March 4, 2014
Hola mi familia fabulosa!
First, I love you guys! I hope everything is going well!! I'm so happy to hear that you guys finally got rain!! I know that was an answer to prayers! This past week has been awesome although I'm beginning to doubt that you can have a bad week when you're a missionary! But I apologize for this novel ahead of time.
First, I love you guys! I hope everything is going well!! I'm so happy to hear that you guys finally got rain!! I know that was an answer to prayers! This past week has been awesome although I'm beginning to doubt that you can have a bad week when you're a missionary! But I apologize for this novel ahead of time.
Last week on Pday we found this little store that sells these super cool leather scripture cases that you can have them make custom for you! So I ordered one and we get to go pick it up when we're done emailing!! It'll have my name on the front and my mission down the spine with the picture of the santiago temple on the front and one of Christ on the back! I'm so excited to get it! I may or may not have dreamed about it a few times this week.
COOL STORY TIME...After Pday last week we had to go out into the calle (or as us lighter skinned people like to call it: street) and practice introducing the Book of Mormon to real people! So Hma. Watt and I go out and are like ok how the heck are we suppose to do this? I mean have you heard our spanish? It´s pretty broken but at least I can speak it ok and she can understand it ok so we make a pretty good team... Anyway we see this guy walking down the street so we´re like ok let´s just go talk to him and see where it goes. So we go over and I ask if he has a few minutes to talk and he's like yeah and we tell him we´re representatives of Jesus Christ and ask if he believes in Jesus and he does but doesn't go to church. It was really hard to understand him and we kept having to ask him to slow down. It was so nice though because he just kept asking us questions so we thankfully didn't have to work hard to engage him. He was like oh you´re North Americans and started asking if we were married and stuff and if we can only marry Mormons. Then he asked about church and if it´s like mass and stuff and we´re just trying our best to answer his questions. We ask if he wants to come to church and that could be cool! But we didn´t know what time it was here so we brought him down to meet our teacher and were able to get his phone and address! So we got a referral! The first person we talked to! It was seriously the best feeling ever! THEN fast forward to Sunday. We´re sitting in sacrament waiting for testimony meeting to start when Presidente Doll calls us out to the hall. Guess who was standing there with some Hermanas?? Fernando! He came to church!! He stayed all three hours and told me he really liked it! He said that the Hermanas have been teaching him at his house this past week too! Seriously I have never felt such SWEET JOY!!!! I pray for him every night that he will keep progressing. I´m so grateful that the Lord trusts us enough to have let Fernanado´s mind be open to this beautiful message when we talked to him on the street, even when we really didn´t share anything that spiritual. It really taught me that even through broken teeth and broken spanish the Lord does work through you to touch the heart of others. You just have to open your mouth even when you have no clue what to say and the Lord will help you! I´m so much more excited to get out into the field now!
Also this past week we started all Spanish in classes so now our teachers only speak spanish and actually only even know a little english at that, but it´s not as hard as I thought it would be. Friday we went to the temple for the last time as it is closed in March for cleaning so it was probably my last time for the next 17 months, which is just the saddest thought ever. But it´s worth not going to the temple for that long if I can give other people the chance to feel its peace by bringing the gospel to them. AND I did the session ALL in spanish too! No headphones for this gringa! And when I say all I really mean ALL! I was watching, listening, talking the español the entire time, with the help of the workers of course!
SHOUTOUT to Aleigh and Hunter who ALSO went to the temple this past week and were sealed!! I´m SOO happy for you guys! I wish I could have been there but I LOVE you both and can´t wait to hear all about it! I ate the cake at lunch that day in celebration.
Also SHOUTOUT to Uncle Kel who I believe had a birthday this week! How many times have you turned 29 now?? ;)
Sundays here are too awesome! We had Elder Evans and his wife come and address us. And yes--He is as awesome as he sounds. He´s a member of the first quorum of the 70 and over all the missionaries and CCMs in the world. He gave an awesome talk on the doctrine of the family. I mean we had Elder Rasband a few weeks ago and then Elder Evans this week?? What is this the Provo MTC?? I love it. Also I bore my testimony on Sunday in SPANISH! I mean how could I not after Fernando came to church! At least now if I can't learn anymore spanish for the rest of my mission I can bare my testimony at the end of my homecoming and everyone will still think I´m fluent.
Then yesterday I FINALLY got my tooth fixed! Hma. Watt and I caught a cab by ourselves and went to the office. It was funny because in the car we tried to talk to the driver about the church, like nothing big just basic small talk, but apparently he didn´t believe in Jesus Christ and then dropped us off a ways from the actual office. Oh well, you win some and you lose some, but we found it and it was a really nice place! In my head I had imagined some dark little room with a single bare light bulb and a table with an assortment of steak knives instead of dental tools. Not the case. And the dentista spoke english too! So that made it so much easier! He said he could either do a veneer or redo the acrylic covering so he did the latter and I´m as good as new! It´s not exactly perfect--the color is not quite as white as the rest of my teeth but it is pretty darn close. No one notices unless they´re like me and staring at it a inch from a mirror. BUT if you ever do send a package and want to include some white strips so I can even it out perfectly I would love you forever.
KK that´s awesome about lacrosse! You´re such a beast! I wish I could be there for some of your games! Also it was super awesome to get your email! Just keep a playlist of all your awesome tunes and then when I get back we´ll jam and you can catch me up! Also keep the emails coming I love them! And I always will have time to read yours!
I don´t know when I´ll get to email next since next week at this time I´ll be on my way to Viña and I don´t know when Pday is there. But if you don´t hear from me on Tuesday don´t worry, there will be one coming as soon as I can!
I love you all and I love being a missionary!
Peace, love, and empanadas
Hermana Avans
(I have a maestro who consistently likes to spell my name this way haha)
COOL STORY TIME...After Pday last week we had to go out into the calle (or as us lighter skinned people like to call it: street) and practice introducing the Book of Mormon to real people! So Hma. Watt and I go out and are like ok how the heck are we suppose to do this? I mean have you heard our spanish? It´s pretty broken but at least I can speak it ok and she can understand it ok so we make a pretty good team... Anyway we see this guy walking down the street so we´re like ok let´s just go talk to him and see where it goes. So we go over and I ask if he has a few minutes to talk and he's like yeah and we tell him we´re representatives of Jesus Christ and ask if he believes in Jesus and he does but doesn't go to church. It was really hard to understand him and we kept having to ask him to slow down. It was so nice though because he just kept asking us questions so we thankfully didn't have to work hard to engage him. He was like oh you´re North Americans and started asking if we were married and stuff and if we can only marry Mormons. Then he asked about church and if it´s like mass and stuff and we´re just trying our best to answer his questions. We ask if he wants to come to church and that could be cool! But we didn´t know what time it was here so we brought him down to meet our teacher and were able to get his phone and address! So we got a referral! The first person we talked to! It was seriously the best feeling ever! THEN fast forward to Sunday. We´re sitting in sacrament waiting for testimony meeting to start when Presidente Doll calls us out to the hall. Guess who was standing there with some Hermanas?? Fernando! He came to church!! He stayed all three hours and told me he really liked it! He said that the Hermanas have been teaching him at his house this past week too! Seriously I have never felt such SWEET JOY!!!! I pray for him every night that he will keep progressing. I´m so grateful that the Lord trusts us enough to have let Fernanado´s mind be open to this beautiful message when we talked to him on the street, even when we really didn´t share anything that spiritual. It really taught me that even through broken teeth and broken spanish the Lord does work through you to touch the heart of others. You just have to open your mouth even when you have no clue what to say and the Lord will help you! I´m so much more excited to get out into the field now!
Also this past week we started all Spanish in classes so now our teachers only speak spanish and actually only even know a little english at that, but it´s not as hard as I thought it would be. Friday we went to the temple for the last time as it is closed in March for cleaning so it was probably my last time for the next 17 months, which is just the saddest thought ever. But it´s worth not going to the temple for that long if I can give other people the chance to feel its peace by bringing the gospel to them. AND I did the session ALL in spanish too! No headphones for this gringa! And when I say all I really mean ALL! I was watching, listening, talking the español the entire time, with the help of the workers of course!
SHOUTOUT to Aleigh and Hunter who ALSO went to the temple this past week and were sealed!! I´m SOO happy for you guys! I wish I could have been there but I LOVE you both and can´t wait to hear all about it! I ate the cake at lunch that day in celebration.
Also SHOUTOUT to Uncle Kel who I believe had a birthday this week! How many times have you turned 29 now?? ;)
Sundays here are too awesome! We had Elder Evans and his wife come and address us. And yes--He is as awesome as he sounds. He´s a member of the first quorum of the 70 and over all the missionaries and CCMs in the world. He gave an awesome talk on the doctrine of the family. I mean we had Elder Rasband a few weeks ago and then Elder Evans this week?? What is this the Provo MTC?? I love it. Also I bore my testimony on Sunday in SPANISH! I mean how could I not after Fernando came to church! At least now if I can't learn anymore spanish for the rest of my mission I can bare my testimony at the end of my homecoming and everyone will still think I´m fluent.
Then yesterday I FINALLY got my tooth fixed! Hma. Watt and I caught a cab by ourselves and went to the office. It was funny because in the car we tried to talk to the driver about the church, like nothing big just basic small talk, but apparently he didn´t believe in Jesus Christ and then dropped us off a ways from the actual office. Oh well, you win some and you lose some, but we found it and it was a really nice place! In my head I had imagined some dark little room with a single bare light bulb and a table with an assortment of steak knives instead of dental tools. Not the case. And the dentista spoke english too! So that made it so much easier! He said he could either do a veneer or redo the acrylic covering so he did the latter and I´m as good as new! It´s not exactly perfect--the color is not quite as white as the rest of my teeth but it is pretty darn close. No one notices unless they´re like me and staring at it a inch from a mirror. BUT if you ever do send a package and want to include some white strips so I can even it out perfectly I would love you forever.
KK that´s awesome about lacrosse! You´re such a beast! I wish I could be there for some of your games! Also it was super awesome to get your email! Just keep a playlist of all your awesome tunes and then when I get back we´ll jam and you can catch me up! Also keep the emails coming I love them! And I always will have time to read yours!
I don´t know when I´ll get to email next since next week at this time I´ll be on my way to Viña and I don´t know when Pday is there. But if you don´t hear from me on Tuesday don´t worry, there will be one coming as soon as I can!
I love you all and I love being a missionary!
Peace, love, and empanadas
Hermana Avans
(I have a maestro who consistently likes to spell my name this way haha)
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| MTC map of Chile |
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| Santiago, Chile Temple |
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| Santiago MTC |
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| District 3 in the MTC |
Hello Hermana Evans!! I ran into your mother today at church. My oldest son Ryan was speaking in her ward because he'll be leaving soon to serve his mission in Virginia (his girlfriend will be leaving the MTC this week for Oklahoma City). She gave me your info so I just wanted to wish you all the best as you serve your mission in Chili!! What a blessing and a true ray of sunshine you will be to the sweet people you will serve!! It sounds like you are doing great already, learning the language and really living in the moment. What a wonderful time this is for you! I'm so happy for you and wish you well.
ReplyDeleteLove you, Sister Fullerton :)