Week 36

Hey HEy HeY

 

How is everything going?? so this week was pretty cool.  It sounds like everything is pretty normal at home.  So ya i have big news.... All of the sisters in the cochabamba bolivia are receiving cell phones this week... whhhhaaaattttt.  awesome.  it is going to be so much easier.  We have had to use a pay phone to call everyone for the past eight months.. hackin pain in the neck.  but do not worry!  we have cell phones.  welcome to the future.  all of our investigators only have cell phones, so it is going to be ten times easier now.  yesssss

 

So we eat lunch and dinner with four other elders almost every day during the week.  It is pretty hilarious sometimes.  The assistants to the president are both american right now.  usually it is a latino and an american, but right now we are half and half.  half american and half latino.  people from utah, california, peru, chile,  and bolivia.   needless to say, the conversations usually get pretty hilarious.  but this week especially, the two assistents started quoting celebrity jeopardy.  o man o man. i forgot how funny SNL really is... o man the assistants...

 

I bought a new backpack.  this is a big stepping stone in the life of a missionary.  it has the temple and my name on the front of it. and it is more like a fanny pack ish so it doesnt kill my shoulders.  sweeeeet. ya im cool

 

This last sunday, our stake divided into two stakes.  we had a special conference in the stake center.  it was tough because our investigators had trouble getting all the way to the stake center for church... sigh.  but it was really good and really crowded.  we had two of the seventies come and speak to us.  it was totally awesome.  THis is just evidence that the church is growing a lot in Boivia.  sweeeet! success.

 

So we were teaching this man that has his own yogurt shop... his name is Pablo.  We always drop by and buy frozen yogurt and teach him and his wife a lesson.  They are a really nice family... but... this last time we taught the word of wisdom.  We taught him the 5 things that we dont consume... and he just gazed at the list for a moment and said, well i drink alcohol, coffee, and tea, and i smoke a lot, Oh! but right now i dont do illegal drugs... phew... i have a long way to becoming a mormon.  and then his wife just rolled her eyes.  he is a kidder.  but a really nice guy, who wants the best for his family. haha but ya... he has a loooonnnnggg way to becoming a mormon. haha 

 

So we went back to teach ana momblack again.  She is still doing fine and is going to come to church next sunday... but just as we were about to leave... anas mother came walking out.  she is 85 years old, and as sharp as ever.  She has been a member since the beginning of the church in bolivia.  She is active, and absolutely hilarious.  She has this big round thick harry potter glasses.  and she works in the temple every thursday.  The mother and daughter started talking about all of their experiences.  Her moms name is Guillermina.  Guillermina used to go out with the missionaries years ago when the government was communist.  all of the people thought that the elders were spies, and Guillermina had to tell the people that she knew the gringos and they werent spies.  she said she fought with a lot of people back in those days, and i think she could still hold her own in a fight haha.  o man, i love visiting these ladies.  But ya, i gotta go. i hope everything is going well at home.  godspeed and i love you guys!!

 

Hermana Milne  

Week 35

HEy Hey.

Conference was so super fantastic.  wow!! i cant even believe it.  so they had an classroom in the stake center in english. so all of the american missionaries got to watch the conference in english, wow!! i cant believe that i had to wait til i was 21 to go on a mission.  and now it is 19.  woowww weee.  so there is this one member named Saul.  he is the pensionistas husband.  He is pretty much the most hilarious guy in Bolivia.  he is from argentina, so he is very up front and ... sincere.  so the chapel was cold and he gave his jacket to his wife.  but he was cold too.... so naturally, he used the curtains as his blankets.  my companion tapped his shoulder and asked if she could borrow his curtains... and he just turned around and said, o man it is so cold in here i cant even sleep! haha he is a child in a mans body.  he also demanded to have an arm wrestling contest with all of the elders last week.  he thinks he is the most beautiful and strongest man on earth.... but one of the assistants is a football player.... he beat Saul, but Saul says that he wasnt ready. haha!  o man.  Hermano Saul got pretty mad when he couldnt sniff m&ms either.  

We also got to go to the temple this week.  What a blessing!! it was really spiritual, and we got to talk to all of the other missionaries in cochabamba.  The temple is such a blessing in our lives.  we should never take it for granted.  We can ask for help in the temple and God will give it.  The cochabamba temple is really pretty and it is pretty much the coolest thing ever to have the temple in my area.  

we found an inactive member this last week. her name is ana momblack.  and she is a walking medical miracle.  God obviously has something planned for her, because she should be in a diabetic coma right now.  Her blood sugar is through the roof, but she is completely fine.... she doesnt have any medication to help her and she said her level is like 480.  she should be dead right now... wow. She is one of the first members in bolivia.  yet in the past three years she has gone inactive.  This is just proof that we always need to endure, even when we have years and years in the church.  We have to keep focusing on improving and never become complacent.  

We also did some serious service this week.  We had to paint an entire apartment.  o my hackin.  no one could help, except us... The family is recently reacitvated in the church and they have three little kids.  After we finally finished, the mother in law was shocked that we were willing to help so much.  She said she was really impressed with the brothership we had and was interested in joining the church.  wow.  These are the words that every missionary dreams to hear.  I just hope that she really meant it.  we are going to visit her this week.  Service really does bring blessings... yes... score

So you know how we were supposed to go to the Bolivian Black market last week?  we did go, but we ended up shopping for the member that came with us, instead of what we needed to buy... The funny part?  The lady is in our relief society, and they are just as obsessed with arts and crafts here... so we somehow ended up in the arts and crafts section of the bolivian black market.... i never imagined that i would end up in that location in my entire life.... hahahaha.  o man.  we were there for like 2 hours.  i dunno, it was just a really random funny experience.  well i hope that you all had an awesome week.  and remember to apply the teachings from conference in your lives.  good luck with everything this week.  i love you.  Godspeed.  

Hermana Milne

Week 34

HEy HEy Hey!

 

So another week has passed us by... crazy crazy crazy.

 

I had to teach sunday school yesterday.... principles of the gospel... in spanish... alone.  but ya, it went a lot better than i thought that it would.  sweeeeet.  hopefully, the members learned something... haha. o man o man.  I had a lot of help from our mission leader.  but ya, it is all good now... and general conference is this weekend.. awesomee!!!!!!  i am so hackin excited.. after this... that means that i only have one general conference left in boliva. weird. 

 

So we fixed our electricity and cleaned the house today. o ya and i hand washed my clothes... i am still not used to that.  ugh.  but we are going to go to the bolivian black market today to buy some stuff. i am pretty excited. 

 

So transfers were this last week, and my companion and i are going to stick around in villamoscu for six more weeks.  but the problem is that we have the temple in our area, so all of the sisters that are waiting for their companions get to come and hang out with us for a day or two.  on tuesday, hermana bates spent the night with us. she was finishing off her mission, and needed a place to sleep for her last night in bolivia.  so we were with her for a day. and then the next day hermana guerra spent the day and night with us because she was waiting for her companion to fly to cochabamba.  Wow, trios are pretty interesting.  we sure spent a lot of time on transfers... and we didnt even have a transfer. haha. geez.

 

We are teaching this woman named Lupe.  She is not a member.. but she has been a maintainence worker in the temple for the past 12 years. can you believe it.... she told us that she feels so much peace in the temple grounds and that she is finally ready to be taught and baptized.  she has two kids and is a single mom.  she helps maintain the temple grounds  when they need her.  all of the temple workers are so excited that we are teaching her.  she is really spiritual and a happy person.  i cant wait to talk with her again. 

 

We were at the mission leaders house last friday, and his wife made some banana shake for us.  she had a cup for herself, but her son threw a banana peel at her and somehow the cup of banana shake spilled and splashed up all in her face... ooooo. it was like a cartoon. haha.  but this is just one example of kids acting out.  the kids really like to act out when we come to visit.  every single home we go to... the children start acting like demons the moment we walk in the door.  they just really want the attention.  every single parent tells us that their kids usually arent like this... o yess... we know  hackin

 

well i hope that you all have a great week.  and enjoy the pictures.  we had a lunch with the presidents wife in the mission home.  and the next monday we had a bbq up on the hill.  this is the view.  i dont know if you can see it very well. and ya.  thats it.  good luck this week.  i love ya!!

 

Hermana Milke   (ya... sometimes the people say milk instead of milne) they think it is totally hilarious. haha

Week 33

Hey Hey!

 

How is everything going?  I am sure that it was an interesting week.  okay well, here it goes.

 

My companion let me in on a little Bolivian culture secret.  are you ready?  So Bolivianos show how much they care for you by how much food they offer you.... o hackin.  So ya, we cannot turn down the food.  HAha!  I dont know which is worse......  Fat and well liked....... or skinny and shunned.

 

Our new challenge that the president has given all of the missionaries is we have to memorize the Living Christ... wow!  it is a little bit harder in spanish but i am a quarter of the way through.  So ya, it you are super bored and need something to do on Sunday, you can read the Living Christ... it is super cool actually.

 

So, it was an interesting week... we havent had electricity for 4 days... dont worry, The blessings are that the shower still works and the blender. haha!! awesome.  It has been pretty cool,  we have to use candles at night.  pretty .... rustic... right?  I dont know how the people in the past only lived with candles.  So ya, big shout out to Thomas Eddison for inventing the light bulb.... (and if that historical fact is completely wrong... dont judge . my head is full of spanish right now) 

 

We had a really interesting Saturday.  We woke up and had to go find some baptismal clothes for a baptism, and then we went to a members house to iron our clothes... because we dont have electricity still... and what do you know... there happen to be a birthday breakfast with the relief society.  so we had a delicious breakfast.  then we ran to the baptism. (with refreshment)  then we had lunch at Tuesdays.... awesome.  it was like an american restaurant.... sooooo gooooood.  o man.  the texas roadhouse of bolivia.  We went with the brazilians that live in our ward.  At first, i thought that i just couldnt understand their spanish.... but ya.... they were totally speaking hackin portuguese. o ya.... riiiiggghhhtt.  hmm Then we went and did some service for some members in the ward. we worked all day long and then we went to dinner and what do you know.... it was another birthday dinner for our pensionista.  yyaaaayyy.  THe food was really good.  sooo.... much .... food.... but ya it was totally amazing.  

 

One of the assistants that we eat lunch and dinner with is going home this Tuesday.  So we had a farewell party in the pensionista´s house.  Each of us had to share a talent... It took me three days to figure out what i was going to do... I ended up with another one of my dad´s tricks... m&m sniffing... hackin awesome!  if you dont know what it is. ... ask my family.  Everyone was quite shocked at first, but then everyone decided that they wanted to give it a try.  haha!  I have never laughed so hard.  it was so much fun.  I took a video, but the internet here is slower than a donkey on the highway. 

 

We were teaching this lady in the park this last week.  and can i just say that there is some weird stuff on cable.  She shared everything that she had learned from cable about religion.  o man o man.  We talked with her for an hour and a half. After about the first 10 minutes i was completely confused.  hahahah.  some advice... read books. dont watch cable and repeat what you learn.  you might seem a little foolish.  Well ya, i gotta go.  we are having a bbq with the zone and maybe going to a museum today... sweeeet!  I hope that everything is going well at home.  I love you.  good luck this week. 

 

Hermana Milne

Week 32

Hey HEy HEy

 

This week went really really great.  I dont have a ton of time, but we taught like a million lessons this week.  It is so much fun in my area.  We are getting to know the people and we found a lot of new people to teach.  So we got the assignment to give a class in our zone meeting tomorrow... how to find new investigators.  so naturally, that was our main focus this last week.  we spent almost every moment looking for new people to teach.  wow wee.  it was a blast.  we talked to everyone that we could find. 

 

So there is this dog that lives in the house of the members that we live with... We named the dog pom pom, because we dont know her name and the family is in the united states for their daughters wedding.  So we pretty much take care of the dog... she is super old, and she hadnt had a haircut in like..... 2 years... so we decided to offer some service and give the dog a haircut.  .... an hour and a half later... we finally finished.  luckily she was really old so she didnt fight us a ton... it is a good thing i had experience... i truly did learn something all those times that i shaved the cat. haha awesome.  but ya, that is what we did one morning.  Also the teenager that takes care of the house totally locked us out two times this week. ugh... seriously?  but dont worry, thirty minutes of ringing the doorbell and we got in just fine... and of course the zone leaders were calling us and wanted to know where we were.  haha i am not sure if they believed us. 

 

So something extraordinary happened this week.  one morning, we got a phone call from a woman in the ward.  she called and said that she has decided to be baptized and that we need to come and teach her the lessons.  SHe has been investigating the church for 12 years... can you believe it?  So we have been going to her house every day to teach her all of the lessons.  She is a really great person.  all of her kids are members and have their families.  Her son is the bishop of the ward next to our ward. 

 

Well i am totally out of time. sorry it is so short.  i will write lots more next week.  i love you!  good luck this week. 

 

Hermana Milne

Week 31

Hey HEy  whatsup?

 So everything is going great.  We had a really interesting week.  We are still trying to get established in the ward.  The members are super awesome.  The ward is really nice and we are having a great time.  The house that we are living in belongs to some members.  They are in Utah right now for their daughters wedding.  They are supposed to come back tomorrow, so we will finally meet the people that we are living with. Haha! Cool.  Well today all of the sisters in Cochabamba  get to have lunch with Sister Dyer, the presidents wife.  I am so hackin excited.  She is going to cook American food!!! Ya!!!  So ya, that is what we are going to do today.  We also wanted to bathe the dog that lives in our house, because she is really dirty.  O ya I know… the life of a missionary is spectacular.  Okay so ya anyways… I guess I will just tell you what happened this week.

 My companion is from Orullo, which is about a four hour drive from here.  We were outside the temple and she recognized some people at the temple. Well it turns out the some people from her home town came to visit the temple.  … wow!  Well, we first ran into to this guy… and it was super awkward.   I didn’t know why until after when my comp told me that it was her exboyfriend…. Super weird.  Then another girl came running up and the first thing she said was that my companion was really fat!!  O my hackin.  I was ready to fight someone, but apparently it is not an insult in south America.  Ooookay! 

 So we went to visit a member in our ward. This family lives up on the hill in a private condo.  He is the consulate of Brazil.  So we had to hand over our identification to get in the gate.  We then attempted to find the house.  And of course we got completely lost in the private community.   We wandered around for twenty minutes and finally the guard came on his motorcycle and pointed us in the right direction.  Haha. Woops.  The house was so beautiful, I am going to bring my camera next time and take a picture of the view.  You can see all of Cochabamba from his house.  Wow.  They ordered pizza and then asked me to bless the food in English… sweet…. But then… I began to pray, and I couldn’t remember the English words. Haha.  I was praying half in Spanish and half in English.  My comp and the members thought it was pretty hilarious.  O hackin.

 So we went to the only existing supermarket in cochabamba, and guess what I found….Waffle Crisp!! The cereal that I hackin love.  I never could find it in Cedar City or in salt lake… but don’t worry I found it in the only supermarket in Cochabamba Bolivia.  Hahahh! Awesome!!  O ya and gobstoppers too. Heaven on earth. I forgot how much I love gobstoppers.  And my new favorite ice is called Waferito.  Yuuuummm it is like 20 cents in American money and soo addictive.  I cant stop eating them.  The waferito is going to be my down fall ,  I just know it…

 Power of prayer.  So we were late for dinner one night and it was dark and a little chilly.  We were waiting for the bus FOREVER!  And it never came. Whenever we need the bus, it doesn’t come. And when we don’t need it, it is right there.  So naturally, I thought it would be cool to pray for a bus to come… and within three minutes. The president and his wife pulled up in his car and gave us a ride to our pensionista´s house.   Score!!! God Cares.  (even if it is half in English and half in Spanish) haha

 We had an 8 year old get baptized yesterday.  His name is Randy, and we taught him the lessons to prepare him for his baptism.  He is a really good kid.  O ya and our mission leader asked me to give a talk and direct the music 5 minutes before it started.  O crap.  But ya I think that it went okay, I am pretty sure the members understood most of what I was saying.  Haha. But ya, we helped randy´s mom make empanadas for his baptism.  IT was soooo delicious. 

 Well I hope that everyone is doing well.  I am sure that everything is going great. And school has started!! O ya and a HUGE shoutout to my brothers.  Artem and Devin. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!  I love you! And I hope that you have fantastic birthdays this week.    Good luck this week. i gotta run.  Godspeed.

Hermana Milne

Week 30

Hey Hey Hey!!

 

So another week has ended and it sure has been hackin spectacular! 

 

Last monday we finally played some volleyball.  first time in seven months... awesome!! it was a ton of fun.  Then we went to some member´s house in my old area and had a bbq.  it was soo delicious.  william and leticia made everything and there were four missionaries there.  We talked about the family and i made sure that they were doing well. they are my converts.  Everything is going great.  Leticia got a calling and William recieved the priesthood, and the members are really helping them to learn everything in the church.  Then my companion gave me a haircut. sweet... free.    okaaay.  what else did we do this week.... well, a lot of our appointments fell through so we decided to find acts of service that we could do for the people in our area.... we walked a widow to the bus stop.. she talked talked and talked... i can only concentrate for so long.  It takes extra attention to understand in spanish, and it is super difficult to understand when the subject changes every three minutes and she doesnt stop talking... wow.  woops i guess i still have a lot of room to improve.  O ya! and remember Timbre the doorbell dog.  We went to the house again and  no one was home.  we realized that the dog had no water to drink and the house looked abandoned so naturally.... we walked all the way to our apartment and brought some water for the dog.  I think that he likes a better now... he doesnt bark as loud as usual.... haha. 

 

 Three times a year, cochabamba has a special day when no one can use their cars.  It happened this last sunday.  Only walking and bicycles are allowed on the streets.  It is like to show respect for the environment and try to clean the air or something.  It was super cool.  Everyone had to walk to church.  I am totally used to walking, but the members are not.  Not a lot of people came to church, and then we only had sacrament meeting because they didnt want to walk home in the afternoon heat.  We live up on the hill near the temple, so the walk is pretty difficult.  Some of the members came, but it was super cool because everyone was out on the street and just enjoying  the day.  It was really interesting. 

 

We eat with 4 other elders, and i realized that the cups we had were made of crystal... so naturally i started to make the cups sing... (i dont know what its called, but it is the same thing she does on Ms. Congeniality)  Well, naturally all of the elders wanted to learn how.  They practiced to for two days in order to get it down.  I just kept thinking how we always would have crystal cups when we went on our cruises.  haha!! I am sure our pensionista got a little tired of it, but my companion still cant do it.  she is pretty frustrated.  The elders think it is pretty awesome.  Thank you dad for teaching me such a valuble skill. haha! 

 

So we didnt have electricity for a day.  that was pretty fun.  We had to plan out in the street, and then get ready for bed in the dark... o hackin.  luckily my companion had a candle.  so we studied by candlelight.  It was a new experience... pretty intense.  And then there was a huge spider on the wall.  my hypothesis is that spiders seem a lot bigger and scarier when there is no electricity and only a candle... dont worry, i killed it.  But my comp was almost hysterical.  Then we decided we have a ghost in the house, because the next morning the window was wide open... woooohhhhhh.  haha!  or it was just the wind.  but a ghost sounds a lot cooler. 

 

So i thought it was really funny in our district meeting.  The missionaries were talking, and they said that satan has one good attribute... persistance.  He never gives up, he never stops tempting.  As missionaries, and members in general, we need to learn to be persistant in righteousness.  We must never give up and let oppurtunities pass us by. 

We also talked about the blessings that God gives us.   They say that:  

Obedience brings blessings    but....

Exact obedience brings miracles.

I dont know if that translates well, but i really like it... i ask myself if i am exactly obedient to all of the commandments of God?  If so, i know that i will see miracles occur with my investigators and my personal development as well. 

Yesterday is the past.  Today is the present.  Tomorrow is the future.  God gives us a present everyday, by letting us live one more day.  I like to think about this when i need to improve my attitude.  sometimes we just need to think about the blessings and the life that God has given us each day.

 

Well that is my uplifting thought for the month... enjoy.  haha!  I hope that everything is going well at home.  Good luck with everything this week.  Let me know what is happening!  I love you guys!!

 

Hermana Milne