Let the Games Begin - 2014

Heyyyy people!

Happy New Year! It is now 2014! Crazzyyyyy. On New Years Eve we went to have dinner with an investigator family - Solis-Castro! We had dinner and talked and told stories and had a very awesome and very spiritual New Years dinner. And then at 11 we went home to watch the fireworks! But we couldnt see from our window, so we got permission and got on the roof. I ripped my pants on a nail getting up, but hey, it was worth it! There was no ladder to climb up, so we hopped onto the trash can and some abandoned 2x4s and got up there somehow! The view was suuuper awesome and we saw the fireworks! They were AWESOME! They went allll the way up the coast, from Laguna Verde to Playa Ancha to Recreo to Viña to Reñaca to Concón to Quintero! And they went on for half an hour! The end was really nice - the finale. It looked like modern warfare! It was flashing lights and big booms - like a strobe light but with lightning... it was cool. :)

So remember last New Years, when I was in the MTC and my first memories of 2013 were my roommates throwing up? Heyyyy it happened again! I hope we dont start a tradition here. My comp had some kind of stomach flu and those are my first memories of 2014 (besides the fireworks).

We had intercambios this week! It was awesome, cuz I got to be with Hna Zimmerman again! But here in Miramar! Man, that girl is awesome. We had a great time and learned a TON! We also put 2 baptismal dates with Verónica and Lydia of the family Ulloa-Lira. Baptismal date for the 26th! Woo! We also found some suuuper old less actives who are so adorable and say that the door is always open to us. They are getting a blessing of health today for the grandpa's leg.

With my normal comp, Hna Oliva, we also found 6 new investigators, and one of them is named Ninoska. We found her in a miraculous way. We were walking up a street looking for a less active in house number 205. While looking for the house, a girl passed us. And man, we almost contacted her, but we didnt! So then we go ask some neighbors where number 205 was and one said, "i dont know, ask 2 houses down, number 223." So we asked someone else across the street and he said, "Ask across the street - number 223." So we were like, ok. So we are heading toward number 223, and the girl that we had passed earlier enters into number 223! So we stop her and talk to her and it turns out shes like practically golden! haha she is so cool. We are excited to return.

Yesterday we had Branch Council, and since it was fast Sunday and we were all starving, the Branch President brought some chips and cookies for the meeting after church. haha. Awesome. The meeting was really good too! We planned for 2014 and got some new member lists. Jackpot!

Well, this week we have interviews with President Kahnlein in our apartment! Woo! It's gonna be an awesome week. :)

Here is the quote of the week: "Not forgiving is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." Our job as children of God is to forgive EVERYONE, no matter what. The only person that has the right to condemn someone else is God. And its the perfect way to start a new year -  with resolutions to forgive, forget, change, and become better. :)

I love you all! So much! Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Amy Schrader

Happy New Year! Feliz Año Nuevo!

HOLA!

I hope you all had the best Christmas ever! Happy New YEar! 

I got to talk to my family on Christmas and it was the best Christmas present ever! Man, I have th best family in the world. :)

ON Christmas eve we had dinner with a family - turkey and music and eggnog and empanadas and alfajores. Loved it!

All day Chrsitmas Eve and Christmas we were running from house to house sharing the story of Christs birth and singing Christmas carols! Its was really quite lovely to help people feel the Christmas spirit adn see them smile.

Chile was hopping at night on Christmas eve! apparently Santa comes at midnight, and everyone opens presents right then! There was music and lights and dancing. It was pretty cool.

My comps birthday is the day after Christmas, so she got extra presents! haha so that was fun.

Its been really hot here lately!  love it.

A super inactive came to church! Milsy's grandma! She came! She was soooo happy to be there. Our prayers were answered and we love that family so much!

We had a big huge spiritual lesson with all the recent converts this week. We watched a video and sang and talked and shared our testimonies. It was lovely.

We have some new investigators (13 this week!), including a Jehovahs Witness. She is adorable. One of the investigators is a Catholic named Marcela, and she is amazing! she is also absolutely in love with the USA, which is cool cuz most of the time i just hear how much people dont like it. So it was really fun listening to her and how much she wants to visit and stuff.

This week is New YEARS!! We are gonna have dinner with an investigator family - Solis-Castro - and then go to our pension at 11 to watch the fireworks from our roof! So excited!

Anyway, the quote i have for this week is from Elder Uchtdorf, which can be compared with Moses chapter 1. "Compared to God, man is nothing. Yet we are everything to God."

It is so true. I know God loves me - I am His princess. And He loves all of you too. You are His princes and princesses. Remember that! :)

LOVE YOU ALL! Miss you!

HErmana Amy Schrader

Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Feliz Navidad!

Heyyy everyone!

Merry Christmas this Wednesday!!!!!!! I am so excited! I get to call home and see my fam!!! Woohooo! Me and Hna Oliva also set the goals for the "perfect week", which is super difficult, but we're gonna do it as a gift for Christ! For Christmas!

So. As you can see, I did not have cambios this past week! Cambios were Wednesday and we are both staying here! Until January 29th. :) We are gonna tear it up. :)

Cuz we found 2 more families! That's three new families! And they're alll awesome!!!

We had a ward Christmas dinner Saturday night, and we (including the Elders) had lots of investigators! Leticia came, and the Elders gave her a blessing so she'll get better, and also that she will remember more! Apparently Alzheimers runs in her family, and we've been seeing evidences of that lately. So the blessing was awesome!

The mom of the new family (Family Solis-Castro), Oriana, came too! She and Leticia got along really well, and she loved the dinner! Melissa and Jericó came, although Jericó left early to work. But Melissa and her two little sons, Joseph and Renato, staying the whole time! They got to participate in the Nativity that the Primary put on! They were a little horse and a little cow, and they were so adorable! The Primary gave presents to all the little kids, and our little investigators got some too! We had an awesome time, talking with everyone, listening to music, eating food...it was awesome!

Brandon also came, who is the brother of Milsy. Milsy is fully involved in everything now, especially with the YW. She is raising money with them to go to EFY! Brandon is progressing too because he used to not believe in anything. But he told us (grudgingly) that he now believes in some kind of force that helps people make better decisions for their lives. And we were like, "Brandon...its the Spirit..." And he was like, "No, let's not put a name on it. Its just some kind of force." haha this kid is hilarious. But hey! He's progressing!

Oh! And this week, on Thursday, I hit my year mark! I got an email from President saying, Thank you for all your hard work this year, keep it up! So that was cool.

This week me and Hna Oliva put on a puppet show (with the help of Jericó) for Melissa and her two little sons. We totally taught the Restoration that way, and it was awesome! Everyone understood, and everyone loved it!

A member gave us a little baby Christmas tree for our apartment. It's so cute. We set it up, and at the bottom, we put pics of our families. The members have been giving us little gifts too, so we open them, then rewrap them and put them under the tree. haha.

SO! This Christmas - the plan is that on Christmas Eve, we have Christmas dinner with the Gallegos family. We are also going to call on Christmas from the Silva family's house. :) It's gonna be a hot week - a sunny Christmas. We call Valparaíso the City of Eternal Christmas, because we are surrounded by hills lit up with lights - that looks like a Christmas tree! It's beautiful.

It's gonna be an awesome week! I hope you all enjoy your Christmas!

And remember the reason for the season - the birth of Christ! Find some souls to give to him! :) haha

I am so grateful for the birth of Christ, because without His condescension, God's plan would be foiled.

Rejoice! The Lord is born. :)
And he was born for YOU.

Love you all!!!!!! Miss you!

Love,

Hermana Amy Schrader

Year Mark Approaching...

Hey everyone!

My year mark is this Thursday. And cambios are Wednesday! We shall see what happens! I think we are both staying, tho.

Well, Leticia came to church! But she is super forgetful...its weird. We are working slower with her.

We found a family! Theyre AWESOME! We are gonna have an FHE with them this week!

We had a zone conference this week! A Christmas zone conference! We got gifts! I got a flash drive from my secret santa, and the mission gave us a Book of Mormon, and the challenge is to read it 4 times this year! Its on. im so doing it.

I also got to see my last comp! Hna Paicely! She told me some news from Recreo: they dropped the Rojas family. Alejandro, my convert, passed away. But my old investigator, Oriana, the wife of Alejandro, got baptized this week! I was so happy to find that out. :)

We had an RS dinner this week and played games - it was super fun!

We made peanut butter cookies for the mission coordination meeting, and the mission leader and the Elders ate all of them! haha.

We talked to some suuuper less actives and it was crazy! A long story...one for when I get home I guess, it would take too long! And I have no time. :( so youll just have to wait! lol

I have decorated like 4 Christmas trees so far... love it!

I got to watch the Christmas devotional - it was in Spanish. But the music was amazing as well - especially Away in a Manger, with the flute solos. :)

But yeah...

I get to talk to my family next week! Im so excited!

And thats all I have time to say...I promise to write a longer email next week!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Hermana Amy Schrader

Christmas is Coming!

Hey everyone!

Its been a crazy week! Lots of running around Playa Ancha, and lots of wind. But I love this area. I am learning so much!

I have less than 6 months left in the mission - time goes so fast! Sometimes it feels like its so slow, but for the most part - it goes fast! And it goes fast when you're having fun and learning! Let me tell you - I am having fun AND learning. A lot. I heard a quote in sacrament meeting yesterday that said, "Progress is a sign of true repentance." Every week we try to be a little better, and progress is all I see. :)

BUT Leticia didnt come to church. :(  We will have to move her baptismal date or talk to President. We shall see!

But it was cool that one of our investigators went to Antofagasta and got baptized there by her son! So it was great to have her back home and see how much her face glows now. She is a new person! Its incredible. :) Her name is Dina.

We had a birthday party-family home evening-lesson with Francisco and Patricio, the new converts! It was so fun! And they even came with us to visit a less active. :)

Cambios are next Wednesday, the 18th - I think we will both stay, but we shall see!

Tomorrow we have a Christmas Multiple Zone Conference in Avenida Argentina, Valpo... we get to sing a Christmas song as a zone and have a white elephant party! A member of the area 70 is coming, I think, so that will be cool! I look forward to it!
We had FHE this week with the Silva family, and we watched the Other Side of Heaven. They had never seen it! ANd they loved it! It got Milsy a little more excited about missionary work, which is the lesson that we taught. :)

WE taught a lady named Doris, who really needs the gospel and already loves it. We are gonna work more with her and see how it goes!

And today a cool thing happened - we found the nonmember father of a missionary in our ward! He is serving in Argentina and the whole ward has been writing letters to him! And we randomly found his dad on the micro today! We are gonna tell the Elders to visit him! Cuz he's not in our area. But it was so cool that we sat right next to him on the bus.

Christmas is coming, people! I hear Christmas music everywhere, and the trees are up, with blinking lights! Valparaíso is a Christmas tree itself - seeing the view of the hills from Playa Ancha, all lit up...its beautiful! But the weather is getting warmer...its super weird! haha
But anyway, I know that this Church is true with all my heart. All i want is for people to know that same thing, but it gives me a hope and a knowledge for the future. And I know that everything will be ok in the end when we are on the Lord's side.

Enjoy the preparations for Christmas!

I love you all!

LOVE ALWAYS

Hermana Amy Schrader

No Thanksgiving Here

Hey everyone!

Hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving doesnt exist here so we did pretty much nothing for it! We just bought a little pastry and halved it at night. haha. But I did give thanks for all my blessings! And I have so much to be grateful for! My family and friends, the gospel, my mission, um this list is gonna be way too long so ima stop there.

But anyway, last P-Day we had a district activity and got to watch the Best 2 Years! Its so much funnier when youre on a misson! I love that movie.

Congratulations to Camille for getting into Wind Symphony!

We had Intercambios this week and guess where I went?! PLACILLA! I saw all my old friends and the members, and the security guard of my apartment! It was awesome! We stopped by the chapel for a bit, and we walked into the room of the YW who were having mutual and right when we opened the door, all of them ran toward me and gave me a hug, squealing! It was beautiful!

Back to Miramar - we helped a less active decorate for Christmas! Well....I did. I was the only one tall enough to reach the tree and the ceiling. But it was super fun! Even though they made comments like, "Hey Get the ladder! Oh wait, shes right here!"

We set a baptismal date with Leticia! For December 15th! Woohoo! All thanks to the member that came with us to the lesson. So grateful for her! Leticia didnt want to get baptized but we all bore our testimonies and she must have felt something, because she asked to be baptized this Sunday! Miracle! But we told her we'd have to help her prepare! So she came to church yesterday, ready adn waiting for us. Shes awesome!

Im having a great time and learning lots! My life is being changed one day at a time and I love it! Dont worry, Im not gonna come back a different person. Ill just come back as a better version of me!

Sorry I dont have much time to write today, but it's going to be an amazing week.

I love this area!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Hermana Amy SChrader

MILSY!!!

Hey everyone!

Milsy got baptized!!!!!!!!! It was one of the best days of my mission, for multiple reasons! For one, I love dashing around the chapel to get everything ready. Like, I dont know why, but I love it. The water heater upstairs kept turning off every 10 minutes, so we were constantly going upstairs and downstairs! We ended up having to fill the font with cold water (poor Milsy!) but it turned out great. While we were running up and down the stairs, guess who appeared in the hallway! JAVIER! From Recreo! My uncle, the investigator. He is moving to the south of Chile and wanted to say goodbye forever before he moved. It was amazing to see him! I love that guy! And for the first time ever, he actually went into the chapel and listened to the talks! Ive been trying to get him to do that for the 6 months that I was in Recreo! I guess all I had to do was move. haha.

But anyway, me and Hna Oliva sang a special number for Milsy's baptism, a song called Feliz por siempre. It was perfect for Milsy. We sang it right to her and she knew it. She kept looking at us and smiling, with tears in her eyes. I love that girl! She was so nervous for her baptism but later told us that the whole time she had the most incredible feeling. She said it was amazing. She said that she felt so happy and warm, even tho the water was cold! Her face when she came out of the water to give us a hug, was the happiest face ever. Her face looked different! It was glowing! It was so cool. And another cool thing happened. She got confirmed right after she was baptized! That almost never happens with investigators, but the bishopric felt it needed to be done, and Milsy's dad got to help with the confirmation! And THIS SATURDAY she is going with the ward to the temple to do baptisms! Incredible or what? I think so. :)

What else happened....oh I passed my 11 month mark on Tuesday! Almost one whole year in the mission...I can hardly believe it.

I had a million prayers answered this week and I KNOW without a doubt that Heavenly Father listens to us and answers us. A lot of times the answers arent what we expect, but they are answers that will always be for our good!

We have a new investigator named Felipe whos like a hard metal rocker...but one of the most receptive investigators ive ever had. He was so happy and grateful when we gave him a Book of Mormon. He covered his mouth with his hands and looked at us, and said, "Are you serious? For free?" And we laughed and just handed it to him. :) Of course!

The night of the baptism yesterday, we went to have Once with the Silva Gallegos family (Milsy's family) and taught about temples and family history work. The dad is leaving tomorrow for 4 months! he is a sea captain and wont be back til April. But we had a conversation that was amazing and was another answer to my prayers. The parents of that family, and the rest of the family too, is sooo grateful for the missionaries. For the ones that taught them, and us, the ones that taught the whole family. I told them how lucky I felt that I got to be a part of this miracle, and they looked at me and said, "It wasn't luck. It had to be you." I know that it had to be me and Hna Oliva. It couldve been done by other missionaries of course, but for some reason it had to be us! :) I am so grateful for this chance I get to see miracles.

Man. I love the mission. Its the hardest thing Ive ever done. But it sure it worth it.

Have a Happy THanksgiving everyone! Enjoy your blessings! You all have lots!

LOVE YOU ALL! You are all a blessing for me. THank you!

Love,

Hermana Amy Schrader

Miracles

Hey,

This week was awesome! It was super hard and we didnt ever stop to rest. But it was awesome. Milsi is getting baptized this Sunday! She told us that she felt that warm feeling and knew that it was true. She has been so much happier lately! Shes so awesome. Her brother Brandon is progressing as well. Its a miracle! He hated anything about church and stopped believing in God when he was like 5. Haha. And yesterday he showed up at church with a suit on, looking snappy, and later during our lesson, he told us he was feeling better toward it all, and we were teaching the 10 Commandments, and he defended the truth! The whole time, it was cool, he was backing up every commandment. Hes so dang smart! His whole family gave him a huge hug and he was smiling so big. And after the prayer he said Amen! and then looked around and said, "Thats the first time I've said that!" haha hes a cool kid.

There's a lady named Esther that cant get baptized because she promised her daughter that she wouldn't a long time ago. But she wants to so bad and knows everything about the church! But she cant break her promise. So. We are working with the daughter. :) We sang a Christmas song to both of them and Esther said, "I have angels in my house! What a blessing!" haha. The daughter is also progressing because she said that she saw an Elder give a blessing to her mom and she got better...she said, "I believe you guys." But she said, "But I'm not changing." But its progress all the same. :)

We are looking forward to some crazy miracles!

I had zone conference in Edwards, the chapel of the Plaza Victoria in Valpo. Its beautiful and looks like a greek building! with columns and a garden. The missionaries in my zone are cool. We have two ex-APs and like 3 sets of sisters. One of the sisters from Argentina calls me the Latina Gringa because she thought I was from Chile. Sweet!

We did service this week and hacked some plants. Super fun! I love being outside.

Milsi told a story of when she was in her Catholic school the other day, and the religion teacher said that after we die we all forget everything that happened in this life. And Milsi raised her hand and said, "That doesnt make any sense! Then what's the purpose of this life?" And the nun said, "Leave the classroom!" Haha and Milsi told us the whole story with a huge smile on her face. :)

We had the primary program yesterday in Sacrament meeting and it was so cute! The oldest little boy that is moving to Young Mens got up to bear his testimony and he choked up saying that leaving would be so hard to do, but he bore such a strong, simple, powerful testimony that this Church is true. The whole room was in tears.

We also gave an FHE with one of the families in our ward, and it was incredible. We watched The Robles Family from the District 2, and it reminded me of my family so much! I am so grateful to have the family that I have, and I love them so much. They mean so much to me. I am so glad we get to spend eternity together.

That was my week! And this one will be crazy and awesome as well!
I love you all! Miss you!

Hermana Amy Schrader

Happy November! And Halloween!

Hey everyone!

Happy Halloween! Halloween barely exists here. That holiday just started less than 5 years ago here - thats what i heard. The Chileans call themselves copycats cuz they copycat other countries! Haha so i guess the get the best of all worlds!

For Halloween the most I did was switch plaques with my comp. So I was Hna Paicely for the day. Halloween on a mission doesnt get any better than that! Haha well, we did have an FHE with an investigator and we got to answer the door and hand out candy to little trick or treaters. So that was fun. :)

CAMBIOS ARE WEDNESDAY! This Wednesday, the 6th. I really really want to stay for at least one more cambio but I love Recreo! But I have been here for 6 months, so we will see. I especially love our district this cambio - we have so much fun together.

We taught Ricardo this week, the wife of the RS Pres. He really opened up to us and I want him to be happy so bad... he is such a good person. We are going to keep helping him.

One day we were sitting on a garden wall writing a note to the house we were next to - an investigator - and a lady just came up to us and started talking us! I find that happens a lot here in CHile... if you want contacts, just have a seat and watch em come! But yeah, she was practically golden and was so excited when we gave her a Book of Mormon. I really wanted to teach her, but it turns out she lives in Valpo! So we passed the reference on. But the cool part is that she had accidentally gone down the wrong road to find a house, and thats when she met up with us! As we said goodbye, she said, "You know what they say, everything happens for a reason, and God must've had a reason for me to go up the wrong street!" Pure gold.

Guess what. ONE DIRECTION is in Chile!!!! Or will be soon...Im not sure. Everyones talking about it! Haha I love them.

Let's see, what else happened...

We helped Milo with his costume for an Institute Halloween party. He looked disgusting as a mummy. 

I heard Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC in the Ok Market! Man, that place is a goldmine.

Abuelita Martita, my favorite less active, has now stopped smoking and seems so much happier! I love her so much, and she has so much potential!

A hippie dude named Fabian, with a Jesus hairstyle and beard, came to church! We had contacted him once in the plaza and he came! He likes to argue but all the members were just super nice to him, and i think he wants to come back! We will see.

During the 3rd hour of church, we met up with bishop on the way to the bathroom. And we stayed out in the hall listening to his mission stories for the rest of the hour! He served in Osorno (just like Ashley!) and loved it!

I ate some weird seafood yesterday - called macha. Theyre like mollusks or something. Not too bad tho.

We met an old guy named Juan whose wife was a member before she passed away. And after chatting a while outside his house, he told us that he loved us like daughters. Ah I love viejitos!

I got proposed to! By a drunk guy on the street! The proposal of my dreams. 

We almost died because Satanás, the vicious, vicious dog down in the quebrada, lunged at us and broke his chain leash! We wouldve died if I didnt swat at him with my Book of Mormon. Man, the Book of Mormon really does have the answers to everything.

I said a goodbye this week to Javier, my adopted uncle. He is going south to work in Talca. But he said (and I dont mean to brag!) that after years and years of seeing missionaries come and go, when I came, it was different. He said it was just so easy, so fluid, so calm. There was no pressure, just invitations - cuz thats our purpose, to invite other to come unto Christ. He said it was completely different from any experience he's had with missionaries. He felt the love and care. It really meant a lot to hear him say that. :) I hope that I can make all the other people I meet feel the same way. :)

This week I've been thinking a lot about the promised blessings I have received on the mission, and in my life. I like this quote by Eyring: "Almost everything that I've been able to accomplish is because individuals who knew me saw things in me that I couldn't see." And then, "Every person is different and has a different contribution to make. NO ONE is destined to fail." !!!  I know that's true. I testify that that's true! 

Have a great week everyone! And before you doubt your faith, doubt your doubts!

Love you all and miss you all!

Hermana Amy Schrader

Back to Valparaíso!

Hello everyone!

Cambios happened. Transfers. I got transferred! I am now in a branch called Miramar, in the cerro (hill) of Playa Ancha, in Valparaíso. Playa Ancha is legitimately called the City of Wind - and I can't tell you how true that is. It whips my hair around and breaks it off and tangles it up! LAME. It is also a city full of hills! Up and down all day long. I swear, by the time i leave this sector, I'll have huge leg muscles and probably be bald. Ugh that sounds gross. lol JK that won't happen but I really do already love this sector! My new companion is from CHILE! Her name is Hermana Oliva, and she is from Concepción. She is a sweetheart. She has been in the mission for exactly 2 months!

The day before cambios, the assistants called to tell me that I would be training again - but not a super new hermana, I'll just be finishing the training of a 6-weeker. I can already tell that Im going to learn a lot from her, and I hope she can learn from me too! She is incredible!
The good thing about Playa Ancha is that you can still see the ocean!!! That made me so happy. I love living by the ocean. I definitely have to take some pics. :)

But anyway, leaving Recreo was super sad! I LOVE Recreo and I am going to miss it so much. I love the sector, the people, everything. I will miss the Rojas family and Hna Sonia and Leo and Milo and my comp Hermana Paicely. Ah I'll miss everything about that place! I can actually see Recreo from Playa Ancha. haha its cool.

Here in Miramar, our branch has 2 sets of missionaries, us, and a set of Elders. They are cool! This ward has been having lots of baptisms lately, so we are gonna continue with that trend! haha. One of Hna Oliva's converts is named Francisco, and hes like 26. He's super cool! And this Sunday, yesterday, he got the priesthood! And in two weeks he will baptize his best friend Patricio! SO COOL.

We have already seen miracles here. It's amazing. We talked to a little 7 year old in the street and she led us to her dad. Turns out he doesnt believe in God, and we asked him to pray to asks if he exists, and the little 7 year old said, "Dont worry, I will obligate him to pray. He exists daddy, and He made us! He made everything!" Oh, the faith of a child. It was so adorable.

We also taught a family named the Silva family. The parents are less actives and the mom is an RM. Theyve been inactive for 12 years! And they just started coming back. We went to teach them, because their 2 kids aren't members! And we talked a long time with the son and the mom, and then the mom started to sob into the son's shoulder and said, "I taught so many people and helped them to believe, and I couldn't do it with my own kids!" Poor girl. We are helping them a lot. Their daughter, Milsi, is ready for baptism but wants her dad to do it before he leaves on his 4 month trip. We will see what happens!

But anyway, that's the news of this week! I am learning so much! This is fantastic. Super difficult, but fantastic. I have never experienced anything as hard as a mission in this life, but I can't tell you how much I've grown and learned. I look forward to learning even more. :)

Until next week! Enjoy!

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Love,
Hermana Amy Schrader

Just Do It

Hey everyone!

So I had a crazy week! On PDay we played some basketball and football and I was so glad!

Everyone here in Recreo thinks Im leaving next Wednesday since Ive been here 6 months! But I dont want to go! I love Recreo! Just one more cambio...

Yesterday we got a free ride from a colectivo! All the way up to Hna Matelunas! When we told Javier that, he was super impressed! He says that colectiveros NEVER do that. Ever. But he says it must be because we are angelitos. :)

There has been lots of drama with the Rojas family! This week we taught Carolina the law of chastity and she loved it. She accepted it right away and knew it was true. She really wants to get baptized! She had her baptismal interview Wednesday but couldnt come so she rescheduled it for Friday. And on Friday (when I was on intercambios/transfers in Reñaca), Francisco came to the interview instead of Carolina and said he wanted to get baptized with her! So after a long process, they got permission from President and rescheduled the interview for Carolina AND Francisco AND Martina for Saturday. I came back on Saturday and was there for the interviews, and they all passed and did awesome and we had EVERYTHING planned! All the members and zone leaders and everyone were helping so much with everything. It was awesome. We made so many calls and organized so much. 

Then, Sunday morning, we get a call from Carolina. She said that Francisco is with the police and something happened....we dont know. She just said that she really wanted to get baptized but couldnt come to church because she had to talk to the police. My heart broke...it was just what I had been afraid of. But what really made everything alright was to hear in Carolinas voice how much she wants this for her family. She really wants to be baptized, and she is AMAZING. Its just Francisco that is holding her back I think. It's just crazy with him. But anyway, her baptism is now planned for this coming Sunday. But just her and her daughter.

Anyway. 

Yesterday we had Once with Javier, Hna Mateluna, and her family, for her 72nd birthday! Seriously, being with those people - It felt like family! Like home away from home. When Javier heard that I might be leaving at transfers, he said this: "Things won't be the same without you here. You've become part of th family. When you go, you'll be sorely missed." He got a little emotional too as he explained to his family the "uncle-niece bond" that we have. It was really touching to hear that I had made a difference in his life... I have been waiting for that my whole mission - to hear that I have made an impact. I know he will be mormon one day! He has so much faith and is truly searching for the truth. 

So it's been an awesome week. I learned a ton this week and here are a couple quotes that I really like! "Don't let fear keep you from moving on in life." "JUST DO IT!" "Good intentions are not enough. We are capable of so much more." "Set aside those things in your life that don't really matter. Decide to do something that will have eternal consequences."

I also read a talk from Holland called, "The First Great Commandment." I remember hearing that one in conference! It is officially my favorite talk of all time. It blew my mind. As I was reading, I could feel the power and authority in his words. The words were ringing through me - and I know that they're true. It is incredible! Read it. All of you. :)

Have a great week everyone!!! Pray for the Rojas family! I am praying for all of you.

Thanks for all your love and support.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Hermana Amy Schrader

Just Keep Learning

Hello everyone!

How are you all? 

I have like zero time to write or add photos....so sorry! We had a district activity - playing basketball and a little football...I tore it up with these latinos haha

But anyway, as for this past week! What happened...Oh! it was Zac Efron's birthday on the 18th...haha

But really. So, the news. Francisco Rojas is out of jail! Someone paid to bail him out. So we shall see where things go. They are scheduled to get baptized this weekend, and we are hopefully gonna make it happen!

We taught Carolina and Martina tithing, and they loved it. When we told Martina she could get baptized, she cheered and did a fist pump! Haha...children are so special. They get it a lot better than us adults sometimes. 

We visited a member's fiance - the one from Kenya! Did i tell you about her yet? Well she is super awesome. She speaks no Spanish. Only English, Swahili, and Lu. (african tribe language). She is super black and pretty tall and we love her! She is getting married in November and asked me and Hna Paicely to be her bridesmaides! She even took down our dress measurements and everything. What a cutie!

We also get to teach her in English...which is easier and harder all at the same time. We often slip into Spanish, and she looks at us with a blank look...and then we realize that we arent speaking English anymore. But when we do speak in English, its amazing how easily we can say what we really want to say! I cant wait to share the gospel in English AND Spanish for the rest of my life!

We had Stake Conference this weekend, and it was super good. I just keep realizing how blessed I am and how blessed ive always been. I am so grateful for this gospel!

Advice for the week: Don't think with your eyes or mind so much. Think with your heart! "One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." -Little Prince

LOVE YOU ALL! Enjoy your week!

Hermana Amy Schrader