December
2, 2013
Dear
Family,
The
small miracles are awesome. Yesterday, we had a dinner/teaching
appointment with the family of a recent convert and a strong investigator, and
it was about 10:05 pm when we got out of there. By foot, we
were an hour from our pension (apartment). I did not know what to do, and
we didn’t bring enough pesos to pay a taxi. Although the mother was
completely unaware that we were without pesos, she called a taxi, and slipped a
5 mil pesos into my companion`s hand when he shook her hand. It was
awesome, and we made it back well before 10:30. My prayer was answered.
The
language is slowly coming along. I am
grateful for my companion and my sector.
Chile
is awesome. It is really hot down here,
and I have been told by everyone that the ozone is weak down here, and that
without sunscreen you are going to burn. I am not burnt yet, but I think
I am going to get some sunscreen, even though I really don’t like using it.
The other option is a great idea, in accordance the rules of this
mission, just not very popular among other missionaries. Sombrero! Traditional Chilean style. I would love
to beat the sun by wearing a big hat, but I don’t want to dress different than
my companion. I might buy a sombrero the next transfer.
We
had stake conference, and about 800 people showed up. Two people took our
bench, even though we put our scriptures there, we were saving the bench for
investigators. Only one investigator showed up though, and he sat in the
choir. We stood in the back for a while, and then put up some more chairs
and sat in the row furthest from the pulpit. It was hard to hear, and
nobody in Chile tells their kids to be quiet, but it was a good meeting.
I know
that Christ is our savior. I know that this church is the true church.
I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet called of God, and that he
translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God. The Book of Mormon is
true. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is the Lord`s personal
representative, our prophet. I know these things because the Holy Ghost
testifies to me, and to you, that these things are true. I love you all.
I
love you all more than the number of toothpicks you could make out of the
Minnesota North Woods.
Elder Withers
Elder Withers
Dear
Family,
What
a week! This week I completed one month in Argentina. It was the
fastest, and in some ways the longest month of my life....but mostly fast.
Sometimes it scares me how fast time is flying.
Last
P Day we spent decorating our apartment for Christmas and then exploring
downtown La Paz. Even though everything was closed for the siesta, it was
still fun to take pictures! The big cathedrals in the central part of
town sometimes looks like Europe. On Monday night at like 10:20pm,
we got a call from the District Leaders saying we had to go to Parana for new
missionary training, because this is my first transfer in this mission....and
that we both had to be on the next collective (bus) that left at 6:00am....oye.
We did as we were told, traveled the 4 hours by bus. The meeting
was excellent, and at the end they brought out some of the mail that had been
sent. I got all of the dear elder letters (thanks to everyone!!) and the
package with Christmas decorations. I haven’t opened any of the presents
but I absolutely love the decorations. I will definitely keep those for
the rest of my life, the tree and stockings for sure. And reading all of
those letters was like heaven. My response to them all.....keep up the
good work, and know that I love and appreciate you all!
After
the meeting we went to lunch and had some pizza and then to the terminal to
start our journey back to La Paz. When we got to the terminal, it was
about 2:00pm, so we purchased tickets to leave at 2:25. We went
to the bathroom, into a cool little shop where my companion got a mate cup, and
then we were headed to the collective (bus) to get on, but my companion had to
go to the bathroom again. So we made a quick trip to the bano, but bless
my companions heart.....she just took her sweet time. I was a little
worried about time and making the bus but thought we might still be okay. By the time we got to where our bus was
supposed to be, we saw it pulling away onto the main road. Oye.....ciao
bus! The Zone Leaders who were traveling with us said later that they
tried to stall the driver, but it was no use. Ha......oh the adventure.
It wasn’t really a big deal. We just had to get another ticket and
wait in the terminal for an extra hour and a half. Nothing was really
damaged except that we lost some time.
Then
Thanksgiving comes around, and that day was a whole new set of adventures.
The day started out with our toilet breaking and an investigator dropping
us, and our member lunch appointment cancelling....all within a matter of 20
minutes. Before we even had our studies, we had no bathroom, no morning
appointments, and no lunch to count on. We took it all in stride, went
about with business as usual and then for lunch went to work in cooking
something with our gas stove.
Also
it should be noted that every lunch appointment cancelled on us this week, up
until Friday.....every single one! By Thursday we were
tired of cooking the only thing we really know how to do here (which is fried
chicken and instant potatoes) so we got adventurous and thought we could try
making pasta. How hard could it be? We started out with boiling
water to cook the noodles, and in a matter of 2 to 3 minutes they turned to
soup. The sauce mix we bought tasted like watered down baby food and we
bought canned peas to mix in with the pasta, but realized once we got home that
we don’t have a can opener.....so bust. We tried to mix the noodles and
sauce together thinking they could be tolerable...but what a joke...they were
almost worse together. As a last ditch effort to save our Thanksgiving
dinner we thought of mayonnaise....it blends so well with rice and basically
everything else here, why couldn’t it go with pasta? In retrospect I can
see how horrible of an idea this was....but we were desperate and it made sense
at the time. What a disaster, it was so gross! We honestly couldn’t
stand to eat it. We were about half an hour into our lunch time and still
without food.....so we decided to toss it and just have breakfast over again!
Cornflakes covered in sugar. The first part of this day went so
horribly wrong in so many ways, and it would have been a fun experience if it
were just any other day.....but the fact that it was Thanksgiving makes it so
much more memorable. And while so many trivial things went wrong with this day,
it was still a fun adventure.....and I don’t know if I will ever forget eating
cornflakes for Thanksgiving this year. At the end of the day, we went to
Gridos for our favorite ice cream and got a big 3 scoop cone to end our
Thanksgiving with a little bit of sunshine. It was a fun day, and really
forced me to look at all the things I am truly grateful for.
And Friday,
our favorite family to have lunch with went all out this week (sometimes they
go extra fancy just because they are nice) and it was an absolute feast.
They always make us feel so special and we joked that our Thanksgiving
meal was actually Friday this year (: Even with the occasional
ups and downs....we are doing great!
I
have gotten pretty good at playing charades.....when people can’t understand
me, I try and use my hands to explain it.....and when I can’t understand
others, sometimes they start using their hands too. The process of learning
how to communicate with people is progressing nicely!
I
am going to send a letter by snail mail today; we will see how long it takes to
get there.
Thanks
for all you do for me. I have so many blessings and am learning so much.
I love you more than all things I am grateful for!
Hermana
Withers
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