Another Summer!

Summer is finally hitting us! I caught just the very end of the the winter for Chile thankfully and get to almost have 2 summers in a row. For our prep day we got to go to the next Zone over and enjoy the beauty of TOME! Unlike our area in Penco the beach has more of a sight. Penco is more industrious but still beautiful. We found so many pine cones. So I made a stack of all of them and got a hitting line up going for some fun baseball with a tree branch nearby. And of course our Elder{s found a way to have another BBQ! It was way way good even though we may have forgotten the forks. But we finished with a little hike up to a great view of Chile :) 

The Work:

We had a pretty slow and rough week. Every once in a while we run into people who are not super happy to talk with us about really anything. They see the badge and do not even want to answer the question of, "Como esta". So yeah, a lot of slammed doors with weak and unkind things said. My comp from time to time will get a little flustered with how others treat us. And it does not help that I just laugh about it. But really I can not help it!! Okay, so I have 2 months in Chile now. And I still am about a step behind translating what people say to us. And because of this, by the time I understand what was said/yelled at us it is so stink-in hilarious. Of course I let the people pass before I laugh about it but really it is so hilarious and does not bum us out as much as you would think. My companion, Lino, is starting to get a kick out of it too now.  She watches my face try to restrain a smile while talking to another who is not the bit happy we stopped them to chat.

But! No worries! We run into people all the time who just love what we are doing in their country . They also love asking for a picture of us or to say something in English to them. 

But my point! After a week of being given fake phone numbers and addresses we had a wonderful Sunday!! We went to visit a house in Vipla. We were hoping to find a man who had listened to the missionaries a long time ago. He was not home but his daughter was! She is 18 and literally the kindest, cutest girl in the world with beautiful long curls. She was so receptive. We taught her how to pray and her first pray was so pure. She thanked God for sending Hermana Lino and Lance and thanked Him for all the beautiful things she learned in the lesson. And with almost a laugh of joy she thanked Him that we told her we were going to come back again. She accepted a baptism date and we are more than excited to meet with her whole family on the next visit!!! Ah,so little time to tell you about how incredible she is!

Pablo will have to wait for another week. He has been out of town with a sick family member but we have plans to meet TONIGHT! 

Later! 

H. Lance 

Family and Friends!!! 

I have been so excited to email this Monday because dear convert Daniel! We had lunch with him and his family just the other day. Usually when we come in he is on the computer on LDS.org watching videos from the church or reading some folleto we had given him. So he was on his computer but this time on Facebook. And not just on Facebook, he was friends with my parents! So he was flipping through all of their pictures and events. AND THEN!! He was watching old family video from church talent shows and such. It was killing me! He was just laughing so hard. He is so friendly and just wants to get to know us so well. I already know it is going to be super hard to leave this sector when we have transfers. But he always teases me. After lunch he said he was just going to go talk to my family and nap. He laughed so hard because he knows very well that I have to wait until Monday to write home we just go back to work after lunch :)

Pablo!

Our baptism for this past weekend fell through. Pablo had plans to be baptized this past weekend but he got nailed on the head with a heavy pipe. Not just once, but 3 darn times! Yikes! He has been doing a lot of construction on his house and that is when it happened. So when he had his interview the day after his accident he could only remember about half of what we had taught him. He also was having a hard time remembering friends and a girlfriend...who was not happy at all about that. But things are improving rapidly for him and we should have this baptism this Saturday! 

Remember how I said the people tell you everything you want to know with a simple, "Hola, como esta" yeah? Okay, this was the best reply we have ever gotten.....a colonoscopy!!!!! This man told us he was so bad because he had just had a colonoscopy. Haha, I was dying for the conversation to pass so I could finally double check with my comp that that is what the man said. 

Oh hey! Remember Elder Montoya? The Elder who had the accident in the CCM. He is in Chile! Not only that he is in my new Zone as well! With a very brand new smile as well ;) 

HALO

So hardly any housed have doorbells. And a lot of them have gates that prevent us from knocking on the doors. So when we need to let someone know we have arrived we literally yell Haaaallooooooo outside their door. About 3 or 4 times, however long it takes for them to come out. And the best part! I don´t sound like a Gringa! They have no idea that I am a Gringa from the states trying to teach them about The Gospel of Jesus Christ. So their faces are always fun to watch as they are surprised to see me and my comp from Peru. They always say, "Mire! Una rubia!" (Look, a blondy). But of course it is one great way to start up a conversation by explaining how far away we are from home because of the happiness this Gospel has brought our lives and all we want to do is share :) 

Have another wonderful week! I love being Hermana Lance :)

MY ZONE:

My Zone.

LOS GRINGOS:

The Gringos.

3 Months In

3 months of my mission have come and gone! I can not decide if that is a lot or not. But it feels like no time at all. I am so grateful to be here with the very kind and loving people of Chile. Almost too kind. When we contact people and write down their address and phone number to visit them at another time they are so amble!!! They are so kind and loving just hugging you throughout the whole conversation and you get so stink-in excited that they have desires to learn more about the Gospel of Christ. But most times they were just enjoying the conversation and when we actually make the trip to visit them they are always surprised we actually came. Better than being straight up rejected though I would say. 

This past Saturday our Zone of Penco participated in this huge church event in the Plaza. Us and other churches had booths of information on their church. We used the time to share what we know to be true and what separates us from other churches. The Book of Mormon and the truth that we can have our families with us for all of eternity! We got a lot of attention because we were the only church there who had Gringos. 

Oh yeah! And more about Chile. When you ask someone how they are, they tell you exactly how they are. Which even means bad. "I am so bad", "I am so sick", "I do not have work". It is always such a surprised. They will tell you if you have gained too much weight or if you are not eating enough. They have the best intentions the whole time too. 

Till next week! 

Con Amor,

Hermana Mckenzie Lance