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. :)

69th B-Day and never a dull moment with this girl

69th B-Day and never a dull moment with this girl

Helllooooooo (said with a British accent as the Chileans do).

Story time: This past week, on Tuesday, I had my first frightening gangster moment. In El Golf and as of yet during my time here in JP Alessandri, I have never felt my safety was threatened. Yes, I had some moments of being scared, but legit moments... never. Until this past week. As we were walking down the street we see 10 adult people, guys and girls. They were big people too, some of them taller than us. Anyway. They were ugly people (I know that's not nice, but it's the truth.)... black clothes, piercings everywhere, pink and white mohawks, tattoos, etc. So we're walking towards them and their crossing in front of us (like a T crossing)... I noticed them a while down the road and saw that they were carrying lots of alcohol and big trunks of wood... but just kept on walking as fast as I could, to try to beat them to the T so we could pass. However, we met them exactly at the crossroad. The only option I could see was to cross where there was a little gap between them... bad idea... but I did it anyway. Walking as fast as I could with Hermana Tingey behind me; however, they closed in and surrounded us. And then stared with their obscene and gross comments about having Gringo children and such; in fact, one nasty guy stroked Hermana Tingey's hair. Although I was calm, I was ready with fists up, looking behind me to make sure Hermana Tingey was okay. Luckily they did nothing else other than yell at us as we quickly walked away feeling grossed out; however, they were some SCARY people, I tell you. I was just glad nothing happened to us.

Happier summer note: We ate fresh Chirimoya! It's so good! It's a sweet fruit that has the consistency of a mango and tastes like... um chirimoya? I dunno it's like trying to describe the flavor of an apple...but it was really good. :) Speaking of mangos... I ate my first fresh Brazilian mango today... YUMMMMY. I am going to miss Chilean fruit. 

Eatin' mango

This past week I had divisions with Hermana Fillerup. She came with me to the mission and we had my last 2 weeks at the CCM together. We roomed together for those two weeks. Anyway, she asked me what I've learned here in the mission and commented about some of the changes she can see in me since the CCM. It was interesting to think about myself and my transformation as a person and as a member of the church. I really hadn't thought of it that much. I currently have been making a list of the changes I have seen, as well as others. Well, according to her I am all for the better... and I hope it's true. :)

Me and Hermana Fillerup... our hermana lider right now. We came at the same time and spent 2 weeks in the CCM together.

Sunday was a day of riot here in our sector. The two most hated soccer teams, La U and Colo-Colo, played. The stadium is right next to the chapel and we heard cherry bombs and yelling/cheering the entire time. The police were everywhere with their smoke bombs and high pressured water tanks to keep the crowds down. Drunks were everywhere. There were tons of people, everywhere. Every year someone dies; I guess we'll see about this year. Isn't that terrible! All for the love of soccer.


Funny Chilean thing: the house flies are really STUPID. At least in Maine, they have a free life of flying around inside of a house and enjoying everything from the cough to the kitchen to a window... but here in Chile, they just fly in the most open room in circles. Literally they never move from one spot of a circle. I figured out a few weeks ago that if you just go next to them and shew them to the door or a window... they fly right out. I guess that's better than nothing and it's better than chasing them around to kill them. But still... never in my life have I see such dumb house flies. I don't understand their purpose of "house" life. 

Ducks in the ghetto!!!

Pray for Alejandro. He has a baptismal date this week!!! We are all very excited... nervous as well... but excited. 

Us with Juan... he's the one that gave us the nicknames of Solange and Katherine... we took a picture with him and our zone t-shirts... for a memory.

Love you all,

Brooklyn

68th B-Day and we f-i-n-a-l-l-y have a return home date for Hermana Talbot

***read below for Hermana Talbot's return date to Banggeerr, Maine…. 

Hey family and friends!! 

First and foremost, does the phrase "drunken with sleep" exist? I think it should cause that's what I felt like on Tuesday this past week. Non-functionable. I'm not sure what is in the Santiago air or water recently, but the end of September and beginning of October has proven quite a challenge for the health of our missionaries. From chicken pox to gastritis with vomiting and nausea to hospital visits (at 3am and midnight) to all sorts of stuff. There's been calls at 2AM and practically round the clock. There was one elder who has the chicken pox (2nd missionary to have it during my time here) and has been put in his house for 2 weeks until he's not contagious with the other 3 in his pension. The poor guys had a baptism and couldn't even go to it, as well as they missed general conference. Proof positive that it's better to have the chicken pod when you're a kid than when you're an adult. Anyway, so the nursing role is quite heavy right now. However, I know the health of these missionaries is part of my duty and I will help them with a smile on my face and lots of jokes (the more stressed I get, the more ridiculous I get, and the jokes just fly out without me knowing... Hahaha.)

Fun Brooklyn fact: I am becoming an excellent rice maker. :) Yum. (and no not in a rice cooker.. good ole fashioned pot and water on the stove. haha)

Cute and funny story: one of our older investigators (70's) has started praying! It took him a long time to remember to pray and how to start... until we met with him this past week and he told us that he's been praying... So we asked him to say the closing prayer and he looks at us and says, "Heavenly Father... right?". How cute is that?! Then he made me laugh because he said in the prayer, "in the name of all of the Hermanas please bless them...". It was like listening to the most heart felt, child-like prayer. To end, he might not have said in the name of Jesus Christ or said amen, but it didn't matter. :) 

Remember the guy I told you all about last week? The drunk one who guards cars? Ya him. His name is Mauricio. Anyways, so we ran into him the other night. Completely sober (miracle) and so we talked. He had a very hard childhood. His parents separated when he was 14; since that point, he began and has never stopped drinking. In the sober moment we talked, he was ready to give up drinking. He cried when I told him he was a child of God and stated he wanted to change his life. Well, I needed him to understand the message, so I have learned here in Chile to use examples or the things around me as object lessons. Well, Hermana Tingey and I had just bought some bread and chocolate milk (healthy I know)... and there were medium sized rocks all around us; so it was what I had to use. I compared his addiction to this heavy rock; that he has been carrying it around for years and how it's completely unnecessary. Then I compared the message we have to the chocolate milk. In the end, we made a trade, the rock for the milk. It was amazing to see the light in his eyes as I chucked the rock and he drank the milk. As of yet, 1 week later, he still remembers the rock (an mentions it every time we talk to him) and has not touched alcohol since. Score! Win! Shaaaaabang! :) Pray for him please.

People have started calling me a tomato... I guess it's time to start wearing sunscreen. Summer has come! The change of the season means white stuff for you all soon! I'll be home sooner than we know it. Below there's a surprise. A return date maybe. :) 

Another success story. This last week we taught our investigator Alejandro about the Word of Wisdom and how we do not drunk coffee. He was astounded and said in his mind he thought we were crazy and was not going to give up coffee. Nonetheless, we challenged him to do it and to replace it with something they drink here called Ecco. A few days ago we met with him again and he has completely stopped drinking coffee, drinks Ecco now, likes Ecco, and has said chau to his coffee drinking days. Isn't that amazing?!?!! He said, in fact, that he offered Ecco to his mom and she refused to drink it. Hahaha. I truly am seeing lives changing for the better. The blessings of God are waiting for us as we live the gospel of Christ and follow His teachings. Alejandro has a baptismal date for this month. Pray for him as well, if you all could.

I got a few complements this past week. I have found a love for teaching here in the mission. Well, in college as I tutored, studied and taught friends I knew it was something I enjoyed; however, then I got here ad teach everyday, all day. As time goes on and as my knowledge and skills increase, I leave daily excited, no longer nervous, to teach the Chileans. This past week someone complimented me in two ways. (1) that I know a lot about the gospel and (2) that I am an entertaining teacher. I'm not so sure if the second one is a good thing or not, but I'm glad I'm at least not boring. :) It made me feel good this week. Maybe I am helping others see the sweetness of living this gospel.

Speaking of coming home. I have an answer as to what day!! I will be flying out of Chile the ....... (see picture attached)!!! Expect me the next day in the states. I'll send you my flight plans when I get them. :) The extension until February was denied due to the church recently prohibiting extensions for missionaries. Sooo, I will be staying 30 days extra to help train the new nurse and will be on my way after. Also the Santiago South mission (funny... my original mission assignment) has asked President Wright for me to also train their nurse, so it's gonna be an interesting end. 

You all have a date now. Sorry for the back and forth for so long. I am happy. I am content. I am enjoying my time as missionary for the LDS church. As difficult as it's been, I wouldn't change it for the world.



Today we went to Pirque... it's absolutely a beautiful, bum-town, poor place. I took some pictures of the fields. Also of us 4. Hermana Diaz is going home this change so we all got together to say goodbye to her. It was a wonderful time to sit and talk... and of course, eat. =)

Love you all. Thanks for all your love and support.
Brooklyn

67th B-Day… sure wish this momma knew how many more of these B-Days there are gonna be…..

Hot diggidy dog... what a week.

Dearest family.

General Conference!!!From the left: Elder Workman. Elder Stone. Elder Cruz. Elder Pirir. Elder Silva (standing). Elder Hansen. Me. Hermana Tingey. Hermana Aponte. Hermana Allred.

It was a hard week this past week. Well it sure started out difficult, but ended very sweet. All week long, especially Tuesday, I couldn't get off of my mind the happenings with Dad and how much I wished I was with you all to assist with the load you're carrying. Brandon and Brett, to see and hear your voices in the videos you sent, it made me miss you both more. I am sorry I am not there to help. I, however, did promise Dad that I would not come home early from the mission for anything (it's not even an option in my mind). Soooo, I trust you all. I know he is receiving the best care or kick in the pants (at their appointed times) from you three. Thanks for being amazing brothers. :) So anyway, I asked one of the elders in our district to give me a Priesthood blessing and literally after that blessing it was like the worry and stress left my mind and heart. I didn't realize it until a few days later, but it was an amazing blessing that told me to forget myself and get to work and then the Lord would bless my family. I surely know He has. :)

Mom, remember the house in Utah we use to go visit the elderly man who's wife had passed away? How we would find a years worth of expired food and cockroaches in his house? Anyway, we found a lady who's exactly like that! Lives alone with her 4 dogs. Doesn't clean well. There's house flies all over inside her house. The smell is stomach retching and that's not even exaggerating. You know, I've smelt a lot in my time, but not much compares to this. We taught her this past week and now that the weather is changing to hot and smothering, the smell was gaggingly strong. We have tried to offer her service to come and help her clean, but she just denies the need for help. How did you get the Utahn couple to the point where they'd accept our help? I don't know how I'm going to enter into her house when it's 90 degrees. So give me some ideas please. :)

Teaching Alejandro (far right) with Robert in our famous park... we can't enter his house or his Mom yells at him or us.

I forgot to tell you all about this experience. So there's this guy in our sector who guards cars for the people who are at the hospital from robbers and such. Anyway, he always talks to us. He has a problem with alcohol and many times is under the influence of such. So Hermana Tingey and I are walking down the street (singin' do what diddy diddy dum diddy do... just kidding), and he says to us, "Elderes! The other day I saw you two walking by and you had two angels with swords walking on both sides of you.". "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." (D&C 84:88). UPDATE: we ran into him on Sunday... completely sober wanting to turn his life around... I pray he does.

This past week, I'm not sure what's changed; however, when people say 1 or 2 words of English to us, it's starting to bother me. It's not like they're saying it to practice or learn, but to make fun of us. I never respond in English and it makes me want to talk really fast in Chilean Spanish to just make them feel stupid. Isn't that terrible? Hermana Tingey will say to me now when someone says something in English, "Calm down...". Hahahaha. It's growing my patience. (Brooklyn's english is stinky now. It's growing my patience) oh my!!!

Our zone... Alicahue baby!! I wish I could name everyone... I'll try... we'll see if you can follow who is who....
Elders from the left: Elder Jacho. (top) Elder Hansen. Elder Silva. Elder Workman. Elder Pirir. Elder Vasquez. (bottom elders). Elder Mamani. Elder Cruz. Elder Neira. Elder Stone.
Hermanas from the left: Me. Hermana Aponte. Hermana Allred. Hermana Tingey. (bottom) Hermana Berthelson. Hermana Contreras. Hermana Villalba. Hermana Urzagaste (standing).

I ate "contre de pollo". It's some kind of organ from a chicken. I tried to get them to describe what it does, but to no avail. It was the gizzard or crop of the chicken. That's nasty! I hope we don't die. Hahaha. It definitely had a weird consistency. Kinda rubbery. Smh.

So I have to tell you all. People here in Chile find literally anything to sell in the streets, in the bus, or in the underground metro. The other day we were in the metro and there was one man selling string who was talking about all of its benefits, what you could do with it, how it could be a new toy for your children, etc. He was quite the interesting seller. Another man was selling headlamps and put one on to show everyone how it worked. There is always bands playing in the metro as well. Some of them are extremely good. There was one group with a drum, banjo, bass guitar, and string guitar. They were quite impressive... people on the bus, metro, on the street always give them money... their change. And if they give them enough they offer a CD of their music (if it's a legit band and not just one man singing and playing an instrument). It's one thing in Chile that I find very interesting.

General conference was wonderful!!! I felt reprimanded and fed; although, it was really short. Never in my life have I felt the urgency of the prophet and apostles to get us on the path and to stay on it. I felt they just wanted to smack us all upside the head and say, "get with it people". I truly am grateful for a prophet and apostles, who have the authority of God and speak with His power. "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." (D&C 1:38). I hope we apply what we learned and we remember the Spirit we felt in our hearts. If you didn't get the opportunity, it's online! :)

Love you all. Thanks for everything.
Brooklyn

P.S. We didn't have changes. I'm staying with Hermana Tingey. :D

P.P.S. I do not have any reports on when I will be coming home. It's still quite a complicated subject. I hope to have some information soon!

66th B-Day Hermana Talbot's Faith vs Fear

¡Hola mi familia y mis amigos!

Esta semana, voy a escribir mi correo en Español. :) Para que nadie me entiende. Jajaja. Mi mama probablemente va a usar GoogleTranslate para traducirlo pero ¡no puede hacer trampa! Jajaja. Nahhh I'll write in English, cause that'd be awful rude. :) The more and more time that I have here in Chile the more I realize that it's really amazing to know more than one language. Just hope I can keep it up after the mission.

We had a ton of people talk to us in English this week. It's so weird to talk back to them in English, especially in public. We had one guy in the metro who just kept staring at Hermana Tingey (that's normal) but had this look on his face of: "I wanna talk to you, but I feel so uncomfortable". So she talked to him to cut the awkwardness and he said he wanted to practice his English. Everyone just stared in the metro... But who cares. Then there was another guy in the street, drunk mind you, that came up to us asking if we spoke English because he wanted to practice talking. I feel so weird talking to them in English; it makes me uncomfortable and usually I end up speaking Spanish. Hahaha.

We had a special conference with President and Hermana Wright again this week. I feel like they really are trying to help us hasten the work. We spoke about many things, but the overall topic was "faith vs fear" base on an article written, this year, for mission presidents by President Uchtdorf. President Wright said it is the first talk he has seen by the First Presidency published to them on paper which also contained a world wide invitation for all missionaries to read. Hence, it has been a privledge in this mission to receive a copy and study it. Hermana Wright talked about a balance between having fear of baptizing future less actives (how terrible) and baptizing everyone no matter if they have a testimony or not. This balance lies in having the faith enough to baptize converts. Here in our mission we are more on the side of fear because Chile has an infinite number of less actives/inactives due to missionaries baptizing people without testimonies. Practically the talk by President Uchtdorf hit the nail on the head. In fact, the same day that Hermana Tingey and I read and talked about it, we had a trial of our faith. There are many promptings of the Spirit that you feel as a missionary. Sometimes they're as simple as needing to talk to someone. Well, we were walking past a park one day and there was a man sitting on a bench with his dog. We felt we needed to talk to him, but had already past the park. So we walked back a little ways, but then felt stupid because we had already passed him once...so we turned back around and walked away. As we were walking away, this talk came to my mind. Fear versus faith. Which one was I going to let win? .... Sometimes I wonder how many times fear wins in our lives? How many times do we worry about what others think of us before we're concerned about what God thinks? How many times are we discouraged and give up because we lack the faith to move on? How many times do we obey God because we fear Him not because we love Him? How many times do we feel overwhelmed or out of time to live the gospel on a daily basis by doing the basics of studying our scriptures, praying, attending church, and going to the temple? Anyway, just some of my thoughts of how I can do better while I'm here and also when I get home. Faith is action. May we all act in our confidence in Christ, so that we can further develop our faith in Him and not fear.

Invitation for everyone! This week invite a friend to hear the missionaries or come to church!!!! :) General conference is coming up! What a perfect Sunday to bring someone to hear a prophet's voice! If they say no, no harm done. If they say yes, introduce them to the missionaries. But if you never ask... what if they would have said yes, but you feared more than exercised faith...

I realized this past week how much I missed the smell of summer. Someone was mowing their lawn and I was breathing in to soak it all in. In my area now, there's grass, but people cut their grass by hand with clippers. So there usually isn't any smell. But anyway, I missed the smell of summer this week. :) Mom, this does not mean I love mowing the lawn..... I can enjoy the smell just as well if someone else cuts it. :)

Funny happening. We have a soccer field in our sector. There are always soccer games or practices going on. Always. Of course when we walk by, it's always fun to see them playing and having their friends and families cheering them on. Well, we passed the other day and there was a group of soccer players and the coach standing over another player laying on the ground. I was thinking, "I hope he's okay.". Then the guys picked the other guy up by the arms and the legs and started throwing him up in the air in order to kick him in the butt. Hahaha. It was hilarious!! We laughed for a while after. It reminded me a lot of the terrible things my brothers used to do to me (ie: Chinese torture, pinning me down, etc). So word of wisdom from the Chileans, if youre playing a sport and someone needs a kick in the butt, just start throwing them in the air and it's easier to do it. :)

As we were walking to the internet today to write you guys there was a very interesting person standing outside. Purple, huge mohawk, tattoos, smoking, piercings... ya you get the picture... He saw us walked by and he says to us "hey... hey... hey you!" We are ignoring him at this point because he sounds drunk.... he continues "hey!"... we turn around... he looks at us, points to his cheek and says "will you give be a kiss? just one... please!". I just shake my head, say NO, and we continued walking away. HAHAHAHAHHAA. Gotta love the experiences of Chile. =)

Dad. I am so glad to hear you are okay. You scared the crap out of me. It's the first panic attack I've had in my life when I saw that email from Brandon. Thankyou Brandon for keeping me updated and for taking good care of him. Thanks to Mom for finding President Wright's email. Thanks to Brett and Bryan for your part in all this to help him through. I am calm, worried of course, and content wtih the care he is receiving. =) Dad, you can do this! You're already up walking again and have far to go, but take your time and OBEY DOCTORS ORDERS. (Brooklyn's dad, Mark was in an motorcycle accident which resulted in a broken back and sternum)

Story time. So Saturday was the roughest, best day we've had in a long time. (1) I got out of bed an hour late (shhh don't tell President... well actually it was because I was literally exhausted due to being woken up the night before 5 times for a sick Elder which I ended up sending to the hospital. Good excuse right. Anyway, so I slept in because I literally couldn't function enough to wake up.) (2) We started out in the morning leaving the house late due to the need of studying an extra hour for special reasons. (3) We both felt really weird. Our spirits were down and physically we were tired. (4) A member Robert left with us for a few appointments, which all fell through. (5) Not a soul that we talked to was receptive. (6) Many people wouldn't answer their doors even though we knew they were home. (7) We were really hungry. (8) We came back to the house and ate a bowl of cereal [the solution to every life problem]... felt a little better. Score! (9) Called Alejandro, a wonderful investigator, to see if he could meet with us and he said yes - miracles never cease. (10) Had the very spiritual lesson at the Bishop's house in which we set a baptismal date! .... I tell you what, a super bitter day turned super sweet at 9:30pm. :) Endurance. Patience. Diligence. It really does pay off.


Kick someone in the butt this week, even it it's yourself.

Love you all.


Brooklyn

P.S. Go to this link and read this talk from Elder Ballard. It hit me straight to the core. He extended these invitations long ago for all members to be part of missionary work; now, he's following up. It's our responsibility to report our actions; and, if we haven't acted, I guess we should.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/following-up?lang=eng

"Following up". May 2014.

65th B-Day in the not so predictable life of Hermana Talbot

Hhhhiiiiii! 

First thing, we had a very exciting moment here in the ward last Sunday. The Chilean memories never cease... So we're in sacrament meeting, the Bishop's talking, everything is going well... Until an Hermana from the ward comes and very quickly sits next to me on the bench and says, "there's an Hermano in the back who's really sick we need your help". I'm thinking vomiting, faint, headache, something normal right? So I tell Hermana Tingey to come with me and we go to the back of the room. There's like 5 people over him. I couldn't get in to him; I tried but they just didn't move. He's practically unconscious with his body limp, but miraculously sitting in the seat still. Responding only in gargles and gasps. I'm thinking that I've gotta get in there so I start pushing (hahaha) and then I get pushed! ... I was like what is going on? Then hands take me by the shoulders and literally move my body. Then this control-taking, man's voice says, "Excuse me Hermana". I'm thinking, that's a doctors voice... Yes! I just got saved. So we pushed everyone out of the way and the Hermano Doctor and I started working on him. I said to him, "Are you a doctor?" (I wanted to make sure I wasn't working with a wolf in sheep's clothing hahaha). He said, "Yes, Hermana let's do this together." So we worked at it, trying to diagnose and treat him for the next 30 minutes. We were without any medical supplies (what preparation), but we just bounced off of eachother for a minute or two and we had the best diagnosis we could come up with. Hypoglycemia. The Hermano has uncontrolled diabetes because he does not take care of himself; he took a lot of insulin in the morning and didn't eat a good breakfast. After getting him on the floor and shoving juice down his throat, we got him to come back us. He was doing really well after that and wanted to go home. Not a chance. An ambulance was called and they came to take him to the hospital. As far as I know he was there for 2 days with lots of testings. Shocking part... The final diagnosis wasn't hypoglycemia; he had a mini stroke. However, he is back at home doing well. I tell you what though, it was a scary, adrenaline pumping moment and I felt like a real nurse again (and a bit like a newbie).

We were just told that the Church has an olive vineyard here in Chile. Isn't that cool? I wanna go see it. :)

I read this quote this past week and i liked it. We all need to remember this. When someone mistreats us, when we become impatient, when we have the idea to mistreat someone, when we forget who's children we are…. 

"Try to see all people as children of Heavenly Father. It’s not just a nice idea; it’s a reality. Let it sink deep into your heart, and your interactions may change."


We have a guy who works as a "porter" (conserje) in our apartment building. His name is Juan and his absolutely hilarious. He's 65 years old and works everyday, all day. In the past he's talked with the Elders when they lived here (about a year ago). So we got talking one day an we ended up giving him a pamphlet about the restoration because he said he wanted one to read. This past week we stopped by to see if had read or thought about it. He said he had read it and gave it to a fellow workmate but did not remember much. So we talked to him about it, laughed a ton with him, and said we would stop by again. It was really funny for 2 reasons. (1) We have nicknames because he cant pronounce our last names. I am Solange and H. Tingey is Catalin. Bahahahaha. At first he called me Sister Mary and I told him no way cause that name is wayyy too common in Chile (and boring). Hahahaha. And (2) he says we are "get to the punch girls" because never in his time talking to the other missionaries have they taught him about what we believe (I might have brought the conversation back to Christ at least 5 times hahaha). It was a good experience to laugh with him and receive a Chilean nickname. :)

18 de Septiembre!!! The national holiday of Chile! I thought we, Americans, were patriotic people... Until I came here. Wow. Everyone has their huge BBQs, loud music, kites, parties, and dances. Also, in the church ward, there was a huge party and we, Hermanas and the Rasmussens, sang a Chilean folk song: "Si vas para Chile". Let's just say it was fun learning it, but when it came down to singing it.... We laughed a ton. In the video, it doesn't quite look so terrible. Our saving grace. :) Hermana Tingey and I memorized the song in 2 days and are going to have it stuck in our heads for more than 2 months. Haha. We sing it all of the time in the street. It really is a cute song. Oh yes and at the ward party, we served a TON of hours (more than we thought). We were asked by the Bishop Pardo to be there at 10am to help the youth decorate the church. Needless to say noone showed up. So we did it. Then we realized there were only 2 hermanos there to make and cook all of the home made empanadas. No way were we going to let them do them all. It was time to serve our ward! So the 4 of us got to work. We made 280 empanadas. It took us from about 12:00-4:00pm to do them all. It was ALOT of work, but they were soooo good. :) So now that I've learned how, we'll have a Chilean party when I get home. 

Chilean fact: they are VERY frank people and at times without tact. We contacted a 60 year old lady last week because she was outside of her house not doing anything; we figured why not? The first thing she said, while shaking her head, was: "oh no, I don't like Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses!". I asked her what she knew about the church and if something had happened in the past to give her such a strong stand. She just flat out said, "No, nothing happened and I don't know anything about your church. All that I know is I don't like Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses!". In my brain and heart, I was ready to attack. But I kept my cool (thank goodness I have a name-tag with His name on it). I ended up teaching her about the Godhead and how frequently we judge before coming to know what we are judging. That we, as missionaries, are not here to criticize, control, or obligate the persons that listen to us; that we really are here to help people realize what it means to come into Christ through His restored church, then from there they can decide to accept it or not. After a few minutes she warmed up and talked with us, but oh how my blood boiled a little when she was so nasty and ignorant. Sometimes I wonder what has happened to social respect... I hope that at home I never treated anyone like that and that I never will. Be kind to each other. Share a little love and caring.


Mom, thanks for making it possible for me to learn to love the piano and the gospel. You were the one to show and encourage me along the way. I might have driven you crazy with playing 24/7, but it was only to help you develop patience. :)



A little boy was practicing the piano, and a salesman, upon seeing him through a window, asked, "Is your mother home?"
To which the child replied, “And … what do you think?”
Our five dear children play the piano, thanks to the motivation of my wife! When the teacher arrived at our home, our son Adrián would run and hide in order to skip his lesson. But one day something marvelous occurred! He began to love music so much that he continued practicing on his own.
If we could reach that point in the process of our conversion, it would be marvelous. It would be wonderful to have a desire deep in our hearts to keep the commandments without anyone constantly reminding us and to have a firm conviction that if we follow the right path, we will have the blessings promised in the scriptures.


Let us have changed hearts (Alma 5). Let us follow our Savior without having to be constantly reminded by our family, teachers, friends, and prophets as to what we should be doing. Let us become converted and enjoy the blessings from Heaven, so that we can say we are His disciples! 

Catch ya all on the flip flop.
Brooklyn

P.S. I completed 15 months in the mission!!! Time's getting closer.

64th B-Day Blog of Brooklyn the Hermana Talbot

Hey everyone.

This week was full of meetings and fun times. From teaching 0 lessons on Monday and 1 lesson on Tuesday, we were exhausted. My health had started acting up again waking up with a nasty sore throat and weakness. I got up anyway and we got to work. After the trial of my faith to just forget myself and get to work, Wednesday we taught 8 lessons. Miracle #1. Throughout the day, my foot and knee problems had started to resolve. Miracle #2. Also my sore throat has been forgotten. Miracle #3. I'm starting to wonder how long my old body is going to hold out... it's gotta have till February. That's all I ask.

Atilio, Hermana Filomena, Angelica, Hermana Tingey, Me. =)

Question. How are we preparing ourselves for October general conference? I decided to prepare myself that I would go back and read the conference from April just to see how I was doing and if I had progressed or changed in the past 6 months. If I had achieved my goals from the last conference before I began making new ones. I have been able to find some things that are helping me become more open minded and hearted, in order to listen with the Spirit. I have seen a pattern in the teachings of the gospel with us as missionaries that can be applied in any teaching setting. (1) the desire comes first, (2) then we exercise faith in order to continue, (3) we listen, (4) we learn, (5) we act. In order to complete this cycle we need to prepare ourselves, our minds, our hearts, our spirits. Then we will feel of Lord's love as His servants speak to us. Let us prepare as families to listen to a prophet's voice as if they were the words of the Savior himself.

Loros! They have trees all around that they "own". They talk so loudly

Pre-note: Recently, we have been struggling with our investigators. Not finding new people. The people we have aren't progressing (they just listen to us to be nice or cause they like to hear the word of God, but never want to act on it.). No one has been coming to church. Etc....

We had an absolutely wonderful experience this week with Atilio and Angelica. They are two investigators, early into their 70s. They are Catholic, strong and eternally Catholic; however, the most loving grandparents I have had in the mission. We have been teaching them for a while now and have never been able to see much progress. Until this past week. Angelica told us that for the past 4 months she has been disagreeing more and more with the Catholic church's practices. She has been taking care of a prayer house, which has the Virgin Mary inside, that's in the community. She has many rosaries and statues of Mary, the mother of Christ, in her house, etc. She told us this past week that she has been trying to find someone else to take care of the prayer house and has no desire to pray to the Virgin Mary. I was absolutely shocked; but more than shocked, I felt the Spirit as she was testifying of the change she is starting to have in her heart. This is why I am here. So that people can receive the answers they are looking for to the questions of their souls. We talked about traditions that our families have and how we need to find out for ourselves if the traditions are right or wrong. She stated she felt more and more that her religious beliefs had become a tradition not a conversion. Christ is the one who brings us the light of conversion and through the Spirit we feel the truth of all things. Whether or not Angelica and Atilio will be baptized or not, I am content to know that she knows what it feels like to follow her heart and to feel the Spirit.

Another experience, but this time with Alejandro. We were in the Bishop's house because we can't enter his house (his mother hates us) and it was raining and dark outside. Anyway. So we're with the Bishop's wife and kids teaching Alejandro and we started off asking him about how it was going with his reading and prayers. After talking a while about it he said that he has finally been able to recognize the Spirit and he knows, amongst all of the trials of his faith, that this is the path he needs to follow. We weren't able to teach him for 2 weeks and he did not come to church...and I think he is finally receiving answers to his prayers. Well, he said he's been receiving answers and he feels really good. :) I am grateful for these moments as a missionary. They really do keep you going after all of the "no's" and lack of desires to listen and act. We are seeing miracles. We are seeing the hand of the Lord in His work. I couldn't be more grateful.

We passed September 11th. Here in Chile it is a, generally speaking, trouble making day. Especially in the night. It's like a police rebellion day or something. They even shut off the lights in some parts of the ghetto so that people will go home and go to bed. Anyway, the next day we were told that there was a forest fire. In our mission in Cajon de Maipu. They are investigating now of it was intentionally started or not. I find it very weird how September 11th is a memorable day here as well as in the US.

We saw a really old, Spanish Book of Mormon and church pamphlet. Published in 1960. It smelt old. The front cover has ripped off (no worries, Juan II taped it back on). The many footnotes we have now are nonexistent. The guide at the back was just a mini dictionary. And so much more. It was very cool to see such an old book (sorry to all those readers who are older than this book haha) and to see the difference in the Book of Mormon now. How grateful I am for the edition I have with all of the study helps it contains! I guess I can only thank my Heavenly Father by reading and studying.

We had a conference with President and Hermana Wright this past week. As a guest, Elder Esteban G. Resek from the 70 was there with them. They talked about the living water (the gospel of Jesus Christ), repentance, and how we can become better missionaries and teachers. It was absolutely wonderful! I love my mission leaders. They are inspired and loving people.

 Me and Hermana Torres. She's going home soon. =( I remember our first day we met... when I came to the mission... the first day in the chapel. She made me laugh so hard and made me feel so comfortable even though I was completely lost and didn't understand a word anyone said.

September 13th was a world wide LDS church service day!!! We cleaned up a park that was absolutely a disaster; but the after pictures are amazingness. :) Like a real life 4 hour home make over. We cut grass (it literally was knee high - and we did it by hand scissor style), raked, cut around trees, picked up so much garbage, alcohol bottles, dog poop, etc. But it felt so good afterwards. Not just to physically get some good exercise, but also in my heart to now walk by that park and be proud of J. P. Alessandri. The heart of service has always been a priority in the Talbot family and for that I will always be thankful. We need to serve more often, that's for sure. As Mom says, "It builds character..." hahahaha "and muscle." I might add. I've been walking pretty slow for the past 2 days. I am trying to learn I am not super woman, Mom. =)

Manos que Ayuden!! SUD!! Los Mormones! =)
J.P. Alessandri, Alicahue, Chile.

Manos que Ayuden!! SUD!! Los Mormones! =)
J.P. Alessandri, Alicahue, Chile.

Love you all. Take care of eachother. Help out your missionaries. They can't do this work alone.

 Easter Island chocolates. =)

Me with the Rasmussens... they went on a mini vacation to Easter Island and brought us back chocolates. =)

Hermana Talbot
(I wrote Brooklyn and had to erase it. It feels weird today. Plus, I'm only gonna be Hermana Talbot for 20 months... :D)


P.S. Mom. I made the peanut butter cookies you sent for Hermana Villaba's one month mark in Chile as a missionary. They were soo good. Thanks!!