Monday, May 30, 2011

I can eat an entire pizza in one sitting!

Can you believe that it is going to be June this week! It is crazy. We definatly had a week, I don´t even know what to share with you today. I think I am only going to choose one experience that really affected me. So we met the brother to one of the members of our ward. These members are really good and they always invite us over and want to do anything for us as missionarys. Anyway this brother was not a member and he had cancer really bad. We met him last Saturday night and talked to him a little but he was really tired and went to bed quickly. When I met him I just remembered thinking that he looked like death. That is the only way to describe it. It was stomach cancer and he was having problems eating,  he was so skinny. You could see every bone in his body. After we left I told my companion that he has one or two weeks left, but no more than that. This family had us come over every night last week to teach this Hermano but every time something came up with his health, but we always shared a scripture or a prayer with them. Last night we brought the Elders with us so they could give him and another Hermano in our ward a blessing of health. They shared with him about the atonement of Jesus Christ, how He suffered for all of our pains, afflictions, sicknesses, and trials so what we could live with God again. We sang ¨Nearer My God to Thee¨ and his sister and I just started crying. We left them with a prayer. We were returned to our pension, then we received a call to let us know that Hermano Juan died right after we left. Hermana Jacobo and I just cried. It is amazing how much love you can develop for a person in such a short period of time. And we just found our about five minutes ago, in the middle of this email that the other Hermano that we visited last night died too. It is almost unbelievable. It is crazy how much the people here look to us as a shining light, to give them words of hope and inspiration in times like these. Both the families have asked for us to give a special musical number in their funerals this week. It is times like this I feel like we are so blessed to know the plan that God has for us. I was so impressed by both of these families. They both could have reacted with anger but they both chose to praised God. They talked about the trust that they had in God and that they know God has a plan for all of us and He will support them in their afflictions. I think right know I am just more sad for the families because I was able to see a small part of the love they had for each of these people and I know they are going to miss them so bad. So that has been a big part of last week for us and this week too probably. But it is okay because we know there is something better after this life :)

The nutrition class went really really well. It was awesome how much everyone payed attention and they actually applied the stuff I taught. The last three houses that I have gone to where members of their families were present for the class have changed things for the better ;) They all have so much to say about the class and how much it has helped them. It is interesting to me because all of this knowledge I have about the food I always just figure everyone knows but when I start sharing it people learn a lot.  The youth were really responsive too, which was awesome. I have challenged them to not drink soda and to eat breakfast everyday. The soda thing it hard for them so I told them they could have two ¨free¨ sodas every week. They are funny :) But as missionaries yes, we are expected to eat everything... it is interesting sometimes. My stomach has stretched so much here. I could probably eat more then and entire pizza in one sitting now. That is not something I should be bragging about as a nutritionist but yeah........ I´m in Chile so its okay. haha
Are you guys doing anything fun for Memorial Day? Eating any good food? lol   Hey Mom could you send me the recipe for Brownies sometime today? Thank you! We are working on building the trust of the members of the ward so a family home evening with brownies is going to work... I hope :) Sorry I don´t have more time to write. We had a lot of interruptions today with our friends funeral stuff. Sorry I didn´t have a chance to respond to everything. Thank you for all the pictures and the emails. I love you all,
Hermana Lichty

Monday, May 23, 2011

Washing My Clothes

Guess what I am learning to do......
This week I have started washing my clothes..... in a tub of water. Yeah we are having some problems with our mamita right now so I am washing my own clothes. It actually isn´t that bad. I don´t mind it at all, it just takes a little more time. Hermana Amaya and Hermana Norton have been laughing about it because they think it is funny to watch me scrub my clothes in the bathtub. I think it is only because they have a good mamita right now so they don´t have to worry about it. lol Oh goodness the things you learn in the mission. ;)
I am glad you liked the scarf. They really like scarfs here... I would have to say that almost everyone I ever see on the street is wearing a scarf, so you can find them all over. I will have to invest in a couple to bring home :) Also if you send me that package with the MP3 player make sure to send it in a box because all the envelopes (the big ones that are yellow) have been opened and gone though. Maybe try taping it inside a box within the box. Sorry it is so complicated to send stuff. But I am really excited to receive it :)
This week I am teaching a nutrition class to the ward(thanks to my companion... haha). Everyone in the ward has been asking me about it! It is crazy. The bishop and his counselor even pulled me aside yesterday so they could confirm what I would be teaching and what specific things they wanted me to touch on. Oh dear this will be interesting in Spanish! I have never met a Bishop that was so concerned about the weight of the youth in the ward. But I am sure it will be just fine. We are suppose to have interchanges that day but my companion is trying to change the days so she can come to the class too. lol
We have been walking like crazy this week working really hard to find people. We fasted this last weekend too so that we can see more success in the work here. I am amazed by how true the words of my setting apart blessing was. Remember it said that at night I would be physically and mentally tired,(that is SO true! I have never been so tried in my life) but at night the Holy Ghost would come over me and I would be refreshed and ready to work each day. I am in awe every morning went I get up that my body is not sore and that I can last another day. It is truly a blessing. I wish you could come walk my area for a day. It is nothing but hills and stairs. BUT the good thing is I am toned! lol
We had I conference this week that was really good. We watched a talk by Elder Holland that he gave to the MTC in January. It was amazing! He talked about using the doctrine of Christ to teach. I have been really working to apply it and I have been amazed. When I use scriptures where Christ is talking and teaching the message is always so clear. Every one of the people I have shared scriptures with during lessons and during conversation have understood perfectly. It is great. I love being about to teach boldly with that :)
That is awesome Zach is taking some summer school classes :) Is he liking school better now? What are his other plans for the summer? Do you have the email address of Stephanie? I will send her a quick note next week if you do. :) How is everyone else in the family doing? How is Dad? I really liked those pictures of him and Zach with their cars. What are they going to do with the pictures? Mom did you take those pictures for them?
How are you doing Mom? How is your work going? It sounds like you are having more time to quilt ;) You will have to send me some pictures of them when you finish. Do you guys have any plans for this summer?
Thank you for everything,
Hermana Lichty

Monday, May 16, 2011

Vina del Mar in May

Pictures from the Coast!
Today we stoped by the coast on our way here to take a couple of pictures :) 
Thank you for the update about your ¨talk¨ on Sunday. I loved reading about it, everything you shared and everyone you talked to! I am not sure what this Dolce de Membrio is but I will ask around as see if anyone else knows about it.  But as for Belloto.... yes it is an oven, I just don´t think my letters reflected that much because I was so caught up talking about the fleas. :) But it was really hot because I was there for all the summer months, and the more I hear about all the other areas Belloto is one of the hottest (that is why they have SO many fleas there, because the fleas like the hot weather). Anyway I think that just means my next summer here is going to be a lot more pleasant as far as the heat goes. ;) Yay I am glad everyone is doing well in the ward, but I am sad to hear about Sister Bertagnole. I remember her because she was a teacher in the primary too and her son Dallon was in my class. :(
Things here have been good. We have been walking and ¨knocking doors¨ like crazy trying to find people to teach. It is hard because I just want people to give us a chance, and listen, but we are having little luck right now. But when we do teach I love it because I know the language and I know the scriptures now and everything seems to just go so smoothly. We had a baptism scheduled for this last week but it has been postponed due to a couple of things, but we still have faith that it is possible this change. It is kind of crazy how much I am learning about everything here. Sometimes I feel like the senior companion when we are contacting and looking for people but it is good because I am being prepared. My companionship is still really good, my companion is very easy going about everything so that makes things much easier.
I was sick this past week to the point that I stayed home one day because I felt so bad. But I am doing a lot better and I only have a little cough today. We met this lady that is 93 and started teaching her the plan of salvation. It was fun to talk to her because she has so much energy and so much faith. It was great to see that after some hard days of not a lot of luck there are some really good people here that do want to hear our message.
As for the pictures from Dad they are great. I think you guys should print them out and frame them :) The colors of the cars are great. :) And tell him not to worry cause when I get back I can put him on a diet. Hna Jacobo had me put her on a diet this week. lol I think it is funny that everyone single Hermana I know here, that knows my major, has asked me for one. haha Also at the end of the month my ward asked me to give a nutrition class. That should be interesting.
In other news we had a stake conference this weekend and it was crazy! We had divisions with the other Hermanas to bring investigators to church. I went with Hna Norton and we brought one of their investigators. He left suddenly in the middle of the meeting and then like 5 minutes later a member from my ward came up to us and told us our investigator what having problems outside. We went outside and he was having a heart attack! It was nuts and the ambulance came and everything. Also a member from my ward passed out on the way out of the sacrament hall during a testimony and the very beginning. Crazy crazy.
But anyway.. I got to get going!
I love you all, thank you for the letter and the update Mom,
Hna Lichty

Monday, May 9, 2011

Mother's Day

Hello!
Yes it was so good to be able to talk to you all on the phone yesterday! It sounds like you guys had a really good mothers day. And I was thinking about it afterwords and I am pretty sure I forgot to tell you happy mothers day.. Oops ;) SO..........HAPPY MOTHER´S DAY MOM! Yeah my companion thought that was pretty funny when I told her I forgot.
So what is Stephanie up to? Does she like living in Fort Collins still? Who all is she living with? Just any kind I details about her life because I have no idea what is going on with her. Does she have my email?
When I said I was getting ¨pugey¨ what I meant was just a little bit extra.. not fat. haha I think it is most noticable in my face because really all of my clothes still fit the same ( just maybe a little extra around the waist) :) But it is not my fault. lol  For example this week we had lunch with a lady in the ward and she cooked so much food! It was ridiculous! The first plate was Quiche- I think that is how you spell it( with Spinage, eggs, cheese, and flour) but it was the biggest serving ever! Like almost the entire plate. Then the next plate had 3 hamburgers on it with a huge portion of mashed potatoes and tomatoes. Yeah I thought I was going to vomit during that. lol AND then she brought out dessert which was a bowl of flan with this coconut stuff on top. Oh my HECK it was huge and afterwords we had to climb all the way to the top of our mountain/area. The whole way up I just kept telling my companion ¨Yo quiero vomitar! Yo voy a vomitar....¨ but at the end it was alright. We were just very uncomfortable full for the rest of the day. lol Anyway that is why I have ¨a little bit extra¨.
Other than that everything is going good in our area.. we have a baptism this week on Thursday so we are really excited for that. And my Spanish is getting better everyday. I have a hard time sometimes with the conjugations but since my companion only speaks Spanish it is really easy for her to correct me :) It is crazy that we are already starting week 3 in this area! Oh my gosh the times is just flying by!
As for the picture of my other ¨getto¨ apartment (haha) I actually don´t... but Hna Nortan does so I will try and get them for you sometime soon :) So we have been contacting more lately and it has been great. We had three really good contacts this week that we were guided to. It was awesome to see how true it is that the Lord is preparing people for us. And it doesn´t matter if I say everything correct because if they are ready and receptive they will understand. It has been great! I wish you all could hear my Spanish! :)
Hmmm.... I don´t really have much else for today. But how is everything else at the house?  How is Ramona doing? So what all did the Counselor in my ward say when he called? That was so surprising to me. But this ward here is awesome :)
And that is awesome about you guys redoing the downstairs bathroom! That will be awesome when it is finished.
Oh and tell Dad that was not funny when he was talking about all of the food you guys have been eating... Ice cream, pizza, and wings! Horrible. I am suffering here... j/k
I love you all, thank you for everything!
Hermana Lichty

Monday, May 2, 2011

¡Hola from Agua Santa, Viña Oeste!

¡Hola from Agua Santa, Viña Oeste!
 How is everyone doing? Oh this keyboard is horrible! So this letter might be a bit short because I am having troubles typing. I love Viña and I love my companion. Hermana Jacobo is awesome, she is so chil about everything and we teach the same way. It is so nice to have someone that's like me in a lot of ways. AND guess what....Hermana Norton and Hermana Amaya are in our pension! It is sweet! It is so fun to live together because we all get along so well. We just have to be careful to not speak too much English in the pension because my companion doesn´t know it and we don´t want her to feel bad. It is funny though because the English of Hermana Norton and I is a little bit weird because we can´t always remember all the words in English so it is the Spanglish mix. lol Or we will start talking in English but if my companion walks in the same room as us we will just switch to Spanish. It is great though this new area because I can pretty much understand everything and for the most part I can express all of my thoughts in Spanish... por fin! lol It is like a fresh start in a new area where I can communicate ;) Yay
We had this lesson this week with a man that was very confused. He is one of those people that has studied a lot about the bible and has a ton of complicated and hard questions. BUT it was a miracle because not only did I understand all of us question but I knew all of the answers at the same time he was asking the questions. This is crazy because I wouldn´t really consider myself that knowledgeable in the bible and those types of questions. I was amazed that I knew the answers and when I responded he didn´t have anything to argue. It is like that scripture that talks about you won´t be confused before men and where ever you go there will I be also. It was so awesome and helped me to have more faith in everything about this mission. And we have a baptism this month.. next week! yay!
I am SO excited that Brother Smathers is our new stake president! I was bummed at first to hear that President Hopkins was being released but Brother Smathers is so great! Oh yay that makes me happy!
You will have to tell Grandma Norma hello and that I love her. And for Christmas next year she will have to come stay at our house so we can talk ;) How is Grandma and Grandpa Nicholls doing? Next Thanksgiving for them, with lots of food ;) Oh how I miss the food. lol
Oh by the way..... did I mention hills in my last area?.... because I was totally joking! We have no flat areas here, it is all uphill.Up a mountain and twenty million stairs! It is crazy. It takes us like 30-45 mins to walk to some appointments because it is all uphill. But the views are amazing! I need to get some pictures for you but it is crazy! I am amazed that I am not sore though. That is truly a blessing because I am really not exaggerating about these hills and mountains. And I can even outlast my companion going up the stairs and hills...it is fun....sometimes ;)
And Sunday is Mother´s Day! I will be calling to schedule it..so start thinking of questions you have and write them down so we don´t forget anything and I will do the same ;) I love you all and I am excited to hear from you all.. Dad you too!
Love,
Tiffanie