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| Proud companion |
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| Hna Huber |
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| Hna Jennings givin some love to the mission baby |
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| Missionary work is hard labor |
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| another pic of the baby bump |
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| Ley de Castidad... surprise!! |
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| cute hna Jennings and me |
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| my daughter Hna Portillo is going to have a sister! |
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
9 months!!! I have my mission baby!!!
Okay so sorry I didnt get this out BEFORE all the crazy drama started happening with my asthma and stuff... but I thought I could share the fun pictures we took the week that I went to the hospital (a few days before).. Okay so here are my 9 months pictures! No I am not actually pregnant.It is just a fun tradition for the sisters... because it is exactly half way through the mission :) so here are some of my fun pics of that.....
1.15.13 Happy Late Pday!
Hey Fam,
Okay so this week I had a bit of an interesting experience. I want to start off with MOM.. Dont freak out on me. You know my bad luck.. but I am okay :) Basically I had an asthma attack Saturday night and so I went to the hospital and they gave me lots of medicines cuz I kinda stopped breathing. I am totally fine though. But then they released me and the next day I had a nother one in the middle of sacrament meeting. Thankfully president wright and his wife were there for a baptism so they drove me to another hospital really quickly.. but that time I was still breathing (got better ha ha). Anyway I had to stay inthe hospital for 4 days because I apparently had an "crisis de asthma" or an asthma crisis I think.. Also on top of that some infection in my lungs so that made it even worse. I am ok now though.. I had lots of breathing treatments and about 10 different medicines. right now we are going to be living in the president-s house for a few days beacuse I can-t go outside and there are a lot of fires which makes it worse. Okay sorry I had to give you this information! But i am totally fine. the lord has been looking out for me! If you have any questions you can call and talk to Hermana Wright the mission president's wife (just in case you don=t believe I am okay) Sorry I missed p day! I love you guys so much and I miss you tons! I look forward to writing you a longer letter on the next p day! Okay?12.23.13 Feliz Navidaddd!! Merry Christmas!!!
Feliz Navidad everyone!
I can just say that I will be spending Christmas a whole lot differently here! It is supppeeerrrr HOT and I am away from you guys.. but to tell you the truth I think it will be one of my most memorable Christmases! There will be no snow, christmas lights, orchestra concerts, ribbons, wrapping paper, Santa, gingerbread cookies, candy canes or fireplaces, or my family...- but I will be surrounded by the people that I love here. I will be able to share the Christmas spirit with the Chilean people, and give the gift of sharing the gospel to Christ this Christmas :) I can't lie and tell you that it won't be difficult but I sure can tell you that I know it will be worth it :) I feel blessed t o be able to be here and to spend a Christmas serving the Lord. Ifeel like the sacrifices are really really really miniscule compared to the blessings that I am recieving! I am so glad that you guys got to go to Savior of the World. I LOVE that play... it really brings the spirit into Christmas and helps us focus on the true meaning. This past week I have really been able to focus on the true meaning of Christmas aswe have shared our message with people here... I love to read Luke 2.. the original story of Christ's birth and then to talk about 2 Nephi 9:21 because the story of Christ's birth would not mean anything if it weren't for his infinite atonement.. if it weren't for the fact that he suffered so that we could have the opportunity to repent and to live with our families and with Heavenly father forever. I am extremely grateful to know this truth and to be able to celebrate Christmas with this in mind. I pray that I can be the kind of missionary that God expects me to be so that I can help bring this beautiful truth to other people. It is difficult in the world today because of all the many distractions, but I know that it is possible and that the Lord has a lot planned for us.
This week was a great week for us! We found a new investigator named Sonia who is really interested! It also turns out to be a very small world! Come to find out... Sonia's son is married to our other investigator, maria's daughter. Also she was lisxtening to missionaries before.. but when they left pirque they didn't leave her information in the area book. Dang Elders! Also.. we happened to have contacted both her son and her husband on two seperate occasions. Can I just say THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS COINCEDENCES! ha ha.. well I sure hope not.. because to me it really seems like Heavenly Father is working hard to get us to teach her! Anyway she is really humble and extremely receptive. She also said that her son is atheist and asked us if that meant he was a bad person. We explained that maybe he just never felt the blessings or thelove of God in his life. She told us that that might be ture because his life has been prettyt difficult. She said that he told her that he wanted to listen to us thought, but after her first lesson with us. Sweet right!?
Also we had yet another memorable lesson with Berta. She told us that we have changed her life and that she is working hard to help her husband accept the gospel. She broke down bawling and asked us to pray for her so that her family will accept her getting baptized. She is a very very very special woman to me and I feel like the opportunity i have had to get to know her alone has been a huge blessing!
I love you guys soooo omuch! I wish you a very very very very MERRY CHRISTMAS! and I pray that you can feel the spirit throughout the whole week! I will miss you, but I am soo excited to tlak to you on Wednesday through skype! :)
Love
Hermana Hailey
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12.16.13
Hey you guys!
It feels like this week was forever long! I couldn't wait to talk to you this monday! Well the week passed fast but it feels like forever ago that we last spoke! I am doing really well. I was SUPER bummed to find that I couldn't recieve my package but my companion helped me feel better :) We are really getting along so much better and I feel like we are both putting in 100 percent effort to work together. it is official. I am going to be in Pirque ANOTHER CHANGE!!!"!! :D yay! The bad news is that Hermana Tax had changes :( we cried for hours. seriously. She is my best friend here on the mission and we have been together since the MTC so it was super hard to have to say goodbye to her. That is the way missions are though! So I can't complain too much! I went from being the only gringo in the pension last change... to being 1 of 3 gringos! My poor companion is the only latina now! The new companion is Hermana Jennings from Georgia.She is really nice and she seems to really like Pirque. I hope that we can all get along really well and have a lot of fun!
We had an awesome lesson with Maria. We read 3 Nephi 11 and she told us that she knows the book of Mormon is true and that she is willing to get baptized! She is leaving on vacation for a week and said she will take the book of Mormon to read :) Sweet right!?
WEll I am super excited for Christmas! It is actually really cool to be here on my mission in this timie of the year! We went to the Chilean Christmas devoitional yesterday. It was an outdoor concert and it was liek a sweet christmas concert mixed with Chilean culture.. from Easter Island (cool polynesian dancees) and Mapuche dances. Also David Archuleta sang alot of songs. It was beautiful!The only bummer is that we came a little late.. well right on time.. and we had to stand outside the gate of where it was and it was super hard to see. There were sooooooooo many people! But we got to listen at least! We also went inside and we looked at a litttle collection of nativity scenes from all over the world and Chile. It was sweet! That is about it!
I love you guys so much! Thanks for everything that you do for me and for all of your prayers.l definately feel them here on my mission! I am so grateful for the family and friends that I have and for there love and kindness. I love you all so much!
Love
Hermana Hailey Sommerfeld
12.9.13 December is Here!!!!
Hey family!
Well this week was an absolutely crazy and busy week! I am exhausted! But in a very good way! I am just gonna tell you day by day what went on!
Tuesday
We went to San Vicente... it is a super far ways away from the rest of our sector and there is literally a house every other mile... we walked a ton!!!! But we had a feeling we should keep contacting. Finally we came to a house and the person said Come in! we were super surprised because we had been rejected by every one else in the past 2 hours. So we walked in and there was an older lady that had a broken arm and was a little sick and apologized for not being able to walk out and recieve us. Anyway we talked to her for a bout 45 minutes and we had an awesome lesson! She lives with a lot of her family in a giant parcela (it is a piece of land iwth about 5 houses.. usually the kids don't leave home when they grow up.. they just add another house.) And she said that the rest of her family is probably interested in our message too! How cool!
Also awesome lesson with Berta. I don't know if you remember when I talked about Berta, the older woman that has cancer. Well we are still working with her becuase she is progressing, surely but slowly! Anyway we went this week to teach her a lesson and when we got to the house she was really grumpy and said she couldn't recieve us. I asked her what was going on because that was wierd for us because even when she is super sick she always lets us in! We got to talking for a little bit and then she told me "I never thought that I would ask why me.. but I am asking this right now. Why me? Why am I suffering why is everything bad happening to me? I feel abandoned by God. He doesn't love me. He has left me solo." We told her that that is not what is going on and asked if we could come inside to help her. She let us in and we talked a little bit about her divine nature.. How she is a child of God and he is letting her have all her trials so that she can become stronger. It is crazy how many trials she really has... Her son died in the earthquake in 2010, she has cancer and can't eat anything, her daughter was just diagnosed with leukemia, she has to take care of her granddaughters, her husband is sick but still has to go to work for 11 hours each day and recently had a problem so he can't drive the car anymore, and soooo many more trials. We couldn't ever possibly explain to her the reason why she has each trial, but we testified to her of God's love for her and we asked if we could read a talk with her. We were inspired to bring "Nobody was with Him" by Elder Holland, and it was for a good reason! The first paragraph says "This is for those that feel abandoned and alone." Exactly how she felt. We were supposed to take turns reading the paragraphs, but she read the whole talk.. and would stop after every other sentence and just pause in silence. She would then weep and continue on reading. I can honestly say I have never felt the spirit so strong in my life, and reading the talk with her actually taught me also! I felt my testimony of the atonement grow and I felt the love that Heavenly Father and the Savior have for each one of us. It made me feel kind of dumb that I complain about my few and very little tribulations that I have day to day.. to think that someone that has as much trials as Berta keeps on going and keeps her faith in Christ. It was a beautiful experience and it really made me feel like my time here is definately worth it. I am so grateful for this opportunity to strengthen my testimony and to see others develope one of their own. Also Berta told us that she told her family that she was going to join our church, and they all pretty much said that she was not welcome to family events any more because they were all centered on a catholic belief. She told us that she quoted the scripture from the bible that says Leave mom and dad and cleave unto God, or something like that, and that she is ready to follow Christ and to join this church. We didn't get a date set, but I am sure that she is closer than ever to being baptized. I know that if it is not her time to be baptized with us she for sure will be baptized with other missionaries. I think Satan knows what power she will have when she joins the church, so he is doing everything possible to hold her back. Cool experience.
Also we taught Guido. He is a super cute old man that lives alone and he has a learning disability so we have to teach him like a child.. He actually has read from the book of mormon each night though! We just have to assign him one verse at a time and he works really hard to try and understand that verse. He said he believes the church is true because every time we talk to him he feels peace. He is progressing reaaaallllllyyyy slowly, but not because he isn't trying.. just because it is hard for him to understand everything. I will keep you posted on him :)
Wednesday:
Nothing special. Lots of lessons. lots of contacting. lots of walking.
Thursday:
We went to the church for a ward council meeting and a guy walked in and asked us if there was a priest present. We told him no but asked what he needed. He said that he was really scared and felt really bad because there was a voodoo witch lady that tried to cast a spell on him and he felt like he needed help from a priest. I tried asking him what happened and how he felt, but my companion cut in and started to talk a lot... like usual and pretty much said "Oh its okay.., its just to scare you.. you are fine." There was a return missionary there too and he said the same thing.. then the guy walked out. I got frustrated and i kind of yelled at my companion and the return missionary.. Okay I didn't yell but I talked to them in my frustrated voice and I said "YOU JUST LET A MISSIONARY OPPORTUNITY WALK OUT THE DOOR." They both looked at me and immediately went and brought him back into the church.. Then Hermana Tax and I gave him a card that has Christ knocking on a door and the order of prayer on the back. We talked about how he can develop spiritual protection from those kinds of things and how if he prays he can feel peaceful again, and all the bad feelings can go away. We went into the chapel and kneeled down and asked him to offer a prayer. He offered the prayer and then told us "Wow. I feel really peaceful right now. " We got his address and he actually called us the next day to thank us for what happened. Goes to show that we can be missionaries in every moment. we just need to recognize when we have those opporutnities.
Friday
We had divisions. I went to apoquindo.. it is the super rich part of Santiago.. It is beautiful and reminds me of California! Seriousl yit is just like california.. I will send pics :)
Saturday
Divisions too. We taught a guy that just graduated from the University with a degree in Baptist Ministry.. like he is literally a baptist preacher. He has been reading the book of mormon searching for errors.. he is in alma 30 something and still hasn't found one. Sweet.
Also we went and sang Christmas songs to an old people home as relief society. it was an awesome experience because we were able to talk to all the sweet little old ladies and we really felt the spirit. I love going and doing that kind of thing.. makes me super happy! Reminds me of the Christmas' I always have had at home :)
And that is it!!!
My challenge to you guys this Christmas season is to pray about someone with whom you can share a book of Mormon as a family! I know that someones name will come to your mind! What a better gift to give the savior!
Love you guys with alllllssss offf my heart!
Hugs and kisses! and Christmas wishes! :) ha ha how cheasy.
Hermana Hailey Bailey Sommerfeld
12.2.13 What thinks Christ of me?
Hey guys!
This week went by super super quickly.. just like all of the other weeks!!!!! How was thanksgiving? How is mom with her surgery? Does she feel better? I thought she was going to do that in December? Thanksgiving was just like any other day here... Except for Mauricio took my companion and I to KFC because he felt bad that I wasn't going to be able to eat a good old American Thanksgiving fest. It was really cute :) We were really content... The wierd thing is that KFC here doesn't come with the usual sides like mashed potatoes, colslaw and biscuits.. It only comes with French Fries and Cheese empanadas... really odd combination for me, but it was yummy :) I am officially so sick of drinking sodas! I will be perfectly happy to drink only water. Welll. Nothing else extraordinary happened. We walked a lot. Taught little :( We are excited trhough for Christmas... and it should be fun to contact people with the christmas cards :D That is about it for today! Sorry for the short letter! Oh yeah! So we went to the specialist this week for all my problems.. and he told me that I basically have had a permanent sinus infection because of the allergies that I have here... and i have to take another inhaler, a nose inhaler thingy, and 2 more allergy medicines, and an antibiotic.. Thankfully none of these give the usual drugged up effect and I will be able to work like a normal person!!! So weird though that i only have allergies so bad here!!! It might be because there are so many trees that produce pollen... Now I feel like you dad! ha ha! Okay.. Thats about it.. I went shopping for some summer clothes today so I feel happy :) You guys know how much I love to shop and how it is a destressing activity for me ha ha! I figured it is okay because it is christmas time :)
Well for spiritual thought;
I read a great talk this week by Elder Niel L. Andersen.. entitled What thinks Christ of Me?
I like the part when he says "Jesus's call 'Come, follow me' is onot only for those prepared to compete in a spiritual olympics. In fact, discipleship is not a competition at all but an invitation to all. Our journey of discipleship is not a dash around a track, nor is it fully comparable to a lengthy marathon. In truth it is a lifelong migration towa4rd a more celestial world."... I was thinking about how often we may compare ourselves to others and our testimonies to others.. but it shouldn0t be that way, because we are all on our own different journeys and there is no way to compare our journeys with those of others.
I also loved the part that says "Miracles are not always so immediate. At times we thoughtfully wonder wh the miracle we have so earnestly prayed for does not happen here and now. But as we trust in the Savior, promised miraccles will occur. whether in this life or the next, all will be made right. The savior declares "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." In the world ye hsall have ttribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" Itestify that as you love Him, trust5 Him, believe Him, and follow Him, you will feel His love and approval. As you ask "What thinks Christ of me?" you wil know that you are >His disciple, you are His friend. By His grace He will do for you what you cannot do for yourself. "
If you have time you can click on the link and read or listen to the whole talk. It is absolutely wonderful :) I know as we start to think more like this we will forget our problems and we will trry to work hard to become better disciples of Christ.
I love you guys!
Hermana sommerfeld
11.25.13 Happy Thanksgiving!!!
HAPPY TURKEY DAY!
I am kind of jealous that you guys are spending thanksgiving in the United States, because we aren't going to do anything here! Well the sister that replaced Hermana Nava is a gringa!!!!!! So I am not hte only gringa in our zone anymore and we are going to do something special this week :D SUPER YAY! we are thinking on making pancakes. I bought waffles today which makes me really hpapy too.. I feel like I am missing all things American at this time of year :( I was feeling like it is not Christmas time, but Sister Guadolupe put up a huge christmas tree in her house and we were able to help decorate it.. With the lights and everything it made me feel like home :) Just for that one little moment! I think it will be awesome to spend the Holiday season here in Chile serving the Lord... what better way to show what I am grateful for?
Okay so in light of Thanksgiving this week I jsut wanted to give you a little list of the little things i am grateful for.. I am keeping a list here every day (3 things.. thanks mom for your suggestion :D) ...
I am grateful for:
1. Pirque.
2. Every single letter and thought and prayer that I recieve from my family and friends at home.
3. Nature. the trees . the birds. the sky. all those beautiful things that I enjoy every day. not grateful for spiders.
4. The sun.. because now I am not supper supper gringa only kinda gringa.
5. Personal study in the mornings. because I am able to recieve revelation on a deeper level and strengthen my testimony through the study of the scriptures.
5. Personal study in the mornings. because I am able to recieve revelation on a deeper level and strengthen my testimony through the study of the scriptures.
6. my companion and her patience with me.
7. The book of Mormon. no joke... can't explain how much it has helped me change, and the powerful effect it can have on people.
8. my mom, my dad, my sisters, my brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.
9. Spanish.
10. prayer.
11. my drawing pad... really comes in handy those bad days that I have to take out all my stress...
12. the mission.
13. conference talks.
14. ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!
15. POPSICLES!!!
16. food with flavor
17. all the amazing people that live in pirque and open their homes to us!
18. That spiders aren't bigger than they are.
19. my backpack as a dog fighting weapon.
20. That my ankle is doing extremely well considering.. and that i have the excuse to walk a little bit slow so I have time to smell the roses and watch the sunsets.
21. Speaking of.. i love sunsets.
22. p days.
23. sundays.
24. the wonderful members that make sure we are never lacking anything..
25. the internet so i can write you.
26. big trees that give amazingly refreshing shade.
27. well everythign else... I can't list all the little things but there are so many that I am grateful for!
Yep... so for my spiritual thought this week..... you guys should read the talk by Elder Perry titled Perfect Love Casteth out Fear. It talks about if we really have love for our neighbors we shouldn't be afraid to talk to them about the gospel.. .IT is an awesome talk and I know that it would really help you guys with the mission work at home because it has really ehlped me here :) Everything else is doing just awesome! WE had another experience this week...
We had an amazing lesson with Maria this week. She was raised really catholic and when we taught her about the book of mormon she kept on saying there is one bible! one God! one bible! We started trying to convince her about the book of mormon and I felt liek .. shoot we shouldn't be trying to convince her.. the spirit should be convincing her, adn I took a step back and stopped talking and tryed to listen to the spirit. Then I felt a prompting that I should show her a scripture in the bible. I asked her to bring us her bible, adn told her to read Juan 10:16 17. She read it outloud than i told her ... this is talking about hte book of mormon. Then I gave her my book of mormon and told her to read 3 Nefi 15:16 17 which says the same thing. She just went silent after wards and looked and studyed my book of mromon and she noticed in the footnotes it has references to the bible. It was so cool, because she had a light go off in her head and realized that we weren't teaching that the book of Mormon was our bible, but the two go hadn in hand. Then she read the introduction to the book of mormon with us.. and said "I want to know the truth. The whole truth. I know the catholic church isn't true." Wow. We just got quiet and then she said.. the catholic has part.. but your church has all of it? We said yes, and testified that she has to pray to know.. She then asked us how we baptized in our church... We explained about baptism and just about when were to set a date the phone rang.!!!!! Chutttaa. But it is okay, because we know that the next lesson with her will be awesome, and since she has the desire to know if the church is true, she will recieve an answer! It is awesome!!!
what more? oh yeah I go to a special doctor this week the ENT.. to see waht is going on with my sinuses and hwy Ihave a sinus infection every other week! so frustrating! but I am praying that it will help me! I think that my migraines have been worse because of the problem with my sinuses so it should solve 2 problems at once! Praying!
I love you guys with allllsss of my heart!!! I hope that you have an AMAZING WEEK! i CAN'T WAIT to talk to you at Christmas.. I am working at losing weight so you will be able to recognize me from skype... ha ha just kidding! ONE MONTH!!!! four more p days!!!
Wow!
Yep. Love you guys so much!!! Hugs and kisses!"
Hermana sommerfeld
11.18.13 Elder Holland's Visit!!!! BIG WEEK.
Hey everyone!
Well... I just have to say that this was the absolute CRAZIEST WEEK OF MY MISSION! It was crazy good and also crazy bad... so I will share the crazy good news first...
Elder Holland's visit!!!!!
So we woke up at 4 something in the morning to get to the church in Santiago, because all 4 missions in Santiago were invited (that is about 900 something missionaries) and we wanted a good seat... Don't you worry we got one :) ha ha... So Elder Holland came and he was AWESOME! He talked about how this is a historic time in the history of the church and that it can be compared wiht the first vision and with the bringing forth of the book of Mormon.. Can I just say wow!! And then he sooo ooo clearly told us that we can't just sit back and say "cool" I live in a really cool time, but we are EXPECTED to be the best missionaries and the best mebmers that we can be because Heavenly Father allowed us to come to the earth at this time to be even stronger than all the people that lived before us. He explained that Heavenly Father has HUGE expectations of us and that we better work hard to be the best that we can be.. One thing that really struck me is that he said we shouldn't talk about "when I go back to real life......" because "THIS IS REAL LIFE." It was crazy he got so into it and pounded his fist on the pulpit.. He is super intense, but hilarious at the same time! It is the coolest thing to listen to him... Anyway he told us that we are expected to be missionaries our entire lives, and that when we go back home we still have to put in the same effort as we do on our missions.. maybe even more! Also I loved that he talked about Chile with so much love!If you guys didn't know he lived here like 7 or eleven years or something like that and he has a HUGE love for the people and the missionaries here... So he talked wiht even more passion than normal!!!! I can't even explain how awesome his talk was! It definately made me want to change and be a better person. Another thing that he said is that the key to be an amazing missionary is "Kick when you don't feel like Kicking and stroke when you don't feel like stroking..." A classic sports analogy, but it sums up perfectly what it is like in themission. We are worn out physically and emotionally, but the blessings that are waiting for us are far above any of the struggles that we have. Also I loved that he answered the question about hwy missions are so hard he said... "BECAUSE SALVATION NEVER WAS AND NEVER WILL BE EASY." If i could make the letters bigger I would.. because he made this part very clear... That we can't expect our mission to just be fine and dandy and super easy because that would be contrary toeverything that we believe.. We need to work hard to get stronger.. Salvation isn't easy because God wants us to be the strongest that we can be. Oh man.. I wish that I could write everything that I learned but this hour and a half that I have doesn't even give me enough time to write aobut this awesome experience! I will have to share more over the next few weeks!!!
Okay for the bad crazy part of my week.........
So I told you guys that we got a new sister in our pension like 2 weeks ago, named Hermana Nava from Mexico... Well when she got here we noticed that she wasn't doing very well health wise.. and whenever we asked her about her symptoms she got super defensive and said we shouldn't worry and then tried to change the subject. She at least agreed to go the doctor! But she wasn't the most honest while we were there.. Anyways we noticed that things were getting worse this week and on Friday morning she woke up but didn't get out of bed because her stomach was hurting her. So her and Hermana Tax stayed home while Hermana portillo and I went out and worked. We came home a coup´le of times and brought food and some medicines, but she kept getting worse.. By the time we got home for the day at about 10 o clock.. Hermana Nava was moaaning and in a lot of pain! The other sisters had no idea what to do so they stayed out of the way while I talked with Hermana Nava. I asked her if she wanted a blessing and she said yes... Well we called just about every priesthood member in our phone and finally got a hold of Hermana Barralles who was eating at a restaurant really close to us with the stake president and with the ward leaders.. They came really quick and gave sis Nava a blessing.. But about 20 minutes after they left she was wwwwaaaaayyyyy worse and we made the decision to go to the hospital.... Ohe yeah needless to say.. at this point of time we had been trying for more than an hour to contact the president and his wife and the assistants but nobody answered their phones.. So we decided to call Hna Barralles again for a ride to the hospital and we left with out permission.. A bold move,but we all felt that the situation was serious enough to break the rules.. Anyway we left and finally the mission nurse called us and told us that we had permission.. I said good because we are already half way to the hospital (it is an hour and a half away).. We got there the same time as President Wright, and then we left to go back home with Hna Barrales... She told us that it was a miracle the way it worked out because she is always in bed at that hour and her phone is always on silent... it just happend to be this night that she was right by our house eating with the stake presidency and she had her phone with her.... Also that we happened to have changes 2 weeks ago and that Hna Nava was living with people that were really concerned about her... Saturday morning we got a very sad phone call telling us that her condition is very serious and that she can no longer continue her mission. It was a VERY stressful weekend to say the least! We just are praying that all willbe okay with her, because she told us that her situation at home isn't the greatest and that if she ever went home early she would have to deal with a lot of problems.. I am praying that her family understands and that all is well... Anyway that was I hope the most tragic thing that will happen on my mission!!!!! I don't have time to fill in all the details but I will write you a letter mom and dad talking about it all!
Well I just want you guys to know that I love you soooooooooo much!!! Thanks for all the love and support you give me here onthe mission! Hugs and kisses!!!!!
Scripture this week
John 14:27 and 16:33
Mwah!!!!!
Love
Hermana Hailey Sommerfeld
11.11.13 Chile is now Caliente!
Hey everyone!!!!
So crazy that it is already time for me to be writing a letter again!!! I feel like it was Monday yesterday! It is awesome that the weeks go by so quickly but at the same time it is REALLY REALLY REALLY SAD! I find myself loving the mission more and more that I am here.. maybe it is because I am less stressed with the language and teaching and all the things that a new missionary experiences because now i am a veteran! ha ha I have officially 7 months in the mission.. sounds little but it feels like I have been here a lot of time! Well when it seemed like we were at a stop we experienced a MIRACLE this week.
You guys remember Guadolupe and her family? The less actives that just went back to church this last week? Well their daughter who is a member is married to a non member.. his name is Sergio. Well we got a call this week saying that Sergio wants to be baptized and he is ready. WOW. can is just say that. wow.. I nearly died when i finished talking on the phone!!!! It is so cool because he nad his wife were so grumpy to us when we first got here and in just this past two weeks he said that he has experienced a change and that his eyes were opened up to the things that are the most important! yeah. cool stuff. no lie I am ecstatic!!! This means that they can ALL be sealed in the temple next year!!! I am so happy I can't even explain it!!! Awesome week for sure!!!!!!
What else is going o? Oh yeah tomorrow we get to listen to Elder Holland! Awesome stuff! But since we are so far away we have to wake up at like 4 something to get ready and leave!!!! :O .... but it is a blessing for sure!!!! My health is doing pretty good... besides the fact that I have had a cold since I got here (I know that means it isn't a cold but I don't know what it is so that is what i call it.) The doctor wants me to go to an ENT to get my sinuses checked since I have had a sinus infection since i got here too.... Besides that I am doing excellent.. By now I am really used to all this stuff so it really is not a big deal. Umm I also went with all the other sisters in my house to the doctor since I am the only gringa nand the doctor doesn't know Spanish so i translated. It was actually pretty awesome because I was able to translate without problem! For me it is really cool to know that my Spanish has finally clicked into place. I think that that has lightened a giant load from my shoulders! it also made me super excited to be able to look for jobs at home translating at doctors offices or whatever.... Something that I can really use to help other people... Believe me it is awful to go to a doctors office in a foreign country with a foreign language.. it will be nice if I can help people feel a little more comfortable... But enough of that TRUNKY talk! Gotta focus my mind on the here and now!
The weather here is absolutely beautiful!!! I am getting quite the tan! Yay!!! but still the whitest person walking down the street ha ha! It is really wierd for me that it is almost Christmas.. .there are decorations every where but it doesn't feel the same to me.... we will see how it turns out!
Well I feel like I am short on time today butI am working hard on getting some hand written letters out! I would love to send them to you guys but I need some addresses... friends I am speaking to you ha ha ha and aunts uncles cousins grandparents etc.,,.
Scripture for this week: alma 29:9... because sharing the gospel is awesome!
Love you guys soooo much!
Hermana Hailey Bailey Sommerfeld
p.s. did you look up the youtube video of choque in Pirque..? crazy stuff!
More pictaaassss
Hermana Tax, Me, Hermana Gonzalez, Hermana Portillo.jpg)
Hermana Tax and I gearing up for the zip line.... pretty sure it is against the rules. oops. Also fun experience here... it took hna tax about an hour up top to finally decide to jump... it wasnt a super high zip line either keep in mind! ha ha... she told us it was to test our patience!.jpg)
Fake Snake!
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So sending gummies in mail to Chile doesnt quite work the way you would think!
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Here is the creepy mask I terrified Hna Tax with.. and some yummy halloween treats!!.jpg)
Okay Please take a look at these two pictures and TRY to tell me they arent some how related..
Real Robin Williams
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Chilean Robin Williams! (aka Ricardo Menares)
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Just takin photo ops on a beatiful street in Santa Rita!
11.4.13 Feliz halloween!
Hey everyone!!!!!
So if we talk numbers... this week was absolutely dead. Seriously it seems like we weren't able to get out of our funk and we had like 5 lessons the whole entire week. No lie. Well this week we found out that my dear companion is allergic to gluten. Sad day. So... we get to start eating less pasta!!!!!!!! ACtually really good for me... I am so sick of eating noodles you have no idea! Anywaysss. we are all doing absolutely fantastic here besides that little problem! I had a great halloween! IT was like any other day in the mission but it was good :) I scared Hermana Tax with a clown mask again and we ate some candy! For me it was really cool because I started to think about the last hallloween and how I was so unhappy and stressed and just not having a good time.. and then this year. I am on a mission. I am happy. It was just a cool little reflection for me to see how the Lord really provides ways for us to grow and progress. I want every halloween after this year to just keep getting better and better! Crazy to think that I will be home with you guys in such a short time... well not home because you are moving... AGAIN!!! Ha ha I look forward to seeing pictures of the new house and hearing how the new neighborhood and ward are :) Maybe by the time I get back you will be living in Hawaii ;)
This week we had cambios again.. Well I didn't have cambios, but the other sisters in our pension did so now we are living with a new person! She is Sister Nava from Mexico.. I feel like it might take a little time to get used to her... We had such a goodtime as a group with Sisters tax and gonzalez and portillo and me.. But I look forward to the new memories we get to make :) Sorry but I don't really have any cool stories this week... actually one.
Okay so we were on changes with our leaders and I was in our sector with Hermana Webb from Utah.. she actually went to Utah State fun little fact there.. Anyway so we were just finishing up our intercambio and were walking to the bus stop to go to Puente Alto to switch back when Fransisco(the loco that lives in our neighborhood) called us over. I told Hermana Webb to just keep saying "tenemos que irnos..We have to go." and we went over to talk to him. He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me into his yard but I gave resistance and put my fight face on... It wasn't really necessary because he only wanted to show me the bird house that he made. He asked me if I liked it and I said yes. Then he asked if there are alot of bird houses in the U.S andI said yes.. ."Good, because I thought of you the whole time I made this.". Yeah creepy and awkward and all those feelings that I just would rather avoid ha ha. Anyway he kept trying to flirt then he asked us to come in and teach him.. I explained to him that we need to have another sister with us and that we can't teach today because we were going to go to Puente Alto. He got upset and said why not! then hermana webb said "no estamos aqui para pololiar estamos aqui para predicar." this means we aren't here to flirt.. we are here to preach... ha ha his face just fell and he got all sad then he asked me if I was going to live in Chile after my mission. Of course I said no... "why not?" he replied.. "Because I have to go back to my family and my friends and my school in the United STates." Then he asked "CAn I go with you!"... "no."... "Why not?" ... "Because I have a boyfriend." Then he started to fake cry and said "Don't tell me that!!!!!! oh my corazon oh my corazon!" Ha ha I died. Then we said yeah we got to go and he asked for a kiss... of course i said no, but gave hima handshake... and he wouldn't let goo!!!!!!!! OH goodness.. sometimes I have it up to here with the men here.
Yep.. Not a spritual experience, but it will do!
Guess what? ELDER HOLLAND IS COMING NEXT WEEK TO TALK TO US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep up the hard work!
I love you guys with allllsss of my heart :)
Hugs and kisses!
Mwah!
Hermana Hailey Sommerfeld
Service Project!!!
So this was a fun little service project!! Basically we had to scoop all this junk out of these big crate things that hold plants and stuff and then we cleaned them all out and got them ready to put some new plants in with fresh and clean water! It was SUPER HOT! because we were inside some green house thing!
10.28.13 HAPPY HALLOWWEEENNN!!!!
Hey fam!
I just have to start off by saying that the best day of my week was Tuesday when I recieved a package from you guys in the mail (w- inspiriational quotes and pictures and fun drawings from Aubrey). Thank you sooooo much!!!!! I have them all hanging up on my walll and they helped me a lot this week! Second best day is when I got my halloween package from you guys!!!! I can't even explain how happy I was to see REESES!!!!!!!!! :D and the clothes were supppperr cute. My roommates were all pretty happy too to get some American candy ;) I just want you guys to understand how AWESOME it is to get packages and letters while I am so far away! It makes me feel close to home! Crazy that Kendall is coming home in December! TIME FLIES! especially here in the mission... the weeks feel like they go by super fast.. .and this cambio is almost over! crazy huh!? Well this week was full of some ups and downs as always.... I had a little experience with my companion... It was friday, which means weekly planning and in weekly planning we talk about all of our strengths and weaknesses as companionship and personally. Well long story short my companion got super defensive and I was trying to say things as nicely as possible and she started yelling super fast in spanish at me. when I say yelling I mean yelling... do you know how scary it is when a latina is yelling at you in spanish? Scary. Anyways I hate to admit it but I lost my temper too and started yelling back. Definetely a low of my mission. It ended up that the other sisters in the pension got involved and they told my companion that she was in the wrong and that I was right and she needs to humble herselve a little bit and just listen to the things I was saying. They calmed her down and she left the room and came back a few minutes later and told me sorry that she was in the wrong and that she realizes she was wrong to say the things that she did. She explained that this week was hard because her family hasn't been writing her and she worries and I never once asked her if she was okay.... I was oblivious that she was having problems so I apologized that I didn't talk to her about her family and she promised she would be more humble and she would try not to react badly when she didn't get her way. So that was the first fight I have ever had with a companion... and I never want to have one again!!!!!!!! I am also really grateful that I did not react in my rage and call the mission president, because that is my goal of my mission... to not have problems with companions and if I have problems to not get anyone else involved.... But... everything else in the week went okay besides that! I am really enjoying the sweets... needless to say i gained weight this week so I will need to control myself with all those sweets that you sent me!
Awesome part of this week is that Guadolupe and her family came to church this sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is a cool article in the Liahona this month.. .I don't think you guys have liahona but it might be in the ensign.. anyway it is by Elder Bednar and it is called "Becoming a Preach My Gospel Missionary." It is a really good article and it explains how we can all become better missionaries with Preach my Gospel! It would be especially good for Bronson and Ashley to read as they are preparing for their missions..
Mom I found a conference talk especially for you and your super special body! It is by Elder Rasband and it is called "Special Lessons".. one of the quotes that I found in the talk made me think of you... it says " For reasons usually unknown, some people are born with physical limitaitons. Specific parts of the body may be abnormal. REgulatory systems may be out of balance. And all of our bodies are subject to disease and death. Neverhteless the gift of a phsycial body is priceless.... A perfect biody is not required to achieve a divine destiny. In fact some fo the sweetest spirits are housed in frail frames.. Eventually the time will come when each spirit and body shall be reunited again in perfect form both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame." So don't worry Mom if you are losing all your hair and it seems like your arms don't want to work and your hips don't want to walk... because one day you will be perfect ;) ha ha I just thought of you when I read this and how you seem to struggle physically... but there is hope!!!!! ;) You should read this talk there are some really good quotes!
THANK YOU! for the video of Aubrey's primary performance it made me suppppeeerrrrr happy to watch!!!! It is amazing that out of all of us she got the voice! ha ha! I love to listen to her sing.. it is one of the things I miss so much so it made me really happy to watch it :D Ashley you are adorable as usual in your sadies pictures! I love you guys with alllll offff myyyy heaarrrrtt! Have an absolutely fabolous halloween! >It is crazy to think.. but I will be home for the next halloween!!!! We better start planning! Ha ha thriller would be awesome!!!!!!!! Or you know disney land could be cool too ;) ha ha
Love you guys sooooo much!!!!!
Hugs and Kisses!
Sister Hailey
10.21.13 Que no parre la fiesta.... Dont stop the partttaaayy!
Hey guys!!!
Wednesday: we had a lesson with a less active and her mom and daughter's friend. The friend was really interested in our message and we are going to go back this week and teach english :) We also went to a class for relief society and made cookies! Sister Doll is so wonderful and she helps us so much :) it was fun to listen to her explain how to make snickerdoodles in her Spanglish :) It was great to talk to some of the relief society sisters too :D
So it was absolutely awesome to open up my email today and find all of the fun pictures from you guys!!!!! :D made me super happy!!! I love seeing those kinds of things! Where was Aubrey.. at a zoo? Crazy pic of her holding that snake!! Ha ha..
Anyways yeah things are going pretty well here..well it seems like this week flew by supppppeeer quickly so I feel like I don't have very much to tell you!
Tuesday: We had a super busy day and we visited lots and lots of people! We had a lesson with Maria, an elderly lady that spoke with the missionaries before. She just got back from her brother's funeral and was a bit upset, but said that her granddaughter was just born the day before. We talked a little about the plan of salvation, and how that is how God works and death is a part of that process. She is bien Catolica, but we are hoping that she will take well to the lessons and be able to distinguish the spirit.. who knows!? ha ha. Yeah also we had a lesson with Yazna, the eternal investigator, and she was a bit sick but she let us in and we talked to her about Alma 5 that she read the week before. She also read chapter 32 and she talked for about 15 minutes of all hte stuff that she learned.- I can definately see that she is improving spirtually :)
Wednesday: we had a lesson with a less active and her mom and daughter's friend. The friend was really interested in our message and we are going to go back this week and teach english :) We also went to a class for relief society and made cookies! Sister Doll is so wonderful and she helps us so much :) it was fun to listen to her explain how to make snickerdoodles in her Spanglish :) It was great to talk to some of the relief society sisters too :D
Thursday: we had a lesson with Jacqueline, and she made us some lemon pie!!!!!!! it was delicious no lie! She told us that she liked the lessons with the misisonaries before, but it is different with us as sisters, she feels like she can connect with us :) Supér awesome! She told ujs about her life.. that she had a baby when she was 19 and that she never got to go to school. after that, and now she is raising her son's two kids also. She is a super neat lady and I love to go visit her .) Some of her manerisms remind me of Grandma Atkinson, and she has the same eyes.... I always leave the visits thinking of grandma :)
Friday:We had divisions with a sister from Urugay, she is my new leader.. she is super nice and she gave some good tips on being a trainer. We had a family home eveneing with Pedro and Elsa and their family... They are awesome!
Sunday: We went to Indira's house.. she is a less active, but she is starting to return and her testimony is so strong!" She told us her life story.. that her mom abandonded her when she was almost a year old and she was raised by foster parents. When she was 5 her foster mom tried to adopt her, but her mom showed up and wouldn't sign the papers. She lived with her foster mom and dad until she was 15 and she lived with 14 other brothers and sisters on a farm. She said she learned how to work really hard! When she was 15 her foster mom started having healht problems and coudln't be a foster mom any more so Indira had to go live with another family. This new family didn't give her food or anything! So she started to work on the weekends to pay for shampoo and she got a really good summer job that paid for her to go to school the rest of the year. She ate only because her job was at a restaurant. It amazed me because she did not complain about her situation but told us how grateful she was to have been able to learn the things that she did, and that she is a better mom becuase of it. I felt really humbled to listen to her story and how she overcame all of her hardships. She is an absolutely wonderful person and I want you guys to meet her because i love her! She is excited because she is preparing to enter the temple! I am so excited for her! And she has been such a great missionary for us! She was the one that talked to miguel's mom...
Monday: We went and planted lettuce today as a service project. We were working in a green house for 5 hours this morning... and I am fried!!!! Everyone was making fun of me ha ha! The family that we were helping (Pedro and Elsa's sister) has a zip line and we played on it!!1 so fun!!!! I will have to send the pics°! Also they have parrots!!! WE had a fun time today! :) and now I am writing you!!!! good times. Yeah that is it for this week!!!
Love you guys!
Have an awesome week this week! Hugs and kisses :D
Love
Hermana Sommerfeld
10.14.13 Update from the South of America
Hey Hey Hey.
So sorry for the short and probably very grammatically horrific letter last week. Remember how I said I wasn't feeling well? Well we left early from writing to go home, and while I was on the bus I was praying so so so hard not to throw up. It was not but 3 steps off the bus that I did just that.. threw up. Sorry for the details! But yep.. I for sure have a testimony of prayer now.... Ha ha. Well after that I was super super sick for the next 3 days. I never want to eat chicken and rice again. EVer! While I was stuck in the bathroom for three days I was really able to ponder on the sacrifices the pioneers made. So many were so sick nad they didn't have a bathroom floor to lie on. I am so grateful for their sacrifices!!! }
Well of the short part of proselyting htis week we had bunch of interesting incidents with some barrachos (drunks) and tourists and our investigators. So we found out why Miguel didn't want to get baptized!!!! It is because his mom said no. because she heard from someone that she would have to pay tithing from her business for him to be a member and she didn't want to pay for him to be baptized. yeah. goes to show how frustrating rumors are! We are going to work really hard this week to calm their doubts!
We also met an old investigator who has been out of town for months on business but wants to be baptized. He has a super strong testimony and he goes to church on his own without any one even reminding him.. The problem! His "wife" is married to a different man who left her 18 years ago and in order to get divorced they either have to find him or wait for a super long legal process. So that is where we are! The elders didn't really teach his wife much though, and we already started a really good relationship with her! We are goin to have a family home evening with them on friday and we are excited because they are awesome!
I was having a REALLY hard time this week with my companion that I even considered calling president Wright and telling him that I needed to have changes. This was just my rage working against me and I spent a 3 hours in my room praying for the strength and the ability to turn my hate into love. I never thought that it would be possible, but hte next day as I focused on finding the strengths in my companion I seemed to forget all the things that she had done to upset me. Seriously guys you have no idea how bad it was for a while but I am really glad that I took time to calm myself down before I did anything stupid. ... I feel like I am really growing and learning on my mission. You guys know how short my fuse is and how easily I react to everything. I am praying that when I get home that patience is one of my strengths. We will see how that goes but just to let you know I am working on it! }
I love you guys tons and tons! Hugs and super big kisses!}
Love ya!
Choose the right.... and read the scriptures!and all that stuff that they tell you to do in church!
Hermana Sommerfeld
10.14.13 Update from the South of America
Hey Hey Hey.
So sorry for the short and probably very grammatically horrific letter last week. Remember how I said I wasn't feeling well? Well we left early from writing to go home, and while I was on the bus I was praying so so so hard not to throw up. It was not but 3 steps off the bus that I did just that.. threw up. Sorry for the details! But yep.. I for sure have a testimony of prayer now.... Ha ha. Well after that I was super super sick for the next 3 days. I never want to eat chicken and rice again. EVer! While I was stuck in the bathroom for three days I was really able to ponder on the sacrifices the pioneers made. So many were so sick nad they didn't have a bathroom floor to lie on. I am so grateful for their sacrifices!!! }
Well of the short part of proselyting htis week we had bunch of interesting incidents with some barrachos (drunks) and tourists and our investigators. So we found out why Miguel didn't want to get baptized!!!! It is because his mom said no. because she heard from someone that she would have to pay tithing from her business for him to be a member and she didn't want to pay for him to be baptized. yeah. goes to show how frustrating rumors are! We are going to work really hard this week to calm their doubts!
We also met an old investigator who has been out of town for months on business but wants to be baptized. He has a super strong testimony and he goes to church on his own without any one even reminding him.. The problem! His "wife" is married to a different man who left her 18 years ago and in order to get divorced they either have to find him or wait for a super long legal process. So that is where we are! The elders didn't really teach his wife much though, and we already started a really good relationship with her! We are goin to have a family home evening with them on friday and we are excited because they are awesome!
I was having a REALLY hard time this week with my companion that I even considered calling president Wright and telling him that I needed to have changes. This was just my rage working against me and I spent a 3 hours in my room praying for the strength and the ability to turn my hate into love. I never thought that it would be possible, but hte next day as I focused on finding the strengths in my companion I seemed to forget all the things that she had done to upset me. Seriously guys you have no idea how bad it was for a while but I am really glad that I took time to calm myself down before I did anything stupid. ... I feel like I am really growing and learning on my mission. You guys know how short my fuse is and how easily I react to everything. I am praying that when I get home that patience is one of my strengths. We will see how that goes but just to let you know I am working on it! }
I love you guys tons and tons! Hugs and super big kisses!}
Love ya!
Choose the right.... and read the scriptures!and all that stuff that they tell you to do in church!
Hermana Sommerfeld
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