September 8, 2014

Dear Family,

The letters and pictures are so great! You are all looking so darn cute and I miss you tons! 16 more weeks. And no, that doesn´t mean I am trunky. I am working, but I am excited to be a member missionary!

Here is the week in review:

Monday.

I thought I would mention another part of Chilean culture that I love. It is called ¨THE BUSINESS MARKET¨.

First thing first, you can open up a business right in your own driveway. A functioning market, a shoe repair hut, a liquor store, all in our local suburb!

Then, we have the bus sellers. They come on the bus after having bought something in bulk and make us listen to the schpeel about how (I dare you to read this in your best infomercial voice to get the full effect)¨THIS TOOTHBRUSH HELPS YOUR TEETH BE CLEAN¨, or THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC UMBRELLA, IT OPENS WITH THE TOUCH OF THIS BUTTON AND KEEPS YOU DRY WHEN IT RAINS, OR PROTECTS YOU FROM THE SUN WHEN IT IS HOT¨¨…it is like, pure random junk! I wish they said these things in English because if they did I would film it and make an infomercial spoof and everyone would laugh.

Thirdly, it is funny when they are obviously selling stolen goods in the street. It´s like…why would you sell an ipod and two pieces of gum and band aids together?! I don´t know.

Another part about the culture that I love is what I call ¨Bad customer service¨. You can wait in line at a fast food place…for example, McDonalds, and it takes a good 10 minutes to get your food! It´s a scandal! That is even including the 40 workers they have standing around. The problem is they are making out while making my food…and then they tell your sorry for the delay as they hand you the wrong food. I am so grateful for the US of A, for health codes, and for real FAST food services.

Tonight we went on a search for some people. The adventure included puddle jumping, an invasion of snails, and a new resolution to run a Little farther this week during exercise . We´ll see how that goes.

Tuesday.

Rain rain go away. We ate a fast lunch at home and I didn´t have much of an appetite so I made scrambled eggs. Then we left to work. We were in our first appointment when we got a call from a member who had prepared lunch and was waiting for us…something got lost in communication and we didn´t have it written down…so, we ran to lunch and ate and got back on track.

The joys of the misión and the reason why it is impossible to maintain a good fitness program…gotta love those second lunches! I'm definitely thinking about adopting hobbitism permanently when I get home.

Wednesday.

Today I went on divisions with Hermana Ramirez from Lima, Peru. We left without an umbrella and ended up being stranded in the rain about an hour. Smart move, Hermana Van Cott. We met an elderly lady who was trying to weed her garden in the rain. She was doing a marvelous balancing act: bent over and supporting herself with her cane and weeding all at once. My mind did a flashback to Concord Heights and it made me miss home. We helped her finish in her garden and then accompanied her back to her house…every step taking about 3 minutes. We tried to say a prayer with her, but during my heartfelt prayer she continued telling us about her dog, so I don´t think anything stuck. The point is she felt loved and knew that Heavenly Father is looking out for her.

Thursday.

Today I decided two fundamental things for my future.

The first: I will never study the Old Testament when I am tired, or else I will doze off.

The second: I will somehow make a ferria cart for my grocery shopping at home. They are these cool little 2 wheel carts that everyone has to transport their groceries. I want them to be a thing in the US of A.

Friday.

Today was POURING rain all morning. Not the most motivating thing in the world when you know you have to walk miles of dirt roads during the day. Miraculously we were able to confront the environment with our faith and have a great day. An hermana who is a convert of 2 years accompanied us during the afternoon. We went to Fernando, the one who always tells us the book of Mormon isn´t the bible…and he told us, like normal, that he refuses to read the Book of Mormon. We told him that we wouldn´t be able to teach him what we had to share without the Book of Mormon. If anything it was a great moment to bear testimony and feel the spirit testify to us (at least) that the book of mormon is holy scripture.

It wasn´t in a fighting or demeaning way, either. It was just simply that if he wanted to keep learning he would have to accept that God still speaks to us today through prophets. We prayed with him and all, but we will probably give him some time to ponder the bible before returning.

We puddle jumped all day and my companion bragged every step because her boots were longer tan mine, so they made her invincible. You can imagine how hard I laughed when she walked into a puddle that passed her ankles and water entered into her shoes. Hehe. TELL ME AGAIN YOU´RE INVINCIBLE!

Here is a list of things that will be weird in a few months when I don´t have my companion 24/7.

-I won´t have to inform anyone when my bladder has reached maximum capacity.

-I will have to make all my own pone calls.

-I won´t be able to speak at any given momento and know that SOMEBODY is listening.

-I won´t get my clothes confused with anyone else´s clothes.

-I won´t be able to discuss plans a week in advance and know for certain that my companion will be right at my side for all the activities.

Saturday.

Today they said there would be sun. There were a lot of clouds. Lies.

I got to clean a bathroom today for service! It was therapeutic. I love anything that gets me out of the ¨routine¨.

Tonight we ¨get to¨move the clock ahead an hour…yipee, as if we´re not tired enough! Go missionary work.

On the plus side, the Lord continues to hasten his work! Members are getting more and more involved. They are inviting the investigators to church and offering to pick them up, praying for them, and when they do arrive a church they are good to sit by them and help them feel comfortable.

Sunday.

Cream cheese brownie for breakfast. SCORE. I love my roommate, Hermana Volkert.

Church was good. Like normal the whole branch bore their testimonies. One investigator showed up, but we visited all the others today and it seems that they forgot we had a change in the time…either that or it is just a valid excuse…I still have faith.

We tried to go down a small road to visit a family and there was a horse tied to a post in the middle. Hashtag Pirque Probs. We thought we could pass, but when it jumped and kicked up its back legs we thought again. In order to get by we called a neighborhood meeting and ended up with about 20 neighbors all watching the spectaculo. The delays of farm life.

Les amo con todo mi corazón! Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Van Cott