Wednesday, September 30, 2015

the sick bug is buzzin' around

September 30, 2015

so about half the mission has bronchitis. including my companion who also got pink eye. our room is a petri dish but thankfully i haven't gotten it and she's just about over it, so i think i'm doing good. my comp just can't get a break, poor thing, because even though she just got over her bronchitis, she got bit by a dog yesterday so we're workin on that now. she's a trooper :) your prayers would be appreciated for Hermana Henrikson. 

now on to the week. we have been visiting a less active young woman named rocio who got baptized last december. her mom is inactive and so is her brother but they are very nice and always invite us in. her sister in law, katy, lives there now with rocio's brother. i think i talked about them last week. we went to visit rocio again last wednesday and when we got there it was her and katy. we started centered on the family and talked mainly to katy. we now have a new investigator! :) she said that a while back, the missionaries had gone to her house to help her with english and talked a little about Joseph Smith and the Plan of Salvation but she didn't remember much. so we left her with a pamphlet of the Restoration and explained a little about what she would be reading. she is so receptive and i know rocio and her brother, gonzalo (katy's boyfriend) will be a great support for her and that all together they will be able to support each other as a family. :) 

ok, i don't know why the time that we have to write always go by so fast. sorry that there isn't much this week but i hope you all have a great conference weekend and take the time to listen to our prophet's voice. what they will say is prepared with you in mind and exactly what the Lord would have you hear. please take time to watch all the sessions and invite someone to watch with you. 

love, hermana walker 

Saturday, September 26, 2015

we got earthquakes, spring, some bugs in our broccoli and miracles

September 23, 2015

well i'm sure you've all heard-there was an earthquake. i will tell the story as written in my journal: my first earthquake hit today. the first big one at least. here in Santiago it was about 7.9 on the Richter Scale and 8.4 in the epicenter. we were walking to visit Rocio Arce after p-day where we just happened to be in the Costanera Center (the tallest building in South America) when this older man walked out of his house with big eyes and said "esta temblando chiquillas" i didn't have time to ask "¿que?" because i felt the shaking and the road looked like a wave. it was crazy! it went on for about 30 seconds and we kept walking but in the middle of the street away from buildings like Hermana Cook (our mission president's wife said ;) haha i was pretty proud i remembered. we got to Rocio's house and every few minutes felt the aftershocks. one of the glasses fell out of the shelf but that was really the only thing. the important thing is that we're all safe and prepared for if another one hits. thank you for all of your emails and concern in relation to it. the people on the coast are the ones who are suffering because it hit much harder there. please keep them in your prayers and remember that the Lord knows all and has a plan. we have no need to fear. 

IT'S SPRING AND I'M HAPPY. it's finally spring which meeeeans SUN. there has been sun lately but it just makes me happy to know we're into the "always" sunny days. autumn is always a great season too so i hope you're all enjoying the falling leaves and crisp air. 

bugs in our broccoli. that was a great story. and again, i will write from my journal. what a better way to start spring than with some fresh vegetables from the farmer's market, right? wrong. we were at lunch and the hermana said, "these are fresh from the farmer's market, enjoy!" after finding various hairs in my soup, i picked up some broccoli off the plate ready to eat it. i saw something black just as it was close and looked a little closer to see, not one, not two but like 10 bugs on my broccoli. apparently it was EXTRA fresh. i told Hermana Henrikson to look at hers and started picking them off with her fork. this isn't the best part. we told the hermana because we just thought it would be best to say something so she as well didn't have to eat them and she said, looking close, "well, they're dead aren't they? i washed it real good but i guess they stayed." mmm. protein.  it was a memorable moment and so funny! 

miracles. thursday we had to go pick up lunch from the Bishop's house. it was about 9 at night and then we headed over to Elizabeth's house (an investigator) by the time we got across our area it was about 9:30. she wasn't there so we decided to contact Colón (the main street) all the houses are either really rich or businesses and by this time there weren't many people opening there doors. we rand the doorbell of the biggest house on this road and i thought, "surely no one is going to come out, and if they do, they're not gonna want to talk to us" oh, ye of little faith, Hermana Walker. out came one of the best contacts i've had in the mission. Mauricio is his name. turns out his dad lived in a street called Bogota-IN BRISAS. (my area before this) i said, "i know that street!" when he started talking he said, "i know who you are; i've always thought of the missionaries as angels because i saw them one day talking to my dad in the plaza. he was sick and i was leaving in my car really fast for work and i saw two of you talking to him and i felt peace come to my soul. this was 10 years ago and my dad got baptized. i didn't go to his baptism and now i regret it. he died that same year.." i think my mouth was open the whole time he was talking. the timing of the Lord is incredible. what would have happened if the two sisters 10 years ago hadn't talked to his dad? what if he hadn't have been leaving for work and didn't see them? what would have happened if we had said "yeah we're tired and we only have 15 minutes left, lets go home"? the Lord blesses our lives when we don't even know we need it. of course we all want blessings at certain times, but the Lord knows when we NEED them. i want to testify to you that i know this is true. talk to those around you. share the Gospel with them. share your knowledge and testimony of Christ with them. you do not know when they will need it or when you will need it. :) have a great and safe week everyone! 

love, hermana walker

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

las fiestas patrias

September 16, 2015

it's been a party here in chena these last couple weeks.
 this friday is their independence day so we're up to our necks in empanadas, mote con huesillo (barley with dried peaches in juice), anticucho (shishkabobs) and a chilean flag everywhere ya look. the hoods of cars, side mirrors, every window of every apartment, everywhere. 
this means that it's been a little difficult for us, the missionaries. but we're pressing forward just the same. :) 
more to come next week. enjoy the pictures! thank you for all of your support. i know that our Savior even the hardest times is by our side. take time to pray to Him and ask for His guidance. love, hermana walker  



​empanadas! they have meat, olives, and raisins. an interesting combo but i love 'em!



martina and i at the ward party -this is the traditional dress of chile's national dance-The Queca 



​aaaaaand..i've hit the 9 month mark! glad a little bit of pinterest is still in my brain so i can take such cute and memorable photos​ ;) 


​lunch with the bradfords-the married couple in the office. and hermana hidalgo (peru) and hermana hernandez (argentina) we live with them



​my compy-Hermana Henrikson. i just love her! 



Wednesday, September 2, 2015

don´t cut the spaghetti

September 2, 2015

I'm trying to be really creative with the titles of these emails but they´re bad, i know. sorry folks! 

the reason for the title is that the other day, we had lunch with sister named Silvana Espósito. she´s italian and one of the coolest ladies ever. the story is that i always thought it was more polite to cut the spaghetti first and then eat it so you aren´t slurping it all up and getting it all over your face. well, apparently it´s very offensive to cut the spaghetti! she told me to never do it again and that it was a good thing it was my first day. eek! she said it nicely buuuut it was obvious that she was serious. so, i learned my lesson and don´t cut spaghetti anymore. now for the spiritual side of things. 

saturday was a day totally in the timing of the Lord. that morning we were walking to visit an elderly sister and as we were about to her house, a guy stopped and asked if we were in the Villa Chena the other day looking for a guy named Mario Tapia. I honestly didn´t remember but as he talked, he said that he was Mario and that we had passed by the other night but his wife answered. then i remembered! we have a list of people who have been inactive in the church of a while and he was on the list! he told us that he was hardly ever in his house because he works transporting goods to Argentina. But, he wants us to visit his wife and son! it really was a miracle. we are excited to find and start teaching Carolina and Sam. :) 

later that day, we had a cosechón. it´s when our district goes to another area to contact in a condensed area to help them find people to teach. we got there and started to knock on doors and knock on doors and more doors without any success. there was a Catholic church close by with a few members outside cleaning and Hermana Henrkison said, ¨let´s ask if we can help them clean¨ so we did, and they said yes! so we cleaned and dusted the benches inside and talked with them afterwards-they knew who we were and we told them that there were also elders in the area that could help them with service another day. i love when we´re able to find service opportunities and opportunities to make friendships and connections.  after we got back, we didn´t have an appointment so we went to contact in a street called Bulnes. we contacted a couple doors asking for a house that we couldn´t find and a guy gave us a referral of his neighbor and said she knew everyone in the street-so we knocked on her door and she was incredible! her name is Elisabeth  and she listened to the missionaries about 8 years ago. she talked to us in the doorway for about 15 minutes and told us that somewhere in her house she had a Book of Mormon but she hadn´t read it in years. we gave her another one and she started to read it right there in the doorway! she explained to us her fear of not knowing what was to come in the next life and we continued to talk. a couple minutes later, she said, ¨what am i doing? come inside!¨ so we walked right in and had a lesson about the plan of salvation and the joy of knowing what comes after this life and that the Book of Mormon the answers to these questions. she started to cry, and i started to cry and we just had a little crying party. i love the Spirit. i love how He works in our lives and in the lives of others when we allow Him to enter our hearts and minds. it was an incredible day and all because we let the Spirit guide us. I challenge you this week to let the Spirit guide. follow His promptings. 

i hope you all have a wonderful week!
 love, 
hermana walker 
 
Images by Freepik