Whitney's Misión en Chile: "Week 10..11. No sé." (Actually Week ELEVEN)

October 7, 2013...

Alo, my sweet family. It is yet again Pday and the days are soaring. It's crazy to think I've already been in the field for over a month. I am learning more and more each day, both about myself and the things I need to change and the mission life. It's so hard to change, but change is absolutely necessary in order to become a successful missionary and instrument to the Lord.

We didn't have a lot of success this week, what with our menos activos avoiding us and not fulfilling their compromisos and investigadores who won't make the time to see us, it's been sort of a bummer. But we haven't given in and our hard work will pay off. I can feel the success right around the corner. Or somewhere in the future, preferably in the immediate.

But, we do have a nuevo! Wooh! I'm going to describe my experience how I wrote it in my journal. 'We were just talking and coming up with new ways to find people to teach and we started to walk down Madame Bolland, the street Maria Isabel lives on. We never walked straight down that road and I wondered why we were, but I felt really discouraged and tired, so I didn't pay attention and didn't question it. I 'happened' to look up as we passed a house. It was a house we'd contacted before and the man who answered told us they were Católico and they didn't want to listen. but we look up and see a woman waving at us through her front window. We almost continued to walk because we aren't used to people waving. But we stopped and told her to come out. We stayed there and had a nice conversation for over half an hour. She is Silvia, she lives with her husband - they've been married for over 40 years (that is such an accomplishment down here) and has 2 sons. One of them died and she really misses him. The other has a 9 year old son, but they live far away and she doesn't see them often. She believes in God and Jesucristo. She is having issues with tendonitis and other such things. The reason she was waiting and looking out the window was because she was waiting for a nurse to bring some injections for her condition. We left her with a song (Conmigo quedate, Señor) Abide with me Tis Eventide and taught her how to pray. We got her phone number and fixed a date to visit again. HOLY COW! God is watching over His children. What are the 'chances' we walked down a street we don't walk down often and she'd happen to look out the window?'

Pretty flipping sweet, cierto? This is totally the work of the Lord and these are the reasons we need to listen to the spirit. Of course, we had been praying for new people and for the people who were searching for the truth, but we listened to the promptings and the Lord set us on the path we needed to follow.

That is really the only thing that has happened in the last week. Well, there are several other things, but nothing to do with the gospel. Apparently I have a fungus starting to grow on my feet. Greeaat. We went to the CCM to see the doctor there for Hna Moody today and I felt an urge to show him a little bit of something that looked like ecseema (not sure how to spell that) on my foot. He told me I might have some fungus on the top of my left foot and between my toes on my right. Perfect. Just what I want to deal with. Not to worry, he prescribed me some cream and I am going to use that tonight. Ojala that will help.

Another exciting happening was that I was harassed on the street. Nothing huge. We were walking down la Gran Avenida on Sábado en la mañana and I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. A punk came up behind me and squeezed my butt. Yes. And then he ran away and made a kissing noise at me. The nerve. I almost chased him and slapped him, but I remembered that I'm a missionary. And I was wearing a skirt.

So anyway, that's my week. The week in the life of a misionera.

Ooh, Conference was tan asombroso! Right? It's incredible how the apostles can give a talk and answer everyone's questions in different ways. Comparing me and Hna Moody's notes was fun. We heard the same thing, but the Spirit said it differently to each of us. And a lot of answers I didn't know I needed were given, both for me and for my menos activos. I wrote 20 pages of notes in one of my notebooks. Those will be of great use over the next 16 months.

It's funny. When we're out in the field, everyone always assumes I have more time out. Not entirely sure why. They tell me it's because of my accent or myseriousness, but I think it's because when I talk to people I concentrate really hard to understand exactly what they're saying. Otherwise I am just nodding and smiling and looking helplessly at my comp.

Hmm. Well, thank you all for the responses this week. I have a lot to print and read later for advice! I love you all and pray for you every moment of every spare moment I have. I pray that God will watch over you and bless you in whatever trials you're going through. You can pull through. God will not let you suffer more than He knows you can bear. Pray and read the scriptures. Confide in your parents as well as each other.

Until next week and bueno suerte!

Hermana Castleton