Santiago East, Chile Mission

Santiago East, Chile Mission
January 16,2013

6 month Photos!!

Burning tights...6 month tradition

Florencia and Benita
Lana, the Russian, Goretti and I

A Fun P-Day in San Cristobel

6 Months in Chile!! Week #23

Wow!!  i cant believe it has been 6 months so fast, sometimes kinda slow haha but from this day on i will not repeat the same days over again.. loco loco!! but ya so glad to hear everything went well with the video and typical Godfrey style was last minute haha. sounds like a pretty good week.
as for my week not gonna lie it was a bit slow this week we didn't see Benita once and lets just say that broke my heart freaking Satan... but we stopped by her house today for florencia´s birthday and she said to pass by tomorrow. so well see lots of prayers. hehe but ya so slow week we ended up finding a couple of new investigators and hopefully all goes well you never know but we´ll see fingers crossed. but ya so funny story we were talking to a man in the street and all of the sudden we heard a gun shot and then like a full on battle going on like one street over hna vale was freaking out i was loving it.... (is that bad?) a little scared to tho. but ya the after about 3 min. of constant shooting it stopped and the guy we were talking to said that it was a drug deal going on and that went wrong and that early that day he saw fireworks(so did we) and that means there are drugs in the area so it made sense, nuts tho right? and then another story we heard from some chicka in the street that if you see shoes hanging on telephone wires it means a house near by was robbed. gotta love chile.
ya about the Russian girl we met, her name is Lana and she is from Saint Petersbierg. and she is quite an interesting person, let's just say. we went to visit her because she doesn't really know many people here and just to help her with Spainsh and let's just say i was excited to talk and hear about Russia and stuff. so we go to her house and we start talking, well first of all Russians are very straight forward and just say whatever is on there mind, and one of the first questions she asked me was if our church accepts gays... well,  hna vale didn't have any idea what was going on and i was completely solo with that one. such a hard question to answer. but ya all was well and it was just interesting to talk to her.  Kyn practice up, i think that is so great you are going to have a tutor because Kyn, this language is insane. to say the words not so much but the spelling and the grammar!!! on... gosh good luck. but i know you can do it.  it will be cool once you can speak it, and to be honest we are so blessed to have the blessings of a missionary because it would be so hard to learn without the spirit, let's just say that. but today we ended up taking Lana and Goretti and some other missionary up to San Cristoba a very touristy place here in Santiago and, well, Lana was interesting. i asked if she would like to visit America and she said no never. then i asked what Moscow is like and she said that it is a really really rich city and she doesn't like Moscow, but that's just because she is one of the poorer ones so we know how that goes. but she said that there is only 2 types of classes poor and rich. that's it. and that people in Russia don't smile. if they smile it is very personal and it means they like you as a person. she said it was so weird when she came to chile because all the people were smiling and hugging her, hahaha. they are very, very hard headed people too. but she said that her two sisters are members of the church and that she really likes to come to church. I'm thinking we really need to be pacient with her but who knows. its really fun to learn about her culture and hear her speak Russian for us and oh ya she made us borsk...(no idea how to spell it) but its a famous Russian dish and it was very different and very interesting but i liked it. i'm sure Kyn will eat a lot of that. but ya there our some details on the Russian girl. but ya as for investigtors, this week was a lot of searching and hopefully this next week we will will start to have more success. but that's the mission, so i think i'm use to it by now... your up down all around and its like that song Ethen wrote on his mission, first you doubt, then you figure it out, then your voice stands out then you let it all out. hahaha one day it's all in the plan God has for us and those people we need to find.

well have such a great week i love you all so much and know you are all always in my prayers!!!

te amo mucho,
your lil missionary.

Week #22 Photos

At the Temple With Gorgetti




Week #22 Holy Shizzzzzzzz Monkey!!

Well lets just say i am loss for words right now i cant believe kyn is going to RUSSIA i would have never ever ever guessed that in a million years. yet again my little sis out does me!!! haha but that's ok your right mom i dunno if i could do Russia WOW, so freakin difficult but kyn i know she can do it she is such a tough person and that is exactly where she needs to be and with the lords help nothing is impossible!! she going to be such an amazing missionary and i am so so so excited and happy for her in every way possible!!! GIVER HE&% KYN!!!! and i just want to say one thing also that somebody told me all missions are hard i really don't believe one mission is hard then another they are all equal and all possible because we have the lord by our side!!

OK so my week i dunno know if i can even come close to topping your week, and the new about Russia but anyways. we have been working a butt load this week trying to find new people and just start out the new change together good!! (which is going really well btw) but ya working hard and well see how it goes this week we ended up finding 6 new investigators possible yesterday in the moment kyn was opening her call i was knocking doors (welcome to the mission kyn) haha but 6 possible i hope at least half ended up working out. but ya and on Friday we went through the temple with Goretti she leaves for her mission in 2 weeks for Mexico and well this girl does have much support in her life so me and hermana vale decided we would enter with her and I'm so glad we did because she only had two people with her... when i went we filled up the whole room. but she seamed so so happy and i just looked at her and a convert for only one year and she has entered the temple and is serving a mission i hope so bad one day i can have an investigator like her. if i serve my whole mission and only convert one person like her that will totally be worth it to me. totally!! i was so nice to go too the temple again to we can only go once a year so yep that was my one time but i couldn't help but feel i was at home and everything was so familiar not like Chile were everything is so unfamiliar. but i did the whole session in Spanish!!! hehe i was so proud of myself the workers asked me if i wanted to do it in English but i told them no and they we all so shocked. but i was a beautiful experience i will never for get. as for hna vale i really do love this girl so so much things were kinda ruff at the beginning of the change but we ended up talking ( you know how i hate contention and just need to talk about it) and we really learned to just love each other and she told me I'm her best comp. she has ever had and that she is so glad that we are still together and i dunno i just really touched my heart!! and i really feel the same way about her as well.
OK interesting story for the week so Sunday the bishop come up to me and there is this girl with him and she only spoke a lil lil lil bit of English i asked her where she was from and you`ll never guess...?????¿¿¿ ok give up she`s from Russia...what!!! i know but i ended up talking to her the whole time during church and she told me all about her country (she thinks her government (i quote) is bull shit) hahah but she`s here in Chile to learn Spanish and as always wanted to visit south America. i was so excited because i was like a russian who can say they met a Russian in there mission.... quank!!! hehe then i hear kyns call hahahahaha but what are the odds right! that i would be a Russian like 4 hours before she opened her call fate i tell you fate!! haha but she seriously was so cute and i like fell in love with her there different tho very different but she`s not a member so we might ended up teaching her i dunno well see but interesting story ya?? but ya that is my story for the week.
sounds like you guys had a blast in Powell thanks for taking a wakeboard run for me mum and just sounds like it was a blast next year ill be able to go haha. i cant believe dad is going to Moscow one day after kyn enters just like me what the... well tell who ever guesses for chanler's mission first talks to dad to see where he is traveling next haha. but ya tell Alta im sorry that is such a bummer but everything has a reason and maybe things will work out in the end.!! but ya that is my week everything is going good I'm doing good. excited for kyn. oh interesting fact when kyn enters the mission field when she finishes the MTC i will only have like 4 months or so left!! weird but so cool!!

well love you all so much have such a great week!! cant wait to hear about your adventures next week.
te amo muchisimo,
your other missionary.

Week #21 Transfers

On of our cool Sister members

I don't think they know what this means!  Funny

District Shirts


A Little Nitro Representation

I am officially Chilean
Red Bull Anyone?

Week #21 Transfers


Hola to everyone who reads these emails!!

First of all i just want to start out with ahhhhhhhh KYN YOUR GETTING YOUR CALL WENS.... SUNDAY!! wahooo that is so so rad!! im freaking out down here. she is probably freaking out at lake Powell she´s just gonna be thinking about it the whole time haha oh i remember when i got my call and how i felt seems like it was a week ago i found out i was serving in Chile, i hope so bad she gets call spanish speaking but where ever she gets called its were the lord wants her to be right!!

well just so you know we had transfers this week.....dadadadadadada... im still here in los platanos with hna valeriano... exciting new right hahah. not gonna lie, i was a little bit bummed about beinhg here yet again. i was so ready to leave and start a new adventure but i guess the lord has some more work for me to do here, with hna vale. presidents wright's wife told me they really don't like to do changes much... one elder in our district just got changed and he has been in los platanos for a year... so we´ll see what the future has in store for me. haha has for this week i was kinda a crazy week and i cant remember a thing, lets see... we knocked a ton this week and lost a lot of our other investigators.. which kinda sucked but we´ve got to keep working and one of our menos activos, i dont know if you remember a while back Angela 18 years old? but she had her baby and i is the cutest dang thing and the spirit of a baby in the house is such a incredible spirit. changed the feeling of the whole house and the family too... everyone just couldn t stop smiling which is big for this family. Then Saturday we had CVC which is where we made  a mini visitors center like the one in salt lake city with the christis and everything... so we did that in the church building in los platanos and it was a lot of work but really fun. they had big posters of all of the lesson we are teaching, and all the members had stands for like young women's, priesthood, young mens...etc. so the hermanas take a member and an investigator on a tour through the church.  first we started out in the chapel with the christis and hear the words of Christ, after we take them to tour all the posters which show the different programs of the church.  they teach pretty quick then they go into the room where the baptism font is and the elders explain baptism, and then they go to a referral table where they write their info if they want to see the missionaries. this was a really neat experience for me, i loved it and my confidence grew a lot. imagine talking in front of the a bunch of people and explaining our religion, well that pretty much is what i did! it was a really neat experience tho. and in the end Maria Ugaz and her two boys that i just adore showed up and Paulina, a part memeber family... which was really cool to see because they really wanted to see us after the tour was over, so hopefully everything works out!! fingers crossed. it was kinda funny so the next morning after the CVC we come into the church for sacrament and the whole church building is flooded... nobody turned off the baptism font and the whole church ended up flooding!! hahahahaha i could help but laugh. but that was a great adventure. haha . but ya that was pretty much my week for you!!
 

So fun you guys are going down to Powell for 4th of July have such a good time and take a wakeboard run for me and a blob jump too. haha with a triple backflip in there haha.  oh, tell josh and kollin i got their post cards from Australia and thanks so much and i did get your birthday package thank you so so much!! i loved it!

As for Benita, crazy week with her so we had the date and she was so so excited about it. and wanted it so bad, and then this last Sunday was votes here in Chile for president so we were only have sacrament well the bishop wanted to change the baptism for the next week the 7 of July and i was so so sad cause if i was gonna get changed or not. but we went to her house that night to tell her and in her house was the bishops wife sitting at her table and she told us she talked to the bishop and we are going to have in this Sunday... i was so so so excited and i just thought its supposed to happen its supposed to happen well Benita worked a ton this week including the day of her interview for baptism and she canceled her baptism cause she was so tired and need to sleep all day because she works at night. and said she wanted to get baptised with her daughter. which was cool i was excited for them to get baptized together but i didn't know if i was going to be here or not. well we didn't get change and were gonna be here for her and help her and her daughter get ready to be baptised but i dunno whats gonna happen because she is working everyday this week and does really have time to see us..... so well see what happens!!! fingers crossed and lots of prayers

well have a great week and i love you all so much and miss you all a ton!!! oxoxox

con mucho amor,
your lil missionary.

Week #20 Kynlie's Papers are in!!





Transfers

The Sista's in Chile!!  With Sister Wright


Meghan's MTC Companion


Week #20 Kynlie's Papers are in!!

Hola Familia y Amigos (so cliche) hehe

WAHHOOO Kyn's papers are officially in... wow!! i cant believe that! so freakin rad, Kyn... i am so so stoked for you!! hum, where do i think she will go?? that really would be so freakin cool if she came here in Chile if she got call to Santiago West or South or something, we could see each other.... but, hummmm... personally I'm thinking England... those are just my thoughts. but i secretly hope she gets called somewhere South American so we could speak spanish together!  heheh.  poor daddio with his lip... tell him he needs to tuffin up.  haha!! you think he would learn to wear sunscreen.  i feel like that always happens to him when he´s in the sun a lot.  hahaha.  but i hope its getting better.  sounds like you guys are keeping busy tho. that's good so you don't get bored. Can you believe i´ve been out 6 months  just about and next year at this time exactly, ill be coming home!  so weird, so much work i´ve gotta do here before i come home. i miss home some times, in the truth, but there is no way i could come home right now. i have a lot to do here(: OH ya, say hi to the Gillhouses for me. i get Dylan's letters all the time, and print them out to read... he is such an inspiring kid and a great missionary. i wish i had more time to write him back but im sure he understands, and that's so cool about Trevor going to Monterey, Mexico. All the Mormons are going to be fluent in spanish and english!! oh my gosh the picture of the old van, you know what? i knew exactly what it was before i even read your letter!! i totally remember that van and all the stickers! i cant believe it's still out at the shop... that so nuts. and the picture of  Tugger, i died laughing. that is the funnest thing i have even seen. DAD you need to tell Redbull to get on it down here with the advertisements, you can put them all in the metro here and everyone would see it, and in the center of Santiago. it was funny cause i gave your  video to two families and they loved it, just couldn't understand it... haha how are you going to translate the movie into Spanish?????

So for me, this week was a good week. we have changes on Sunday so we´ll see what happens. i have no idea what President is gonna do, nobody ever does. we'll see but just trying to enjoy my last week possible here in los platanos ): i love this ward so much, we´ll see, we´ll see. we've been working a ton this week tho, we decided were going to try and knock our whole sector! wish us luck. oh ya, did you guys watch the announcement yesterday about missionary work ?And how the Prophet and the Apostles just pounded into the members on how they need to help the missionaries with this work its SO true, we need member's help more then i think they know!! I thought it was intresting how we are going to be able to use facebook and the Internet ,that will be interesting for sure... and how we waste a lot of time knocking doors... knocking doors isn't too effective here. all the baptisms i´ve heard of in the mission are references. kinda interesting. but ya just working hard and trying to find new investigators because we don't really have much that are really progressing. so wish us luck this week. if i get changed we can leave some good stuff behind for those new missionaries in los platanos. we had divisions again this week and it was really good, the hna that did divisions with is from Argentina and speaks super Argentinean with the cha (Ethen will probably be the only one who understands that) but ya divisions were great and she really made me feel good about the way i work and said that i inspired her to work harder and always be positive for something, i had said that so it was kinda cool!! but ya sorry yet again, i don't have any fun stories, hopeful next week ill have more fun things to say!! but ya thanks so much for all your support, love and prays, i sure can feel it out here!!! love you guys so so much!! hope you have a wonderful week!! oh btw a better way to send this is to this address because they changed it and i think its a lot faster.  oh and special news, Benita and her daughter are going to be baptised this Sunday!!!! we are taking them to see the temple on Thursday and we are just going to try really hard to work with them this week so I really, Really, REALLY hope everything works out!! wish us luck, it's gonna be a lot of work this week.!! loves hugs and prayers oxoxox

megs

Week #19 Birthday Photos

It's The Birthday Girl!!

Celebrating Chilean-Style

What's Up??



She's Officially 21!

Week #19 It's Your Birthday!!


HOLA!!

Wow!! how fast time flies! i cant believe i pretty much have a year left in the mission and i still have a long ways to go (with Spanish haha). so crazy. Sound like you guys had a really fun weekend everyone is home safe and sound and if i might say everyone looks different in the foto you sent me. so weird how much people can change in just 5 months. but I'm so glad all went well with the sr. trip and nobody was hurt to bad! sounds like some fun memories! and might i add the nitro boat looks so sick!! i cant wait to take a ride in the baby in a year hehe. I cant believe the boys are now on their way to china in a couple months little turds.. they have no idea how blessed they are! (: and that alta is getting married in august so nuts. looks like kels´s wedding was beautiful and i loved the pictures. OH MY GOODNESS emily... i cant believe how preggie she is she looks so adorable thanks for finally sending a picture. and i have a new cuz cuz Maggie right??? so tiny and so cute so much has happened while i have been gone sometimes i feel like I'm missing out, but i cant help but smile and feel so happy for each and everyone and all the exciting things that are happening for everyone. that makes me more happy then anything else in the world.

As for my week, one of the hermanas in my pinsion was sick so we did a lot of divisions so that their sector could get worked a little this week as well. i kinda felt bad, being sick in the mission is awful. and so boring...but ya still working a lot with Benita hoping something will happen with her... she has definitely been a lot of work hna vale and i always joke and how she sucks the life out of us after every lesson it is tough teaching her but hard work pays off right! one day if it's not me someone else will plant the seed right! as for Milagros we had 2 lesson with her it was so funny because our first lesson with her was about tithing one of the hardest lessons to teach and the second was about the word of wisdom and she understood both and took them really well i really hope good things for this family but we will wait and see there kinda hard to teach though because they have a great life and don't really need much in their lives right now but I'm hoping we can help her and her husband to know their heavenly father!!! so yea that was pretty much my week this week sorry not much exciting stories. oh i got my visa this week too so I'm officially a Chilean! hehe  yep well thats all folks! tell all the bums (cousin that never write me to write me!!) haha!!  we have changes the 2 of July so we will see what happens... i dunno i kind hope i get a new sector. but we'll see!  oh btw way so cute Debby Pastrana sent me a check and a cute birhtday card for my birthday!! she is so so freakin adorable... Luckily, im not sick  thankfully im the only one in the house that isnt!! and your medience has come in so much handy!! all the hermanas call you mama godfrey cause we use my emergency kit. hehe. been looking for boot its hard to find ones that fit because i have huge calfs!! but still looking!!!!

FELIZ DIA DE PADRE - Happy fathers day daddy!
oh, ok dang it! i was really hoping to see you... i was looking so forward to it. but everything happens for a reason right. but august right? and i will work on my president and maybe you cant bring mom next time.  i was so emotional yesterday and today with it being fathers day and all and hearing everyone talk about their family´s i have the greatest family in the world and i think i just made me really grateful for you guys so thanks for all your support and all you do for me i know i say i every week but i really do mean it!  just so you know i haven't seen any adds or anything and nobody here as even hear anything about Nitro. so work on redbull and tell them they need to advertise better down here haha. but ya all good. as for my new investigators they really are the cutest family ever and i just love them already. the only problem is there not serious they just like our company, they're not interesting in hearing anything about the gospel but we´ll work on them and see what we can do!! (: this week was a slow one to be honest but keep pressing forward right(: i dunno i kinda feel like im trying so hard to teach these people and nothing is happening. but i need to remember maybe i planted the seed and everything is in the time of heavenly father. so pacients right?? but ya this week nothing to specially happened but you have the good weeks and slow weeks hehe!!

well i love you so so much!!  have such a great week, always, always praying for you!!

con mucho amor,
i  am so grateful for all your love support and prayers, it sure means a lot!! have a fantastic week!! 

con mucho amor,

Week #18 Photos

Getting Chilly Here in Chile!!

Well, We Found Us a Couch!!

Some Cool Art

Add caption

If You're Not Struggling It's Not Worth It! Week #18

Hola Hola Familia y Amigos,

So my theme for this week was if you're not struggling it's not worth it in the end.  You may be thinking why? This doesn't make much sense! But let me explain... so we have investigators that are super willing and want to change and this is amazing. Its what we call here an investigator de oro (gold) and their great and perfect in every way. But there is something about those investigator you work really hard with, and fall down with and get back up with, that just touch your heart forever! And sometimes they don't even progress at all, but the moment you have with these people will never leave you. For example Gerardo, we visited him this week and it was awful the mum saw us at the door and was peeking through the window... ya! We could totally see her, and we could totally hear them in the house too and that just really stunk, but we really are just trying to help and why to they have to be so sneaky about it. i was really frustrated and so was hna vale. but we decided to visit them yesterday and Gerardo was there ( i think it's the mum that doesn't want anything to do with us not Gerardo) and he was a little drunk but he told us that we are his angles and if i wasn't for us he probably wouldn't be alive right now and that we both have a special place in his heart and that he thinks of us as his hermanas ( his sisters) and that experience was just super rad because ya he might not progress but he is really special too us and it is just neat to know that we were able to help him. has for Benita not bonita haha she is doing good so you know how she hadn't been assisting church and things were just really hard with her but this week we taught the 1st lesson and i just bluntly asked her do you believe the things we are teaching you? she told me yes it do! so that was really good we then talked about the importance of coming to church and she told us how she wants to, she really wants too... she just works all night long and finishes working at 8 on Sunday morning and is so tired and how she can't quit her job because right now they don't even have gas in their house. But she said she would come anyway (but thats what she said the last 2 week as well) so sunday was fast sunday and we started our fast in the park haha (forgot) but we were fasting and you can imagine what for but after they passed the sacrament, we looked back and their was Benita!! She was all dirty and had tape all on her fingers (works in a factory) and looked so tired but she came!! She came and sat next to us and our faces just lit up! It was a neat experience. Then i saw this girl i had seen once before in the capilla a long time ago, about a month, so i decided to talk to her and she was the amiga de Clara ( the girl who's house we skyped in) and she said she came to church all by herself she was super scared and alone and when she went to take the bus to get here she didn't have enough money but some man payed for her (miracle) and so i talked to her and she was super excited about church and everything so we got her number and hopefully we will end up teaching her!!

Funny story Tuesday we were walking down the street and i saw in a pile of trash a really nice looking couch i said hermana we need a sofa so ya we took it and we were laughing so hard the whole time... hehehe. oh my gosh and monday it was raining so so hard i don't think i´ve even seen it rains so hard and people told us it flooded a supermarket it was so bad i don't have rain boots yet so it was quite the experience i actually loved every minute of it. I think Goretti sent pictures of us to kyn on face book freezing to death. But ya that was a fun experience. anyways that was my week. I'm so glad to hear you guys are all doing well and that kyn graduated seminary and is graduating high school this week so NUTS! and Chan went out for football good for him! sound like the summer is gonna be fun with the new boat and all as well!  as for spanish it is getting better today my mexican hna, hna Resendiz´s said my spanish sounds chilean!! bakan!!!! anyway i have a lot to learn but it's coming. Well you guys have a great week and a blast in Powell this weekend!! thanks for the birthday wish mum i could totally hear your voice singing to me! i cant believe i`ll be 21 and that i almost have 6 months in the mission ahhhhh so crazy so fast too fast haha! well love you so much! xoxoxox