Pictures

 Hermana Wood, MTC

 Hermana Chiou, my MTC companion

 The pension, or apartment

Finally in Santiago! 

Chilena Already

Two days of travel finally landed me in Chile, Santiago East! I´ll sum up each day in order to stay organized.

Monday. Flew all day. Satan really didn´t want the five of us to reach Chile. Hermana (Hna.) Oldroid didn´t have a ticket at first, then our flight from Atlanta was delayed two hours. Luckily, that gave us more time to talk to people in the airport:) Trying to sleep on the plane reminded me of Tour to California.

Tuesday. Arrived in Chile! Where it is more of a desert than I expected. But the warm weather is lovely, and there are no bugs (that´s the first thing Mom warned me about, ha.) Although I traveled with four others, they continued on to Concepcion while I entered the airport by my lonesome to find Hna. Wright, the mission president´s wife. She clued me in on the culture, then dropped me off at  the mission office, where I ate my first (and MUCH anticipated) completo! Hot dog plus avocado plus tomatoes plus a pound of mayo, basically. Try it. In the afternoon my companion arrived. Hna. Camargo is an incredible Colombian sister. She has one year in the mission, 25 years in life, and shorter legs than me but a quicker gait. And she doesn´t speak English, which is good for me. We live in a pretty modern apartment with Hna. Chavez and Hna. Skabelund (who just happened to be my TA at BYU last year!) Love it. I was afraid of proselyting that day, but we just unpacked and studied that night. 

Wednesday. Studied in the morning. Oh! Get this: Since June I´ve been trying to fit myself to the mission schedule by sleeping from 10.30 to 6.30 right? Then I actually get to the mission and find out our schedule goes from 7.30 in the morn to 11.30 at night...Go figure. Also, the tenant above us plays his guitar all day and sings on the level of those people you watch on American Idol because they...well they won´t make it to hollywood. We walked the streets. Hna. Camargo and I are both new in this area (we divided the ward with the other sisters), so we spent the day kind of getting to know the area. Going in search of a referral, we found her and realized that it was Veronica, a less-active member who just moved in from Hna. Camargo´s previous area! Although I didn´t understand all she said, I felt comfortable, and shared a scripture with her. Wow! And so it begins. We continued on, and following Hna. C´s example, I rang a doorbell and began a conversation with a man. I didn´t know what I was saying, but it sounded like ok Spanish, and before I knew it he accepted a pamphlet and I was filled with the spirit of missionary work even more! I know I just have to open my mouth and the Spirit will fill it.

Thursday. Helped Veronica unpack some boxes. President Wright, whom I did not meet on the first day, came to our apartment and interviewed me. He helped me realize how blessed I am, and how important it is that I am here. Mainly, he said that in 9 weeks I will most likely be asked to train a greenie, because they´re receiving so many new missionaries. Ok, so I´ve gotta step it up.

Friday. Met Violeta, a member in the ward. She gave us once, which is like their dinner, with bread and cheese, etc. And coffee. Hna. C gave me the okay to drink it, so I did. 

Just kidding-- but she made me think it was coffee! It´s a common drink, called Ecco, and it´s made from wheat or something. Kinda tastes like coffee I guess. But it´s fine, no word of wisdom breakers here. We are obedient, don´t worry:)

Saturday. Zone Conference. Learned I am the second 19 year old sister in the entire mission.  Afterwards was a trial of my faith. We scoured the streets, got rejected three times in a row, and our plans were exhausted. It would have been easy to give up and go home, or lazily wonder. As the sun was setting, I felt the Spirit like a hand on my shoulder, telling me to press forward with faith that we could make progress today. So knocking doors ensued. One, two, three, none. Fourth door, Elva answers, and she tells us all about her husband who just passed away. Golden! Taught her about the plan of salvation, and as we did so, I felt the truth of the message. Heavenly Father blessed me with increased charity to mourn with her and also to feel a part of His love for her.    We continued on to a referral house, and--to make a long story short--encountered two interested ladies who then sent us to their sister´s apartment. Annamaria, the sister, is SO close to baptism already. She has had all the lessons, asked us why we do baptisms for the dead, and we´re certain she´ll commit to baptism next week when she returns from vacation. YAY!! We ran home, elated because of our blessings, in order to make it back by curfew. Ohhh wonderful day. 

Sunday. Met the ward, Ñuñoa 1. It´s custom here to greet people with a beso, or a little hug and a kiss on the cheek (not men though.) So I received many a hug and kiss that day:) Introduced ourselves and bore testimony in sacrament meeting. I know I made grammatical mistakes, but I could only smile back at the loving people. Later, we were invited to a member´s house for our first almuerzo, or lunch. Oh-my-plateof-pasta-chicken-salad-bread and ice cream later (the ice cream here is better). Little did I know I would also be fed another completo that night at Violeta´s house. The food tops MTC food for sure. But it comes in about the same portion sizes. Hay que tener cuidado con la comida....Hna. C and I were so tired this day. But as we left the apartment to proselyte, I prayed for strength and felt the blessing of angels ´round about me to bear me up. As we walked in the sun, all I could do was smile because although this work is hard work, there´s nothing I would rather do. 

President told us we are allowed to directly email our friends, etc. so, friends and family, send me your email addresses! I would love to write you directly, seeing as it´s quicker than handwriting and paying for stamps. I hope you enjoy the ensuing spring. It´s turning autumn here. 

I love you all so very much. Random things on the street will remind me of you all (sushi shops, little children in school, wild dogs on the street, people mowing lawns, buses that jerk like the crazy one in Harry Potter, washing dishes, milk sold in boxes, empty cubbards like a college student again,memories of the temple, and good people here just like you at home.) Thank you for all your prayers and support. I definitely feel them.

Love and Light, 

Hermana Sharp

3 days More('til Santiago

Hol-a-dios!

 

Much news today. First, since Sunday I have been acting as our zone Coordinating Sister. I accompany the two zone leaders to meetings and Orientations for the newbies that came in this week. Why, you ask, do they allow one Sister to leave her companion in order to go along with the zone leaders? Because, as one Elder put it, "It takes 2 Elders to do the work of 1 Sister." The Elders also cannot enter Sister residence halls, so I am blessed with the responsibility to visit 4 rooms each night and check up on the sisters in my zone. They are all so smiley and kind.

 

Second, lots of teaching is going on. One of our 'fake' investigators challenged us on the validity of the Book of Mormon, and Hermana Chiou and I were stumped on how to explain to Ivelisse that the BOM is of God. She wouldn't accept logical answers. Finally, the Spirit whispered to me to tesitfy, and I shed tears when I said, "Ivelisse, no me importa los hechos, yo se que el Libro de Mormon es verdadero. Y es lo mas importante libro en todo el mundo." I wanted so badly for her to know the truth, and to accept the truth despite tiny, human errors she claimed to have found.  Later, I flipped to a page in my notebook where I had written a thought I had before that teaching appointment, and I had written, "You know enough, Hermana Sharp." In the moment when logical explanation and scriptural references escaped my mind, I still knew enough. And that--my testimony that the Book of Mormon is true and vital to our conversion--is all I needed to know.

 

Third, my companion and I escaped the MTC. Field trip! But it was authorized...I went to the periodontist in Provo for a final checkup and he said my mouth is healing all well and dandy. While Hna. Chiou and I waited for the van to pick us back up from the office, passerbys looked at us funny. Huh? Oh yeah, we have name badges now. A seven year old girl smiled so big when she saw us missionaries and shook our hands, telling us that she's going to go on a mission one day, too! I'm glad she's preparing now; there is so much I still need to learn. For those of you prepping to serve, study study study Preach My Gospel. There's not much time to focus on it because the MTC has so many other jewels to teach you. So study and be sure you can get yourself ready in the morning in less than 30 minutes.

 

 

Finally, travel plans: I'm leaving the MTC this coming Monday at 10 am! It's here, or almost. Other missionaries going to Concepcion (from my district) have the same 16 hour flight. Any guesses on how many people I'll committ to baptism while I'm en route?:) I love you.

 

Hasta Luego,

Hermana Sharp

And So it Begins

Querida familia mia,

The MTC: I love it!  Hermana Chiou and I have taught one 10-minute lesson already to our teacher, and every time I speak in Spanish, I thank my Mom for making me take Spanish classes begining in 8th grade. And I thank the Spirit for putting (the correct) words in my mouth. And then I smile a lot because I am so blessed!

Logistics: I had no need to fear the showers, nor the small residence rooms, they're just fine. The cafeteria=threatening, but my inability to each crunchy/chewy food has kept me from downing all the delicious items on display. This is why the surgery on my gums, by which I was devastated a week ago, is now a blessing in my life. Exercise for an hour each day= beautiful. Prayers=power. We pray all the time, and I have to remember that we're not just saying words but that Heavenly Father really is listening to us. I have to make sure I'm praying sincerely with real intent, because that is when the peace and answers come (Moroni 10:3-4 I think.) Though we only seen the sun for a total of probably 30 minutes a day, we see the Light of Christ all the time.

Stories: First sister I met when walking into the MTC was also named Hermana Sharp. What a comforting blessing that I made a friend right away. Also, my lovely companion is half Taiwanese and looks like Alicia:) I've seen Elder Heumann, Sis. Ashley Wood, Sis Taylor Johnson, and others from high school and my BYU wards (Elder Dominguez from HHS is my Zone Leader--Que tal!)...Okay, I don't have many more stories. I just love to study; but you already know that.

I love you. Heavenly Father loves you. Jesus Christ lives and loves you.:)

Hasta Luego,

Hermana Sharp