#letter54

Helloooo! Hope you all had a great week! This was crazy change week! Week One This week was the first week of changes! We said goodbye to the missionaries that ended this change and said hello to all those who just arrived! It is always a week full of a lot of different emotions! My companion and I did not have changes! Woohoo! This week is a little different than the others. We helped Sister Richardson with the dinners for those who left and those who just got here. There are only two new sister missionaries. One from Argentina and one from Peru! There were only 4 Elders that came. Thursdays we always train the new missionaries about health. I have learned that by the 3rd day of lectures the missionaries are dead tired. So, we have been playing a game with them to help keep what we are teaching a little more exciting! The missionaries love it and so do we! My companion and I have made a new goal to start running every morning. We set the alarm for 6, but some how it always gets turned off and we keep sleeping until we know we have to get up at 6:30am. Haha! Hopefully, we will be a little more successful week 2!

White Wash Our sector was changed this week. We were not expecting it, but we got a call from the Assistants a few days ago. We gave the Elders that are going to be working there a tour of where all of our investigators and less actives live. It was really sad for me (of course) since I have been in that sector for more than a year. I know that area inside and out. I know so many people that live there and have really come to love each one of them even those people who decided they didn't want to listen. Sunday we saw miracles. One of the families that we have been working with in our old sector came to church for all 3 hours for the first time in more than 2 years! Woohoo! I looked over at my companion and said "Wait, is that Jenny Gonzolez?" We couldn't see her face because of her hair. She was studying the scriptures in her lap. I kept staring (creepy, I know. I couldn't help myself). I think she could feel someone was looking at her because she finally looked over and had a huge smile on her face! I gave her a huge hug after church. I'm so proud of her determination and example! We are learning our new sector. It is a lot closer to the hospital which will be nice since we are there a lot. There are a lot of doorbells which are not a missionary's best friend, however, the Lord's hand is always in this work. Anything is possible with his help! We were able to find several people that listened to us and that we were able to make other appointments with this next week! We are praying a lot to find another family of 6 in our new sector and we know we will find them!

The Funniest Patient We had a nother appendicitis this last week. It was actually the old fill in nurse for the Quito mission. She leaves in 3 weeks. Talk about bad luck! haha. I think that she was the funniest patient that I have ever seen after surgery. She didn't remember anything that she said the next day...I have a video, but it is too big to send. Some of the things she said: "When I was leaving she shouted BYE JESSICA...I looked at her with my mouth open. Whaaaaaaaaat? Haha! Her: "They took out my appendix...you are psychic!!" Her: "I feel like I broke the Word of Wisdom...Don't tell President." Me: "I think President already knows." Her: "WHAT? Nooooo!!!" Me: "It is normal when you have surgery". Her: "Just don't tell him." Me: "He is going to come later today to see you" Her: "No, he can't! That is so embarassing. I am not modest right now!" Her: "Can we go home?" Me: "No". Her: "I won't tell anyone." Me: "Ok, let's go". Her: Trying to get out of bed..."Oh no. I can't. I am too lazy." Her: "Where is my belly button?" (there was tape over it) Me: "They took it out." Her: "They took my belly button too? How can they take my appendix and my belly botton?" I fount out later that she told President that they took out her belly button and wanted to show him and he was like "Noo, it's ok. Don't show me. I know you still have your belly button. I will tell Sister Pemberton that you still have it!" Her: "Can I have my appendix to put in my journal?" Her: "Have you seen mormon messages?" Nurse: " No I haven't." Her: "Well, you should because they are dope!" Her: "My mom is going to poop her pants when she finds out and she is going to cry." I was laughing so hard that I was crying! She wins funniest patient after surgery by far!

Hello Family, 

I have some news for you.... Today we had Cambios. I can never seem to guess what my cambios will be. Hermana Garner is leaving to Arauco, and I am going to train a new missionary here in Lomas Coloradas still. She is going to walk a lot for her first sector because our sectors are 40 min away from our house. It's great, after this nothing will seem like walking a lot to her! When someone trains a new missionary in our mission they go and meet up with the other trainers then on Wednesday they meet their trainee or daughter or hija and go back to their sector with a 12 week training book. I am very excited to have the opportunity to introduce someone into the mission. The assistants call us in the morning if we are training and we knew the second they called, I was. So many emotions! Hermana Jakob my companion from the CCM is training a new missionary too so I will see her tomorrow. We will see if I will train someone from the US or someone who is from a latin country. Either way it will be awesome. 

Monday:  I bought new shoes last pday. I found a cheap shoe place that also has nice shoes, that is the first time I've seen that here! I always bump into Hermana G. over when we are walking and she always says WALK STRAIGHT. hahaha I always bump her over. We have a dirt path in our sector that connects two neighboorhoods together and it always smells like death, we don't know why but we have officially named it death path. I was joking with Hermana G. about my favorite scripture while we were walking on it. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil. lol But we definitely smelt some nasty death. I think it was a dead sheep. We passed by a bunch of our investigators on Monday but no one was there so we contacted a lot of people. We finished everything for pday really fast. That was a first! We were efficient.  

                                           My companion and I

Tues:  We had our last meeting with our District and Zone. A lot of people will be leaving this cambio, all the people I came to the Zone with. Usually you don't stay this long unless you go to a different sector like me. I was with Hermana Casteñeda who lives in San Diego by the Temple. She is in a Spanish Speaking Branch there in San Diego. We only spoke Spanish with each other. She will finish her mission in the middle of December. She was with me In my Zone in Ñielol during my training. Poor girl, we had to walk soooo much this day. We had to walk through all of our sectors which we hadn't done before. When we got to the farthest sector I only thought, Wow, how our we going to have animo in these lessons? We tried not to be like zombies. I learned a lot from Hma C. She works hard and always had the spirit with her because she loves everyone. Missionaries walk and walk and walk. 

Wed:  We had lunch with a woman who reminds me of the Latina young version of Gma. Ruth. her name is Hermana Arraya.  She gets stuff done. She loves talking to us about her mission and it is really entertaining. She is always saying, "You gotta do what you gotta do."  I studied that morning the importance of saying true doctrine. The Savior taught us with a bunch of Doctrine.  Anyway during lunch we all felt like we were going to die, and we didn't realize that we all felt sick. Me and Hermana G. got in a little fight before, but we realized after lunch it was because we both felt like we were going to vomit.  I said after lunch I gotta go home now because I thought I would pass out. But we went home and I called our mission nurse and my best friend Hermana Balden and she told me a Chilean flu was going around and it sounded like it. She told us to stay home so we would be able to go to interviews with President the next day. I always feel guilty whenever I'm sick like that because I want to work so bad ( the mission has really changed me in that way).  But I know I won't get better sometimes when I'm that sick, but then the next day we can work.

           Elder and Hermana Balden - My best friend and mission nurse

Thursday:   We woke up still feeling a little sick, Hma. G. felt more sick than I did. We got all dolled up for interviews with President. I had my questions written down for him and Hermana Bluth. When two missionaries are in with President the others are in the Sacrament room listening to the assistants, the Hermana Leaders or the Zone leaders. They had really good lessons for us.  I felt the spirit very strong, But we had to go to the bathroom a few times so that we wouldn't be sick.  Half the zone had interviews at 1 the other half had them at 11 in the morning. Ours was in the afternoon. Hermana Bluth taught me how to lead music in my interview with her. With President I loved our interview.  I asked him about how to study the scriptures better and how to pray better.  He talked about studying phrases in the scriptures in detail.  I love President and Hermana Bluth.  I know that they worry about us and love us so much, more than I think we often realize.  They think of us all day.  I'd love for you all to know them one day, they are great people.

   We applied what the assistants taught us and called a bunch of members to work with us but no one answered.  On the way to an investigator named Senovia, a return missionary found us and we asked him Brian to come with us. He has had a hard life he practiced his English with us.  Then we met his menos activa sister and her non-member boyfriend later, MIRACLES.

                               We were angels for the Mini Trek

Friday:  The Relief Society President gave us lunch because someone canceled last minute. We could feel how much she loves people and worked really hard to show her during lunch how much we care about her.  I said to someone in the street this day in a contact, CAN we offer you a prayer and I meant card, embarrassing

. Saturday:  A man fake cried in the street to avoid our contact it was really awkward. We had to go to a zone activity to the Lagun in San Pedro and be angels for a mini trek for the seminary students. It was fun. We all had to wear white shirts. I love PIONEERS - classic for a Utah girl. 

Sunday:  Was an interesting day to finish the week. Our investigator came to church for the first time. Her name is Araceli. She brought her crazy 7 year old nephew. We had to take him outside to run. We were disappointed that no members went to sit by Araceli when she was by herself. Always be aware of what you can do to help. Paulina another investigator doesn't want to move out with her boyfriend, so we are bummed because now they do not want to get married until February and we really felt like they needed to do it in >December. 

I'm excited to see where next week takes us. I love you all, Hermana Pemberton