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

First Gringa Companion

Hello!
I´m doing really good this week. Things are going really good with my new companion. I am really enjoying being able to talk in English during the day ;) Well actually it is Spanglish but it works. The rule is we are suppose to talk in Spanish during the day when we are out of the pension, but in the pension we can talk in English. I am workin on it ;) It is just such a big temptation because she is my first gringa companion since the MTC! But everything has been going so good because we have a lot of unity and faith in this area. Last change was really hard because my companion didn´t want to be here so we had little success finding and teaching, but with in a week that has all change. It has been amazing! We have been contacting and teaching a lot and really gaining the trust of the members. The work has been great and we have activities and ¨family home evenings¨ scheduled almost every night this week :) I am still working on my patience but I have been able to see a lot of progress with that. Like going into this last week I was really worried because I thought I was really going to be tested patience wise but it has been great. It is SO nice to see that I am making progress with that. I think that is also why we are having such good success with everything. We both have nothing but good thoughts towards one another and we really care about the ward here and the people. It is just great :) Also I am starting to see the ¨fruits¨ of all the hard work I put into last change.
As for volcanoes and storms we haven´t seen any of that here. The weather has actually been amazing since Tuesday. It feels like summer right now and I love it! One really great thing about my area is we have amazing views of the ocean from almost every point and so that has been great to see it everyday with clear skys and little to no wind :) How is the weather in Casper? Do you guys have any plans for this month or the next? I am glad that Zach found a job and that he is keeping busy with side projects and everything. AND I am really excited to meet Jasper next year. He sounds really fun, how old is he?
I am trying to think of a good story or something from this last week...... hmmmm This week has just been really successful with everything. Nothing crazy but it has defiantly helped me to grow as a person and I am learning a lot from my companion. We had three or four lessons this week were the people would just start to cry telling us about their life or their testimony. One thing that I love about that is knowing that we have their trust because they trust us enough to share everything with us. I am really starting to love this ward. We are in the process of reviving the missionary work here and it is going so much better.
So how was that meeting on the ward missionary plan? Did the missionaries help with it? We are in the process of creating one too :) Do you guys have Hermanas or Elders?
So I had Hna Norton cut my bangs again today. It looks really good except my face is fat :( haha But I am working on it. I am pretty sure that my face one of the first places that fat goes. But the good news is ALL of my clothes still fit and I am not really noticing them getting tighter.. if they are. lol Yesterday we had completos(hot dogs) for ¨once¨ and another member invited us over to get ¨dulces de Aligua¨ all of which was so good! I am working on using more self control. ;)  As for the fruit they do have a lot of unique fruit here with crazy names that are pretty good. One of them look like a mix between and red pepper and a tomato and the other one that I can think of right now is like tomato size also but is like a creamish brown color. They are both really good but you have to peel the outer layer of first before you can eat it. :)
Well thats all I can think of today.. thank you for the letter today Mom, I always love reading and hear all the updates. Have a great week.
Hermana Lichty
Oh yeah... I bought another fleece jacket because I lost mine last Monday.. It was sad. But the new one I found is purple and I like it too. :)

Agua Santa

Changes!
Yes it is that time again. We just found out about changes this morning. I am staying in Agua Santa and I am ¨killing¨ my new companion Hermana Fawecett. It will be her last change in the mission, which also means I will be in this ward for another two changes and the last. It is going to be really interesting. Hermana Fawecett was the trainer of Hermana Norton. We all lived together our first change in the same pension. So this change is going to be the reverse. Hermana Norton with my ¨mom¨ in the mission and me with the ¨mom¨ of Hermana Norton. Crazy! I think the President is preparing me for something. Hermana Fawecett is from Utah (my first gringa in the mission), she is very fun, but requires A LOT of patience so I will be working on that attribute this change :)
The funerals went really good. I was amazed and edified by the strength of the people that lost their loved ones. They all got up to bear their testimonies and they were so strong. It is crazy the things that happen in the mission. We sang in both the services, ¨Nearer My God to Thee¨ and ¨God Be With You Til We Meet Again¨. We were able to talk and hand out a lot of books of Mormon to the people that attended. It ended really well.
The weather is......... fun. :) In the winter is rains here, so in Wyoming how we have snow in the winter, they have rain. Yesterday is was pouring! And it came out of nowhere. It was kind of funny because the morning was great, the weather was nice, and then after lunch the clouds and the rain came. Since our area only has hills, it was like rivers flowing down them. We got soaked in less then 5 mins outside running to our appointments. At our last house the Hermana let us in and handed us a towel and blow dryer. Haha It was great because we needed them both. Then it rained all night long so today we have HUGE puddles everywhere. I am trying to be really careful with them because when the cars drive though them you can get soaked. That already happened to me once in Belloto and my companion died laughing. :) 
But the great thing about this area is our apartment is warm. I am going to have to say it is the warmest pension in the mission for the Hermanas. And I am going to be here for the next 3 months, almost all of winter so I am excited for that aspect of the changes. In Chile they only have space heaters to heat up the house so it is nice our house is warm without the heater. Also when it rains the tempature gets warmer so I like the rain, kinda :)
As for the teaching that is the hard part. My area is a very rich area so it is really hard for us to find people that want to listen. The last change was hard in that aspect. But I am very hopeful for this change because I am really starting to build a strong relationship with the members and I know they well be able to help us find people. Also I am hoping that my new companion will have a lot of energy to work this change and ideas for finding people. So yeah if you could just pray for us to find new people that would be wonderful :)
I am glad Zach found some work to do this summer. That will be some really good experince for him. How is everyone doing? Oh and yes I finally got the package you set in April! It took forever to get here. But Hermana Jacobo and I love that thing for those dogs. It is fun to be able to push that button and have the dogs move away or stop barking. Hermana Jacobo laughs so hard when we use it walking on the street. And I tried that flea coller thing for people but I am not sure how well it works. I still got bit, but not as much. But then yesterday I didn´t wear it and I got twice the amount of bits. Maybe it does work :) It smells just like the flea coller I have on my bed. How sad is it I know that smell?  lol
Anyway any new news? Tell Dad I say hello back and I miss him too. Also tell him I would really like a BBQ when I get home :) Actually I would just like to eat everything when I get home. haha I miss you all!
Love
Hermana Lichty

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

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

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