January 25, 2016 - The Best Year and a Half

Hola familia y amigos, 

So this is it. the end has come. This is my last email as a missionary. 

Wow I can't believe this day is already here. I feel like its not actually happening, that I'm dreaming... 

Well this week was pretty normal. I won't spend too much time on details because I'm going to be seeing you all soon... 

On Wednesday we had a world wide missionary training conference and we got to watch it through satellite transmission. we got to listen to Elders Anderson, Bednar and Oaks, and it was awesome. I felt really animated to work and then it was like "wait, I go home in a week" but we still worked hard. 

Friday I had my last interview with Presidente Obeso. It was a really special experience. So much has changed since our first interview when I didn't know what was going on and he had to speak to me in broken English haha. We talked a lot about what I've learned in my mission and what I will continue to learn after. I was relieved that he didn't tell me I have to get married within 6 months haha. 

On Friday the branch threw we a farewell party along with a family home evening. It was really sweet. They made cupcakes and printed out signs of my nametag to put on all the walls. I shared my testimony with them and cried. The members here in San Pablo are like my family. 

Sunday I gave my last talk in church. I also had to teach the Sunday School class so the branch was tired of listening to me haha. I`ve already started saying goodbye to people and packing suitcases... 

Presidente Obeso told me that when a missionary goes home, its normal to have three feelings 1. excitement 2. sadness 3. fear. I'm excited to see my family and friends. I'm sad that I have to leave Chile, leave the people I love and stop being a missionary. And I'm afraid  and nervous of what the future holds and what it will all be like when I get home. 

Well, I would like to end with my last testimony: 

I remember what I came into the mission, I thought a year and half would last an eternity. But it has gone by in the blink of an eye and it has surely been the best 18 months of my life. It hasn't been easy.  I have passed through pain, suffering, sadness, but it was all worth it. Because now when I look back all I remember are the wonderful moments. 

someone very dear to me once said that the mission is like a beautiful field of white roses. from a distance it all seems spectacular but as you start to work your way through the field the thorns start to prick and you bleed and it hurts and you start to think that you don't want to do this anymore. but you keep going. and in the end when you make it through the field you look back at all the beautiful roses and you realize that it all seems even more wonderful now and it was worth every painful step. 

It has been a complete honor and privilege to serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the past 18 months. I wish I could do it for the rest of my life. I wish I could have more time, but it must come to an end. Heavenly Father has other plans in store for me. More people to serve, to love, and to help. More blessings to discover and more lessons to learn. The end of the mission and the removal of my nametag do not mean that I stop being a servant of the Lord. I will serve Him for the rest of my life until the day I die and then for the rest of eternity. 

As a representative of Jesus Christ I testify that He lives. He is the Son of God. He is our savior and redeemer. He suffered and died for every single one of us. His sacrifice, His atonement is powerful, it can clean and purify us. He is the only way we can return back to the presence of our Heavenly Father. He is my example, my friend, my teacher. He is my Master. I serve HIm. I have not been a perfect servant, but I know He loves me. 

I testify that God and Jesus Christ have restored their church on the earth. That Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and today we have a living prophet, Thomas S.  Monson to lead and guide us. He holds the priesthood keys and power to direct the work of the Lord here on the earth. 

I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know it is true. That book has changed my life. Every chapter, every verse testifies of Christ and of God`s plan for all His Children. 

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the church of God and of the living Christ. 

I will never forget these days. I will never forget the blessings, lessons, trials, and miracles that I have seen. I  don't want it all to end. 

But the Lord calls me to a new work. I will serve Him for the rest of my life. 

I want to thank all of you for you love, support, letters, and encouragement. I love you all. see you soon. 

love, Hermana Williams 

January 18, 2016 - One Week Left

Hola familia y amigos, 

This week was very busy and time is going by very fast. 

On Monday we finished up our pday making tacos with our side kick Aldo and his family. Delicious. there isn't much Mexican food here in Chile. 

We left to work in the afternoon and we walked around and knocked doors and visited people who were home. I was tired and feeling a bit frustrated but we kept going.The last door we knocked before we had to walk home was an old contact that Hna Pinto and I found back in October. a lady named Marisel who told us she just found out she was pregnant. We could never find her again. We knocked her door and she came out and she smelled strongly of beer. She had been drinking. She recognized me and started crying. She explained that she had been pregnant but a couple weeks ago she had a miscarriage and lost her babies, twin girls. 

She was really discouraged. crying and asking me "what do I do? I don't know what to do? Tell me what I need to do?" It broke my heart. but it was a really special moment because I was able to testify to her of Christ´s Atonement and power and that one day she will see her daughters. I told her to stop drinking and that we were going to come back and visit her tomorrow in the morning. I gave her a big hug. I don't think I've ever felt so much love for a complete stranger in my whole life. I was really glad we found her. 

We came back the next day with two sister members. We taught marisel the Plan of Salvation and helped her understand that she can see and nurture her daughters one day, but only if she completes with the commandments and necessary ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted a baptismal date. She said she felt a kind of joyful squeezing of her heart and we explained that its the Spirit, testifying of what we taught her. It was one of those moments that reminds me why I came out into the mission- to be able to help people like Marisel. 

We were able to find lots of new investigators this week and have more lessons with members. The branch members are stepping up so we´re happy. We taught a referral from our branch president, a 19 year old kid Diego. We taught him the Restoration and he accepted a baptismal date too. In the same day we had a member who just a few months ago was less active take us to visit her friend Ingrid and we were able to teach her as well. It was a good day!

We had district meeting. Hna Villena had never tried a pichanga before. Pichanga is a Chilean food with french fries, meat, cheese, avocado, tomatoes, etc. Delicious. Our district leader brought us a pichanga! so she could try and also so it could be my last pichanga. Hna Villena didn't like the pichanga.... but it was still a good district meeting! 

We taught Coni and Aldo with a member! We taught them the Restoration. They're awesome. Aldo reminds me of my brother Phil. 

We helped a member cut her grass. Here in Chile no one has lawn mowers. They either use scissors or a weed wacker. We borrowed a weed wacker and helped her cut her grass... but in the end it turned into the member cutting grass, I raked up grass and Hna Villena played soccer with the three children of the Hermana. 

Sunday we didn't have any investigators in church. We tried our best but everything fell through. Diego was in Osorno, other investigators just couldn't make it and we couldn't find Marisel after our first lesson. But it was still a good day at church. We ate dinner with Hno Aldo and his family and I shared my last scripture with them.... sad.... that's when it really hit me that I'm going home. 

Sunday in the afternoon we knocked about 50 doors and only about 5 people opened up and all of them rejected us. We knocked one more door and a guy came out and started talking to us. He shared with elders a while ago and really didn't have any interest to progress or get baptized. We talked to him for a long time and finally Hna Villena asked him for a glass of water. He invited us inside and we were able to meet his other brother and sister and their children. We talked with them for awhile and they gave us ice cream! We kept mentioning that we wanted to share our message with them but they didn't really want us to. I thought "yeah, let's go, we're wasting time here" but something told me to stay and keep trying a little more. 

 

Five minutes later they said "yeah, okay, let's hear your message" Whoot! So we shared the Restoration with them. The guy who originally opened the door didn't pay much attention but his brother and sister couldn't take their eyes off of us. The spirit was suuuuuuuuper strong. You couldn't deny it. It was awesome. We set up another day to come back and teach them and the sister wants us to come visit us in her house this week! We're

 excited. 50 doors later and it was all worth it. 

Today we went on a field trip with Aldo and his sister Sandra today! They took us to a river and we took tons of pictures on an old bridge and we made a firepit on the river bank and cooked hot dogs and hamburgers. It was super fun. Perfect last outing in the mission. 

This is my last full week in the mission. Sometimes I feel like its not real and other times I just kind of want to cry... but other than that I'm doing okay! haha. I'm determined to work really hard and enjoy my last days here as a servant of the Lord. I feel like the Lord is blessing and testing me. I feel very grateful for everything He has given me. Ror the chance to serve Him. I know that He lives and loves me. 

Have a great week! 

love, Hermana Williams

January 11, 2016 - Somos Hoy Llamados al Servicio

Hola familia y amigos, 

This week went by really fast. and I'm not going to say how many weeks I have left. My companion is already counting the days.... I think she wants to get rid of me haha. 

Last week we passed through a lot of rejection and kind of a slow moment in the work here. We`ve been doing a lot of contacting but without seeing real success.  Monday and Tuesday we were a little down in the dumps. On Monday we made and ate pizza with the family of Hno Aldo, our trusty returned missionary side kick. We expressed to him how we were feeling and the next day he asked us to come over to his house for twenty minutes. 

We stopped by and he basically had a mini district meeting planned for us haha. In his mission he was a district leader for 6 sister missionaries. So he gave us encouragement and we read the scriptures and then afterwards we asked him to give us each blessings because we both felt discouraged and tired. 

We left his house super excited and ready to work and we stopped by to visit a woman we contacted a week ago. An elderly lady, we greeted her, said hi and then she started yelling at us about how we`re never going to convince her, stop pestering her in her home, she's Catholic and will never change, to stop obligating her.... let me point out that we have talked to this woman twice... we didn't even really teach her anything. and she started yelling at us. It was pretty rough. I realized that I had two choices. I could get depressed and upset or I could let it all go and keep working even harder. We said goodbye and left to go work really hard. 

On the same day we were able to find a new golden investigator named Gina who said she wants to get baptized, have two lessons with members and contact some really awesome people. We saw a lot of miracles, but only after the trial of our faith. 

This week wasn't perfect, we still had some hard days but at the same time we saw miracles. On Tuesday we helped our landlord cut her grass and I learned how to use a weed wacker for the first time. 

We had a noche de hogar with the Familia Fuentealba and with Hno. Aldo. I made them brownies. I had been promising them brownies for a long time. Chileans love brownies. 

It was adorable because their 11 year old daughter called to tell us that we should bring our swimming suits to the noche de hogar because she was going to have  her little swimming pool set up.... it broke her heart when we said that we cant go swimming. It was hilarious, she was so excited to go swimming with the sister missionaries. haha. 

Selfie with the Familia Fuentealba and Hno. Alba.

on friday we taught a couple the plan of salvation and it was really special because the woman had just had a miscarriage a couple weeks ago. i shared moms story. it really touched her and the spirit was really strong. it felt really great to be able to help them. 

On saturday our mamita taught us how to bake kuchen. I'ts a Chilean pastry that's a lot like a crumble- 

 We also saw an elderly lady carrying firewood into her house all alone. Here in Chile everyone uses wood burning stoves and there are big trucks that drop off big piles of firewood outside your house or on the sidewalk when you pay for more wood. But then you have to move all the firewood from outside and into your own house property, patio, backyard, etc. There was a woman with a huge mountain of firewood and she was entering it all alone! So we immediately helped her. She was a little scared of us Mormons because she was Catholic but we still helped her. The two of us alone threw all her firewood over her fence and into her patio. There were about ten men that passed by on the street but never offered to help. The woman also said that she was going to pay a guy to do it but he never showed up....I felt like we were really an answer to her prayers and even though she wouldn't let us share the gospel with her we still felt really good to be able to serve a daughter of God. 

Yesterday we were able to teach Nataly, a new investigator, the Plan of Salvation and we found another new investigator, Pamela. Last week on one of our hardest days we contacted Pamela and we felt something really special with her. We came back to her house yesterday and she let us in and we were able to teach her and she said that she had been thinking about us all week, she was glad we passed by. She's awesome. 

I feel that we were really blessed this week. I'm really grateful to be a missionary and to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to be able to help His children find peace and joy in this life and the life to come. I testify that the only source of true happiness is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Thanks for all the letters and support. have a great week! 

love, Hermana Williams

January 4, 2016- New Year Resolutions

Hola familia y amigos,

I'm going to be honest, this email will probably be short because this week was a lot of walking around and contacting people. So nothing really that exciting happened. 

Our mission changed the goal of 10 contacts everyday to 30 which means we have to talk to at least 30 strangers in the street everyday haha. It doesn't sound that hard but in San Pablo its sometimes a little difficult because there are not many people in the street, or in their homes. A lot of people work outside of San Pablo. So this week we really pushed ourselves to do the 30 contacts everyday. We ended up spending lots of hours just walking around and talking to people. 

On Tuesday we had intercambios. I stayed here in San Pablo with the hermana lider Hermana Segura who is actually from Utah. She´s gringa but her dad is Colombian! I love Colombians haha. It was a good day and it was fun to be able to speak English with someone for a little bit haha. 

The elderly lady that was on her death bed, Hna Ena passed away on Thursday. We were able to visit her one last time on Tuesday and sing her more hymns. We were able to share the Plan of Salvation with her family. They all live in different cities so we could only send them as referrals. 

Thursday was New Year's Eve and we contacted some more and then ate dinner with a menos activa Hna Olga. She was the only person to offer to cook us dinner early. Here, everyone eats dinner at 11 at night... but we had to enter our house at 9:30pm.  We ate with her and made her brownies for dessert. Hna Olga is a little crazy,.... but she really does love us. 

That night we went to bed like normal but set an alarm for midnight and we woke up and celebrated for 10 minutes haha. We wrote down all that we've done this year and then burned the papers outside on our front porch... don't worry, we were being safe and careful.

We also wrote our goals for this upcoming year. It was weird to not write about the mission. Hna Villena who only has 5 months in her mission wrote goals about baptisms, companions, scripture study and I wrote goals about work, studies, friends and getting married.... haha just kidding !

Saturday I think was a hard work day. Everyone had left for vacations, it was super hot outside and we knocked practically every door in San Pablo but only 5 people opened up and wanted to talk to us... we talked but then they said they weren't interested... we also contacted a crazy man who told me that the United States has it's own Abraham, like from the Bible.... Abraham Lincoln.... that was an interesting conversation. 

On Sunday we had a noche de hogar with Hno Aldo and his family, then they fed us lemon pie. I love pie de limon. They take care of us. 

And that's really all that happened this week. We´re just trying to work as hard as we can and I'm trying not to think about how I'm coming home in 3 weeks.... there's still a lot I can do in 3 weeks. I'm really grateful to be here and to have a new year to dedicate myself to the Lord's service, with or without the nametag. 

happy new year! I encourage you all to set new goals and resolutions with the question in mind "what can I do to improve? what can i do to serve Jesus Christ? what can i change in order to become who Heavenly Father wants me to be?" love you all! thanks for all the love and support!

love, Hermana Williams

December 28, 2015 - We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hola familia y amigos, 

This week was great, went by really fast. and it was Christmas! Wow. I can't believe a whole year has passed since my first Christmas in Punta Arenas. My best Christmas gift was being able to skype my whole family and meet my baby nephew for the first time! But it was very difficult to speak English and not Spanish. Sorry if I said some things that you didn't understand.

A four-way skype with the entire family!

On Monday we had a branch choir practice. President Vargas asked me to organize something for our Christmas activity on Wednesday. Hna Villena was sick with a bad cold on Monday and part of Tuesday so we couldn't do much, but it was still a good day. 

Hna Villena and I are doing well; we get along great and she's really excited to work hard. She`s super funny and we are already acting like we've been companions for more than one cambio. It was really easy to get used to her; she`s really chill. 

On Tuesday we had district meeting. We have a new district of all elders. We're the only hermanas and I'm the only gringa! It's crazy to think about that. But it was fun, the elders become like you`re brothers. We had a white elephant gift exchange for Christmas and ended up sharing all the chocolate and treats with each other. 

We were able to teach a lot of lessons this week. We taught our mamita Cecilia with Hno Aldo and she really doesn't want to progress so we`re going to be dropping her as investigator... as mamita no, we still need to eat! Haha!

We helped a member do yard work in her house. I`ve never done so much yard work in my life like I have here in Chile. 

On Wednesday the branch had their Christmas party dinner. A ton of people came and we sang in a choir and it turned out really well. Marion, familia Fuentealba, some menos activos and friends of members came. 

On the 24th we worked normally all day. We spent all day contacting because our mission came out with a new rule/ meta. We have to do 30 contacts everyday. Before, it was only 10. It's a lot, especially for San Pablo. It's so small here that there are not a lot of people walking around in the street and lots of people were not in their houses this week. We were able to do 34 contacts on Thursday! We felt pretty good. In the nighttime we ate once with Hno Aldo and his family.(Familia Muñoz) then we found out we were able to stay out until 11pm so we stayed and ate dinner with them too. Here in chile they eat dinner at 10 or 11pm. 

The familia Muñoz gifted us Chile keychains and mugs and we came home, I opened my christmas stocking from home (thanks mom!) and we went straight to bed haha. 

Christmas day it was pretty hard to work because everyone was sleeping all day long. But we were able to visit an elderly lady named Hna Ena, that was baptized but never signed her baptismal registro (license, paperwork, document, I can't remember the word) bueno, in the end it was like she was never baptized and she got offended and never went back to church. But now she`s on her death bed and there isn't more we can do for her. We visited her and we were able to share the Plan of Salvation with her family and I sang her a Christmas carol and some hymns. It was awesome when we sang because the Spirit filled the room; it was super strong. A couple days later the family told me that after the songs Hna Ena was finally able to relax and sleep so it really helped. We visited them all on Sunday again and when we asked if there was anything we could do for them they asked me to sing her more hymns because it really helps her to rest. The power of song!

The rest of Christmas was skyping my family, eating Christmas food and contacting. 

This week ended really well because Sunday morning I received a huge surprise. We walked into the church right when the meeting was starting and I looked back and saw a woman sitting in the last row.I thought "wait...I know her" It was Hermana Lidia Contreras, the mom of my ward mission leader in Punta Arenas!  In my head I was like "what is she doing here all the way in San Pablo?" Five minutes later I looked back and my ward mission leader Johnnie walks in!!!!!! I wanted to scream I was so shocked! but I couldn't because the meeting was starting. 

After the meeting ended I greeted them. It was so crazy wonderful to see Johnnie after all this time.I was speechless haha. They were traveling from Punta Arenas to their new home in Rancagua and they thought to stop by and visit me in San Pablo. I never thought that  I would ever see Johnnie in San Pablo haha. It was great to talk and catch up with them. I felt really grateful for the visit. They stayed all 3 hours and we took photos and then they left to drive back up to Rancagua, which is only 45 minutes outside of Santiago. 

Best surprise ever haha. 

Thanks for all the Christmas wishes and emails and support. I love you all very much. That's all I have to really share this week. We were able to contact and find lots of new investigators so we are pumped. 

I know that Christ lives and I'm grateful to be His servant. 

love, hermana williams

December 21, 2015- Trio Part 2

Hola familia y amigos, 

Feliz Navidad! It`s been raining and sunny every other day here so it doesn't really feel like Christmas. This week was crazy, a ton happened. 

On Tuesday my companion, Hna Torres had to leave for Punta Arenas. She has a lot of stuff and it took her a long time to pack. I had to convince her to leave things behind. We kind of had an emergency transfer when the zone leaders called and said that we needed to be in Rio Bueno in an hour. Hna Torres freaked out and started laughing hysterically from the stress because she wasn't going to be ready in one hour. Two hours later we made it to Rio Bueno! 

Apparently all Chilean airports were going on strike so we had to hurry and send Hna Torres on her flight to Punta Arenas before they closed everything.  I stayed with the hermanas in Rio Bueno, Hna Kogianes and Hna Torres (from Argentina). Yes, I got to be companions with Hna Kogianes again! 

Hna Torres2 (Hna Torres from Argentina ,I shall  call her Torres2) was finishing her mission. She was supposed to be in Osorno on Wednesday but with the airport strike no one was going home. Crazy cambios happened and she stayed in trio with us (triplet companionship) on Wednesday we traveled to Osorno to drop Hna Kogianes off at the terminal so she could travel to Valdivia to be with her new companion. I stayed with Hna Torres2 and we waited for my new companion Hna Villena. She arrived 2 hours later. 

Hna Villena is de Ecuador! She came from Valdivia, Rio Cruces and knows Rodrigo and Margareth! She has 4 months in the mission. I'm her third companion. 

 Hna Villena and Torres2 and I stayed and worked in trio in San Pablo for three days. Hna Torres2 was a good sport, but she was stressed out about not going home, her family was probably freaking out. We joked about how she was in overtime and her authority card already expired so we should be able to have tons of lessons with member present haha. But it was super fun to work with both of them. Hnas Torres2 and Villena are really relaxed and quiet and chill, the opposite of Hna Torres de Colombia haha. I miss her and su merced haha. 

On Thursday we had to build a giant Bible costume out of cardboard. The zone leaders asked us to make one for a Christmas activity the next day. I never knew a Bible could take so much time to make. But it was fun to get to know the hermanas better. 

We taught the Familia F on Thursday.We invited them to be baptized and they told us they're tired of the missionaries always asking them to be baptized. They don't feel prepared and they want to wait.... it was a little disappointing, but at least they were honest with us. They said they have desires to be baptized in the future but not so soon. They want to investigate the church for a couple years... so they're not really progressing that much right now. but we're still going to pass by every once in a while to read the Book of Mormon with them and invite them to church. 

Their son, V is 29 years old, but looks like he's 24. His progress is different. He likes the church but he works a ton. He's gone for 3 or 4 weeks at a time so he can't commit to anything.  We're going to keep trying with him. 

Friday in the afternoon we had a big Christmas missionary activity. We went to Osorno and a choir sang Christmas carols in the plaza and we contacted and passed out balloons and cookies to everyone. The elders dressed up as the Bible and the Book of Mormon and took selfies with people haha. 

Saturday Hna Torres2 finally went home!  We sent her to osorno in the morning. We had fasted that she and the other missionaries would be able to go home and  a day later the zone leaders called and said she was going home. Miracles happen!!!!!

It was super fun to be in a trio, I'm going to miss Hna Torres2. 

Now Hna Villena and I are together just the 2 of us in San Pablo. She`s used to busy crowded Valdivia so she got here and was like "where are all the people?" haha. The members are super excited to be able to 'kill me off', or rather that I'm ending my mission here. They say they are already planning my farewell party. 

Sunday we only had Victor in church. It was our Christmas program and I sang a solo of Away in a Manger. We did the same missionary activity in the plaza of La Union and it went well. We walked a lot 

Hna Villena caught a cold. She`s not feeling very well but she`s still really excited to work hard and be here in San Pablo. 

It was a great week and time is flying by and im really enjoying the 12 Days of Christmas packet that Mom and Dad sent me. I'm trying to improve on being more grateful and prayerful during the day. 

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! I know that Jesus is the Christ and that He lives and that He is the Savior of the world. I'm so grateful to be His missionary. 

love, hermana williams

December 14, 2015 - The Final Countdown

Hola familia y amigos, 

I have officially started my last transfer in the mission. In exactly 6 weeks I will be coming home. Scary. We found out transfers today in the morning...

I am staying in San Pablo and Hna Torres is going to Punta Arenas to be in my first sector Ovejero!!! I am receiving a new companion. She`s Latin. That's all I know. I can't even remember her name... but she's relatively new and she`s coming from Valdivia. 

I think I'm more excited that Hna Torres is going to Punta Arenas than she is... she`ll be able to see Victor y Blanca and Nibaldo and everybody!!! 

Well the most exciting part of this week is that Marion was baptized!!!!! She was baptized and confirmed on Tuesday and the baptism was beautiful! I sang Abide With Me Tis Eventide. In the morning we had to clean and fill the baptismal font and the water was way too hot, we had to turn the cold water on and wait a bit so that she could enter haha. After the service we borrowed her husband's keys and ran to their house and decorated it with white balloons and gifted her a hymnal. It was awesome. She was baptized by an hermano in the Branch, because her husband doesn't have the priesthood yet. But they are super happy and excited to go the temple next!

Marion's baptism.

On Thursday we had a huge mission conference and a member of the Setenta came to talk to us, Elder Texeira. It was awesome to listen to him and he gave us tons of advice and guess what.... I SAW HERMANA BRAITHWAITE!!! It was a glorious reunion. We ran and embraced each other like a slow motion movie scene haha. It was so good to see her and it was hard to say goodbye afterwards. 

Friday we had intercambios with the hermanas lideres and I went to Osorno again with Hna Call. Hna Call finishes her mission this week. It's funny because I was her first intercambio when she was called as hermana lider and friday I was her last intercambio. Sweet. 

Hermanas Williams and Braithwaite reunited!

Saturday the branch had a big luau Hawaii activity and the Familia Fuentealba came! It was hilarious because their daughter, Karen is 11 years old. She really wanted to go to the party but then her parents said no, we're going to Osorno... and she cried! She cried so hard that her parents changed their minds and they all came to the party haha. We had a blast and they showed a short 10 minute video from the church about us Mormons, It was awesome. 

Sunday we had 2 investigators in the church. Victor came alone because his family ended up going to Osorno after the party and didn't get home until super late so they never woke up in the morning. We picked up an elderly man who we contacted yesterday and said he wanted to go to church with him, We walked with him and a member and he stayed for all the classes.We`re going to visit him on Wednesday, His name is Osbaldo. 

That same night there was a young women's activity and we brought Karen to it and she really liked the program; she wants to come to mutual now. She`s only 11, but more young woman than Primary. 

It rained really hard all weekend, so I take my words back about sunshine and heat. But the pulgas (fleas) are back. They are eating my ankles. One bit me right where my spider scar is.

Hnas. Williams & Torres at Branch activity.

We`re getting closer to Christmas, we've been sharing the new video with people and I`ve been trying to sing everybody Christmas carols haha. We still don't know all the details for Christmas yet, I don't know with whom we are going to skype... probably in the Relief Society Presidents house. but I`ll let you know next Monday. 

San Pablo Branch Activity

Those are all the highlights of this week. I'm really excited for my last transfer... it doesn't feel real.  I'm determined to make the best of my last 6 weeks. I'm grateful to be a servant of the Lord. 

Thanks for all the letters and love, 

have a great week!

love, hermana williams

December 7, 2015 - Here Comes the Sun!

Hola familia y amigos, 

This week was great! It`s starting to feel like summer here in San Pablo. The sun has come out and we've been dying under the heat haha. I had my first sun burn of the season, but don't worry mom, I've been putting sunscreen on everyday. San Pablo is beautiful in the summer, with tons of roses and cherry trees in bloom. Hna Torres says there are no cherries in her country, so she's been taking tons of photos and stealing tons of cherries off of people's trees. 

This week we had lots of lessons and contacts and walking in the sun. Nothing really that exciting no crazy mission stories. 

Monday we taught the familia F and it turns out their oldest son is more receptive than they are haha. He hasn't been living in the house with them for awhile for work, but now he is.  He was super excited about everything we had to teach. He told us he wanted to come to church on Sunday!

On Thursday our mission president, Pres. Obeso came to San Pablo for interviews. I had a real nice talk with him. We mentioned our investigator Marion to him and it turns out he already knows her. He came to church in San Pablo once and she was there, This was over a year ago. He knows that she's been attending church and investigating the church for a long time. We explained that we put her with a baptismal date but it keeps falling because she has to work on Sundays. We thought that she needs to attend church at least 3 times with us but he told us that's a lie! She has been investigating the church for so long that she can be baptized whenever she wants to. We don't have to worry about church attendance or reteaching her the lessons or anything! MIRACLE we were shocked and so happy. 

We ran to Marion's house to tell her the good news but before we even explained what happened she told us that her job didn't renew her contract and now she`s not working. Sad that she lost her job but at the same time its a miracle because now shes not working every Sunday!!!! We told her the good news and invited her to be baptized. She said she wanted to talk with her husband and pray about a specific date this month. 

Friday we found a grandma who investigated the church for a super long time because her husband was member but she never got baptized. Her husband passed away a year ago and the missionaries stopped coming by because she wasn't progressing. We taught her the Restoration and we had to yell because she can't hear very well. We explained that she can be sealed in the temple to her husband so they can be together forever. She told us that she has been having tons of dreams where she sees her husband in a suit and tie telling her to get ready and dress herself up because they need to go get remarried.... like to get sealed in the temple!!!! It was super awesome to hear that; the Spirit was super strong. We invited her to be baptized but she`s so old that she really can't comprehend the need to ¨change religions¨we're going to keep working with her though. This woman needs to be baptized !

On Sunday we committed the familia F and their son  V and Marion and her less active husband  to all come to church. We set out super early in the morning, calling and picking them up, in the end they all said they would come on their own. We got to church and it started and time passed...... and we were on the edges of our seats..... and they all came! We had a total of 5 investigators, 4 less active members and a total attendance of 40!!! Thats huge!!!!! We were so excited. 

It was fast and testimony meeting and the testimonies were awesome, the Spirit was strong and towards the end, the dad of the familia F, dagoberto, got up and bore his testimony!!!! Our jaws dropped to the floor! He said that he`s really happy to be here in the church and to have the missionaries visit him and it looks like now they know which road they need to take in life...... :) 

After Sacrament Meeting Marion announced her baptism date..... December 8th!!!! tomorrow!!!!! it's a holiday here in Chile and its the only day that both she and Marcos can be there! We were completely shocked! We were praying that she would choose at least 1 day before the transfer, this weekend. But she decided on Tuesday! We are so happy!

Marion had her baptismal interview this morning and she passed. We spent all day yesterday running around to get everything set and ready for Tuesday. After more than a year investigating she's finally getting baptized! She`s super excited! 

It was awesome because in my interview with President I expressed to him some discouragement because I haven't been able to see a baptism in almost a whole year.  He told me that answers to prayers sometimes come faster or slower than we think :) This time it was faster. 

So the familia Fuentealba and the Marion need tons of prayers. 

That was the best part of this week. 

A big hug for Sarah White and Kaylyn next week from me! Tell them to write me haha. 

I testify that Heavenly Father answers prayers and that miracles are real and that He loves us a lot. I'm really grateful for this week and so excited for the weeks ahead. 

Thanks for the love and support. 

love, Hermana Williams

November 30, 2015 - Sweet 16!

Hola familia y amigos, 

Yep that's right, today is my sweet 16, I complete 16 months in the mission! 

I'm pleased to report that this week nothing crazy happened! There were no freak accidents, injuries, dog drama or hospital visits. It was a normal, average week in the life of a missionary. 

On Monday I passed the day with the hermanas lideres and worked with them in their sector. It was great to be able to work without holding back for my foot or my knee. The doctor in the clinic told me I'm good to go with my spider bites. They have already formed into nice little scars that I will have for the rest of my life. It will be a great mission story. I was talking to our ward mission leader the other day and he said that you haven't served a mission in Latin America until you have a scar somewhere to prove it! haha. 

On Tuesday Hna Torres and I reunited and it felt so good haha. I saw Hna Pinto in the bus terminal! She's doing great and loves Chiloe but she said there are tons of hills to climb and the house they live in is haunted.  Other than that she`s good. It was great to see her and hang out with her and Hna Torres for a little bit. Two Colombians together is a real show. 

On Tuesday we were also able to contact 4 cute old grandpas that have known eachother for over 50 years and meet up at the same park bench everyday in the plaza at about 7pm. We made plans to come visit them the next day to teach them the Plan of Salvation and bring them cookies but it rained all week so they didn't meet up outside.... Today it's sunny so we`re hoping to find them again haha. 

We also contacted a 22 year old girl with her 4 year old son in the plaza, At first she  didn't want anything to do with us but then she opened up when she heard Hna Torres speak because she loves the Colombian accent. Hna Torres has a very unique way of speaking and it really calls people's attention. We talked with the girl, Pamela, for a while and made plans to visit her in a couple days, she was really cool. We took a selfie with her haha. 

On Thursday we called the same Pamela to see if we could come visit her, she said she was at a friend's house but told us to come over because her friend  wanted to meet us too and hear Hna Torres 'accent. So we found Vanesa's house and they let us in and were super nice and fun and Hna Torres made them arepas from Colombia. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and the Spirit was super strong; it was an awesome lesson! They were super receptive. We set up another day to come back. 

What's super cool is that Pamela is a cousin of a member family in the ward. 

on friday we did service and helped our mamita cecilia do yard work in her patio. dad, thanks for always making me do yard work when i really didn't want to. now i understand why you always said that we had to do it so we would learn to work hard. thanks for not letting me be lazy (even though i was still pretty lazy)

We taught the familia F and our RM friend Aldo came to the lesson. It was great because their 22 year old son who works Puerto Montt was there and Aldo was able to build confidence with him and the rest of the family. Hna Torres made her famous arepas rellenas and Colombian hot chocolate. Delicious. I want to visit Colombia one day. We taught the familia F about the Book of Mormon. They`re struggling with their progression, we feel that we are running around in circles with them. 

Saturday we planned a family home evening for the whole branch and investigators and friends and we were going to watch  the movie Meet the Mormons... but in the end only 5 people came and they were all members and we couldn't get the movie to stream.  We had an awesome lesson about the Atonement and watched Mormon Messages instead. 

Our investigator M had a baptismal date for the December 5th and then she had to work last Sunday and couldn't come to church so her date fell through, We put her back on for December 12th... but she didn't come to church yesterday either. We even called and reminded her a billion times and called and woke her up in the morning and we offered to go pick her up but she said no she would come alone ... but then never showed up. So her date fell through again. We are feeling a little exasperated but we have faith and determination that this woman will be baptized! 

Our mamita served us pasta with red sauce three times this week and then we ate the same thing with members yesterday. We don't want to eat pasta ever again haha. 

Yesterday we contacted a lady who was really nice and we talked with her about the Plan of Salvation and we were about to ask her when we could come back to teach her when she realized we were Mormon missionaries... turns out she's a less active member who was baptized years back and became less active because the Branch President said something that offended her. We listened to her rant for about 20 minutes about how mad she was and how she swore never to come back to the Mormon Church. It was sad.... it hurt my heart. We tried to explain to her that Christ's church is perfect, but the people in it are not.  She wouldn't listen. You would think that after 16 months of hearing lots of stories like that, it would stop hurting, but it doesn't, you just get used to it. But i'ts okay, I've learned that we should never let anything get in the way of our personal salvation. 

Overall it was a good week. We are struggling to have more support from the members. We planned to have a mini training for the members in how to help the missionaries but they never gave us time to do it. We have some good ideas to get the members pumped. 

It wasn't a very exciting week, thank goodness, so there really isn't anything super interesting to write. We didn't celebrate Thanksgiving, I tried to get Hna Torres and other people excited about it, but they didn't really get it. We did eat arepas with the familia F... so it was kind of the same thing. I missed my family dearly on Thursday and thought of you all a lot (without getting too trunky) 

Something that I've learned on my mission is: if you`re not happy, work harder. We are never in a standstill moment, if we are not progressing, improving, we are moving backwards. We should always strive to be better every single day, which comes with hard work and dedication. I bear testimony that God lives, His Son Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that this is their work. I am grateful to be a missionary. 

love, Hermana Williams

November 25, 2015 - Trio

Hola familia y amigos, 

Just so you all know, I went to the clinic today for my treatments and they told me my foot is healed and good to go and I don't need to come back for more treatments and I can walk again yay! I have three little nasty wounds that will turn into little scars. Cool mission story. But I can go back to being a normal missionary! It healed in only 1 week which is really fast, miracles yay! 

Monday and Tuesday we still had to stay inside the house. We did splits with some members so we were still able to visit and teach our investigators. Team work! 

I had to walk around on crutches for a couple days to avoid using my foot so much. It was awful. My arms died. I have a big nasty bruise on my left arm. my whole body hurt after the first day. I swore to never use crutches again. 

I'm typing right now and I just SAW A SPIDER CRAWL ACROSS THE DESK I'M FREAKING OUT okay sorry I have a phobia. 

But anyways, on Wednesday we had a family home evening with our investigator M and her husband and 2 year old daughter. It went really well. We taught about forever families and how she can be with her family for eternity. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted! She`s on date for December 5th! We`re super excited for her. Her husband is less active member and we committed him to help her towards her goal and to prepare to receive the priesthood so he can baptize her. We celebrated with brownies and then their 2 yr old daughter peed on the floor.... the fun ended and we left haha. 

We had to go to curaciones on Wednesday and I went with my crutches. We had to wait outside at a bus stop in front of the hospital across the street. And I saw my old doctor, Dr. Garcia in the window. He helped me with my knee and then he left the clinic and I never saw him again. But we were able to communicate with hand signs through the window. He saw me with crutches and threw his hands up in the air as if to ask "what did you do this time!?" hahaha made my day. 

On Thursday I ditched the crutches. We had district meeting and we celebrated Hna Kogianes birthday, she's still in my district. She and Hermana Braithwaite also completed 6 months in the mission this week! Shout out to Hna. Braithwaite! Congrats!

Hna Torres and I both have been nursing a cold this week. I got pretty bad on Thursday but now I'm much better. 

On Saturday Hna Torres had to travel to Puerto Montt because Sunday she had a flight from the airport there scheduled to go to Santiago. She`s Colombian and all the Colombian missionaries have to renew their second visas in Santiago. She comes back on Tuesday .Maybe she`ll see Scottie while she`s there. 

she left me with the hermanas leaders in osorno, hna call and hna davila. and now we are in a trio! three missionaries instead of 2. its crazy. we`re not used to it. its hard to stay all together. on saturday the hermanas had a baptism so i got to go to that and i sang in a special musical number with hna davila, that was fun. we sounded good together. sunday i went to church with them, it was weird being in a big ward again instead of my little branch in san pablo. we`re going to be in trio until tomorrow in the afternoon when hna torres gets back. 

it is fun though, more people to talk to. its like a big party and i feel more powerful when we walk down the street haha. 

well that's all I really have to tell this week, Not much. next week will be better because I`ll actually be able to work normally. Thanks for all your prayers. 

In the morning I was reading in the book of mormon in Ether chapter 2 and 3 and I learned about the importance of personal prayer and receiving revelation. It says in ether 3:2 that it's a commandment to pray in order to receive personal revelation. Heavenly Father doesn't just want us to tell Him how our day went, or just give thanks, He wants us to ask, seek, search for what we need in our lives. for revelation that He is more than willing to give us, we only have to ask.  Sometimes the Lord asks us what we want Him to do. Sometimes the Lord wants us to show our faith, solve problems, look for solutions not excuses and He will help us know if its what we should do. That is personal revelation. 

I testify that God answers prayers, He loves us, He wants to hear from us. He is  a God of miracles and I am so grateful to be part of His great and marvelous work. I know Jesus Christ lives, He is our Savior. 

Love, hermana williams

November 16, 2015- Crazy Mission Stories

Hola familia y amigos! 

This week has been the craziest week of my mission... I`ll let you know why. I've decided to split this email up into titled parts. 

The Normal Stuff: part 1 

Hna. Torres and I are adjusting to each other and enjoying our cambio. She`s a lot of fun and she loves to talk about her returned missionary boyfriend that's waiting for her at home haha, sometimes it's a little trunky but very entertaining. I hope I get to end my mission with her. On Monday my knee started hurting real bad, I don't know why, so we had to take a couple minutes in the house to rest and ice it and afterwards I was fine.  Other than that I didn't have any problems this past week. 

We were able to go out to work Monday and teach our new investigator O, she`s really nice and really open to listening and becoming closer to God. It was a great lesson and we made it all the way to prophets.... but then there was an interruption... 

Johnnie & Rambo:part 1 was edited due to content.  Hna. Williams and Torrez were at a lesson with their investigator, O.  The two dogs were outside during the lesson.  They killed O's neighbor's pregnant cat and the rest wasn't pretty.  Everyone was traumatized.

Johnnie & Rambo: part 2

okay you might think this story is a little disobedient...it was a lack of good judgment, good intentions, but ended very complicated... 

The next day we had heard that at the same local animal hospital they were doing free sterilizations of pets and stray dogs and we thought it would be a good idea to take Johnnie to see if they could fix up his leg. I honestly don't know what we were thinking, at the time we thought it was a great idea, that it would only take 20- 30 minutes..... nope we were there waiting for an hour when finally they told us they would only look at Johnnie's leg if we were going to get him fixed( sterilized)... they convinced us that it would be a good idea to get them both fixed, Johnnie and Rambo, that they would be calmer afterwards and not chase after so many cats. we thought, ya! wow great idea! So we talked to Johnnie and Rambos supposed owner and he was all for it! So we thought, ya! Servicio! drop off the dogs at the clinic, pick them up later, half an hour maximum! Wrong.... 

We took Johnnie and Rambo to the clinic ,Johnnie went in just fine but Rambo is big so they had to tranquilize him and put a leash and collar on him and he started freaking out, it looked like he was having a seizure! He bit the leg of one of the workers! We called out returned missionary friend Aldo who has helped up with Johnnie and Rambo to see if he could come and carry Rambo inside because he has more confidence in Aldo. so aldo came running but then another guy was able to calm Rambo down and carry him inside.... so we called Aldo and told him not to come, and that we owed him ice cream for all the trouble. 

Two hours later the clinic called us to say that our dogs were ready. We called Aldo again to help us carry Rambo. We arrived and Johnnie came out just fine but Rambo was traumatized. We had to coax and drag him outside and when he was out he sprinted away towards home... he was super scared. so Aldo carried Johnnie and we went to talk to the owner.... turns out the fixing was free but you have to buy them medicine and clean their wounds and we don't have time for that so we explained everything to the owner but he didn't do anything.... so now we`re worried that Johnnie and Rambo will die from infection... but I think they are okay. 

So thats a crazy mission story... we sterilized two dogs.... I don't know what we were thinking. 

Bad luck part 1: Spider Woman

On Wednesday we had a normal day and we worked and it was great. In the afternoon we had to go to the house to do our progress form and I sat down to call someone and felt something sting me on my ankle and it itched really bad. I thought, oh no pulgas! fleas! So I itched and scratched but it hurt so bad that I took off my boot and tights and saw 4 big red bumps come up on my ankle and heel. and a little bubble blister appeared! Hna Torres said it wasn't pulgas it was a spider bite! We didn't find the spider but I didn't freak out too much because I didn't think a spider bite could do much. We went about the day and the blister got bigger and bigger and burned and it hurt to walk. 

We had  a meeting with our ward mission leader and I asked him about spider bites and he told me I should call our mission nurse asap because it might be the Rincon spider, a deadly poisonous spider here in Chile. So then I  started freaking out. I called the nurse but she didn't answer. We went about with the rest of the day. We had a noche de hogar with M and  M and Hna Torres made arepas!  We came home at night and the blister had doubled in size and filled with yellow liquid. 

The nurse finally called me at 10:55pm and I explained what happened. she was about to send me to the nearest hospital asap to make sure it wasn't Rincon. But I explained more details, I didn't have any of the symptoms or anything so we decided to wait till morning. But she said if I start to feel a fever during the night, to call her, because I might be dying.... I didn't sleep very well haha. 

In the morning I took a look at my ankle and there were 4 big blisters and they hurt super bad! So I called out branch president and his wife and they drove us to Osorno the the clinic so I could  see a doctor. My ankle and foot was super swollen and it hurt to walk. The doctor said that it was a spider that bit me, but not a rincon or anything like that.  Yes the spider had venom and it's sitting in my ankle and if I walk to much my foot will swell up more and the bites will become infected.  I promise its nothing dangerous, I am not going to die or lose a foot or anything. 

They treated my ankle, broke and cleaned out the blisters - that hurt really bad. Bandaged me up, gave me pain meds and antibiotics and sent me home to rest. I've been in house rest since Thursday. I can't go out to work or walk or anything .I returned to the clinic on Friday to do a blood and urine exam and everything came out okay. They cleaned out my wounds again and it hurt so bad I cried. It's like a stinging, burning pain.... like my ankle is on fire. 

Bad luck part 2 

So I'm in the house again! At least until this Wednesday. I have to take tons of pills and rest and try not to walk. I have a big fat bandage and I can only take baths now, I cant get my left foot wet. My foot is so swollen and tender that I can only wear my slipper... so I've moved from tennis shoes to one slipper! The mission nurse gave me crutches today to help me walk, it's only so I don't put too much weight in my foot and so I can walk around to meetings and stuff. it's not a big deal! We`ve been receiving lots of help from members, driving us around, bringing us food, we were able to do splits on Saturday and Hna Torres went out with a member and I stayed inside the house of another. Our RM friend Aldo has been stopping by to do us favors, chop firewood, drop off our laundry. . 

We have been studying the scriptures a ton.I feel bad for Hna Torres to keep her inside, but shes a good sport. We have been trying to spider proof our house this week. I officially have a phobia of spiders. But we`re doing just fine! 

The Normal Stuff part 2

I was still able to go to church on Sunday, with my slipper and everything! We had the Primary program. it's funnier in Chile because kids here are crazy. I had more treatments today in the clinic. the clinic is my home away from home. I am a little frustrated that we can't go out to work but I`ve decided to have a good attitude. I am trying really hard to follow all of the doctors orders so that the wounds don't get infected or else I'll be in the house even longer. 

When I went to the clinic the first time and they told me I couldn't walk the thought came that I have 2 choices: I can get really sad and depressed and have my own pity party for being in the house again.... or I can have a good attitude, have enough faith and hope that everything will turn out okay and that this is just another part of God's plan. I thought to myself, "look, another chance to prove yourself" I feel like I spent a lot of time with my knee moping about and whining and this time I'm going to use my time better, study harder, be humble, prepare myself so that way when I can leave to work, I can work super hard. I have faith that it will all be okay. The Lord tried and healed me once, He can do it again. 

So don't worry about me! Prayers are needed but I know that in a couple days I`ll be fine. I'm thankful that it wasn't worse and that I'm still alive haha. I know that God knows me, He watches over me, He will help me through this. I am His daughter, and even more, I am His servant and His soldier and the Lord needs strong soldiers. 

Thanks for all the love and support and prayers everyday! love you all!. 

love, hermana williams

November 9, 2015 - Su Merced

Hola familia y amigos, 

Hermana Williams and her newest companion, Hermana Torrez

Okay I know you`re all dying from the suspense so I`ll let you know who my new companion is.... Hermana Torrez from Colombia. Thats right, another Colombiana.  I'm really excited because she`s more Colombian than Hna Pinto. Hna Pinto had already lost her accent and acted more like a Chileana.  Hermana Torrez in one hundred percent Colombian. She has 10 months in the mission, the same group as Hna Pinto. She is super energetic and talks really fast, but she talks clearly, so I can still understand her. She uses a lot of words from Colombia. For example, they use a more formal word than 'usted' when talking to people. They use 'su merced' which means 'you' but really formal. When she first started talking to me I had no idea what 'su merced' was. I was like "who is she talking about?" who is su merced?" She had to explain it to me. So all week it has been su merced. It's starting to stick. 

 This week was really good and busy and fast. Monday and Tuesday was crazy trying to make sure Hna Pinto said goodbye to everyone. She was only here for 6 weeks and everyone was super surprised that she was leaving. She still managed to form some close ties with the members so it was hard for her to leave. On Wednesday morning we were told to take the bus to Osorno and we had to haul her suitcases up to the highway which is about a 20 minutes walk at normal pace. But her suitcases were so heavy that we had to call a ward member, the strongest hermano we knew, to come help us. It was a show. 

We made it to the bus terminal in Osorno in the morning and we had to wait for the bus to Chiloe for 2 hours. I saw Hna Espinoza and Hna Jenkins and tons of other missionaries I know. I was hoping to see Hna Braithwaite, but I missed her. It looks like she got changed to Los lagos, close to Valdivia and she`s not with Hna Smoot now. 

Hna Pinto left for Chiloe and my companion, Hna Torrez arrived half an hour later. She is a very fun, dramatic person and I felt very overwhelmed when she greeted me haha. But we`ve been getting along really well and having lots of fun and working really hard. 

We taught lessons, found new people, contacted, worked, the usual. 

On Sunday we committed the familia F to come to church so we showed up early with breakfast ready for them so they wouldn't have an excuse not to come (i.e. "oh we just woke up, we haven't eaten yet,I have to cook..".) they got a kick out of it, and they came to church, it was awesome. 

We had ward council and as a branch we`re trying to focus on 4 of our investigators in particular: familia F, M and our mamita cecilia. they need prayers! 

My knee is okay. there are still days when it hurts. Today it hurts but its never so much pain like before. I can still work and walk, just a little slower. I get more hip pain now too. 

I'm really excited to be with Hermana Torrez. She knows a ton about the Bible and the Book of Mormon and she`s helping me get more excited to study and learn more to help me teach better. She has a lot of really good fun ideas to help the work progress that aren't just knock doors for three hours. She`s helping me to be humble, to remember that yeah, I have 15 months but I still need to learn, study and improve everyday. 

I'm really grateful for all the experiences that the Lord has given me in my mission and all the people he has placed in my life. I'm grateful for the chance I have to serve Him every single day. And I don't plan to stop after my mission is over. I want to serve Him in every single day of my life. People always told me before the mission that this is the greatest work you can do with your life at this moment... and now I understand why. I thank my Heavenly Father every day. 

Have a great week everyone! 

love, hermana williams

November 2, 2015- 15 Months

Hola familia y amigos, 

This week went by unbelievably fast. We did a ton but I can't remember everything. 

On Monday we had a noche de hogar with one of our menos activos that's been reactivated, She`s awesome. She also came to our stake conference on Sunday in Osorno and she brought her two little babies. 

On Tuesday all of San Pablo was freaking out because three times there were military fighter jets that flew over the city. No one had any idea why, but of course everyone was talking about all sorts of government schemes. Our mammita,  hna Cecilia got real heated and rambled to us for half an hour straight. We taught our investigator M the same day and right in the middle of the lesson there was another airplane and they were super loud. 

On Tuesday I also received a call from Hna Braithwaite calling from Hna Obeso's cell phone!  We were right in the middle of a lesson so I could only talk for 2 minutes and I had to contain my excitement in front of M. But it was so good to talk to her!

We`ve been trying to heal Johnnie all week. He survived! But we do have to give him pain meds and clean out his wound everyday, or at least try to. A member here named Aldo, who just got back from his mission in Mexico has been helping us out with Johnnie. Rambo gets really jealous when we pay too much attention to Johnnie so we need one person to hold Johnnie down, the other to clean out his wound and the other to entertain Rambo. Johnnie can't follow us around anymore but Rambo is loyal, and he`s actually calmed down a lot. 

We had our branch Halloween activity on Friday night! Hna Pinto dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and I went as Snow White (they were the easiest costumes we could think of.) The activity went well, but the hermano who was in charge of games forgot so we had to think of games on the spot.  In the end it was super fun.  I made a big platter of brownies. Members here are obsessed with brownies. 

We did a lot of service this week,which always involves chopping firewood. I cant remember if I already told you, but I finally learned to chop firewood! Hna Pinto taught me- it's super fun. So I did that a lot this week.We also trimmed the grass of our landlord. People here don't own lawn mowers, you have to cut your grass with big scissors. 

on saturday we contacted a woman who started preaching to us about the end of the world and the second coming of christ. we tried to share with her but she talked for a good half an hour quoting the bible and then started crying because the end is near.... i admired her passion. 

we had stake conference this weekend! it was great! our stake president is super young and energetic. it was a great conference that really focused on members and missionary work. love it. 

This week I completed 15 months in the mission. Wow. Hna Pinto surprised me and made me breakfast and sang quinceañera songs all morning. 

This week we have cambios. Hna Pinto is leaving me and going to the Island of Chiloe and I am staying here in San Pablo. I still don't know who my companion is, I'm waiting for the zone leaders to call and let me know. More suspense!

I'm really grateful to be a missionary! I love being a servant of the Lord, I know that this is His church and His work and I cant do it without His help everyday. I know that Heavenly Father is a God of miracles. 

Thanks for the emails and photos and support, 

love, Hermana Williams

October 26, 2015 - Aperradas

Hola familia y amigos, 

This week went by very fast, but we did a lot. 

Hna. Pinto and Hna. Williams under a new umbrella

We taught our investigator who has dementia. She`s really sweet but she can't remember anything. She told us she would come to church this week, We`ll see if she remembers. 

I titled this email aperradas because that's what the Chileans say when you have lots of dogs following you "andan aperradas" It's funny for them. Yes, Johnnie and Rambo are still following you. 

On Monday Hna Pinto and I bought a dog whistle. It looks like a taser gun actually but it just radiates a high pitched whistle that we can't hear. We tried it out on the dogs Johnnie and Rambo. Turns out the only dog that it bothers is Rambo, the rest could care less. But that's okay because Rambo is the most crazy. He freaked out when he first heard it and wouldn't come near us for a couple hours, haha. I promise the dog whistle doesn't do them any harm. It just stresses them out enough to make them stop doing something. It's like conditioning and training. Rambo still follows us around but has toned down a ton, He doesn't bark or chase cars anymore. 

We helped an hermana in the ward who has been sick chop firewood. That's right, I chopped firewood for the first time. That was actually a couple weeks ago, I just forgot to tell you. but I finally learned how! I'm not very good, I'm still learning but I've lost the fear and it's actually pretty fun. 

We taught an investigator that has been learning about the church for 30 years but never got baptized... I bore the most powerful testimony I've ever given in my entire life. (The Spirit made it powerful not me) we invited her to be baptized and she said she would pray and ask God. 

Piglets in the street in San Pablo.

On Friday we traveled to osorno to the clinic to see Dr. Garcia, He told us to come back to see him so he could check my knee. We waited in the waiting room for almost 2 hours only to find out that Dr. Garcia doesn't work at the clinic anymore so they sent me to see a different doctor there who only looked at my knee for 5 minutes give me some pain meds to take if I feel pain and signed a document that says I don't need to come back. The clinic is the trial of my patience, but I'm in the clear with my knee, that's good! I can work without worrying! 

Yes I still feel pain every now and again but its not serious pain. So don't worry about me. I'm fine. 

We helped a less active member, N clear grass from her back yard. That was fun. 

On Saturday we were walking home at night and outside the church Johnnie and Rambo started attacking another little dog in the middle of the street. We tried to stop them, yell, throw rocks, the dog whistle wasn't working on them. Then suddenly a car came up and drove right through them to stop the fight and the car ran over Johnnie! We just stood in shock.  Johnnie survived and walked away but the tire ripped his left leg open on the inside, you can see bone. It was pretty traumatic. There's not much we can do for him because he`s not ours. He cant walk now, really only hobble. We`re pretty sad. We`re afraid it will get infected. Johnnie is our favorite, He`s sweet, but an hermano in the branch offered to go check on him. 

Our investigator M and her less active husband came to church! Yay! 

San Pablo after the rain.

We were able to find 9 new people to teach this week, and some of them were really special and have a real strong desire to know the truth. We`re excited. 

I don't have very much time left. I'm trying to send photos, but the computer I have is acting weird. So sorry. But I'm doing fine, still really tired but excited. We have cambios in one week. Hna Pinto and I honestly don't know what will happen. I'm good with anything, but I would like to see a baptism here in San Pablo, they haven't had one in a year. 

I know that the church is true, I know that God loves us and Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world, He loves us too. I'm so grateful to be His representative and that I get to help so many people everyday. 

love, hermana williams

October 19, 2015 - 100 Days!

Hola familia y amigos, 

Thank you all for reminding me that I only have 100 days left in my mission.I actually had a trunky moment earlier this week and did the math myself. But for me its not that trunky. I don't see it as " wow I only have 100 days until I get to go home" I see it as, I only have 100 days left to be a missionary so I better enjoy it. It motivates me. 

This week was great, we worked really hard and I'm exhausted. 

On monday we taught the familia F. We teach their daughter K English for half and hour and then we teach them for another half an hour. Or rather, I teach English haha. we`re trying to teach them the Restoration. they have a lot of desire but it's hard for them to remember what we taught them or read. 

We also taught M, she is an old investigator who now wants to start taking the lessons again. She`s great and we`re helping her with growing her faith. 

Tuesday we had intercambios (exchanges)I went to the sector of the sister training leaders with hna Call! I was Hna Call's first intercambio in Valdivia 6 months ago. It was fun to work with her again. I got to attend a leader meeting, where all the hermanas leaders, zone leaders and district leaders meet up. It was interesting, I felt a little out of place, haha. 

We`ve been teaching a lady named I but its been hard because she has dementia. We just found out. So she can barely remember anything. We've invited her to be baptized twice and she said I`ll think about it both times. We`re going to teach her today and see what happens. We might have to stop teaching her, if she cant remember what we teach her, She can't progress. 

On Wednesday we had correlacion meeting with our ward mission leader and he and his wife made us dinner. It was delicious. They are newlyweds and are about 25 years old, so they are our friends. They showed us their wedding photos. It was only a little trunky haha. 

We went to teach a menos activa less active member this week and we caught her right in the middle of cleaning and organizing her house. We offered to help. I love washing other people's dishes, so I told her I would take care of it. I`ve never seen so many dirty dishes in my entire life. It was a real deep cleaning. but we made it through and felt pretty proud of myself and the menos activa was very grateful.

Our dog sidekicks Johnnie and rambo are still following us around. We tried to trap them in the church parking lot and close the gate but they found a way out. We tried to trap them inside our patio but they escaped again. They are very loyal, but it's hard to work with them when they're fighting with other dogs and barking and jumping all over us. On Friday they killed another cat right in front of us. We feel traumatized. 

On Saturday we got to watch the palada inicial ( first stone laying?) of the temple they're going to build in Concepcion Chile. It was awesome to hear from all the speakers. Everyone is really excited. The temple should be finished in 3 years. 

I'm back to playing the piano again in Sacrament meeting here in San Pablo. Actually its a keyboard. 

This week we were able to find 11 new people to teach and teach a total of 26 lessons. There's still a lot to do here though and we have to work on making sure those new people progress. 

like I said before I don;t really feel trunky to know that I only have 100 days left. It makes me want to work harder and not waste anytime. I still feel tired and my knee still hurts but I feel motivated enough to push that all away and work really hard. I'm so grateful to be a missionary, a servant of the Lord. I know that this is His church. The church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I feel honored to be carry His name. I feel grateful for every experience, every day, He`s already given me. and He reminds me everyday "Forget yourself and go to work"

love, hermana williams

October 12, 2015 - Miracle!!

Hola familia y amigos!

Wow this week was very crazy but wonderful all at the same time. 

I was finally able to get the results of the ct scan on my knee and the doctor told me that there is nothing seriously wrong with my knee. I have a ligament that's probably messed up a bit and swells and hurts when I walk a lot. but there is nothing broken or anything that can get worse or keep me from walking. Basically, if I walk like normal, I'm not going to mess my knee up anymore than it already is. 

Actually, the doctor told me that I need to walk, I need to exercise it and strengthen it to get over the pain. 

He told me I can continue working as a missionary,I can take off my knee brace and walk all day long without worrying. 

I don't think I`ve ever been so grateful in my entire life. It's a real miracle, honestly.I thought I was going to get sent home for surgery or something, but I get to finish my mission! Return 2016 !! The doctor told me I do need intensive therapy, but I can help my knee just the same with doing my own exercises in the house in the morning. 

The pain hasn't disappeared or anything. There was still pain this week. I had to stop and take rests. but now I don't need to worry about making my knee worse, so I can deal with the pain. 

On Wednesday we had zone conference! It was wonderful. Guess what, I saw 2 of my past companions, Hna Jenkins and Hna Espinoza and they are companions now! Crazy. Sometimes our Mission president's wife, Hna Obeso lets us call past companions on her cell phone, and I called hna Braithwaite! I told her all about my knee and it was so nice to talk to her. 

We worked really hard this week, especially because President Obeso changed our work schedule. Before, we would return back to the house to study after lunch and leave to work at 3pm.  Now we just study in the morning and we leave to work right from lunch, so we have 1 1/2 hours more to work, and we worked  a lot. We found 9 new investigators to teach this week.The zone goal was 8. that`s the most I`ve ever had. we feel pretty pumped to be working here in San Pablo. 

There are two stray dogs here named Johnnie and Rambo that follow us everywhere and bark and get into trouble with other dogs. They are really loyal to us and we love them a lot, but it's hard for us to work sometimes because they're always barking when we try to contact or knock doors. This week they attacked and killed a cat.... that was horrifying to watch. We`re afraid that people are going to think they belong to us. We`re trying to get them to leave us alone but they are too loyal. They are the biggest trial of our sector right now haha. 

On Friday we were supposed to have 6 appointments and teach 6 lessons but all of them fell through. That was hard, but we bounced back. I have to readjust myself to mission life and remember that i'ts not always rainbows and butterflies. 

I missed working a lot though. 2 months is a long time. I was still able to work in the 2 months, but not full out, full day, with all my energy. Now I'm  back to working and it's wonderful. It's still hard.I feel pain, I get real tired, my body got used to sitting in a house all day. and I forgot how hard it can all be sometimes. but this week we were able to have some really power, spiritual moments and lessons. It was great to be able to feel like an instrument in the Lords hands again. to feel the Spirit working through me. 

Hna pinto and I are having fun. She`s a really good missionary. She`s very responsible and takes a lot of initiative. She is the youngest of 4 brothers and sisters. She's really young in her family, She has nieces and nephews that are older than her haha. She`s really funny and sassy and she`s trying to learn English so sometimes we have short conversations in English. 

I'm really grateful to still be here in the mission haha. The Lord really does work miracles. Thank you for all of your prayers. I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers, maybe not right when we want them, but He does answer. We just have to be patient. I know God is our loving Father and Jesus Christ is His son and our Savior. 

love, Hermana Williams