Dear
Family,
I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!
Today’s purpose = answer your questions
:)
Firstly, is Rachel
doing ok now??? I sure hope so!!!!! I finally got her little package!! It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank
you soooooo much, Rach!!! I LOVED it!! Especially the pics.
Ok, let’s get to it
then.....
I am in city Villa
Alemana. It’s more “suburby” and a lot
nicer than where I was before. It’s a
little bit closer to Viña, but only by 30 minutes or so. Viña is about 35-40 min away now by train. All mail will always have the same address. It goes to the mission home and from there
they distribute it. Always. That’s why sometimes it takes forever for me
to get things because the mission office keeps our junk just to spite us! HaHaHa
JK! There are 200 missionaries in
this mission and in a couple months, we’re going to have 250 missionaries! My
zone is called Villa Alemana Oeste and my ward is Villa Norte.
The weather is spring,
but some days are sooooo hot! And we
still have some rainy days, too. But apparently there is a hole in the o-zone
directly over Chile and nothing else so the sun rays penetrate and you burn
more easily here. Summer gets super hot,
so I hear. Summer starts in December. This is going to be a way weird Christmas!
My companion is
Hermana Ramos from Peru and she has one year in the mission. She is the older companion, but we don’t act
like that. We’re equals. :) I sure am learning a lot from her!!!! She’s an incredible person and missionary!!! We’ve become best friends. :) She’s finally recovered from her surgery and
we are working at pretty much normal pace again! I love when we work. :) Thanksgiving
doesn’t exist here, but almost everyone is familiar with American holidays and
so some (very few) people celebrate it. Christmas is normal-ish, I believe, but hot
weather.
And now is time for my
official opinion about the age change for missionaries..... HeHeHeh...:)
Firstly, I know with
all my heart that it was inspired of God. I know that there wouldn’t have been such a
drastic change like this unless the apostles and prophet had not been fasting
and praying to receive this specific revelation. I also believe that is was the answer to MANY
of the young women’s prayers. The need
for missionaries is always increasing and this change will fulfill the demand. God knows how to get things done.
Secondly, I also know
that there is opposition in all things and so with this change, there are also
downsides. One of the greatest downsides
is that there will be many missionaries completely unprepared for what they
will face and the missions in which they serve will face periods of complete
and utter misery. The need for
missionary preparation now literally needs to start in primary. I think, just because the young people CAN go
earlier they will, and a lot of them will go into the mission not knowing or
perhaps not understanding what they are getting themselves into......I know I
sure didn’t understand completely and I don’t know what I would have done
without the MTC experience that I had....
With increased number
in missionaries, this means less space and less time spent in the MTC.
Missionaries are going to need to enter the MTC pre-trained. I heard a quote yesterday in sacrament meeting
from our ward mission leader and he said, “There are many people serving missions,
but few missionaries.” After being in
the mission for 8 months, I can tell you that this is 100% true. It takes a lot to be a good missionary and
what it takes comes from one’s personal desires and preparation to serve the
Lord. In concluding this opinion, I know
that the Lord trusts His beloved sons and daughters to step up to the plate and
that’s why He made this change. Because the Lord has put his trust in
confidence in the young people of today, we can too, because we can ALWAYS
trust in God. This change is one of the greatest blessings and miracles that
God could have given to His children in this time. And that’s what I think.
Well, I´m just about
out of time. I LOVE BEING A
MISSIONARY!!! So far in my life, this has
been THE BEST decision that I’ve ever made!!! No worries, Brandon, I know how lucky I am and
I am enjoying EVERY second that I have here!! :) I actually already feel nostalgic for Chile
when I think about the day when I will have to come home... Ha! Ha! Ha!
Thank you for all your
support and love!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!
-Hermana Hermansen
P.S. CONGRATS LYNDSIE-LOO for choosing to serve a
mission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You’ll NEVER regret it!!!!
P.P.S. Keep the letters and packages coming. :)
P.P.P.S. Pics: One is
what my area is like now and the other is with my companion in the hospital
before her operation. Enjoy!
P.P.P.P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
(To be honest, I totally forgot about Thanksgiving..... Ha! Ha! Enjoy St.
George!)
P.P.P.P.P.S. I love you.
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