La Hermanita's got bathroom humor

Eating lunch at a missionary zone conference.
Santiago
"Ok, I've been dying to tell this story. Yesterday we ate at a member's house (of the LDS church). I used the bathroom. The toilet would not flush. I was embarrassed and didn't know what to do. So I just left it. Then my companion had to use the restroom. I thought, "oh, how embarrassing". After, when we left, I asked her if she had problems with the toilet. She said she didn't use it, that she just did stuff in the mirror. HAHA. Do you know what that means? The member is going to think that she left it! Not me! Oh, I had a good laugh about that one. I needed that. I wasn't embarassed any more, but I think she might have been a little!

"We had another baptism this week! And what a pleasure it was. It was the little girl of the Cordova Family. We have been working with her for about 9 weeks. It was so great to be apart of! After the service, all of the ward members that were present came up and congratulated her and her grandparents. They can't get baptised because they aren't married, but the grandma started crying and I know that they just felt so welcomed and fellowshipped. I know that her baptism will help her family out."

Adios!

In her own words...

"These photos are not very good, but I will have better ones in the coming weeks. One, we got caught in the rain without umbrellas, yea. We were soaked. In the other, a bunch of us missionaries go to an area to sing and talk to people (about Christ). There were more missionaries there than what you see here; they are out talking to people while we are singing. It is scary, but I feel like I have had some good success talking to some people in these presentations."

"So we were at a member's house. She and her children are learning English. They asked me to give the prayer in English. Oh my gosh…some words were really hard. I really had to think about it in English, about what I was saying and I had to search for the English word in my head..haha. It was…a surprise. I have only been here, not even 2 months…what is 14 more going to hold for me?

Also, our two baptisms were confirmed! (In the Church of Jesus Christ, once you are baptized you receive a blessing by the laying on of hands from men with proper authority from God. This blessing gives you the presence of the Holy Spirit at all times, as long as you are living righteously. It is called a confirmation.) It made me reflect on the time I got the spirit. One of our investigators is 75 and she is just getting it now! I had it at 8! 8! What a blessing it has been in my life. I am grateful for the opportunity to have it in my life. I have realized what a blessing and companion it has been. I encourage you to do the same!"

No more meat, please!

So I decided that instead of starting at the beginning, I'd make it a little easier on myself and back up to about a week ago. La hermanita sent me some photos of her and her companion, a peruvian, who has been a big blessing to her! La hermanita says she is very patient with her lack of spanish, and is helping her to learn. La hermanita took some spanish classes before her mission, and spent some time in Paraguay, so I don't think it'll take too long before she picks things up. The Lord works miracles when you are doing His work, and missionaries usually become pretty fluent after 4 months. I think my sis is counting on this!
Here she is with her companion and a Chilean family at the church. The girl in white was about to be baptized. LDS missionaries spend every day, from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. studying the gospel of Jesus Christ and sharing it with others. La hermanita will study for about 3 hours in the morning, then leave for the day to knock on doors or talk to people in the street. She will also talk to members of the LDS church to see if they have friends that are looking for the gospel. If she and her companion find someone who is interested, they will teach them until the person feels that they are ready to be baptized into the LDS church. On an average day la hermanita will arrive back at her apartment at 9:30, and then retire.

Here's an excerpt from a letter I received last week:

"We found an investigator through a Cosecha (harvest). What we do is at night we knock on people's doors and ask them if we can bless their house with a prayer. So, we found a family through doing this. The other night we read from the Book of Mormon with the mom. My companion explained the history and we read from different parts. It was very cool. I just felt the spirit and I am pretty sure it touched the heart of the investigator. She is interested in it. After that experience my companion said to me that her testimony in The Book of Mormon had just increased. I felt the same way. There is so much power in The Book of Mormon! So, this week was the independence of Chile. Which means we ate meat, and a whole ton of it. I probably ate the equivalent of my leg in meat this week. Yea, not a meat fan at the moment. Moderation!"

She cracks me up!