Holllllllaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
I hope this letter finds you safe and well and with not too many bee stings. I`m definitely preparing myself for some awesome corn bread and honey this Fall!
This week wasn`t all that eventful. Although I did get my haircut! Just the ends though so you can`t really tell but it was fun. We went to a lady in our branch who cuts hair here in the centro. She`s so awesome. Her name is Norfa. And when it was all finished and we tried to pay her she wouldn't accept our money. And we were like no, Hermana, let us pay and she was like Hermanas I went to the temple and I made a promise with God that I would always share my time and talents with others. You guys are here, far from your homes and you`re not paid and are making a big difference in the lives of others. I can`t take your money. I was like wow. It was really humbling to see someone so firm on their temple covenants. Norfa is so awesome. I walked out of that peluquera feeling great in my heart AND about my hair.
Funny story... So basically I have the most delicious blood in the world or something because the fleas just eat me to death. There is nothing I can do, I`ve tried a bunch of things and I always just itch from all the bites. Fun fact the other week I had 103 bites just around my torso! I literally looked like I had a rash or something. Fun stuff right? So anyway we`re in a lesson and I`m itching the 5 bites on my arm and the Hermana says ' do you have bites? And I tell her the fleas just eat me and she says ' well you need to put rubbing alcohol on them and so I said ok I`ll do that. Next thing I know, we`re talking about the priesthood and she comes out with this huge bottle of rubbing alcohol and says, ' let me see your arm. And I'm like what?? She says, ' give me your arm. So I give her my arm and she just pours all this rubbing alcohol over my arm and just starts rubbing it all over. It`s literally dripping all over her couch and everything. Then she says, ' ok now your other and I say, ' no I'm ok thank you and she says, ' give me your other arm so I give her my other arm and she does the same thing. Then she says, ' I saw you itching your ankles too and just starts putting rubbing alcohol all over my ankles and then she was like do you have bites on your legs too and at that point I was like NO NO NO. I`m good there, thank you so much and she just looks at me and laughs and is like ok. So then I`m sitting there almost dripping with rubbing alcohol and my companion looks at me and is like wow that smells really strong and I'm thinking, yeah, I know. So then I have to go through the rest of the night smelling very strongly of rubbing alcohol. But you know what, I didn`t itch after that so that was good. My gosh though, Chileans are crazy sometimes.... haha, but you gotta love it.
One day this week, all of our citas (appointments) fell through and we were walking around contacting people and trying to find someone to teach. As we were walking we had this guy stop by us in the street in his pick up and he asks, ' do you guys have that one book you talk about and we say, The Book of Mormon??? and he`s like yeah! Can you give it to me, I want to read Enos. And we say, sure, are you a member and he says, ' no, but I have a friend who`s talked to me a lot about it, thank you! and then he just drove off before we could get his information to go visit him or something. But that was a cool little miracle, that he was searching for the Book of Mormon and he just happened to find us walking there.
A little later we were walking in front of the university that is in our sector and as we were walking by a guy stopped us and says, ' hey are you guys elders? And we were like, well almost. And he said, ' I have a friend that is on the mission and he writes me every Monday. He told me that I should read this book that you guys have, do you have one? And we were like, yeah we do! And we gave him a Book of Mormon! And he says, ' wow thank you so much, I`ve been looking for the missionaries where I live for 2 weeks and have never seen them, I`m so glad that I could find you guys! We asked him if he wanted us to give his direction to the missionaries there so they could visit him and answer his questions about the book and he said that his family is really catholic so he would rather this be a secret, but thanks so much! And then he went away. That day, even though we didn`t teach any lessons, which is something really rare here, I still feel like we were able to be the answer to people`s prayers and were able to help people come closer to Christ by giving them the Book of Mormon. It was just another testament to me that people are really looking for answers and are really looking for what we have. Even if they aren`t ready to commit themselves to baptism, they at least want to know more, they want the security that there is more and God is leading them to where they will find the answers that matter, in His church and in the Book of Mormon. I love missionary work so much!
I contacted this one guy and he asked us where we were from and I told him that I was from California in the US and he asked what part and I told him close to San Diego and he tells us that he has a sister living there and so I asked him what part and he said Escondido! haha I was like really, what`s her name and he said it was Cindy. So if you happen to run into a Chilean Cindy in Escondido, I contacted her brother. He didn`t want anything, He believes in Taoism, but he does make really awesome banana bread which he was selling there on the side walk.
Yesterday, Gabriela FINALLY received a calling!!!! She`s Young Womens Secretary!!! I was so happy! It`s so perfect for her! It`s so cool to be able to look back at where she was when I met her, smoking, not sure about baptism and all that to how she is now.... baptized, coming to church and secretary of the young womens! It makes me want to cry of joy just thinking about all of her progress!!! She`s not perfect, but she`s getting there and she`s trying and she really has changed! Which is totally the point of the gospel, so we can change and become better. She`s definitely doing that and I am just so proud of her!!!
I also got a letter from one of my converts Ignacio from Limache. He told me that he was able to baptize someone and that he went to the temple and did the work for his grandpa and he felt the spirit so strong doing it!!! It was the coolest thing ever being able to read about his experiences! Really the gospel is just so amazing. I don`t know how to put it into words. You know, it`s like you go on a mission hoping that you can help someone feel a little bit of the love and joy that the gospel has brought into your life and you then get to hear that the people have been able to feel the same love and the same joy and the same spirit as you have, it`s just SO AMAZING. It makes every single flea bite more than worth it! I really wish I could communicate the joy it fills me with. I know the gospel is true because I feel it and I get to hear the testimony of others who I meet on the street one day and then now they feel it too. It is just SO AWESOME!!!!! I love the gospel, I love being a missionary, I love Chile, I`m so happy I could even say that I love fleas. Maybe I`m crazy. But I just love it all so much.
I`m so excited to be able to talk to you guys on Sunday! Have a great week!!!
Con todo de mi amor,
oh and...
May the fourth be with you,
Hermana Evans
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Samantha with her companion Hermana Hansen and some Elders from her district
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