el campo misional! The mission field!

Hey family and friends!

I am wriing this email from a little internet cafe in my area! My fingers are numb because i have been out in the rain... it is like a monsoon out there! and so sorry for the bad spelling and typing!

My area is awesome! It is about an hour away from Santiago and it is out in the country...kind of... it is really similar to St.George, in that there is a big mixture of farms and neighborhoods. Also it is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Seriously... it is just beginning winter here so there are still some fall leaves, and a lot of green trees too.. there is a vineyard right by our house, but there is graffitti all over it because the workers are on strike and its this big crazy issue I don't really ask about. Okay so the area is called Pirque, if you want to look it up on the ocmputer.. not sure if ther will be good pictures bu t you can try! My compainion is Hermana Hernandez and she is from Nicaragua. She is okay at English, but sometimes we have to use charades to communicate. The first person we went to contact ,she said I will do this one, then the next one is yours. It was terrifying, but I actually was able to speak in Spanish and we set up an appointment to go teach them!

Our area is going to be kind of difficult because it is Huge and we can`t ride bikes (too dangerous) and we have to take busses everywhere.. side note. the busses are also terrifying. My balance has improved greatly! Okay anyway. In our area we have one small branch and there are five of us sisters that cover it (first sister missionaries in this area..what what!!??), and there are A LOT of inactive and less active members. It is absolutely crazy! So we willl be teaching a lot of families that don't go to church and try to help them come back. One of the sisters that we taught is named Esteffani, and she has two cute girls and is married to a non members. She hasn't been to church for a long time, and she started smoking a year after she was baptized. She wants to quit but she started smoking when she was 10 and it is something hard  for  her.. especailly since her husband smokes. We had a great lesson with her and felt  the spirit so strong! I really hope that we can help make a difference  for her, and I hoope her husband's heart is softened (he says we are a  cult..) There are lots of stories like this and I wish i had time to share them all, but I don't! ;( you will just have to read my journal when I get home!

Okay.. Some interesting/different/cool cultural facts about Chile....

If you want to ride a bus you have to call for it like a taxi.

Everyone greets eachother with a hug and a kiss on the cheek... we can't do this with men, and sometimes it is really awkward when they go in for a kiss and you have to say no.

The homes have no insulation. Our house is literally all cement.. including the floor. I freeze.

you say permiso before anything it is like our form of excuse me, but literally is said  almost every other sentence.

There are fences around every house and you have to call Allo! in order to get someone to come outside. 

There is a lot of Fanta here. orange soda for days.

The food is a lot better now that I am not in the CCM. We eat rice almost every meal.

You eat a huge lunch and then once for dinner. Once is like a hot drink with some bread or a little snack.. However the members over feed you for every meal! (We had two once's yesterday). 

A hot drink they have is ECCO.. apparantly it tastes just like coffee, but it is made from a grain. I love it! 

The name for umbrella is paraagua.. literally for water.

Latinas love english music. They always sing American songs to me and ask if I know it.. usually I do cuz I am a music genious like that. Just kidding.

There is always music playing everywhere we go... it is so hard not to dance to some of  the songs! 

Futbol. is. huge. I have a hard time not watching it when I  go in houses. People get so  excited.. its like the superbowl every game.

Lots of other stuff... everythingis different, but I am enjoying it!

I am having a great time teaching people! There are always struggles, but it is better to learn  from them then to complain! I am so sad to hear about Aaron. Please give all my love to everyone. I know that he is in a better place, and that he is free from pain. Also sorry to hear about Dixie Anderson, please let her family know that I am thinking of them. Is everyone okay in Oklahoma!? That is scary! I had a dream about a tornado last night! Sometimes I wake up to small tremors and it puts me on the edge... don't really like these natural disasters!

I am going to try to send some pictures, so hopefully those make it! If any of you are trying to send me messages and there are pictures attatched they might not go through because of the filter of the sight.. so... send your message and the pictures seperate! Por favor! Also, momma I need some pictures of Dax! I am missing him with all of the dogs here..

Other side note. There are stray dogs everywhere. It is so sad...  there are some in such bad conditions, but also there are some that are just mean and come up and attack you! it is kind of scary.. that is why I have a BOM in my hands at all times.. because if I look like I a going to hit them with it, then they back off a little! But seriously, some dogs love us and will follow us for a mile. My companion hates it when they do that, but I usually pet them and sneak them some food.. (Probably why they follow us for so long). I can just tell some of them are so sweet and it makes me want to cry when they give the puppy  dog pout. Second side note. Fleas. I am one of those white people that fleas like to bite. Yay.

Okay so i get sidetracked but I just thought of a major accomplish I made this week! So members like to serve lots of fruit. all the times. and one house served a bowl with bananas mixed into it.......................................No. I didn't eat the bananas... BUT! I did eat the kiwi that was touching the bananas. It only took 4 cups of fanta and a lot of will power. Mom, you should be proud.

Alrighty! I have to leave out into the pouring rain and freezingness.. but I love you guys so much! and i MISS you! CTR and all that jazz!

Ciao!

XOXOXOXXOXO

Hermana Sommerfeld

Rainy day today! flooded streets

The Mish

Familia y Amigas!!!!

How is everything going!? I miss talking to you all and being able to catch up on everything! This week is my last week in the CCM!!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYA.
seriously. so. ready. to. get. outta. here.

Anywayzz.We have already started doing street contacts with real people on the streets of Chile, and it is HARD! You know how I don´t like looking like an idiot? Throw me out there on a busy street with people that are super busy and speak a different language and tell me to go talk to them about Jesus with my companion. It is terrifying, but at the same time it is soooo cool! That moment when you finish a conversation and someone walks away with a Mormon.org card and is smiling... it is awesome. I mean it is highly unlikely that they are going to full on be converted.. but we are just planting little seeds! 

Besides having a really cool week with things like that, I have had a hard week with my companion and with keeping a good attitude.I am working on not getting bugged at every little thing but it is really hard.. it is like all of my pet peeves are rolled into one person that I have to spend 24 hours with. I never have prayed for patience so hard in my life.... When I get back I might be able to sit next to Aubrey at dinner without telling her to be quiet chewing! Just kidding Aubs! Okay soo.... we had a few laughs this week too in our district. Honestly love these elders. It is going to be so hard when we leave! I am going to miss them so much!

Funny things said this week:

We were practicing street contacting.. and we were told people stop if we ask them a question.. so one group was up and elder lee asked "donde está la comida? the person answered and Elder Holesclaw...thinking that he needed to relate that question to the gospel asked "Donde está la espiritu comida"? (where is the spiritual food) We all bust up laughing and he looked around like.. was that not a good thing to say?

Elder Nelson said.. "Secret combinations ruled my highschool......long awkward pause......every one was forgetting their locker combinations all the time." we died.

Elder Nelson also said.... "Well I for sure am not random.. .that is why I believe all chickens should be euthenized." Honestly I think we all looked at eachother for a good 2 seconds and we started laughing for the next 5 minutes.

Things I miss/want

Cinnamon Rolls

Kneaders french toast

Cafe Rio

Popcorn

Hot chocolate... the normal kind

ice cream

my laptop

freedom

I am excited to try the food out of the CCM because I am hoping it will be a lot better........ Praying it will be a lot better. I have just had some super wierd combinations for lunch here! Like a soup thing with beans and spaghetti noodles and a weird sauce and then hot dogs on top. When I say weird. I mean WEIRD!

I love you guys so much! I can't wait until I email you next time with stories about real people and the actual mission field. It is beautiful here! I can't wait until i can upload pictures! Seriously fall here is amazing! There are trees everywhere so it makes the whole city colorful.... The only downfall is that it is getting colder.... brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr... the elders always joke that I am ALWAYS cold. and it is true. There is no such thing as heat down here unless it is summer :( I'm going to come back with thick blood!

Love you guys so much! 

Hermana Sommerfeld

There are no tacos.....but there are earthquakes!

Hola Familia!

This week went by so crazy fast! It is insane to think that I only have two weeks left in the CCM! I am so excited to get out of here, but at the same time I don{t think i am ready! I can´t even order from McDonalds here. Really... I tried today and strugggggleeed. They laughed at me. Lets just say I am humbled more and more and more each day!

This week we had our first earthquake... no big deal. Really it was not big deal.. things just kind of shake and you hold on to a wall and wait. It was a small one, but kind of cool. Don´t worry mom. Besides that things were pretty anticlimatic. Every one is getting a little stir crazy and I think we get more and more comfortable with each other every day in our little district. We laugh at the dumbest things and find the simplest things to amuse ourselves. It really is ridiculous!

Things I want/miss this week:

familia

amigos

popcorn

alone time

the gym

english

My list is getting smaller! Just because I havent had much time this week to think about all the things that I miss!

Umm... I had p day before I emailed today, and it was pretty interesting... we got whistled at the whole entire time. I hate that... I don´t know what it is about us white girls that some people like... but it gets annoying. We had a good time though!

The Latina missionaries from this group left this morning and it was soooooo sad! I got so close to some of htose sisters and I am going to miss them so much! I hugged them and couldn´t help but think it was probably the last time that I was going to see them :( I am so happy to have been able to met them though!

My cough is still the same... boo. But I am feeling much better! Hopefully I continue to get better... .It is hard in this air though. Everyone smokes, and there is so much pollution! It is really gross! It rained the other day and we saw the mountains for the first time! they are huge and so visible when the air is clear.. It is crazy how much inversion there is on a regular basis!

Sorry this email is short, but email time is not very long! I love you guys! 

This week some scriptures I liked were D y C 90:11 and D y C 132:22-24... They are pretty good so if you get a chance to read them that would be awesome! I am praying for you! Love you all!}

Hermana Sommerfeld

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

NO Tacos in Chile!

Hola Familia y Amigas!!!!!!!

I am so excited to be able to sit down and write you this week! It has been filled with many ups and downs, but I have had such a good experience! This last week we got our new group of Latina missionaries! I have had the chance to be able to meet all of the sisters and become good friends with them.. It helps that I can carry on a conversation in Spanish! I decided when I get back I am going to have the best spanish accent down.... People will think I am a white person from Mexico. Lets see.. there are so many things I want to say and so short of time so sorry if the email is super choppy!!!

Things I am craving/want/miss

Tacos

Costa Vida

Slurpee

Popsicles

Doritos

Music that doesn't put me to sleep

family

friends

Dax

being able to go to the gym

alone time

GRILLED CHEESE

french fries

food in general.....

my phone

king Louie... some nights I just want to curl up next to him and cry..

Funny things said this week

Elder Rice:When I get home I want to be like 6 foot 7 or 8... just a couple inches taller

Elder Nelson(short guy): I just want to not look like my little brothers little brother!

One of the new North American sisters, Hermana Turville had mashed potatoes and a latina missionary was trying to tell her she should put pepper on it. Sister Hobbes, her companion told her that the other missionary was telling her she should put the leche on her potatoes (Leche flan is like pudding but looks like gravy). Hermana Turville dumped her thing of Flan on her potatoes and the Latina missionaries went crazy laughing! It was an awesome prank!

Also we had a full on hour conversation about physics. Like nerd talk physics. I wish dad would have been here to participate in the conversation... some of the elders would have loved that.

I am getting along way better with Sister Phelps... we talk about everything now, and we joke about so much! IT helps to put some humor in our relationship, and I am loving her more and more... I will be sad when we arent companions any more!!!!

So remember when I said I was sick? I still am. I got put on the steroids.... and now i have a mustache. JUST KIDDING! but really I had to take the roids, but they didnt help, and now I have a fat kid inhaler... so I suck on it so I can breathe.. apparently my lungs hate Chile, because they don{t want to work. Don't worry Mom! I am okay... I just am struggling a little bit to feel 100 percent! Yesterday I really took time to focus on having a better attitude about things, so today I am feeling much better.. just because I am telling myself that I feel awesome.

As far as lessons go, and teaching our "investigators", I am getting soooooooooo much better! I can teach what I want to in Spanish, and I follow almost the whole entire lesson... We have teachers now that speak way faster and ask some difficult questions. The harder the lessons are, the better I am getting at teaching so it is okay with me! One of the Maestros (teachers) said that I have a really powerful way of teaching and that once I get spanish down I will be an amazing missionary. This really boosted my confidence and made me excited to get out there and serve! I feel like I still need the next 3 weeks in the CCM though... for sure!

One of our teachers broke down the amount of people in our areas, and divided it by how many missionaries there are. Apparently I am personally responsible for 14,706 people. I better get studying harder if I am going to convert all of them!! Ha Ha.

What else? I am going to the temple again tomorrow! That will be nice... I love having it right in the back yard!

I love you guys so much and I want you to know that I am missing you! Please keep me up to date with random current events in America... so I know if there is some tornado in Utah or something weird like that. I love seeing the pictures of you guys! and I absolutely love hearing about all the fun stories you have while I am gone!

Choose the right.

Be happy.

Read the scriptures. they are awesome. seriously.

I love you all with all my heart!

Hugs and Kisses and all that fun stuff!

Hermana Sommerfeld
aka Gringo fo sho.

Chilean Stuffs

Hey guys!!!!!!

 

I have been missing you like crazy, and I counted down the time until i was able to talk to you...starting last Tuesday! This week was a week full of challenges, but I have been learning so much! I am not picking up the language as fast as I would like to, and it is frustrating me sooooooo much! Also...you guys know my immune system. It fails. I of course am the one to get sick :( with a croupy cough and just overall not feeling well, but I got a blessing and I am trying as hard as I can to get better (honey and lemon water mmmmmmm). There is an elder in our group that found out he has mono and he literally sleeps ALL the time in class, but he his getting better... We have lots of fun pictures and video of teasing him while he is fast asleep at his desk! I´m just so happy I have a little cough and everything is alright :)

 

The other challenge has been with my companion... You all know that I have personal space issue, and having a companion who likes to follow rules... (a little too well) is getting kind of frustrating. She always stays within literally... 2 feet of me. Boo! But I am working on my patience, and hopefully when I come home I can have zero issues with personal space! Our latina roommates and all of the other Hermanas left today. It was super sad! I got some great pictures with them and we created some amazing memories. I am so happy that I was able to meet all of them. Last night we were allowed to take pictures and all of the Latin Americans wanted pictures with us North Americans (there were even some that I never met that wanted pictures ha ha) Anyway, I am excited to get my new roommates tomorrow and to have a whole new group of them come into the CCM. I can´t wait to meet them!

 

Last P day after I emailed you guys, we went and walked around the few blocks surrounding hte temple. It is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS here! It is a huge city, but there are so many trees and cool plants! I seriously wanted to take a picture of everything! Oh and guess what I saw at the park this week! A PARROT! actually like 20 of them in a group, and I made a big deal out of it, while all of the Latina girls just looked at me like I was crazy. It is cool to see the different animals and wildlife! Oh yeah sorry, last Pday.. We went to a store and I had my first conversation with a non member Chilean! I pretty much just said hello and paid for my stuff, but it was cool.

 

The week went by really fast, but the days were TORTURE. We now have a set schedule, and we do the same thing every.single.day... I hate routine, and it is definetly something I am struggling with, but I know I need to attend all these classes so I can be a good missionary. I am getting better with the whole bring up baptism on the first lesson  kind of thing, because I am learning how to do it, and even with fake investigators the spirit is so strong... I think the things I need to get even better with are obedience and patience, so I am working on it this week.

 

Sorry I don´t have many stories to share with you.. The week has been pretty non eventful! I am just missing everything American right now. ESpecially the food! I should have taken Taylor{s advice and brought spices. One word. Bland. One other word. Meat. GROSS. We even had pizza last week from pizza hut and it tasted nothing like what pizza should taste like ha ha! I will be so happy when I get a good ole greasy American meal!

 

I love you guys so much and I wish I could have gone to St.G with you, but I really am having a good time here. Please send some pictures!!! You can and it would be absolutely wonderful to get some! (Some of Dax too). I love to hear of all the fun things that you are doing! Sorry i missed your birthday Bubba! I know you are looking more and more studly every day!

 

I love how we read the B.O.M as a family, and I know that as you continue to do that you will be happy :) I miss you guys so much!!!!

 

PS ash, did you put on facebook that I can get emails? Or tell GMa and GPa A and S? I would love to hear from them! Please just send on this letter to whoever is interested! I think I will have a better more interesting letter next week, but until then.......

 

I love you guys!!

 

Read the B.O.M, Pray, and all that churchy stuff.... cuz its pretty great! You all are awesome!

 

Love,

Hermana Sommerfeld}

 

oh yeah.. and mom the fall leaves here are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is beautiful :)

First Week

Buenos Dias familia!!!!!!

Wow. It has been almost a week already. It really is true what they say. The days are FOREVER LONG, but the weeks fly by. I am having the most interesting, wonderful, crazy, beautiful, spiritual, amazing experience of my life already. Things down here are so different from what I expected, but I am so happy to be here and I have felt the hand of the Lord already working in my life. So.... I´m going to kind of organize this letter or else i will just blabber on forever and ever and ever.... 

First experience: We arrived at the airport and the only English we heard was from ourselves. Weird. The signs were all in Spanish and we had to go through a bunch of immigration and customs and everything and it was kind of stressful... but we figured it out! The part that kind of stunk was that the MTC people weren´t there to pick us up yet so we just sat as a big group of gringos chilling in the lobby of the airport. That was kind of when it hit me that I was on a mission in a foreign country! We eventually got picked up and made it to the CCM ( spanish for MTC) it is pronounced Say Say Emmay.

We were told that we are the first group of North American´s to ever come here!!! PIONEERS! Holla...  Any way.. most of the Latina missionaries didn´t show up until the next day, so we didn´t get our roommates until then. They are two AMAZING girls from Nicaragua and Bolivia! Hermana Castana is from Nicaragua and is so adorable, and Hermana Zalaya is from Bolivia and she gets along really well with me...(we stay up too late trying to communicate in spanish ha ha). Anyway they always sit with us at lunch and we are able to talk with them and communicate really well... I think my spanish has graduated to Cafe Rio status... I´ve graduated from Taco Bell!!!! Ha ha. The first few days I cried a lot because I was getting so frustrated with spanish.. Learning languages is definately not one of my talents, and my companion, Sister Phelps knows spanish super well... It stressed me out only being able to understand 20 percent of what was being said and only knowing how to say 3 words. This was the time that I really started to pray hard about something... I think my laid back attitude and chill chillness doesn´t really work with Hermana ¨Phelp´s BYU-I personality, so it takes extra work. I suggested we sit down and talk about how we can communicate better about what we can do to get along, and we did. I also read a lot about loving others, and what I could do to be slow to anger. I think it was a HUGE leap of success on my part, because I found a way to love her and get along with her. I am so happy to have her as my companion even though we have those moments. 

Okay, so this leads to the teaching part of the CCM... Its hard. We have to speak in spanish ALL the time for every lesson! and we teach 3 investigators a day... with 3 different lessons. Its sooooo much work to come up with these lessons with a companion with different opinions and to be able to express my thoughts through spanish. It is a real test of how hard I need to work. Im just saying I am working sooooooo hard and I am trying to be the best missionary that I can! Each day my spanish improves.. and I am better at teaching. I think I went on a Spanish speaking mission to become more humble. If I was teaching in English... I think I would be awesome. its easy for me. Spanish..... is. not. So, Spanish was the Lord´s way of teaching me humility! 

Okay! for the food here....... Let´s just say I miss American food sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much! I think I have lost like 10 pounds, because I just don´t eat that much. There is no salad dressing except for oil, and sometimes lemons. MOstly its mashed potatoes, or rice with some sort of meat... No Me Gusta!!! The desserts are good though! and there is jello at every meal!!! Ha ha! but I do really crave a popsicle, or a smoothie soooo bad!!! 

Lets see what else....our schedule is wake up at 7, personal study together, eat breakfast, exercise (i like this a lot, except for i want to play soccer and the guys are always playing... really intensely so i never join in because someone always gets hurt!), shower, class, another  class, another class, lunch, another class, another class, another class, another class, dinner, another class, another class, another class, and bed at 11 (usually ends up being 12 or 1). I have NEVER slept this well in my entire life. Mom, I found the cure for insomnia.... its called a mission ha ha. 

Umm... lets see.. all our Maestros are absolutely wonderful.. they are working on their english so they speak in spanish a majority of the time... this actually helps me. One thing i am having a hard time with is the fact that they tell us to invite investigators to be baptized on the first lesson. I struggle with this, because I don´t want to scare people away... but maybe I just need to obey and see how it works!

As far as how I am progressing and learning spiritually... It´s amazing. I never really saw my testimony as being super strong, but just this last week it has grown significantly. I bore my testimony on Sunday and I bawled... of course. I have gained such a testimony of the spirit and its ability to comfort and communicate.. Being one of the only two English speaking sisters sometimes it feels so overwhelming being surrounded with spanish, but through the spirit I have been able to get across all my love and my thoughts with the other Hermanas. They are all soooo great and they really are such a representation of what a wonderful gospel we have. I have been so humbled by them. When they ask me where I am from and I respond Soy de Utah... They ALL say ahhhh ¨"Templos", or temples! and show me there young woman medallions. they ask me if I have been to the SLC temple, and what it is like. There are many of them that have not been able to go to the temple because they live so far away and don´t have enough money to travel. I feel so guilty for not taking advantage of the convenience of the temples in Utah. I hope that you guys can make it a goal to go more, because there are so many people that want that blessing so bad! I am so grateful to go to the temple with them tomorrow for their first time! 

Oh yeah! that reminds me the view from my room is AMAZING! the CCM is on the temple grounds, and from my window is a courtyard with a fountain and beautiful plants and palm trees, and the temple. It is so wonderful...I wanted to put pictures on, but I cant do that until I enter the mission field. Don´t worry mom... I´m taking pictures!!!!

I have to go because we only have 2 hours for our P Day... its not a day, but like a little session of time, and I have to go shop and do other things. Just know that I absolutely love all of you, and I feel your prayers! I am so grateful for this gospel, and the chance to be in Chile. I already love the people and I am excited to get out and do the work! I miss you more than i can even express, but I know that I am supposed to be here, and that I am helping other people´s families be together for eternity. I can´t wait to read your emails next Tuesday and to talk to you about my experiences from this upcoming week! I love you all!

oops.. one more thing. I wanted to share  a story with you to brighten your day! We were at the park for exercise time (they have exercise equipment built into the park by the way... like playgrounds but for adults. its awesome) and we were playing volleyball, and a stray dog came and started chasing our ball! He was hilarious! He did that for a good 20 minutes... we couldn´t really even finish our game! Then he came up to me and I pet him on his head and he rolled over on his back just like Dax does and I sat there rubbing his belly for like 5 minutes. I felt so bad he didn{t have a good family to belong to.. but I think I made his day! He sure made mine! 

I love you guys with all my heart!

Hugs and kisses

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox}

Hermana Sommerfeld

Hailey's First Email!!!!!

Hey guys!

I got here safe and sound :) It took us until nine this morning but we are at the MTC in Santiago now and it is absolutely beautiful. It is a mix between California and  Utah... The smell is like Cali and the mountains like Utah. Everything is Spanish...obviously and it is super hard to understand everybody, but its just the first day so it will get better :) Our group of nine is the first North American group ever and we definately look like gringos! This letter would be longer but i am typing on a keyboard meant for spanish speakers so i am struggling a little bit ha ha... My companion is the sister that was at the airport. Her name is Hermana Phelps from California and she is super cute! We prayed at lunch today...it was really weird but I will just have to get used to it! Our class seems like it is going to be a struggle because this whole english\spanish speaking thing is new to everyone... I will keep you updated on how i am doing and when my P days are going to be once i find out. I love you all so much! This email is supposed to just be a "Hey I got here okay" kind of thing. Just so you know that Im not floating somewhere in the Pacific or trapped in a drug cartel in mexico. 

Love you guys!

Hermana Sommerfeld