May 16th, 2011

To all my fans, haha:)

 

How has your week been? Lots of stuff happening with summer starting. Mom in Texas, Liz and Joel back from their cruise, Karlee going to Hawaii, and who knows what other secrets you have... haha:) It sounds like things are pretty good, so that makes my week. This week was pretty good here, we didn´t find any new investigators BUT DIEGO GOT BAPTIZED!!! He is the cutest kid ever! On Saturday we did his pre-interview to go over the questions and we ask the question "Have you ever participated in a homosexual relationship?" and he just busts up laughing, so obviously we just start laughing too. Then he says "What´s it called- I like girls" haha :) It was funny!! And he was so nervous for the interview, when we asked him a question he just started telling us everything he knew (which is a lot). haha:) He is the sweetest kid ever.

 

His Mom came to his baptizm and he was sooo happy. That is the first time we, and the people he lives with on the weekends, has met her. I can´t imagine letting my kid live with these people every weekend for the past 3 years without even knowing who they are. But the baptism was so great. We had kids from the Primary give the talks on Faith, Repentence, Baptism, and the Holy Ghost. It was great. Then LuLu (his second Mom that he stays with on the weekends) sang ¨He sent his son¨ then us and some of the Primary sang "Ï like to look for rainbows"  It was great! His Mom, him, and a lot of people were crying. It was great. One of the Brethern in the Bishopric baptized him and gave him a tie. He was so happy. His Mom is going to get baptized some day because Diego realizes the importance of the Gospel. He has been giving all the pamphlets to his Mom to read and she seems pretty receptive. He wants to come to church here but he said if the Lord tells him that he needs to go to the Ward where he lives during the week so his Mom will come, he will do it. He is super obedient.

 

Oh and we had intercambios this week (sorry I can´t think of the word in English, but it´s where you go with the other missionary for a day) but ya, I was with Hermana Nielson in my area. She is SO great. We were laughing practicaly the whole day. She is from California, close to Sacramento and will be finishing her mission next change. So in July. She went to BYUI and is going to go there after, so I´m sure you will meet her because we will be hanging out. But we went and taught another investigator (Fabian) who is 24. He is the one who said he is looking for the truth but doesn´t want to be part of a "church." We taught him the prinicipals of the gospel and he accepted to get baptized on the 5th of June. He said he needs to make a lot of changes. He´s not a bad kid but he is from the streets (he dresses like it too, all gangster style). He never has been into drugs but hangs out with those type of kids still but has been changing little by little and realized the importance of being part of a church and all that jazz. It was so funny because he was talking about all this stuff and how rough he is but then he said "really, I just have the heart of a Grandma"  it was awesome... haha:) We busted out laughing and told him that it´s ok to have the heart of a Grandma. He said he would obey the Word of Wisdom so now we just have to work on the law of chastity. BUT he didn´t come to Church yesterday. We called to wake him up but he didn´t answer. So I hope he still progresses and gets baptized on the 5th. He said if hes going to do it he would do it before I left and I told him that it´s a good possibility that that will be my last Sunday in this area (because we have changes the 6th)...so we will see what happens.

 

On Tuesday we had a conference with President May. We watched a talk by Elder Holland he gave at the MTC in Jan. To say the least it was AMAZING!!! It talked about how "Preach my Gospel" came about and basically pumped us up. It was a good conference. It was more focused on us as missionaries being converted and staying strong in the gospel. It was good.

 

I hope things are good there! Have a great week and keep me updated on everything. I love hearing from you.

I LOVE YOU ALL LIKE....I don´t know, but it´s a lot... haha:)

LOVE ALWAYS

Steph

That is pretty much all that happened this week

 

Diegos Mom, Diego and I after his baptism

 

  Alittle kid who is a friend of the family, Estevan (friend of Diego who lives in our ward, Diego liked being around him and started living at their house on the weekends) Lulu (Diego´s 2nd mom), Diego, Diego´s Mom, Brother Eugenio Lovera before the baptism. (I hope that´s right, I didn´t look at the picture, I just did it from memory)

 

So, yesterday we were walking and this dog starts to bark at us and we look down and what do we see... this dog and cat with these freaking collar things on. We were laughing so hard so I just had to whip out my camera and take a pic:)

 

This was last Monday in downtown Santiago in Plaza de Armas. I was walking and realized that it was a  picture moment I couldn´t pass up

 

 

That is my life in words and photos, so hope you enjoy :)

BESITOS

May 9th, 2011

Hello!  It was SO GREAT to talk to some of you yesterday! Can I just say I LOVE technology and that we could use Skype!! Life rocks:)

 

So, not much too new this week. Diego is still on to get baptized on Sunday so we are super excited for that! We were going to finish his lessons yesterday but he stood us up to be with his Mom... so I guess thats ok:)

 

As you know, it was Cinco de Mayo this week so, of course, we had to celebrate...so we made tacos for lunch. They were SO good! As we talked about yesterday, I love tomatoes and avacado now so that is exactly what we put in our tacos. We have a hat hanging in our apt. and a blanket that looks a little Mexican so we had to take pictures to celebrate their freedom.. haha:) The mustaches just made it that much better. I thought it was funny how the blanket we threw on our shoulders was green, being that we are gringas and all... haha:)

 

We had a projector from the mission in our apt. because they used it for a Primary activity, so we had a little sleep over and pulled our mattereses out into the front room and watched The Testaments. It was a pretty dang good Cinco de Mayo celebration!

 

Oh, on Wed morning we went to visit this old lady who is inactive. She is 88 and still works 4-10 in the evening so we went to visit her in the morning and we went to start by singing a hymn. She said she loves to sing (she doesnt read the Book of Mormon that much because the hymns are much better (in her words haha)) So she chose "How Great thou Art", but then she wanted so sing "Nearer my God to Thee" too. So we tell her we can sing them both. So we start singing "Nearer my God to Thee" and she is sooo off tune and off rythmn!! It was so funny we started to laugh, but she just kept chuggin' a long and we can not stop laughing. It was so funny! I felt kinda bad because we totally ruined the moment but, it was hilarious!! Then when we got all done she looked up and just smiled. Then we sang "How Great thou Art", which was much better because we actually sang instead of laughing so we could guide the tone. It was soo funny.

 

We decided that we need to suck up to people in the Ward, so we made brownies and took them to the Bishop, the Ward Mission Leader, and the Sister who teaches the class for the investigators. They were pretty dang good, so hopefully it works :)  Everyone here loves brownies. Its kinda the joke that all the Missionaries know how to make is brownies, so they kinda make fun of us but, then they say its ok because they like them. So whatever works I guess.

 

That is pretty much all that happened this week. I talked your ear off yesterday and yet again, I have more to say today. I dont think people will say Im quite anymore. I dont know if that is good or bad but hopefully my stories make sense. My English is a little off, as you noticed yesterday. We talk in English as companions sometimes so its not too weird to speak English but, we usually use Spanglish so yesterday was a little interesting... but we made it through.

 

Thanks for all you do for me! I hope you all had a great Mothers Day! It was fun to see you and talk to you! Annie, it didnt really hit me that you were really having a baby until yesterday when I saw your prego belly- Wow!! haha:) That is exciting!! Liz, it was good to hear your voice for a min! Sorry I missed you but I hope you had fun on your cruise- you will have to give me the update on everything! Amber, sorry I missed you too. How did the Primary singing go? Hopefully Noah made it back intime to sing to you! If not, Im really sorry! But I hope you all had a great day and that you have a great week!  Thanks for everything!

TE AMO, TE AMO, TE AMO!!!

Steph

 

Lookout of half of my area right now.

 

  Cinco de Mayo celebration

 

I was so nervous for the phone call yesterday! I thought I was going to throw up... haha:) But seriously I was nervous until it worked and we started talking, then it was just normal

 

Skype Call!!!

So since they just announced that we can use Skype we have permission to e-mail you and tell you more of what the plan is. So here it goes:

 

We are going to use the computer of the Hermana who got baptized last Sunday. Clara Merin. We told her we don´t know how to use it but she is a pro so she said she will help us.  We have an appt. with her on Fri night and so we will probably have her look you up then and make sure everything works ok, so we are all set for Sunday. She does speak English so if you have questions just let her know.

 

We get done with lunch at 1pm (your time). Then we are going to go over to her house and talk to you. So it will probably be about 1:15 if everything goes according to plan. Or, if we are just so excited we might finish lunch a little bit early but I know you don´t get out of church until later and hopefully Dad can leave to be there the whole time too.

 

I hope this works out for you all. I am so stinkin excited to talk AND see you! It seems like it´s not really going to happen but I¨m excited that it is... haha:).

 

That is pretty much all I have to say. I am still doing good and not much is new. We are focusing on finding new investigators and talking to everyone in the street, but things are good. I just feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve X 10.. haha:) Everyday Hermana Player and I say ¨We are going to Skype our families!¨ I don´t know how many times. But don´t worry, we are still working :) just incase you were worried.

 

But have a good few days and I will be talking to ya on Sunday! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! 

 

LOVE YA¨LL

Steph

May 3rd, 2011

Hello, hello!

I am soo so very happy right now because I just found out that I can use SKYPE in my phone call this Sunday!!!!!  WHOOP WHOOP! (I think Pres May is getting trunky or something and he is having mercy on us... haha:) Make sure that never gets to him) but I cant even think because Im so excited!  It can still only be about 40 min but it will be that much better. I dont know if we can connect like a three way thing with Granny and Grandpa or what. Im freakin out a little because I dont have any clue how to use skype but I am bound to figure the dang thing out. Technology these days is just so complicating... haha:) (plus it doesnt help when Im way out of the loop).

But this week has been a GREAT week!

So, Diego (the 11 year old boy) we went to teach him but there wasnt a woman in the house so we couldnt go inside and just taught him in the plaza. It was cold outside and he didnt have a jacket so it was short but we gave him the paper for his Mom to sign. He said that she was OK with him getting baptized so we were praying that it is was true. Then on Sat we went to visit him and once again there wasnt a woman so we just taught him at the door but his Mom signed the paper!!!!!!  She said she is going to come to his baptizm.  And yesterday our Bishop talked to the Bishop where he lives (in the other side of Santiago) and we got permission there so we are all set to go! He is just as excited as we are!  He knows so much and has a huge testimony. He said he is going to start saving money to go on a mission and yesterday on the way home from church he was asking what he had to do to be a prophet or apostle... haha:) He is so great! After we taught him yesterday I told my comp that he is going to be Stake President or something some day. We have been giving him the pamphlets of the lessons and he read them and said ¨Now im going to give it to my Mom so she can get baptized too¨ He makes my day!

Clarita got confirmed yesterday! Her daughter was there to watch it too and I dont know if I told you but she said she wants to get baptized too. But we will see what happens with her Dad letting her come to church and stuff. They are so content and happy it makes everything better. We watched the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration, its the one they show at the visitors center aka: "The Best Church Movie EVER." And they loved it. Everytime I watch it I am so grateful for President Smith.

Also, I cant remember if I told you about Fabian, but he is soaking up the gospel. He said he just wants to find the truth. He came to chruch yesterday (which was amamzing by the way) and after Sacrament meeting we went and talked to him and he said he feels something different here and he likes it. A kid from the single adults in our ward invited him to come to class with him but Fabian said he had to go study but that he would come to the classes next week. So we went and talked to more people and stuff then went into our class for the investigators and he was there! I dont know who stopped him but it was good he came, we talked about the church today and how it came to be. It was exactly what he needed.

But Sacrament meeting yesterday was amazing! The first counsler in the Bishopric got up and said that when they got to the church this morning they were almost out of cups for the sacrament. They only had enough to do 3 trays. So they just hoped that it would be enough. When they got done with the sacrament there was only one water cup left. They sent the Bishops little helper to count the people and there were a lot more people than cups, he was crying and said, I watched the trays as they were going around and how each person took a cup and there shouldnt have been enough. He said, all I know is miracles havent ceased. It was amazing and there were a lot of young people who bore their testimony. It was one of the best testimony meetings I have been to.

I got to see Hermana Buckner and her parents on Monday night. They came to see some people in my area. We only saw them for about 5 min but they are super cute and fun. Her Mom has a little accent and her Dad trying to speak spanish was funny too. It was fun to meet them and her Mom gave me a hug from Mom. So thanks for the hug :) They fly out Wednesday, but I think Hermana Buckner is excited. It is weird to be here without my first 2 comps but it has been good with Hermana Player. She is funny and chill so it makes life good.

That is pretty much all that happened in my life this week. What has been going on there?  Liz and Joel, I hope you are enjoying your cruise! It sounds amazing to hang out in some islands and dress up and go to dinner (I dont know what dressing up is anymore... haha) and all that fun stuff. Keith and Amber, if I dont see you on Sunday in Skype know I love you and hope that things are good. I hear Noah is our next soccer pro! :)  Annie and Calvin, where did you move to? I feel so out of the loop, maybe you told me and I just dont remember but that is exciting. And remind me of when you are due, I cant remember (sorry Im a horrible sister). Keep me updated on all the exciting stuff and not so exciting too :)  Mom, thanks for the update on marriages. By the time I get home it seems like half the world will be married but I guess I preach it everyday so its a good thing people are doing it... haha:) Everyone says we need to practice what we preach so bueno. jk. Thanks for all the updates, prayers, love, letters, and for being you!

Have a great week, or should I say six days. See and talk to you on Sunday!

LOVE ALWAYS

Steph

With Hermana Buckner

With Hermana Player (??)

Buckners brought Mountain Dew for us and then Hermana Stevens sent me a Dr Pepper and A&W Root beer from the grocery store where she is at (the only place that has it) so we were loving life with the American soda

BIG NEWS!!

BIG BIG BIG NEWS!!!!!!!

 

I can use skype for my phone call home this week!!!!!°!!!  oh happy day, oh happy day!!!!!

 

But now the problem. I have no idea how to use it!  I have to look for you or something right?

 

Another problem is we just found out like 5 min ago so I have no idea who in the ward has it ( I know there are people but I dont know who will let us use it or all that jazz. But I will try to figure it out and if you get this in the next little while write me back about how to use it.

 

Ah I¨m so excited! It will be sunday about 3:30 my time, and the time is going to change here on Sat night/Sun morning so it will be 1:30 your time

 

The number I gave you last week, Maria, I know she doesnt have skype so it will be somewhere completely different.

 

LOVE YOU!!!

Steph

April 27th 2011

ok so I don´t have much time but I loaded these pictures and then I will write more later but

 

This is Clara and her daughter Valentina. She got baptized yesterday after 3 and a half years of investigating and coming to church. She is the cutest lady and her daughter is so fun. She speaks English and was dating a guy from Chicago but they broke up and now she is anxiously awaiting her confirmation next week. There were sooo many people at her baptism. I would probably guess about 55. The room was packed full and it was so great!

 

This is me and Maria yesterday. She is the one that got baptized in January. She is so cute and has so much more light in her eyes with the gospel. I love her and she is so sad that my companions are leaving today but she is happy that I´m staying. I will be calling from her house/ you will be calling her house next week so it will be fun to spend time there.

 

This video, is last monday when we went to Los Andes to visit friends of Hermana Dymocks. I spent some time with the other Hermanas which I LOVED and that was that.

 

The email is full so I will send more later. Sorry but we took A LOT of pictures this week with all the changes.

 

CHAU for a little while

Steph