Happy 4th of July!!!

Hello family and friends :)

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you all did something awesome and enjoyed fireworks and summer and whatever else. :)

Lucky you guys! That holiday doesnt exist here, of course, but me and Hna Hanks still made of it what we could! We dressed in red white and blue, and for our studies we sang the Star Spangled Banner and My Country Tis of Thee. :)

We went to lunch that day with some of our favorite members, and they got on their laptop and played the Star Spangled Banner on their speakers! It was awesome!!!!!

Plus, after that, they played us some awesome classical music, all John Williams! Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, etc. It was heaven. :)

Oh by the way! CAMBIOS was this week! And we didnt change at all. Me and Hermana Hanks are staying here in Recreo, Viña del Mar for at least 6 more weeks! Next cambio is August 14th, so Ill be here at least til then! We are psyched to be here for another change, we love it. :)

Well I got bit by a dog this week! Which was a very strange mistake on my part. Usually i am the dog charmer, and all the dogs let me pet them and come up to me when normally they bark and bite and growl to others. I am the dog charmer! But this week I got bit by one because I hadnt charmed him yet. I was charming his little friend when he came up and bit my hand. But no worries i dont have rabies.

Yin & Yang, the best dogs in Chile, have accompanied me and Hna Hanks every time we pass by the church. They walked us home the other night, and when we shut the gate, they whined and cried as they watched us walk up the steps! I love them.

I got to see an investigator from my other area in Viña last Monday! Caroline! I love her! We went to Líder (Walmart) together and got some ice cream. :) (ice cream here is lame btw, its practically foam.)

Oh! Francisco, an investigator that me and Hna Garcia taught back in Quilpué, got baptized! I found out from Hermana Garcia!!!! And I taught him! Its so awesome.

Storytime: This week we contacted a guy straight from hell. Maybe a little harsh, but seriously. Name of Gonzalo. He was cunning and smart, just like Zeezrom, and if you really want to know what me and Hna Hanks were thinking during the entire hour and a half contact, read the following scriptures: Alma 11:23, 2 Nephi 33:14, and Alma 42:27.

He wouldnt let us talk or bear our testimonies at all, and kept making arguments that might have confused other people. He made fun of Hermana Hanks's Spanish and treated her like she didnt know anything, which made me mad. BUT we didnt let it get to us. We were pleasant and when we had a couple chances, we said whatever truth and testimony that came to our mind. Although this encounter might have shaken someone else, NOT SO for me and Hna Hanks!!!! We were literally steadfast and immovable, and there was absolutely nothing that he could say that could make us falter. Trying to make someone understand the truth is so much easier when it really is the truth. And I am happy and proud to know that this is the truth, and there is no other. Can't touch this!!!!

We left him after that to wallow in his ignorance, but we were nice. It really made us feel like we were on top of the world. :)

It rained this week! We were taken in by some member and menos activos and given hot chocolate and sopaipillas and cookies. :)

We taught Milena this week and she prayed in front of us! Woohoo! We also taught a little old lady named Evelyn, who absolutely will not accept visits from Testigos de Jehová (Jehovahs Witness) or Evangelicals. But whenever the Mormon missionaries come around, she has a smile and an open door. :) Lovely little lady.

Today something exciting happened! I was literally enveloped in flames ... from a flamethrower! Ok, it wasnt a flamethrower, but seriously it was the same effect. It was our gas powered water heater in the kitchen. It had turned off right before I got into the shower, so I went to light it again, and WHABAM. It singed the entire left side of my body. Haha. But no worries, it wasnt so bad, and the cloud of flames only lasted for less than a second! I am fine! Stupid flamethrower.

If any of you get a chance (or if any of you wanna make time for the scriptures ;) read Alma 42! If you know what its about and evreything, read it again! It sounds like it is coming right from the mouth of Dallin H. Oaks. Very lawyery. :) And so powerful!

I love it.
I have to give a talk next Sunday! Which is Camilles birthday! Happy Birthday Camille! I have a present for you but you will get it next June. :)

I love you all! Enjoy the summer, and enjoy your week!

Hermana Amy Schrader