Yeah! Si 6 months down.. oh how the time flys :) We found out about the changes this morning and guess where I am going................. Viña! Yeah the coast, the area all the missionary's want to go! And my new companion is from El Salvador, again. haha But I am really excited because I have heard that she is really funny and always smiling. She doesn't speak anything except Spanish but that is alright because that is my life right now. :) I am really excited about this change. But when I heard that I was leaving on Saturday night I was so sad! I started to pack a little bit and just started crying! I am going to miss Belloto so much. It is such a crazy change that has occurred in the last 4 months here. The first couple of weeks were really rough because I missed all of you guys and everything about the United States and now I am so sad to leave everyone. I just love all of the people in this ward and my converts and all of the families and people we have been teaching. It is a good change but hard at the same time. I hope that makes sense. And I am excited because the new apartment is warmer then this one.. yay! And no se but I think I might be living with Hermana Nortan again because it is the same pension that I had intercambios in a couple weeks ago :)
So yes this week was ¨Semana Santa¨, yeah sorry about the whole English-Spanish thing. My mind sometimes has a hard time remembering which language is which and I have a hard time remembering all of the words I need. lol But its okay :) ¨Semana Santa¨ means Holy Week in Spanish and it is basically Easter for the people here. But they don´t celebrate it the same way. It is more of a time to remember Jesus and that he was resurrected, people visit their families, lots of people get time off of work, and they have parties. I am convinced that they just look for every excuse to have a party. It is fun though. :)
We had a really good week as far as the missionary work goes. We had a ¨Family Home Evening¨ as a ward with the primary where we talked about the missionary work and (oh no, I don´t remember this work in English)ahh ¨aminarles¨ like to encourage them or make them excited about the work and a mission. It was really good, and we had a couple non members attend and I was able to talk to them and set up times to visit them. And they came to church on Sunday which was awesome because I was able to talk to my ward for one last time and bear my testimony to them :)
Oh and we had a really cool lesson this week with a women that is reading the Book of Mormon. I am not sure why but every time I have shared the 1st vision with people crazy things happen. This time after, she started by asking us if we believe that dreams are significant too because you know vision and dreams are both ways to receive revelation. Then she started to tell us that she had this dream with this grand tree that had a fruit on it, fruit that she had never seen before and everything was this bright white.... Sound familiar? The dream of Lehi! My companion and I started to share glances as she started to explain more of this dream. Then she asked us what it means! I was like, ¨Well lots of times our God uses various ways to help us recognize the truth...¨ to end the lesson we assigned her to read about the dream of Lehi and the following chapter that interprets that dream. I am bummed I won´t be here anymore to watch her progress. It is crazy because for the first 4 almost 5 weeks of this last change we just walked, and walked and walked, contacting all day. I remember being so tired sometimes at the end of the day that I could feel every muscle in my body when we would sit down to end the day in our pension. But this last 2 weeks we have been seeing miracles in the work here. I feel good, like all the diligence made a difference in the end :) It is crazy how many people have been put in our path to teach in these last 2 weeks, people that are prepared to hear our message.
I am glad you had such a good week quilting and such. It sounds fun and the food sounds amazing! And you colored Easter Eggs! That is one of my favorite things to do. Dang. haha Zach... mi amado hermano jaja... Estoy esperando su carta... I am waiting for your letter man! haha I know you miss me :)
Hey I got mail again... thank you Kellie for you letter! I was so excited to read it. Our zone leader told me I got a letter from a ¨Kelly¨so when we arrived at the church I took is backpack and searched though it to find your letters :) He was like ¨Hermana my backpack is private, why do you think it is okay for you to go through it?¨ I told him that since we were friends it was okay. He is from Peru and we are always making jokes lol Anyway my point is I was very excited :) Thank you! And Ramona I got your package too! Thank you for the purse. All of the Hermanas loved them and thought they were super cute :)
Thank you Mom for sending another package. I am really looking forward to it. For the thing for the dogs and for the fleas. They still love me. lol
Thank you for everything,
Love,
Hermana Lichty
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
The Pulgas are at it again.
Ahh los pulgas! They really like to bite me. I still haven´t figured out why but this week I have been getting a lot of bites again and they are the big ones that are like welts. No Bueno! But it is okay, usually I don´t notice it too much during the day, just at night or when we are sitting still. :)
We had a zone activity this morning so that is why we are at the Internet so late. I am going to miss this zone when we have the changes. We find out about the changes this Saturday.. I am not going to lie, I am ready for this change. I have been trying really really hard to work on this companionship but I am getting tired. But 1 week left, I can handle 1 more week. I just need to muster all the patience that I have left. :) We have a lot of activities going on this week which is really good since this is the semana santo. I guess that most people are pretty busy celebrating this week because all the members have been asking us what are plans are and if we have lunch's for all the days. We have a district activity, a primary activity, and ward talent show( which our whole zona has planned a dance to.. it is SO funny)
That is great Zach is doing so good.. it sounds like he has become really handy. So school ends next month.. what are his plans? As for Stephanie, yes she needs to write me. I haven´t heard from her since I left! But that is good that she is doing okay. Is she planning on moving back to Casper or anything like that?
I am trying to think of things that happened this last week.. Oh we have this new investigator that is deaf (But for the most part she can read lips)-- We taught her the first lesson in the chapel and it was crazy! We contacted her and she ask to meet us at the church because the people in her house didn´t like us. So we said of course! But it was super hard to understand her because deaf people try to talk but for the most part you only hear sounds and bits of words. But she is wonderful. I have never met anyone in my life that as more of a desire to learn about our message. I wish you could have seen the look on her face when we gave her the book of morman, it was like pure joy. I was sharing the part of the first lesson about Jose Smith and when I got to the first vision I felt impressed to let her read it so she could understand more easily. Then I began to bear my testimony on it and the spirit was so strong. I had to pause a couple of time to keep back the tears and my companion just started to cry. It was a really special lesson and the investigator is amazing. We are very excited to teach her again and are looking for ways to communicate better with her.
Oh also another crazy/sad thing that happened this week is we found out one of our investigator families daughter is pregnant. That was an interesting lesson. The mom starts off telling us about this and how upset she is for like 10 minutes while the girl is sitting there looking at us. Then they both stop and look at us for advice and answers and then my companion turns and looks at me too! My mind was completely blank.. what do you say in a situation like that? Part of me was like , why in the world is my companion looking at me, Spanish is her language and she has over a year in the mission. But then I remembered a scripture about just opening you mouth and having faith that words would be given to me. So that is what I did and it actually wasn´t too bad, I don´t remember a whole lot about what I said but I know we had the Spirit and that is all that was important.
Thank you for the pictures of the dogs with Zach and Dad, that was fun. :) And thank you for the update on everything. I am glad everyone is enjoying my experinces. I am for sure learning a lot about myself and others. I will try and get a picture of the outside of my pension for you guys. :)
We had a zone activity this morning so that is why we are at the Internet so late. I am going to miss this zone when we have the changes. We find out about the changes this Saturday.. I am not going to lie, I am ready for this change. I have been trying really really hard to work on this companionship but I am getting tired. But 1 week left, I can handle 1 more week. I just need to muster all the patience that I have left. :) We have a lot of activities going on this week which is really good since this is the semana santo. I guess that most people are pretty busy celebrating this week because all the members have been asking us what are plans are and if we have lunch's for all the days. We have a district activity, a primary activity, and ward talent show( which our whole zona has planned a dance to.. it is SO funny)
That is great Zach is doing so good.. it sounds like he has become really handy. So school ends next month.. what are his plans? As for Stephanie, yes she needs to write me. I haven´t heard from her since I left! But that is good that she is doing okay. Is she planning on moving back to Casper or anything like that?
I am trying to think of things that happened this last week.. Oh we have this new investigator that is deaf (But for the most part she can read lips)-- We taught her the first lesson in the chapel and it was crazy! We contacted her and she ask to meet us at the church because the people in her house didn´t like us. So we said of course! But it was super hard to understand her because deaf people try to talk but for the most part you only hear sounds and bits of words. But she is wonderful. I have never met anyone in my life that as more of a desire to learn about our message. I wish you could have seen the look on her face when we gave her the book of morman, it was like pure joy. I was sharing the part of the first lesson about Jose Smith and when I got to the first vision I felt impressed to let her read it so she could understand more easily. Then I began to bear my testimony on it and the spirit was so strong. I had to pause a couple of time to keep back the tears and my companion just started to cry. It was a really special lesson and the investigator is amazing. We are very excited to teach her again and are looking for ways to communicate better with her.
Oh also another crazy/sad thing that happened this week is we found out one of our investigator families daughter is pregnant. That was an interesting lesson. The mom starts off telling us about this and how upset she is for like 10 minutes while the girl is sitting there looking at us. Then they both stop and look at us for advice and answers and then my companion turns and looks at me too! My mind was completely blank.. what do you say in a situation like that? Part of me was like , why in the world is my companion looking at me, Spanish is her language and she has over a year in the mission. But then I remembered a scripture about just opening you mouth and having faith that words would be given to me. So that is what I did and it actually wasn´t too bad, I don´t remember a whole lot about what I said but I know we had the Spirit and that is all that was important.
Thank you for the pictures of the dogs with Zach and Dad, that was fun. :) And thank you for the update on everything. I am glad everyone is enjoying my experinces. I am for sure learning a lot about myself and others. I will try and get a picture of the outside of my pension for you guys. :)
Monday, April 11, 2011
Almost Chilana
Hola Family!
Today I am doing good :) I am almost Chilana, only 2 more weeks and I will have my Chilano ID. It has been a crazy week to say the least. Thursday night we were at the house of this investigator when all of the sudden all the power went out. I was so confused for awhile there trying to figure out what happened. lol So we finished up by the light of candle and walked home in the dark dark. No street lights or anything. Then once at the pension we lit candles that I had bought in the case of a big earthquake. It was so good we had them because we had absolutely no light at all in the pension.Then for the rest of the night we planned and filled out forms by way of the two candles and my little flashlight. I still have no idea why we had no power but it definitely made things interesting. But when we woke up in the morning everything was back to normal. It was kind of funny because the lights did come back on for the people that live below us after about 3 hours but it must have been a low voltage or something because nothing in our upstairs pension worked. Probably it is because our pension is ghetto! lol
But these last week we had intercambios and I loved it! I went to Viña for the day with Hermana Nortan. It was so great to teach together and see how far we have both come in the last 3 months. I was so happy because we went to all the appointments and talked with everyone teaching them lessons and the language was no problem. It was great to not be worried about the language. I am far from fluent but I can for sure get my point across and say what is on my mind and so can Hermana Nortan so it was amazing. Also being able to talk to someone that understands me and knows me from before was awesome too. I think we both needed that intercambio. I have a lot more confidence in my Spanish and abilities as a missionary. I feel like if it was necessary I could teach and do all of the things needed with a companion that is like me and Hermana Nortan. And Viña was beautiful! We got a couple really good pictures in her area. Ahhh I miss her! Oh yeah it was crazy because one appointment we had this girl was super awesome and the lesson went really well. I gave the first Vision of Jose Smith and after she started to tell us about it. She said she has this ability to see Spirits, good and bad, and in those moments when I was reciting the 1st vision a spirit entered the room and everything was clear and white and she felt a peace inside. It was crazy but awesome, because then she started talking about a lot of other experiences she has had and it just reaffirmed everything that we believe. Oh and she said always when people start to talk about Jesus and mention His name a couple of times good Spirits come. I thought that was really cool.
Oh so I received the package you sent on Friday! Thank you so much Mom! That was an amazing surprise, with all the candy and fun things. I have been sharing the candy and my companion and others love it :) The church things you sent are great too! Thank you thank you! And I am excited about what you have gotten me for those fleas ;) I do have one other request if you haven´t sent that package yet. I think this is a job for Dad. Dad can you look for a thing that repells dogs? The Elders let us use one they have called a Dog Repeller. It is this black thing and when you press the button the dogs stop barking and calm down. It is really helpful so we don´t have to shout so loud and we can press the door bells without worrying about getting bit. lol
That is too bad about Stacy.. did they say about how much time she has left? But that is good you guys now have Jasper :) I am excited to met this little guy! It sounds like fun at the house with those dogs. I am totally bias to the dogs in the US. All the dogs here have fleas and disease that slowly kill them and make them look really ugly. Lots of times I tell my companion, I really hope that dog dies soon so it wont have to suffer anymore. Its true! lol
Yeah, it is getting cold here in Belloto! I have a lot of things to layer with so that is good and I have bought a couple of thick tights for under my skirt so that helps a lot. And at night I layer too with sweatpants and a sweatshirt, socks, and my hood. lol I am hoping for a transfer this next change so I can go to a pension that is warmer... not just boards put together. Cross your fingers for me. lol
This week was really rough with our companionship.. when had a couple of very heated discussions but I am hoping the worst of it is over. We are working on our communication. I had a breakdown at a members house before lunch yesterday because of it, that was no bueno but they were so good about it and told my they loved me and to be strong and have patince. I am hoping it is all better. My companion is really good and showing her love for me, that is one thing I really like about her ;)
The people in Chile seem to like us. I haven´t had any bad experinces. The members have this twisted view about us though. They think we are all rich, have been members all our lives, and that life is just really really easy for us. That is a little difficult somethings. And the men are always honking their horns and making kissy noises when we walk by. We always ignore it. lol
Thank you for all the updates... I love reading about them! How is everyone in our family doing? It sounds like everyone is keeping busy!
Thank you for everything Mom!
Love you all,
Tiffanie
Today I am doing good :) I am almost Chilana, only 2 more weeks and I will have my Chilano ID. It has been a crazy week to say the least. Thursday night we were at the house of this investigator when all of the sudden all the power went out. I was so confused for awhile there trying to figure out what happened. lol So we finished up by the light of candle and walked home in the dark dark. No street lights or anything. Then once at the pension we lit candles that I had bought in the case of a big earthquake. It was so good we had them because we had absolutely no light at all in the pension.Then for the rest of the night we planned and filled out forms by way of the two candles and my little flashlight. I still have no idea why we had no power but it definitely made things interesting. But when we woke up in the morning everything was back to normal. It was kind of funny because the lights did come back on for the people that live below us after about 3 hours but it must have been a low voltage or something because nothing in our upstairs pension worked. Probably it is because our pension is ghetto! lol
But these last week we had intercambios and I loved it! I went to Viña for the day with Hermana Nortan. It was so great to teach together and see how far we have both come in the last 3 months. I was so happy because we went to all the appointments and talked with everyone teaching them lessons and the language was no problem. It was great to not be worried about the language. I am far from fluent but I can for sure get my point across and say what is on my mind and so can Hermana Nortan so it was amazing. Also being able to talk to someone that understands me and knows me from before was awesome too. I think we both needed that intercambio. I have a lot more confidence in my Spanish and abilities as a missionary. I feel like if it was necessary I could teach and do all of the things needed with a companion that is like me and Hermana Nortan. And Viña was beautiful! We got a couple really good pictures in her area. Ahhh I miss her! Oh yeah it was crazy because one appointment we had this girl was super awesome and the lesson went really well. I gave the first Vision of Jose Smith and after she started to tell us about it. She said she has this ability to see Spirits, good and bad, and in those moments when I was reciting the 1st vision a spirit entered the room and everything was clear and white and she felt a peace inside. It was crazy but awesome, because then she started talking about a lot of other experiences she has had and it just reaffirmed everything that we believe. Oh and she said always when people start to talk about Jesus and mention His name a couple of times good Spirits come. I thought that was really cool.
Oh so I received the package you sent on Friday! Thank you so much Mom! That was an amazing surprise, with all the candy and fun things. I have been sharing the candy and my companion and others love it :) The church things you sent are great too! Thank you thank you! And I am excited about what you have gotten me for those fleas ;) I do have one other request if you haven´t sent that package yet. I think this is a job for Dad. Dad can you look for a thing that repells dogs? The Elders let us use one they have called a Dog Repeller. It is this black thing and when you press the button the dogs stop barking and calm down. It is really helpful so we don´t have to shout so loud and we can press the door bells without worrying about getting bit. lol
That is too bad about Stacy.. did they say about how much time she has left? But that is good you guys now have Jasper :) I am excited to met this little guy! It sounds like fun at the house with those dogs. I am totally bias to the dogs in the US. All the dogs here have fleas and disease that slowly kill them and make them look really ugly. Lots of times I tell my companion, I really hope that dog dies soon so it wont have to suffer anymore. Its true! lol
Yeah, it is getting cold here in Belloto! I have a lot of things to layer with so that is good and I have bought a couple of thick tights for under my skirt so that helps a lot. And at night I layer too with sweatpants and a sweatshirt, socks, and my hood. lol I am hoping for a transfer this next change so I can go to a pension that is warmer... not just boards put together. Cross your fingers for me. lol
This week was really rough with our companionship.. when had a couple of very heated discussions but I am hoping the worst of it is over. We are working on our communication. I had a breakdown at a members house before lunch yesterday because of it, that was no bueno but they were so good about it and told my they loved me and to be strong and have patince. I am hoping it is all better. My companion is really good and showing her love for me, that is one thing I really like about her ;)
The people in Chile seem to like us. I haven´t had any bad experinces. The members have this twisted view about us though. They think we are all rich, have been members all our lives, and that life is just really really easy for us. That is a little difficult somethings. And the men are always honking their horns and making kissy noises when we walk by. We always ignore it. lol
Thank you for all the updates... I love reading about them! How is everyone in our family doing? It sounds like everyone is keeping busy!
Thank you for everything Mom!
Love you all,
Tiffanie
Monday, April 4, 2011
April 4
Hola!
Can you believe it is April already! It is crazy to me but good at the same time. We have been working like mad this week. It is awesome I really like it but at the same time it wears me out. lol So we are really excited because today after we get done at the store we have a couple of hours of free time to just sleep or whatever. Yay! We have been talking to everyone in the streets and ¨knocking¨ doors like crazy. One really good thing about my companion is she likes to work so we just go and go and go. Usually in order to make it back to the pension at the right time we run! In skirts and heavy backpacks we run until she needs to stop for a break. lol
Spanish is starting to get fun because I know enough to tease all the Spanish Elders, which is the majority of our Zone. It is so easy to get them all flustered.. all I have to do is mention the name of different girls in their wards and their companions start laughing. It is great. lol I still have a lot to learn but it is coming along well. The lessons are going well too. I am adjusting to taking more of the lead on most things because my companion is so shy and quiet. But one good think I have noticed from all the Latins is they all have a really good sense of humor.
Oh this week we got mail again which was awesome.. I got a packet from Aunt Ora and her whole family! It was so great to hear from them all. It made my day! They were all so positive and encouraging and I loved it! Thank you thank you! I am going to have to find some time to write them all back because all of their letters were great :) And I got a letter from Ben that was awesome.. he told me he received the Melchizedek priesthood just recently.. how awesome is that? So thank you all for the letters ;) And Kellie I am really excited to hear from you!
Oh yes the Conference in English was great. I watched it with 4 other Elders in a small room in the back of the stake center. It was nice because the Elders are a little more relaxed then Hermanas are so I got a little break. Because I wouldn´t consider myself the most ¨church¨ person in the world and that is probably why I have a hard time with my companion sometimes. lol But I learned something very good from this conference. Because I have been worried so much about the lessons and saying everything right and not forgetting something. I learned that it is more important for the people to feel the Spirit that we have and to help them to understand the love that the Savior and God have for them. So I am feeling a lot better about that. :)
And about those recipes that you are trying out... Mom I miss the food in America! We need to start a list of foods to eat the week that I get back. lol I have made the peanut butter cookies her 2 times for the Elders in our zone and they loved them. But that is the only taste of the US I have had. Bummer :)
Yeah this week we had a little more luck but still a lot of walking. It is okay with me though, I really don´t mind walking.
The class by Brother Smathers sounds like it was good. One thing that they have said a lot to us as missionaries is that the Spirit is the teacher in this work and the Spirit knows all the people better then we do. So it is super important we follow all of those promptings no matter how small they may be.
Tell Zach to write me or something. What does he do all day? lol
The stuff you learned about reprimanding a child reminds me of the talk in the last session of conference Sunday that started out ¨To be or to do... what manner of men ought you be?¨ That was a really good talk. I liked it a lot. It was so funny to be in the room with Elders for some of those talks because when they started talking about women or marriage they would start talking or give each other looks.. so i would happily remind them to take notes for their future wives. haha
How are things going for you and Dad at work? Did Dad find anything out about the other position? Are you pretty busy? How is Stephanie doing? Is she planning on moving back to Casper?
Yea, taxes don´t sound very fun. I wouldn´t be very motivated either. lol How is everyone else doing in the family? Have you heard any new news?
I learned how to make Arepas, it is something that Colombians eat all of the time. They are pretty good. We have been doing a lot of service projects recently. Last Friday we planted flowers at a school.. that was fun since I am not the gardening type. lol But all the students wanted to talk to me because I am a gringa. :) Oh and as for the fleas your right I just need to not count them and it will be alright. I think they are just going to be my grand trial during my mission. I am still using the oils in my lotion and I really think that helps a little bit.
Thank you for sending me another package.. I am looking forward to receiving it. Thank you for everything Mom :) And I am sending some pictures now..
Love,
Hermana Lichty :)
Can you believe it is April already! It is crazy to me but good at the same time. We have been working like mad this week. It is awesome I really like it but at the same time it wears me out. lol So we are really excited because today after we get done at the store we have a couple of hours of free time to just sleep or whatever. Yay! We have been talking to everyone in the streets and ¨knocking¨ doors like crazy. One really good thing about my companion is she likes to work so we just go and go and go. Usually in order to make it back to the pension at the right time we run! In skirts and heavy backpacks we run until she needs to stop for a break. lol
Spanish is starting to get fun because I know enough to tease all the Spanish Elders, which is the majority of our Zone. It is so easy to get them all flustered.. all I have to do is mention the name of different girls in their wards and their companions start laughing. It is great. lol I still have a lot to learn but it is coming along well. The lessons are going well too. I am adjusting to taking more of the lead on most things because my companion is so shy and quiet. But one good think I have noticed from all the Latins is they all have a really good sense of humor.
Oh this week we got mail again which was awesome.. I got a packet from Aunt Ora and her whole family! It was so great to hear from them all. It made my day! They were all so positive and encouraging and I loved it! Thank you thank you! I am going to have to find some time to write them all back because all of their letters were great :) And I got a letter from Ben that was awesome.. he told me he received the Melchizedek priesthood just recently.. how awesome is that? So thank you all for the letters ;) And Kellie I am really excited to hear from you!
Oh yes the Conference in English was great. I watched it with 4 other Elders in a small room in the back of the stake center. It was nice because the Elders are a little more relaxed then Hermanas are so I got a little break. Because I wouldn´t consider myself the most ¨church¨ person in the world and that is probably why I have a hard time with my companion sometimes. lol But I learned something very good from this conference. Because I have been worried so much about the lessons and saying everything right and not forgetting something. I learned that it is more important for the people to feel the Spirit that we have and to help them to understand the love that the Savior and God have for them. So I am feeling a lot better about that. :)
And about those recipes that you are trying out... Mom I miss the food in America! We need to start a list of foods to eat the week that I get back. lol I have made the peanut butter cookies her 2 times for the Elders in our zone and they loved them. But that is the only taste of the US I have had. Bummer :)
Yeah this week we had a little more luck but still a lot of walking. It is okay with me though, I really don´t mind walking.
The class by Brother Smathers sounds like it was good. One thing that they have said a lot to us as missionaries is that the Spirit is the teacher in this work and the Spirit knows all the people better then we do. So it is super important we follow all of those promptings no matter how small they may be.
Tell Zach to write me or something. What does he do all day? lol
The stuff you learned about reprimanding a child reminds me of the talk in the last session of conference Sunday that started out ¨To be or to do... what manner of men ought you be?¨ That was a really good talk. I liked it a lot. It was so funny to be in the room with Elders for some of those talks because when they started talking about women or marriage they would start talking or give each other looks.. so i would happily remind them to take notes for their future wives. haha
How are things going for you and Dad at work? Did Dad find anything out about the other position? Are you pretty busy? How is Stephanie doing? Is she planning on moving back to Casper?
Yea, taxes don´t sound very fun. I wouldn´t be very motivated either. lol How is everyone else doing in the family? Have you heard any new news?
I learned how to make Arepas, it is something that Colombians eat all of the time. They are pretty good. We have been doing a lot of service projects recently. Last Friday we planted flowers at a school.. that was fun since I am not the gardening type. lol But all the students wanted to talk to me because I am a gringa. :) Oh and as for the fleas your right I just need to not count them and it will be alright. I think they are just going to be my grand trial during my mission. I am still using the oils in my lotion and I really think that helps a little bit.
Thank you for sending me another package.. I am looking forward to receiving it. Thank you for everything Mom :) And I am sending some pictures now..
Love,
Hermana Lichty :)
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Week 2 with Hermana Arcos
This last week has been a bit challenging. I am trying to learn how to adjust to a different companion. Well I hope that is what is the problem. It is testing my patience.... a lot. We have been walking and walking and walking all week. It seems like nobody is ever at home or really wants to talk to us. But we have been able to push though it for the most part. I have some exciting news though. I was with a new Hermana on Tuesday for the day and I taught my first lesson as a senior companion that day and it went really good! I was able to understand all of her questions and comments and answers her. lol I was so nervous and in the end so happy that I was able to do it! We taught the plan of salvation to this investigator. It is funny because this investigator was actually the very first person that met and taught my first day with Hna Amaya. Crazy how much I have learned since then and how much time has gone by. It was really good for me to talk with this new Hermana so I could remember my abilities my first change and how far I have come. It is crazy, I am no longer a newbie. :)
Oh and I was able to give a short talk on Sunday for the third time in this ward. Everyone is so great and are always telling me how much I have improved and they really try to help me learn and understand. It is different to not be able to talk in English to anybody during the week. The only time I have that opportunity is at the Zone meetings on Wednesday with the other 3 gringos :) It is actually probably good that sometimes I am not able to express everything I think because it teaches me patience... sometimes. :) I have had a couple of moments though when I get really frustrated and it is really easy for me to express what is on my mind. Those are the moments that I really need to remember that I am a missionary. lol
So another dog huh? That sounds fun... kinda :) I think I will like dogs more when I get back home. Right now we pass dogs all day on the streets and all of them have sicknesses and fleas. Like there hair is all falling out and their skin is very sickly looking. Not the best of sights. But yeah how about those fleas. Goodness I have had a lot of problems with them this week again. Mostly on my legs and feet. I am not sure why some days the lotion works well and other days it doesn´t seem to matter. But anyway this dog looks very cute. You will have to send me more pictures when you get him. How old is he? How is Stacy doing?
It sounds like you are super busy Mom. That is awesome work is going so good for you. But I definitely agree that you need a day off. That is something I am really looking forward to in a little over 12 months from now. But I need to just look at it day by day right now.
For General Conference it is being broadcast in the stake center so I am looking forward to that. And they said that one room it will be in English so that makes it even better. I haven´t been in an English meeting since the MTC. That sounds fun with Valine for the conference. I definitely miss that kind of stuff. I didn´t realize how much work this mission would be or how much I would miss everything. I feel like this mission takes everything that I have got and a little more. It tests all my limits. It is in ways kind of like running a marathon. You have to work for every mile...every mile and just when you think you can´t go anymore and you want to give up you get a new burst of energy or motivation to keep you going. And sometimes the only thing that keeps you going is thinking about all the people waiting for you and rooting for you at the finish line. Deep breaths and lots of mental prayers get me though the really hard times. Also it is good for me to keep in mind how much all of this is for my benefit and the benefit of my family and all of the lives we encounter everyday. I know that there is a lot of good that we are doing even if we can´t see it right now.
That is awesome that Zach has found some work to do! Maybe this summer he can find an actual job job working on cars. That would be good for him. How is his school and everything going? Does he have a girlfriend or anything? lol You guys should send me some pictures of everyone at home.
Yay I am excited for these letters to get here from Katie and Stephanie! Can you send Kellie a message because I really want to hear from her too :) It sounds like Jessica is doing really good too. Her letters always make me smile. I got a letter from her this week, from your friend Janet, and my companion from the MTC. Can you tell Janet thank you for her letter I really enjoyed reading it and the story. :) It is nice to get like mini pep-talks from people, especially this week and probably this coming week. Can you pray for me to have more charity, humility, and patience with my companion. Sometimes I feel like I pray for this 4 or 5 times a day but I am still needing help. It is just really hard sometimes and I know I can only change myself and the way I look and react to things.
Tell Grandma I said happy birthday and I wish I could be their to help her eat her ice cream and cake. If you go will you buy her some good ice cream and tell her she needs to eat extra for me :)
Thanks for the offer to send stuff to the people here. But everyone we have been interacting with is doing just fine. For Alejandro he needs more food things. So if you do run across people that want to help they could just donate money or something and we could buy food for them. :)
Yes the running is going good. I am starting to understand why all the Hermanas are having troubles with their weight though. lol They always want to snack on stuff. Sometimes it is hard for me too but I think I have pretty good self control... well sometimes. Not with the ice cream though. Everytime my companion mentions it I give in and we buy some. lol Oh dear.
Anyway family. I love you and I am really glad I was able to write and get everything out.;)
Thank you for everything Mom!
Love you and I miss you all (Dad)
Tiffanie
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
5 Month Mark!
Hey Family!
I am doing pretty good this week. It has been and adjustment for me to be with a companion that doesn´t know any English. It is really really good for my Spanish but hard too, because when I don't know how to say something I really have to think hard in order to express myself. But Hermana Arcos is a really good missionary. She is one of those people that is really quiet but knows a lot a lot about the gospel and has a very strong testimony. I am really glad that I have an opportunity to learn from her. It is funny because all the members ask her if she knows English and she always says yes, but every time I try and say something in English or have a question about a word she gets confused. But it is okay I am trying to figure out the best way to help her learn English while I continue to learn Spanish. lol
I am learning a lot more about being humble in this change. She is just really nice about everything so I am trying to do the same. :)
It has been a really weird, we've had tons of earthquakes. I think they counted like 15 or something like that in 36 hours. Three of them were really big, it shook our pension pretty good. And one lasted like 20 seconds, that one was a little scary. My companion and I got scared every time one of them started. The president of the mission and the zone leaders have been asking us to have our ¨to go kits¨ ready this last week so we are not quite sure what to think. The week before we had a little scare with the tsunami but nothing ended up happening here. But that entire day that is what everyone talked about.
Oh and my stomach is much better. Since I found that special kind of milk everything has been great. And I have my companion on a diet... again. Every Hermana that has heard that Nutrition is my major has asked me to put them on a diet. It is kind of funny. Hermana Arcos has almost one year in the mission field and has gained around 20 pounds, so yea we are going to work on that this change. lol I am wondering if it is only the Latina´s that gain a lot of weight because the North American Hermanas don´t seem to have that big of a problem. But we run every morning so that has been a good change. With Hermana Amaya I got kind of lazy and my exercise consisted of me getting out of bed and walking to the sofa and laying down for the proxima 30 minutes. lol
Mom your long days kind of sound like my life right now. lol I just go go go all day everyday! Sometimes that is the hardest part, not having time for a nap or anything. But it is okay because we are doing a lot of good in Belloto. So yes I think you should take a day off and take a long nap.. and don´t get dressed up just wear some sweatpants and a t-shirt for the day. That sounds like a really good idea I think :)
Oh yeah for those oils, the kind that Aunt Becky sent are really good! I put it in my lotion and don´t have too many problems. I think it really just depends on the day and how many fleas we pass by. lol But I think it is safe to say that most of them don´t like the oil and lotion mix. (If you happen to run across a bag of Fireballs I think it would be okay to send them too... they are good for people on diets. lol) I almost forgot to tell you.. I got the package with the Advil and Ibuprofen.. Thank you! I was excited to get it and glad because that should for sure last for the rest of my mission :) And the tierras will be good for some of the niñas we teach.. they can be loud sometimes. haha
It is starting to get a little cold in the morning and in the night. We are going to look for some pants to wear under our skirts today and maybe another sweater. Oh my debit card doesn´t work here. I am not sure why so yeah I think you are going to have to ship me my new credit card when you get it because that is the only card that works here. I don´t know why because it is the same bank and everything. Weird.
Yeah can you believe I have been out for 5 months! It is crazy to me.. it feels like I have been in Chile for a month maybe, not 3 months though. AHH! Tomorrow I have a intercambio with a new Hermana from the states. It should be interesting because she only has one week here. That means she won´t understand ANYTHING.. just like me my first change. So tomorrow my Spanish and teaching skills will be put to the test. Lol I am only a tiny bit nervous. I get the jist of everything and most times I understand maybe 80 or 90 % of the conversation. I figure if I ask the right questions I will only have to share scriptures and spiritual thoughts. :) - and teach a lesson or two. Nothing too hard right? haha
Thank you for all the advice on the fleas.. It is good to know and try when I have bad days and get lots of bits. Could you text Stephanie and tell her to write me? She has my email right?
Tell everyone I say hi and I love them too. It is nice to hear about everyone at Church too.
Thank you for everything!
Love,
Hermana Lichty
I am doing pretty good this week. It has been and adjustment for me to be with a companion that doesn´t know any English. It is really really good for my Spanish but hard too, because when I don't know how to say something I really have to think hard in order to express myself. But Hermana Arcos is a really good missionary. She is one of those people that is really quiet but knows a lot a lot about the gospel and has a very strong testimony. I am really glad that I have an opportunity to learn from her. It is funny because all the members ask her if she knows English and she always says yes, but every time I try and say something in English or have a question about a word she gets confused. But it is okay I am trying to figure out the best way to help her learn English while I continue to learn Spanish. lol
I am learning a lot more about being humble in this change. She is just really nice about everything so I am trying to do the same. :)
It has been a really weird, we've had tons of earthquakes. I think they counted like 15 or something like that in 36 hours. Three of them were really big, it shook our pension pretty good. And one lasted like 20 seconds, that one was a little scary. My companion and I got scared every time one of them started. The president of the mission and the zone leaders have been asking us to have our ¨to go kits¨ ready this last week so we are not quite sure what to think. The week before we had a little scare with the tsunami but nothing ended up happening here. But that entire day that is what everyone talked about.
Oh and my stomach is much better. Since I found that special kind of milk everything has been great. And I have my companion on a diet... again. Every Hermana that has heard that Nutrition is my major has asked me to put them on a diet. It is kind of funny. Hermana Arcos has almost one year in the mission field and has gained around 20 pounds, so yea we are going to work on that this change. lol I am wondering if it is only the Latina´s that gain a lot of weight because the North American Hermanas don´t seem to have that big of a problem. But we run every morning so that has been a good change. With Hermana Amaya I got kind of lazy and my exercise consisted of me getting out of bed and walking to the sofa and laying down for the proxima 30 minutes. lol
Mom your long days kind of sound like my life right now. lol I just go go go all day everyday! Sometimes that is the hardest part, not having time for a nap or anything. But it is okay because we are doing a lot of good in Belloto. So yes I think you should take a day off and take a long nap.. and don´t get dressed up just wear some sweatpants and a t-shirt for the day. That sounds like a really good idea I think :)
Oh yeah for those oils, the kind that Aunt Becky sent are really good! I put it in my lotion and don´t have too many problems. I think it really just depends on the day and how many fleas we pass by. lol But I think it is safe to say that most of them don´t like the oil and lotion mix. (If you happen to run across a bag of Fireballs I think it would be okay to send them too... they are good for people on diets. lol) I almost forgot to tell you.. I got the package with the Advil and Ibuprofen.. Thank you! I was excited to get it and glad because that should for sure last for the rest of my mission :) And the tierras will be good for some of the niñas we teach.. they can be loud sometimes. haha
It is starting to get a little cold in the morning and in the night. We are going to look for some pants to wear under our skirts today and maybe another sweater. Oh my debit card doesn´t work here. I am not sure why so yeah I think you are going to have to ship me my new credit card when you get it because that is the only card that works here. I don´t know why because it is the same bank and everything. Weird.
Yeah can you believe I have been out for 5 months! It is crazy to me.. it feels like I have been in Chile for a month maybe, not 3 months though. AHH! Tomorrow I have a intercambio with a new Hermana from the states. It should be interesting because she only has one week here. That means she won´t understand ANYTHING.. just like me my first change. So tomorrow my Spanish and teaching skills will be put to the test. Lol I am only a tiny bit nervous. I get the jist of everything and most times I understand maybe 80 or 90 % of the conversation. I figure if I ask the right questions I will only have to share scriptures and spiritual thoughts. :) - and teach a lesson or two. Nothing too hard right? haha
Thank you for all the advice on the fleas.. It is good to know and try when I have bad days and get lots of bits. Could you text Stephanie and tell her to write me? She has my email right?
Tell everyone I say hi and I love them too. It is nice to hear about everyone at Church too.
Thank you for everything!
Love,
Hermana Lichty
Monday, March 14, 2011
6 more weeks in Belloto!
Hey there :)
Wow it sounds like you are having a very busy week this week, thats good :) Yes found out about the changes this morning. I am staying in Belloto 2 for another 6 weeks and Hermana Amaya is leaving. My new companion is going to be Hna Acros- she is from Columbia and doesn´t speak English. This will be fun. lol I am not too worried because really I can express mostly everything I want in Spanish it just needs a lot of correcting still. haha It will be really good though for me to become fluent. And I have only heard good things about her so I am excited. I have learned a lot in the past couple weeks about humility and pride in the companionship and really if I work on that in all my changes everything will be just fine.
We had the baptism of Alejandro this past week and all went well. He is now a Mormon :) But we still have a lot of work to do. I will send some pictures of it. Oh and don´t worry about the clothes for him. We have been talking to the members and the missionaries and found him a couple of things to wear on Sundays. We even bought him underwear, socks, and all that fun stuff the day of his baptism... that was kind of awkward in the store. :)
I have so many crazy stories from this week! Hna Amaya told me I have bad luck because all of the stories she has are from our two changes together. I think she is right though because really crazy stuff happens to me all the time. She said everyone is going to want to be my companion just so they can have stories to tell after the mission.lol
For example this week the day of the baptism we were cleaning the font... very logical right? We scrubbed the walls and everything with soap and filled the font with a little bit of water. Then we go to drain the water and it DOESN'T drain. We were like ¨seriously¨. After calling around and receiving no help from the bishop, the maintenance person, or our leader misional(he told us ¨good luck¨) we had to resort to taking all the water out in buckets! So bucket by bucket dumping it into the nearest toilet. And it wasn´t a regular bucket it was like this little bucket they use to hold the crayons for the primary. lol Oh what an afternoon that was. Just wait til I get home so I can open up my journal and tell you everything. That is just like the cream on the top. lol
Oh and don´t be jealous of the hot weather and humidity that Dad had in Texas.. It is not THAT great:) That family reunion sounds like it will be a lot of fun. You will have to take a lot of pictures so I can see everyone. Were is it going to be at? And thank you for finding my journals! I will be anxious to receive them. I think I have enough room in my journal to last me probably another 5 or 6 weeks depending on what a happens in my life. lol
Tell everyone that I say Hola back! It is so great to hear about them. Thank you for all the updates Mom :)
Tell everyone that I say Hola back! It is so great to hear about them. Thank you for all the updates Mom :)
Have you noticed how blonde my hair is getting! It is crazy, I looked in the mirror yesterday and I barely recognized myself. It is craziness.
How is everyone doing? How is Zach and Stephanie doing? Have you heard from Kellie or Jessica lately? How come you were up so early Sunday? I have been getting up lately in the middle of the night because I itch so bad. I have been putting vinegar on my bits because that seems to be the only thing that really helps. But it is okay I only have maybe 10 or 15 bits at a time so a lot better and something I can handle. :)
I love you Mom! Thank you for everything and for all you support. I couldn´t do this without you :)
Tiffanie
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