Tuesday, May 30, 2017

No letter?

I waited all day yesterday hoping a letter would magically appear in my inbox. Somehow, all we got were these four beautiful pictures. I hope all is well with our sweet Sister Sessions. 

Monday, May 22, 2017

The return of the pulgas.

What to say, what to say.. 

I'll start with what I can remember about this week and hopefully it will come to me. First off, I have fleas again.. yay. I don't know how I got them, but they're really no fun at all. I'm super itchy!

As a district, we decided to start English and Portuguese classes in the capilla. This past week.. pretty much no one showed up, but there was one member there so we decided to teach the classes likewise. Hermana Roney and I taught a little bit of English first, and despues Elder Longo from Brazil taught us some Portuguese.. which is really pretty similar to Spanish, but I pretty much already forgot everything we learned. Some of the letters in the alphabet are a little bit trippy and really it was just hilarious because Elder Longo is Hilarious.

On Saturday morning we painted the gate surrounding the apartments where our bishop lives with the zone leaders and the bishop. He really likes to talk to us in English which is always pretty funny and his daughters are super cute! They were showing us their collection of littlest pet shops and my little ponies. And not that it matters to me that much, but my little ponies are really scary looking now! I don't know what happened! Afterwards we had lunch with out mamita and her granddaughter who's like 23 and we ate too much as usual. I don't know, the mamita always cooks really well, but the food here still doesn't like me very much. Anyway, I don't actually remember if it was Saturday after our service project, or earlier in the week, but our mamita gave us oranges for dessert one day, but she only had three and there were four of us, so she told her granddaughter that she didn't get one because they were only for the hermanas. It went a little like this, "but why? I'm an hermana." .. "because you don't go to church" .. "yeah, but I'm still  a daughter of God!" haha! It was a little more funny in Spanish I think.

Last night we had an awesome lesson with a woman named L. Her son was a contact that I made quite a while ago with Hermana Parkinson during an intercambio. We knocked on the door and she let us right in.. I mean it was pouring rain so it made the most sense, but still we were super shocked. We taught her the Restoration and answered a lot of questions. She is really firm in her religion, but she was really receptive and willing to listen. She also said towards the end of the lesson and that she doesn't believe in coincidences and that if we showed up on her doorstep it was for a reason, so we have another lesson with her scheduled for this week! It was really neat to hear her recognize that the Lord has been preparing her and that two girls from Utah showing up on her front porch is a part of Heavenly Father's plan for her! She has a TON of potential and we're super happy that we found her last night.

Well friends and family! I love you all tons and hope that you've had an amazing week! Please enjoy summer for me because it's pretty stinking cold here lately! 

chaoito!

Hermana Sessions

No pictures from Abby today ... but I wanted you all to know that tomorrow is this Sister's Halfway mark!!! Feel free to post a comment for her to cheer her on - I will be sure she gets them all next week!

Monday, May 15, 2017

Little blessings

This week was really special for a lot of little reasons.

We were able to teach T this week for the first time and it was a really great lesson. She moved to La Union from Puerto Montt about a month ago and she lives right next to a family in the ward. We've been helping her out a lot to get all settled in. We've painted her house and helped her move furniture, and for a long time it seemed like she wasn't going to let us share our message with her, but this week it all changed and we were able to really sit down and share the message of the Restoration with her. She also always goes to campo over the weekend to take care of her dad because he's older and needs a lot of help around the house, but this weekend she went earlier and was in town on Sunday so we invited her to church and she said she would be there, but that we wouldn't recognize her when we saw her.

On Sunday morning we called her as we were walking to church and we ended up passing by for her so we could all walk together. She was really dressed up all fancy and almost looked like she could be on her way to a Gatsby party. She was really too funny about it all, but we were so excited to have her there with us. She even stayed for the full three hours!! She said the closing prayer in gospel principles and to be honest, I was a little bit worried and unsure of where it was going to go, and it was quite lengthy but honestly it was a super sincere prayer. She even got pretty emotional and the Spirit was really strong, and I'm pretty sure she could feel it. 

As usual, I love you all and wish you an amazing week! Here are some pictures from a little adventure we took today.. my feet are still wet and a little bit frozen as I write!

much love,

Hermana Sessions

Monday, May 8, 2017

so.. trios are fun

Can I just say that it is so much fun to find someone you kind of know on the mission! On Wednesday of last week I had to go to Osorno in the morning to wait with the Hermana Líderes (Hermana Ruiz) until Hermana Roney arrived from Coyaique. (Side note: I really want to go to Coyaique.. literally everything Hermana Roney has told me sounds like a dream and her pictures are off the charts!) Anyway she didn't get to Osorno until like 8:30pm and then we had to take another bus to La Union.. let's just say it was a late night. When she got off the bus I was just too happy to be her companion.. we even have the same Utah necklace. She is just too cute.. later she told me she was nervous, but the first thing she said to me was, "Wanna here something funny? I know you." I just laughed and said, "I know you too!" Basically we were both thinking the same thing. I was thinking that she wasn't going to know who I was and she was thinking I wasn't going to know her because neither one of us was SUPER social in high school.. too funny! She is darling!

On Friday we adopted another missionary into our family haha. We have been in a trio with Hermana López from Costa Rica since Friday, and she is too cute! We've been having a lot of fun together.. maybe too much fun. I guess that's why the trio’s only temporary. We have to give her back to her companion tomorrow at conference with President. 

On Friday night we worked in La Union and all stayed together in our house. Well we only have two beds and two mattresses, so we took our mattresses off and put them on the floor in the main room (only slightly bigger) and the three of us slept across the two mattresses. I died because Hermana Roney wrote a funny on a whiteboard we have in the house about our sleeping arrangements because on page 32 in the Missionary Manual it says not to sleep in the same bed as your companion. Well, as fun it was it wasn't exactly the most comfortable so on Saturday night we decided to stay in Hermana López´s sector in Rio Bueno because they have 3 mattresses in their house.. (I'm not even really sure I'm spelling mattresses right) It's a lot more comfy! 

On Sunday we worked in Rio Bueno and had a lot of fun! The branch president there even made cinnamon rolls and we each ate two! Hermana Roney said something like, "It's funny because this cinnamon roll tastes so good but in the United States it would just be a crappy cinnamon roll." I died, haha. Earlier Sunday morning we had Stake Conference in Osorno. Our district leader was sitting behind us during the conference and I heard him speaking English and turned around and he was talking to this older guy, turns out the guy served in this mission like forty years ago and is looking to retire here.. super interesting! After conference we had lunch in Rio Bueno and went to visit some members. We were sitting in there house talking with them and they went to ask Hermana Roney what her name was and how to pronounce it.. "Hermana S---" We both looked at her name tag and were so lost, then I looked at mine and it said 'Hermana Roney' haha! Turns our, Elder Sheppard, our district leader, swapped our name tags on our jackets during conference. We laughed so hard we were crying a little bit! I also tripped over a dog.. but he like tried to trip me I swear! 

Anyway, I'm just too stoked to have Hermana Roney as my companion! It has already been so much fun and I really feel like we're going to have an amazing cambio together. She's just what I needed and I'm so grateful for her! I have already learned so much from her and the missionary that she is and the testimony that she has.. I'm already thinking that I'm not going to want to leave her when the time comes and can already imagine that there will be tears!

Wishing all you moms (and future.. 'algun día gonna be a mom' moms) out there a very special Mothers' Day! I love you all and hope you have an incredible week!


Love Hermana Sessions

Monday, May 1, 2017

CAMBIOOOOS!!

..I don't really have cambios, but my companion does! She's going to Valdivia to finish a training and I am staying in La Union and I'm going to be companions with Hermana Roney (Sage).. from Holladay!!! WOOT WOOT! Haha I am seriously so excited!! ..but she is coming from Coyaique tomorrow which is super far south so I will pretty much be waiting for her all day. She just barely finished her training so I will be her second companion in the mission and I'm way happy, but a little bit scared too because well, I have to really know what I'm doing. I still feel so little.. I still have so much to learn and my Spanish is mas o menos no mas.. eeeeee! This cambio is going to be so much fun though! I'm way stoked and I really feel like we're going to see a ton of miracles!! Also so stoked to be companions with Hermana Roney!!

So Hermana Levrino and I have been in the house for the past couple of days because, well, a decent sized dog bit her on Saturday night. We were walking to a member's house for a noche de hogar and a bunch of dogs started barking at us like usual, but this time this white dog ran up and bit my companion right behind her knee. At first she told me she was fine and we walked to the house, but when we got there her leg was bleeding a lot and it looked pretty bad so we went to the hospital. She had to get 4 stitches and the rabies vaccine and has had to rest for a couple days because she shouldn't be walking very much. Today we had to go to the doctor again so that they could clean the bite marks and give her the second vaccine. She has to get 3 more! I felt so bad and wished that I could have prevented it somehow, but she was a trooper through it all.

Last week we also found 4 new investigators! Record!! ..and the best part about it is that two are under the age of 65! WOoOOoh! We're super excited to teach them more! Two of our nuevas are young and one has a cute little family! We haven't been able to see them since because well, a dog ruined the rest of our week, but Hermana Roney and I are going to have some investigators to work with and that's super great! 

These past two transfers haven't been super easy, but I know without a doubt that Heavenly Father has been aware of me. He knows each one of us perfectly and is always award of what we're going through! Don't forget to tell Him what's going on in your life. He wants to hear from you.. He's waiting to here from you!

I love you all so much! Por favor cuídese! 

besitos!

Hermana Sessions