Wahoo!!!!

Ah! So much excitement in my email box this week! ¡Enserio! Wahoo!!

AMIE CRITCHFIELD, YOU LOVELY WOMAN. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT YOUR MISSION CALL. Also, I know why you're leaving so soon. It's because I've had a secret wish that you'd not have to wait to leave too long, because I don't want to have to wait for forever to see you when I get home in a year and a few months!! So you're welcome. (Trust me, you did not want to wait 4 and a half months.)

So, HEY, GUYS! Man, oh man. Do you know how awesome it is to get emails as a missionary? It's the best. I love it. It's fanTAStic.

This week! Was crazy! ¡semana loca! It was the week of independence for Chile, and people partied hard! Consequently, not many people were very patient with us...but that didn't stop us! I just wanted to say to everyone I passed, "I'm sorry, but I'm starting to get concerned about your salvation and stuff."

(I really hope that most people reading my emails have seen Nacho Libre. If not...awkward. Because I think I've quoted it quite a few times in the past.)

Our neighbors have partied all night and into the morning (I'm talking 5am in the morning) almost every night this week. I'd like to help you visualize what it's like to live next to these people: Imagine that you're standing in a...25x25ft room. Then imagine that you are about 10ft away from a cannon. That never stops firing. Ever. And the only thing separating you from the cannon is...a sheet of paper. And it's a really drunk cannon. 

My bones were vibrating with the music coming through the wall.

The language! It's coming along! Man, it's gonna be cool when I know what people are saying! I'm totally psyched for that day. In the meantime, I can just keep saying "¿Què?" (This has become my catchphrase.)

Hermana Pineda continues to become dearer and dearer to me. I love her guts. I can't even say enough about it! OH. This reminds me of my animal story of the week. 

So, we have Nutella, right? And cookies, right? And I'm an unhealthy person, right? (Just kidding, Mom. I'm doing really good at eating healthy. Don't have a heart attack.) (That's my job.) (Just kidding.) Anyway, every once in a while, I just really need a cookie with Nutella. So I purchased the ingredients necessary, and then I accidentally got everyone in the casa absolutely addicted to it. Anyway, one morning I really wanted a cookie with Nutella, and Hermana Pineda said no. I asked why, and she proceeded to show me a paper she'd printed from Hermana Jett (who is the woman in charge of the health of the missionaries here.) This paper said to eat very little chocolate, because it caused headaches, and all these other problems, and then Hermana Pineda practically bore her testimony about how we shouldn't eat too much chocolate. 

So, feeling reprimanded, I refrained. Two minutes later, the lights went out, and as I was working to restore the power, I saw out of the corner of my eye someone in the kitchen, reaching for the Nutella and cookies...yep! Hermana Pineda had FIVE COOKIES in her hand, and one stuffed in her mouth! I abandoned my work with the power, and pretty much tackled her. This wrestle lasted for about five minutes. I don't remember much of it, it really was a blur, but by the end I had bite marks on my arm as proof of the battle. 

Yep, my companion bit me. So this is my animal story of the week.

I guess another animal story can be that Hermana Bokovoy accidentally ate a worm. It was in her apple.

Back to the festivities...I loved them! We had a ward party on Friday, with a lot of dancing and food and food and FOOD. Also, I learned a lot about the history of Chile! It was really interesting. The missionaries judged the events the whole night, and it was a great opportunity to bond with the members.

At this party, there was a family of really awesome people who were not members. A girl in our ward had invited one of their daughters to attend, and the whole family came! Hermana Pineda and I talked with them a bit, and visited them the next day. Only the mother was at home, but while we taught her, she said that she felt something really deep in her heart with us there, and that she believed that we could do something to help her family very much. She was crying, and we told her that this was the spirit. I got to bear my testimony about how families are eternal, and I cried, too, because I love you guys so much, and I'm so grateful to know that I get to live with you guys forever!

At the Ward Chile Independence Day Celebration!

She and her daughter attended church with us the next day! We are really excited about this family. They are very receptive. I know that the Lord guided them to us, or us to them. We have another appointment with them tonight, and we are really excited about it. 

I've learned here how difficult it is to accept a prophet in this day. When I think about it from an investigator's perspective, it's pretty difficult to believe! I am so grateful that I have already developed a solid testimony of living prophets in my life...man, I'm just grateful that I've been raised in the gospel in general!

I know, without a doubt, that this the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to this earth, and that God exists. I think it's important that everyone who is a member of this church develops a really firm testimony of this...honestly. You guys should read Preach My Gospel and then read it again! It has so many great scripture references to help build your faith. It's amazing.

I'm so grateful for the trust Heavenly Father has in me. I am so imperfect...it's amazing to realize that He can still use me as an instrument in His hands! I love being a missionary. I'm so proud of my friends who are serving with me right now, because you know what? This is hard. It is by far the hardest thing I've done in my life thus far. But I know that I'm growing from it every single day, and that this is the foundation for the rest of my life--my marriage, my family, my education, my occupation, everything! This is a grand opportunity, and I don't plan on wasting it!

I love you all with allll of my heart! ¡Con todo de mi corazòn! Read the Book of Mormon! Pray every morning and every night! I absolutely promise that your life will be so much happier, despite difficulties. 

Love, Hermana Thomas

Ummmm...hai

Okay, let's just get this over with. This week, I stepped on a snail. Yep. I stepped. On a snail. ¿Como se dice "I hate all the animals in the whole world" en Español?

...not anymore. I like them.

Anyways.

Yeah. Stepped on a snail. But Hermana Pineda has stepped on three so far, so once again, I am counting my blessings. (I keep track of things like that. So far, she has tripped 20 times. I've only tripped 6 times. Raise the roof.)

Hermana Pineda continues to crack me up. I have taught her a few phrases in English, one of which is "I know where you live." The other day, the power went out, and while I was trying to get the lights back on, Hermana Pineda crept up behind me with a flashlight on her face and said, "you know where you live!!" I laughed for a pretty long time, but she didn't know that she'd made an error for another ten minutes. Then we laughed again. I love her!!

Erinnn guess whatttt you're never going to believe this. No one has told you this before. This is the very first time you are hearing this...everyone here knows our songs! Your song is actually on our phones. So did you know that you're famous?

Well, for those of you unfamiliar with the Chilean customs, the 18th of September is their independence day. And it is kind of a big deal. It's really hard to make appointments, because people keep saying, "well, this week is pretty hard." 

You mean there's not ONE hour you have in SEVEN days that MIGHT be available? 

Sounds crazy? Well, it's life. Because it's TRUE--these guys party it up down here! On the calender, there are three days reserved for celebrating independence day. And people eat food and dance and I don't even know what else...but I'm excited to find out! Members keep asking us what our plans are for these days as missionaries. We always say, "to work!" And then the members laugh in our faces and tell us that literally no one in Chile is going to listen to us for this entire week. Encouraging.

But! I have faith that this week is going to be great for working! Woohoo! (Oh, also, I can't tell if people are messing with me or what...maybe Taylor can help me out with this one. Is is actually true that if you don't have a Chilean flag outside your house for these next few days, you get fined?? We have one, and it's out, but I couldn't tell if it was a joke or not. I've been told that sarcasm doesn't really exsist in Spanish, but this can't be true.)

Every day, my love for these people in Chile grows. They really are a very friendly people. They all greet each other with kisses on the cheek, and hug and hold hands and laugh, and I really just love them. Don't know what they're saying half the time, but I love 'em.

Some of these people...are a little odd, though. There's this one church...dah, I don't remember what they are called. But there are quite a few of them in Talca, and you always know when you're talking to one of them, because they'll say something super, super, super odd. One guy asked us, in a very chipper and flamboyant way, what the vision was of our church. We were a little confused by this question, but tried to explain the purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He cut us off, and said, "si, si, si...pero...¿què es la VISIÒN de su iglesia?" We asked if he was talking about the first vision...? Then he politely handed us back our pamphlet and said something I didn't understand, and with a smile, closed his door. Even Hermana Pineda didn't understand much of what he said.

The other day, we met another woman from this church on the street. We were trapped for nearly a half an hour listening to her tell us our spiritual gifts. She said that she could sense that Hermana Pineda and I complemented each other as companions, because Hermana Pineda was the seer, and I was the prophetess. Then she demonstrated for us a scenario we might face, where the two of us are walking down the street, and all of the sudden, Hermana Pineda freezes and says, "oh...I sense something." (Mind you, this is all being acted out right in front of us by this lady. Very dramatically.) Then we follow Hermana Pineda's spiritual sense to a person on the street, and I bend down and speak super biblical...I don't even know. I don't know. I could hardly understand anything. At one point, this lady asked me for a scripture from the Bible. I was really confused, but I gave her 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, and she just stared at me and said, "wow. You just had a revelation for me." It was just super super weird.

And people think Mormons are odd??

BUT it was really funny, and in summary, I love the people here! Weird or not weird!

The weather here has been absolutely freezing for the most part, but every day it is getting warmer...I think...maybe it's just wishful thinking. It probably feels worse than it is because we don't have indoor heating! ("Tengo frio" is one of my most used phrases...it means "I have cold," I think. Kind of weird to translate, but in spanish, a lot of things are like that...like, you're not "hungry," it's "I have hunger" (tengo hambre.) It's something I've had to get used to.)

We have three new investigators! They are great. I've learned that when you really try to talk with EVERYONE you meet about the gospel, the Lord begins to trust you more, and puts people in your path that are prepared to hear! But when you're nervous about sharing the gospel, it seems like everyone you speak with doesn't have time, or doesn't want to listen, etc. It's easy for me to feel nervous, because I don't speak the language very well!

But always always ALWAYS trust in the Lord! That's a huge lesson that everyone needs to learn. If you believe in a God, why not trust in him? If you believe he's great, why not trust in him? If you believe he is loving, why not trust in him? He can do anything! And we can do anything through him. I don't have my scriptures right now, but in Alma...maybe chapter 23?...anyway, it's that great scripture where Ammon declares that he will boast of his God, because he can do all things through him! It's becoming a theme for me right now in my life, because...hello?! It's only logical that if I have this incredibly firm belief that God is there, he's my father in Heaven, he loves me and knows what's best for me, and I'm doing his will...why am I nervous at all? It doesn't matter that I don't speak the language! This gospel isn't a language, it's a feeling. It's peace and love and a relationship with the Lord. I don't have to speak the same language to teach this gospel.

I love you guys so much. I can't believe I've been here as long as I have! I can't wait to keep growing. I feel your prayers for me, strengthening me every day! 

Keep praying, keep reading, keep going to church! Share the gospel a little more for me!

I LOVE YOU LOVE YOU LOVE YOU,

Hermana Thomas