Danger - 7 Stories Up

Monday March 4, 2013

Hermana Jennings on the streets of Chile at night

 OK so it is a little harder to type here because I keep pushing things like ç haha.  I made it to Chile finally after a ton of delayed flights. I was the last missionary to show up and I showed up after orientation. haha   My  new companions is Hermana Cisneros and I love her so much, she doesn't speak English so that’s been an adventure.  I have been teaching her English and she is a fast learner!!!  She is studying Engineering, she is 21 she is a great missionary and has trained missionaries before. She is the sweetest person and I love being her companion she teaches me so much!!! It’s weird because I can’t understand most of what is going on and then I turn to my companion and she explains and I understand even though she is explaining to me in Spanish. Then other times I understand everything.  It’s weird but I am learning more each day.  I just keep trying,  I want so much to know these people better.  Boy did I underestimate the walking we do here hahah I will let you know when I break in my feet. haha I live in an apartment with just my companion and its nice and has a great view.  The members here are great and they feed us so much food, too much!  Here we eat breakfast and lunch which are the big meals -  like so much food it hurts! Its rude not to finish so I just don’t eat dinner -  like I am full the rest of the day! The food is different - kind of bland - but some of it is good, but weird. Like today I had a lasagna thing that consisted of mashed potatoes, raisins, hard boiled eggs, sausage, cheese, olives, and some sauce all together and surprisingly it was good. They have “once” which is like tea time and sometimes we eat lunch and “once” but I am never sure when we are going to eat. haha It’s always a surprise and lots of food! I don’t know how people do it.

1. Chilean Man Risks His Life to Help Us

This is Lauren's Apartment Building

Lauren's top bunk and beautiful view

 It is kind of like Rome here a little bit minus the history - it is straight up city life. I live in a high rise apartment building.  So funny crazy, crazy story for you - so my companion left the one key we have to our apartment in our apartment and there are no extras and so we were locked out -  ya big problem. My companion wanted to call the Elders, but there was no way I was going to be one of those sisters and call the elders because we had done something kind of silly. So we started to try to break into our room like straight up picking the lock....ya it didn’t work. So I was like lets pray, so we said a prayer and asked for a miracle. Then I was like, ok this isn’t working let’s ask the neighbors for help.  When I said that my companion was like, “We left our window open” and I was like ya “We could so jump from the neighbors window to ours.”  OK  I’m knocking on the door so I knocked on the door and my companion told  them about our situation. We asked if they could see if it was possible to climb out of their window and into our room  and then open our door on the inside. Before I knew it I was climbing out a window 7 stories high . . .  Just Kidding.  Our neighbor, a man, started climbing out the window of his apartment with the help of his wife before I could say anything. My companion & I were freaking out!!!   Please don’t die, please don’t die seven stories up is a super long way to fall..... but by some miracle he climbed out his window hanging from his window 7 stories up and jumped into our window and opened our door for us!  Miracle!!!! It was crazy!  We were so happy and then we said a prayer of thanksgiving.  It was such a crazy experience the Lord definitely answers prayers in his own way.  I know that the Lord is there and that he wants to bless us and give us the things we need. I know the Lord heard my prayer that day and helped us find a way into our room and blessed that Chilean man not to fall to his death. 

This is how high up we are and how high that man climbed out his window and into ours....ahhh ekkkk

2.  Praying to Find Two New Investigators

Another neat thing that happened this week that strengthened my testimony of  prayer was Sunday I said a prayer in the morning asking God to help us find 2 people that needed to hear about the gospel. So we worked all day and talked to lots of people and found no one. On our way home I saw an older couple walking holding hands and I was like, “Let’s go talk to them.” So we did and my companion did all the talking cause this time I had no idea what they were saying.  Later I found out it was because they were speaking Portuguese haha They were here on vacation and they lived in Brazil but they wanted to hear more about the gospel and they want missionaries to come to their house when they get back home.  We got their information and when they get home missionaries can teach them.  How exciting!  I knew the Lord would answer my prayer, He does hear us and He will provide a way but we must act first and then the Lord can bless us.

PB and J stuff yes  I managed to find some in Chile bahaha but the jam comes in weird packages

3. Typical Day in the Life a Chilean Missionary

We wake up at 7:30am, the mission president changed the hours in our mission, and we exercise oh P.S  (the exercise papers you sent are perfect thanks so much) and then we shower and get ready.The showers are warm so yay! Then we have personal study and then companion study where we do the new missionary training program. I like it because I get to practice my Spanish. Then we leave to go to lunch at member’s houses or less active members. They just give us so much food its funny cause usually they talk so fast I have no idea what is going on so I just sit there and eat food that is so so and eat till it hurts.  It’s quite funny haha but I love the experience of learning about new foods and learning the language and getting to know the people here.  They love bread here and a salad is exactly what Danika said; like lettuce with olives covered, I mean covered, with oil....not so tasty. haha  After that we go teach our investigators. we have taught 2 so far. One is named Raul and the other is named Freddy. It is so fun to teach because I can see how the spirit brings about a change in them when we teach.  It’s crazy that I can teach the gospel in a way they can understand I love teaching it’s the one time that Spanish comes easier to me.  After teaching we contact, which is fun because sometimes people accept and sometimes they give you weird looks... but it’s all good.  We then we return back home and plan and then get ready and then go to sleep at 11:30pm.  The weather here is hot - quite a contrast from Provo. 

Well that’s my typical day with lots and lots of walking in-between!!

Oh another cool thing I think I am the first 19 year old missionary that my mission has ever had crazy huh my mission president said that he is going to learn from me how this is going to work.... no pressure...ahhhh.....

My Chilean grandma

My first Sunday was so great it was Fast Sunday and I got up to bore my testimony and so many people came up to me after and said that I spoke so well which was surprising to me!   It was great. I was excited and I understood some of the lessons after that and had fun meeting all the new people. It’s hard to memorize names here because they are Spanish names haha but I’ll get the hang of it soon!! I did find an old couple that reminds me exactly of Grandpa and Grandma Emery & I love them so much and love being in their home. I have decided they are my Chilean grandparents. Tell grandma and grandpa  that I love them so much!

Love all of you so much it’s so fun being a missionary!

Hermana Jennings