Hair cut!

Hey everyone!

Well this week has been a crazy one.

Starting off with Wednesday. It was cambios. Hermana Lopez and I are still in Violeta Cousiño so no news there. But I did get to see Hermana Stokes, Jose Luis, Hermana Yasna, Hermano Del Castillo and Hermana Marta. My Jose Miguel Carrera Family! It was so good to see them. I miss them a ton but they are doing great. It was such a blessing. And a "shout out" to Jose Luis because he reads my blog! Thursday and Friday we had to enter the house early because on the 11th is golpe del estado which can be a little dangerous. Nothing happens in our sector but rather be safe than sorry. On Thursday we went contacting at the feria (which is like a farmers market- bizarre) and that was a lot of fun. On Saturday were talking to a guy and we gave him a pass a long card with Christ on it and he says ¨Hey I kind of look like him, I look a lot like Jesus¨ And to be honest he kind of did.  I cut my hair really short and today we went shopping at the feria. Lilianna cut my hair and she also made us this cake called pauloua.

 And lastly the miracle of the week. It was a rainy day and we could not find anyone. We had been walking for 4 hours, we wanted to go in and call it quits but we still had an hour and so we decided to go talk to a guard of a neighborhood that likes to talk with us about our message. Well at 9:55, just five minutes before we could go in, a man stops and asks us if we are Mormons. We of course reply yes and then he asks if we know where our church is and if there is a way he could find more about our church. We got so excited and he told us to come and visit him. We haven't had a chance to visit him but the point is to never give up because sometimes the blessings come after some time. Enduring to the end that is what it is all about.

I am super excited about this week because the 18th is Fiesta Patrias which is there Independence day. They eat, dance and party. So stay tuned. Love you all.

Hermana Showalter

Lost a name tag and found it plus more..

So, funny story... I lost my name tag and the next day we are walking and look what I found - my name tag!

Hello Everyone!

Well this week was the end of cambios. Hermana Lopez and I surrived a 6 week white washing( meaning both of us are new to the area) and are luckily enough to stick it out another 6 weeks here in Violeta Cousiño. We sent out a recording which my mom should have posted on the blog along with the pictures but if you cant get to it here are some highlights of the week.(Blogspot doesn't do straight audio files, so I have to figure out how post it the audio later.)

1. We had our first ever Mission President fireside this past Sunday. It was really beautiful and the missionaries did a few musical numbers.

2. A recent convert took us out for gelato with her son which was sweet!

3. A bird pooped on my jacket. I was not thrilled about it but my comp sure thought it was funny.

4. Lilianna gave us coconuts to drink and also these things called Zonzos which is Bolivian food a fried potato called yucca with cheese.

5. The sun was hidden this week and we jumped the gun when we put away our coats and tights because they came back out this week,

6. We helped Hermana Lourdes with her garden. It was a lot of fun to switch it up.

7. Today we ate Philly cheese steak empañadas with the Taylor family

And to end on a spiritual note today I was reading in the end of Matthew about the resurrection. I invite you all to read chapters 26 to 28. Reading this really made me grateful for the sacrifice that Jesus made for me. He suffered for me. He knows my pains and He knows your pains. I know that when we are going through trials and challenges He is right next to us helping us through it. Christ is our light and our strength. Walk with him and accept his invitation to follow him.

So that is pretty much it. Hope you all have a great week and I love you all. 

Love 

Hermana Showalter

I walked into a pole this week!

I have five months done and going on 6 next week!

Sopapillas and calazones rotos

A yummy lunch we had with a member from Bolivia called saltenas or something like that..

We climbed this dirt hill with the Taylor family.

Hey everyone. Well the nasty cold weather is gone and now there is 70 degree sunny weather and a big smile on my face. This week was an awesome one. Here are the highlights:

1. Well started off the week not so good. I was talking on the phone while walking and I had to look down at something.  Then boom!  I walked right into a pole.  I didn't get hurt or anything but it was a little embarrassing. My companion got a good laugh out of it!

2. This week for lunch a member made us fish. Baked fish. I am not really a fan of fish but I ate some anyways but it was a little gross. Well lets just say I am thankful for plastic bags and big pockets. But it took a day or so and lots of hand sanitizer to make the smell go away from my pocket.

3. An investigator of the other Hermanas got baptized this past Sunday. His name is Francisco. When they asked Francisco who he wanted to baptize him he said ¨Hermana Showalter or Hermana Lopez¨.  Well, we didn't baptize him obviously (Baptisms can only be performed by men who hold the Priesthood), but I find it funny that he wanted one of us over the Hermanas that had taught him.

Francisco's baptism.

4.  We had some really yummy empanadas this week.

Things are going great and everyday I see more and more blessings. God is helping us every step of the way. My faith in my Savior has grown so much and I have a testimony in the principle of enduring until the end.

Love you all,

Hermana Showalter

My district

My Zone

Play that funky music white girl..

Hey everyone! Man this week has been a busy one. Lots of ups and downs and all over the place but as Hermana Saramiento (one of the Hermanas, from Colombia, in the house says ¨its the mission baby, you are going to die¨ But in a really broken English. 

So here are some highlights:

1. We had 2 baptisms in the ward. Not ours but the other Hermanas. They are the couple that got married last week, Pier and Naysha. They are a family of gold.

2. We had not a light in the house for two days so we had a sleepover at a pensions (apartment) that is like an hour away from our sector which means we were out in the streets passed 10:30pm. Don't worry President knew and we weren't breaking any rules but we felt really strange.

3. We had a special meeting with a general authority. Elder Gonzales. It was an amazing meeting. He talked a lot about the Sabbath day and the importance of keeping it holy. It was very inspiring. And I learned so much.

4. A special package arrived from Aunt Shannon and Uncle Tyler. Thank you guys so much. I loved it and  all the kids I shared the goodies with thank you too.

5. Funny moment. So I was walking down the street with my companion of course and there is a guy on a bike across the street and I hear him shout ¨Where my girls at?¨ So I look at him and very quickly look away and them we begin turning the corner and I hear him shout ¨Yeah don't pretend you didn't hear me¨ and then he began singing ¨Play that funky music white girl¨ We had a good laugh!

6. We had to go to the Extranjeria. It is a visa and stuff place because I am slightly illegal right now. All I need to get was a paper but we had to wait 3 hours to get a paper. It took forever but we had an awesome contact and I got to go into inner city Santiago. It was crazy.

7.This p day we went to Villa Grimaldi. It is a torture and imprisonment camp from 1973 to 1990. Little back round story. Chile had so leaders and people who were not very good and during the 70´s and 80´s people sometimes disappeared. No need to worry though Chile is much better now. It was a very interesting place. It made me realize how blessed I really am.

Well that is it folks. have a great week. I love you all!

Hermana Showalter

A DAY LATE and the shortest email from her yet...

Picture from zone conference

Sorry for the short email but technology stinks and I only have 30 minutes on the computers. This week was a little rough.  Investigators dropped us and that was a  little bit of a let down. But we also found some really awesome people. God is here with us and He gives us so many blessings. I love all you. I promise to give details next week.

Hermana Showalter

Just a cool wall

gelato

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TATUM!

I love you so much and you letter is on the way. 

be good and eat lots of cake and this picture is for you. It means I love you a lot

be good and send me some pictures ok.

5 months!!! Lots of pictures.

 

5 months living here!

Look at the snow on the mountains!

Today I officially have five months on the mission / Chile! Which is so crazy. Time has gone so dang fast. 

 

So this week I have been walking a lot less and teaching more people in their homes. Yay! I come home every night a little less tired. We have a gringo family in our ward from Texas and their daughter got home from her mission Saturday which was pretty cool. Also they fed us this week and we had chicken fajitas. IT WAS SO DELICIOUS because it was not the usual chicken and rice. SO GOOD. 

 

We also  had divisions this week which is where I switch companions for a day. I went with Hermana Cook and we had a good time.  We had lots of family home evenings (a family night with a lesson, game and normally a treat). One family, family Avendaño, we had a super fun FHE with them and then ate completos. So yummy. 

Sister Cook and I

 

Lots of rain this week and missionary work is not exactly the most fun in the rain but Hermana Lopez and I still managed to have a good time. 

Is it a road or a river?

 

 

Yesterday was Hermana Reynold's birthday so we made her some french toast and celebrated. 

 

Today we got our hair cuts and made some BLTs. It has been a while since I have had a good sandwich. 

Hair cut!

 

 

We are teaching a guy named Benjamin. He is a scientist and definitely the hardest person that I have ever taught because he isn't sure if God is real. I know with a little time he will open his heart and know that God is real and that our message is true. 

Anyways love you all. Have a great week.

 

Love,

Hermana Showalter

 

PS.

 Here are some pictures of graffiti around town that I thought fun or cool. Plus, a dog that has the same name as my mom.

This one says the drug today is phones!

I can't help if I was born in Australia!

So, this is a dog named Mindi..(Sorry mom)

 

Goodbye and a NEW AREA!

Had to say goodbye to this awesome family!

Hello from Violeta Cousiño!

That is my new sector a little more north and closer to the mountains. My companion is Hermana Lopez from Utah.

ALthough she was born here in chile she is gringa. We are white washing our sector which means we both are brand new to the sector and know nothing about our sector but we are doing good. This week I have gained a testimony on relying on the lord and listening to the Holy Ghost. This week we contacted and walked like crazy but this week we are hoping for a few more lessons. Sunday it rained and we had to walk 30 minutes to church so that was fun. Our sector is a lot richer than my other sector so the houses are huge and everyone has cars which is a little strange. I am living in a huge house as well and it is the biggest one in all the mission so all the missionaries call it the mansion. It is pretty sweet not going to lie.

Our View

Anyways hope you all have a great week and love you all.

besos y galletas

Hermana Showalter

lo