Week 13 (Lontué w/ Hmna. Rojas)

This has been quite a big week! A lot of big big changes and a LOT of adjusting.  My new companion is great! She is from Peru, and she recently arrived from her house, 20 days ago. When she had about 6 months in the mission she fell and hurt her knee and had to go home for surgery and recovery for nine months. She is now back and ready to go!  She doesn't speak any English, but at this point it's not much of a problem to me and I'm learning a lot more and speaking English a lot less... like never! lol  Sometimes I do forget and accidentally start talking or explaining something in English, then I notice her blank stare and we both start laughing.  Like I said, Hmna Rojas is great!  Despite all the trials we've had this week, she's done her best to not let things get her down.  It's really nice to work with her because we both have the same desires as far as being diligently, obedient, and things like that.  We are far from perfect but we are truly working on it and improving little by little everyday.

This is Hemana Rojas when she first arrived in Chile

Moving into the Elders' old house has been interesting!  It is obvious that it belonged to Elders... lol.  We are working on cleaning it up and putting it back together bit by bit... the area book isn't in much better shape than the house either.  I think that has been one of the more stressful challenges, especially for my companion who is brand new in the area and has nothing reliable to turn to except her companion who only has 6 weeks in the mission field.  Speaking of which, today is my "cumple-mes" [another month's anniversary], happy three months to me! lol  3 months gone already!  Only like 14 left (depending on when I come home).  I can't believe so much time has passed already!  You asked about the possibility (or certainty) of changing missions...if I had to guess, I'd say I'm going to the Rancagua mission but after the last transfer, nothing is certain and I'm not going to make any assumptions!

Like I said before, we've had a lot of challenges this week, but we have also, with patience, been able to see many little miracles springing up along the way.  One of which being our Lider Missional de Rama [Branch Mission Leader], Hector, he has truly been an angel to us because the Elders left, and with them went all the knowledge of the recent converts, investigators, etc. in the area.  They tried to document it for us on their white board, but without it accurately documented on a teaching record (in the area book), there's not much we can know...BUT turns out Hector is a freaking knowledge bank and he has actually helped us find some of the forms the Elders left behind about their investigators, recent converts, etc.  Hector has found this new excitement and fire for the missionary work, it's AMAZING!  Truly!  It's interesting, because before, with the four of us here, he was just old Hector, and we kinda took him for granted...but now with only the two of us sisters here, he has really been given the room to grow and shine!  He, seriously, is on fire!  I'm pretty sure he is the best Lider Misional de Rama [Branch Mission Leader] in the whole world!!!!  He is actually working on getting his mission papers started pretty soon.  He's 25 and really close to the deadline, but I really hope he will be able to get into the mission field because he will be quite the tool in the Lord's hands! 

With the new combio [companionship changes], we got a new zone leader, Elder... drum roll please... DAVIS! That's right, the Davis Dynasty continues!  He's only got the four weeks of this cambio left before he heads back home to AZ.        

The rain started today...bad news is, first day of real rain here and I left my umbrella in the back seat of a taxi... tonta [foolish]!  I'm going to have to buy a new one here.  The only down side is that they don't sell (as far as I know) the nifty compact kind here with a magical button that makes it pop open...choota! [darn!]. 

Another fun thing this week, Saturday night at like 7pm when H. Rojas and I were tracting, all the power in the city went out.  It was actually super cool for me!  We were walking, looking at our map of less active members, trying to hunt them down and out of nowhere everything goes pitch black!  Luckily, I just happened to be carrying my handy, dandy headlamp in my back pack!  Fue un poco fome para encontrar y contacter en la calle, pero, encontramos una casa de un menos activo, que es la hija de la Hermana Novoa , ella nos dejó entrar en su casa y tuvimos una leccion con luz de una vela.  [It was a little odd to find and contact in the streets, but we found the house of a less active member, that was the daughter of Sister Novoa (the Sister whose house we were living in before), she let us in her house and we had a lesson by candle light].  I was having the time of my life though because my brain like switched into adventure mode! lol  I'm being completely honest when I say that I was a little disappointed when the power went back on two hours later...but it was all for the best because we were able to use our heaters that night. The power went out again today, I was really afraid I wouldnt get a chance to email this week.

Things have been off to a slow and challenging start, but I really believe that the Lord called H. Rojas and I to be here in this particular situation, and this particular time because He knows our abilities (better than we do), He knows His children here in Lontué, and He knows we can do it!  I can't wait to see what miracles will unfold in the next four weeks. 

Family, school is getting out soon and that means it must be warming up there!  Almost lake and Pharaoh's [water park] time!  How crazy!  The rain (the real winter) is just starting here!  You know you're jealous! Enjoy the warmth and dryness, enjoy washers and driers, and enjoy showers with options in between freezing and scalding! lol  More Chilean adventures to come next week!  I love you all so much!  READ YOUR SCRIPTURES AND DON¨T FORGET YOUR PRAYERS!  ... LOVE YOU!!!!!  Tell Gabby I love her and that she is the studdliest woman I've ever met!
ALL my love and appreciation,
Hermana Davis

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

P.S:
My mission president is having us do a special fast this next fast Sunday, he said this to us in his email this week,  "Vamos a unirnos este domingo en ferviente ayuno y oracion para poder alcanzar nuestro proposito misional. Tambien en sus cartas a sus familias pueden esta semana invitarles que durante sus ayunos que pidan a Dios que nos bendiga en la obra misional especificamente para encontrar a los escogidos dentro de la mision. Yo se que tendremos mucho poder de los cielos al incluir las oraciones de nuestras familas en nuestra obra misional junto con la nuestras.¨  ["Let's unite ourselves this Sunday in fervent fasting and prayer in order to be able to reach our mission purpose.   Also, in your letters to your families, could you invite them this week, during their fasting, to ask God to bless us with the missionary work specifically to find those chosen within our mission.  I know that we will have much power from heaven by including the prayers of our families together with ours in our missionary work"].

5/20/13 Changes!

Hola!

Unfortunately, I'm at a sucky computer today and I have to freaking PUNCH every key to get it to work, it's taking me 500 years to write, so my email probably won't be very long even though I have a mountain of things to say. 

Cambios...[companionship changes]...  Holy WOOOOOW!!!!  Our plan this morning WAS to wake up, do our studies, call the district leader to ask about cambios, then go back to sleep.  Let's just say the LAST thing I could have done after that phone call was sleep.  As far as our district was concerned, we were just expecting that Elder Cadena, who's been here since November, would be heading out. The phone call went like this mas o menos [more or less] (or as Chileans would say it ma´omeno´ ) Elder Cadena on speakerphone:

¨Hola! We´re calling to find out about transfers.¨

¨Yeah give me just a moment... OK, ready.¨

¨Are you leaving? Where are you going?¨

¨Yes!! I'm leaving! I'm going to... ¨

¨Oh, yeah!  We all knew it!  Anything else?¨

¨Yeah! Elder Turner is leaving ¨...also Hermana Joglar is leaving...to Rauquen.¨(The same exact sector that Hermana Joglar was ¨born¨in [or started her mission in])

Then came the freaking out and asking who was coming to be my companion (answer: Hermana Rojas de Peru) and who was coming to replace the Elders... NO ONE!!!  So, I am the only one staying here and they are closing down the sector we just opened, Lontué B.  The other missionaries are feeling really down about killing a sector, but I think that the reason they even opened it in the first place was to get sisters in here and train them so that they could eventually replace the Elders.  Lontué is kind of a tricky area what with being missionaries and edificadores de rama [branch builders] and everything here so I'm thinking that was the purpose behind it, especially since the branch here is so small that they were really struggling feeding four missionaries lunch everyday. But it's still un poco triste [a little sad].  I'm SUPER nervous but excited at the same time!  I'm really going to miss my companion and the rest of our district, but I´m sure there are only better things to come!  My new companion and I will be moving into where the Elders were living. 

About the house we were going to rent.  On Monday last week, when we were about to finalize everything, we prayed about the house and turns out it wasn't right for us to rent that house. Now we know why! ¡Bacán! [Awesome!]

 Also, insteadv of having two cats where we live, we will now have two dogs! YAY... but they're both little dogs, (according to the Elders) one is named Linda [Pretty] (pronounced Leenda!)and the other is named Feo [Ugly]. Haha ...bueno!  HOWEVER, that does not mean it is OK for you to get a new dog with out me fam, OK? ..OK!! Thanks, you're the best fam in the whole wide world!

Today we have been going nuts packing and cleaning everything. SO CRAZY! We REALLY didn't see this coming! H. Joglar and I were SURE we were staying together, especially after the super awesome pep talk we had last night.  I shared one of my favorite inspirational quotes with her and it spurred on a whole big conversation about finishing strong, etc.  I'll share the quote just because it's super awesome.... ¨Be the kind of person (missionary) that when your feet hit the floor in the morning Satan says ´Oh, crap!  She's up!´¨

Haha, I love it!  It ALWAYS, ALWAYS helps me feel better and makes me want to push harder and be better. :) 

I'm excited to see what tomorrow and the rest of the week have to offer!

Parentals, sounds like a rough weekend! but I'm glad Trent is safe and Found!  Haha, I'm so funny, I know :) I miss you all so much! miss you too, mom good to hear I am missed!  Thanks so much for the parable, pictures, updates, and everything!  I really loved all of it! I will be keeping the company in my prayers!  Best of luck this week!  Mama and Not Da Mama (Dad), I'm POSITIVE you are the two studliest people on the face of the planet!  Keep being awesome!  Best of luck with everything! XOXOXOXOXOXO hug and kiss everyone from me! LOVE YOU ALL and miss you to pieces! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Till next week, ALL my love,

Hermana Davis

Wk. 11 (Lontué w/ Hmna Joglar)

Hola! Hola!!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MOMMY!!! (and all the other wonderful mothers/grandmothers out there!)

…and... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON WEDNESDAY JOHN!!!!  I LOVE YOU SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!  I HOPE YOUR 11th IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!!

Things are great here in Chile! We found a house to rent, but as of right now we aren’t sure when we are moving in.  We are also a little worried about whether or not we will actually be able to live there because we heard from one of the member ladies here that our land-lady likes to party (and lives right next door).  Hna. Joglar and my plan as of right now is to just move in to the house, baptize the land lady, and then not have to worry about rowdy parties anymore. ;) It’s kind of interesting though because the lady has to be at least 60 years old... I guess now would be a good time to use the phrase that my companion and the Elders in my district tell me ALL the time when weird things happen... "Welcome to Chile!" lol 

At the Zone conference the other week, one of our mission standards of excellence changed and that is that now they want us to work more with the members to get references from them, because statistically, if we contact 140 people every week (which is the standard of excellence for our mission), we will baptize one of our contacts about every five weeks, BUT if I remember correctly, for every 14“ish” contacted references from members there is 1 baptism.  SO, now they’ve asked us to do 12 contacted references from the members every week.  This week Hermana Joglar and I have been working hard to do that and have been getting to know the members a lot better through it (and also for our calling as edificadores de rama [branch builders]). It has actually been a huge blessing because we are starting to understand the branch and how things work here in Lontué better and the members are getting to know us better and as a result they like us more and trust us more with their contacts and everything.  Hna. Joglar and I are starting to feel more accepted, appreciated, and at home here and it feels like the work is moving along better now, because really everything works differently here in little Lontué so having member help is crucial. 

The end of the cambio [companionship changes] is a week from Tuesday (tomorrow), so this time next week I will know whether or not my comp. or I are getting transferred.  I’m thinking we will both stay put because I’m new, and my comp goes home after the next transfer (which is only four weeks) so they’ll probably keep her here instead of starting her brand new in a different area for only 4 weeks, BUT you never know!  It will be interesting to see what changes happen. :) 

Fam: I love you to pieces and miss you like crazy! It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good to Skype you yesterday, looks and seems like everyone is doing super good.  I'm so proud of you ALL and just can't even tell you how much I love you!  Keep being AWESOME, keep being Davis!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

ALL my love,

Hermana Davis

Wk. 10 (Lontue w/ Hmna Joglar)

¡Halo!

(that's what we say instead of knocking doors) Everyone here has gates around their houses so we stand outside the gate and call.  My favorite is when people pull aside their curtains, make eye contact, we smile, and they just shake their finger at us and shut the curtains. Or another favorite, we walk up and can hear voices or the TV inside, we call and everything goes silent, we call again nothing, a third time, still nothing... as IF we don't already know you´re there! lol 

Another week in Chile! Woooooh!  Everyday I get a little more accustomed and I understand a little more. I had my first Zone conference this week, it was awesome! I love conferences! 

 

With Hermanas Holland & Call @ new missionary conference

Our table of Hermanas at the Zone Conference

One of the things that made it SO awesome is that at the end of lunch, about the middle of the conference, my companion came up to me and told me she loves me (not super unusual when she's happy) and THEN she apologized for everything that had been bad.  We talked a little bit about it then and she said that she wants to try to do better, especially with the schedule but that she is scared because it's really hard and she doesn't want us to fail and then feel even more down about it.  As a result, this week has been better!  We've been putting a lot more effort in as a companionship, not only to follow the schedule but also throughout the day in doing our best and using our time wisely.  Of course, it´s never all rainbows and sunshine, but we are learning to work TOGETHER more.  This week's companionship inventory was SUPER hard for me, I guess a lot of the little things I do wrong have been building up. It was a SUPER humbling time, but the Lord is helping me a lot to put my feelings aside and realize that everything happens for a reason.  Something I learned this week, there are two main parts of missionary work (which can apply to countless other things in life) and they are obedience and charity.  Both are key to the work, but it´s a very delicate balance!  There´s one extreme where you just push to be obedient even when your companion doesn't want to, etc. but you enforce it nonetheless, as a result you're obedient and you have success because you´re being blessed for your obedience, but there's no love/charity between you and your comp and one or both of you will be hating the other and their time there and wanting to go home.  Then there's the other extreme where you and your companion go easy on each other and are besties and have SO much love for each other and can't help but enjoy your time together, and you´d never want to make your companion feel bad or uncomfortable, or do anything that they wouldn't enjoy, thus the rules aren't so important to you.  The result is that you have fun, but you don't have much success.  (Hermana Joglar and I talked about this yesterday, in relationship to being a trainer, and this is the conclusion I came to :P)  She was asking, what's better?  As I thought about it, I thought of my AMAZINGLY PERFECT parents, and using their example I talked with her about how, in my opinion, it takes  both.  As we discussed it we came to the conclusion that it's a tricky balance. Obedience is crucial, but you have to help them learn and understand the importance of it and show them your LOVE for them (be it trainees, investigators, what ever), or else they will have no desire to be obedient/change.  It was a HUGE blessing from Heavenly Father that he helped me see/understand that and helped me see just how AMAZING my parents are!  So, Mom and Dad: THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH for teaching me with SO much love the importance of being obedient.  You're love and example are without price to me and continue to bless me everyday even when I'm a bazillion miles away! 

We've had some fun adventures this week!  The rain started, but as of yet it's still really mild and it only rained/showered for two days.  I was kinda disappointed it didn't full out Chilean rain, I was like ¨Come on!!!  IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?!?!¨ ... I´m sure I'll eat my words later when it REALLY does come... and NEVER leaves...I'm not going to think it´s so cool then... lol

Last night Hermana Joglar and I went out to the farthest part of our Sector (like 30 mins in bus) called Sagrada Familia - it was just opened back up to us, there are over 100 menos activos [less active members] there so we are going to hunt them down and get them to come back to church lol. We visited last night to check up on some investigators we found there the other day.  We got there somewhere around 8:30 and had to be back in our house by 9:30. SO, we visited these people and came back to the bus and stood waiting there for like 15 min when some drunk guy walks by and asks us like TEN times if we are waiting for the bus (kind of laughing at us), we say yes, and he tells us that there aren't any coming, then walks away.  So were like, ¨That's weird!  Crazy drunk guy!¨  About 10 more minutes of waiting, a bus going the other direction stops to let passengers off and the bus driver calls to us and tell us that there aren't any more buses tonight going back toward Lontué. It's dark, chilly, and we are in creeper town. We're like, AWESOME! We´re stranded in creeper town!  So we call the Elders and they don't answer because they're in a lesson. Meanwhile cars are passing, whooting and yelling things at us like ¨Hermosas!!! [beautifuls]¨ etc. We finally get a hold of the Elders, the Elders call the branch president, who lives like 30-40 mins away, and the BP has to come get us! We felt SOOO bad! but how were we supposed to know that buses only went ONE direction after a certain time! It was crazy! But super duper funny! 

Today we had our zone activity, we went up to Molina and played soccer than had a barbeque out back behind a church up there.  It was super fun! But I´m starting to think I´m a little too cocky/competitive to play with the Elders (like I overestimate myself). What keeps happening is that I´m not afraid to go after the ball or to get right in the way between an Elder with ball charging toward the goal and the goal and stand firm... next thing I know he crashes into me,  I get kicked, or the ball comes flying full force toward my face. I pulled a lot of matrix moves today lol. I almost DIED like 3 times! lol jk  I´m slowly learning to defend until they're moderately close, then still stand firm, but cover my head/face with my arms and scream like a girl lol. Es muy divertido!  

Thanks so much for all the updates! I always want to comment more on everything but there´s just so much to read and comment on and then a weeks worth to tell about on my side of  the world.  Sorry I don't comment more, just know that I love you SOOOO much and I can't even express how much I appreciate every little detail you tell me! Seriously. ...and pictures are the BEST!  I'm going to try to take more and send more as well.

 

After soccer

 

3rd Week in Chile (Lontue w/ Hna. Joglar)

Hola, Hola!

This weeks been an interesting one! I got to travel to the mission home this week with the rest of the new missionaries for the Conferencia de Nuevos Misioneros (new missionary conference). The conference was SOOOOOO good! Super inspiring, super informative, super helpful, super fun!! Especially because I got to see all the sisters from my district in the MTC as well as the 3 sisters from the advanced MTC district, Hermanas Call, Oldroyd, and Holland. Hermana Call started training the week I got to Chile, Hermana Oldroyd started training the week of conference!  How crazy is that!!  I can´t remeber which one of them said it, but somebody was telling me,¨You´re next!¨ ... scary thought!  Another reason it was super awesome is because they divided the conference into two, one for native Spanish speakers and the other for us gringos, so it was a whole TWO days of speaking English!  It was like better than Christmas! ;)  Seriously though, the conference was SOOOOO good!  I absolutely loved hearing from and being taught by the President and his wife, and the AP's (Assistants to the President) .  They´re so awesome and helpful!  OH! and Hermana Humphrey told a group of us sisters to write home and tell our parents ¨Thank you, thank you, thank you for raising such wonderfully prepared children!¨  She is the cutest!  I just love her! 

The funny/ironic thing about going to the conference was that the 1st day of the conference, I woke up and realized that my companion had ¨blessed¨ me with her sore throat and cold... the ONE time I was away from my  medicine (which I hadn´t packed) and packets of tissues.  Hermana Humphrey pretty much saved my life those two days (she´s like mom and always carries various medicines in her purse.  lol). The first morning, since I didn't have ANYTHING else and I had to do something about my throat, I ended up taking some Midol I had stashed in one of my backpack pockets in case of emergency.  It was later that I found Hermana Humphrey and she supplied with with some Dayquil and like half a pack of napkins.  It was super hilarious!  The Hermanas sitting around me and I just laughed every five seconds when I had to blow my nose or sneeze and thus had to pull out a napkin from my over-stuffed jacket pocket (full of napkins)!  We definitely made an adventure out of it. 

 

This week has been a little tougher because our numbers (key indicators) haven´t been as great (mostly because we only had like half the week to work in our sector - me being in Concepcion and all - and that's always a little discouraging.  Also, my comps been a little blue this week, but we've been working together through everything and just keeping our heads up, enjoying the little moments and laughing at the little ironies always involved in everyday mission life.  She just let me know this week that she's actually bipolar (it was good to know, and she wanted me to know because if ever things got a little weird, I would always think it was because of something I did and she wanted me to know that it wasn't).  We're figuring things out. :)  I really don't want to portrait my companion in a bad light.  The good thing is that we are still (and always) best friends and I really do love my companion so much.  Besides, Heavenly Father is always watching over us, and He continually shows me His hand and perfect knowledge of EXACTLY what I need.  For example, today my comp had to go to a leadership meeting like 3 hours away.  So last night I had to come out here to Rauquen and join another sisters companionship. Before I came I was kind of dreading it, BUT it was EXACTLY what i needed!  The sisters I am with live in a house with 2 other sisters.  None of them speak English, but they are all so great and so fun!  Last night instead of making me sleep on the floor we got the idea to push the two bunk beds together and fit 3 girls on the bottom bunks.  Adventure time!  It was super fun to be with them!  We were telling jokes and stories from our experiences that day and that week, teasing each other, and stuff like that.  It's been super fun!  Just what I needed. :)

 

Tomorrow I have my very first zone conference (my companion's LAST)!  I´m super excited, I looooove conferences!  I´ll have to take some fun pictures and send them to you next week (if i can actually remember my converter cable) lol.  LOVE YOU TONS AND TONS AND TONS AND TONS!!!!  Miss you SO much!  Can´t wait to talk to you on Mothers day WOOT WOOT!  Have an awesome week! You´re the best family in the WHOLE WORLD!

 

OH, and I meant to put this in my blog but, to answer your question about completos (Chilean style hotdogs)...Yes, I've eaten completos...like 5 days out of the week,  I SWEAR!  Chileans have like 2 favorite foods, Casuela, and Completos...but I've only bought a completo once (and you HAVE to ask for it without mayo or they will CAKE it on here *gag* lol).   Casuela is like stew, except that they don´t cut up the ingredients. They put in whole potatoes, whole chicken legs (or livers or hearts) or mystery meat/ribs, whole potatoes, whole slices of corn on the cob and whatever else they like in it, and they serve it up whole too. It pretty much ends up being a whole potatoe, a slice of corn on the cob, a chicken leg, etc in some soup broth.  It´s a challenge to eat gracefully (and with out getting some on you or your comp), but always an adventure and I'm lovin' it!

 

2nd week in Chile (Lontue)

Hola!!!

This week was kind of nuts, but MUY DIVERTIDO! (VERY FUN)!  On Wednesday Hermana Joglar and I had a minicambio (a mini-companionship change) because there´s an area with some sister missionaries that has not had a baptism in like 5 transfers.  Hermana Joglar, being the Lider Entrenadora de Hermanas (Training Leader for the Sisters) went with the junior companion in their area to kind of give a diagnostic and set some goals with the sister to better the area and help. So, the Senior companion came here to Lontué with me for a day, and she REALLY doesn't speak English. Also, since I was the one from this area, I had to lead her around to all our appointments and contacting and everything. It was QUITE an adventure, especially since I´d only been here for a week.  I felt like we were lost like allll day! lol But we actually had a lot of success, and we found a new investigator! I learned a lot from her and I also learned that I need to pay more attention to where we are all the time and how to get there. We went to this area in our sector that Hermana Joglar and I had never been to before, out back behind the rest of our sector, at like 9 at night. It was a super long walk and kind of seemed sketchy, but we were excited to find this new sector and contact everyone in it because we were lacking in contacts that day. We finally get to this area, Viña Lontué, and it turns out there´s a reason Hermana Joglar and I have never gone (and why the Elders in our area told us that they don´t go there very often) the place is a freaking ghost town! LOL and it is SOOOO campo (rural) it is crazy! When Hermana Ruis and I finally turned the corner into the town and saw it, in all its glory, we both just started CRACKING UP! So, we walk up to the first house we find with someone living in it and we talk to the mom and daughter inside, meanwhile some CRAZY-drunk guy comes up behind us and starts talking to us all.  It was hilarious; all of it, but the whole thing was a little sketchy. So after this house we decide it’s probably better to come back some time during the daylight hours.  When we met up with the Elders later in the week, I talked to them and told them about our experience out there and Elder Turner says, ¨Yeah.... We were going to tell you that you probably shouldn´t go out there at night. ...but we forgot.¨ Hahahaha divertido! (funny)  

This week we had a meeting with the Pulsiphers (the Senior missionary couple) to help us with our calling.  Hermana Joglar and I are actually missionaries plus, because we also have the calling of Edificadores de Rama (church branch builders), so we are supposed to be visiting like 7 menos activios cada día (7 less-active church members each day) and working with verifying their addresses and mapping it all out! (OH, and turns out Hermana Joglar and I are also the first Sister Missionaries in this area for like 30 years or more. Genial! [Brilliant]).  We are still in training though so I´ll have to update you in the coming weeks.

Right now we have 2 investigators with baptismal dates, but we´re not sure what´s going to happen with them. One is a mother, Sarita the other is her son, Roman (or Jano (Ha-no)). They both are awesome and want to be baptized, especially Sarita, but can´t right now because Sarita y su pareja no estan casados (Sarita and her partner are not married), and her pareja (partner) (also named Ramon) doesn't want to get married right now, for whatever reason, but they have been together forever and have two kids (their daughter, 13, is already baptized). Ramon is friendly with us but wants nothing to do with the church and always leaves the room when we start our lessons. He won´t give Jano permission to get baptized either, so we are praying and fasting a lot for that family and trying our hardest to get Ramon to participate in some way so that his heart will be softened/changed so he will let Jano get baptized and want to marry Sarita. We´d love for the three of them to get baptized together, so we´re doing the best we can and praying for miracles. 

I love the people here! And the kids are super fun, I love it! Hermana Joglar taught me this cute little hand shake to use with all the kids, so we all have our little hand shake now, it´s awesome (we´re all homies lol)!  Everything is sooo different here, every day is an adventure, and every day there is something new or different to experience and just soak in and often laugh about. The food for example, it isn´t bad, just different. There is at least one time a week when Hrmna Joglar and I will be eating with a member, and struggle to finish our plate of food (because it´s rude not to) and sit back and let out a little sigh of relief, like ¨YES! We managed to finish it!¨ Then the sister we are eating with takes our plates to the kitchen... and brings out the second course, a BIGGER plate of food! At that point Hermana Joglar and I usually give each other a look like ¨Holy WOW! How in the world are we going to do this?¨ So we do the best we can to force as much of the next plate down as possible, but very, very, slowly. At some point the sister usually notices and asks/accuses us of not liking her food. It´s times like these I´m grateful I have the excuse of not speaking the language, because luckily, my companion is wonderful at replying and convincing the Hermana that we actually love it but that we aren´t accustomed to eating so much, and explains that we actually don´t eat as much as the Elders, and all I have to do is vigorously nod my head and say ¨Si!!¨ at the right time. lol  Then we help clean up with the dishes and what not and the sisters know to feed us less from then on.  Hermana Joglar and I then leave the house, round the corner and bust up laughing!!! Talking about how we feel like we might barf and how we´re so freaking full we can hardly walk!  It´s bien divertido! (really fun!) Luckily for us we only eat once a day, for lunch, and we only have a little snack for breakfast and dinner. On days like those we usually skip the dinner snack lol. Ohhhh, la vida missional!   (the missionary life)  :) 

All in all, everything is great! Of course there are always little ups and downs, but the ups outnumber the downs (because we are in Chile, not Nottingham -that´s for you mom lol). We did manage to get a little heater which has been amazing, and I´m holding off on an electric blanket because there just aren´t enough sockets, so we could either have light OR an electric blanket. Things are awesome. I´m taking another 6 hour trip tomorrow, back down to Conce for the new missionary conference (two days), I´ll update you all next week. 

Fam bam, I LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!! MISS YOU! Your picture is hanging on my wall where I can see it every morning when wake up and every night before I go to sleep.  You´re the best family in the world.  Thanks for all the love support and updates…how your week is wonderful!  Talk to you soon! XOXOXOXOXOXO

1st week in Chile

OMGOSH! FAMILY! HI!!!!!!! lol

 

Where in the world do I start?!?!?! This has been the coolest week in MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!! As you found out, I am in fact in a little hick-town (for Chile) area, called Lontué, about 6 hours from Concepcion. Needless to say, I did some hard core traveling. First in planes, then in busses. My companion IS from Argentina and is a native Spanish speaker, which has been SUPER good for my Spanish, BUT she also only has 3 months left in the mission and all of her companions (minus two) have been gringas.  So she speaks a little bit of English.  I LOVE HER!!!! …we get along SUPER well and we can communicate pretty dang well too!  Spanish is awesome, I LOVE it! The only problem is... I can´t understand the people here for MY LIFE!!!  Not only do they talk SUPER fast, but they don´t annunciate por NADA! (for nothing).  lol  Our area is actually Lontué B because it´s brand new. They split Lontué in two and the Elders that were here are now Lontué A, and they are probably the nicest Elders ever (Elder Turner from Utah and Elder Cadena from Mexico- both are going to die [or end their missions] pretty soon)!  We’ve spent a lot of time this week with them because they’ve been showing us around and introducing us to all the less actives, members, and their investigators, many of which they are giving to us (seriously, SO nice)!! The funny thing is that Lontué A and B aren’t actually divided, both our companionships work in the same area and with the same TINY branch, we just work separately and find for ourselves. This past week Hermana Joglar and I contacted over 140 people and had we already have like 16 new investigators (according to the qualifications for new investigators in PMG). OH, by the way, you were telling me more about the leadership position for sisters... my comp IS the leader for this area of the mission, which covers like 2 zones. She seriously is so awesome! 

She and I live in this TINY Chilean home with a super sweet widow, she is awesome! I just wish I could understand her... lol!  To be honest, I´m definitely wishing I had a sleeping bag right now though. As you know, Chilean homes don’t have heating, but some have mini electric heaters ...our’s doesn’t.  I asked the Mission President about whether or not I should buy one the day I got here, and he was like no, no, no, no, you won´t need one! We give you 3 thick wool blankets and you can go to a store here (their equivalent to Wal-Mart) and buy a caliente cama (electric blanket) and you won’t be cold!  BUT I think normally the houses missionaries stay in also have little electric heaters.  I haven’t had time to buy a caliente cama (electric blanket) yet, but Hermana Joglar and I are having fun figuring things out.  In short, I´ve learned to wear at least 3 layers to bed plus a hat and mittens. Meanwhile Hermana Joglar wears her robe over here pjs and then tucks the cats in her blankets with her (oh, yeah EVERY ONE here has cats, including Hermana Novoa, the widow sister we live with) she claims they are like mini heaters. Seriously though, we have SO much fun! Everything is just like an adventure for us, even for Hmna. Joglar because she served the majority of her mission right in or around Concepcion. I love Hermana Novoa, ella es BUENISIMA (she is SO GREAT), BUT there just isn´t enough room in her house for us.  Hmna J and I sleep in one room and we keep all our suitcases in another because it´s so small!  Hermana Joglar and I have become pretty creative though. This week we started using our hair dryers as heaters by shutting the doors and plugging in our hair dryers and just propping them up until our room is warm enough that we´re not shivering. The only problem is that I think the electricity here is weird(er) than it should be because Hmna Joglar has had two adapters for her whole mission that she started using here and one already broke... likewise, my adapter broke :(((  The socket got too hot and my hair dryer just shut off.  I looked at my adapter and it was like melted around where the prongs are... hopefully, I can find another one here somewhere in the boonies of the Concepcion mission.

My area is one of the areas that is going to be in Rancagua mission soon (3 months).  So if I’m here for longer than 3 months, I´m going to be in the same mission as David Archuleta! LOL that is, assuming he doesn´t get moved to the mission above Rancagua. Hah.

I wish I could explain everything better, but I really wouldn’t know where to start! Everything is GREAT! I mean, sure sometimes ... scratch that... ALL the time I’m exhausted,  and sometimes it gets old not being able to understand too much of what is going on in lessons and what not, but really, really this has been the coolest week in my entire life! Me encanta la vida misional!!!  (I am enchanted with the mission life).  And, I am actually learning pretty rapidly according to a lot of people.  In fact, this morning one of the traveling assistants, Elder Hernandez, told me I had a good accent like a Latina! LOL …it was definitely an exaggeration but it made me feel awesome none the less!

This past week, two scary things happened, 1). the traveling assistants came and spent part of a day with us, just kind of observing, and 2). I had to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting, but in my opinion, all went pretty well …well, I survived to tell about it :)

Today for P-day we played basketball with a less active member and the elders at the church here in Lontué, then went to Molina to play soccer with the rest of the Elders in our zone, THEN we went with a recent convert to help her friend take down her stand in the flea market, emphasis on the word FLEA, the name for it makes all too much sense here.  Getting fleas or something of the sort is probably my biggest fear! Lol

I´m loving life here in Chile, everything is SO different and SO cool, and hopefully by the end of this transfer I will be able to communicate sufficiently with the people here.  I love them.  They are awesome! Even when they call me Gringa, I know they mean it in the most endearing way possible, they are SOOO loving here!

Coolest adventure of my life!!!!

I LOVE MY LIFE!  I LOVE CHILE!  I LOVE MY MISSION! ... OH and I miss you :) 

I hope all is well at home! tell the kids I love them and kiss them for me!

I gotta go pretty soon so I have time before the end of P-day to play guitar! Hmna Joglar and Elder Turner have one!

I guess I have a little more time…so, some other things I remembered that you might appreciate... I met Hermana Lovell when we got our trainers assigned to us. I told her we followed her blog. I liked her, she is super nice.  She is training Hermana Berbert (another blog we follow)...I’m sure they’ll be an amazing team together.

Un poco mas (A little more)... we get whistled and hollered at all the time! I’m almost used to it, but that’s easy because I can’t even understand the majority of what they are saying.  It might be a little different when I start understanding though.  Oh, and as of yet my allergies for cats (and everything) have been fine, and I even pet multiple cats every day.  I probably pet more cats than dogs because dogs here are like rodents, many flea infested yattah, yattah,  so I try to only pet the nice looking dogs.  If they look mangy or nasty and they try to come up to me to be pet I usually call them diablo because I don’t want fleas!  I had a mini scare the other day that I  had fleas but it turns out it was all in my head, before then I’d pet any dog I saw, but since then I’ve been more careful. lol   I LOVE YOU!  Until next week xoxoxoxoxoxoxo  

P.S.  the mother’s day thing will be done over Skype and if I can’t remember my password I will be making a new one. but yeah, hope the internet cooperates or I’ll cry.  lol 

Hermana Davis