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.)
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.
 |
| Kenna's very dear first companion whom she connected with while both were being tested in Santiago. |
For your information, I didn't cry. #
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!
 |
| 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. |
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
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