First week in Rancagua!!!

FAMILY HELLO DID YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU HELLO FRIENDS I LOVE YOU ALSO ALRIGHT HERE GOES.

Sorry, I just have a lot of love and not a long of time to express it.

SO. Rancagua. Cachopoal. Wow. Super different from La Florida! Yeah, there's a lot more people here...it makes contacting a bit harder in the streets, because people are seriously from everywhere in Chile! We contacted someone who lives in Antofagasta! They didn't want to talk much, but if they had, we couldn't have taught them anyway...maybe I could have passed it along to Kristen... :)

It's really awesome here. I'm living with my companion, Hermana Castañeda, and two other hermanas: Hermana Kenny, who is a gringa with 8 months in the mission....she's my inspiration right now, she speaks spanish super well! Her companion is Hermana Neida from Columbia. (I'm getting the parrot thing.) She's so sweet! She's super little, but she's a fireball! Why are all little people fireballs? Anyway, it's her last cambio in the mission, so she's working super hard to make it count!

We are super close to the oficinas, so yes, mom, I will be able to get my Christmas package as soon as it arrives in Rancagua! Wahoo!! Stoked about that.

We live in an apartment that is pretty nice...IT HAS A WASHER. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO WASH OUR OWN CLOTHES IN OUR OWN CASA. It's the little things, guys.

Something that is different between Talca and Rancagua...in Talca, we contacted a lot, but almost every house had someone at the door to talk to. Here...I think we've contacted most of the week, and I could probably count on a hand and a half how many people have opened their doors. So...if we can't contact on the street, and people won't open their doors...hmm. Whatever...I'm just starting to get worried about your salvation and stuff.

The people of Chile REALLY LOVE to give us things! The other day, one of the people we contacted let us into her house, and in the middle of us talking, she just got up and left the room. We were a little nervous as we waited for her to return from her super abrupt departure, but she came back a minute later with a beautiful bracelet for each of us and cookies! I tried to say that we couldn't just take her bracelet, but she seemed a little offended by this, so I took it. It's really pretty. Also, the cookies are super delicious with Nutella. Another menos activo gave me some really beautiful earrings! This is something really characteristic of the people here. They really love to give things.

I've been getting used the people we're working with, including los menos activos! The other day, we had a lesson with a sister menos activo. She's 48 years old, and she has the energy of a five year old. At first it was really shocking, because...I can't even describe this to you. She was sitting then standing then jumping then walking on stilts then writing on the walls and talk talk talking and by the way I'm not kidding about the stilts or the writing on the walls thing. And she kept calling her dog "My Little Dog Child." I almost just started laughing hysterically, because I literally didn't have another reaction to this scene. Luckily, I mustured up some self-control and kept my silence.

We also met an 87 year old woman named Sarah. She let us sit with her on her front porch, and we listened to her talk for a while. She was being taught by the missionaries ten years ago with her husband, but after a few lessons, he decided he didn't want the elders to visit any more. Well, he passed away five years ago, and she was more than happy to listen again. She told us a lot about her life, like how she met her husband, and how one day she just announced to her family that she was getting married in a month, even though none of them had the slightest idea that she had been dating anyone at all. She also told us that literally everyone in her life, other than her children and a few cousins, had passed away, and she was just waiting for her turn. Obviously, we turned to the Plan of Salvation. We told her that she's going to see all these people again, and they're going to be waiting for her on the other side of the veil. When we said that, I saw her eyes light up. "Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiire," she said. "Nunca he sabido. Miiiiiiire." She said she'd like to be with her husband again. It was really a beautiful moment. It was the first time that I've told someone that they can see their family after this life and they've been surprised by the news. Usually people say, "yeah, I know." NO, you don't. FAMILIES ARE ETERNAL. Even I can't wrap my head around that sometimes.

I don't know what will happen with her, though. My companion isn't all that jazzed about visiting her again, not really sure why...

I'm going to learn a LOT THIS CAMBIO. I've decided that I'm just not going to be negative about it. Nope. I'm going to make this a learning experience. I'm going to have an attitude like Ammon...when adversity came, instead of feeling like it was an impossible task, he saw it as an opportunity to prove his faith. 

But just so everyone knows...if you ask God with all your heart to help you change yourself, you've literally asked for it.

EVERYONE. I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH. PLEASE keep praying and reading the book of mormon and watching messages from the prophet and living the way you should and writing me letters because I absolutely love hearing from you all.

HERE GOES WEEK TWO IN RANCAGUA! WAHOO!!

Love, Hermana Thomas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, hey there folks.....

So nothing happened this week.

Love, Hermana Thomas.

GOTCHA. This week was crazy! I think. (Sometimes I start these letters off, and I start saying "oh, wow, this week was so crazy!" and then I get into my letter and I realize that I don't really have anything to say, so I end up talking about playing with kittens...?) (Sometimes that happens.)

First piece of business: We're living in the casa of La Florida again! We moved in last Monday night, and I disinfected LIKE CUH-RAY-ZEE. Crazy. It was also a great opportunity for me to teach the girls I'm living with how to disinfect. They were appalled that I was using hot, soapy water. They said the hot water would only spread the germs...but this is also coming from three girls who have been using disinfectant spray like febreeze in the bathroom...I love them. 

This week has been HOT. HOT. HOT. HOT. HOT. HOT. HOT. WHY DOESN'T THIS FONT GET BIGGER. HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT. I thought my skin was melting at one point. I considered the idea of dying slowly in the shade, curled up with the one thousand dogs that I might as well call my companions since they are always following us everywhere...it sounded really nice compared to walking more in the heat. But guess what? Suffering the heat of the sun is just part of the mission. (This might be my most-used phrase here. "Es parte de la misiòn." I think Hermana Pineda wants to kill me every time I say it.) (Just kidding. We love each other.)

A funny moment with the language...we were walking back from an appointment with a family of menos activos. We were talking about how awesome they are, especially the husband, because he is ALWAYS smiling....ALWAYS. Anyway, I said, "Yo quiero abracerle!" ("I just wanna hug him!") But Hermana Pineda heard "yo quiero embarazarme" so you guys can just look that one up for yourselves. 

We visited a menos activo this week whose husband had a heart attack a few days ago. During this visit, she told us that she was not going to share any spiritual experiences with us because it would be like...oh, man, I can't remember the exact wording of this scripture..."throwing pearls at the feet of dogs"? She then went on to relate four very very VERY personal and spiritual moments in her life to us. So....

Anyway, I had a lot of moments this week that really made impressions on me. There are some really stalwart members that impress me so much with their faithfulness. One day, we visited a member whose entire family is baptized, but she's the only one who goes to church. I'd guess she's about 60 years old. The rest of her family wants nothing to do with the church. We decided to teach her a little more about the restoration. About a minute into it, though, her husband stormed into the room, raging about false prophets and the Mormon church of the devil. It was a little nerve-wracking in the moment, but he left peacefully enough, and we were able to finish our lesson without another interruption. The hermana apologized, and then tearfully told us how much she wishes that her family would re-accept the gospel. I can't believe that she can still be so faithful in coming to church, despite the heavy disapproval of her own husband. 

Another hermana has a situation similar...all the members of her family are members, but she's the only one who attends church. She was a reactivation. Her husband drinks really heavily, and expects her to do everything in the house and have a full-time job. He doesn't like when we visit, so we have to be really careful about the time we choose to go to her house. She is one of the sweetest people I've ever known, and she radiates a spirit that is so strong.

 

Anyway.........GUESS WHAT. CAMBIOS.

CAMBIOS CAMBIOS CAMBIOS.

Saturday night, our leaders were supposed to call us to tell us if we were being changed. WE HAD TO WAIT UNTIL 10:30 PM. It was absolutely excruciating to wait. We practically knew for sure that Hermana Pineda was going to have a cambio, since she's been here for five months in the same place. I was probably going to stay, and so were the other two.

WELL, LESSON LEARNED. Never assume you know anything, because guess what.....

I'm going to Rancagua!!!!!!!!! I was the only person in the casa with a cambio. What?! We were all shocked. I still don't feel like it's real...? It was just really unexpected. Hermana Pineda is going to be here for another transfer, with "Hermana Perry." (I don't know her, but I'm assuming she's another gringa.)

My area is Cachapoal, and my companion is Hermana Castañeda de Mexico! Wahoo!

Yesterday and today have been a little hard, because I've just cried saying goodbye to all these people I've grown to love so much. The kids of the Bishop here were so cute, they didn't want me to leave! At one point, I had all three of them hugging me! It was so precious. I said goodbye to our family of investigators yesterday, too...oh man. That was hard. They were so cute, they gave me a pair of shoes because they said that they are always looking at our feet and the awful condition of our zapatos! (They gave shoes to Hermana Pineda also.) Their daughter gave me two bracelets and the sweetest note, some hair pins...oh my gosh. I tried to not cry, but I love this family so much. I left them with my testimony, and both the mother and father cried as they thanked us for helping them bring the gospel of Jesus Christ into their homes.

Have I said that being a missionary is THE GREATEST JOB EVER?? 

I am so humbled by the opportunity I have now to go serve in Cachapoal. Obviously I have something to learn there! I'm sad to leave my lovely companion, but I know that the Lord has a plan, and this is part of it! 

So next week, I'll be writing from Rancagua! Crazy!

I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH. SO MUCH. Keep writing me, and keep reading your scriptures and praying.

I LOVE YOU GUYS MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER KNOW SERIOUSLY.

Looooooooooooooooooooooooooove, Hermana Thomas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey guys!!!

¡HOLA! Una otra semana màs. ¡Que traumante! (<--this is a phrase that Hermana Pineda uses very often. It's from her country. Every country has their own words like this...I really want to use all of them eventually, because they are all funny to me...for example...here in Chile, "bakan" means "cool." Like..."¡Que Bakan!" Right now, I'm living with two Mexicanas, and they both say, "¡oh, chispas!" when something goes wrong. Pronounced "chees-pahs."...I always laugh, because it sounds like they are saying "oh, cheese balls." Anyway.)

This week was really good! We taught a lot of lessons with members, which is always more effective than just teaching alone. (MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH: HELP THE MISSIONARIES PLEASE.) 

Dad, you'll be more than excited to hear that I sang for our Zone meeting this week..."Señor, te necisito" ("I Need Thee Every Hour.") It was really awesome to sing! Hymns are so beautiful in Spanish.

Speaking of differences between English and Spanish...the other day, we had a lesson with a menos activo. In the end, we asked who she wanted to say the closing prayer...and she said, "Oh, la Hermana Thomas, porque me gusta como ella habla como una wawa." (She said she likes how I talk like a baby.) I laughed, and said the prayer, assuming that she was referring to the fact that sometimes my grammer is wrong, and sometimes I don't know the words...like a baby. Well, later I came to realize that she was actually referring to my tone of voice. Yep! I guess I sound like a baby when I speak Spanish. I was on splits with Hermana Bravo the other day (I LOVE Hermana Bravo. She's the mexicana,) and when I said "¡alo!" at the first house, she smiled and said, "Me gusta su 'alo', porque es como una niña." (I like you're 'alo' because it's like a little girl.) So...I don't have much more to say about that.

Actually, I do. It's true! My voice goes up a little higher when I speak Spanish...I don't know why! Maybe it's because I have to think a little harder so it's stressful, or maybe it's because I'm usually talking about the gospel and happy things, so I'm a little cheerier, I don't know! But can I just say that when Hermana Pineda speaks English, her voice drops and octave. I love it. She goes from cute little Hermana Pineda to the worlds greatest base. It's awesome. (Don't worry, I haven't said anything about it to her. When she talks about my change of voice, I just smile to myself, and hear her voice speaking English in my head. That's enough for me.)

Still on the topic of languages, I just want everyone to understand very clearly right now that I am going to be one of those people who comes off their mission and doesn't remember how to speak English. Prepare accordingly.

But seriously, 8 times during this letter already I've started accidentally typing in Spanish. Also, when I speak English with the other Hermanas, I always accidentally revert to Spanish. I laugh when I remember my cousin, Isaac Holiday...the last thing he said to me before I left was: "don't come back with an accent.".......sorry, kid.

BREAKING NEWS: I get the thing with cats. All my life, I've wondered...what the heck? What's so great about cats? Literally, why would anyone ever prefer a cat over a dog. It blew my mind. WELL. The other day, I had the privilege of playing with a kitten for the first time in my life. (Yes, Chloe Davis, and everyone else reading this with their jaws dropped. You read that right. My first time playing with a kitten in my entire life. I venture to say that I have never touched a kitten before this time. Cats, yes. A kitten? No.) While I still firmly hold my ground that I am a dog person through and through, I can now say that I understand the appeal of cats. The kitten-stage is probably worth it. Oh my gosh! Kittens love to play with anything!! I played with this little kitten in my lap almost the whole lesson. It was awful, because it was super distracting, but oh my gosh it was a kitten!!!!

I think I'm just having an any-animal-but-a-dog withdrawal. Have I mentioned that they have DOGS IN CHILE?

During this lesson, a spider the size of Mount Everest crawled its way up the wall opposite me. That's almost not an exaggeration. I am prepared to say to you that this spider was probably the size of my palm. I have never seen a spider of this enormity. If you could die from looking at something...

(Side-note: Hermana Pineda sitting next to me, practically beside herself. Her hamster died this week, I guess...and her family sent her PICTURES OF THE DEAD HAMSTER. I'm laughing so hard right now. She is laughing, too, but...¡que traumante! ¡Enserio! Her hamster's name was "cosita"..."little thing." Hermana Pineda calls EVERYTHING a "cosa" or "cosita." Dogs, babies, hair pins...)

In other news, I have read three scriptures this week that have given me full permission to get SUPER FAT, so...message received. You all can look forward to rolling me off the plane in a year and two months. (The only scripture I can remember is Proverbs 28:25.) 

Also, I keep forgetting to tell you guys that I have felt four mini earthquakes while here! Super small. Like...you hear a really big noise, and then the chair under you shifts on its own, and you hear the house creak a little, then it's done. 

Another thing: the houses for missionaries are littered with old things of missionaries-past. I usually avoid these things, though, because whenever I accidentally use something around the house, then find the name "Hermana So-and-so, 2006-2007," I feel like I've found bones in a graveyard. It's super creepy for some reason.

In terms of investigators...still loving all of them so much! Sometimes it's hard to keep them progressing, though. Our family of investigators is struggling a little...because they aren't keeping their commitments. They aren't reading the Book of Mormon for themselves...some of them read when we give them specific things to read, but...I told them the other day, we aren't here to bring the spirit into their house for an hour. We're here to bring the spirit into their lives for forever. If people don't follow through with their commitments, how can they integrate the gospel into their lives? Sometimes it's frustrating. But I love this family so much. It was so sweet, the other day the mother gave Hermana Pineda and I each "pansitas"...it's a little container with quotes from the bible...specifically things that the Savior has said. While I understand that this is probably more common to have for people of other religions, I dang love it. It was so sweet of her! I love them.

We also have an investigator of GOLD. GOLD, I TELL YOU. GOLD. She has been searching for a church that she feels at home in. She came across the webpage of the church online one day, and requested a Book of Mormon and a visit from the missionaries...three times! So we hurried over there, and started talking with her. Guess what? She asked us if we pay tithing. We said....yeah...and she was so excited about it! Then she asked if there are ways to participate in the church other than just sitting and listening to preachers. We told her about callings, and she was thrilled. She said, "do you drink Coca cola? Because I'm an addict, but if I have to give it up, I will." BOOM. Word of Wisdom. And she's married. Legally. I just don't know how to react to this. She also said that she wants to be baptized the way the Savior was...full immersion. She doesn't totally understand the part about having authority from God, but we can get to that next lesson. Basically, this woman is so prepared for the gospel.

The only thing is...she went to church yesterday with us. Everything was going great. Two members asked if they could sit with her, and everything was falling perfectly into place. Then....we had the absolute worst sacrament meeting of my life. Kids were running around screaming. Not your usual chaos...I'm talking SCREAMING. So much that we literally couldn't hear the speakers more than half the time. On top of that...the talks were about "how to spend your money wisely." Yes. Mmm-hmm. I don't think a single scripture was shared. Also, we only had two talks, and we went super over time.

She stayed for the rest of church, and she seemed to like the other classes, but she didn't seem super excited about having another lesson super soon. Still, we have a lesson scheduled on Friday with her. We're going to have to bring the spirit into this one...a lot.

Really, it was a huge test of my patience. This whole week was so great, things were going perfectly, and then we had that one experience, and it killed my attitude for a little bit. I was so disappointed. 

This is when I need to remember to put my faith in the power of the spirit. I know that despite the catastrophic events of Sacrament Meeting, if we can be worthy of the companionship of the spirit during our next lesson with her, she can gain a testimony that this church contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it's the truth that she's been looking for for so long!

Everyone, I love you so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your letters. Sometimes it's difficult to respond to all of them, but I print them all out every time to read! I LOVE YOU GUYS. SO MUCH. Keep reading the Book of Mormon. Keep praying. Keep emailing me. And if one of your kids is making a bit of a fuss in church...maybe take them outside! ;) 

Just so everyone is clear, I love the kids/families in our ward SO MUCH. This week was just...out of control. The weird thing is, almost every ward in our Zone had the same problem with kids screaming during Sacrament Meeting. Maybe we all needed to learn a little patience. 

I LOVE YOU. WOW I LOVE YOU. I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERY DAY. MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Love, Hermana Thomas

¡MERRY CHRISTMAS! HOLY COW IT'S CHRISTMAS.

HerMama Thomas' note (again): We have been in contact with President Warne today and have learned that McKenna's chest x-ray results were negative for ACTIVE TB. This is great news!! She will begin a 9-month antibiotic treatment immediately which drastically reduces the chances of her becoming 'active' in her lifetime. They will continue to monitor her with monthly chest x-rays until she is 'out of the woods.'

Dear Family and friends!

(For those unaware, my Christmas begins on November 1st and endsNEVERDEALWITHIT.)

My companion is learning this the hard way. I decided I'd be her personal alarm clock on the first of November, and I started singing "Joy to the World" in her ear...in Spanish! 

High-five for Christmas. High-five for singing a song in Spanish. High-five for being a human alarm clock.

This week was a little off for us! Not gonna lie! Hermana Pineda was sick for two days of it...poor thing. She woke up at 5 am to vomit one day...needless to say, we stayed inside. I spent six hours organizing my scriptures in Spanish. Wahoo! It wasn't too bad. Plus, it was raining a storm outside, so I was almost grateful that I didn't have to run around in that...

Can we talk about the weather, here? Talk about bipolarity. We'll leave the casa at twelve, and it's absolutely freezing. Then we get walking and in a half hour we're melting. So we take off our jackets and suddenly we're in the deeper stages of hypothermia. 

Anyway, I'm going to have to keep myself super busy during these few months...because I can feel the nostalgia for lounging around in my smoking jacket and setting up the tree and all that stuff! 

Other than the christmas-songs-thing, Hermana Pineda and I are doing just great! I can't believe I only have two weeks (for sure) left to work with her! I really love this girl to death. It makes me so sad to think that we might (probably) get changed. She's had a lot of time here in this area (5 months,) so we've got a feeling that she's out of here. 

The other day, out of nowhere, she asked me what "what the heck" means. I promise that I'm not saying it...okay. Maybe I've said it once. But really, she didn't learn it from me. So I tried to explain that, in English, sometimes we take swears and turn them into a different word...and, magically, this word somehow isn't as bad. (Which, now that I think about it, is a little bit ridiculous...I mean...they're both words, right?) Anyway, she wanted to know what the real word was for "heck," so I spelled it out for her. Then, somehow there was some confusion somewhere, and she kind of screamed "WHAT THE ----!" (Like...she got confused what the "bad" word was, and said the wrong one.) Anyway, it took me completely off-guard, and I think I laughed for five minutes straight. 

Oh, man...languages. Idiomas. Enserio. What. is. up. One problem I've encountered is that every country has their own words for everything. I asked Hermana Pineda how to say "plates/cups/things in the kitchen," and she told me that she didn't know..."What?! How can you not know the word for these things?" I said. She then went on to explain that in Guatemala, they use one general word for all these things in the kitchen..."trastas?" "Drastas?" I don't remember how to say the word. BUT...in Chile, this word is a really bad word to say. Like...it's the word...donkey. What? How can one word for something so simple be so different in two countries that speak the same language? Whenever I ask the natives which country has the most correct Spanish, they always say their own. So I guess I just have to be really careful about what words I learn from the hermanas from different countries, and learn to speak...Chilean!

Well, sorry that this letter so far is about swear-words. That was not my intention. Let's get to the uplifting things:

We kind-of sort-of have a baptismal date with our family of investigators, which is kind-of sort-of SUPER exciting! We just have to work really hard to keep them progressing. We have a lot of faith with this!

Also...okay. There are a few families in the ward here who are always volunteering to feed us during the week. As missionaries, we are SO grateful for these families, because it's not easy to prepare food for four missionaries plus your family! Yesterday we ate with one family in particular who we've eaten with many times. The food is always soooo good when we go to their house...I always get excited to see their name on the list! The food is prepared by the husband (which is pretty darn uncommon here,) and it's always kind of a lot to eat, but I always down it, because I don't want to get hungry while we work for another seven hours without food! 

Anyway, their food was super delicious yesterday. When we finished, the husband told us that he had been asked to prepare food for Elder Holland a few years ago when he visited Chile, and said that he'd prepared the same meal that he'd just served us for the apostle. He then explained that cooking is one of this talents/hobbies, and that, whenever possible, he wanted to use this skill to edify the kingdom of God. He said that serving his food to the servants and representatives of Jesus Christ is a way that he can show his love to God and his appreciation for the servants of the Lord. He said that he gave us the same meal as the apostle, because it didn't matter that we don't speak in General Conference, or tour the world giving huge discourses--we, too, are representatives of Christ, and he was more than willing to give his best for us. My eyes were a little wet with tears by the end of his story, because this was a huge example to me of the fact that we all can serve our Heavenly Father in different ways, the best we know how. Sometimes it's a huge sacrifice, like accepting a calling as bishop or relief society president, or serving a mission. Other times, it's small, like helping someone in need, being a friend to those who have none, or providing food for the missionaries. 

Maybe you can all think about the talents you have, and find a way to use these things to serve the people around you. Because you definitely have more than one talent that can be used to do so...who would have thought that cooking could help edify the kingdom of God on the earth? But this member found a way, and he finds a lot of joy from doing it.

I love you guys so much. Thanks for all your emails! I print them out and read all of them. Like, each one fifty times. I understand now why missionaries get SUPER EXCITED when they have mail!! I miss all of you so much! I'm so proud of my friends serving missions. And those who aren't, too! I'm grateful for all of their examples to me. I'm so grateful to have this gospel in my life, and now I have the opportunity to bring this joy into the lives of others. I get to help families be together forever! I think I win the title of best job ever!!

I LOVE YOU GUYS A LOT AND I THINK ABOUT YOU LOTS. 

If anyone is interested, the running score for number of times my companion and I have TOTALLY ATE IT on the sidewalks is now: me-32, Hermana Pineda-43. So you can all take back your "McKenna is the clumsiest person in the world"s now. 

LOOOOOOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.

¡yo les amo!

Love, Hermana Thomas

ps: if anyone at all wants to send me a really simple recipe for absolutely anything other than eggs and PB&J, the offer is still open.