It is HOT here!!!!

So let's discuss the heat. Do you know what it feels like to think your skin is...crisping? Because...yeah.

I'mmmm dreaaminnngg of a Christmasss...where my skinnn doesn't melt off my boooones...

So! Things to say. Firstly, I guess I can now say that I've had the Chilean experience...the other night, O'Higgins soccer team won some game that I guess was a big deal. (Sorry, wish I could tell you what it was, but remember that I'm literally living "in the world but not of it" right now.) All I know is that we had planned to meet up with los Elderes outside the church to divide the list of conversos recientes at 9pm, and that's exactly when the game ended...and people were pretty dang psyched.

 

Hermanas Thomas and Kenney

  Cars were passing us with people hanging out the windows without shirts waving giant flags, shouting and cars constantly honking...eventually the traffic got pretty clogged up, and it was just a gigantic mass of cars honking and people shouting and blowing whistles...and here are these five little Mormon missionaries outside their cute little church dividing their cute little list of cute little conversos recientes...it was pretty funny. Some people would walk past us and shout stuff like "DO YOU GUYS HAVE JOSEPH SMITH?" and then snicker at their friends like that was some really witty comment, and I replied, "Nope! He actually just left!" My favorite moment was when a car sped past us with a bunch of people going crazy, and someone shouted out the window "LOS MORMONES!!!!!!!" I don't know, it was pretty funny to me.

Scratch that. My favorite moment was while we were walking home...amidst all the chaos, this car being driven by a guy in his nineties slowly lumbers past us, and his wife, equally as ancient, is blowing on a little plastic horn as hard as her ninety-year-old lungs can muster. Literally...everyone is a fan here.

Neat and tidy! Their study area:-)

HerMama's note: Someone asked me what I packed for McKenna that was overkill--the first thing I thought of was the down comforter with a duvet cover. I didn't want her to be cold because she sleeps best in 90 degree heat and even here in the U.S. with central heat, she gets cold. If I had it to do again, I would be a bit more practical.

 My least favorite moment of the event happened at 2 in the morning, when I was still lying wide awake in my bed due to the not-even-close-to-ending fiesta that was going on in the plaza next to us. The cars hadn't even stopped honking. 

The other day, we were walking through the plaza, and this big ol' fat guy shouted at me, "HELLO, BARBIE!"....alright, sir, if we're going to refer to each other by the toys we resemble, then nice to meet you, Mr. Potato Head. 

Also, it was Friday the Thirteenth the other day...NO ONE DIED. (Just kidding. I'm not superstitious like that.) But, hey...it was Friday the Thirteenth in the year 2013, and we live on the 13th floor of our building, in the month of December, which is the twelfth month of the year, which is almost thirteen.........................Hermana Neira was predicting that at 13:13 hours, we'd experience some awful catastrophe. AND AT THAT VERY MOMENT OF THE DAY, I ate a cookie. So. 

Hermana Kenney and I were the victims of some serious bug bites this week...hers were way worse than mine, but I like to think we suffered together. 

I'm so psyched to be working with Hermana Kenney for the rest of the transfer! Hermana Neira leaves for her home on Wednesday night, so it will be the four gringos of Cachapoal rockin' it! (The Elders are also both gringos.) But I'm so excited! Hermana Kenney always has some awesome ideas to work more effectively and to have success in every lesson. I've been learning so much from this experience.

 

Right now we have two investigators con fechas! (With a baptismal date!) Both of them are for the eleventh of January. One of our investigators in particular is just the darn cutest person in the world. Her name is Maria, and she was so excited to hear that she could be baptized. She said that before we extended the invitation, she had been hoping that we would offer it. She can't read small letters, and a cute member bought her a HUGE Libro de Mormón, and she's been reading it without us assigning things to read. She's been praying, too. She went to church with us the other day, and I was a little nervous because of my last experience with an investigator in Sacrament Meeting (the investigator that dropped us right after it ended...she didn't like all the noise of the kids...remember?) Anyway, afterwards, I went up to Maria and asked what she thought, and I was surprised to see tears in her eyes. She started speaking really fast and quietly, but from what I could understand, she absolutely loved it, and she was saying how grateful she was that we had found her. She told another member that day that she'd been talking to everyone she knows, saying how these "three little missionaries" are changing her life. I just absolutely love her. She's the darn cutest lady ever.

Tomorrow is exactly five months in the mission for me! Five months ago today, I boarded the plane and took off for the Mexico MTC! Honestly, I can't believe how much my life has changed compared to a year ago, or two years ago, or really...two months ago! I'm here trying to change people's lives, but in reality, the mission is changing mine. I can't even begin to describe how thankful I am for this time I have to learn and to grow directly under the guidance of our Heavenly Father. 

I know the gospel is true with all my heart! I really do. I see a miracle every day, even though they are usually small! We had a few less-than-great lessons this week, but every good lesson makes up for fifty "bad" ones! And it's because the spirit is so strong! I can feel it in my chest...my heart beats a little faster, and it's like my body has more blood in it all the sudden, and I just want to sit there and feel this feeling for a few more hours! And it's not a coincidence that every time I hear/share the first vision, I feel this feeling. This is the truth. We've got it, right here in our hands. Go share it!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH. I PRAY FOR YOU ALL THE TIME. MERRY CHRISTMAS MERRY CHRISTMAS MERRY CHRISTMAS A THOUSAND TIMES OVER. And enjoy the cold for me. (I never thought I'd say that in my life.)

LOOOOOOOOOOOVE, Hermana Thomas

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DADDY TOMORROW!

How the turn tables.......:-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS! YAY.

First of all, I got a TON of DearElders the other day! That was so fun! But they're from September/October...most were from my mom and dad, but huge shout out to Sister Holman and my lovely Auntie Erin (HerMama Thomas' note: THANK YOU!)! I just got your letters, and I was so excited to read them!! Thank you so much!!

And that's the most exciting thing that happened to me this week.

JUST KIDDING. So many things happened this week. It is unbelievable.

I had to go to Santiago again this week! I think it was Tuesday. The days are getting so blurred together, it's ridiculous. Anyway, we had to go to Santiago for a BLOOD TEST. No joke, when the secretaries called and broke the news, I cried. I don't think they could tell, but I was crying. (In case you're just tuning in to my emails...NEEDLES AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH A DOCTOR ARE THE CLOSEST THING TO TORTURE FOR ME.) 

But guess what? This challenge came coupled with a HUGE blessing--I got to spend the whole night before/all day in Santiago with my lovely friend, Hermana Pineda! Oh, wow. That was so awesome. I got to hear all about our family of investigators, and everyone else, and I got to laugh and talk with someone I now consider to be one of my dearest friends. (Side-note: our family of investigators is doing great! Aw man, I miss them.)

Kenna's very dear first companion whom she connected with while both were being tested in Santiago.

 I got called into a room by myself in the hospital. The nurse had to leave and get something, so I was left to sit and wait for my inevitable death on my own. The door was open, and across the hall, a little girl (probably a year and a half old) was screaming her head off. Her mom was trying to calm her down, to no avail. Then the doctor walked into their room, and what little success the mother had in calming her baby went through the window--this kid was not gonna have it! She did NOT want that doctor touching her! I had this weird, out-of-body moment, when I could almost see myself at one and a half years old, my mom trying to calm me down, the doctor not sure what to do...it was like watching a clip from my past. But you know what? That doctor probably deserved it. So.

For your information, I didn't cry. #ThereCanBeMiraclesWhenYouBelieve

It's nice to see that Kenna is still lounging in her favorite PJ bottoms. I think it a fitting statement after all of the needle sticks she has had.

 Hermana Neira is our Sister Coordinator in the zone, and on Thursday she worked with my companion in splits, so I worked with Hermana Kenney all day! It was the first time I've worked with a gringo, so it was a new experience! I loved it. She's so awesome. We laughed the whole time, and we had some pretty good lessons together! 

Then, near the end of one of our visits, President Warne tried to call us. Hermana Kenney had a heart attack. What with the Tuberculosis thing, I've grown pretty accustomed to seeing his name in our Caller ID, but I'm coming to realize that this is not a normal occurrence--the President doesn't just call missionaries normally. So after the lesson ended, we walked out, and immediately called him back. Hermana Kenney had the phone, but it turned out that he needed to talk with me. Still calm, I assumed that it would just be a follow-up on how things went with my blood test in Santiago. 

CAMBIOS. What?? Yep. Cambios. Unfortunately, one of the sister missionaries in San Fernando decided she wanted to go home, which shook up a few of the others of us in the mission. And one of those companionships was MINE. President Warne informed me that Hermana Castañeda was going to be moved to San Fernando the next day to be companions with the companion of the hermana heading home, and that Hermana Kenney, Neira and I would be working in a trio. Hermana Kenney was so excited!! Wow! I couldn't believe it. It was such a weird moment. I had the oddest feeling...Hermana Castañeda and I have had our differences, but I never expected to feel sad to see her go. While Hermana Kenney was celebrating that we'd be companions, the weirdest feeling of disappointment hit me. (Not that I didn't want to be companions with the Hermanas--they are TOTALLY awesome!!) But...I was sad to think that Hermana Castañeda would not be my companion anymore.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the amazing power of trying to apply the attributes of Christ to your own lives. If you had asked me on day two of our companionship if I wanted to switch, I might have said yes. But after learning to genuinely love her, asking her about herself, attempting to understand her like the Savior does, my heart was sad to say goodbye. 

Anyway, the next morning we drove her to San Fernando, and we both cried when we hugged goodbye. I know that she is needed to help people there, and that the Lord has things for her to do that only she could accomplish to His satisfaction. It was a really bitter-sweet moment. I know we only had less than three weeks together, but I feel like I learned so much from her, and that there was definitely a purpose to our time as companions in Cachapoal. 

Yep! I'm in a trio now. I was expecting it to be a little difficult to adjust to, but we're actually doing really awesome! I love these girls to death. Hermana Kenney is from Orem, she has three sisters, and the older two have both served missions! Her little sister is Erin's age. But we laugh all the time! Hermana Neira is the one from Columbia. She's a crack up. She speaks a lot of English...and, like with Hermana Pineda, sometimes I wonder who the heck taught her these things. Her mission ends on the 19th this month (a little weird, since it's in the middle of the cambio,) so we've only got about a week and a half left with the three of us! Afterwards, Hermana Kenney and I will finish out the cambio together...we think we might be together next cambio, too...but who knows? So far, I've been really awful at guessing what will happen in the next cambio.

This is my first gringo companion! She speaks Spanish super well, so I hope I can keep progressing in my language skills! 

I know the Lord has a hand in everything! Did you guys know that? There's a purpose in everything, and as long as we're doing what we know to do, he's going to guide us to the place we need to be. He's going to protect us. He is going to help us. He is going to support us as we undergo these trials that bring about such amazing changes in ourselves. I'm seeing this changes in myself a little every day. I am so grateful.

GET IN THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT, FAMILY. I am so disappointed. What date was the tree up this year?? YESTERDAY?? THAT'S TWO MONTHS TOO LATE.

In her family letter, she was excited to inform us that she "was followed to Chile" by a childhood nemesis of hers. For years we had a little dancing tree whose name was, "Douglas Fir." He opened and shut his beady eyes while singing an obnoxious jingle. Kenna was scared of him her whole childhood. She sent this picture with the caption, "Look who followed me to Chile....Douglas luciFUR!" She is facing all of her fears courageously while in Chile--needles and singing trees.

I LOVE YOU GUYS LOTS AND LOTS. KEEP WRITING ME AND MAN ALIVE ARE YOU GUYS READING THE BOOK OF MORMON??? I'm not just writing this question! I'm expecting an answer!!!!!

I love you all. Help the missionaries! I'm prayin' for ya.

LOVE, Hermana Thomas

Chile is Chile...so....

HerMama Thomas' note:  Kenna asked me to mention how much she appreciates and LOVES hearing from you.  She is behind on email responses but thanks ALL of her friends and family members who take the time to write her!!!  SO thank you from her!!!!

So let's get started.

First of all, and I feel like I can't stress this enough, I'M NOT GOING TO SPEAK ENGLISH WHEN I GET HOME. DO YOU ALL UNDERSTAND THIS. Okay, good. I just don't want anyone to be surprised. Every night, Hermana Casteñeda and I say our prayers for our planning session in English. MY ENGLISH IS NOT MUCH BETTER THAN HERS. And I'm doing that weird thing that Taylor did with his voice. (Sorry, Taylor. It wasn't too bad.) 

(Actually, the first sign of my absolutely failing English was the other day, when I spent a good five minutes kicking myself because I LITERALLY could NOT remember what those weird little plant things are called in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It wasn't until I was reading the Bible the next day that I read the word MANDRAKE and remembered.) (So if anyone was wondering, the scriptures literally have the answers to everything.)

Sister Kenney made a Thanksgiving dinner!

In Santiago to finalize visa...with her MTC pals!!!

Secondly, it's December! MERRY. CHRISTMAS. I love you all. The Christmas spirit is a-ringin here in Cachapoal! There may not be a chance of snow, but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I love it. Everyone is pulling out their Christmas lights and dancing-santas and the works. (They really like those dancing-santas. I've nearly screamed in fright like three times when several of them have surprised me by going off.) December 17th will also mark five months in the mission! That. Is insane. But it's awesome because I've never had a reason to celebrate the seventeenth of December before, so here's a reason. 

Chile continues to be the greatest country in the world ever. Let's talk about some of the many reasons why: the bread. Stop thinking your bread tastes good because Chilean bread is AWESOME. (Okay, yeah, they've got their wonder-bread brands...but I'm talking about the rolls. They eat this with every single meal, and it's TO DIE FOR it's so good. And that's store-bought.) Also, (pay attention, Mom) the mustard. What's up with the mustard? I don't have a way to describe it adequately enough. So that's all I'm going to say. ALSO THE ICE CREAM. Every kind of ice cream. Mom, Dad, Erin, Ireland....I've had my fair share of pineapple-flavored ice cream. And it's super good. And I still hold my ground that pineapple is revolting, but this is the magic of Chilean ice cream.

So basically I just listed a bunch of food.

One thing about Rancagua that gets me every time...we live in el centro, so we've got a huge public plaza right outside our apartment building. I kid you not, every single day we have some kind of protest. It usually involves everyone in the protest having whistles and drums and noise-makers and just banging things around for six hours with a big sign that says, "FEED AFRICA." We've had every protest you can think of, many of which have involved children's rights. (This was a little ironic, because these adults always dress their kids up in wacky costumes and they parade them around in circles in this plaza, and most of the kids are complaining and whining because they don't want to do this anymore, they're bored, they're hungry, but the parents keep making them be in this parade.)

The other day, all the girls in my apartment were sharing pictures. I brought that one of Jordan and I at prom, the one that looks like a flipping magazine cover, ya know? Anyway, Hermana Neida was shocked to find out that it was me in the picture. When Hermana Castañeda said that it really was me, she goes, "but this person is like...PRETTY!" Thanks, why don't you high-five my face with that sledge-hammer again? Okay, it was actually really funny, I was laughing pretty hard. I love her.

My companion and I have been working really hard on unity in our lessons. We're getting along pretty well and all! I've really loved asking her questions to get to know her better so that I can develop a deeper love for her. While our personalities don't always fit perfectly, I can say that I've enjoyed working with her this week. She's great. And I'm so grateful for this opportunity I have to learn so much. This is the opportunity to change that I've been praying for.

We had a lot of lessons and a lot of new investigators. Yesterday, a lady let us into her house to sing a hymn and leave her with a prayer. It was her birthday, so we wanted to be fairly quick. We sang one verse of "Families Can Be Together Forever," and afterwards, we were shocked to find that her eyes were filled with tears. We asked her how she felt about the hymn, and she told us that she lost a 25 year old son a few years ago. We were so excited to testify to her that her son is not lost--that there's a plan for all of us here in the earth, and while part of this plan involves a physical death, we can all have hope of one day living with our families for eternity. She said that she felt something in her heart telling her that what we were saying was true. We have a return visit planned for tomorrow, where we're going to explain in more detail the Plan of Salvation! The spirit was really beautiful in that lesson.

YOU GUYS. THE GOSPEL IS TRUE. DID YOU KNOW THAT? For my nonmember friends, take me up on this. Get your hands on a Book of Mormon and JUST READ A LITTLE BIT OF IT. Then pray to know if it's true. It's the promise of the Book of Mormon--it's the guarantee--that if anyone wants to know if it's true, all they have to do is read, ponder, and pray about it. Ask sincerely if it's true to God. I promise you will feel the power of the Spirit testifying to you that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I can feel it every day.

I am so grateful for your prayers on my behalf, and on behalf of all the missionaries out there! We're all working towards one goal! If you're thinking about serving a mission, or you're on the fence about it, DO IT. You'll never regret it. You're changing lives, including your own.

I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH HOLY COW MY LOVE IS GOING TO EXPLODE THAT'S HOW MUCH LOVE I HAVE.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE, Hermana Thomas!!!!!!!!!!!

PS--for those of you who don't know, my daddy turns.........23...........on December 17th! wahoo.