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.