Monday 24 October 2016

Bano Girls Transfered


 

 I’m getting transferred!  You’re not going to believe this but Hna Ricagno is going to be my capacitadora (sister training leader) again for her last cambio :( she goes home December 6. We are going to have intercambios (exchanges) :D I’m going to Victoria. I'll be companions with Hermana Mercau. She was born in Chile but grew up in U.S., Argentina, and Canada. I’m not sure if she’s Gringa or Latina ha-ha :D 

 I’m kind of concerned with my foot cause Hna May called me yesterday to ask me questions about it :P  She’s going to send me to another Dr. I really don’t want to have to come home because of it :P I’m thinking about just not telling my new comp ha-ha. It’s thanks to Hna Goulding that I have rested a little, honestly, she watches like a hawk.  The instant I start limping she goes, "don’t be stupid", and we go to a bench for a little bit or back to the house if its reeeeaaaallllyyy bad :P It should be better in Victoria, I’ve heard it’s quite small and flat as a board. Maquehue, where I've been for the past 6 months, is the biggest sector possible for Hna’s and it’s all full of hills, so we’ve been using lots of buses. We’ll prob starve from all the bus fair we've been paying. ha-ha, nah we'll be fine. I know it’s going to be ok, I just have to convince them it’s going to get better. I wouldn’t have thought about the possibility  that they might send me back home, it was when the bishop made a reference to Elder Yamashitas talk about the elder who changed missions, and how I might end up with a similar situation. :P What a meanie! But I’m fine really! It helps when I wear my croc shoes (poor things are going to die soon I think ha-ha) It helps because they’re flat flat. Hna Jones (Dr.) and Hna May think that the more support the better :P I have officially been forbidden from flip flops again, so crocs are my life and those pillow shoes you sent me- like heaven ha-ha :D

 Soledad, my bff here in Maquehue, her mission call is going to get here this week :P  I’m really sad I’m not going to be here. I was here when she decided to go :D She’s going to come to the bus station tomorrow.  I’m going to miss her lots, she always came with us everywhere. She is from Paraguay. I have decided I want to learn guarani, (language of the Paraguay) such a cool language. Hna Pemberton described it an Avatar, blue people language ha-ha.
 
More Pics from the trip to the ocean, and  a zone conference.

 







 Waiting for lunch with the familia Muñoz. My last lunch in Maquehue, it was french fries, hahaha it was fun :D

 

 
Rosi, Christian, and Andrea is the youngin. Ha-ha Rosi was crying when we stopped by quick to say goodbye. She’s kind of like a momma bear, she hates us because we like to pester them to come with us,  but she loves us too ha-ha.


 Oh it was so sad saying bye to Maria, she was just bawling most of the time. She gave me copper coasters with Chilean pics on them, so sweet. I’m going to miss her a lot. She is so incredibly special, seriously. She’s searching out family history and preparing to take her husband to the temple for baptism and all the rest when she goes to the temple in a year, she is getting her eternal marriage sì o sì ha-ha


I can’t even explain how much of a disaster trying to pack has been after six months, I’ve kind of moved in. ha-ha.

We went to Hno Ruiz´s house, and when we left, he shook my hand, then let go and hugged me really fast! When he let go he was laughing his head off, and Pia, the little girl in the next pics, his daughter, was killing herself laughing too. She was so shocked, I was too. We aren't supposed to be hugging men! That just made him laugh harder!

 
 I really felt like slowing down last week until I realized I only have 3 cambios (transfers) left after this one!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hna Ricagno goes home at the end of this cambio we're starting, and I got to Chile just after she did!

 
                                       Hna Mispa and Bishop
 

             One last lovely pic of Hna Pintus, and Hna Calderòn.


I’m surprised the ward survived the weirdness of the four of us together for so long actually, ha-ha it was a fun time. :D 

Love your amazing Shaylee

 

Tuesday 18 October 2016

Open Your Heart


 Dad’s an all or nothing guy, and honestly when I’m dying I just think ok now what would dad do? Then I just keep on going. 
 I actually can’t feel much pain in my foot at this point, I just know by looking at it now that when its bright purple, I neeeed to stop for a 15 min break ha-ha. It did hurt now it’s just numb, the nurse is thinking special insoles might help? Who knows :D I do feel better now though after being sick and resting.  Xuaqin, a recently ordained elder in my ward saw that I had a cold and asked if he could give me a blessing. He was excited so I said for sure, not going to turn it down. He began the blessing, then he stopped for almost a full minute and said I bless you with power, and that according to your faith your body will function in exactly the way God created it to work, and your foot will return to normal. So cool. He said lots of other cool stuff, but I have it written somewhere else :D Oh yeah, and that my heart will be open to the Chileans’ and others I work with. I was like how did you know?!?!?! Ha-ha church is true, nothing else to it :D I can work and work and work, yet I have had a hard time opening up my heart. 

 Hna Calderon found my Easter glasses, this is how I found her :D



        A note from Hna Bentley :D it was actually super sweet
                                                          (The MTC comp that didn't care much for Shaylee)
 

 
So on Sat. we went and did service for Hno Andy, he is from Peru, his wife is Chilean. Manoah is 8 and 3/4 pregnant with their fifth child. They’re really cool, and speak almost fluent English. We helped him haul stuff out of his back yard. Lots of wood, junk, and rocks. I weeded while we were at it because it was a mess. They recently finished building in this neighborhood, so it was still dreadful from that too :D  It was fun except for one thing... Spiders! Brown recluse spiders or arañas de rincon. Evil posionous spiders :P They were on everything, that’s why I volunteered to weed ha-ha :D Poor Goulding, she’s scared of spiders too, I’m just faster at grabbing the shovel :D Andy was shooing all the kids inside, "there’s spiders kids not safe outside!" ha-ha yikes! I hate spiders we didn’t get bit :D blesssings :D We did get the yard cleaned. Andy wants to do a neighborhood meeting, where we come teach about families so I’m excited for that, hopefully I’m still here for it. Transfers are on Monday coming up :D ha-ha I’m heading out I think after 6 months its time. It’ll be weird!
 
                                        Us after our service project

 
A doodle she made for Andrea C, a girl in their ward.
 
 
 
Baño girls sang for zone conference.

Struggles this week: Foot is staying the same, had a cold, struggling with having to be in the house, and the forced slow down my foot is putting on me.
Successes: I have a mute, and a politician investigator who are super cool. My other success is when I can work, I always do.

I can’t believe Riley has been ordained to an elder, so strange, but cool :D
 
 I’ve been studying lots on the Holy Ghost and on spiritual power. I've loved learning more about it :D

Love Shay

 

 

 

Puerto Saavedra


 So this morning I woke up at 5am because the other Hna's decided they needed an hour and a half to get ready to go to the beach, and that they need to play motab loudly while doing so :( not happy Bob, not happy! ;) I just rolled over and dozed until 5:50ish, got up and was ready in 10 minutes ha-ha.
We went with the zone to Puerto Saavedra, it was so pretty, and fun! We played volley ball but each compañerismo had a beach towel and we went district against district. The ball was a water balloon we had to catch and throw with the towel it was super cool! Hna Goulding and I were fantastic at it I must say :D Hna Rico and Rowden should have just surrendered, poor things were soaked by the end, they just couldn’t get the movement right ha-ha
On the bus rides to and from Puerto Saavedra we played mafia for 3 hours. ha-ha. Every round I was one of the first killed. I think I’ve been with these people too long they’ve figured out the mischief behind the innocence. I was usually mafia, then when I was detective I got killed right away, and then the people heeded my call to repentance ha-ha

 
This pic will not load the right way!!!
 








 

We found a lady who lives in our apartment building, while contacting on the street. She is super cool. We also finally got in, with a picture perfect family, that I’ve been stalking since I got here ha-ha they’re just as cool as I knew they’d be. David, Angelica, and their kids, Leon(lion) and Celeste(light blue). David is a political dude running in an election right now. 

We all sang in a choir for a ward baptism with the kids preparing for  missions.
 
 I was able to go out and work more than half the days this week so I’m happy for that. 

Wow life is nutsy! I have a hard time remembering all- OH! ha-ha yesterday I was doodling on my tithing slip (first time I have done that since I left, bout broke my heart when I realized) and after church the counsellor dude brought my very carefully opened tithing slip back to me cause it was just to awesome to throw out ha-ha! if only they knew how much I doodle :D Hna Goulding says it’s getting out of hand ha-ha ;) keeps me happy :D 

Ha-ha I found like four or five more four leaf clovers this week :D I’m so lucky! 

 I also was ordered to wear flip flops by Hna May, which is crazy because that’s a super no no for our mission, but she says if it helps my foot, go for it.  :D The only downside is my flip flops broke, so I have to use a pair that is to big and plastic. Wearing them definitely helps. I just have a few blisters from the cheap flip flops.

 I think I’ve killed my compy, but it’s good that she’s tired, right? :D 

 

 
Thanks for the encouragement dad! This week’s been rough, I have been trapped inside almost half of the time cause of my foot, yet I was out more than last week, and even though we found lots of new people who are really cool, I’m kind of sad, and scared about what’s going to happen with my foot cause it’s just a replay of last time. So far, docs can’t find nothing, chiro thinks it’s my hips, nope! I know everything’s going to be all right. I’m doing the best I can. I just needed to let that out :D
I love you so much dad, I’m so grateful for your example of hard work, and awesomeness, you’re the best!

Love amazing Shaylee

 

 

General Conference Weekend


I asked Shay if she would rather us pick her up right after the mission, or go back later.
I would prefer if you come pick me up, that plane trip was horrid! President May said April 11 would be the day to pick me up, and to contact him if you will be, so we can do a small unitrusive hand off at the mission home. 

 I watched all sessions but one in Spanish because our stake pres. doesn’t believe in letting the missionaries watch in English :P  The zone leaders stole one of the members phones and we watched a session on that secretively, behind the stage, jumping at every sound in case it was him, ha-ha :D
We were going to go to the other stake center on Sunday, but we were out back on a cute little bridge in our stake centre.  Soledad my bf from the ward here, was feeling down so it turned into a "comfort the lonely girl" time, and we all felt better after. I was so happy to help her I love her lots, she’s sending her mission papers in too.  Soledad thinks it would be cool if her and Riley were in the same MTC, ha-ha :D We ended up missing the time frame to sneak to the other estaca.

 So I was out of commission most of the week :P  My foot was dying. (Shaylee injured her foot playing soccer in 11th grade, it's come back to haunt her) I went to the doc on Tuesday :P (nothing wrong, dejavuo) then the chiropractor on Thursday (still nothing wrong) so yeah. 
The elders gave me a blessing on Tuesday for my foot, and Heavenly Father says, foot thing is back so I can learn something :P ha-ha and that it will get better, that I will be able to serve, and that I will find the people who are ready to accept the gospel and be baptized. So that was really cool :D I always feel so much more capable to do this work after something like that, it’s just so incredibly reassuring :D I’m so grateful that god has restored his priesthood here to the earth today through living prophets. What greater blessing could we have? Everything depends on that priesthood. 
 
Last night after conference, we got back at 8:30, we put our stuff away and I hobbled on outside to go hunt for Miriam, an investigator who is super busy, but super cool and lives close to us. She was home, and let us in at 9:00pm! We finally got to give her a book of Mormon and she was soooo excited!She accepted a baptismal date for the 22nd of this month! Yay!!!! Miracles after a loong week! I’m so happy Heavenly Father is always prepping people to accept the gospel. 
 
We had interviews with President May on Friday, he basically told Hna Goulding that I’m headed out to a new sector next cambio :P I figure after 6 months they ought to just leave me here. ha-ha, oh well. I feel like Hermana Goulding is a lot more prepared to take on this monster sized sector now.  We still have two weeks till cambios :D  The 7th is my one year mark so that’s weird :) kind of never thought I’d make it to this point, but here I am and I’m still alive! Yay! I feel like life is just blurring together now ha-ha, one great big blur of tired, but I’d much rather be tired than well rested during this battle  :D 

 
Love amazing Shaylee

 

 

Sunday 2 October 2016

Maria's Baptism

Every time Roman, Shaylee's 6 yr. old cousin, comes to our house the first thing he asks "Is Shaylee home yet?"
Jaja I'll just show up to his house one day and surprise him ;)
 I seriously would be at home right now without your emails, they give me the boost and energy I need. Best part of the week :D 

 
Random bird on the sidewalk that you can't see very well, but it's fun to see where she is at.

 
 
 
                                          Ward council Meeting


 We will be watching conference the same day, but 3 hours behind. We have to wait to watch women’s conference though. 
 
Shaylee's cousin Evie, likes to call people on the phone, so we called granny, and uncle David. I was telling  her about the conversations, this is her reply:

Ha-ha Evelette :D so cute! I could give you my number, but....... ha-ha might be a little wrong to do, ha-ha.  Would love to get that call :D 

Marias baptism was so wonderful, but a disaster and a half behind scenes. Morning of the baptism the lady with the baptism tunics said "no, we can’t use them" (we’d only been talking with her for 3 weeks) then, we couldn’t find any other clothes for Maria to wear, so Andrea and Ray volunteered to go pick up a tunic from a different ward, so off they went.  We went peacefully to clean and fill the font. The font was horribly dirty. We scrubbed and scoured while singing Come Thou Fount, I know that my redeemer lives, and more in Spanglish, then songs from Princess and the Pauper (Barbie movie) we really rock singing the, "I’m just like you" song. ha-ha. Then we had a 1 hour play by play of the "Diamond Castle" from Hna Goulding, complete with song and actions, finishing with her teaching me a dance from a "Mermaid Tale" while we set up chairs.  Turns out were both nuts, ha-ha. With Hna Goulding having 5 sisters and a 5yr old brother she has an excuse :D The RS came to check out who was making the beautiful melody? And we were dying laughing. Good thing they don’t speak English. ha-ha. They were quite impressed by our mad singing skills. After filling the font it was barely warm. Maria is 75 so we were scared she'd just die when she touched it, so we went and awkwardly asked to borrow the water heater upper thingy (kettle) from the RS activity room, (told em we were thirsty) and used that to heat up some water from the bathroom to help heat the font ha-ha, it kind of worked. Then we got the phone call at 6:10 that the dude didn’t show up to give Andrea the tunic and we were without clothes. Maria was coming at 6:30 and the baptism started at seven. After a mild panic attack we got a hold of the other Hnas, and they assured us they’d find a miracle. With a leftover Hna Hall t-shirt, and Palmenia´s dress refashioned into a skirt (we folded the top over) she was ready. Rossi and Andrea showed up with a tunic hastily remade from a tablecloth. The Holy Ghost talk didn’t show up, and the musical number fell through.  The mission leader filled in and gave the talk and thankfully the baño (bathroom) girls always have acapella hymns ready, so we sang. Maria never suspected a thing. :D Then she was scared of the water so I ran around back and reassured her whilst the other Hna’s distracted the 5 members that came, and she trusts me I guess because she did it! Yay :D then she said she had the best night’s sleep in her life :D
During the confirmation the next day, she got told in her blessing she had been prepared in the pre-existence to accept the gospel here on the earth. :D She’s so awesome! Seriously she’s cool. Right after the sacrament meeting she asked who she had to pay her tithing too. :D so she paid her tithing :D 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                4 leaf clovers
 
 
                                        Missionaries at work!
 
 
 
 
                                        Sisters conference
 
 
 Also Miriam and her 8 yr. old son came to church yay!!! love them :D
 
 

Independance Day, Sept. 18th


 Ha-ha Rodrigo (convert from first area) is super bien, has actively going out with the missionaries lots and going to church every week, he is happier than he’s ever been.
I’m a little worried for him not going to lie but it’s not necessary to worry Heavenly Father will take care of him.

 Maria's real baptism is this week and I’m excited, also I’m super stoked for the general conference in 2 weeks :D I love it :D

                                      I got a letter from Loretta :D 
 
 
 We all went to Jack’s, Hna Calderon and I split a real milkshake ha-ha :D gringa food. :D
 
On Saturday we had time to go shopping. Hmm, I didn’t find anything, but Hna Goulding was missing shopping and came back with 9 sweaters ha-ha.
 
This weekend was different due to the Independent Day celebrations. We went to Cristian Cardenas’ house on Sunday.  Jose Miguel (gangster child) and Andrea Cardenas were trying to teach us how to do the Cauca, but since we can’t dance we were just trying to memorize what they were doing to practice later. :D and we made empanadas together. I wore my typical Chilean dress ha-ha it was fun. A little girl on the street was like look a chinita! She’s really really white ha-ha :D Yep, I’m a Canadian! Goulding and I stand out a little. ALOT! ha-ha. We saw a guy with blue eyes the other day and it was actually kind of scary ha-ha that is not normal around here. Then yesterday we did not go anywhere! I had my first almost lazy day in 11 months. :D ha-ha we watched the testaments, I made Hna Ricagno’s trunky agenda covers, took TWO naps, painted my nails like Chilean flags, (I forgot to take a pic) :(  played Uno,  and ate 6 hot dogs!  I felt like I was wasting time, so I cleaned, planned for investigators, went to bed early, and much more other stuff, oh yeah I wrote some letters and lots of things :D 
                                      Aftermath of our ward party
     
                               
                                   Independence Day celebration
                        


 

        Wheelchair dude is Christian, our ward mission leader :D




This is for Shyanne:

I love you Annie!

I won por se caso in a skirt :D

              We're eating a pajarito, or a little bird, it tastes good :D
 



 So I’m just chilin out here happily :D and I just want to let you guys know, so you’re not worried but there is a terremoto (earthquake) warning for the end of the month.  Don’t worry remember in my setting apart I was told I will be 100 percent safe and sound, even protected by angels if necessary so yeah, don’t worry I just wanted you all’s to know just in case :D but don’t worry nada going to happen and I have an emergency kit so I’m good :D