March 2, 2015

Week Sixty-Three: Don't Call Me, I'll Call You

Area: Penco
Companion: Hermana Antillon


Dear familia,

Last night, I had a weird experience. We were just done teaching a lesson to a new convert that is about to complete his year mark as a member ... we bowed our heads to pray and I felt sooo grateful for my mission. With that gratitude, I felt a huge weight in my heart ... because it isn't going to last forever. It was a random reminder from Heavenly Father that my mission is sooo precious and that I need to do the very best that I can while I am here.

We had so many miracles that happened this week.

One was like something straight out of The Best Two Years. On Tuesday, we were on our way to lunch and we were really close to the house where we were going to eat. We still had ten minutes before we were supposed to go into the house to eat. The first instinct was ... well, what's ten minutes going to hurt ... if anything, we can get done more quickly and then go to the house to relax for a little longer. But we fought that feeling and went to knock on five doors in those ten minutes. We were rejected in four houses ... but in the fifth house, the guy was pretty promising. He was actually from Santiago, but he had us write down our numbers and told us that he would call us when he had a free minute.

I didn't really think anything about it. Do you know how many people I have given my number to on the mission?? Soooo many ... but not a single person has called me back. It makes sense ... like, why would they feel the need to call us when their lives are so busy? That is what makes what happened next so crazy ... in the middle of a mini cambio that we had this week, I got a phone call. It was from Alejandro, from that man that we contacted. 


Oh my heck ... I was so excited. We called a member super quick and then we got right on over there to teach him. He was such a receptive guy. We talked about the good things of the Gospel and left him with a Book of Mormon. I don't know if I will ever see him again, but I hope that he will be able to find the gospel in Santiago and learn just how awesome it is.

We got another call from our ward Relief Society President that was a little more sad. She reminds me a little bit of Mom and has a ton of kids ... her family is just like our family. Recently, she called us and told us that she was pregnant!! Super exciting for her ... but then her husband found out that he had something wrong with his lymph nodes and had to get throat surgery ... not so exciting. They went to Santiago in this past week and were there waiting for the results. I called on Tuesday to see ... and everything went really well ... but Hermana Christina lost her baby in the process ... with all the stress, her baby couldn't take it.

Oh, I was heart broken. I was soo soo sad. I immediately decided to fast for her. We went over to her house with Oreo truffles that Hermana Peterson taught me to make (thanks, Hermana!) and a homemade bookmark. It was incredible for me to see how composed Hermana Christina and her husband were in the face of these tragic things that had happened to them in less than a week. They found so much peace and comfort in the fact that they had been sealed in the temple and that they were keeping all of the commandments. I learned right then and there (just like I have been learning on all of my mission) that I need to do all that I can to have this same kind of security in my life. There is peace and security in living the gospel. It doesn't come in any other kind of way.

Something crazy that happened: So, last week we were walking around with Hermana Flor Morales and walking and walking. All of our citas had fallen through and we were kind of stressing out. I decided to look for a guy that I had seen on the list ... we walked to his house and an old man named Armando opened up the door. He said, "Roberto (said guy) isn't here right now ... but if you come back in a week, I swear that he will be here and I will listen to you." We left and pencilled in that we were going to come back in a week. When we came back, we knocked on the wooden gate and a young boy answered.

"Is Roberto there?" we asked. He looked at us funny and said, "No, Armando died years ago." AHHHHHHH. We talked to a dead guy!! The lady we were with was soo funny. She said, "This is the Lord's work" over and over again. It totally freaked her out. Personally, I think that the little kid was lying ... but who knows. I might just have had my first weird experience beyond the veil haha.

In coorelation this week, I decided that I want to be a missionary that makes things happen. I am working working working to be able to do that, but I want to do even more. That is the feeling that I have been having recently. I feel good about what I have been trying to do, but I want to try to do even more!! I think that is why I put the title of my email home as Can I Extend? I want to have more and more time on my mission ... I don't want it to end, but I am going to work hard to make the most of what I've got.

I've got a few questions that I have to do research for ... so I don't have a ton of time, but I love you guys sooo much!! Have a great great great week and know that I love you guys a lot! :)
Con amor!!
Laney

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