April 30, 2012

this is so weird...it´s getting harder and harder every week to transition into writing in english! it´s to the point where i´m almost always thinking in spanish and now i have to translate into english to write. crazy. so if i don´t make much sense or if you see spanish words every once in a while, it´s because i´m becoming chilena...no worries :)

life in the trio in temuco is going great. we had our baptism last weekend, and we´re working with a few investigators to prepare to be baptized in the next few weeks. we have cambios on the 7th, but i´m feeling like i´ll probably stay in temuco with one of my companions, and the other who´s been there for a few months already (hna hamblin) will leave for another sector. we´ll see! i´d be happy to stay where i am and get to know the sector even better, but i wouldn´t be too surprised if i left either, because you never really know with cambios...

at this point in the mission i really can see a big change in myself. i look back on my time in the mtc and remember feeling overwhelmed, inadequate, and insecure of my abilities. i was afraid to come to chile because i didn´t know what to expect here, and i feared that i wouldn´t be able to handle all that it would bring. over the last few months, however, the lord has helped me see that i am much more capable than i had thought, and not because i´m especially smart or talented, but because the lord  is qualifying me to do what he needs me to. i have felt a difference in my ability to converse with people that i don´t know, and my ability to share the gospel powerfully with everyone that i meet. these changes have definitely been the result of sincere prayer, and a change of heart that really is possible when we ask the lord for what we need with righteous desires. it´s become clear that the lord needs me to be obedient and filled with the spirit so i can help others feel the love that he has for his children here. and that´s something that i don´t want to have developed for the mission only.

the lord is depending on us to be obedient to what he asks so he can bless us with the spirit, so we can bless the lives of those around us and find true happiness ourselves. as we pray to him and ask for help, he can strengthen us and help us understand how to do what he asks of us, and help us recognize the blessings that come. i know that life as a missionary is different...don´t worry. i know that it´s different to be working, going to school, spending time with friends, and trying to find a balance with everything, but i promise that the lord has so much in store for you as you make time for him. he is waiting to bless you, but he can´t help you if you don´t seek him first, to be able to see his hand in your life.

SEARCH the lord and you´ll find him.

until next week!

love you!

hna wright

April 24, 2012

yep. i have a chilean little brother! i just love him. his name is cristian, he´s 17 years old, and he got baptized this weekend! he is SUCH a miracle. on wednesday he told us that he didn´t want to get baptized because it was just too hard, but we talked him through it and left him with a scripture in the book of mormon to read that night. when we saw him the next day, he had read it and felt the spirit, and knew that he needed to get baptized, even if it meant giving up the lifestyle that he´d been used to (the word of wisdom had been a big problem for him). we prayed and prayed and prayed some more for him, and the lord helped little cristian have confidence in himself, feel his love, and take the step of faith to get baptized to be able to receive the remission of his sins. there´s SO much more to the story, but just no time to tell it all. most importantly, cristian is happy, and has the holy ghost to help him as he goes into the military (today actually). but even MORE exciting.....he alsohas the sacerdocio!! we didn´t think he´d be able to receive it before leaving, but the bishop made all of the arrangements, and he was able to be interviewed and set apart on sunday! it was so amazing to witness the change in him. (he was even wearing a white shirt, tie, and suit jacket that the bishop had given him!) THIS is why i´m here. THIS is why i´m serving a mission. so that people like cristian can be baptized and receive the gifts that the lord has waiting for them, but that depend on them taking action with faith in the savior and his atonement. 

we also have another baptism, eduardo,  planned for this weekend, and we´re all really excited for him!

oh! and i saw sergio again this week and he said he´d read the book of mormon from the beginning, with real intent, to finally know if it´s true and if he should get baptized. i´ll be praying super hard for him because i´ve already taught him everything i know-now it all depends on him and his willingness to do god´s will for him. 

ugh,wish i had more time to write, but writing president took me longer than expected. 

here are a few photos though from the baptism!

amor del sur,

hermanita wright

April 16, 2012

this week i had an especially entertaining contact...we knocked a door and began talking to the woman who answered, when out came what appeared to be her husband or some other male member of her family. we said hello to him and presented ourselves, and when we asked him his name as he was about to walk inside, he replied, ¨¡josé, pero no esmith!¨ or ¨joseph, but not smith!¨it was seriously so funny. he walked away after that and wouldn´t listen to us, so we just laughed, finished up the contact with the woman, and went on our way. i love the mission.

this week has been totally crazy. i´m pretty sure that´s not the first time i´ve said that on the mission, and i know it won´t be the last...

we are having cristian´s baptism THIS saturday...he had a little problem with the word of wisdom, so we pushed the baptism back, but now he´s doing so much better and we have no doubt he´ll be ready this weekend. at one point during the week he told us straight out that he didn´t want to get baptized; that it was just too hard to be good. man, that broke my heart. he´s had some really negative experiences in his life growing up, and he really hasn´t had that many good examples to follow, so it´s hard for him to recognize his own potential. that was a really sad lesson for us, but we just poured out our hearts and testified of the power of the atonement to heal and be changed through our savior, and he agreed to see us the next day. when we came back, he was completely different. he apologized for what he´d said, and after talking about what we´d left for him to read in the book of mormon, he told us that he really wanted to get baptized. he wants to be forgiven of his past. he wants the holy ghost so he can feel peace and be better able to understand and apply the scriptures. he wants to accept the sacrifice of the savior. we´re so happy for our little cristian. he´ll be entering the army a few days after his baptism, but we´re in the process of getting in contact with his ward there so they can know that he´s coming, and get him the priesthood! things will be hard for him, but he can do it with the lord´s help. 

sorry i don´t have time to share more, but you all should know that i really am seeing miracles here. the lord loves us, and he hears and answers our prayers. i have seen it in my own life, and in those of my investigators. pray to him and you´ll know he´s there. 

love you :)

hna wright

April 9, 2012

yep. the fleas are back. with a vengeance. the other day i counted more than 20 bites on my hands and wrists. it{s pretty gross. but life goes on!

this week was bacan! "the trio" is doing great things! we are going to have a baptism this week! his name is cristian, and he´s 17. he´ll be entering the military in a few weeks, but he wants to get baptized and get the priesthood before he leaves. we´re really excited for him. also, we met with SERGIO! oh man, it was so good to see him again. i really do feel like he´s my little brother. we had a short lesson with him in the plaza/park across from his house, and we talked about ether 12 - faith and miracles. with us he learned that miracles are extraordinary events, and are part of the gospel of jesus christ. i shared with him that it truly was a miraclethat i was there teaching him. i was supposed to stay in victoria, but because of  a last minute change i was able to come to temuco, and of all the places i could go in the mission, i ended up within 15 minutes walking distance from him. NOT a coincidence. the spirit was SO strong, and he said that he would pray and ask what it is that god wants him to do, and that if god tells him to get baptized, he´ll do it. the great thing is, god WILL help him realize that baptism is the only way he can accept the atonement of christ and receive the holy ghost. we{re seeing him again tonight and i´m of course very excited.

bummer, out of time. but at least you´ve got a bunch of photos to look at! i love love love you, and hope that you´ll take time this week to watch a conference talk or two, and make an effort to apply the teaching of our modern profet and his apostles. i know that as i´ve read my notes and prayed about the messages, i´ve received some really special personal revelation. the same can happen for you :)

con mucho amor,

hna wright

April 2, 2012

boo...this computer won´t recognize my camera and i don´t have time to mess with it and figure it out, so i think it´s going to have to wait till next week again...SUCH a bummer because i have a ton of great things to show you (the baptism, my last days in victoria, the victoria house and my new house, my new companions, etc.) next week i guess...

so much to say! first of all, i´m in my new sector, and it´s HUGE! we´re really right in the center of the city, and it´s 100% different from my last sector. it´s so weird because there are a bunch of universities and big companies and huge buildings everywhere, and i just feel so small, but strangely enough, i really like it. i like the excitement of it all, and the fact that there is always someone around to talk to, and so much work to be done. my two companions, hna hamblin and hna mccleeve are both great, and we´re figuring out how to make this whole trio thing work. it´s a little tricky with making sure that our lessons are balanced, and that we really make sure that everyone´s voice is heard, but it´s getting better and i´m really loving it. i like that i have this chance to learn from two companions at once, both of which have more experience than i do in the mission and are helping me see things from a different perspective.

one thing that´s been a little crazy though is that we have to look for a new house, because the three of us don´t really fit in the one we have! the apartment is SO tiny. seriously, smaller than any studio apartment i´ve ever seen. i´ll send fotos next time for sure, cause it´s pretty incredible that we haven´t already gone crazy in such a small space...haha. it´s an adventure. but house hunting just means that we have less time to do "real" missionary work, but we´re doing our best and know that the lord will accept our efforts.

wasn´t general conference SO inspiring?! i watched all but one of the sessions in english (i saw the sunday am session in spanish because we had an investigator with us) in a little room in the chapel with the other english-speaking missionaries. i learned so much that i don´t even know where to start...but one thing i did notice were the themes of refraining from judgement, the importance of forgiving, the necessity of trials in our eternal progression, the importance of raising children through righteous example, and of course, the savior´s infinite love and saving atonement. one thing i really loved that elder cook said was that our active study of the scriptures will determine our ability to narrow the distance among ourselves and the heavens. how cool is that?! i completely agree though. i have felt closer to my heavenly father than ever before as i´ve devoted time to an active study of the scriptures. heavenly father is just waiting to pour out blessings, and when we study the scriptures we show our willingness to obey and our desire to receive them. i love the scriptures :)

almost forgot! we found sergio! we met with him in a park by his house last night, and we have another cita with him tonight! we´re going to talk to him about the importance of having a testimony of the book of mormon, and challenge him again to be prepare to be baptized! i can´t believe that i get to teach sergio again. SUCH a miracle. but i´m out of time so i´ll have to tell you how it goes next week!

sorry, gotta go, but i think of you every day (but not too much...don´t want to get trunky! haha) and pray for you always. my greatest hope is that you are dedicating time to the lord every day, so you can recognize and feel  the influence of his arm that is always lovingly extended toward you. ¡que estèn bien!

hna wright

also, sorry i haven´t had time for individual letters...with cambios and all of the things that go on in mission life, i´m struggling to make time for it, but it´s a goal for this cambio so i´ll be sure to send some more out in the next couple months! woo hoo!

March 26, 2012

so, here i am again with zero time to write, and WAY to much to say (our zone activity went long again today). so here are a few highlights to hold you over till next week:
-zone activity: we had a mexican fiesta! ok so sort of...we ate some mexican food at least! we cooked tortillas with chicken, guacamole, salsa, and tomatoes. it was sooooo delicious. it was funny how much it reminded me of home, because i´m not even mexican, but still...it was a taste that i haven´t had at all since i´ve been here. then we had homemade cookies (with peanut butter m&ms!!!) and ice cream. i was very happy. the bummer is that this was our last zone activity together! we´ve really become a family, so it´ll be really hard to leave and start over in another zone, but i´m sure it´ll be great too.
-changes: i´m leaving my sector for temuco, a sector about an hour to the south! i´ll be in the center of a big city (it really does remind me of boston in how busy it is with all of the cars and the noise and tons of university students). also, i´ll be in a TRIO! there´s an odd number of hermanas for now, so there´ll be 3 of us in one tiny, tiny house in the city (i´ll have to send photos next week, cause it´s seriously SO small) this was all VERY unexpected, because my companion had found out she was leaving, which typically means that the other one stays, but NOPE! we are both leaving the sector so another hermana can train her new companion here in tolhuaca. which also means that we have to leave tons of notes and instructions and make sure everything in the house is ready for the new hermanas because everything will be new to them (like it was for my comp and i when we opened the secor 3 months ago!) super uncommon, but that seems to be how things go so far in my mission experience, so it works for me. it is sad though because i just hadn´t been preparing myself emotionally to be leaving, so it´s all really abrupt. but the baptism really was the best way to leave the sector.
-interesting side-note: the sector that i´m going to just happens to be where SERGIO is going to university!! yep, i´m following my very first investigator to college! i´m super excited to be able to contact him again and help him continue to progress.
-oh yeah, so...I HAD MY FIRST BAPTISM YESTERDAY!!! actually, we baptized TWO jovenes (youth? young ones? haha don´t know how to translate). john and carlos were baptized and confirmed right after church today, and it was so so so so so great. the service went really well, with lots of participation from the members, and i got to sing too! hna miller and i were a little nervous because we are both leaving right after they got baptized, but with all of the help and support we saw from the members, we know that they will be well taken care of. one of the best parts of the baptism was when the grandma (who was sealed in the temple, but has been inactive for several years) got up unexpectedly at the end and started balling as she bore her testimony that her and her husband were going to return to the church because they were able to feel the spirit so strong at the baptism of their grandkids, and were reminded of why they were baptized in the first place. it was a really sweet experience. i was so proud of the work that hna miller and i did to prepare these boys for baptism, but even more that we were able to help reactivate an entire family! such a blessing from heavenly father. (my companion has my camera right now with the photos of the baptism, and i´ve got to get off the computer, so the photos will have to wait till next week. sorry!)

lots of love :)
hna wright

March 19, 2012

so, i´m having camera issues and accidentally deleted some of the photos that i was going to send today....not too happy about that. for some reason my memory card is filling up with only like 6 pictures and a video on it and i don´t know how to fix it. any ideas?

anyway, hello familia and friends!

life is good! we are going to have a baptism this sunday! it´s seriously such a miracle. we found carlos (14) and john (10) through their grandparents who are less-active members that we visited regularly for about the first month that i was here in chile, but the grandparents weren´t progressing, so we had to stop visiting them as frequently. one of the times we were there though, we met their daughter maria (also a less-active member), and grandkids john and carlos (non-members), and we had a short lesson with them about the restoration and the book of mormon, and gave carlos a book of mormon to begin reading on his own. they were pretty receptive, but every time we went back to try and find them, they weren´t there! long story short, they showed up at church with their mom a couple weeks ago, and she wants to completely reactivate in the church and have her sons baptized! naturally, we were pretty excited to hear that! we´ve been teaching both of them pretty much every day since, and it´s so exciting to see not only carlos and john learn about the gospel, but also that their mom can have this opportunity to remember why she got baptized, and why it´s so important that she return to the church and be the faithful example that her family needs. this baptism is seriously SUCH a miracle, especially since it is the last chance hna miller and i will have to baptize together because cambios (changes - this word has become completely integrated into my vocab...it took me a second to realize that i should probably translate it just in case...haha) coming up on the 27th!! we´re not completely sure of what will happen with hna miller and i this cambio, but since i´ve finished my training it´s likely that i´ll stay here for at least another 6 weeks, and she´ll go to another sector. BUT, we never know. we get the call on saturday though so i´ll be able to write about it next week! it´s just so weird not to know where i´ll be living next week....that´s the mission for you!

i got to do an intercambio (divisions, splits? not really sure in english) this week with another hermana further south! it was a really great experience because i got to see how another hermana works and learn from her example. i also learned a valuable lesson while i was with her: BE BOLD! even though i was in an unfamiliar sector with a companion that i didn´t know all that well, i felt comfortable because i know that the message we´re sharing is true, and because i´ve learned a lot in the last 12 weeks about how to be an effective missionary, and i felt prepared to go out and teach and love and invite people to christ! overall i came away from the experience with a renewed motivation to make my presence known as a representative of christ and his church, because this is his time, i can´t waste it by being timid. as my training wraps up, i´ve had to take more of the initiative in pretty much all aspects of the companionship: in teaching, managing the phone, guiding us from appointment to appointment, making daily and weekly plans, and interacting with the members. so yeah, basically everything...haha. it was a little overwhelming to have to take a step up this week and take more of the initiative, but it really helped me rely on and my companion, but more importantly, on  the lord as a support, and realize that i really can do anything with his help.i may be one small little sister missionary wandering the streets of a tiny town in chile, but i carry with me a message that has changed the world, and that is changing the people that interact with on a daily basis. these chileans are depending on me, whether they know it or not! so although at times i feel a little overwhelmed and inadequate, i know that the lord is qualifying me more and more every day as i make my best effort to be obedient, diligent, and faithful, trusting in him completely.

oh, funny story real quick: we were walking down a small street of houses the other day with a member who had accompanied us to a visit, when we walked past a group of younger boys (pre-teenish) outside their house. my companion was talking to the member so she didn´t really hear, but they started shouting to us after we walked by, "HELLO!...YES! RED!" clearly, the expanse of their english vocabulary is a little less than impressive, but it was still really entertaining.

finally, since i´m a missionary and can´t end without a scripture, i was really hit this week by d&c 101:16
"therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that i am god"

when times are crazy, when you´re stressed out, when you think you can´t do it, be still. trust in god and  his plan for you. you´re in you´re heavenly father´s hands.

love,
hermanita wright