Hey Rachie!!
So I thought today that I would fill you in and answer all of
your questions that you asked in your DearElder letters. I´ve received 3 so
far. I received two on June 4th and one on June 14th. I get duplicates of them
too... I don´t know why though. It
happened in the MTC, too. Ha! Anyway, here we go...
Hermana Ortega and I are about 45 minutes away by bus. We are
both in the “interior” of the mission which means we get to see each other at
zone conference (which we had last Thursday). There are 3 parts of my mission.
North, Interior, and Coast. North = La Serena and a few others that I don’t
know. Interior = Quillota, Villa
Alemana, Limache. Coast = Valparaiso and
Viña (where the mission home is located). I believe there are about 20 sisters and about
200 elders in the whole mission. We just
had changes (can you believe that I’ve already made it through my first
transfer?) so now, my comp and I, are the only sisters in our zone, but we also
have a matrimony.
We used to have 4 sisters but they just got transferred to the
coast. They were serving in part of our
ward (a branch 20 minutes away), but now my companion and I have them both. Ha!
Ha! A lot of work, but I’m excited. Our
pension (apartment) is little but clean. It will be super nice with only two
people now. We have one small bathroom, and one open area room where you enter
and we have a small fridge and a gas stove with two plates and a sink, and a
mattress as a couch (ha), we all have our own little closet things in this area
too, and we have an upstairs with two tiny closetish rooms, and one bedroom
that barely fits our two bunk beds, I took pics that I will show you one day.
Our mission president and his wife are AWESOME! I´m sad to have
only had them for two months, but I’m glad I got to have them at all. I’m sleeping ok most nights. Some nights are FREEZING and sometimes I have
flea bites that itch and keep me up and sometimes the bed is uncomfortable, but
all in all it’s good. Getting through
customs and everything when I first arrived at the airport was easy peasy. The mission field is easier in some ways than
the MTC and harder in some ways. Mostly
it’s just different. The MTC is hard
because you have zero freedom and the field is hard because you’re so busy.
The pace of the people here is way laid back. People wake up late and go to bed late. Lunch is the big meal of the day at 1:30-3:00
pm. It’s huge and long. Ha! Ha!
It’s very common that we set appointments and people aren’t home. Oh! The
best is when it’s really cold or it rains a lot and people go home from work
early because of it. Ha! Ha! If only I could have that excuse back home, “Oh
sorry boss, it’s really cold today, so I have to go home.” When the weather is super cold or rainy, there
are hardly any people in the streets. Good time for knocking doors, though.
I’m not sure what the predominant religion is. I haven’t heard
about native religions. It’s really
similar to the states, I think. Most
people believe in God, but don’t have a religion or they just claim Catholicism.
Our church buildings are the nicest buildings here. They all have iron barred fences surrounding
them that are like 15-20 feet high. The
members take really good care of them. Not as nice as the ones in the states,
but they are always clean and are very similar to the ones back home.
We sing in sacrament without a piano (always). Ha! Ha!
It’s funny because the songs get slightly off-tune a lot, but no one cares...
or maybe they just don’t know and think that’s how they’re sung... probably the
second... Ha! Ha! The members here are
SOOOOO loving! They are awesome! We
greet and say goodbye to all the ladies with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. It’s the norm here and I’m used to it now.
For my hair and make-up, it just depends on the day. My hair is almost always up and for makeup it
just depends. I wear makeup to church
every week and zone meetings for sure, but the other days....... Ha. Ha. That’s cool that you cut your hair! Do you like it? I had an hermana trim mine like a week or two
ago. :) Anyway, I think that’s all your
questions. Ha! Ha!
I think having Bailey at your house once a week is a great
idea!! You should try reading like one
chapter per time out of the Book of Mormon and help her identify lessons in it
and how she can apply it. That would be
awesome for her! A start for her gospel
knowledge and testimony.
Anyway, I’m going to write the family now. I love getting your letters and hearing about
yours and Brett’s life!!! You are an
awesome example to me, Rachel!! Your
example of living the gospel in your life and being a faithful member is something
that is hard to find and I’m grateful to have someone to look to. I can’t wait to come home and live the
gospel! Sometimes I hope the time goes
fast but I’m enjoying it while it lasts.
Ha. Ha. I miss you and I love
you!! Keep on being strong!!!
Love,
Hermana Hermansen
Love,
Hermana Hermansen
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