September 18, 2012

hna nelson and me at the bus station, waiting for our new companions. 

hna nelson and me with our tongan/chilean friend, claudio. the thing is, he´s not the sligtest bit tongan, but every time hna nelson saw him, we just got that pacific-islander vibe. he´s the owner of a little bakery close to where we used to live, and he´s one of those people that knows everyone in the town, and that always talks and walks with tons of energy (which makes you wonder how he could be so chubby..) we would pass by every day on our way from the house,so we got to say hi all the time if there was any time that we forgot, he was sure to yell "HOLA HERMANAS!" it was fun. for our last p-day in caupolicán, we got empanadas from his bakery, and made sure to get a foto with the famous claudio. he was more than willing, as you can see.

the week in a flash:

• monday
• the machine at the grocery store ate my credit card from the mission, so i no longer have a mission card...oops. made a few phone calls and worked with the secretary, but it looks like they´ll just have to order me a new one, which should take about a month. thank goodness i have my emergency money to be able to buy food over these next few weeks! 
• we had a lesson with a 20-year old girl named shirley, and paulo came with to help. every time i am so impressed by his testimony, and his ability to share it fearlessly with any- and everyone. he´s SUCH an example of what it means to be a member missionary. i hope to be like him when i get back from the mission. he said that he´d be willing any day to come down from temuco (a 45 minute ride in bus) to help out with lessons if we needed! he´s the best. 
• tuesday
• i made it alive to pitrufquen! i spent the whole day wandering around completely lost as my companion tried to help me meet the ward members, recent converts, and investigators, but this town is so confusing! there are a million diagonals, and random fields that you have to cross to get from one neighborhood to another...i´ll probably figure it out the day before i leave...
• my companion´s name is hna del castillo. she´s from peru, and she loves to laugh, so we´re having a lot of fun together!
• wednesday
• met the zone! it´s called nueva toltén, but there´s a tradition of calling ourselves "nueva sión" (new zion). yes, we´re very humble. we are only a little group of 12, those that are on the most southern tip of the mission limits (from loncoche to pitrufquen), and it really does feel like a family here. my district leader is chilean, and he´s been in the mission for a long time and seems to really know what he´s doing, so i look forward to learning a lot from him.
• thursday
• had lunch with a member naed juan, who´s about 75 years old. during lunch he mentioned that he´s been studying a bit lately. he then went to look for his books, and brought out an ancient 7th grade science book, and his little notebook where he´d written out and drawn the process of photosynthesis! the little old man had taught himself, and was SO excited to explain it to us. he also had some sketches of geometry he´d done. it was really adorable. i love his example of continual learning. i hope to have that same enthusiasm when i´m his age. there´s just so much to learn!
• friday
• a little girl in the branch (se´s 8), who´s parents are less-active, decided to be baptized on october 8th! she´ll be a baptism for the branch rather than the missionaries, but we´re excited to help her and her family get prepared.
• saturday
• shared a really great lesson with a less-active family, based on d&c 121:7-9, and "prayer" in the bible dictionary. look them up!
• sunday
• my first day at church in the branch! there was hardly anyone there because all of the children were in the 18 de septiembre parade in the morning, but those who were there were very sweet and welcoming. it was also nice to have paulo there (he was visiting to participate in a special musical number)
• the district president mentioned that he´s good friends with our mission president, and that he´d spoken to him just the night before. he welcomed me to the area, and mentioned that president martinez had said that he was sending two of the best missionaries of the mission to the area, and that he had no doubt the sector would improve over these next few months. what a surprise! even though i´m pretty sure those aren´t the exact words president martinez used, it´s nice to know i have his confidence in taking care of the sector with my companion.
• monday
• yesterday was a normal work-day because of the holiday today




just a taste of the 18 de septiembre preparations. in pretty much every neighborhood there are flags, banners, and even these little paper flowers (the national flower of chile, copihue  (co-pee-way) )


• tuesday
• today i got to hang out with my new BFF berta. she´s 5. she´s the daughter of one of the members of the branch, and while my companion was doing internet, we had fun singing, drawing, and playing other little-kid games. i LOVED it. 

lesson learned from personal study this week:

CHARITY! 

how do we obtain it?

• obey the commandments, which also shows our love for god (john 14:21)
• give your heart to the lord (helaman 15:35)
• do EVERYTHING you can to serve and help others receive the gospel in their lives
• preach my gospel: "you will develop charity as you look foropportunities to serve others and give of yourself for the well-being of others"



we saw a rainbow! it´s been pretty rainy these last few days, but at least we caught a quick glimpse color in the yucky, cloudy sky.



favotite scripture of the week:

alma 7:23-24

23 And now I would that ye should be ^ahumble, and be^bsubmissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

 24 And see that ye have ^afaith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

i felt like this was a letter written from the lord personally to me - what he wants me to do and who he wants me to be. as i diligently obey and exercise faith, hope, and the pure love of christ, i will be able to do and be the recipient of good works constantly.

time´s up. lots of love from the south.

hermana wright