Sami singing the song she wrote

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Letter from Dec 20

We get to talk with SKYPE WITH VIDEO!!!!! They just told us!!!!

Everything is going really well this week. I am excited to talk to you guys on Saturday with SKYPE!!!! I don´t have much time to talk right now because I have to do so much to get ready for Christmas!!!!!! We are going to make cookies, cards, I need to make presents for the Hnas I live with, my hija, etc. Muchas cosas que hacer. Mamá, no voy a enviarte la carta que escribo a Presidente Humphrey porque no tenemos que hacerla este semana (a causo de entrevistas). I am so excited to SEE you for CHRISTMASSSSS!!!!!!!!!!! I don´t want to open my presents in front of you just in case I don´t like them. Haha. Just kidding. I actually just don´t think that I´ll be able to wait until 5pm since I already have my package. But if you want me to wait I can but only if you tell me before I leave internet today.

This past Sunday was really great. Angelo (a new convert) came back for the summer (we are sharing with his mom and his sister) so we are really excited to have his help with them. We had 3 investigators come to church for the first time Sunday. They are a cute family that is almost NEVER together. Daniel works outside of Constitución so he only comes back every 11 days for 4 days of rest, Diego is in the army so he is in Talca during the week but returns some weekends to Conti. Javier is the chiquitito de 8 años so he is just cool. There is also another daughter who is really awesome who is named Daniela but she is in Talca right now so she couldn´t come with the rest of her family. They are so awesome. I love all the people we are sharing with.

We also had the most creative contacts this past week. The first were a bunch of kids who hit Hna Melton and I with water balloons right on the butt. I went back to congratulate them but the guilty ones ran away so we talked to their family. The other one was a wrong number from Curico who was visiting his aunt in Conti so we asked if we could pass by and share something and turns out that she shared with missionaries when she was about 12 and her parents got baptized but none of her siblings did. She is really great and really needs the gospel so I´m really excited to share with her more. Well, I need to go no so I´ll talk to you on Saturday at 5pm on Skype with videoI don´t actually know how it works but Hno Rodrigo will help me figure it out. If any of the plans change I will let you know.

LOVE YOU ALL

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

love,
Hna Smith

Pictures from Dec 13

Here are some pictures from the baptism in the river that Sami mentions in her email (previous post)
On the way to the Baptism
 Sister Missionaries with Maria
Sami and Maria
And pictures of the ward Christmas Tree
A Birthday card for Jesus

Letter from Dec 13

This will be extremely short because Hna Melton and I are here in San Javier to say bye to Hna Leggettt before she leaves (next Monday is her last Pday). On Sunday one of the investigators I started teaching with Hna Enders got bapized! Maria from the campo. She got baptized in the river by her house and the baptism was really beautiful. She was so happy. I´m really glad I was able to be there to see it.

President Humphrey said we can use Skype for the phone call but I don´t know how to do that. I´m guessing that I would need a computer but I don´t know if anything would be open on Christmas day. Probably not. I can probably figure out where I can use one (we still don`t have a chapel right now) but I don`t know how to do skype so if you explain it to me I could do it. I think we could do it at 5pm my time. I´m not 100% sure because Christmas has been changed to our Pday. I´ll let you know next week.

Haven´t gotten any package yet but I have hope for this Thursday (interviews).

Love you all!
Sami

Monday, December 6, 2010

letter from Dec 6

Estoy bien. Tampoco puedo creer que ya estamos en diciembre. Navidad está acercándose tan rapidamente casi no sé que hacer. Empezé a hacer regalos hoy día pero aun con el tiempo que me queda, no creo que terminaré todos en tiempo. No voy a enviarles un paquete (por si acaso, si quería saberlo). Estoy pensando en estudiar algo con español después pero veamos que pase. No quiero perder que he aprendido porque es bastante. :) And..... English. Time is going by so fast.

Hermana Melton and I joined a gym across the street from our apartments! I need to lose 12 pounds before I come home. That is 1 pound a week. AHHHHHH!!!!! What the freak!!!! i DON´T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO BE A MISSIONARY AND LOSE WEIGHT

I didn´t actually want to put that all in caps but I accidentally pushed something on the keyboard. Not as intense as I made it look. Sooo. Zone conference is this week and I am really excited. Excited to get my packages. Excited to see my hija. Excited to see other missionaries. Excited to be spiritually recharged. Apparently this very well may be my last conference (according to the new every 12 weeks system) which means I will be giving my going away testimony. WTF. I can´t bear my testimony about going awya. Or maybe it´s my last testimony because I´m not supposed to bear my testimony after this one. Missionary work will be so hard no. Just kidding. jajajaja (that is castellano for hahahaha) Weird though.

The family that Hermana Enders and I found came to church on Sunday! At least 4 out of 5. One of the daughters (who studies in Talca) was really tired so she stayed home. And our other investigator from the country who finally came to church a few 2 Sundays ago is getting baptized this coming Sunday. I´m not going to lie. It´s kind of hard for me to be in the same sector but have to leave all my investigators and see myself replaced by another Hermana (luckily I love Hermana Hardy´s guts, otherwise this probably wouldn´t work out well). I´ve noticed myself being pretty negative sometimes and I don´t like it so I am trying to be more positive and look at all the good things instead of noticing all of the bad. I´m not happy when I do that and then I bring other people down and then I feel bad for being such a downer and then it´s awkward at parties afterwards and...oh. Not relevant. Anyways, I saw my hija today when she came with Hermana Leggett to say goodbye to her converts before she goes. I love them both. They are so cute. Hermana Robertson and I are coming back to go backpacking in Chile. Love her. Already am planning it in my head...

So I am really excited to be working with Hermana Melton with all of our investigators and to be able to find new people to teach and work really hard until my time is out. I can´t believe that I have so little time left. Just have to make the most of it I guess. I love you guys tons and I am excited to work my but off for three months and then see you all. I talk about how awesome you are all the time. Mom, every day I find someone else who wants to meet you. We are going to be very busy here in Chile. :) Oh, and Hermana Hardy wants to know more of your story after your conversion. I told her all about your conversion but then I realized that I didn´t really know what happened after very well either.... Time will tell/you will tell me with time. :) Too many smiley faces. Bleh.

LOVE,

HERMANA SMITH