PAINT BALL!

Hey there! Well you might be wondering why I´m emailing so late and I´ll tell you why! Today we had.... leaders council? I think that´s what its called. Basically all the leaders get together and have a real big meeting. It was great! Learned a lot! THEN we all went paint balling! INCLUDING President and Hermana Arrington! It was seriously so much fun! WOO HOO!!!!

We have been working with some pretty awesome people lately! One of them is Cesar, he is like in his late twenties and he is about to have a kid so he told us that he really wants to make changes in his life and that he wants to get baptized! Yeah! His family is totally rockin, they have ten people living in that house and he has twenty three nieces and nephews and since its that grandparents house there are ALWAYS people there, so every time we go we just teach more people and they all are just super happy to have us in their home and most of them live close by in our area! They like crowd around us sometimes! It´s crazy! That house is a gold mine! They are all so ready for the gospel I can´t even believe it! It´s going to start with Cesar and explode! The only thing is that I think he is a little intimidated to go to church, so we´re trying to get him introduced to the bishop because bishop is rockin!

Actually let me just tell you how rockin he really is! Yesterday there was a less active member that showed up with a non-member at church yesterday, and the bishop knew them. Apparently she was an investigator before, so bishop talked to her and she said she had stopped smoking so he invited her to a baptism date! She accepted and he called us up and told us he had a baptism for us to do! Sweet! Her name is Mariela if I remember correctly but we totally have an appointment with her tomorrow! Isn´t that incredible??! So excited to get to know this girl!

We seriously just see more and more miracles every day and I love it so much! Don´t get me wrong, there have been A LOT of hard days, but that makes it so when a miracle happens it´s so much more noticeable. I really just love seeing all the ways the Lord blesses his children. Like General Conference for example! Who´s excited?! I sure am!!! YEAH!!!! Go modern day revelation!!!!

Well that´s all I can think of right now! Love you guys! 

Love, Hermana Woodbury

Terrible musical number

Hey there! Well not too much is happening, just trying to get the hang of the new area still, but we have been finding some great people! We are especially trying to work with part-member families, because they just really need to be all member families so that they can get sealed in the temples. Yeah, that´s pretty important.

Something I have realized is that since I´m not that much of an emotional person I have a hard time knowing what to do when someone cries... Don't get me wrong if I know them I can totally help them out and give them comfort, but sometimes we will talk to some one on the street and out of no where they will start crying! What do you do then??! That happened TWICE just yesterday! They start crying and i just don´t really know how to react so I just freeze up a little! I feel bad because they´re crying and I just don´t know what to say or do! But the good thing is my companion is really good at it... Yesterday I told her that it kinda freaks me out a little bit when people start crying so she had me do practices with her when we got home... It was hilarious. But I am determined to better my skills on that! 

On Saturday the elders had a baptism so we went to support them. When we got there they were like, "Hermanas! Can you help us with a musical number??!" Haha thanks for letting us know in advance! So the elders decide that they were going to sing the first verse of When I am Baptized in Spanish and then since we´re both gringas we would sing the second verse in English and then we would all sing the second verse again in Spanish. Remember that this is like right before the baptism is starting so we didn´t even have time to practice before... I don´t even know how to describe how bad it went! It was so bad that the members were making fun of us after! The whole terrible musical number deal is really starting to become a bad tradition here in Chile!

Well, I just don´t really know what else to tell you about so... Yep! That´s about it! Love you guys!

Loveth, Hermana Woodbury

Birthday CAKE!

Hey you guys! I seriously can not even believe that I am already 21 and that I have been in the mission for over a year. It goes by WAY TOO FAST!!!!! I just don't really like how fast it goes. Well. Life has been pretty darn crazy this last week! On Monday night I went to say goodbye to a few people and one of the hermanas in our ward was waiting for me at her house with a birthday cake! I felt so so loved! She was way sad that I was leaving right before my birthday so she made sure I celebrated with her before! I never even told anyone my birthday in the ward but apparently they can look up our info when we're in their ward! I had no idea she even knew!

 

So anyways as I was on my way to my knew area with my companion Hermana Chavez (side note: she is from California but her parents are both from Mexico so she grew up speaking both languages) I asked her where on earth we were going to live considering there are just elders in our area and all of the areas close by. and I found out that we were going to live in the Pulsipher's house!!!!! You have no idea who they are or why that is so exciting, but it's a big deal!!! Elder Pulsipher is the first counselor to the Mission President and he and his wife are living here in Chillan live pretty much in the middle of the city. They live in a super nice apartment and it is seriously like living in the United States! It is just so homey! and the Pulsiphers are just so great and so fun! Everyone who knows that we are living here are very much jealous and I seriously have no idea how I won the lottery.... I have officially lived in the worst of the worst and now the best of the best. YEAH! But unfortunately the Pulsiphers are ending their mission in like a week. But I think they might let us stay here until the new couple comes in like a couple months. We really aren't sure but we aren't going to so anything to find a different place until they MAKE us!

 

It's been pretty crazy opening this area. We had to start completely from scratch. Zero names to put in our planner. but we have been getting to know the members and they are amazing and super enthused about missionary work and even give us referrals! WOO HOO!!! It's been pretty rough hard work but I'm super excited about this area and my companion is super great! YEAH!

 

Oh and our district totally fasted on my birthday and then we went to a relief society activity and they offered us cake and I couldn't eat it... Darn barn! Oh well!

 

Love you guys!

 

Hermana Woodbury

My new area is called Copihue

goodbye Hermana Gonzales

 

 

 

I´m seriously freaking out. I know that´s pretty normal for me but this time I have a reason. CAMBIOS!!!!! President Arrington called me last night and extended the call to be Líder de Capacitación de Hermanas. I have no idea what that is in english because that calling didn´t exist before my mission... But basically I will be over a group of hermanas to help them out with stuff and do mini cambios.... Honestly I have no idea what all of the responsibilities are but my companion is super great! Her name is Hermana Chavez and she has been a leader for a while so she´ll teach me the ways! It´s going to be really crazy because we are also opening a new area. WOO! Now you know why I´m freaking out. I´m going into the great unknown. My new area is called Copihue, which is close to Chillan. I will no longer be here close to Concepcion! AH!! BUT Hermana Phelps will be in my zone!!!!! WOO HOO!!! :D

I just want you to know that I had a traumatic experiance this week. We had a mission conference where a general authority came. His name is Elder Zeballos of the Seventy. That´s not the traumatic part. Just let me tell you what happened. So the President (of the Mission not the country) was calling for some volunteers to go up and do a teaching demonstration in front of everyone (there were like four zones there so about seventy missionaries) and he says, "can we have some Hermanas?" (looking at me) There were only about ten sisters in the conference and he was looking directly at me. I didn´t move. Then he repeated "An Hermana Please" (still looking at me.) Chuta. So I got up and took the long excrutiating walk to the front. I was seriously shaking so bad and did the most terrible teaching ever in my whole life. In front of everyone. Including a general authority. I´m still traumatized. 

 

 

This week in church we were sitting in releif society and a kid come in and goes up to his mom and says, "Mom, I just really need something fun!" She chuckles and the kid goes, "No seriously!" Oh my heck. I almost died trying not to laugh.

One we were at a house and I saw that it had a doorbell by the door. So I rang it... and realized it was the power switch. Oops. Hope no one was watching their favorite tv show...

Well! That´s about it! I´m doing pretty great, a little nervous but loving the mission! Hope everything is going well! Love you guys!

Con Amor, Hermana Woodbury

Huasca

We had a zone activity today where we toured a sweet ship called the huasca! It used to be owned by Peru until Chile conquered it and then used it for battles. 

First off, I seriously can not believe that I have been in the mission for a year! That is so crazy! The other Hermanas sang happy birthday to me in English (which was super great considering they´re all Latinas) and we ate a ice cream cake type thingy. I have some pics but... Maybe next time I will send them!

Things are going pretty well, but remember that week when we had a million people at church? Well almost all of them dropped of the map because it´s the end of summer vacation and every one wants to take advantage of the last days. BUT Nicolas is still doing great! We are postponing his baptism to next week for some reasons but he´s totally excited to get baptized! The other day we were teaching him and he made a Harry Potter joke and I laughed about it for like a year! I don´t even remember what he said but I was just so happy to hear a Harry Potter reference!

There is this member named Mannuel in our ward who is preparing to go on a mission but has been a little indecisive, so we have been working a lot with him and we have him accompany us a lot. Lately we´ve been having him help us contact people, and at first he was super freaked out to do it, but this week we were walking down the street contacting and a lady slipped past us and our barricade. So Mannuel goes " CHUTA! We didn´t contact her! Hurry give me a pass along card!" And then he RUNS after her and contacts her. I was so shocked I couldn´t even laugh! I probably just stood there starring in shock! I´m pretty sure that lady was pretty shocked too! I sure would be if some random ran up to me like that! Another thing that happened this week with him is when we went to an investigator´s house. We all entered and were just greeting each other and then about thirty seconds after we enter we hear someone BANGING at the door. Me and Hermana Alvarez look at each other shocked, and Mannuel says, "Don´t worry it´s just Hermana Bollet." WHAT!???!! Mannuel purposely locked her out of the house and we had no idea! We were not very happy with him after that visit... Especially Hermana Bollet.

Well, that pretty much sums things up for now! Love you all!

Con cariño, Hermana Woodbury

Firefighter wedding

Hey there my dearest friends and family! Sometimes I just don't really know what to write... Not too many things happened out of the ordinary this week but I will tell you the Nicolas is super golden! His baptism date for right now is the eighth (how the heck do you spell that word??) of march! WOO HOO!!!! We have awesome young single adults in our ward that always invite him to do stuff with them. When members help out it makes SO MUCH DIFFERENCE!!! love it.

Marcelo the atheist that isn't atheist anymore is also being super awesome! but him and Jessica need to get married...And Jessica has to get divorced first but her spouse doesn't want to give her the divorce or something like that... Why can't people just be married with the people they are living with? We always end up teaching people with complicated marriage situations! 

Remember Christofer? Yeah... Apparently he didn't have a good experience at church last week so they didn{t come this week. NNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! But we aren't giving up on him not even close!!!!

There was a wedding in our church of a firefighter and we were invited! It was awesome because they like did some awesome routines and stuff outside our church and then after the wedding when the bride and groom were leaving they sprayed their car with the fire hoses all the way down the street! It was pretty fun I thought!

I keep forgetting to tell you guys something important!!!! Remember when I told you that Hermana Alvarez is from Honduras?? Well I lied. She is from Nicaragua. Okay now you know. She also doesn't pick the watermelon seed out before eating a piece of watermelon. I tried warning her that watermelons will grow out of her ears if she eats them but she didn't believe me... She just eats them still.

Well that's that! Love you guys! Hope all is well!

Love Hermana Woodenburg

El Super Trio

AH!!!!! I can't even believe all the miracles that happened this week! But I{m just going to tell you the big one. Almost all of our investigators that we have been focusing on went to church yesterday!!!!!!!!! WOOO!!! I'm just going to tell you about all of them because they are all super incredible! Some of them might even be familiar to you guys!

Cristofer- He went to church again! I am still completely obsessed with their family. Really though. I just know that he is going to get baptised and they are going to get sealed in the temple one day.

Nicolas- We have been teaching him for a long time! The whole time I have been in this area but he was almost always on vacation, ESPECIALLY weekends. But he recently told us that he prayed and he knows that its true, so when he went to church we showed him the baptismal font and he is super excited! YEAH!!!

Marcelo- I possibly might have told you about him but I'm not sure. His family is inactive and he didn't believe in God. Now he feels like he has a relationship with Him and he and his family went to church! He has a little three year old daughter named Valentina that reminds me SO MUCH of Berkley! She is so cute! But she doesn't sing songs for me and she is a lot more shy.

 

Fabian- We found him Friday. His wife Viviana is inactive but she has a lot of family that attends our ward actively. Her sister actually told us about them but said she didn't know if they would actually be receptive but we just decided pass by anyway. Holy canoli were they receptive! When we asked Fabian how he thought he could prepare himself for baptism he said, " I want to go to church Sunday. We're going to go to church." WHAT???!!!  He invited himself to Church! And they both went! Her sister was SUPER happy to see them there and super surprised. Now we just have to get them married and help him quit smoking.... BUT WE CAN DO IT!!!!!! ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH THE HELP OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER!!!!
 

Julio- We found him SATURDAY! When we invited him to church he really didn't want to commit to it so we really didn't think he would go. But when we called him in the morning he said yes! Amazing. He has a cute little daughter named Agustina and she was running around all during sacrament meeting... Oops... But here in Chile that's actually quite common to have happen...

Brauleo- Remember the story I told about giving our landlords son a Book of Mormon? Yeah this is the guy. He is SUPER catholic and still doesn't accept baptism BUT now he is saying "it will take time" instead of "No I already got baptized" AND is reading in Alma 22 now. With time, it will
definitely happen. I just know it.

This is seriously an area of miracles. I was so stunned that everyone went to church  I didn't know haw to handle it! The church was nice and full, so we felt pretty good.

This week we really learned that when you are obedient and working diligently the Lord sees it and blesses you. There were a lot a times this week that we had to go home early or leave later because of Hermana Bollets migrain problems but when we were working we just really put our trust in the Lord to bless us.

 

Well... Thats all I really have to say this week! I just love this missionary thing SO MUCH!!!! Love you guys!

Love, Hermana Woodbury