Venid Adoremos

HEY! 

In all honesty this week went by super fast! I really don't have a clue what to write to you all. It flew by! Unfortunately I didn't get any turkey on Thanksgiving.. only the infamous chicken with bones and potatoes, and bread.. always. BUT this week was pretty special.

We had a super spiritual family home evening with the other hermanas and some members in our ward. We told the story of thanksgiving and shared a few scriptures and spiritual thoughts about gratitude and then had a little testimony meeting of sorts.. I definitely cried a little bit hearing the powerful testimonies of the members and the hermanas I have the privilege of serving with. The spirit was just so strong and I felt nothing but love for the people here and for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord in this beautiful place!

On Tuesday we were knocking doors, not really sure what we were going to share if someone actually opened up, but we found a man named Andres. He was super nice and offered to let us in, but didn't have anyone else there with him so we couldn't go in. He spoke English pretty well so it was fun to chat with him and we asked him if we could sing for him. We had been practicing Christmas hymns so we sang 'Venid Adoremos' and messed up a few times and kind laughed it off. Afterwards he thanked us, and said that he got chills as we sang. He sang a little bit for us and had a really good voice so then we were a little bit embarrassed, but he really was so thankful. He said that sometimes he feels a little alone and forgotten, but we reminded him that he hasn't been forgotten and helped him to feel of God's love. It was such an amazing experience and we were only a little sad that he actually lives in Santaigo, haha. 

We had a super funny choir practice with the elders in our zone because we are working on learning four Christmas hymns to sing with the stake choir at a devotional and the mall and one other place I can't think of at the moment. It was really funny though.. the tenors struggled so hard to sing their part instead of the melody an octave lower, haha!

We're also going to do a caroling activity as a district and we are going to take a ferry to an island to sing some Christmas hymns over there and hopefully make some contacts as well! We're super excited and it should be tons of fun!! 

I think that's really all I have to share this week. I hope that I have a lot more to talk about in the coming weeks with the Christmas season approaching! There's just something about Christmas time that's so special! It's weird to be here where the seasons are flopped and we are approaching summer.. I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, but my dreams just aren't reality because it's been upwards of 80 degrees lately, haha! Anyway, I hope that you all have fun preparing for Christmas and I hope you enjoy the snow as well. Try to keep in mind the reason we celebrate Christmas, and what it really means.. that we have a loving Savior who was born to save us all. He is the light and He truly does illuminate the world! I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to share that message with the people here! It is way to special.

Love you all so much! Take care of yourselves!

con mucho amor,

Hermana Sessions

Cambio Dos.. WOOT, WOOT!

HOOOOOLA!!!

This week has been super crazy haha! I honestly don't really remember much of what happened. I feel like everything yet nothing happened all at the same time, but that's the mission for you.

We had a super awesome district meeting on Tuesday in Niebla, which is the sector of the elders in our district. We did like a district companionship inventory where we said nice things about our companions in front of the entire district and it was super awkward, but also things got a little emotional haha, missionaries for you. 

Transfers were on Wednesday.. I'm finishing my training with Hermana Ruiz so we will be together for another 5 weeks at least, but Hermana Bailey's companion Hermana Arrington was transfered to Punta Arenas and Hermana Bailey is training again! We were all kinda surprised because Hermana Bailey had already been in her sector for 3 transfers, but now we have Hermana Ault from Arizona in our ward and she is super cute and super funny! It's also fun to see how much I really have grown in 6 or 7 weeks. It's crazy to think that I was in her shoes a month and a half ago. 

Que mas? I started reading the Book of Mormon in the MTC and I finished on Saturday which was super, super awesome! It was kinda funny because I got to chapter 10 of Moroni and I just started crying.. and Hermana Ruiz thought I was laughing at her, but no, tears just started leaking out of my eyes for like really no reason at all haha. But in all seriousness, the Book of Mormon is INCREDIBLE and so, so powerful, and just perfect. I know that it's true with all my heart, and I have felt a confirmation of its truthfulness each time I read it. I'm super stoked to start from the beginning.. in Spanish haha!

Today we went to the beach and played soccer as a district! It was SOOOO much fun! I miss playing so much it's crazy. I never really realized how happy it makes me, until I found out I couldn't play with the elders in the CCM, haha. I'm so glad President Isom is letting us play now because it is way to fun!! Also the beach here is beautiful! Like wow. 

Oh.. so I wore my fitbit (almost) everyday during my first transfer and I just wanted to let you all know that Hermana Ruiz and I took 713,473 steps, walked 299.2 miles, and climbed 971 floors in six weeks! que bakan! 

Well.. I think that's all I've got for you all today. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! Please eat a plate for me.. because I certainly don't need it. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity that I have to be serving a mission in Chile and for the Savior and his atoning sacrifice for each and every one of us, and also I'm super grateful for all of you! .. enjoy my little mermaid reenactment.. I'm a dork, I know!

hugs,

Hermana Sessions

Last week of my first transfer! Wowzers!

Hola! 

So this week I've decided that there are really just too many dogs here in Chile and that if Hermana Ruiz and I could count dogs as contacts we could probably exceed our goal for contacts every week! Haha, but seriously I have never seen so many dogs in my entire life!

This week was pretty good! Those of you who are familiar with The District episodes will be pleased to hear that we hosted a ward Luau on Saturday night.. complete with pulled pork sandwiches, limbo, and pineapple popsicles!

On Tuesday Hermana Ruiz and I attempted to 'heart attack' a member in our ward for her birthday.. but got too nervous and so it wasn't really the best attempt in the world. It was really fun though and I think that she appreciated our effort!

Que mas? We found a new family on Tuesday night and we're super excited to start teaching them this coming week! They have lived in Valdivia for 8 years and have been looking for a church to raise their kids in, but just haven't found one they feel is right yet! So yes, we're way too stoked.. like really, Hermana Ruiz and I have got you covered!

On Saturday, before our Luau we had zone conference with President Isom for six hours! It was a super good conference and we learned a super awesome way of teaching the Restoration and we're so excited to put it into action.. and really just way too excited to start contacting with the new Christmas pass-a-long cards. Honestly President and Hermana Isom are just the best and are seriously so cute! Oh and President is allowing us to play soccer on p-days if there is at least one hermana on each team and all the goals are scored by the hermanas, so that made me super happy! I have missed playing so much! 

After conference the other hermanas had a baptism and it was so cute! It was the baptism of a nine-year-old girl named Javiera and she shared the sweetest, purest testimony afterward. The spirit was super strong and it was just such a great day! 

Transfers are Wednesday, but I will be staying in Angachilla 2 with Hermana Ruiz to finish my training and I could not be more stoked! I'm super excited to start this new transfer and to learn all that I can during the last six weeks of my training!

I love you all and I am so grateful for all of you! Keep on keepin' on! 

hugs, 

Hermana Sessions

SaveSave

P-p-pia and the Fleas!

HOLA! 

Wow! Today is officially week six in the mission which means transfers are next week. I don't think that anything will happen because I'm still in my training so odds are that Hermana Ruiz and I will both be staying in Angachilla.. at least I sure hope so! We have a lot of work to do here still haha.

So many things have happened this week and it has honestly been such an interesting one. I don't even know where to begin. Last Monday was Halloween so it was really hard to find any one at home that wasn't busy.. we didn't have very much luck finding anyone or teaching any lessons. Tuesday was day of the dead so it was kind of the same, but we were at least able to have a Noche de Hogar (FHE) with the other hermanas and some members. Wednesday we were expecting things to get better because it was just a normal day, but not much of anything happened. After district meeting we were pretty much knocking doors all day.

Things turned finally turned around on Thursday! It rained.. well actually you can't even really call it rain, it was more like mist.. but we were soaked. Luckily we were able to teach six lessons! We sang a quick him and taught a tiny lesson about families to this woman and her daughter. We were in and out super quick because she had to go pick up her other kids from school, so we seriously left just on a spiritually high and also a 'what just happened?' kind of feeling. On Friday we also taught another quick lesson to a family with twin 13 year old girls and a little baby girl! They were so, so cute and we are hoping to be able to find them at home again this week so that we can have another lesson with them.

Wowzers.. I'm almost running out of time. Okay now for some of the funny things that happened this week. We were in a lesson one night with out investigator and her two boys. They have this little dog that she absolutely loves named Pia, but she had mentioned how she wouldn't stop biting herself and said she had some irritation of some sort. I thought she said they had ruled out fleas, but later Hermana Ruiz informed me that's not quite what she said.. anyway we were teaching the lesson when Pia came and sat right next to me on my skirt. I didn't think much of it, but she seriously would not stop scratching and biting her fur. I started to get uncomfortable and tried to pull my skirt out from underneath her but couldn't. Anyway I tried to lose myself in the lesson again until I literally saw fleas crawling in her fur and at that point I was freaking out inside but didn't know what to do, because it wasn't like I could just shove her dog that she loves more than anything off the couch if we ever wanted to teach her again.. but I could not for the life of me concentrate on the lesson and I was just dying inside the entire time. By the end of the lesson I was basically sitting on top of Hermana Ruiz. I told her what had happened afterward and she just laughed but couldn't believe I had actually seen fleas in Pia's fur.

Oh yesterday we had lunch with familia Valerio! I got a picture with their family! I really only wanted a picture of Hermano Valerio and his mom, but that would have been awkward, so see if you can pick them out of the crowd. They seriously look just like Campbell McGavin and Dawna Rasmussen to me. For those of you who have no idea who I'm taking about, I'm really sorry about freaking out in last weeks email, but for those that do.. you 'll probably see why!

Anyway, we've seen a lot of miracles this week.. and have had some super interesting lessons.. but it's all just a part of the mission, haha! I seriously love it! It's always an adventure!

Also don't if you can't find me in the picture with the Valerios it might be because you don't recognize me.. my face is getting pretty round.. it's soooo sad! 

I've been thinking a lot this week about decision making and the decisions I've made in my life, both good and bad, and what a blessing it is that we have our agency. I read a quote by Elder Oaks in Preach My Gospel at the end of chapter four (so if you have a copy you should read it) about decision making. I love that Heavenly Father allows us to make mistakes, but then is able to teach us through those mistakes and help us to make better choices in the future. I love that we are our own agents and that we have to act for ourselves and are accountable for our actions. I think sometimes I want to rely solely on the Lord, and I want to be guided in everything that I do and receive sure answers and know exactly what to do in every situation, but that's not how we learn, and that's not how we grow, and part of being led by the spirit is learning how to make decisions by this spirit, not having the decisions be made for you. I love this gospel and everything about being a missionary! I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to share it with the people here! 

I love you all so much and hope you all have an amazing week!!

hugs,

Hermana Sessions

HAAAAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEN!!

¡HOLA, HOLA!

Hey everybody, Happy Halloween!! I hope you all eat lots of candy for me tonight! This week was a really good week. I don't have time to write about everything that happened pened, but we had 'intercambios', or companionship exchanges, on Thursday! Hermana Ruiz stayed in Angachilla with one of the Hermana lideres, Hermana Sarrano, and I went to an area called Calle Cale with Hermana Norton (She's from Lindon, Utah and went to Pleasant Grove high school).

I was really, really nervous for intercambios because I had absolutely no idea what to expect and I knew Hermana Norton was going to speak to me in Spanish pretty much the entire time. I was super worried I wouldn't be able to communicate with her or understand anything that was going on, but I totally understood almost everything and all was well. The hermana lideres have some countryside in their sector and so we got to take a bus there to meet with a family an it was soooo beautiful. On the bus ride there we talked to this cute, little woman and it was such a cool experience. As she was getting of the bus she was holding on as it was slowing down, and she just kind of fell and flopped into some empty seats face first and it was seriously the cutest thing. Hermana Norton also taught these little kids on the street how to make oragami cranes and I think I struggled more than the little kids, but leik for real!

OHHHH!! quick side note because I keep forgetting to include this in my emails but it really is so important that everyone knows that the first counselor in our ward is actual Campell McGavin's real twin! It is so bizarre!!! I seriously can't look at him without feeling uncomfortable. Also his mom is actual the chilean version of Dawna Rasmussen and I really just can't get over it! I wish I had pictures of them! I'll try to take some sometime soon if I can bring it up in a way that isn't super creepy and awkward.

Okay back to buisness.. Hermana Norton! Seriously just had such a good time with her. She was just so much fun to be around and I feel like I learned so much from her. That girl knows how to love everyone and anyone and I admired her example so much. She's also really good at accents and I spend most of the night laughing. They had a ton of lessons scheduled that day and they all fell, but all day I could just feel the spirit so strongly in our efforts to contact people and really just seek oportunities to serve in anyway that we could, even if by just making someone smile! 

So I can't end this email without telling you about an experience Hermana Ruiz and I had the other day.. que verguenza! we were walking down the street and we saw this guy in a mask, like for Halloween or something, and he was carrying this thing that looked like an axe of some sorts.. fake or not, it was scary.. so we are walking down the street and he's walking towards us and it's pretty sketchy.. and then all of the sudden he starts running towards us and I was just like, 'no, no, no! Hermana!' and I ran away because I was too scared of who was behing the mask.. and well let's just say it ended up being like a 12 year old boy, but I wasn't taking my chances. 

Haha! I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful Halloween! If you have an excessive amount of candy, feel free to send it my way! It might be hard by the time it gets here, but I'll still eat it I'm sure!

hugs,

Hermana Sessions

Semana 3 ..and halfway through my first cambio??!

Hola everybody!

This week has been really, really good! I realize that you guys know next to nothing about what we are even doing here, so I figure I should probably fill you in.. Hermana Ruiz and her previous companion Hermana Delmaz had recently dropped a lot of their investigators who weren't progressing.. sooo we currently only have two 'progressing' investigators.. who in reality really aren't progressing and we are probably going to have to 'breakup' with them this week. We have been working really hard to gain stronger relationships with the members in our ward and seek references from them. We have also been knocking doors and contacting in an effort to find new investigators. Last week we were able to find 5 nuevos which was seriously such a blessing after the week we had before that. We found a family of three and another nineteen year old girl named Valentina who is just so cute! Our first two lessons with her went really well and we are really excited to meet with her more this week!

Here in Angachilla there are two sectors.. Hermana Ruiz and I are in Angachilla 2 and there are two other Hermanas (Hermana Bailey and Hermana Arrington) in Angachilla 1. We always meet up with them on p-days and usually see them a handful of times during the week and it's really fun to have four hermanas in the same ward! They are so cute and just awesome!

Okay.. so lunch here is like the main meal of the day. We usually have lunch with a member everyday and it's just so funny. You are either absolutely stuffed and it feels like you just ate Thanksgiving dinner or it does absolutely nothings and you are starved. I'm not sure how it works out that way, but it's quite funny. We usually just have cereal for breakfast in the mornings.. and then again at night, because well.. I'm used to having dinner and we're hungry again by 10:00pm.

Fun fact for the week.. to use a public restroom in Chile you have to pay. It's like so unfortunate! like I already have to pee.. just let me go please!

Once again I'm out of time.. but I promise I'll keep working on writing better emails! Soy fome, but I love you all and hope all is well wherever you may be! Have a wonderful week!!

Hugs,

Hermana Sessions

Semana dos!

HOLA!!

I'm sorry this email is going to be the shortest thing you've ever read. I just want to quickly let you know that I forgot to mention that our first week Hermana Ruiz and I almost got killed by a pile of rolling propane cans, and it was really just so odd that I need you all to know. Que raro!

Anyway, this week has been.. I honestly don't have words for this week. But if nothing else I want you all to know that the Atonement is real. It's so real. We have a loving Heavenly Father who gave His Son to atone for our sins. All of them. Every single mistake we've ever made, ever single fear, pain, sickness, doubt, you name it, He's felt.. and any hurt or heartache we feel in our lives at any given moment is a grain of sand in comparison to what Jesus Christ felt and suffered through. I have no words. I'm not very good with words.. I'm not even very good with feelings, but I am eternally grateful for His sacrifice and for his love. Heavenly Father loves us all so much it doesn't even make sense.. He loves us even when we can't love ourselves, and he never stops loving us. So don't ever forget it.. He's always there. He loves you. 

I love all of you! I'll write more next week!

hugs,

Hermana Sessions