Monday, October 29, 2012

Week 40 in Chile - 10/29/2012

CAMBIO 7 SEMANA 4
 
Donde: Agronomia, Chillan Ñuble
Compañera: Hermana González
Fecha: 29/10/12
 
Hola Mi Familia!!!
 
        ¿Como Están Todos? Well like always I really hope that you all are doing well, things here are doing well. I´m really not kidding I really have no idea where the time is flying because this week passed by so fast in the blink of an eye, and I´m here writing you all again. So I´m going to try my best to explain a few things that have happened this week, but have patience, because when things pass by so fast it is hard to remember all these things at times! So here we go!
 
     So we have been working with Jasna and her family still, mainly with Jasna lately, but things have been going alright. She has been having a rough time, being a single mom is really hard, but we have people in the ward that are watching out for her. After chruch yesterday, Hermano Marcelo, who is a recent convert took her home in his truck, and his wife was talking to her, and they found out that Jasna really has nothing, hardly any money and don´t have a lot of food. After they knew that they went home and found a little bit of food that they could after they called the bishop and took it over to her. There are really good people in this ward and they are befriending Jasna really well.
 
    We had a Noche de Hogar on Monday and it went really well. We were with Hermana Marisol and her family, Hermano Marcelo and his family, and Jasna and two of her kids David y Valeska. But the NDH was really fun, we made Donuts (Which turned out great!) then we had a short message about studying the scriptures and pray, then we ate and we played the tie game, where you have two ties and it is a race to have someone with both ties, but it was very fun and we were all busting up laughing, because Hno. Marcelo and Hno. Gabriel were playing so many tricks during the game to get others out!
 
    On Thursday we were able to help a lady, her name is Mercedes, she is the wife of a member. But we went over to her house and we helped her clean all of her windows, and after she showed us all of her chickens (Which I loved, reminded me when we had chickens!) and she showed us some eggs that have the possibility of being baby chicks, and she said they should be ready soon, so when we go over for lunch this Sunday she is going to have many baby chicks runny around! :) but she also show us her garden and her dogs, and we sat and talked to her for a while, but it was very fun!
 
    Well that is pretty much it, I really can´t think of any thing else. Hermana González and I are doing really well together and learning a lot each and every day! haha she wants me to start teaching her how to cook the things that I have been cooking, and she is going to write down the recipes. Oh which reminds me, Mom I love you!! haha well I always have, but thanks for telling me to use raw sugar as a substitute for brown sugar, I used it to make carmel nut slices and it worked, probably not exactly the same but they are pretty darn close!! It made me very happy to be able to make them, and as well as Hna. Bowns, Hna. Morales, and Hna. González, they loved the cookies they were very good! haha they know when I´m cooking because they always tell me the smells just travel upstairs and they love the way it smells! ;)
 
    Well I´m going to end, but before I do, a spiritual thought! So this week I finished reading Genesis, and now I will be working on the Pearl of Great Price, but as I was reading I thought a lot about the lost tribes and about family and how we have the opportunity to search for the family that have passed on through genealogy. It is a great source to be able to search for those of our family to help "the hearts of the fathers turn to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers" On Saturday there was a really cool activity that Cordillera and Agronomia were doing, they had a day of indexing names for the family history center in the stake. they had a goal to index 1000 names in the day while they were there, they surpassed their recorded and found a bit over 1300 names to be able to work with! I loved on the board they had "souls we have found" and then the number! That really is what genealogy is about, I know I am focusing on finding the "souls" that are living, but you all have the opportunity to find the souls that are living and have passed on and I invite you all to do that! If you can try to talk to you ward and do an activity like they did here, it was the first time they did it but they are going to make it a yearly thing! Work with the family history and find names to take to the temple!
 
    Well that is pretty much it for this week, I promise that I will have more next week, and will try to do my best and remember more to write about haha! but until then remember always that I love you all and I pray for you all always! Thank you all so much for you support and love! Until next week with more adventures!
 
  Con Amor Siempre y Para Toda La Eternidad,
  Hermana Aubrey Jo England    

Monday, October 22, 2012

Week 39 in Chile - 10/22/2012

11 MESES EN LA MISIÓN Y CUMPLÍ 22 AÑOS
Donde: Agronomia, Chillan Ñuble
Compañera: Hermana González
Fecha: 22/10/2012
Hola Mi Familia!!
        ¿Como Están Todos? I really hope all is going well for all of you! Wow this week has just been packed with many things this week and went really fast is all that I can say! But it has been really good, and Hermana González and I have seen a lot of miracles and great things happen this week. So I´m just going to start off with a few things that have happened of the things that I can remember! So here we go!! :)
       Well as you all know it was my birthday this week! And all I can say is it was a really great day!! What can be better then being in the service of the Lord! So I woke up in the morning and I looked at our study table and Hna. Bowns and Hna. Morales had decorated it with balloons and other things, and they also made my breakfast! We had crapes (I think that is how you spell it)but they were very good and very filling. We had lunch at the bishop´s house and we ate there and talked with Hna. Gladyis, and she found out it was my birthday, and as we were leaving, Obispo Saez and his wife gave me a cake that they had just made! and It was so good!!! and so that you know Obispo Saez is a pastery chef, he cooks really well and MUY RICO!! I have grown really close to that family!!!
      After that we went to go and work, and it was a good day, we went and passed for a less active member, who´s name is Luz I think I have told you about her before, but we passed by and the daughter who is 8 now remembered it was my birthday and gave me many notes and a balloon, and it was very sweet. She remembered because her birthday was the 20th, and so for her birthday I made her a brownie and I took it over the next day! Valeska has grown very attached to me! Her mom and grandma told me that she talks about me all the time and can´t wait until the next time that I pass! She is very cute! We also passed by and taught Jasna and her familiy which was very fun, but I will tell you about them more in a minute.
     Later that night right after we had taught Jasna we were walking around and I recieved a call from Cordillera, Hna. Moralez called me and told me that Hna. Bowns had gotten really sick and she need my help right way, and that I need to run to the church as fast as I could! Haha and given the circustances of what day it was, and the fact that the cough of Hna. Bowns in the background sounded so fake, I knew what was up! :) But we walked as fast as we could to the church, and we were a good 2 miles or more away, and I almost had two dogs attach me! and on our way we ran into our mission leader, Hno. Rudy, by a store close the the church, that was when I knew something was up, but out of breath we made it to the church, and they had a surprize part for me in the church with people from Agronomia and Cordillera! It was great! and then after that we went to a members house in Cordillera and had an "once" and birthday cake because I share the same birthday with Fransisca (Pancha) and we celebrated there together! It was a lot of fun! The whole day! But the is pretty much a summery of what happened!
     So now to talk a bit about Jasna and her familiy! We have found a familiy to teach!!! We are so excited for all of them and they are very open to what we are teaching! But so like I told you last week we found them and taught them, then two days later we had the feeling to pass for them again before we went to a meeting with the bishop, and she told us the she was very glad we came, in fact was praying that we would stop by (This was tuesday) She told us that after we left on Sunday, she was not able to sleep at all and had many nightmares, and her kids got sick, and many other things. We told her that those were not things from God and that there was a lot of opposition, so we all knelt down with their family and I said a prayer to help them sleep better and have protection that night. Then the next day we brought the Bishop and Hno. Rudy, over and they blessed the house, and got to know the family. But they familiy has really opened up to us, and they came to an activity that was in the Church on Saturday, for Dia de las Races, and there was the typical dance (original dance) from different countries, that diff. wards danced, it was very fun! haha and they did a good job for the United States, they danced "line dancing" and they also did a line dance to "Cotten Eye Joe" haha it was really great! :) But this family also went to church with us on Sunday, we went in the morning and made them french toast, then went to church and they enjoyed it, so much that they kids didn´t want to leave the primary. But many things are great with this familiy and we are going to have a noche de hogar with them tonight. Please continue to pray for this familiy is all I ask! :) They are very special to us!
     But that is the majority of the things that happened this week! But it was very good, and very fast! I really can´t believe it has been 11 months I feel like I just wrote you all reacently about 10 months, so like always it passes really fast! but that is pretty much it but before I leave a spiritual thought! :) So this week I had the privilage to give a talk in church, and my talk was based on the talk by Pres. Uchtdorf, "You are my Hands" I loved this whole talk and especially one part which says:
True love requires action. We can speak of love all day long—we can write notes or poems that proclaim it, sing songs that praise it, and preach sermons that encourage it—but until we manifest that love in action, our words are nothing but “sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” Christ did not just speak about love; He showed it each day of His life. He did not remove Himself from the crowd. Being amidst the people, Jesus reached out to the one. He rescued the lost. He didn’t just teach a class about reaching out in love and then delegate the actual work to others. He not only taught but also showed us how to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”  Christ knows how to minister to others perfectly. When the Savior stretches out His hands, those He touches are uplifted and become greater, stronger, and better people as a result. If we are His hands, should we not do the same? As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit.

I really loved this part and just wanted to share it with you all, because really we can become the hands of Christ if we but our heart into learning about Him and doing what He showed us to do! So go out there and put your love into action! Remember that I love you all and I´m always praying for you all always! Uncle Ken you and your familiy are in my prayers as well everyday in every moment! Hope you recover and get better soon! Love you all! and I will write about more adventures next week! So until then!

Con Amor Siempre y Para Toda La Eternidad!
Hermana Aubrey Jo England
    

Monday, October 15, 2012

week 38 in Chile - 10/15/2012

CAMBIO 7 SEMANA 2
Place: Agronomia, Chillan Ñuble
Companion: Hermana González
Date: 15/10/2012
Hola Mi Familia!!!
       ¿Como Están Todos? I really hope that things are going well. Things here continue to go well, there have been many things that have happened this week, and it has been a good week for Hna. Gonzalez and me! So lets get started in a few things that I can remember that have happened this week. So I told you guys about a family that we found last week, well we went by yesterday to see them and the mom was there, she was very nice and listen to every word that we said, had questions and we were able to answer them, and now she has a baptism date/goal for the 24 of November. This family is great, and we are going to keep visiting them! So keep praying for this family!
     Other than that we are still in the process of finding, which is good, because we just received a new map too, so we are trying to work with that and get it organized! So that is a lot fun! :) As always we are continuing to have a great time in the house! Oh mom just so you know we made the donuts and they were GREAT!!! and MUY RICO!!! haha I have members asking me how to make them now! It is great! We also made pizza this week because the four of us didn´t have lunch on Saturday! And that turned our very well too! 
    Haha so something very funny happened the other day, so we had just gotten home for the night and we all walk upstairs to our rooms and I was talking to Hermana Bowns when all of a sudden a shiny, green, somewhat big beetle started flying around the room it freaked us all out, but it landed on the floor so we trapped it and Hna. Bowns started down the stairs to put it outside, but on the way down the stairs it fell and she lost it! So we were looking to see where it was, but we couldn´t find it, I asked if it was on her put she told me no, I don´t think so. Well we gave up looking for it and went to plan. After the prayer, Hna. Gonzalez and I were planning and all of a sudden we hear a bloody scream from their room; I ran in there and I see Hna. Bowns jumping up and down telling us to get it off get it off. It had some how fallen down the back of her shirt and she found it as she went to scratch her back, scared her half to death, but we were all laughing our heads off for quite awhile about it! It was a weird looking bug! 
    We had mission conference this week, which was a lot of fun! We learned so many great things that are going to help us, and it was good to see some of the hermanas that I haven´t seen for a while! I actually got to meet my sister in the mission, the 2nd sister missionary that Hna. Sanchez trained, so my sister. It was cool! and Hna. Sanchez is training again, so I have two sisters and we have a picture together Hna. Sanchez, Me, and my hija together, haha three generations! Abuela, hija, nieta! :) But mission conference was really great and we learned many things! And then we have interviews this week with President which will be a lot of fun! We are looking forward to it! :) 
    Well I have to get going here in just a minute because we are going to have lunch with the Hermanas again! haha like I said Hermanas stick together! :) But before I leave I would like to share a spiritual thought with you all as always! So during conference President Humphrey shared two scriptures with us that he heard from President Arnold, who is the area seventy for chile, but the two scriptures he shared are in Genesis 3:9 and Moses 4:15 and they say this: "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" (Genesis3:9) "And I, the Lord God, called unto Adam, and said unto him: Where goest thou?" (Moses 4:15) I love the message that are in both of these scriptures, and what President told us, he said, that we all have to ask ourselves, where are we now in our lives and our personal development? and as well ask ourselves where are we going and what is our vision for the future? We should all ask ourselves these questions daily, Where am I? and Where am I going? and we will be able to take and account for our lives and help us grow more and more in the person that God sees in us each and every day!
   Well that is pretty much it for this week, I promise as always to write more and more! And remember always that I´m praying and thinking about you all always! Please take care until next week, and I will have more adventures! Until then! 
   Con Amor Siempre, y Para Toda La Eternidad!
    Hermana Aubrey Jo England

Monday, October 8, 2012

Week 37 in Chile - 10/08/2012

CAMBIO 7 SEMANA 1
 
Place: Agronomia, Chillan Ñuble
Companion: Hermana González
Date: 8/10/12
 
Hola Mi Familia!!!!
 
             ¿Como Están Todos? Haha like always things are going really great here, so many things have happened this week, such as General Conference, WOW!!! and all I can say is that everything thing this week has passed by way to fast! I´m a little lost for words to say at this time, one because I don´t have a lot of time to write and two things are a little jumbled in my head, but just be patient with me and I will try to write a few things that have happened and hopefully it makes sense!
 
       Well as you all know I´m a mom!!! I have finally found and been united with my Hija! Haha! :) Her name is Hermana González she is really wonderful, she is from Cordava, Argentina. she is from a family of 9, 7 kids and her parents, but only lives with her mom, because she is the only one left at home, and she is 28 years old. We have been doing really good together. She is learning how to adjust and is a bit shy, but it is understandable and I understand because I was the exact same way when I got here! A mission is a big change! But we are doing well, and I will let you know more about her as we get to know each other better, and let you know of more experiences.
 
      We are doing really well as a house, so Hermana Steinmetz left this week, and we got to meet her mom! Which was awesome, because they came to find her. But now in the house, lives Hermana Bowns with Hermana Morales, and then Me with Hermana Gonzalez, and we are a great bunch we have fun! We had a great lunch yesterday between conference haha we made rice and had the left over meet from the BBQ we had with the Elders on Saturday for Lunch, (That was a blast too) But we continue to have a lot of fun together, and we are going to go have lunch together today, with Hermana Brennen and Hermana Mena as well! Hermanas always stay together! haha.
 
      Well the people we are teaching lets just say we are in the process of finding again, which just happens at times, but great news about Marisol, yesterday I called her, and she told me she has a date set to get divorced and then married to Francisco the same day, (20 of Nov.) we are really excited for her, and she is making the changes she needs to progress really well. So continue praying for her! She and we need your prayers that all will go well! But other than that we are in the process of finding. This week I was walking down the street when the spirit told me to contact this one girl that was on the other side of the street, so I did and began talking to her, and long story short she hasn´t heard from the missionaries before and she lives in a family with 5 brothers and sisters and her mom and all are age 8 or above! and we met the mom because she walked with her to her house to write down her address because she didn´t know the number, and the mom was very nice too, and we have a appointment with them this Saturday! Please pray that this will be a great family for us, because we need people to teach! And I have a feeling that this family is a good family! So just pray!
 
       Well I think I´m going to end for now, but before I end as always a spiritual thought! And what better way then from General Conference! WOW is all I can say! This conference was amazing from the age change to everything! All of us here are really excited about the age change and are excited to see what that means for our mission!! We have a lot of youth here now that are preparing to serve their missions it is great! I absolutely loved all the talks! I really loved the talk by Elder Holland, what some of you don´t know is he gave almost that same talk, with a bit more to the missionaries a couple years ago in the MTC, so we got to have it reemphasized to us yesterday, and it really hits me hard each time I hear it! I believe he felt it was time that they members heard the same talk! Remember when we make a promise we make it for life, it isn´t just for a short time. So we need to try our best to follow Him each and everyday. We aren´t perfect and we will have imperfections but remember that ALL THINGS are fixable through the Atonement of Jesus Christ! ALL THINGS!! just apply that, and remember there are always people/angels that He puts in our path to help us be supported and return to Him, it isn´t to late to return to Him. All He asks of us is our best! Just remember the promises that we have made and try to keep them.
 
     Conference was completely jammed packed with amazing messages!!! So I invite you all just as President Monson did at the end of conference, go back, listen to them, read them, study them and put these messages into your heart, "Because true understanding begins in the heart" -Elder Bednar-
 
     Remember always that I love you and I hope that all of you are doing amazing! Remember that I´m always praying for each and every one of you! I hope that this letter makes sense, as I said it is a jumbled mess in my head! but until next week with more adventures! I end with all my love and prayers for each and everyone of you!
 
   Con Amor Siempre, y Para Toda La Eternidad,
   Hermana Aubrey Jo England

Monday, October 1, 2012

Week 36 in Chile - 10/01/2012

VOY A SER UNA MAMÁ!!!!
 
Place: Agronomia, Chillan Ñuble
Companion: Hermana Martinez
Date: 01/10/2012
 
Hola Mi Familia!!!
 
           ¿Como Estan Todos? As always I hope that you all are doing good. As you all probably can tell from the title, I´m going to be training this cambio!! I will in admit I´m in a little bit of shock still, but all in all I´m really excited!!! This will be fun, and a good training experience not only for my hija but also for me! Haha I just think that it is absolutely hilarious that I went from being junior companion to Senior companion and trainer in one day! Haha just like my mom (Hna. Sanchez) looks like I´m following in her footsteps just a little bit! haha! :) But this will be a really great opportunity and I will let you know more next week about my hija, because I have no idea who it is, I won´t find out until tomorrow! So more info about that next week!
 
        Well I will be a little bit honest this week was a really hard with for Hna. Martinez and me this week, we had an experience that happened this week that tried to bring down Hna. Martinez down really hard, but there is a reason God calls His missionaries two by two, that way we can support each other, and that is just what I did, so now she is doing better, but it affected out work about bit, but we aren´t letting it get us down, because that is why there is a thing called repentance, we have the ability to ask for help and forgiveness and change our actions and God will help us. So that is exactly what we have done, haha and now it looks like we are going to be seeing the results in two different sectors, Hermana Martinez is going to Constitucion, and I am staying here in Agronomia. But like I will always say "No experience is a total loss if we learn from it!"
 
      This week we had a really good time, don´t laugh, but here on the mission I have discovered the love for cooking more than I ever have, and I´m doing pretty good at it! (I´m sure that makes you happy mom! :) ) This week we had a lot of days where we ate in the house because we didn´t have lunches with the members. I´ve gotten good at making rice! :) haha it is cheap and you can add flavor with whatever else you want! Also this week I made Pizza, with the dough and everything! It turned out amazing! So look out little ceasers, because I can make pizza now! ;) Lets just say everyone in the house is really happy that I love to cook and they love to eat! and it makes me happy to serve them, a de-stresser when I need it! :)
 
     Well that is pretty much it for this week, not to much sorry, it went by really fast, and I´m still in a bit of shock, lol, but before I end I would like to leave you with a spiritual thought as always! The scriptures that I would like to share with you are in D&C, I have loved D&C I am almost done reading it, I will be finished this week! But the scriptures are in D&C 1:37-38, and D&C 103:36, and they say, "37 aSearch these bcommandments, for they are true and cfaithful, and the prophecies and dpromises which are in them shall all be fulfilled. 38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my aword shall not pass away, but shall all be bfulfilled, whether by mine own cvoice or by the dvoice of my eservants, it is the fsame." And,  "36 All victory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your adiligence, faithfulness, and bprayers of faith." I really love both of these scriptures, and we have a wonderful opportunity this week, we get to listen to General Conference!!! (haha superbowl for the missionarys) I know without a doubt and bear a strong testimony that God talks to us through His prophets and apostles, and that if we ask even just one simple question or many, and with diligence, faithfulness and a prayer in our hearts as we listen, we can all find at least one talk that was ment specifically for us that will help us. I promise that if each of you have a question, pray to find an answer and just listen, I promise you will find an answer! So I invite all of you to ask for just one thing, and have a wonderful time listening to General Conference, IT IS AMAZING!!!!
 
    Well that is it for now, we have a lot of packing and cleaning to do today, to prepare for tomorrow, so I will leave it at that for now and then I will write more next week, I promise you! Remember always that I love each and everyone of you and always have each and every one of you it my prayers. Take care, and I will send more information and adventures from Agronomia next week!
 
  Con Amor Siempre, y Para Toda La Eternidad!
  Hermana Aubrey Jo England