There and Back Again, a Sister Missionary's Tale : September 9, 2013

Bueennnnnaaaasss tardes.

and happy lunes. life down here is going well. Por fin we have had warm weather this week, including in the night. We’ve gotten some sun this week that’s for sure. September is a crazy month. basically it’s really windy sometimes, but at least it’s sunny! vina winters. not too bad.

I’ve decided Septembers in viña? I’m a big fan. 18 de septiembre is the independence day here. people here go nuts with the national flags, a ton of empanadas, and a ton of pebre (pico de gallo!) I’m psyched. I might be entering into October with a few extra pounds to spare, but you only live in Chile once right? errrr I mean, you only experience September in Chile once! haha.

We had zone conference this week. It was awesome! it was pretty much exactly what I needed to hear. Patience in the mission is key. Diligence and patience and obediencia. (alma 32). I liked zone conference because part of it talked about how we all have individual talents which we can develop and use as missionaries. I also liked it because we talked about how we should try to find more families. we want to live with our families forever in the presence of God. It was super good.

We waited in a collectivo for 45 minutes before going. that was super stressful for sure!

We taught Milena and the Rojas family the word of wisdom this week. aight it went a lot better than I thought it would go! I was psyched. The rojas family said that they really only smoked when they got stressed, and don’t drink. they said they would do everything possible to live the word of wisdom! yay fam rojas!

milena was cool too. I felt I could be bold as we were teaching it and I think it helped. Milena understood too and told us that when she was younger, she smoked and did things against the word of wisdom. after her dad died, she said she wasn’t going to do those kinds of things anymore. I thought that was pretty amazing. I love that girl!

Oooo. futbol game this week. Chile beat venezuela 3-0. atta boys.

So....pretty much everybody here thinks gringas are just the most gorgeous thing on the planet. for example: we were walking through the plaza esperanza and one guy says, "miren a el! El es un pecador! Quiere salvarse!" lol. translation. Look at him! he’s a sinner! he wants to be saved! then the same guy walked past chuckling to himself," preciosas...me salve!" with some kissing noises. lol. these chileans! Hermana Schrader and I were talking about what would happen if we brought our families or dads to vina and see if there would be the same reaction...lol.

We are sad that Milos gone. We don’t have a new ward mission leader yet, so we are awaiting to hear that. he comes back in a month.

I finished the libro de Mormon (in Spanish) en alta voz. ah disculpe. out loud. I’m starting in the book of Mormon again and the new testament.

Rojas fam. On Saturday, we saw them walking...yes walking the 3 miles to the stake center in vina for an activity there! they didn’t have money for a bus ticket. them with four kids. we were so psyched! all the kids ran up to us to greet us. ahhh love that family! then as they were walking away, Francisco says, "two more domingos until we can get baptized right?" well...yes. unfortunately, they didn’t make it to church yesterday because daylight savings spring forward confuses folks. Hermana Schrader and I had no idea until like 5 the night before. haha.

We decided to reinstall English classes in recreo again. we had 4 students. javier-an investigador who is the son of an elderly lady in our ward. then Hermana monica from primary, and Hermana sonia. oh, and marcello. Marcello already knows English really well so I don’t really know why he’s in the basics class, but all are welcome to come! soo yeah!

we had another crazy come to church. we had invited him the day before and he showed up. he pretty much fought with the gospel principles teacher the whole time. so that was interesting.

We have an awesome bishop here. He helps us a lot and really wants to help the missionary work here in recreo. Him and a counselor went to visit the rojas family yesterday. We did service with maybol his wife, at their house a few days ago. super fun! plus...gotta love wearing jeans and a wolfshirt. Plus diego was there so we got the low down on ninja turtles and everything else awesome!

Saturday and sunday night drunks. so much fun to contact sometimes?? I think yes! they can barely stand straight. Stories of this week. well. Saturday morning, we see our friend with the poodle heading up the road 20 yards away as we are leaving our apartment carrying two bottles in his hands. that can’t be good...then. next day. at the exact same time, we see the exact same guy doing the exact same thing! lol. love those drunks. but really. they tell you they want to change their lives and give the honest truth. sometimes they’re the ones who need the most help.

We met a nice little treasure named Mario last night. we see guy standing at his door holding a bat. we’ve seen him before and the first time it freaked me out. but this time, we just said, "hola!" really friendly. then he talked to us for a minute. my comp put out her hand to shake it and he wouldn’t let go of it for a minute. then she kinda yanked it away and we got out of there.

It was Hermana sonias birthday this week. she looked super cute! we bought her the game uno because she loves that game.

I’m excited for this next week. I’m grateful for the emails and prayers I’ve received and more than all, I’m grateful for the Savior and His atonement.

I love my companion! She is awesome. She’s like my sister.

love you all

Hermana Emily Hanks