I LOVE NEWS! wow, explosion in russia? produce ban? VOLCANO IN SOUTHERN CHILE? yup, i heard that. we were in a member´s home this week preparing to have a family home evening with some investigators and the elders and a news report came up during the showing of a flinestones movie about a huge volcanic erruption in the south. it looked big and nasty, but the members told us it is probably too far away for it to have any affect here in rancagua which is central chile. so we are good. OH, i also heard that there were some huge tornado issues in the states. saw that during lunch at a member´s home as well. there were two tornadoes in massachussetts?? what??? wow. crazy world we live in, and it just keeps getting crazier! but i am glad to hear that my broda and famiwy ambiwy is doing ok. hearing about the army dudes and tanks around the local streets kinda blew my mind though.... wha....oooaaaaowwww.......
my turn for news-- we just had probably the craziest week in my mission. basically we have spent two nights away from our home in paine now this week. we have lost a lot of time with working. our numbers for last week were in the pits. we are doing what we can, but i know it is ultimately up to the lord. and i trust him. i love hermana larson. we do quite well as companions we get along well and have a good relationship as companions.
so i really actually don´t have much news other than that because we have been out of work for the past 5 days. the most exciting thing i have to say is that i jumped a fence while we were in santiago because it was 11:30 ish in the middle of the night and it was freezing and my comp and i weren´t sure what to do, so i jumped the fence to get into the mtc in santiago to find someone to help us out. QUITE the adventure, but i wrote it all out in detail in a letter home so you can read it later. just know that the Lord really does watch out for us in every moment. He has provided for us multiple times in our trials. just so many happy little miracles/tender mercies. HE IS THERE. and he knows, so i´m not worried. just keep juggin and keep on keepin on!!! (love that btw al, it is quite catchy...hope you don´t mind if i copy you ha ha ha ).
no need to worry about my diet, mom and dad. i take some vitamins i got in the mtc every morning, an egg with a slice of ham and chilean bread and a banana or oatmeal every morning, and whatever they give us for lunch (usually meat with a side of mashed potatoes or rice, sometimes pasta, sometimes papas fritas, or fish just basically lots of meat and lots and lots of veggies) then during the afternoon i always eat an apple out walking in the sector. i have come to really love apples. but we eat late lunches and always eat a lot for lunch, so i usually just snack in the afternoon and never really eat at night when we get home. so i´m good! i have become addicted to this one drink though, it´s fake coffee with apple cinnamon flavor and it is BOMB. i love it. we just boil water and pour it in with this stuff, it is called ECCO, and drink it before bed and in the morning to warm us up because we are in winter season now. it is cooold. we don´t have central heating, just a tiny electric heater kinda like an oversize toaster laid on it´s side that blows hot air. and i use a huatero (spelling? it´s the spanish word for it, i have no idea what it is called in english) it is a big rubber baggy thingy that i fill with boiling water and put in my sheets. it is so nice and toasty. and we have lots of blankets. so i am good and set for the winter! yep yep, bring it on. let´s do this!
if you have some time, mom, that would be great if you could apply for me for usu and weber. i would sooo love to go back to suu but i wouldn´t have a car down there and finding a job down there is a nightmare. but we will see how it goes. i just need to get a good job, and i might have to live at home for a while to get my bearings, so i was even thinking u of u. but lets just try usu and weber and suu. and then i will get the all clear to use the internet for an hour every week on pday to search for grants and scholarships. so let me know how that goes. i`m really thinking usu is my top pick right now because it is closer to home and has good job options. i would only go to weber if i had to live at home. if i had all the money in the world and transportation i would be happy as punch to go back to suu, but for now i am aiming for usu. i just want to work full time, and take 2 or 3 evening classes aimed in agriculture and art. yes, i want to try art again. i got so burned out hard core with the art classes at suu, but being out here on the mission has changed so many things for me. i am not giving up on art yet, and i want to keep going deeper into agriculture and see where that takes me. it´s all on the drawing board, but i know the Lord will make clear my paths and direct me as i take a shot in the dark and just try to plan for my future.
and with these last 5-6 months out here in chile, i am just going to RIP IT UP. i am just so into it and i love being here. it is like alex said though, there is always something to work on and you never really do get there. but that is part of the journey, just keep pushing to get there. that is what make the boys that go out on missions turn into men and what makes the girls find themselves as they find the Lord first. i have changed so much and become more of the person i have wanted to be for this mission. it is amazing. i love it so much. patrick, caleb, seth, and even hope, this is sooo worth it. get ready and get set, because the mission is the ride of your life. take it and don´t let it slip through your fingers. make it mean everything to you. it means everything to me.
i love you all so much! so so so so so much! take care out there, and keep the most important things first!!!
samsam