Busy week!

June 17, 2013

Hello hello hello!!!

Wow. What a week. Monday was Monday. After pday ended at 6 we taught a few lessons. Normal stuff. Tuesday is District Meeting day, and we had the Best District Awards! I got best latina accent because on time our District leader called and Hermana Albornoz couldn't answer the phone so I did, and he thought he was talking to a latina!!! whoot whoot. That's what I'm talking about!

Wednesday we had intercambios with the sister leader trainers, so I went to go work in Simon Bolivar with Hermana Gorge. Wow. We know how to work with each other because we were just on the same page or something! We challenged someone to be baptized on the 29th of this month. It was so spiritual. We prayed with him right then and there to know if he should be baptized. He was crying and then his best friend shared his testimony, and boy, it was a golden lesson, let me tell ya. Now they just need permission from the parents!

Thursday (June 13) was my 4 month anniversary. Awwww. Haha, but really, before I know it, I'll be here 6! It's so crazy. Thursday is weekly planning, which always takes a few hours, and afterwards we took a zone picture, which never works out perfectly. We took a pic because guess what this week was...LAST WEEK OF TRANSFERS....

Friday was clean the pension day because of transfers. Not that our pension was disgusting, but always the weekend before transfers, we have to deep clean the place. That took all morning, but afterwards, the day went normal with lessons and what not.

Saturday was SERVICIO! We've been helping this recent convert finish her house, and I think last Saturday was the last Saturday! She just has to unpack and organize. Wow. That took a long time, but it was nice to help her out. Later that night, we visited Grace and her husband Jose, and Jose said the closing prayer. That's actually a really big deal. He's only said one other prayer with missionaries, so we've made a big step with him!

Yesterday was when we found out about transfers...who stays and goes. I'm staying in Arica! YAY! I was hoping I wasn't going to leave.  Hermana Albornoz is going down to Antofagasta, and she's companions with Hermana Severtson! My MTC COMP!! Funny how she's with someone else with the same time in the mission field haha. But now I'll be with Hermana Lefevre, who is a gringa! So I'm excited, but also worried for my Spanish. It's grown a lot this last transfer, so let's hope I keep it up! Hermana Lefevre only has 4 more weeks in the field than I do haha. Newbs. And Lefevre was Severtson's comp in Antofagasta! We just switched! Oh, I guess the original plan was I was supposed to go to Antofagasta and Albornoz stay another cambio here in Arica, but they switched that at the last minute. Who knows why! Oh, and Hermana García is staying too with Hermana Miner. 3 gringas in the pension! Hermana García's english is gonna take off! HAHA

But that's the big news this week. I've already had 5 comps in the mish and Lefevre will be my 6th. Can you believe that? Crazy huh. But it´s good to have variety. Oh, and Elder Church is transferred here to Arica! HURRICANE REPRESENT! haha

Good luck with everything back home! 

Love,

Hermana Howell

Hermana Miner from Utah!

Hermana Albornoz from Argentina!

Hermana Vega from Perú!

Elder Hotvedt from Utah! (And random man playing the piano)

Hermana Delgada from Perú!

The Best District Awards!

Bye President Bruce, hello fleas & earthquakes :/

Well, we finally got in touch with Marta and she was confirmed Sunday! ¡Por fin! Such a relief.

So we had our last conference with President Bruce on Friday. It was so sad. I've never seen so many Elders cry. I think it is one of the worst things that could happen to a missionary. We all took pictures and then had to say goodbye. The last words President Bruce said to me were "Ok my little girl, you're a great missionary. Keep it up while I'm gone." President Dalton has some big shoes to fill.... But I'm sure he will be great. Oh, as we were leaving the conference, there was a man in the street dancing...he had been drinking and he was shaking his hips. It was so funny!

Hahahahahahahaha que vergüenza....I have had problems with fleas. I haven't looked for dryer sheets because we don't have a dryer (dryer sheets work to keep the fleas away)...plus, we have someone do our laundry for us. And no one has dryers. So they might not have dryer sheets here. But that would be cool if you send those too!

We found a new investigator this week. She seems promising. She's a doctor, so it'll be hard to get her to church because she works so much, but we're praying hard!

We've had a couple little earthquakes here, which I hate, but it's really good at the same time, because if there's a bunch of little ones, then there's no big ones! I'd rather the earth move a little at a time then all at once...and they say Northern Chile is due for a whopper...NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Let's just hope the little ones keep on coming.

Well, love you all!

Until next week,

Hermana Howell

My zone with the President and his wife. 

Me, President Bruce, and Hermana Bruce for the last time :(

"Churrasco pobre"....so huge!

Time flies!

Wow, the time is starting to fly. Can you believe it's been almost 4 months since I left home? 4 MONTHS. Before I know it, it's gonna be 6 months, then 1 year, then I'm home! Wow, this is nuts.

This morning we went paintballing for zone activity! Actually, it was all three zones in Arica, so there were a lot of missionaries. It was so fun. Scary, but fun. I only got hit twice, both in the leg. We took a big group picture.

Oh Mom, I wanted to thank you for all the packages you send me! I realize they're a lot of money, but you're so awesome. Thanks again. I did get the other package on Thursday, and I was the popular kid in town with all those sweets!

Well, the girl who got baptized a couple weeks ago, Marta, hasn't shown up to church the past two Sundays, so she's not confirmed yet. This happened to the other Hermana's just before. It's so frustrating. Hopefully we get her to church next week!  Say a prayer!!

Love you all.

Hermana Howell

Part of Arica...my sector (if you look really hard) is on the left next to the ocean with a bunch of apartment buildings

El morro de Arica...the Christus statue

Quick trip to Antofagasta

Hi, hi, hi!

I loved the trip to Antofagasta. After the conference, I got to work with Hermana Severtson (my MTC comp) again! Yay! I was pretty nervous since our spanish is so-so, but we found 3 new investigators and taught the restoration all by ourselves! hahah it was pretty awesome. The Spirit was helping us no doubt. I'm liking Arica just fine! It's treating me good. 

Sorry not much to write today. You know the drill here haha. And that's how it is!

Love you all!

Hermana Howell

At the beach!

Crazy few weeks

Hola!

So I know it has been a while since anything new has been posted, well you can blame that on my mom, she probably gets busy or forgets.  Here a few snippets of the past few weeks...........

Wanna hear a super hilarious story? I got locked in the bathroom. HAHAHAHAHA yep, it finally happened to me. So here's what happened: Somehow, the doorknob broke, and the knobs turn, but the inside doesn't, so we have to be careful shutting the door. Well, one morning I totally forgot and shut the door all the way, and I was locked in forever. Hermana García couldn't get the door open, so she called one of the members, to come help. We tried and tried, I took the  hinges off, but I was stuck forever. I couldn't understand what they were trying to tell me, it was in Spanish you know. We were passing stuff through the window, but nothing would work. Eventually I asked Hermana to pass me my scriptures, because this was gonna take a while. She called our Zone Leaders, but they didn't answer. Then she called our District Leader, but he didn't answer, so then she called some other Elders in our zone, but they aren't allowed to leave their sector without permission. Oh boy. Finally, FOUR Elder's showed up after twenty billion phone calls for directions and permission and whatnot, and they busted down the door, and I was free!!! I think I know what I'm going to be famous for throughout my mission.....hahaha

We had a really good lesson with Jocelyn's mom. We're having a breakthrough, I tell ya! Pray hard!  Love ya!

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I totally forgot to write last week about this, and I have no idea why because it's kind of a big deal, but guess who had to talk in sacrament meeting last week...yep. Hermana García. She had to do it in spanish, too! Well, that's easy for her. Ok, I had to talk too. Yep, that was fun. Let's  just say my talk was short and sweet and to the point, just like my ¨farewell¨ talk. Oh just so you know, my talk was in Spanish...I think. I really don't know because I don´t speak spanish. hahahhaha

It's getting a lot colder, but the blankets here are made of fire, because I wake up every morning drenched in sweat and no blankets in sight. So I'm good. 

Ok, so I still don't know exactly when I'll be calling on Sunday because guess what...I'M GOING TO ARICA!!!!!!!!!! The other end of the mission...at the very tipy top of Chile. We have a 20 hour bus ride tonight. FUN. Get this. Both me and Hermana García are transferring there, and we're even living in the same pension, we just aren't going to be companions anymore. Crazy huh!!! I'm so excited, because it´s a lot warmer there! I LOVE THE HEAT! And Hermana Smith (remember one of my comps from the MTC) is in Arica with Hermana García's companion from before me. This is getting crazy. It's so exciting. Oh, and there's going to be Elders here in Copayapu, my sector, which is a HUGE deal, because there hasn't been Elders here for pretty much forever. There was a time where no missionaries were in this sector, and then it's been sisters ever since. The ward is torn because they love sisters, but oh well! hahah it's exciting, transfers.

That´s the big stuff going on. Oh, Hermana García got a phone call from Pres. Bruce on Friday. Her dad is in a coma, really sick and it doesn't look good. So on top of everything, saying goodbye to the ward and investigators here, she has her family to worry about. The mission is a crazy time!

We´ll probably get to write one more time this week to make certain the time for Skypage on Mother's Day!  Love ya!

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I forgot to tell you things about our trip to Arica, so when me and Hermana García were getting on the bus in Copiapó to come here to Arica, they couldn't fit some of our bags. I had two of mine and Hermana García had only one. So my big bag with all my clothes stayed in Copiapó for the rest of the week!  Do you know how hard it is to only have one skirt for the whole week? No. you don't. It's gross. haha And no one is my size here, so it was hard. But we finally got our bags! Whew!

Oh, and there is an Elder Mckonkie in my zone. And yes, he's related to you know who. He looks just like him!

Oh, Hermana García's dad passed away. But she is really calm about it because she knows of the plan of salvation. This church is true.

We have a baptism on Saturday (May 18), I'll let you know how it goes, hopefully with pictures!  Till next week!  Love ya!!

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So the baptism went great! I forgot to bring the cord again, so hopefully I'll remember next week and pictures will come!!!

So something funny happened! President Bruce and every missionary from Iquique north to Arica had a conference Thursday. It was so cool. They fed us tacos for lunch. Then during the night, I was sick! So was Hermana García. The other two Hermanas weren't. The next morning, turns out almost half the mission got sick from those tacos! I wasn't super sick, and I was super grateful because we heard that some missionaries were throwing up a ton down south. But all is good now! So no need to worry! ;)

Not much else is going on but normal missionary work. Oh, last monday night, Hermana Albornoz went down to Antofagasta for the newbie conference, and I have that sometime this week, so that is what is going on with my week yay!

Welp, I gotta go love you all!

Hermana Howell

Me and Hermana Garcia in town.

Ugliest dog I have ever seen!

Having an iced cream break :)