Wednesday, August 26, 2015

August 24, 2015 - Waiting...

Hola familia y amigos! 

The weeks are going by so fast. it scares me. I think I have said that in every single email I have sent on my mission, but its true. 

Well, the report on my knee: this week we could go out and work! yay, not like normal 6 or 7 hour days but we could still work. We did have a lot of complications though. I think our house is cursed because all 4 of us are dying from some kind of sickness or accident or something. On Monday- Tuesday I was still pretty sick and it was awful and we couldn't go out to work that much, especially because people were like "you`re sick, don't come near my house and my children" haha. 

Then on Thursday I got hit with the worst headache of my entire life. It was worse than the migraine I had a couple weeks ago. I cried because it hurt so bad. but I took plenty of pain meds and slept it off. I still don't know where it came from but it hasn't come back. 

Then on Saturday Hna B fell down the stairs.... I know, so not like her, but she fell pretty bad. It's a serious problem in our house. Right before we moved in the Elders waxed all the wood floors and wood stairs but they didn't finish sealing it or something so everything is really slippery. The stairs are a death trap. Hna Bn has already fallen 2 times. but hna B fell and now has a huge bruise the size of a baseball on her hip, more bruises on her back and shoulders, her elbows were red and swollen and she thinks she bruised a rib..... but she`s basically okay! She`s tough. but yeah, that night her whole body hurt and the next day she suffered a bit, but now it`s better. 

Other than that we`re doing just fine here! Please dont freak out haha. This week we were able to teach a couple menos activos and a member called us on Wednesday and was like "I have a friend who wants the missionary discussions, will you come visit her with me tonight? I can pick you up"It was a miracle! So we had a lesson with member and a new investigator. This woman has gone through a lot of trials in her life and it was a very spiritual lesson, She is prepared to receive the gospel but still very hesitant to open up and trust us. It was one of those lessons were I really felt, yeah, this is why I'm here in Chile, in Puerto Varas, at this time. She`s great, lets just call her M.L. for now. 

Saturday we went to the adult session of our Stake Conference! It was great. I also got to see Hna C!!! She`s serving in Puerto Montt (we`re in Puerto Varas but our Stake is Puerto Montt) it was awesome to see her. She finally was transferred out of Valdivia, she was there for 10 months. 

Sunday we had Stake Conference and it was packed. Presidente Obeso and Hna obeso spoke and gave great talks.  The rest of conference was very uplifting. I came with a lot of questions and I got a lot of answers. 

After stake conference I met with Presidente Obeso and we talked about my knee and about having me see a real doctor to figure out whats happening and then we`ll take it from there. 

I was feeling very much frustrated with my body and disappointed with everything that he gave me a blessing and promised that everything was going to be okay. 

So now its just kind of wait and see what happens, and try not to make my knee worse. I want to just get up and go and work and ignore my knee and just endure the pain but that`s not going to make anything better. But we really are doing better and working and walking more. It's better now than it was three weeks ago. 

Well thats basically all I have to say for this week, not that much happened. I still really like being a missionary! 'Im so grateful to be here and to be a representative of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. 

love, Hermana Williams

sorry I don't have photos! my computer doesn't have a usb drive!



Thursday, August 20, 2015

August 17, 2015 - Back in Action ... sort of ....

Hola familia y amigos!

This week was better, not perfect, but better. We could actually leave the house and work and it felt great! Of course there were some days when we left to work all afternoon and then there were days when my knee was like "haha nevermind" and we had to stay inside so I could rest. but we actually accomplished a lot this week and I felt good. 

We taught a lot of menos activos this week. One is named P and she has two little babies that are the cutest. 

We also taught our investigators C and P, who have been meeting with missionaries for almost an entire year. We put them with a bautismal date! ... for November... but its still a date! and we`re going to help them progress more quickly.  They are great and we`re really excited for them. The Spirit was really strong in the lesson. 

We were able to visit a lot more people this week and set up appointments to visit them this upcoming week. We taught our recent convert E and she`s a sweetheart, She has a great testimony. She even invited her daugher to sit and and listen. 

This whole week our leader misional, R and his wife S were gone in Santiago to visit the temple and they called us almost everyday to check up on us. They are like our parents here, they are so cute. They brought us back the movies 'The Restoration' and  'Testaments' so now we can watch them with investigators! 

Friday night the ward had an awesome activity. Here in Chile the month of August is the month of cats... I have no idea why, but its an excuse to have cat - themed parties. So the ward put on a big dance party and people wore cat costumes and painted their faces and it was crazy haha. There was a dance competition and and the missionaries were the judges haha. In the end R and S won and everyone thought it was fixed, But it wasnt! They really were the best! It was a great activity. 

Saturday I woke up with a sore throat and a stuffy nose, but I didn't think much of it. Then Sunday I woke up and it was worse, I felt awful. It was just a cold,  but my head felt like it was about to explode, I couldn't think straight. We made it through church and lunch with R and S. It was S's birthday and we had made her brownies and we celebrated together. But we came home from lunch and I could barely keep my eyes open so I slept for awhile. Today I still feel pretty sick and really congested. It's not very fun. It's rough because right when I'm starting to get back into the swing of the things I get sick.... but by tomorrow I`ll be fine. 

Today we had to wake up super early and travel to Osorno in bus so that I could go to the mission office and renew my visa.... I am old in the mission. but it all went well and we hung out in Osorno a bit. We visited the big Catholic church in el Centro, we ate lunch and did some shopping, Or rather Hna B did some shopping. She bought new rainboots because hers were already dead. I decided to just hold off because winters going to be ending soon. We just got back from Osorno, That's why we`re writing late. 
Hermana Williams and Hermana B in Osorno in front of the Catholic Church.

District photo before transfers.

Thats all I really have to say for this week, It went by really fast. Oh hna R left and hna E came! It was great to see her again. and to have a Latina in the house is awesome! Of course she`s still a bit of a clean freak, but she hasn't broken anything yet. She`s super funny still, I'm already used to her, Hna B and Hna B are still getting to know her but its all good. I'm glad that shes here. 

Thanks for all the letters and support. Love you all alot. I'm really happy to be a missionary and I know that everything in the mission happens for a reason and that Heavenly Father watches over us and I'm so grateful to be a representative of His Son Jesus Christ. 

love, Hermana Williams


Wednesday, August 12, 2015

August 10, 2015 - Better

Hola familia y amigos!

Well this week was a little uneventful because we spent a lot of time in the house. My knee is doing better, it's still a little swollen now and again and some days are better than others .I just have to rest it. It's like if I think it feels good and we go out to work and I walk too much it gets swollen and hurts again. So there were a couple days when I said "I feel fine!" but everyone else told me no! "You need to rest!" So we spent a lot of time studying, and Hna B reorganized the entire house while I sat on a mattress on the floor. She wouldn't let me stand up, she had to do everything for me. She really is very selfless and patient. I'm so grateful for her!

But yeah, I think that today and tomorrow I'll be able to leave to work like a normal missionary! Maybe not for the whole day, but for a good amount of time. I've been taking medications and putting on cremes and taking Ibuprofen a lot too, and I feel good.I also bought a knee brace today so now I dont feel like my knee is going to buckle out from under me when I walk. 

This week we had intercambios with the hermanas lideres on Tuesday! Hna B's first intercambio! She was a little nervous haha. So she went with the Latina hermana to their sector; her first Latina! and I stayed with Hermana H who is actually from my group. We went out and taught some menos activos, M & M and it was a great lesson! Then we went back to the house for my knee.... but it felt really good to teach again. 

On Wednesday we left to work too in the afternoon, we visited a good amount of people and we visited a part member family and the hermano had Hna B show off her wood chopping skills, and he was pretty impressed. I'm sure he has a little crush on her now because he lent her his guitar so she could play in our house.  Now we have a guitar and that's pretty sweet! 

Thursday my knee hurt so we spent a lot of time inside.  Friday we helped paint a new preschool and we got to paint little cartoons all over the walls it was the cutest. But that involved a lot of crouching and bending of the knee so the next day we didnt leave at all cause it hurt so bad. Sunday we made it all the way through church and we sang in a musical number with some other ward members. I'm pretty sure the ward is tired of me because I've sung like 4 times already.... 

So there`s not much to report... just trying to get better. and reallyI do feel better. oh and this week we have cambios! But of course Hna. B and I are staying together and we are really excited. Hna  R is going to Los Lagos and guess who`s coming here to be Hna. Br's companion and live in the house with us??.... Hermana E!!!!!! my companion in Valdivia!!!! I'm so excited, its going to be awesome, and it will be great to have a Latina in the house to help Hna B, and really all of us with our Spanish. I just hope Hna. Espinoza doesnt destroy the house... I like our house here!! haha.

I'm happy, I'm okay! thanks for all the prayers and advice. I promise I'm trying to be good and not overdoing it. By next week I think I'll be fine. I'm really happy to be here in Puerto Varas with Hna. B and to be a missionary. I know that Heavenly Father is taking care of me, everything happens for a reason and I have faith that everything will be fine. 

Thanks for all the emails!

love, Hermana Williams

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

August 3, 2015- Long Suffering

Hola familia y amigos!

Well first, thank you very much for all the one year congratulations. it was a pretty good ¨birthday". 

But this week was a little interesting.... 

On monday we had a lesson with our investigator P who had a baptismal date for this past Saturday, August 1. We came to her house with a member to help finish up teaching the rest of the lessons, but before we even started P told us that she didn't want to get baptized this Saturday .She wants to wait a long time. I was honestly shocked. It came out of nowhere, Just 24 hours before she was super excited for her baptism. She explained to us a little why she wanted to wait, and we tried to help her see why she can still get baptized on Saturday but she put her foot down, she was actually a little defensive with us.... which isn't like her at all. 

So we left that lesson a little discouraged, she still said she would meet with us, and we put her on date for 29 de august but she didn't seem very excited or determined.... so we were a little sad that everything fell through. 

 Before we left for that lesson I had a bad headache, but when we walked out it started hurting more. and it turned into a migraine and light and sound hurt and i couldn't keep my eyes open or walk in a straight line....  Hna  B took me home so I could lie down in a very dark room. It was very painful. 
so I was out on Monday, and still on Tuesday we left to work but my head still hurt and my body was so tired, like shaking, that towards the end of the day we went home to sleep. 

 Wednesday we left to work like normal! And it was great! But then my right knee started hurting....  I couldn't even stand or put weight on it.  We came home and I rested and we called the mission nurse. She assigned me some medication to take, and 2 days of rest where I would have to stay inside all day. 
Hope your knee feels better soon Hermana Williams!

The next day, Thursday we had zone conference! and I wasn't going to miss that! Zone conference was awesome! President always knows exactly what to say. Plus it was my 1 year mark in the Mission! And there was actually a big group of us with one year so we took a big photo together. And then right when we finished taking the picture our zone leader Elder G pulled out all of our CARTA MORONIS!!!! I died. The Carta Moroni is a letter the Mission gives you when you only have 6 months left on your mission and it has all your travel information for when you go home. It means that I am dying (ending the mission soon) . I was shocked, they usually don't send the letter so fast, like a couple weeks after your 1 year mark. I wasn't expecting to get it so soon .I almost cried.

Hermana Williams holding her Carta Moroni.

We came home from the conference and I died on the couch because my knee hurt so bad. So we didn't really do anything special for my 1 year mark, Getting my Carta Moroni was enough of a celebration. (not really, I felt sad)

Friday,I stayed in the house and we studied a lot. my knee was pretty bad on Friday,  Hna B has been helping to take care of it. She did a lot of sports training in high school and so knows really well how to deal with stuff like this. She makes sure I ice it a lot. and she keeps me from trying to walk or do things I shouldn't be doing. She brought an extra mattress downstairs for me so I can hang out there instead of our tiny sofa.  Friday an hermano from the ward came over and gave me a blessing, First blessing in Spanish, it was pretty cool. 

Saturday an hermana took me to a chiropractor that she works for to take a look at my knee and back and everything. First time to a chiropractor! it was interesting, he cracked my neck and that was it.... so my knee is the same. 

Sunday we went to church! and I made it to the end of Sacrament Meeting but then we went home because my knee was killing me and super swollen. it hurts even to just sit for a long time. the members have been really nice to us, bringing us food, driving us places, etc. so I'm being taken care of. 

My knee is a lot better today, and the nurse said that I might be able to leave to work tomorrow. I just need to pray really hard. its been a long week. I've had to learn to be patient with everything. in my head its like "its not that bad, don't be a baby, you can still walk on it, go out and work!" But everyone else is like, no! So I've had to let Hna B help me a lot, do a lot of things for me. I've realized this week that I am very stubborn. I dont like being a burden for other people. I want to help other people! but Hna  B is very wise and told me that " sometimes the best way to serve others is to let them serve you... sometimes letting them serve you is how they can come closer to Jesus Christ" she is very smart, she only needs me for my Spanish :)

So this week was all about patience with myself, with my body, with the situation. but everything is okay. It's just a bump in the road. I feel bad that we are not working but its not a matter of obedience or desire so I know that Heavenly Father understands and I have faith that everything will turn out okay. So dont worry :) 

thanks for all the emails! 

love, hermana williams