Week 7 - First Week in Chile

Hola todos!  Como esta!?  Anyways.. so I’m in Chile now!!!  AAAHHHHH I’m maybe freaking out a little and I’ve already been here for almost a week.. This week was so absolutely insane!  I’m in a trio, my compañeras are Hermana Sturges and Hermana Helms.  They are both so amazing, Hermana Helms leaves to go home after this transfer and Hermana Sturges is just over halfway done.  They are the sister training leaders so they help me A LOT!  But we work really hard, and I come home and just want to sleep, but its so amazing!

It’s been hard not having anyone I know around me, but I haven’t really had time to think about stuff happening back home, but I hope you are all well, know that I love you and that you are in my prayers!

Honestly, it’s been really hard here, when people don’t want to hear about Jesus, and such, it’s really hard on my heart.  But the food here is amazing so that makes up for it! They have tomatoes with cilantro with EVERY meal, and I don’t think Im ever going to eat tomatoes any other way!  Also, there are dogs EVERYWHERE!  I don’t think I can go anywhere without having maybe 5 to 10 dogs around.  Some of them have amazingly beautiful blue eyes!

Speaking of blue eyes, everybody we have talked to always looks at me. When they don’t understand something, when they are asking a question, every time!  They think my companions are from the Estados Unidos and that I’m a Chilean!  Crazy, right!?  And when they find out that I’ve only been here for 5 days they are like.. oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense, you have ojos de azul (blue eyes).  But it makes me feel like a secret weapon, because people are more willing to talk to me than to my companions which is just a little funny...

But I had my first FULL conversation with just me and Chileans!  And I understood everything and was able to reply to everything!  It was Domingo (yesterday) and we were at a members house for lunch.  There were 3 adult women talking to me and they talked normal, and I understood it all!  I was on cloud 9 after that! But then we talked with a different person later and I only understood about half... but thats okay, its still my first week so I can’t expect any less…

On my 2nd or 3rd day here we had a conference and so we had to take the bus into Concepcion (I’m an hour away in TOME) and on the way there I made a promise to God that on my way home I would talk to someone if I sat by someone I didn’t know... So on the way back, the bus was PACKED! We had to stand in the doorway and hold on, and everytime someone wanted on or off, I had to get off,and then back on.  WAY packed!  So I wasn’t sitting by anyone new and I thought I was off the hook..nope!  Right before the longest stretch we had 10 people get off, and there was an open seat next to a guy.  My compañeras made me sit down, so I sat down and mentally prepared myself.. then turned and started talking!  It was the scariest thing I have ever done in my whole life.  

But he was interested and we had a really good conversation, and he wants to learn more!  But he’s not in my area so I had to give his information to the Elders in the area next to us.. I’m a little mad about that, but it was so good to just talk and have a normal conversation and then talk about Christ and God’s love for us!

Okay, I only have 5 more minutes so I’m going to attach pictures, but my goal for this transfer is to baptize Hector.  He’s is EXTREMELY  Evangelico and such, so my companeras were really frustrated, but when we were talking, all I felt was love.  I know that God wants him in the Church, so he is my goal for this transfer!

Dios nos ama,

Hermana Williams​