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