Holaaaaaaa!!!!!
This week has been absolutely insane!!!! I really feel like I just came to Ecuador over again. I´m dead tired like I was in the beginning, I don´t have a clue what´s going on, and I follow my companion around like a baby duckling. But I love it!!
By the way, just so you know, my pday is on Saturday but tomorrow is conference so we´re taking our pday on friday. The assistants said we could. Don´t worry, I´m not being disobedient ;)
So, the office. To be honest, I still don´t really have any idea of all the things we do. Hermana Lecates, the old nurse that was here before me, was here for 2 days this week to wait for the new hermana so that they could go to Cuenca together, told me that we do things that we never would have imagined. So I would guess that I´ll be here for 9 months and at the end I still won´t have a set idea of what it is that I´m supposed to do, but yeah. Anyway, for the most part, we set appointments for sick missionaries with the doctor, we talk to them about their problems and tell them what meds they can try, we look for new doctors and hospitals that we can use, we pick up results from labs and x-rays, and we do a lot of random stuff. Hermana Johns works really closely with us too. We´re in the office on Monday and Thursday and the rest of the time we´re in the field proselyting, but a lot of times we have to cancel appointments because something happens with a missionary and we have to go take care of it. They can call our cell at pretty much any time they want to, even in the middle of the night, so it´s like being on call all the time. But for right now, I don´t really do anything, I just follow Hna. Foster everywhere bc I have no idea what I´m supposed to be doing!! I felt kind of bad about this at first but Hna. Foster said she was exactly the same when she came and as I learn I´ll start doing more things. So, NBD. I was talking to one of the office elders and he said that coming to the office is like drinking from a fire hose. It´s really true!! But at the same time, it´s a really awesome opportunity, because we get to work really closely with President and Hermana Johns. Who, by the way, will be leaving at the beginning of July and the new president and his wife from Venezuela will be coming. We already know that it will be ridiculously insane. Hna. Foster said that the mission presidents come knowing pretty much nothing and all President and Hermana Johns will do is give them the keys to the house. So they´re going to depend on us a LOT. Fortunately Hna. Foster will still be here with me, because she doesn´t go home until August. So I won´t be completely on my own!! Plus, we get to go on the gira, which is where we go on a road trip with president and hna. Johns and the assistants to the whole mission. This means I´ll be seeing Cuenca, Machala, Loja, and possibly Milagro, depending on if we stop there or not. But we´re not going until next change, bummer. But I should be going at least 2 or 3 times if nothing else comes up. I´m super excited about it!!
So now I´m going to tell an absolutely hilarious story about one of my first experiences as the mission nurse. We always have to give a presentation in the new missionary orientation, and this time they put all the new ones together so we had to do it in Spanish. Hna. Foster was talking about what to do if you meet muggers and said in Spanish, if you´re going to be robbed, you should keep some cash with you so you can give it to the robbers. Well we all thought that was hilarious, including me, and I laughed inside my head about it until it was my turn to talk and I told everyone that if they had diarrhea, they have to try it first before they call us. What I was trying to say was that they need to test it to see if they have parasites or bacteria or something before they call us so that we can know what to do for them, but the word I used, probar, is used when you want to say that you´re trying food. So basically I told everyone that they had to eat their diarrhea before they called us. Well all the Latins were looking at me like, what did that crazy gringa just tell us to do?? So hermana Foster explained what I had been trying to say (because I had no idea still) and afterwards we were seriously laughing so hard that we couldn´t breathe. It was SO funny, I wasn´t even embarrassed about it. So yeah, my Spanish isn´t as good as everyone thinks. But I did meet my future companion, Hna. Barker, who is from New Albany and totally knows the Porters!! Brad and James, how sad that you didn´t write me to tell me she was coming!! Anyway, she´s in Cuenca right now but she´ll be coming to the office in about 4 1/2 months. Yay!!
Our sector, Bolivar, is BUENISIMO!!!! There are so many good people there. We´re teaching a family of 4 that has already come to church twice, is reading the BOM and Gospel Principles, and loves the emphasis that the church puts on families. The only thing that´s not so great is that the hno. works a ton so we can´t always find him to teach him. But he loves the church too and we are working hard with them. Yesterday we were explaining all the things that we have to do in this life to return to live with Heavenly Father and our families to Hna. Lourdes. She pointed to faith and repentance and said, I´m doing this right now, and then pointed to baptism and said, I´m still missing this. We were like . . . . we can help you with that!! She still hasn´t accepted a date to be baptized because she wants to talk to her husband first (yes, they are MARRIED!!! ) but we figured she would say that and we would prefer to baptize the whole family together anyway. But we´re super excited about them. I can totally see the Spirit working in these lessons, it´s so amazing. Also we were talking to this less active member Mario the other day. We asked if he´d been reading his scriptures and he told us that he had a BOM . . . . . given to him by SHERI DEW. Well, we were pretty blown away by that, so he got it out so we could see it. Sister Dew had written something in english in the front cover and he had never found out what it said. So we asked him if he´d like us to translate. It said, among other things, I hope you serve a mission and get married in the temple. Well, Mario had made some choices that made him unable to serve a mission at this point, and when we read this to him, he started CRYING!!! He said that he wants to come back and we told him we would be here to help him, and that he could start by reading his scriptures and praying. He´s totally coming back, serving a mission and getting married in the temple. He´s only 19, there´s totally time.
All in all, I am content. I am ridiculously tired, all the time. This morning I fell asleep in planning, and I have these gigantic black circles under my eyes. I look like Hna. Foster and I have been having a couple of bad companionship inventories. Mom, if you´re feeling like you want to send me a just because you love me gift, some of that eyelipex stuff from kohl´s would be awesome. But really, I am doing great. I¨m overwhelmed and underslept, but I´m a pretty happy camper despite it all. I can see how the Lord blesses us because we really don´t have a lot of time to proselyte, because being the mission nurse is our first responsibility. But we have amazing people to teach, the members help us a lot and we somehow manage to accomplish a lot of the goals we make every day. It´s really interesting-and totally awesome. I thank Heavenly Father every day for this opportunity that I have. It really is amazing to see all the blessings that come to us when we´re doing our best. At first I felt weird because I came from working really hard every day, walking and talking to people and teaching all that, to this where I do a lot of sitting and waiting and watching. It was just a weird feeling. But I know that this is where the Lord wants me to be and that even when I´m sitting and waiting for the secretary to do something for me, I´m doing what He wants me to do.
To end, yesterday was April Fools in the US, but Hna. Foster and I got a good trick played on us!! We came home last night to find Hna. Montenegro and Hna. Castillo looking very sad and all of their luggage on the floor in the main room, desks empied out, etc. They told us that there was an emergency transfer and that both of them were leaving. I didn´t believe them at first but they were so convincing that soon we both fell for it . . . . . until Hna. Foster called Hna. Johns and asked her about it. Turns out it was all a joke!! Well we laughed for a long time but I was like what!! I was actually legitimately sad!! But they´re still here for another change at least, so hooray for that!!!
Well, we´re off to go grocery shopping. Be good, read your scriptures, pray and make good choices!! Mucho amor!!
Hermana Chamberlain
Friday, April 2, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
I'm in the Office Now
Hola familia, muy buenas!!
Well, this will probably be pretty short, but I have the opportunity to write you all today so I'm going to do so. I have been transferred to the office, and am officially one of the mission nurses now. My companion is Hermana Foster, from Tenessee, the second oldest of 8. She is muy muy buena and is helping me out a lot. I kind of feel like I just got to Ecuador again because there's lots of new things to learn and be introduced to, but at least I can more or less speak and understand Spanish!! As of right now, I don't really know all of the things that I am doing as the nurse but at the end of this week when I write again I will let you know because I know you are just dying to find out!! The last week in Huancavilca was pretty much the same as the week before it, but for the most part it wasn't as discouraging as the other week. Hermana Foster was actually in Huancavilca before I came and she said that it's a pretty difficult sector, so I felt a little better after knowing that. I am overwhelmed but happy to be here in the office, and really excited to get to know my new area. Hermana Foster told me that we have a family that already has been to church twice, and we're going to put a baptismal date tonight. I'm so excited!! Also, Hermana Montenegro and Hermana Castillo still live in my house, and Hermana Glanzer is coming back to Garcia Moreno, my zone!! She won't be living in my house or be in my district but I'm still really excited that she'll be here. I was sad to leave my companions but I know that this is going to be a really exciting change for me. More later. MUCHO AMOR!!
Hermana Chamberlain
Well, this will probably be pretty short, but I have the opportunity to write you all today so I'm going to do so. I have been transferred to the office, and am officially one of the mission nurses now. My companion is Hermana Foster, from Tenessee, the second oldest of 8. She is muy muy buena and is helping me out a lot. I kind of feel like I just got to Ecuador again because there's lots of new things to learn and be introduced to, but at least I can more or less speak and understand Spanish!! As of right now, I don't really know all of the things that I am doing as the nurse but at the end of this week when I write again I will let you know because I know you are just dying to find out!! The last week in Huancavilca was pretty much the same as the week before it, but for the most part it wasn't as discouraging as the other week. Hermana Foster was actually in Huancavilca before I came and she said that it's a pretty difficult sector, so I felt a little better after knowing that. I am overwhelmed but happy to be here in the office, and really excited to get to know my new area. Hermana Foster told me that we have a family that already has been to church twice, and we're going to put a baptismal date tonight. I'm so excited!! Also, Hermana Montenegro and Hermana Castillo still live in my house, and Hermana Glanzer is coming back to Garcia Moreno, my zone!! She won't be living in my house or be in my district but I'm still really excited that she'll be here. I was sad to leave my companions but I know that this is going to be a really exciting change for me. More later. MUCHO AMOR!!
Hermana Chamberlain
Monday, March 22, 2010
Nadie Nos Quiere=Nobody Loves Us!
Well this week was super frustrating. We worked SO HARD-I´m talking walked for miles, contacted like crazy, set lots of appointments, stayed out till 9:30 every night with appointments, were obedient . . . . . and it didn´t get us ANYWHERE. Nobody wanted to talk to us, people gave us a lot of fake addresses, most of our set appointments fell through and then all of the backup plans for our set appointments fell through too. And of course, everyone bailed on us for church, plus a lot of the recent converts decided they didn´t need to come to church either. (although Fam. Romero did come-this makes me feel somewhat successful.) Plus we found out that the girl that was going to be our miracle baptism actually doens´t live in our sector after all-or even in our zone. UGHHH!!!! It was SUPER frustrating and SUPER discouraging, so last night I blew off the steam of it all by cracking a lot of jokes with Hna. López. Because really, it was really sad but also kind of funny. But it was also frustrating because they always tell you that if you´re obedient and work hard, you´ll have success. Well we were doing all those things, and we got NOTHING!! But Hna. López was reading Mosiah 23 and found a pretty awesome scripture that explains why the Lord decides to try our patience sometimes-but she doesn´t remember the reference and we don´t have our scriptures with us so I dunno which scripture exactly. But read Mosiah 23, it´s awesome. And 24 is awesome too. And there were a few pretty good things that happened this week, for example, Roxana, one of our investigators, came to a ward activity that we had, and also Carolina, another person we´re teaching, finally read the chapter in the BOM that we left for her. So that´s something. And even if nothing else happens this last week of the change, I will consider it a success because Fam. Pino finally was able to be baptized. That makes all the struggles worthwhile.
Anyway, enough of the Debbie Downer. Interviews with President Johns were this past week and I was talking to him about all the things that are going on with the family right now. He told me to read D&C 100:1. After I did I felt much much better about everything. I hope that Tyler is getting better and can go back to school soon, and that Aunt Jenny has found a doctor that she not only likes, but loves and will take amazingly good care of her. President also pretty much told me that I´m leaving Huancavilca this change, which happens this Sunday. I actually already knew this because Hna. Montenegro, who we see every Monday, lives with the nurses and told me that Hna. Lecates is leaving the office this change, and since I´m the only nurse in the mission right now that hasn´t been in the office yet . . . . tag!! I´m it. So it´s possible that you all won´t be hearing from me until next Saturday, the 3rd of April, because the office missionaries have P-day on Saturday, and I´m not sure if I´ll be able to write on Monday the day of transfers. I´m letting you know now so that Mom doesn´t freak out and think that I´ve been killed in an earthquake or something. (It could happen, there was apparently a tiny earthquake on Saturday, but none of us felt it. But we all know that I slept through the earthquake in Indiana, so it could just be me.)
So we´ve learned this week that our sector is a lot more dangerous that we thought it was!! Everyone´s been telling us that we can´t go to certain places in the nighttime because it´s dangerous. I´m talking places that we´ve always gone to at night and never had any problems. We had to do divisions the other night because we had a lot of people to pick up for our FHE, so Hna. Morán and I took a shortcut through a soccer field. On the way we passed 3 guys sitting on the ground, who said “Buenas noches” but didn´t do anything else. Well when we got to Fam. Romero´s house, Hna. Margarita told us that there are 3 robbers that always hang out in that section of Huancavlica and that it´s really dangerous. We were like ummm . . . . I think we saw them!! Nice to know that the Lord protects us!!
This morning we played kickball with other hermanas and then we went to the Bahia, which is an outdoor mall, more or less. All the hermanas here wear housedresses everyday, and I wanted one because they look totally comfortable and it would be funny, so I was looking for one of those. Well I found an awesome pink one, and Hna. López decided she wanted one too, so now we have matching grandma dresses. I´ll send you a picture, but it´s totally awesome. And the best part is that it was only 3 dollars. Aunt Meg, I want you to know that I consider the money that you sent me for Christmas used for my grandma dress. And if I don´t get a chance to send you an email, muchas muchas gracias. I know I´m terrible because I´ve said nothing about it but I really am grateful, even if it seems like I´m not. Love you!!
Welllll . . . . don´t really have anything else to say. Hopefully this week is better. Hope everyone is doing well. Sorry this isn´t longer. Love you all and chao chao until next week!!
MUCHO AMOR
Anyway, enough of the Debbie Downer. Interviews with President Johns were this past week and I was talking to him about all the things that are going on with the family right now. He told me to read D&C 100:1. After I did I felt much much better about everything. I hope that Tyler is getting better and can go back to school soon, and that Aunt Jenny has found a doctor that she not only likes, but loves and will take amazingly good care of her. President also pretty much told me that I´m leaving Huancavilca this change, which happens this Sunday. I actually already knew this because Hna. Montenegro, who we see every Monday, lives with the nurses and told me that Hna. Lecates is leaving the office this change, and since I´m the only nurse in the mission right now that hasn´t been in the office yet . . . . tag!! I´m it. So it´s possible that you all won´t be hearing from me until next Saturday, the 3rd of April, because the office missionaries have P-day on Saturday, and I´m not sure if I´ll be able to write on Monday the day of transfers. I´m letting you know now so that Mom doesn´t freak out and think that I´ve been killed in an earthquake or something. (It could happen, there was apparently a tiny earthquake on Saturday, but none of us felt it. But we all know that I slept through the earthquake in Indiana, so it could just be me.)
So we´ve learned this week that our sector is a lot more dangerous that we thought it was!! Everyone´s been telling us that we can´t go to certain places in the nighttime because it´s dangerous. I´m talking places that we´ve always gone to at night and never had any problems. We had to do divisions the other night because we had a lot of people to pick up for our FHE, so Hna. Morán and I took a shortcut through a soccer field. On the way we passed 3 guys sitting on the ground, who said “Buenas noches” but didn´t do anything else. Well when we got to Fam. Romero´s house, Hna. Margarita told us that there are 3 robbers that always hang out in that section of Huancavlica and that it´s really dangerous. We were like ummm . . . . I think we saw them!! Nice to know that the Lord protects us!!
This morning we played kickball with other hermanas and then we went to the Bahia, which is an outdoor mall, more or less. All the hermanas here wear housedresses everyday, and I wanted one because they look totally comfortable and it would be funny, so I was looking for one of those. Well I found an awesome pink one, and Hna. López decided she wanted one too, so now we have matching grandma dresses. I´ll send you a picture, but it´s totally awesome. And the best part is that it was only 3 dollars. Aunt Meg, I want you to know that I consider the money that you sent me for Christmas used for my grandma dress. And if I don´t get a chance to send you an email, muchas muchas gracias. I know I´m terrible because I´ve said nothing about it but I really am grateful, even if it seems like I´m not. Love you!!
Welllll . . . . don´t really have anything else to say. Hopefully this week is better. Hope everyone is doing well. Sorry this isn´t longer. Love you all and chao chao until next week!!
MUCHO AMOR
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Teaching My Companions Important English Words, Like 'Gross' and 'Awkward'
¡HOLA!
Well this week wasn´t very exciting, to be honest. We taught some lessons, we walked a lot, I ate humitas for the first time, (they´re gross) and only fam. Balarezo came to church again. But other than that, it was pretty boring. Although something cool did happen. We made a goal to have 3 baptisms this change, and so far we´ve only had two. Well I´ve been praying and praying for awhile that we could have another one and reach our goal, but no one is really progressing. It was totally frustrating. Well, yesterday, we went to church and one of the members had brought a friend to church, Stefany. She was really interested in learning more about the church, and said that her friend had told her the story of Joseph Smith and it had had a huge impact on her. PLUS, she lives in our sector!! We´ve been finding a lot of great people lately that don´t live in our sector, so this was really exciting. I´m hoping that she turns out to be the answer to my prayer, but the only problem is that she works all the time so she doesn´t have a ton of time to have us come teach her. But I´m going to have faith. She´s really cool and I know that if we can get to teach her, she´ll progress really fast. Pray for us!!
So guess what??? Today is a great day for you all because I´m sending PICTURES!!! (Pictures are below this post.) Yes!! I finally remembered to bring my connector cable so that I could upload some pics. So you all get to see the marriage and baptisms of Fam. Pino and Marcos, pics from our trip to the zoo and bowling, and the Guayaquil temple. It´s awesome. You´ll love it. Ecuador is awesome. It´s definitely better than the Dominican Republic. Just kidding Katie and Jimmy. Please don´t kill me.
Funny story. In our zone conference President and Hermana Johns announced that all the natives (excuse me Eric, indigenous peoples) were going to learn English. Well you can imagine that all the gringitos were really excited about that!! It´s been incredibly hilarious. Hna. Morán already knows a lot of English (and Hna. López does too but she pretends like she doesn´t) but helping them study is seriously a riot. I´ve been teaching them a lot of words that will not help them whatsoever in the work, but are still useful. Their favorites so far are "gross" and "awkward" although I still haven´t really been able to explain the definition of awkward to them. I don´t think it translates directly into Spanish, but they´re starting to get the hang of it. Aren´t you proud of me for teaching them such useful English words??
Oh yeah, another funny story. We started teaching this lady named Rosio yesterday and she´s seriously hilarious. She was really receptive, accepted committments to read and pray and all that, and then said to me, so have you been a Jehovah´s Witness your whole life?? I had to work really really hard not to laugh, it was too funny after having taught her the ENTIRE lesson and talking to her about the Book of MORMON, that she thought we were JWs. So so funny!! But like I said, she was really receptive and wants us to come back and talk to her and her "husband" (they´re not married bc she´s still married to her first husband. When I heard that I was like . . . . hableme en serio!! NOT AGAIN.) So yeah. We´ll see what happens. Also we finally told Christian that if he wasn´t willing to keep his committments we weren´t going to keep teaching him, and I felt kind of bad bc I didn´t feel bad about leaving him. I felt like I should have felt worse about it, but I was kind of relieved. It was really frustrating to go day after day after day and find that he STILL hadn´t read the Book of Mormon. Seriously 3 Nephi 11 is like 2 pages. NOT THAT HARD. So yeah. We´re not teaching him anymore and I´m more than okay with it. Does that make me a bad person?? I hope not.
Bueno. I don´t know what else to say. Oh yeah!! I haven´t put up my shoutouts!! First off, I KNEW Daniel would get engaged as soon as I saw the pics that Katie sent me. ¡Cheverissimo pues! Mom, please take out a dollar from my bank account for Craig´s pants. They´re so awesome that I´ve got to contribute to the cause. Well, can´t think of anything else to say for real now, so be good, read your scriptures, pray, be nice to the missionaries and always look for people to share the gospel with. Remember that if you want to see your besties in the Celestial Kingdom, they have to get baptized first. MUCHO AMOR!!
PS: turns out it takes 10 years to upload pics in this internet cafe, so you´re not getting all the pics that I said you were. You´ll have to wait till next week. Also, yes, Hno. Pino is a lot older than Hna. Pino. No wisecracks please, we´ve gotten enough in district meeting. Also, I need Craigo´s email again bc I lost it and I want to write him. But now I really have to go. Chao chao!!
Hermana Chamberlain
Well this week wasn´t very exciting, to be honest. We taught some lessons, we walked a lot, I ate humitas for the first time, (they´re gross) and only fam. Balarezo came to church again. But other than that, it was pretty boring. Although something cool did happen. We made a goal to have 3 baptisms this change, and so far we´ve only had two. Well I´ve been praying and praying for awhile that we could have another one and reach our goal, but no one is really progressing. It was totally frustrating. Well, yesterday, we went to church and one of the members had brought a friend to church, Stefany. She was really interested in learning more about the church, and said that her friend had told her the story of Joseph Smith and it had had a huge impact on her. PLUS, she lives in our sector!! We´ve been finding a lot of great people lately that don´t live in our sector, so this was really exciting. I´m hoping that she turns out to be the answer to my prayer, but the only problem is that she works all the time so she doesn´t have a ton of time to have us come teach her. But I´m going to have faith. She´s really cool and I know that if we can get to teach her, she´ll progress really fast. Pray for us!!
So guess what??? Today is a great day for you all because I´m sending PICTURES!!! (Pictures are below this post.) Yes!! I finally remembered to bring my connector cable so that I could upload some pics. So you all get to see the marriage and baptisms of Fam. Pino and Marcos, pics from our trip to the zoo and bowling, and the Guayaquil temple. It´s awesome. You´ll love it. Ecuador is awesome. It´s definitely better than the Dominican Republic. Just kidding Katie and Jimmy. Please don´t kill me.
Funny story. In our zone conference President and Hermana Johns announced that all the natives (excuse me Eric, indigenous peoples) were going to learn English. Well you can imagine that all the gringitos were really excited about that!! It´s been incredibly hilarious. Hna. Morán already knows a lot of English (and Hna. López does too but she pretends like she doesn´t) but helping them study is seriously a riot. I´ve been teaching them a lot of words that will not help them whatsoever in the work, but are still useful. Their favorites so far are "gross" and "awkward" although I still haven´t really been able to explain the definition of awkward to them. I don´t think it translates directly into Spanish, but they´re starting to get the hang of it. Aren´t you proud of me for teaching them such useful English words??
Oh yeah, another funny story. We started teaching this lady named Rosio yesterday and she´s seriously hilarious. She was really receptive, accepted committments to read and pray and all that, and then said to me, so have you been a Jehovah´s Witness your whole life?? I had to work really really hard not to laugh, it was too funny after having taught her the ENTIRE lesson and talking to her about the Book of MORMON, that she thought we were JWs. So so funny!! But like I said, she was really receptive and wants us to come back and talk to her and her "husband" (they´re not married bc she´s still married to her first husband. When I heard that I was like . . . . hableme en serio!! NOT AGAIN.) So yeah. We´ll see what happens. Also we finally told Christian that if he wasn´t willing to keep his committments we weren´t going to keep teaching him, and I felt kind of bad bc I didn´t feel bad about leaving him. I felt like I should have felt worse about it, but I was kind of relieved. It was really frustrating to go day after day after day and find that he STILL hadn´t read the Book of Mormon. Seriously 3 Nephi 11 is like 2 pages. NOT THAT HARD. So yeah. We´re not teaching him anymore and I´m more than okay with it. Does that make me a bad person?? I hope not.
Bueno. I don´t know what else to say. Oh yeah!! I haven´t put up my shoutouts!! First off, I KNEW Daniel would get engaged as soon as I saw the pics that Katie sent me. ¡Cheverissimo pues! Mom, please take out a dollar from my bank account for Craig´s pants. They´re so awesome that I´ve got to contribute to the cause. Well, can´t think of anything else to say for real now, so be good, read your scriptures, pray, be nice to the missionaries and always look for people to share the gospel with. Remember that if you want to see your besties in the Celestial Kingdom, they have to get baptized first. MUCHO AMOR!!
PS: turns out it takes 10 years to upload pics in this internet cafe, so you´re not getting all the pics that I said you were. You´ll have to wait till next week. Also, yes, Hno. Pino is a lot older than Hna. Pino. No wisecracks please, we´ve gotten enough in district meeting. Also, I need Craigo´s email again bc I lost it and I want to write him. But now I really have to go. Chao chao!!
Hermana Chamberlain
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)