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
So sweet and what experiences. I love hearing from Kenna!
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