Mollie #78 - Padres Las Casas, Chile - The doing changes the being
May 12, 2014
Hey Everyone,
First off, about going to Michele's, I´d rather go sooner to be perfectly honest.
Here's what I've been up to this past week:
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| Internet Pub- This is where you can find large collections of missionaries every Monday |
Walking in the morning I like the colors in the morning.
I told you that Chile runs off of different colors.
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| This week I have spent a loooot of time on the bus - over 20 hours in total. |
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| I dozed the whole time, otherwise I just feel sick. |
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| Construction and houses- Almost all of Chile is under some type of
construction or another. | |
This is in part due to the large amount of
poorly constructed box houses that are always thrown up after
earthquakes.
Chile also has a lot of foreigners. I think it is almost 20
percent of the population here, but you should look it up. Chile has a
very stable economy, and so it is expanding well.
So the other day we were visiting Leslie, and she showed us this
stove that her boyfriend's grandfather made.
It is a solid copper, wood
burning water heater. I had never seen one before, so I had to take a
picture. Copper is really common here in Chile. It is used to make
everything. It was especially used in old things.
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SO you see this window here. It has an excellent story.
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We pushed
my very small 90 lb companion through that bathroom window to break into
a house the other day. It was a family of investigators. They were
all locked out, and we had an appointment. It was freezing cold! Needless to say, we had quite a bit of fun. We were all laughing afterward. We went to a Family Home Evening at the family Malileo.
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| Here my companion is modeling. |
So my companion had brought some dresses on the mission
that she needed to add slips to. A less-active member that is
living with her boyfriend- altered them for her.
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| Here is my companion with the person who added slips to her dresses. |
The grandparents of her boyfriend gave her this house.
She has big remodeling plans. She is really great.
Spiritual thought
The
doing changes the being. We had a whole conference about it. Pay attention what you are doing. Where is your time spent? What goals have you set? Is your time spent on your priorities? Where are your spiritual goals lying in your life?
Elder Aidukaitis said,
"... If we are
sincerely seeking the truth, we will do all in our power to find it,
which can include reading the scriptures, going to church, and doing our
best to keep the commandments of God. It also means that we are willing
to do God’s will when we find it."
I invite you to think about the things you are doing,
and how that affect who you are.
Love,
Mollie #77 - Padres Las Casas, Chile - Hard Week = Sick companion, Burned house
April 28, 2014
Hey all,
Wow, Matt! How cool! Chile - Rancagua Mission. You are going to love it. You will have a lot of fun.
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| Hermana Martinez and Me back in Van Obispo (March) |
I forgot to take a lot of pictures this week mostly due to lots of kind of awkward and failed moments, but hey - we keep moving forward.
The center of our week was odd. We
spent three days in house, because my companion was sick and vomiting
and didn´t keep anything down for three days.
The Relief Society president's house burned down, so there has been a
lot going on in the ward to help out the family. They are all fine, but
the house burned to the base, so everyone has been pitching in to help
out. The mom is in the hospital with the severest injuries. She was in a
coma but woke up the other day, but she couldn´t talk. She should be
sent to Santiago this week.
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| Here's some photos of my new place. |
The ward had an event planned this week called 'The Porotada.' It was a day to eat beans together for lunch, but everyone had been helping out with Hermana Tatiana's house, and no one came. We felt really bad for the hermano that had it all planned, but we are sure the next activity is going to be a hit.
I loved the fotos and letters from Michele and Riley. Tell Riley that I will get on 3 o clock Chile time for Mother's Day, so that he can do the arrangements.
Not a lot of time to talk.
We are looking to find new people to teach this week.
Happy Birthday Daddy!!!
Have fun talking to people (it's what I do all day!)
Love you!
Love you all a lot!
Hermana Bowman
Riley #65 - Inglewood, CA - Finding Joy in the Journey, Off to Huntington Park
April 28, 2014
Hi,
Thanks for the emails. Michele's blogs were great. I loved the picture of Madeleine in bed and protecting her basket.
Congrats to Matt for his mission call to Chile. Can't wait to hear about when Jake's comes.
Just the one picture today of the district I'm in, courtesy of Elder Kpainay.
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| District |
So, tomorrow is transfer day. I am going to be transferred to a different English area tomorrow. It is in a region called Huntington Park, although I am not sure if that is the actual city I'll be in. From the sound of it, it is mostly Hispanic over there and about the same social class as Inglewood. I should still be on a bike.
I am going to miss some of the people in Inglewood. It definitely is different than any place I had been to before, and the people here were generally friendly.
The ward here has been awesome and I know I will never forget some of the people here. Also, the people we taught here were truly amazing. Their experiences and testimonies are truly precious. Still, I look forward to see what new experiences the next area will bring.
The Bishop in here shared a great talk yesterday. A purpose of the gospel that can sometimes be overlooked is happiness. Not eventual happiness, but even happiness now during life. That was the central focus of his talk.
In working with people, one of the question he often asks is "Are you willing to do what it takes to be happy?" Most people seeks for it, and yet many aren't willing to do what it takes to become happy.
He mentioned President Monson's talk "Finding Joy in the Journey." In it is a story of a man, taken captive in war, only being able to send his family 25 words. The Bishop mentioned discussing with his wife what their words would be.
They talked about the happiest times they had in their life.
The wife's was her mission, marriage, and kids birth. His were his conversion to the church, and outing he once had as a kid, marriage, and kids. In these times, none of their focus was on them, but outward.
It made me think about what happiness really is.
When we teach people, we often tell them about the happiness found in the gospel, through following Christ.
Many people think they know what it is they need to be happy,
but really the only things that last are found through the gospel.
Out of time, but take a look at the talk if you haven't.
Love,
Elder Bowman
Mollie #76 - Padres Las Casas, Chile - A Love Story, My Birthday!
April 21, 2014
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| San Ramon a Campo - part of our sector- hunting down a reference we received |
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Hey all,
These cuties here have a fantastic little love story that I want to share with you, Mimi (Michele). When Yuri the girl was sharing this story with us, she had one hand holding his under the table while the other was subconsciously swirling curls in her hair.
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Yuri and Sergio are university students in Temuco.
They are studying Nutricion.
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The first time she saw him, he was wearing jeans and a long dark draping down- to-the-knee coat that smelled of cigarette smoke. He had long hair that hung past his shoulders and covered and hid his face.
The first thing she thought is that he was beautiful and caring, and she wanted to give him a hug. It is in fact the first thing that she said to him when she first saw him.
Would you mind if I gave you a hug every time I see you?
He said he wouldn´t mind and she gave him a hug.
Yuri: I just had this feeling in my heart and when I feel something like that I just have to follow it.
Hermana Paiva (My companion of the day) - I´ve heard that you changed a lot. This last week at church you gave your testimony... that afternoon we had lunch with Hermano Sepulveda, and he was talking about how pure your faith is and how much you have changed. I´ve only really known the Saintly Sergio, (she said to me.)
Sergio-Yeah, I've changed a lot (he looked at Yuri)
Yuri- When I first knew Sergio he was alone and sad. That is one of the reasons I invited him to church with me.
Sergio- I have learned to have a lot more hope in my life, more purpose and direction.
Me- You quit smoking and changed and decided that you wanted to follow Christ?
Sergio: I believed in Christ before. I just didn´t understand about the atonement.
Yuri: I really think that God gave me this perspective of him. From the first time I saw him, I could just see how caring he was and could see what he could become.
Loved it. You had to be there, but they were super cute.
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| The other hermanas got up at 6 am to make me a crepe breakfast and this little poster. |
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| 23 years old - Boy, am I getting old |
Other than that it was a nice normal day.
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Correlation for Obra Missional looks really productive.
Notice the brother being strangled in the back. |
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You can see that we are distant Argentine relatives, no?
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| There are dogs everywhere here too. |
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| San Ramon a Campo |
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| One of my favorite plants here in Chile spans three walls of the house |
These are the perilous stairs in our house that I have fallen down several times, because they are only half the size of my foot!
Intercambio with Hermana Peiva. She is a sweety from Argentina.
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| Kind of really love this street of triangle houses. This is where Elisabeth lives. |
Riley #64 - Inglewood, CA - Ate Fufu, Church after 20 years
April 21, 2014
Hey!
Thanks for the emails and pictures.
My companion Elder Kpainay went to SVU. I showed him the photo of the Santoses at Easter, and he said he had met Nina before.
Good to hear Nathan's doing well, I hadn't heard anything about him in awhile.
Also, especially thank the Jolleys for the box they sent. It was great! I really wasn't expecting anything. My companion and I enjoyed the snacks, and I really loved the letter. I still have to try out the tie. I can't say I've worn one like that before.
This week was a little slow. We met a lot of people and had some people to visit, but many of them weren't home when we visited or hard to contact. We still have people we are teaching though, and they are doing well.
We have been meeting with a person from Ghana. They are very hospitable and always give us some food. I haven't really had African food before, so it has been neat to try a little. Apparently, something called fufu (as in little bunny fufu) is pretty good. Elder Kpainay, of course, is familiar with the food from growing up.
We met again with the person who came last Sunday. She again told us how much she loved it. After having not been to a church in over 20 years, she was surprised that she enjoyed it. Again, she mentioned the sincerity that she felt there. She noted how noticeably moved the people who shared their testimonies were, even teary-eyed. She could tell that they were sharing their experiences not to exalt themselves, but in thanks and praise.
Also, she mentioned that she could feel that people were there for the right reason. Unlike other churches she'd been to,] when she heard people talk, it wasn't gossip, or about sports or other matters, but it was centered around church and the Savior. It was more than social; people were there to worship.
It is funny how things like that are easy to overlook when you've grown up in the church.
Love,
Elder Bowman
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