Feb, 6th 2012

Bueno,

This week was about the same as the last year and something weeks but I did do some new things. I tried horse jerky for the first time. It was actually pretty gross. We have an investigator who has a liqour store and we were there and he gave me some horse jerky. It was kinda tough and had a weird flavor. I don`t know if it`s just because it`s spiced with the things of Chile, but it wasn`t the best thing I`ve ever eaten. Also, we helped an investigator who makes flowers and stuff out of leather. It was pretty cool. It`s a lot of work but she makes barrettes for your hair, rings, necklaces, everything. It was cool to see how she does it. 

Also we had a zone conference with Pres Essig and I had to give my goodbye tesitmony because this was the last conference I will have. I didn`t even realize, I just thought my comp, Hermana Player, would have to give her testimony (because she goes home next week) so I just got up there and rambled a bit I think. But if they don`t want you to get trunky why do they have you give your final testimony 2 months before you go home? haha!! jk:)  I`m not that trunky. But we did do service of helping a sister in the ward learn how to make a red velvet cake. To say the least, it was delicious! Everyone loved it but they thought it was so sweet with the cream cheese frosting. They only put 3 things on their food: oil, lemon, and salt. So anything out of the ordinary is super sweet.

The bad news is, well I don`t know very much, but Claudia (the convert from the country who is pregnant) is in the hospital and might loose her baby (she is 6 1/2 months along). We don`t really know what is happening because her husband just called yesterday and said she was in the hospital. They are all so excited to have the 1st boy in the family so I hope everything turns out ok.

and how could I forget to tell Dad and Mom HAPPY ANNIVERSARY  33 years tomorrow! WOW when they said eternity, they really meant it :) You two are the greatest parents ever! I hope you are all doing grand and have a great week. There are transfers this weekend so I'll let you know what happens. dun dun dun...my last transfer! Well, keep it real, and keep it fun, but save some fun for when I`m there too :)

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!

Steph

Jan. 30th 2012

It sounds like everyone has had an exciting week. Keith and Amber, I hope you enjoyed your cruise (although, how can you not, it`s a cruise) and it looks/sounds like Ethan had a rockin b-day party and Dad lived it up in Vegas. So many things going on it seems like. But I`ve been good here too. This week I learned a little quechua (it`s an indian dialect of Peru) a lady in our ward speaks it and taught us a few things but it`s so weird and I don`t remember anything, but it was cool anyways. And another sister in the ward taught us how to make a cake. It`s soooo moist and good. I am actually really excited to do it when I get home so you can all try it.

Hermana Player finishes her mission here in 2 weeks! She went to the temple and we went to go get her in the subway station. We were there waiting for a long time and I had to go to the bathroom so bad (yes, yet another bathroom story) but there aren`t public bathrooms here but I asked the worker anyway. He radioed his boss and said, I have some girls here who need to use the bathroom. His boss answered back that it`s just for handicapped and pregnant people. The worker said back, they are young women from the United States can they use it? And he didn`t answer back so they worker took us up stairs and we had to enter into a whole group of workers and they were discussing, if we could use it or not (I don`t know why it`s such a big deal to use the bathroom, but it was) and in the end they escorted us to the bathroom. I should have known there would be no toilet paper, there never is. But at least I got to the bathroom. 

On the bus ride back we were doing contacts and missed our stop, but we live almost at the end of the route so I thought, oh no big deal, the bus will just go up to the round about where it ends and come back to our stop on the other side of the road. So we just wait, we are the only ones on the bus. And then it pulls into the gravel place where all of them park and the workers wait their turn. Feeling so stupid we get out and are walking across nothingness and all the workers are whistling, making kissing noises, and yelling ¨I love you¨ in their best English... haha! It was so funny because we felt so stupid but at the same time I couldn`t help but laugh.

Then we were walking to an apt and this drunk homeless lady that is always in the street and tries to talk to us came up with her dirty face, ratty hair, and nasty alcohol breath and was talking to us and then when we started walking away she took me by the shoulder, turned me around, and tried to kiss me on the lips!!! Luckily, I turned my head fast enough and she just got my cheek. But now Im so scared of her whenever we see her we always take a different road. It`s so funny because my comps just laugh. 

We have been teaching the Grandma of this member who told us we had to paint our nails. She is so cute. She loves it when we come over. She calls us her angels. But her family always dresses her in the lowest cut shirts she always has her old lady cleavage hangin out, but she is so funny. She learned how to pray but she always forgets how to start. So she says she can`t do it but then when we tell her Heavenly Father she says oh ya, I can do it. She makes our day.

But that is my week in a novel of a letter. I hope things are going good there and that you enjoy your week. LOVE YOU ALL TONS!!!! Thanks for everything you do!

LOVE ALWAYS

Steph

Some of the sister missionaries at the post office after sending letters (the position of the pic is super lame, thats what you get when you ask an elder to take it, but oh 

well)

The subway station

We ¨heart attacked¨ a member that lives in the country. It`s cool because in the country there aren`t fences so you can go right up to the house.

Hope you enjoy

Jan. 16th 2012

This week flew by, but at the same time thinking back to what happened seems like forever ago. But things are going good in our little trio here. We always stay up late talking and then in the morning we are so dead. So at lunch we always try to eat really fast and so we can take a little nap. It`s a pretty good system. We decided to make things a little more interesting this week so we rotated cameras. So one day, I had Players camera, Bramwell had mine and I had Bramwells. It was fun to take some random pictures of our day. I now have a lot of mission pictures... haha:). But on Tues. Hermana Bramwell went to the dentist in the richest part of Santiago and there was an Applebess. So we ate lunch at Applebees (we felt like the highest rollers... haha) and fajitas have never tasted so good. :)  Yesterday I tried a new Chilean dish. It`s called Carbonada, it`s basically like a stewish thing with rice and veggies. It`s pretty good and I was grateful that they served it a little cool because it`s so ridiculous when it`s 95 degrees outside and for lunch they give you this steaming soup. (just a note for when you give the missionaries dinner)

And yesterday we ate so much food! We had this carbonada stuff and then we found this new investigator who was telling us about how she doesn`t have any money and she spends it all on her medicine for diabetes. And then she insists on giving us watermelon, a la chileana (this is how I explain that she is Chilean so she served us 1/4 of the watermelon. So we were dying to get all of it down. And we were laughing so hard because the whole visit was an adventure. I used her bathroom but the toilet didn`t flush and then I go to wash my hands and the lift up faucet thing just comes off, so I just decided to forget it and then find that the door knob is broken and I can`t figure out how to get out. Hermana Bramwell heard me trying to get out and she asked the lady ¨can she get out?` but she didn`t pay attention to her and just kept talking. But then I finally got out and we choose to sing I Believe in Christ, but we forget that it is different in spanish so we are slaughtering the song and laughing. But in the end, she enjoyed the visit and so it`s all good. 

Then a member told us to stop by and they gave us 2 pieces of cake and 2 glasses of pop. The cake here is soo good! It`s all moist and delicious. (She said she will teach us how to do it:)) So we were dying from all this food and passed by a ladies house and she gives us pop and a completo (hot dog with avacado, mayo, ketchup, mustard, and tomatoes) We went running to the house (because we were going to be late) like big marshmallows. 

But we did find some really good investigators this week. We contacted a lady in the plaza and she was so excited. She talked to missionaries in a different part of Chile about 10 yrs ago but then moved here and hasn`t gone since. Her, her son and daughter came to the primary pool party and liked it so, that was good. Then we found this family, like all the missionaries talk about but that I have never found. We contacted this lady one night outside her house and set up an apt. to go back the next day at 5pm. Things happened and we didn`t stop by until 9:30pm, so we started getting to know her and she starts crying and says, I know what you are going to teach is true because every time I have talked to you I feel this burning inside and I know that you are sent from God. So then we went back the next day and taught about the restoration and the Mom started crying and said she knows it`s true. So things are going good there. But there always has to be some kind of doubt if they really understand but they are a great family. They have a handicapped daughter in a wheelchair and the other daughter is a little hard of hearing but they are so great. 

I hope things are going good for yall and that you have a great week! Keith and Amber, enjoy your cruise! Play on the beach for me:) I`ll be here in good old Chile land prayin for ya'll. Thanks for everything! 

LOVE YOU

Steph

Hermana Player and I on the bus coming back from the country. She was so excited because we just saw an airplane land and remembered she was going home in less than a month

Yesterday my 2nd convert, Maria, came to our ward because she was making a skirt for Hermana Player and came to give it to her. It was SOOO great to see her. She is doing so good and told me to tell you all "Hi" :)

Jan 9th 2012

So I feel super lame writing because I really don`t have much to say. Just some stories that, for you guys, probably aren`t that funny. Oh well, I`ll just tell you anyways.

Bueno, first things first. Matias got confirmed yesterday. He was so happy. It was great. We called to make sure they were ready to leave so they weren`t late but no one answered so we were a little nervous but then when we got to church they were just sitting there waiting... haha:) Oh and last Monday we went to a museum that was about the people that died when there was a bad government here in Chile. It was kinda cool but more just depressing. 

Oh, and if I forgot to tell you all. I am now in a trio. I`m still with Sister Bramwell from Rigby but I`m also with Sister Player, my old comp from Nibly UT (close to Logan) It`s pretty much the bomb to have 2 comps. I think if it was with other people I would go a little crazy but it`s so fun with us three. We are basically the same person so everything goes good.

As far as the stories. Well, for those who know me, know that I have to go to the bathroom a lot and when I have to go, I have to go. So it`s about 9pm we have an hour til we go back to the house and I am dying from all the pop that people give us. So we were looking for the house of this contact and we were on the right street but I just couldn`t wait any longer!! So, I just say "Hi" to this old guy standing outside his house and ask him if I can use his bathroom. He says he has to go ask his wife (and that is usually just stalling before they say no) so I was thinking, oh great where are we going to go? But then he comes out and says "Ya, pasen." So we go in and use his bathroom and before we know it we are looking at pictures of the grandkids and his wife is giving us all sorts of chocolates that she makes. It was so funny:) Then last night we were walking home and they pull up in their car and offer us a ride, so we get in and she starts driving towards our apt. then asks us if there is a liqour store close by. haha:) We told her where one was and were laughing because we are horrible missionaries telling people where they can buy their alcohol... but is was hilarious!!! They crack me up. 

Then 2 days later, it was about the same time and I, once again, needed a bathroom... bad! So we knock this door and they wont come out. So we start walking and the neighbor has the door open, so we knock it and it`s this old lady and just as she was about to say that she was busy I asked to use her bathroom and she looks up and says, the bathroom? And so she lets us in and she serves us pop and cake and her grandaughter gives us a bag of cookies. And then they start talking about their life stories. It was a great adventure with bathrooms this week. 

A Sister in our ward who is from Paraguay (who married a Chilean) made us this dish called Chipa Guazu from her county. It was good, kinda a corn dessert type thing. I don`t think I would eat it for fun but it was super fun to try. Everyone is so nice here! But ya that is pretty much my week. I'll try to make this week a little more exciting so I have something more to say than just rambling about random people who let me use their bathroom. 

I hope all is well and that you are all loving life and missing me a little :)

BESITOS y AMOR

Steph

Bramwell, Player, and myself when Bramwell went to the dentist this week (in the fancy part of Santiago) there was a Starbucks so we went and got a frappachino. It was delicious!

Jan. 3rd 2012

2012 here we are! We didn`t do too much to celebrate there were a lot of drunk people everywhere we went and one invited us to their BBQ but luckily we got out of that one. Then there was this guy who had a baby in his arms, probably about 4 months old. And he was telling us how much he loved him but it wasn`t his baby and all this jazz and he wanted us to give him a blessing. We tried to explain that we can`t give blessings but he was so drunk it was pointless so we told him that we would say a prayer. And afterwards he went around  telling people that his baby was blessed.,, haha:) It was pretty funny! That night, we went to this families house, the Mom is a member but the Dad isn`t. She is from Peru. They had a BBQ (everyone here has a BBQ for New Years) so we ate with them and they have a handicap daughter, Milagros (20 years old), who is SO funny. She cranked up the music and started dancing and singing. I think it was my favorite part of New Years. We were laughing soo hard. Then we watched fireworks from our balcony. We live on the 3rd floor so we could see pretty good. They just aren`t the same when you are far away... but it was still good.

Then on Sunday we celebrated the New Year with A BAPTISM!!!!! Matias got baptized!!! Everything went really well. He was so excited! His Grandma (who he lives with) is a member but both his Mom and Dad came to... so it was great! The primary kids sang him "I am a child of God". It was so off tune but it was cute. As a gift we gave him the movie "The Testaments." He was so excited to watch it, it was funny. Not much else happened this week. In the country we helped a lady peel beans. There is a member in our ward  from Paraguay and she made us this fruit salad stuff from her country. It was good. On Sat., I decided to keep track of how much pop we drink, because everyone gives you pop. In one day I had seven glasses of soda pop. That is so disgusting. It`s so hot outside you just want a glass of water but when you tell them that they think your crazy and give you a huge glass of pop. ah los Chileanos. 

Have a great week and a late Happy New Years and I`ll be talking to you soon

MUCH LOVE

Steph

Luci (mom of the Milagros) member from Peru (there are lots of people from Peru here!, well, not in my area, but here in Chile)

Baptism of Matias (best New Year Ever)

 

 

 Milagros dancing :) Video wont load...Ill try again later