited.  Hna Berbert told me that they are really special/spiritual.  

BTW, I was able to see her on Monday night when we dropped Hna Ruis off at the mission home who went home with that group, she was outside and I was able to talk to her for a little bit and wish her luck in her new mission. That girl is so awesome and so tough! Love her!  Hna Tidwell and I are the only two sister missionaries left from MY MTC group that came from the mission Concepcion.

Another BTW, Hna Tidwell is a coordinadora as well so I will get to see her tomorrow! YAYYYY!!! :) (for those who don't know or don't remember, Hna Tidwell was my comp in the MTC).

Parentals, have I mentioned how much I LOVE and appreciate you?  Your letters and advice were EXACTLY what I needed. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I LOVE YOU! keep being awesome example you are for me! DAVIS STYLE!!!! :D :D 

SO are you excited for General Conference or WHAT???!!!!? I SURE AM!!! ¡Estoy TAN animada que es posible que me haga pis encima! no need to translate that, dad. LOL 

Week 57 (Rancagua, Zona Tupahue 1 [Villa el Sol] w/ Hna Rojas)

¡¡¡¡¡¡VOY A ENTRENAR!!!!!!!!

¡NO LO PUEDO CREER! VOY A ENTRENAR! VOY A MORIR, PERO ESTA BIEN PORQUE IGUAL ESTOY SUPER ANIMADA! VOY A APRENDER MUCHISIMO! AY NO LO PUEDO CREER! 

[I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!  I AM GOING TO BE TRAINING!  I'M GOING TO DIE, BUT THAT'S OK BECAUSE AT THE SAME TIME I'M SUPER EXCITED!  I AM GOING TO LEARN SO MUCH!  WOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!]

So, yah!  I'm really excited and REALLY nervous! but the Lord always knows what He´s doing right? :)  

I have to be in the mission home tomorrow at 9:30 to have a little training meeting thing and then meet my trainee! QUE NERVIOSSSSSS haha...  I heard from one of the sisters who went to the temple this week (the temple is right next to the Mission Training Center) and who met the sisters that are coming to our mission, that like all of them are gringas...I'm not sure how I feel about that! lol [up to this point, Ynez has not had a single English speaking companion] ...all I know is that everything is going to be great! :) and according to God's will...and you know what? that's totally ok with me! :) 

I'm also a little bit nervous right now because I just saw that I recieved a group message from the mission President that he sent yesterday that started out with, "Estoy manando este mensaje a todas las coordinadoras esta semana."... or in English, "I'm sending this message to all the Coordinators (or the leaders among the sister missionaries) this week.".......... So I kind of just sat there staring at the screen for a sec, I'm still thinking it might have been a mistake because as of yet nobody has called to inform me that I've been called as a Coordinadora... and I also called the Zone Leaders to ask if they knew anything about it, but they said that they hadn't any idea, BUT that if I'm not the Coordinadora, then we don't have one in our Zone because it didn't show up on the sheet of transfers.  They said they were going to call the Assistants to the President and get back to me, but I'm still thinking this is a false alarm. haha  But be how it be, like Nephi, "I will go and do."

ALSO, the Assistants called yesterday to let me know that even though I'm not changing sectors, I have to change houses.  My new comp and I are going to live with the Sisters in the sector Recreo, which is next door, and where they live is right on the limit of our two sectors, so it shouldn't be too different, we just have to move alllll the stuff in the house over there! haha minus the beds, thank goodness! and I'm actually really excited to live with 4 sisters in the house again :) 

This has been a good week though!  We tried a new tactic with the Ramos family to try to catch them at home and with a sec to listen to us. We started passing by at night when we were near, and we left the video of the Restoration with them to see as a family. Finally, we caught them at home one night but the husband was busy at the moment, so we asked if we could pass by in a half hour and the mom said yes, so we did and we were able to teach them the Plan of Salvation (with a focus on eternal families) with a member present, and it went really well!  And what was really cool is that it seems like the Mom was really interested, like taking more interest now, when she was the one that was less interested.  We committed them to come to church the next day but they said they couldn't due to some commitments they already had, BUT that they would plan around it so that this next Sunday they can come! :D AND at the end of the lesson, after committing them to come to church THEY asked US when we were coming to visit them again. It was awesome!!!! :) 

I'm sad Hermana Rojas is leaving me, but we had a really great time together, working hard!  She is an awesome missionary.  She is off to spend her last transfer in San Fernando.  It's CRAZY how time flies, I feel like it was just 2 months ago that she was finishing MY training. 

Well fam bam, love you lots! it makes me so happy to hear that you are all anxiously engaged in serving and doing what the Lord would have you do! You are my heroes! Love you tons and tons! miss you tons too! take good care! and buy that silly puppy a muzzle or something! lol
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Hna Davis

 

[ PS from parents: We received an email from the Mission President which confirmed that she was called as a "Coordinadora".  Here are excerpts from the letter:

"Brother and Sister Davis-first, please accept our appreciation for sending such a wonderful young woman to our mission.  Hermana Davis is an exceptional missionary and has served faithfully in every assignment she has been given.  This past week she was given two new assignments-the first as a trainer for Hermana Houman and the second to be a coordinadora to help train other sister missionaries.  She will be outstanding in both.   Many times I wish parents could see their sons or daughters in action here in the mission as they would be most proud of how they handle their lives as representatives of the Savior.

We are fine with you coming and picking up Hermana Davis.  I will call you in the next few days when time permits and time zones coincide to discuss the particulars.

Her release date is calculated by adding 18 months to her MTC entry date and then adjusting it to the nearest scheduled transfer date (forward or back) which will be August 18th.

Thanks again for your support for Hermana Davis and for this great work.

Warmest Regards,
Presidente Warne
Mision Chile Rancagua" ]

Week 56 (Rancagua, Zona Tupahue 1 [Villa el Sol] w/ Hna Rojas)

Mi querida familia,

Villa el Sol is doing well. This week we had a BUNCH of lessons with less actives, which was good! I really enjoy working with less actives. Recently we have put a bigger focus on reading the Book of Mormon with all our people, less actives, recent converts, and investigators, so that they can gain, regain, and/or strengthen their testimonies. It has been great watching them learning on their OWN from the Book of Mormon and seeing their interest spark and grow as they read it more diligently. I hope you all are reading and STUDYING the Book of Mormon regularly and, like Nephi, LIKENING it to yourself. The BoM is AWESOME and it will help you find answers/guidance for whatever trials or needs you have day by day.  Try it! :)

This week we also did a lot of exhorting to keep the commandments and "preaching repentance" to some less actives and recent converts who are wandering right now, trying to do the best we can and follow the Spirit´s guide to find the balance between "dando palo" (a Chilean phrase for reprimanding) and also teaching of the great love the Savior has for each one of them, and that just for that reason He is always inviting or commanding us to repent and come unto Him.  It´s amazing to me having the opportunity to feel even the smallest part of the great love that the Lord has for each one of us and beginning to understand why He is so strong worded in the scriptures, when he talks through his prophets to call His people to repentance; understanding that it´s just because He LOVES us so much and wants us to learn and understand what we MUST do to be able to return to His presence.  It´s also amazing seeing the effect that these words in the scriptures can have on people.

This week we weren't able to see the Ramos family because when we went to their house (with a member couple that was accompanying us), only the wife was there, her husband got called to work so she was alone and had to attend the botillería that they run as a family. The cool thing was that turns out that the family we had planned to bring (and that was with us) actually knew her and her husband from before because their kids were in the same grade growing up. They are an awesome family and so willing and eager to help us work with Ramos´s.  In their family they have 3 kids, their oldest is a girl, middle boy, and youngest girl.  Their oldest 2 went on missions, one is now married (in the temple) and waiting for their baby to be born. The youngest of their kids is named Melissa, she is one of the less actives we have been working with, she is 16 and has a baby that´s a little less than a year and a half old.  With all the people we have to work with, I think she´s the one that I´ve been worrying/thinking about most, sometimes a lay awake thinking about what to do with her and as a consequence I had a dream with her and her family in it three nights in a row this week! It was kind of ridiculous hahaha.  She is a tough one, not because she´s not willing to listen to us, just because she doesn´t take much interest.  She gets distracted easily, doesn't have a testimony and therefore, doesn´t understand the importance of the gospel in her life.  So we have been trying to think of what we can do to help hook her in and get her interested enough to start ACTING and working for her own testimony. 

A little example of how she is (Mom this will remind you a lot of teaching seminary with some of your students)

We are reading Alma 36 when Alma the younger is telling about his conversion experience to his son Helaman, and at one point he expresses that when he was unconscious for three days he has no control or power to move his limbs, etc. and Melissa stops reading and looks up at me all surprised and asks, "Does that mean he couldnt go to the bathroom???!" It was one of those shaking- my-head-laughing-with-my-face-in-my-hands moment, like "I cant believe that even occurred to you!" 

Love you lots and lots! TAKE CARE. Give lots of snuggles to my puppy for me ;)

Hna Davis

Week 55 (Rancagua, Zona Tupahue 1 w/ Hna Rojas)

Hello my beautiful, BUSY family! How are you?

Another good week in Villa el Sol. This week we were able to teach the Ramos family again, but this time only the parents were there. They are SUPER receptive and receptive to the Spirit. This week we taught them about the Book of Mormon and invited them to read, ponder, and pray to know if it's true, and they accepted with all "animo"[enthusiasm].  They always have super great questions and are very attentive in the lessons, it´s great!

Another couple we have been working with lately is José and Alejandra. Last week we were able to find them again after they had left for vacations for a long time. We taught them about the restauration, and then this week we taught José (because Alejandra had to work) about the Book of Mormon, he is really prepared to recieve the Gospel.  He, too, has some really awesome questions that just help the lessons along!  He was reading the Book of Mormon before they left for vacations and got to 1 Nephi 10. But he also expressed to us that it´s hard for him to undrstand and read the Book of Mormon because it´s not like a typical story book, and it has a lot of unfamiliar words and it´s in the vosotros form [an old form of Spanish not used in So. America]. We took the time to read a chapter with him and explain all the frases and teach him how to use the Guia para el estudio de las escrituras in back (like the Bible dictionary) and the foot notes and everything. Another thing that was really cool is that Evelyn, the member that was accompanying us shared her testimony about the Book of Mormon, which is amazing and beautiful; she was born with slight learning problems, she hardly talked as a kid and doctors told her parents that she would never learn to read, but when she got to the right age she had a burning desire to go on a mission. Her parents prayed about it and, despite the fact that she couldnt read, felt like that was what the Lord wanted. So, long story short, she went on a mission (Argentina) and learned to read on her mission by reading in the Book of Mormon. She also shared her testimony about how we can always find the guidance, comfort, etc that we need when we study the BoM and shared an experience of when she recieved the revelation she needed in a crucial moment in a verse in the Book of Mormon. ... THEN when we were reading 1 Nephi 10 with José we got to verse 19 where it says, (in spanish) "Porque el que con diligencia busca, hallará; y los misterios de Dios le serán discubiertos por el poder del Espíritu Santo, lo mismo como en tiempos pasados como en los venideros, por tanto la vía del Señor es un giro eterno." [For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old as in times in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.]  José was like Woah! That just happened to me like Evelyn explained! that verse really got to me/touched my heart! That´s so cool!   Hahaha and he kinda just sat there pondering. So with that we challenged him to start reading the  BoM again AND to pray and ask God of it´s truth. It was a cool lesson!

BTW, did you know that the Book of Mormon is AWESOME!!!! I love it soooo much! I tell all our investigators, converts,and less actives that it has really become my best friend. I really feel so thankful for the oportunity to read it/study it/"feast upon" it EVERYDAY!   Right now I´m reading in Alma 50 (por allí) and it´s like every chapter (even the war chapters) come to life like never before! Who needs to watch a movie/TV when you´ve got action stories and "super" heroes in the Book of Mormon???  Us missionaries sure don´t! hahaha  I love it.

Well fambam, stay strong, y recuerden, tras mucha tribulacion vienen las bendiciones. LES AMO MUCHIIIIIIIISIMO! Portense bien! [After much tribulation comes the blessings.  I LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH!  Be good!]  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Your favorite missionary in Chile,

Hna Davis

Week 54 (Rancagua, Zona Tupahue 1 w/ Hna Rojas) ...This is the letter that was supposed to be sent on Mar 3

FAMBAMILY,

It's been another great week here in Villa el Sol. 

We had divisions AGAIN this week haha so I got to go to the barrioTupahue and work in their sector for a day with Hermana Meeks from Oceanside, CA. She's awesome, love her! 

This week our schedule got mixed around just a little bit because, instead of having our zone/district meeting on Wednesday, we had it on Thursday. I guess President wanted to give the Zone Leaders and Cordinadoras more time to prepare their presentations because they came from a super long training meeting that came from Pres [who had just come from another super long training meeting (8hours!) with Elder Ballard and some members of the seventy].  Pretty much the whole theme of the conference they had was D&C 88:73 [Hastening missionary work].  They touched a LOT of topics and gave us a ton of great help and tips, it was awesome!  The spirit was super strong and we really could feel the URGENCY in the work, and I loved it!  One of the biggest topics they hit was about talking with EVERYONE!  So my comp and I have been working a lot harder in being able to talk with everyone.  It's been really cool and we've already had lots of mini cool experiences. 

Another topic they talked about was consecrating ourselves as missionaries.  It was awesome and obviously EXACTLY what we needed to hear and the exact direction that we needed to take. We are super amped and excited to kick it up a notch HIGHER and keep working. :) :) :)

This week the only day we taught Karina was the day I was in Tupahue, but my comp said it went really well, but once again she went to Santiago for the weekend.  But we were able to talk to the dad, Sergio, of the Ramos family and he said that they had read the intro to the BoM and that he is excited for us to come by again to teach the family. He even told us that their daughter that hadn't wanted to participate in the lesson (but then came down stairs at the very end) had also read it!  SO, that was pretty cool!  We are now just waiting for his wife and kids to come back from Val Paraíso so we can teach them again. We have been finding other people as well here and there.   For example, we ran into some investigators Hna Rojas taught with her other companions that went on vacations for like a month, and they too are super great!

Our new ward mission leader is fantastic and has sooooo much enthusiasm for the work! He has already introduced us to a less active member, we had a lesson with him and Hno Gutierrez this past Wed and then the less active came to church with his wife this Sunday!  It was way awsome!  He also has ideas and everything for activities going!  It's fantastic! :)

OH! something I've been forgetting to tell you... SO... I'm in Rancagua, super close to the office... in fact, we go there every Wednesday for our district meetings... SOOOOO if you were just HAPPENING to want to send me packages, that would TOTALLY be ok with me, I wouldn't EVEN complain about it because I'd surely recieve them right when they got here... AND it just so happens that I'm in need of some crystal light and dried mangoes... you know ... JUST IN CASE you were WANTING to send me something... OR LETTERS!!!! :)

Christ is coming soon, prepare yourself!

Week 53 (Rancagua, Zona Tupahue 1 w/ Hna Rojas)

For reasons unknown, no letter/email was received from Hermana Davis this week.