Week 20

Hey Hey!

How is everything going at home? I am sure that fathers day was fantastic.  So i guess i will just dive right in.

So last monday we thought that we were going to get free breakfast... but it just ended up being a sales pitch for a diet drink thing called herbalife... lame... and gross.  do they honestly think that poor missionaries can afford an expensive diet drink... haha dream on. 

i heard that elders can leave on their missions when they are 18?! wow.  is that true in utah too or just south america? 

Well dad.  you are right.  liquado is definitely popular down here.  it is a really good and simple banana shake that everyone drinks down here.  it is hackin delicious.  yum yum.  the members make it for us all of the time. I drank it all during my childhood, and now i am still drinking it.  it is just so fantastic. 

We had a training meeting, so my comp went there, and i got to spend the day with my old companions from the mtc.  it was so much fun!!  we visited some members and investigators in a different area.  it was a lot of fun talking to them.  especially because it was in english... haha

so the members fed us lunch yesterday... i have never seen so much food piled onto one plate in my entire life... ooooo.  man....  hahaha.  it took us like two hours to eat it all... ugh.  i never want to eat noodles again...  but it was really good.  i wish i would have taken a picture. 

So we had our baptism on saturday.  it was supposed to start at seven, but naturally it started 45 minutes late.  and my mission president and his wife came!! it was so great.  I gave my talk on baptism... i think it went okay... i said one word wrong i think but no one explained exactly what i accidently said... so... o well.  all three of them got baptized.  it was a little tough for daniela because she was afraid to go under the water.  but we got done.  after my comp and i sang a song... i dont think it was very pretty... haha, i am not much of a singer.  esta bien.  but then william got up to give his testimony.  he said that he had a dream about joseph smith and that he was reading the book of mormon with a bunch of people that he didnt know... he shook joseph´s hand and woke up.  he said that it was a sign from god that this church was true.  he was absolutely sure that joseph smith was a prophet and the book of mormon is the word of God.  it was so amazing.  the baptism went amazing. and the confirmation in church went just as well.  they were confirmed, and then i got to speak on missionary work.  it went okay.  i read a lot of quotes and stuff.  i dont if they understood me but it was okay.  i think it went well.  thank goodness... phew.  first talk in spanish... check.  done.  o man the meeting was so spiritual.  and now the ward has a new family to take care of.  my companion and i are so happy for them.

Haha! i dont think that this would ever happen in utah... so before church started... a dog found his way into the chapel... there are more dogs than people here in bolivia... they are all over the place.  so one of the dogs decided to do a few laps around the chapel, and all of the people were trying to chase it back onto the street.  i just couldnt help but laugh.  only in bolivia...

well i gotta go.  i hope that you enjoy the pictures.   and i hope that everything is going well.  i love you!!

Hermana Milne

Week 19

Hey!!

how is everything goin?  so i dont have alot of time, because this computer is so hackin slow. ugh.  o well.  i guess i will just dive right in.

Our bbq last week was totally lame.  it wasnt super great, and the elders just came and ate, and then left.  we had to buy and cook and do everything and it just didnt turn out amazing.  i guess i am used to the totally awesome bbqs in the united states... i dunno. sigh

so guess what? we have three baptisms this saturday night.  it is an entire family.  they are really great.  the dad has such a strong testimony.  their faith is so strong.  we are going to get everything ready for saturday.  i am so excited... except i have to give one of the talks at the baptism... and the president is going to be there maybe.  o man.... and then guess what??? i have to give a talk in sacrament meeting the next day! o boy, here we go.  needless to say. i am going to be doing some major preparing and praying this week.  holy cow.  pray for me and my language skills.

i am going to give another shoutout to my earplugs. they have saved my life (or sanity)  multiple times this week.  our neighbors have decided to blast their music late into the night. o man.  i might have gone crazy without my celestial earplugs.  so i am so grateful for the little things in life. you know?

so i finished the old testament this week! pretty crazy right?  it took me forever, but i am officially done with the bible.  wow, there are some good stories in the bible... and some really tedious parts also.... multiple times i asked myself if i was reading a different language or not. but the bible provides a lot of guidance.  it was ensured my testimony that the book of mormon is a second witness of jesus christ.  the book of mormon really clarifies what the bible is trying to teach.  .... now... the bible dictionary. ya!!

So there is a lot of beautiful vegetation here in cochambamba.  the climate is so mild, so there are a lot of cool plants and trees.. but the trees are so.... sneaky.  they have beautiful flowers on them, but they are really dangerous to a person like me.  the people do not trim the branches overhanging the sidewalks well enough for a 6 foot tall american missionary to pass safely... ugh.  yes you can have the mental image of me walking down the street and then getting a face full of leaves .  ugh dumb trees.  and yes it happens to me at least once or twice every... hackin,..... day.  there is one tree near our house that gets me every time. hahaha.  my companion thinks it is hilarious.  along with every other bolivian on the street... o hackin.  haha

well i hope that everyone is doing well.  i love you so much!! have a great week.

hermana milne

Week 18

Greetings!! 

How is everything going?? so it is June! i cant even believe it!! So it is supposedly winter right now, here in Bolilvia... but i dont feel it at all.  it gets a little cool in the mornings and evenings, but that is it. nothing a light jacket cant take care of... i dunno.  i am beginning to realize that reaaaaallly cold,  means about sixty degrees. haha.  they think i am crazy because i am not wearing a coat.  haha. o man i wish that they could see utah in feburary.  They think that i am going to get really sick if i dont start wearing a coat, but honestly, after running to make an appointment... i am sweating, not shivering.  haha.  o ya, so i am totally going to have a bolivian spanish accent... cool right?  Instead of rolling their tongues on double r´s  they just make the z sound.   so perro sounds like pezo.  interesting.  they just really like the z sound here.  it is a lot of fun to talk with the z and it is a lot easier for me.  haha score!! 

O man, so i read the Our Heritage book, in the missionary library.  it is a brief history of the church.  wow. it blew me out of the water.  It was so amazing, and i have recieved an even stronger testimony that this church is true.  there were some really amazing miracles during the restoration of the true church.  Wow.  I am so grateful to have so much time here to study the gospel and learn even more.  I sure hope that you are taking up my challenge and reading the book of mormon this summer!! i promise that you will recieve blessings and knowledge. 

Today we are having a BBQ with the zone.  and naturally the my companion and i are in charge of all of the food... what the hackin...  mental note.  take cooking class when i get home.  i dont know how to do anything.  But ya we have been running all over the place this morning trying to buy all of the food.  phew.  i hope that it turns out well.  bbq and soccer,  what else is there in life?

We have a baptism this saturday night!! ya.  Brayan is 15, and he is a really good kid.  he is so humble and he really loves his family.  We are finishing up the lessons with him.  His mom is so nice and is supporting his decision.  we weren´t sure if she was okay with it for awhile, but she came through and gave permission.  we are so excited.  He is a little shy and quiet, but he is a really deep thinker.  He really wants to learn more,  we brought a teenager member to one of the lessons,  and brayan told the member to be quiet and pay attention to our lesson.  haha awesome!! Brayan is just so super cool.  We are going to have our other investigators come to his baptism to check it out.    

we went to ward council yesterday.. and they started to talk about finances and some problems... and i didnt understand a word they said... crap.  i guess i have more to learn.  eh?

Funny fact,  everytime that i tell the members that i am from utah they always give the same reply.... O! you are from The Factory.   hmm. what is that supposed to mean? haha!  so ya, i just thought i should let you know that we need to change the name of utah to the factory.  because we ship out so many missionaries or something.  i dunno.   

well, i hope that everything is going super great!! i hope you enjoyed the pictures.  Enjoy the summer, and good luck with everything this week.   love you !!


Hermana Milne

Week 17

Hey Hey!

How is everyone doin?  So i am sending some more pictures. it took hackin forever to load so now i dont have much time.  ugh.  well I finally got my mail.  I would like to begin with a giant shoutout to everyone that sent me letters!! Mom, Dad, Aunt Julie, Grandma, and Danica.  you guys are the coolest.  i got six letters all at once.  my zone leader finally went to the mission office and picked up the mail.  so ya, pouch mail and normal mail works, it should take about three weeks. more or less to get here.  sweet sauce.

Well yesterday was mothers day ... here in bolivia.  so naturally everyone was visiting family, and no one wanted to talk to us.  our appointments fell through and we were just lost and alone yesterday.  hahaha.  esta bien.  i was able to study and write some letters.  but something crazy happened.  we had lunch with a family yesterday, and they had the cutest dog.  it was a cockerspaniel. the same type of dog that i had when i was a kid.  and so i asked what her name was... her name is Nena.   wowowo! that was my dog´s name..... so ya, i played with a cockerspaniel named nena.  same name, same type of dog... cool. 

we have three baptisms scheduled in the next two weeks.  brayan is scheduled for the 9th of june, and william and leticia are scheduled for the 16th of June.  it is going to be amazing. they are super great investigators and they are so ready to receive the gospel, 

i have realized that i cannot understand people from Chile.  they talk like three times faster than everyone else. o my hackin.  the elders from chile are sooo hard to understand.  ppl from chile and argentina talk a lot faster than everyone else.. ugh  patience. ahha

so there is a new culture difference i have discovered.  shrugging your shoulders means for americans... i dont know.... but for latinos it means... i dont care at all.  haha.  woops.  my companion let me know the difference.  haha sorry!!

we went to an appointment. it was a first contact because they were a reference from a member.  so they let us into the house and then.... ya we walked right in during a funeral.  their uncle had died and there were like 30 ppl just sitting there... awkward.. their faces just said... what the hackin is that blonde girl doing here?? o welll needless to say we rescheduled. 

okay well i have got to go. i hope that you enjoy the pictures. they are from bolivia and peru if you are confused.  thanks for all of the emails and letters. they are so awesome.   i love you!!

hermana milne

(Here are some pictures.  Some of them are from peru, and the others are from here in cochabamba.  I have pictures of both temples.  they are sooo beautiful.  I hope that you enjoy them!!)

Week 15

Hello hello hello.

How is everything going?  So we had transfers yesterday.  And i am staying here in Jaihuayco! I have one more transfer with my trainer, and then I dont know where i will go next.  It is crazy that our entire zone is going to change this week. 

O my goodness, i need to write this before i forget.  So my mission president has challenged the entire mission read the book of mormon in 90 days.  He has also invited our families to read the book of mormon this summer as well.  So if you want to be cool like me and read the entire book of mormon this summer. then ya your awesome.  it is about 8 pages a day for the spanish version of the BOM.  i am not sure about english.  someone can do the math for you guys.  i hope that you guys can do this with me.  of course i am reading in spanish, but you dont have to do that.  hahaha.  so ya this is your summer challenge.

This week was .... interesting.  I was a little sick, but i have medicine.  But the worse part is that i am on a white diet right now.  all i have eaten for like three days is crackers and plain chicken and white rice.... bleeegghhh.  white diet is not very good.  but then again i dont have much of an appetite anyways.  My comp got shin splints, and a part of her front tooth fell off on sunday... ahhh.  we did an emergency trip to the dentist, so it is all good.  i would just like to thank my parents for forcing me to brush and floss my teeth, and that they paid for my dental care throughout my life.  and i would like to give a shout out to my dentist and orthodontist also.  i am beginning to realize how important all of that was.... haha.  thank youuuuuu.  so ya... my advice of the week is to please take care of your teeth, becuase i am witnessing the consequences if you dont.  ha. 

so i have two things that i have observed that drive me crazy with worry, even though they really dont matter.  i dont know, i guess this is my dramatic side coming out.  So every sunday i go through the same thing.  we have to kiss cheeks with all of the women as a greeting.  but the problem is when i wear hackin glasses.  ugh they are just in the way.  i am afraid that i am going to poke someones eye out with my glasses.  woops sorry!!!! sister.  i guess it doesnt sound as awkward when i just tell you about it. and also.  at church, i have to make sure that my hands are completely dry after we wash our hands.  because i know that the moment i leave the bathroom, i will be shaking hands and attacking peoples faces with my glasses. because everyone is in the hallway of the church.  and i always think it is so awkward to shake hands when your hand is wet.  ughhhh.  hahaha it really doesnt matter, but ya.  that is what goes through my mind.  i am giving you permission to judge and laugh at my ridiculous worries.  haha. 

We had such a crazy saturday.  we helped clean the church, because a less active member died.  we helped clean for the funeral.  and then we had to run to a birthday party for a moment, and then we ran to a baptismal service.  and then we ran to a wedding.  our investigators got a civil marriage this weekend. it was totally awesome.  so a tradition here is that the guests sew money to the clothes of the bride and groom.  pretty cool eh?  and also everytime they dance or recieve a gift, they put a handful of confetti on eachothers heads. ahahah. awesome.  the confetti was everywhere, but it was a lot of fun.  i was the only one who brought a camera, so i ended up being the photographer for the evening of festivities.  ... okay cool.  what a day!  it was a lot of fun.  

We have a baptism scheduled for the 9th of June. i am so hackin excited.  our investigators are just the best in the world.  we have been visiting a lot of members and less actives, and they are so helpful and welcoming. i am just so glad that we are staying here for six more weeks.  the members are finally getting to know us.  well i hope that everything is going well at home.  congrats aubrey, for getting the lifeguarding job.  awesome!! hopefully i will see my zone leader, and hopefully he went to the mission office to pick up our mail, and hopefully he will actually give me my mail this week. hahaha.  o man.  well i love you!! good luck this week. 

Hermana Milne 

Week 14

hey hey hey 

 

how are you?? well everything is going well here.  it was so great being able to talk to everyone yesterday.  it was so much fun and i had a blast.  i am so glad that it actually worked.  well, a few things happened this week.  o ya and i forgot to ask how lily was doin??  o man.  well, believe it or not i almost forgot that it was mothers day yesterday.  mothers day is the 27 in bolivia, so i assumed it was the same, until the last minute.  last monday i wrote an email super fast to the family... because the elders informed me that mothers day was this sunday in the united states... phew.  i am so glad that they said something.  i almost forgot. that would have been soooo bad.  

 

i had zone conference last week, so i got to have an interview with the president.  he is really cool.  i just listened and he really cares about all of the missionaries here.  i am so glad that he is our president.  well, my companion´s family never called her yesterday... craziness.  i think that something came up and they werent able to call.  i think that they are going to call next week though... much better.  she was pretty bummed about it, but she is okay now.  o ya and guess what?!! my companion doesn´t know anything about harry potter.  o my gooodnesss.  i was humming the theme song and she asked what it was from.... what?? it completely blew my mind. 

 

well we are teaching this family that is so awesome.  they want to get baptized, but they cant come to church next week because they are getting married.  they invited us to the wedding. o man they are so nice.  we are also teaching a few other people.  brayan is 15 and he knows that the book of mormon is true.  his mom said that he needs to learn more before he accepts a baptismal date.  but he is progressing alot.  we also found a few girls that were taught by other missionaries before us.  they are so excited to see us when we contacted them in the street.  i hope that we will be able to teach them this week. 

 

we had family home evening with the family that we are teaching, and we watched the restoration video. they are really interested about getting married in the temple.  o man i cant even believe it.  but after we played the game telephone.  where you whisper something into someone´s ear and then they have to pass it on... are you hackin kidding me?  i cant even understand them when they repeat something to me a few times out loud. hahahah needless to say... i was the worst one.  and eventually they just skipped me, because i couldnt even play at all.  so now my goal in life is to be able to play the game telephone in spanish.  just watch.  next time i can call home i will know this language, and be able to understand everything.  i am just so grateful for the members that are helping us with our investigators.  we could not do all of this by ourselves.  well i have got to go.  i think that we might go and play volleyball after lunch.  good luck with everything this week.  i love you!

 

hermana milne