These past couple of weeks we´ve been teaching a girl named Johana. She is 16 years old and gradually lost her hearing due to a tumor, but can read lips. When we met her she was sad and angry and didn´t believe that God was there or loved her. Just this week she´s made a compete turn around. Her countanace has completely changed and says that she has been praying and reading the book of mormon and felt an answer to her prayers that the BofM is true and that God loves her. She couldn´t stop smiling, It was incredible. She said she wanted to be baptized. I was so content and happy for her, but yesterday when we went back her mom, who is an inactive member for probably 20 years told us that she wont give us permission to baptise her because she thinks her baptism was a mistake because shortly after she was baptized and stopped going to church a bunch of bad stuff happened to her. It was devastating. Hna. Alv and I are pretty heart broken, but for Johanna. Though I think she´ll continue to pray and read. This week I´ve really thought about my testimony a lot, about what I´m doing here. If this church isn´t true, then what am I doing all the way down in Chile, right? I know it is, I feel it in my heart. I know Christ lives and that he loves us. I know we can find peace and direction and purpose through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh, there´s so much more I want to say and write about, but my time is up.
Letters are on the way!
Hna, Alison Jones
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
These icky hormigas are EVERYWHERE!
It sounds like you´ve had quite the adventures with the sundance film festival! You should frame the cigarette butt and hang it on the wall right underneath frankie´s paw print… haha, jk. Really though that was super nice of the vet to do for frankie´s passing. There are dogs EVERYWHERE here in the streets. We started a contest to see who can snap a picture of the ugliest dog. It´s…fun… Though everynight at about 12 there´s a dog that barks and his bark sounds almost identical to frankie´s… it´s weird…But I´m glad Kola is enjoying the attention! Okay, enough about dogs…
This week has been interesting, we lost everyone of our baptismal dates. For various reasons, there´s always a reason. That was sad, but last week we´ve been praying and looking for and focusing on finding families. And guess what? We found some! One even came to church with us yesterday, it was great! We´re really excited about this and pray that they will have a desire to learn and progress. It´s weird the feeling I have when we´re teaching lessons. I want so badly to tell them, ¨it´s okay! You ARE a child of God, and you can find so much happiness through His son Jesus Christ!¨ And I do tell them, but for some reason sometimes they don´t always want to listen or let Christ into their life. I understand that by doing so, changes need to be made, but these changes are worth it. I wish people could understand this better. Or maybe they do understand, they´re just not ready right now.
Hmmm, My comp still gets a kick out of things I say, and then I do too when she tells me what I said.. BUT I figured out that this can be a two way thing… We taught my companion to say ¨I wet my pants¨ when she´s full. Tee hee…
Up until now I´ve done okay with the insects, but I´ve had it up to here (as far as I can reach) with these icky hormigas (ants) They are EVERYWHERE! One of the other companions that we live with thinks it´s funny the way I talk about them because she says I talk about thim like they´re a bad roommate or something. But really they are. No matter how well I clean the counter, I only have to turn around in 10 minutes and there they are, making a mess. They walk on everything like they own the place. And I´ve had one too many run ins with the spiders, I´m still not any braver with handling them.
Thanks for the emails. Thanks mom for the update on the fam damily. I nearly cried laughing reading about the ¨incident¨ with grandma. Haha. And thanks for your support, love and testimony. I love you all so much. I wrote letters today, hopefully we will be able to go to the post office to send em. Hopefully they will get there! I put Jesus stickers on the envelope, so it better. Did those directions work on google maps? I realized the name of the street is Manual Rodriguez, Psje. 6 …if that makes a difference. I forgot to mention last email to dad that he doesn´t need to worry because it´s a rule that we can´t go into a lesson alone with men, there has to be another person with us, that keep us safe there, and I´m being smart and safe, okay? You don´t need to worry. Tell Erik thanks for the birthday wish and Happy Hanukah.
I love the gospel, I love Christ, I love Chile, and I love you all so much!
This week has been interesting, we lost everyone of our baptismal dates. For various reasons, there´s always a reason. That was sad, but last week we´ve been praying and looking for and focusing on finding families. And guess what? We found some! One even came to church with us yesterday, it was great! We´re really excited about this and pray that they will have a desire to learn and progress. It´s weird the feeling I have when we´re teaching lessons. I want so badly to tell them, ¨it´s okay! You ARE a child of God, and you can find so much happiness through His son Jesus Christ!¨ And I do tell them, but for some reason sometimes they don´t always want to listen or let Christ into their life. I understand that by doing so, changes need to be made, but these changes are worth it. I wish people could understand this better. Or maybe they do understand, they´re just not ready right now.
Hmmm, My comp still gets a kick out of things I say, and then I do too when she tells me what I said.. BUT I figured out that this can be a two way thing… We taught my companion to say ¨I wet my pants¨ when she´s full. Tee hee…
Up until now I´ve done okay with the insects, but I´ve had it up to here (as far as I can reach) with these icky hormigas (ants) They are EVERYWHERE! One of the other companions that we live with thinks it´s funny the way I talk about them because she says I talk about thim like they´re a bad roommate or something. But really they are. No matter how well I clean the counter, I only have to turn around in 10 minutes and there they are, making a mess. They walk on everything like they own the place. And I´ve had one too many run ins with the spiders, I´m still not any braver with handling them.
Thanks for the emails. Thanks mom for the update on the fam damily. I nearly cried laughing reading about the ¨incident¨ with grandma. Haha. And thanks for your support, love and testimony. I love you all so much. I wrote letters today, hopefully we will be able to go to the post office to send em. Hopefully they will get there! I put Jesus stickers on the envelope, so it better. Did those directions work on google maps? I realized the name of the street is Manual Rodriguez, Psje. 6 …if that makes a difference. I forgot to mention last email to dad that he doesn´t need to worry because it´s a rule that we can´t go into a lesson alone with men, there has to be another person with us, that keep us safe there, and I´m being smart and safe, okay? You don´t need to worry. Tell Erik thanks for the birthday wish and Happy Hanukah.
I love the gospel, I love Christ, I love Chile, and I love you all so much!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Take each day... poco un poco
Moms and Pops: That´s pretty cool you can see the city of Machalí from google maps! I totally forgot about that thing… It surprised me when dad emailed and said he could identify some of the streets because I walk some of those streets everyday! Especially Arturo Prat. The chapel is on that street. You should look up the street El Esfuerzo (I think that´s how it´s spelled) and I live in the villa Las Americas. Pasaje 6 to be exact. Though I´m not sure what number our little house is, I couldn´t find it on the house. Yes, Machalí is a bit more exclusive. It´s not at all city like Rancagua. I might say it´s about the size of Spanish Fork (but I could be totally off, I´m not good at that stuff) and it´s all residents. No big buildings or anything like Rancagua. A lot of the houses are tucked up in the base of the mountain like you noticed dad, which means somedays we do a lot of hill hiking. It´s pretty awes. Though, also pretty rough if it´s about 3 in the afternoon because it´s so HOT here. I sweat a lot. But I do have a nice tan… hehe.
Here´s some more answers to your inquires :) My p-days thus far have been a little messed up because of the recent holidays, so I only had one REAL p-day up until now. That´s why I haven´t written many letters (oops), Though we´ve had time to email and shop. There are only little food stores here in Machalí so, like today, we´re going into Rancagua to do our shopping. I haven´t had to buy rain gear yet. It doesn´t rain a drop in the summers, so I´ve got a few months until I have to worry about any of that. And no, Erik, haha, I haven´t seen any pink granny cookies here. I don´t think they sell them. Sad day, huh? I think I got all the q´s. It looks like you're having a good time at least with the Sundance thing, let me know if you meet any supa fly celbs, eh? Oh, my friend Chris asked if I´ve gotten any fake addresses yet. Of course. Maybe a few a week. It´s great.
I wanted to mention really quick about this family that we met. They have two little boys that are sooooo hilarious. One is 4 and one is 3. The first time we told them about prayer, my companion asked them if they would close their eyes during the prayer. The 4 year old, said ¨maybe one¨ and then proceeded to only close one eye during the prayer. And the 3 year old reminds me so much of Erik when he was little. He has those dark eyes and chubby face and even has that ¨ bed head¨ hair that sticks straight up. He has such a likeness. Though we are going back, I don´t think the mom is very interested in hearing about the gospel. They have their religion and are pretty closed. Most of the people here already have their religion, which is good! Really, anyone that seeks to know Christ through any religion is good, and are doing good things. Though it´s so hard for people to realize that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is here to bless their families and bring more happiness through living the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge of eternal families. We met some more people that commited to be baptized, though they never seem to be around the second, third, time that we go back. It´s hard to get people to church too, because a lot of the people are pretty poor and it costs money to transport. Though we met a couple of families this week that we are excited to go back to, and seem to have open hearts and a desire to learn more. I feel like I am talking a wee bit more in the lessons, though I´m not sure if I make any more sense…
Dad, I am doing my best to take a minute to look at where I´m at and enjoy the view, the smells, the tastes. It really is beautiful here. Like that John Denver song you mentioned in a couple emails prior…I look around and find myself in a dream… I can´t remember the words, I can´t pull up your email for some reason, but sometimes it feels like I´m in a dream, I can´t believe I´m here, I can´t believe I´m one of the Lords Missionaries. There´s so much more I have to learn to be a good teaching, loving missionary. Poco un poco. Little by little. I need to breathe more, and trust more. I know the Lord can use me as an instrument of showing people the way to happiness is through Jesus Christ. I know Heavenly Father loves all of his children, I know Jesus Christ lives. I know his gospel is on the earth!
I´m so grateful to be here, I love the gospel, I love you, my family and friends. I love you so dearly. I´m hoping today I can finish writing letters to you, family, but I don´t know if I can get them sent off this week, sorry…
Mom, at the moment, I can´t think of anything that I need. Thank you for everything!!
I love you.
Here´s some more answers to your inquires :) My p-days thus far have been a little messed up because of the recent holidays, so I only had one REAL p-day up until now. That´s why I haven´t written many letters (oops), Though we´ve had time to email and shop. There are only little food stores here in Machalí so, like today, we´re going into Rancagua to do our shopping. I haven´t had to buy rain gear yet. It doesn´t rain a drop in the summers, so I´ve got a few months until I have to worry about any of that. And no, Erik, haha, I haven´t seen any pink granny cookies here. I don´t think they sell them. Sad day, huh? I think I got all the q´s. It looks like you're having a good time at least with the Sundance thing, let me know if you meet any supa fly celbs, eh? Oh, my friend Chris asked if I´ve gotten any fake addresses yet. Of course. Maybe a few a week. It´s great.
I wanted to mention really quick about this family that we met. They have two little boys that are sooooo hilarious. One is 4 and one is 3. The first time we told them about prayer, my companion asked them if they would close their eyes during the prayer. The 4 year old, said ¨maybe one¨ and then proceeded to only close one eye during the prayer. And the 3 year old reminds me so much of Erik when he was little. He has those dark eyes and chubby face and even has that ¨ bed head¨ hair that sticks straight up. He has such a likeness. Though we are going back, I don´t think the mom is very interested in hearing about the gospel. They have their religion and are pretty closed. Most of the people here already have their religion, which is good! Really, anyone that seeks to know Christ through any religion is good, and are doing good things. Though it´s so hard for people to realize that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is here to bless their families and bring more happiness through living the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge of eternal families. We met some more people that commited to be baptized, though they never seem to be around the second, third, time that we go back. It´s hard to get people to church too, because a lot of the people are pretty poor and it costs money to transport. Though we met a couple of families this week that we are excited to go back to, and seem to have open hearts and a desire to learn more. I feel like I am talking a wee bit more in the lessons, though I´m not sure if I make any more sense…
Dad, I am doing my best to take a minute to look at where I´m at and enjoy the view, the smells, the tastes. It really is beautiful here. Like that John Denver song you mentioned in a couple emails prior…I look around and find myself in a dream… I can´t remember the words, I can´t pull up your email for some reason, but sometimes it feels like I´m in a dream, I can´t believe I´m here, I can´t believe I´m one of the Lords Missionaries. There´s so much more I have to learn to be a good teaching, loving missionary. Poco un poco. Little by little. I need to breathe more, and trust more. I know the Lord can use me as an instrument of showing people the way to happiness is through Jesus Christ. I know Heavenly Father loves all of his children, I know Jesus Christ lives. I know his gospel is on the earth!
I´m so grateful to be here, I love the gospel, I love you, my family and friends. I love you so dearly. I´m hoping today I can finish writing letters to you, family, but I don´t know if I can get them sent off this week, sorry…
Mom, at the moment, I can´t think of anything that I need. Thank you for everything!!
I love you.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Happy New Year!
Mom, as I went to print off the letters to read at later time, I noticed the subject title of ¨Frankie¨so I had to read it just now. I know you don´t want to give me the news, but I´m glad you did. It´s funny I was going to ¨check up¨on him again in this letter, more as a joke… Not thinking he was actually going to die. I guess it´s not funny. Pretty sad in fact. I´m still crying a little. I really did like that guy. But you´re right, he´s comfortable and happy enjoying the company of grandpa :)
Thanks for your emails! They are happy for me :) Yes, I believe it is okay to email me, though I don´t think I can email friends back, just family. I think I will be able to send a few letters off today, but I am working on some good letters that will be more personal for the family, so it might be a while before I can get them sent. I heard it takes about 2 or 3 weeks for travel too, so… Mom and Dad, thank you SO much for your emails. They mean a lot to me, I find so much comfort in your words of love and encouragement. I love you so much, so so very much. I love my family, Cali and Geoff, Danielle, and EVEN Erik ;) I hope you´re all doing well. Thanks friends for your support and love. I think I´m pretty much the luckiest gal eva.
This week has been better. We had some previous investigators of Hna Alvarenga drop their date for baptism, and it was sad. But we found some new people who want to be baptized and seem excited about it. I hope we can keep good contact and can keep teaching them the importance of this step. A lot of times we´ll go and they seem pretty promising the first lesson but are never there when we go back for appointments. I´m still learning lots, I still struggle major in the speaking department. I have come to conclusion that oh well, I´m just going to have to feel like a dumb dumb for a little while longer. Who cares if people give me funny looks when I talk, right? I probably should have concluded this the first day I got here. But feeling dumb and sorry for yourself doesn´t ever do anyone any good. I had a funny experience the other day… We were on the street doing a contact with an old Chilean man, when a woman walked by and Hna. Alv, for some reason, stopped talking to the man and just started talking to the lady. Which leaves me alone, trying to communicate with old man farmer… remember what I said about the old men and how I can't understand a darn thing they say? Well, this man was no different, in fact it was a little worse because he didn´t have any TEETH.- I don´t think- because I looked! So he´d say something, and I´d take my best guess at what it is, and I´d say something, and he'd take his best guess at what I said and he´d say something…We were conversing, and neither of us had a clue of what the other one was saying. Hna. Alv said the spirit was probably carrying the message but I´m pretty sure it wasn´t. We laughed about it, she thought it was pretty funny, she seems to get a big kick out of some of the things I say… as she should. In a year, I´m excited to get a kick at a greenies expense ;) We meet a lot of people every day and sometimes it´s intimidating to invite ourselves into their homes to talk to them about Christ. I´m really grateful that my companion is so bold, or else I don´t know how far I´d get trying to teach with my level of aggressiveness. I´m learning a lot from her.
I´m so grateful that I am here, and I´m grateful for my purpose here, to invite people to Christ. It´s a wonderful thing.
PS HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Sorry it was kind of a sad one with Frankie´s passing. How is Kola without her other half? I had a good one, we stayed up till the hour new years eve (our bed time is at 11:30 so we didn´t stay up THAT much later) and then had a pillow fight to kick off the near year. Though it was hard, we all just wanted to go to bed…it was pretty pathetic. Haha, but I hope it was still a good one for everyone.
Time is up, but I love everyone so much! I will try to print off some pictures to send, okay?
Thanks for your emails! They are happy for me :) Yes, I believe it is okay to email me, though I don´t think I can email friends back, just family. I think I will be able to send a few letters off today, but I am working on some good letters that will be more personal for the family, so it might be a while before I can get them sent. I heard it takes about 2 or 3 weeks for travel too, so… Mom and Dad, thank you SO much for your emails. They mean a lot to me, I find so much comfort in your words of love and encouragement. I love you so much, so so very much. I love my family, Cali and Geoff, Danielle, and EVEN Erik ;) I hope you´re all doing well. Thanks friends for your support and love. I think I´m pretty much the luckiest gal eva.
This week has been better. We had some previous investigators of Hna Alvarenga drop their date for baptism, and it was sad. But we found some new people who want to be baptized and seem excited about it. I hope we can keep good contact and can keep teaching them the importance of this step. A lot of times we´ll go and they seem pretty promising the first lesson but are never there when we go back for appointments. I´m still learning lots, I still struggle major in the speaking department. I have come to conclusion that oh well, I´m just going to have to feel like a dumb dumb for a little while longer. Who cares if people give me funny looks when I talk, right? I probably should have concluded this the first day I got here. But feeling dumb and sorry for yourself doesn´t ever do anyone any good. I had a funny experience the other day… We were on the street doing a contact with an old Chilean man, when a woman walked by and Hna. Alv, for some reason, stopped talking to the man and just started talking to the lady. Which leaves me alone, trying to communicate with old man farmer… remember what I said about the old men and how I can't understand a darn thing they say? Well, this man was no different, in fact it was a little worse because he didn´t have any TEETH.- I don´t think- because I looked! So he´d say something, and I´d take my best guess at what it is, and I´d say something, and he'd take his best guess at what I said and he´d say something…We were conversing, and neither of us had a clue of what the other one was saying. Hna. Alv said the spirit was probably carrying the message but I´m pretty sure it wasn´t. We laughed about it, she thought it was pretty funny, she seems to get a big kick out of some of the things I say… as she should. In a year, I´m excited to get a kick at a greenies expense ;) We meet a lot of people every day and sometimes it´s intimidating to invite ourselves into their homes to talk to them about Christ. I´m really grateful that my companion is so bold, or else I don´t know how far I´d get trying to teach with my level of aggressiveness. I´m learning a lot from her.
I´m so grateful that I am here, and I´m grateful for my purpose here, to invite people to Christ. It´s a wonderful thing.
PS HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Sorry it was kind of a sad one with Frankie´s passing. How is Kola without her other half? I had a good one, we stayed up till the hour new years eve (our bed time is at 11:30 so we didn´t stay up THAT much later) and then had a pillow fight to kick off the near year. Though it was hard, we all just wanted to go to bed…it was pretty pathetic. Haha, but I hope it was still a good one for everyone.
Time is up, but I love everyone so much! I will try to print off some pictures to send, okay?
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