August 1

Hola hola...

Things are going good this week. Hermana Ellsworth and I have been working really hard in Villa Norte and we have been finding people to teach! There has not been one day that has gone by that we have not taught something. It is wonderful. I love this ward, the people are so great and they just love us. Everyone is always trying to feed us and asking us for appointments. It is crazy I have never had members asking us for appointments, and all the appointments that we have, members want to come with us. It has been a lot of work but everything is looking good. I found out that us being in this area is really a test test because they are not even counting our numbers in the system.... so keep praying that we can keep this area alive because we love it! We have 4 different activities planned already for this month and the support of the ward, so we are doing good. We just have to keep working hard.

My backpack finally died this week and I had to buy a new one. My old one did really good and lasted almost ten months but... all the seams were ripping and the front pocket started ripping all the way across. But I found a really cute black one that is smaller. I am hoping that will help me because my back has been hurting a bit lately but nothing I can´t handle. And I got to use my boots the other night because it rained again, all day! I have never experienced so much rain before but it is kind of fun.. until you get soaked. lol There is a ton of mud from the rain though. Villa Norte is not a poor ward but it is not rich either. We have a lot of dirt roads and unlit areas so we are sure to be really careful at night. But I am not worried because we have the Spirit and we are on the Lords errand so all is well. I am really excited because it is suppose to be getting hotter out this month and I really would rather be hot then cold. Here the cold is different because you can´t really get warm inside a house because the temperature is the same inside and out. They don´t have heaters or anything they just use little space heaters. You should see what I sleep in... you would all laugh. I have on SO many layers.. thermals, sweatpants, long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, a hat, the hood to my sweatshirt, and 4 wool blankets. I woke up this morning at 6:30 and the temp. was 50! SO cold! Hermana Ellsworth says I am a baby about it but I think she is just crazy.. she gets cold too, she is just not as verbal about it as me. lol

Hermana Ellsworth and I are having such a fun companionship! She is so much fun to work with and her Spanish is getting a lot better.
How are things going at home? Did grandpa and grandma find everything they needed at Sams Club? Did they get my letter? I am really excited to meet Jasper, he sounds really funny. Tell everyone I say Hola and I miss and love them all.

Love,

Hermana Lichty

Oh and I got the letter from Stephanie and from one of your primary classes.It was really cute. I will try and respond promptly :)

Villa Norte

Week one in Villa Norte....

So this last week has been so good. We started the week off with nothing! No appointments no investigators, nada. But it was an amazing week to say the least. Hermana Ellsworth and I love contacting and talking to people on the streets and our planners are FULL of appointments for this week. We are very excited to watch this area grow. It is kind of like our ¨baby¨ because we started out with absolutely nothing. We are working on the members too because they don´t have a whole lot of faith in this area.... yet :) And we found out that us being in this area is like a test to see if we can see/have progress. So we are working really hard because we don´t want them to close this area next change.

It really has been a week full of miracles. Between Hermana Ellsworth and I, we know Spanish but there is still a lot that we don´t know so it has been amazing to see how much the gift of tongues is real. We haven´t had any problems with the language. Also all of the ward members were telling us how everyone that lives in this area have lived here for a very long time and the work here is very hard because of that. BUT almost every single person that we have contacted is new in the area, all of them recently moved here. Its crazy how much we can see that the Lord is directing us. Even in the lessons that we have had with less actives and new people the scriptures that we have shared and the questions that we have been asking have really affected people for the better. Hermana Ellsworth and I have been so surprised and grateful for all the help that we have been receiving and the Spirit that is with us.

We have had a couple of funny things happen to us too. We were contacting this man and his wife and it turned out they were super into their religion and their children had served missions for it and everything. But none the less we really tried to share with them about the Book of Mormon. At the end this man was like ¨I am really grateful for you sisters because your are in the work of the Lord trying to help the people and I really want to say a prayer for you¨. So all of the sudden he starts praying in the middle of the street, but like super loud. Imagine the voice of a preacher, preaching to his congregation.. that is what it sounded like. Hermana Ellsworth and I were just like ¨what the heck¨ but we just kept our heads bowed until he was done. It is funny the people that you meet in the mission. We walked away and just started laugh. Hermana Ellsworth was so confused because she is still learning the language so she didn´t catch everything that he said. lol

It sounds like you had a really fun weekend and the reunion and everything. I am glad it all worked out and that you have pictures and everything from it. That is crazy that I have a relative that opened the mission in Chile. I will have to check out that article in the Ensign. Can you save it for me to read when I get back? I am glad everybody like the pictures that I sent last week. I don´t have any new ones from the last week. We have been kind if busy but next week we will have something.

It rained SO hard last night.. pouring! It was raining so hard that all four of us woke up because it was hitting the roof so hard. We were up from 4.45 until like 6 or 6.30. I looked outside and it was just like a river of water going down the calle. But we don't get snow here... just a lot of rain. But from what I have heard this month is the coldest of them all so it should start warming up next month. Yay... I am kind of a baby about the cold weather here. It really isn't that cold it just seems like it when you are walking outside all day in a skirt. :)

But anyway we are super excited for this area and I love my companion. She is great and we are really excited for this change :)

And yes mom I got that package so we are good! Thank you for the letter and the updates!

Have a great week,

Hermana Lichty

The half way mark is here!

Changes changes changes!!

I am SO excited! I am going up to SENOR companion and I am going to be opening an area that was closed because it hasn´t seen baptisms in like 2 years! But that doesn´t matter because it is going to be awesome and me and my new companion are going to win the hearts of the people there. I am going to be companions with Hermana Ellsworth and I am so excited. I had interchanges with her like 2 weeks ago and it was so much fun. She is so cute when she tries to speak Spanish.. lol It will be fun to help each other on the whole language thing :) SO yes that is that.......... I am stoked! The only downside is the pension is freezing! So I am going to go buy this thing that you put hot water in at night and it stays warm all night so I can sleep with it. :)

This last week has been really fun because I have been with Hermana Norton for the last  4 days! We have the worst of luck when we are together but it is so fun. The first day we leave from lunch and right when we walk out the door the rain starts. And it rains and rains and rains... all day and it was windy. Nobody let us in and we just walked in it for four and a half hours straight until we were tired and very wet and cold. Then we went to my favorite members house and they fixed us ¨once¨ with hot chocolate. But we were soaked! So the next day we bought rain boots.. cute ones! And it was such a good thing because it rained again!

Lets see..... que mas que mas... umm oh so the craziest thing happened this Sunday. I really struggled in Agua Santa, with the area and with the ward and I just felt that hadn´t made much of a difference. But then when everyone found out I was leaving they were so sad. Everyone was coming up to me and thanking me and asking me why I had to go and if I could ask for an extension. It was so unexpected but a very nice compliment I thought. They weren´t even that sad when my last companion left and she had double the time I did in that ward. I am just glad that I was able to leave the area better then I found it and now the ward is a lot more open to helping the missionaries with the work. :)

Having the mini missionaries was fun. They were so tired by the last two days, it was funny. They were falling asleep at church on Sunday and at night they seemed like Zombies. We just told them welcome to the mission. But we did make it fun by making pancakes and pizza two of the three nights they were here.

That is awesome things are going so well for Zach with his job! Does he really enjoy working there? It sounds like you are really busy at work too which is good! How are things at church going? Anything new happening?

Well I think that is everything for right now..

Love you all,

Hermana Lichty

Hello Hello!

Hello hello....
How is the summer going? I am not going to lie.  I am a little jealous you are in summer right now because mean while I am here freezing in my cute little skirt outfits and tights. lol No it is not that bad but sometimes at night it does get a bit cold. That is when we get really motivated to talk with more people so we can go inside their houses and teach them. haha Actually this week wasn´t too bad. My companion was sick for three days thought. That wasn´t very fun. That was the first time in my whole mission I have stayed at home for more then one day. It was kind of crazy but a good chance to catch up on some sleep and finish the book of Alma. :) She had like a stomach virus or something, but luckily it happened last week and not this week. This week her and Hna Amaya are getting mini misioneras from Thursday hasta Sunday which means..... Hermana Norton and I are going to be companions those 4 days and we are going to bouncing back from my area to her area. I think it will be a lot of fun. And our pension is going to be crazy with 6 Hermanas. I don´t know how that is going to work but it will be and adventure. haha
And yes I got your packages! Thank you so much! The MP3 player is amazing, we listen to it all the time! The tights were very needed and I love them too! So thank you, thank you, thank you! And I also got a package from Kellie! Thank you Kellie, I was super excited about your package too! It was like Christmas opening up your packages :)  All the chocolate has been really good :)
 I love all the pictures from the 4th of July. It looks like there were so many people there! I missed out! That means we just need to have a big party again next year so I can come too! I loved the rice crispy treat picture with Aunt Ora and Val... they learned well. :) That picture with Zach and the Diet Coke bomb was pretty sweet too. So what happened to the side of Tyler´s face? lol What kind of a firework was it? What was it that Aunt Ora was sewing? I really liked all the pictures.. that pig looked kind of sick though. lol
So this is the last week of the change, it went by so fast! This next change, from what I heard is the coldest of them all because it is during the middle and end of winter and Julio and Augusto are the coldest months. If I get changed to the interior it is going to be SO cold.lol Well... we will know for sure next week.
Hmm.... not much else happened that I can think of right now. I am getting really good at making pancakes. lol That is pretty fun and we eat them with Manjar, peanut better, and jam. It is a great snack right before bed to warm us up :) I think we are going to make them again for the mini misioneras so they will have a really good experience and want to serve. We need more sisters! It is fun because I just make up the recipe every time and everyone loves it. All of those cooking classes did come it handy. :)
Anyway los vamos hasta la proxima Lunes!
Love you all,
Hermana Lichty

July 4th

Happy 4th of July!
Yes I got to the mail finally so I am pretty happy about that. ;) So nobody is running this year? That is a bummer... what about Kellie, did she run? It sounds like you guys have been having a lot of fun this weekend and that a lot of people came. I am so jealous! Next year will have to be big too! You will have to take lots of pictures so I can see everyone and all of the activities.
This week has been crazy. It rained a lot on Wednesday and we were soaked! In our last lesson my entire skirt, shoes, and tights were soaked and I was so cold! My companion was soaked too. But then the next day was really nice.
This week we had lunch one day with this old lady that is always telling us how unhealthy everything is ( I always just shake my head and smile). Anyway she fixed us this ¨herbal water¨ and we were drinking it and my companion and I were talking about how good it was and we figured out it tasted like those fruity candy canes that you get at Christmas time.  So we are talking about it and talking about it and my companion asked the lady what it was exactly and so she brings the package in for us to look at. We both look at it and continue to talk and drink it until my companion picks it back up again to look at the back of it. Then she says ¨Uhhhh.... hermana, yo creo que esta es té real..¨ (sister, i think this is real tea). I looked at my companion and I just started laughing. Turns out is was flavored black tea that she was feeding is. Needless to say we didn´t drink anymore of it and my companion was a little traumatised. We tryed to explain to her that all of the teas are against the word of wisdom but she just keep telling is how healthy it was for you. Yeah it was interesting and a little funny. My companion was talking about it all day until............. she got bit by a dog. haha  It was a little dog and it only ripped her tights but it definitely freaked her out. And as usual I I just about died laughing because I knew she was okay. It was funny because we had this appointment right then and she was telling them about it and I just had the biggest smile on my face and I could help but laugh some more. The people were like ¨ Look at your companion she is just laughing.. que mala.¨  So funny!
We also had interchanges this week and I went to the interior for a day. It was so dang cold! So if I get changed there I am going to have to buy some more winter clothes or something. But I was with Hermana Ellsworth for the day and it was great. She is trying so hard to learn the language and it is so cute to listen to her try and talk. It was nice to learn from her though and to have more responsibility in the lessons. I feel pretty good about the language. I obviously still have a lot to learn but I don´t think I am doing half bad :)

You will have to ask Tyler and Lacey to talk to you in Spanish or to send me something in Spanish. That would be fun :)
We had one kid in our ward die this last week too, he was 19 and preparing for his mission. We actually knew him too. That was really really sad. They had the funeral yesterday and the entire ward was just so sad and crying. During testimony meeting the bishop was crying the whole time along with everyone else. They cancelled the last classes so everyone could prepare for. It is crazy how many funerals I have seen so far on my mission. That was number 5. But it was a  good chance to help share the plan of salvation, and offer service. They talked a lot about the plan of salvation at his funeral and how he was now on a mission in the spirit world. It was great and a lot of non members were there to hear.
Well that is the news of the week here. I am expecting a lot of pictures from this weekend and today from you guys ;) I heard that I have a couple packaged waiting in the office so we are heading there after this to get them. I am pretty excited ;)  Tell everyone that I said I hi and I am missing them! And I am missing the weather that you guys are having ;)
Love you all,
Hermana Lichty

 

Hello hello!
I am doing good this week. The rain has stopped which is nice and the weather is a lot better. :) That is crazy you are getting so much rain still! Do you have any pictures or anything? How is Stephanie doing? I am so glad you are taking food to the missionaries! I am sure they are very excited. :) And that is great that things are going so well with the job of Zach. How are Donn and Ramona doing? That is too bad she hit an antelope.
So my companion and I gave talks this week in sacerment meeting and it went SO surprisingly well. haha I was kind of nervous because they called us at like 10 pm the night before to tell us we needed to double the time of our talks. I was very surprised though because I actually went over time..in Spanish! Isn´t that great ;) And everyone gave me so many compliments about it which means...... they all understood! Greatest news of my life. :)  j-k
Also this week I had a interchanges with Hermana Norton again, but in my area this time. It was fun because we went on a little adventure trying to find a couple of houses. And now por fin Hna Norton understands when I say that my area is pure hills( plus the side of a mountain). She said she dosen´t think it is possible for anyone that is assigned to Agua Santa to gain weight because of all the hills and how large the area is. I like that someone finally acknowledged my area. haha And I have some very good news... we found a scale the other day and I am at the same weight I was before the mission and my companion has lost a little more then 6 pounds since we have been together. I finally convinced her to take it easy on the bread. :)
We have been contacting like crazy the last week and I actually really like it. It really just makes you feel better when you are in a bad mood because there is no way to be angry or sad when you are trying to share the gospel with people.
One thing that happened this week was when we were teaching an inactive member that we found through the ward directory. We just happened to be in her area and saw her name on the list and thought we should try and talk to her. She let us in and we began to talk to her about her experience in the church. She started talking and it turns out she was one of the first members of the church here. She and her family traveled like 15 hours to the nearest temple in Brazil I think it was to be sealed and everything. As she told us her story and talked about her faith she just started to cry. I was about to talk to her boldly and with love about the importance of the church in her life and the life of her family. I was actually really surprised at how bold I was about it but she knew I was doing it out of love and so she didn´t get upset or anything. We are still working with her. I am amazed with how much people can feel of our Spirit when we are teaching and talking to them. I have never had so many experiences like that were people just start crying tell us about their life and the church. It is pretty amazing and humbling to experience.
Anyway I have been looking for your package but I haven´t received anything yet... I am crossing my fingers for it in the next week or so, the music we have is getting pretty old. lol I have a bunch of letters to send out that I have been carrying around for about 5 weeks and it looks like I am going to have to wait another week because everything is closed today for holiday. It is like Peter-Paul Day today. I am not exactly sure why that is so special but I guess it is. lol So sorry everyone.. they are coming :)
Thank you for all the updates Mom! I am glad you are doing well and that you are getting your project all finished up. I loved the picuture, it looks great.
Love you all,
Hermana Lichty

6 Months in Chile

Today I have been in Chile for 6 months.... crazy how the times flys huh? This week has been pretty good and filled with lots of different things. We had a conference this last Tuesday that was really good. It was on having more animó and not getting discouraged, it actually helped out a lot. This work definitely is not the easiest thing in the world and there are a lot of opportunities to be discouraged so it is good to have talks about it every once and I while.

http://web.me.com/richandann/GillespieMission/Mission_Blog/Entries/2011/6/14_Coastal_Zone_Conference.html

We have been working really hard trying to find new people to teach. That seemed to be one of the biggest challenges of all. We have about three different families that we have contacted this last week so we are praying really hard that we can start teaching them this week. I have noticed that the more we contact and the more we talk to people that happier we are. Amazingly it isn´t even that awkward. :) But it is kind of funny because you meet a lot of.... interesting people that way. This last week we were contacting this lady because she just happened to be locked out of her house and she was trying to get back it. In my mind I was thinking ¨what a great opportunity to talk and help her.¨ So we start talking to her and she tells us she locked herself out and she really needed to get back in because her friend was coming over and they were going somewhere and she was kind of panicking about it. My companion and I start to help her try and move this glass piece of her door. She said that this happened to her last week too and she just glued this one glass piece in and so it should just pop back out. Now I am not sure what kind of glue she used but it was stuck in there pretty good. So my companion keeps talking to her while I am trying to get this glass piece out. I wedged a key in between the glass and the wood and was trying to wedge it out when the glass just shattered and my hand when though the door. Yeah.... my companion kinda freaked out a little bit and just started saying sorry over and over again to this lady. Then there was me and  just because of the way my companion reacted and knowing that the lady wasn´t mad I just start laughing. I was laughing so hard I couldn´t even finish the contact, my companion had to. But is was okay because if I didn´t break it someone else would have. It was so funny to talk to Hermana Fawcett about it later.. she was still freaking out a little. haha
Other then that everything has been going good. We have been getting so much rain! The streets have been rivers and we have been getting soaked! Saturday the President said if it wasn´t needed, in the morning we could say home because the wind and the rain combined we were bad.It was crazy to walk to our area that afternoon though because the waves from the sea were HUGE! They were hitting the side wall and going over, getting the cars on the highway all wet. So we are hoping the rain will stop before 6 tonight so we don´t have to get all wet. :)
It sounds like you are going to have a fun 4th of July weekend! You will have to tell everyone I said hi :) That is great Zach has a job. So you guys have been getting a lot of rain too huh? That is crazy because Casper never really gets much rain. I hope everything goes well with Mickie and Ayla. She has had her for a really lot time. How many character witnesses does she need? It sounds like you guys had a really fun fathers day with a BBQ and everything. I wish I could have been there to celebrate and eat :) I actually had a migraine yesterday and we had to go back to the pènsion early. It was not fun but it was good we went home so I could sleep because I started feeling sick from it and everything. But its okay because I am just fine today :) I actually don´t mind the rain.
So do you talk with the missionaries? I was thinking that you should invite them over for dinner one night. BUT just for me you have to ask them ahead of time what they want and really make them tell you. Just cook them whatever they want something that they miss from home and then a really good desert. That is a new goal of mine. It do that for the missionaries when I get back. Because really the work is hard and they need something to get them excited or to feel really good. :)
I am glad you guys got to talk to Stephanie. How is she doing? Does she have any recent fotos or anything?
Thank you for all the updates Mom! Love you all,
Hermana Lichty