70th B-Day Post and finally for REAL a date and place of her return…. She's comin' home to MAINE!!!

Hhhheeellllloooooo!!

I forgot to tell you all.... 16 months down as of last week... 3 more to go!!!

A good fruit: Mauricio, the drunk, is no longer a drunk. He hasn't touched alcohol since that day with the rock. Yay! Also he's been working, saving his money, and putting it in the bank to ... wait for it... rent an apartment or room. (He currently sleeps in the emergency room at the hospital.) How amazing is that! All people, no matter your past, can change their future.

Last week was a stressful one from Monday to Wednesday. I think just the combination of making decisions of Maine vs Utah to all of the sick people calls fried me a little. However, after crying it out, THANKS HERMANA TINGEY, to talking it out and making a decision, I was able to forget myself and get to work. And then the week turned itself right around. I read a quote in True to the Faith that helped me too. It says, "The Savior invites you to give of yourself in the service of others. Your opportunities to do so are limitless. Each day, look for ways to gladden hearts, to say kind words, to perform labors for others that they cannot do for themselves, to share the gospel. Be receptive to the whisperings of the Spirit, prompting you to serve. You will find that the true key to happiness is to labor for the happiness of others."

Fun World Fact: fresh pomegranates are a pain to eat... sweet... but painstakingly slow.

Funny Hermana Tingey moment. So we're teaching one of our investigators who has a medical supply shop. Ya well he has all sorts of weird stuff. And one of such things was in a package and it says "baño fácil". Keep in mind the word baño has many meanings in Spanish (bath, bathroom, etc). So she looks at me and goes how would that make you go to the bathroom easier?! I busted a gut laughing. Literally was a laugh attack right in front of the investigator who had no idea what was going on. Later on I explained they were like baby wipes... like a quick, easy shower. It was a good laughing moment.

Just a quick note. Elder Sheffield in the office tried to book my ticket. However, he states there's a problem. The airline sent him back an email stating that they "have boycotted and are no longer sending planes to Maine". I don't even know what to do now. I asked him to try another airline and he says that he can't due to the church's contract with the airline. Ughhh!!! I don't know what to do now.

On a good note: Alejandro got baptized this past weekend!!! It has been quite the road trip that we've taken with him; however, despite it all, he decided to be baptized and start on this new journey. At the interview with Elder Silva we got talking with Hermana Filomena (the 81 year old, amazing, most loyal convert) and she told us one of her experiences. Hahaha. I can't even think about it without laughing inside. Anyway, the interview it went like this... imagine a 20 year old Gringo talking to this hilarious 81 year old, Chilean grandma.
Elder - "Do you drink alcohol?"
Filomena - "No. Never have. Never will."
Elder - "Do you drink tea or coffee?"
Filomena - "No. I gave that up."
Elder - "Do you smoke cigarettes?"
Filomena - "No, but I do smoke marijuana."
Bahahahahahahaha. She said the elder's face was like this.... 0_0. Hahahahahaha. The humor of grandmas. I hope I am like that when I get old.

Anywho. So Alejandro got baptized on Saturday!!!!!!! It was amazing to watch him make this covenant with our Heavenly Father. He will be a blessing to the ward, of that I am sure. When we taught him his last investigator lesson on Saturday, I had this distinct impression that he needed to invite his son, Abraham, to his baptism. (side note: Abraham is the reason Alejandro started believing in God and why he first talked to the missionaries...) So I had invited him to bring Abraham to his baptism many times before; however, he felt uncomfortable to do so because his x-wife isn't all that understanding with religion and doesn't really appreciate Alejandro. Anyway, the feeling that came over me to tell him to call his x-wife was so strong. So I very strongly recommended that he call her to ask for Abraham the next day. He doubted that he would be able to get a hold of her and that she would allow him to have Abraham for the day; but, called the same..... And he totally arrived on Saturday with Abraham smiling from ear to ear. Miracles!!! Also, it was a special experience for Hermana Tingey because she and Hermana Leishman were the ones who contacted him and his son in the street when she was in Las Condes. It was actually a mutual contact because Abraham wanted to talk to the "angles" as he called them. Then, the Hermanas sent the reference to us so we could start teaching Alejandro. Hermana Tax and I began teaching; however, changes came. And lo and behold, Hermana Tingey comes here to JP. So she was able to see from the beginning of contacting him, in a completely different area of Santiago, to teach him the end of the lessons and see him be baptized this past weekend. How awesome is that? Oh ya and at the baptism Elder Silva (district leader) and Elder Vasquez (zone leader) brought an investigator... and she received her answer thanks to Alejandro's testimony... and she's going to get baptized in December! Miracles!!!

I have to tell you all something that I find adorable in the mission. There are some Latino elders that do not call me Hermana Talbot; instead, they call me Enfermera Talbot. Isn't that adorable?! It makes me laugh every time. And then when the Gringos call me Sister Talbot (saying "bot" not "bit"), I immediately think of you Mom. Hahaha.

I totally wrote out my 10 year life plan. When I was on divisions with Hermana Benitez, she gave me a chart that was given to her last year which maps our your 10 year life plan. I totally did it. It's kind of funny to look at actually. When I'm gonna get married. When I'm gonna have kids. Etc. I guess we'll see what happens and how on I am with my guessing. :)

An amazing fruit: we did a scripture study with Juan and Flor... it was pretty amazing. We've been having a hard time with them to get them to see the value of the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. Until this past week. We did a study with them of the Plan of Salvation with the Bible and the Book of Mormon. And they transformed. I have never in my life seen such excitement (kid in a ice cream shop on a hot day excitement) here in the mission. They just soaked it all in and started teaching each other what they were reading. It was a great moment to see them find a little bit more love for the scriptures, just like I have here in Chile.

They say it hit 105.8F this past week here in our area. I don't know if I believe it. I just only doubt it by 5 degrees. It's been sooooooo hot. I don't remember it being this hot last "spring". We haven't even hit summer yet... oh bother.

Fun Hermana Tingey fact: she says the Chilean word "bakan" sounds like a crazy chicken talking. Hahahaha.

Fun service project: we spent 3 hours helping an inactive couple make baby clothes. This member makes legit store sold clothes. The material comes to her cut and she has to sew, cut, place buttons, iron, clean, etc. It's a LONG process and it doesn't help that she makes 100s of them in a day. Anyways, it was a fun experience. I finally enjoyed doing service!!! (no one around here ever accepts service...)

I gave 2 talks this week past week. One on baptism at the baptism (duh) and the other on Sunday at church. My topic for Sunday was an interesting one and a learning experience for me. It was about times of consecration, like the mission, and how to help those who are worthy to serve have the desire to do so. I always had the desire to be a missionary. I'm not really sure why. However, when I saw the privilege it was to share the gospel, I knew it was something I would enjoy and a time I would cherish. The blessings of our Heavenly Father are unbelievable, especially when we consecrate time to Him. I see lives change for the better and have the opportunity of being part of that. Even through the ups and downs, who wouldn't want to go on this adventure? :)

Love you all. Remember where true happiness lies.


Brooklyn


P.S. My flight has been booked to Maine. Elder Sheffield is just a hair losing liar. :) It was a good joke though. Big brat. I didn't believe him for a second. Cause he told me they booked my voyage on a boat. Hahaha. I said that was fun just as long as it was a cruise. :)