Teenage Pregnancy...What?- Dec 16, 2013

Hola todos!! 

  Okay so first off, cambios were today and........ I`m going to have a baby girl! Yep, I`M TRAINING!!! (When you get a companion who is brand new, they are considered your child.) I just finished my own training two weeks ago and barely have 4 months since I entered the MTC! I haven`t met her yet, but I got to see her name and it`s... HERMANA LINO! She gets here tomorrow and I don`t know where she`s from, but I know she is Latina, so we are going to have a good time! Ahh I can`t believe I`m going to have an "hija" and I`m freaking out just a little bit, but it`s all good. If the Lord has Faith in me that I can do it, then I should too. 

     

   This past week was awesome. We were able to teach A LOT of lessons and really have our investigators progress. I went out with a few young adults 4 days this week and that was such a blast! Yes they had no idea really what they were doing and I had to plan and guide everything, but their spirit was so strong and I loved it. I`m hoping it was a good warm up for when my brand new companion comes tommorow! We were able to visit a lot of people and that really is the best thing ever. A teaching missionary really is a happy missionary. The girls who were my companions for the day loved it too and now they are so willing to go out with us again when we need them next time. I could tell that they really were able to feel the joy that we feel when we share the truth. It is the best feeling in the world. 

   

   Miracle of the week: So our main investigators that we have been focusing on is Roxana and her family. Her husband, Ricardo, is a new convert and her two kids Mauricio and Sebastian are working towards their baptism goal as well. Roxana is also a teacher in the Catholic church to help kids prepare for their First Communion. Friday night we had a really good lesson with the whole family and committed them to come to church on Sunday. However, the whole time we never saw them and I was feeling super bummed the whole meeting because I thought they hadn`t showed up. Well turns out, after sacrament meeting, some members told us that they did come, but it was during sacrament and there were guys guarding the door to not make a lot of noise and she didn`t like that so decided to leave. Well it turns out that the Catholic church is right next door to our church where she recently taught at and decided they would go to the Mass there instead. However, later on Sunday night when we saw them, she said that she felt like something was missing when she went to the Catholic church and that as a family they all decided that they like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints better!!! She told us that it was a confirmation to her that our church is the true church and that was where she wanted to be. It was incredible!!! The Lord really does work in mysterious ways and her baptism along with her two kids will be next week, so pray for them!! 

    Anyways, we have been working a lot with the members lately and they have been inviting their friends to a lot of things and to learn about the gospel, so that is so awesome!! Ahh I just love sharing this gospel so much!! We have the responsibility to share the love of Christ so others can feel it too. Just like in 1 Corinthians 15:22, "even so in Christ shall all men be made alive". Have a great week everyone and I love you soo much!! Sorry, I`ll try and write a lot more next week! 

Hermana Romney 

attached the photos:

there are some of my companions and also a member who was my companion for the day and a Family Home Evening with Roxana and her family and the Bishop!!!

Triple Threat Trio- Dec 9, 2013

¡Hola mis queridos!

   ¿còmo estan todos? This week has been a wild ride, but definitely a good one. In the trio we switch off working in both of the sectors everyday and we`ve got a good system going now. We`ve already got a member to go out with me everyday this week, so it will be a little interesting to have different members as my comp, but this way we can do twice the work and help even more of God`s children! It`s definitely heating up here in Concepciòn. Luckily, there is a constant wind blowing; however, this has proven to be very tricky wearing skirts everyday. 

    So this was the first week with my training wheels off!! At times it was a little shaky and unsure of where we were going, but it`s so comforting to always know that we can look to the scriptures and learn from the example of our perfect trainer, Jesus Christ. For all of our questions and doubts, there is an answer in the scriptures. As well we can always pray and receive revelation from our Heavenly Father and confirmation from the Holy Ghost. Knowing that can calm even the most troubled minds. Many times in lessons I have no idea what I am going to say when I open my mouth, but every time I do, without fail, an inspired message comes out which I know does not come from my own thoughts. It is incredible being a missionary!! 

    So we had a few amazing lessons with Roxana and her family and her and her two kids should be getting baptized in two weeks so they can join their father in being a member of the church of Jesus Christ. I love that family so much and feel so privileged to be teaching them! We really did have a "miembro escogido" come with us who used to be in the same situation two years ago! It was amazing and she is finally willing to really read and pray everyday. 

    Okay so there`s no time left and I`ll write about the other investigators next week, but everything is going great here in Santa Sabina and we`re going to have another fun week in our triple threat trio. I hope everyone is remembering to constantly be praying and reading the scriptures so that we can become the people that God wants us to become. I love this gospel soooooo much!! I don`t know where I would be without it in my life. I love you all!! 

con mucho amor, 

Hermana Romney  

         

Pic: Family Home Evening with Roxana and her family and another member family!! *WOULDN"T UPLOAD

Finished training: now an "orphan" and in a trio.- Dec. 2, 2013

Hola familia y amigos! 

    ¿Còmo estan todos? So today has been just a rush of emotions. First off, my mom is "dead" and I "killed" her! (That`s what they call it when your trainer completes her mission and I was her last companion.) I said goodbye to her this morning and since she is leaving two weeks before the cambio (to spend more time with her parents in Argentina), I`ll be in a trio for two weeks with the other two Hermanas in our ward. It`s weird to even think about being here with out Hna Lovell, but it`s time to grow up now and I`m excited for the change. I already miss her so much and am so grateful for all of the things that she taught me.I will admit though that having your companion go home is just about the most "trunky" (homesick) thing ever. For a while it felt like I was going home with her too, but that is definitely not the case haha. I`ve got lots adventures ahead of me and lives to change!! Also I am done with my training and no more 12 semanas for me! However, these next two weeks I think will be quite interesting. I`ll be with Hna Batuirtè from Brazil and Hna Skirvin from California. They are both superstars and it should be a good time. The only thing I`m sort of freaking out about is that we will still have two sectors and one companionship. We share the ward, but we have to keep both Santa Sabina A and Santa Sabina B alive and full of investigators for when my new companion comes in two weeks. Juggling both will be quite a task, but the plan is just to go on divisions with as many members in the ward as possible and have faith that Heavenly Father will help us. 

        With it being Hna Lovell`s last week, we wanted to finish strong and that`s just what we did. We ended up completing the mission standards of excellence and gave our sector a kick-start. There was even a mini-cambio thrown in there where Hna Alvarez from Nicaragua came to our sector while my trainer went to hers. We had a pretty good day planned ahead of us full of lessons with members, but of course they all fell through (common quality of Chileans, I love them to death, but dependability is not one of their best qualities haha). However, as always, God had a better plan for us ahead where we needed to help and find those who need the gospel at this moment. I`ll tell you we sure walked a lot that day, but Heavenly Father put incredible people in our path who we were able to share the redeeming message of Jesus Christ with. If we are just humble and willing to accept the challenges of life, we will be shaped into the people that God needs us to be, to help His children. 

     Funnies: (This section is dedicated to my girl Sister Asay :) haha)

- This week I learned that Panitas (Chicken liver) tastes like dog food. AKA - nasty stuff that no one should eat. That`s where napkins, pockets, and good distracting conversation comes in handy. Successfully saved my stomach and taste buds with that one.

-  We found a wallet this week in the street and obviously wanted to return it. We looked for the guy`s house for about an hour until we finally found it. We knocked on the door and only his mom was home and as soon as she opened the door I started telling her that we have been looking for her for a long time and she immediately cut me off and said no, that she didn`t want to hear anything. Again we tried to tell her that we were missionaries and once again we were cut off. After the third time of her practically yelling at us and telling us not to insist, we whipped out her son`s wallet and she immediately felt so bad and started telling us to come in and if we wanted juice or something to eat. Bhaha she felt so bad which of course we told her that it was okay and it was totally normal, but boy I sure hope she`ll think twice the next time missionaries come to her house.   

     Well I hope that everyone had a great thanksgiving and happy birthday Mom!! Please keep Karen, Roxana and Ricardo, Nicole and Maria Eugenia in your prayers! I love you all so much and keep sending me pictures of the family! Remember to be good so that you will be happy.  

con mucho amor, 

   Hermana Romney   

Pics: 

- birthday cupcakes we made for Hna Baturitè

- A less active family that we reactivated and they now call us "their" missionaries :)

- Birthday celebration for our investigator Karen (shes in the purple)!

Love Your Neighbor- Nov. 25, 2013

Hola, buenos días family and friends, 

      This week should be an exciting week at home with all of the Thanksgiving festivities going on! Sadly they don`t celebrate that here, but every one of our lunches with members is about the quantity that one would eat on Thanksgiving, so I´m not too bummed about the food part haha. I think I am finally getting used to the food quantity by now. We eat so much for lunch at 1:30 and then nothing for the rest of the day until a snack when we get home at 10, so my stomach has been struggling, but I think it´s finally getting used to expanding and then shrinking everyday. Good news is that now that it´s basically summer here, there are little fruit and vegetable stands everywhere and the fruit is sooo good! It´s like the fruit we used to get in Mexico, so that makes me really happy!  

      Anyways, this week has been a really good one! We had our "ward conference" this week and there was activities everyday in the church which is prime for missionaries and bringing investigators. On Monday we had a family home evening in the chapel with the whole ward and we had 2 whole families of our investigators come! We brought Roxana and her family with us and then Claudia and her family came because one of the members, Margarita, invited them. Margarita was so happy when she saw that they came and she came over to us and was so pumped and was beaming with joy. Margarita is usually pretty shy, but one day we went over to her house and did a practice with her on how to invite her friends to activities and it totally paid off! That has got to be one of the best things - seeing how the members become the missionaries and the joy that it brings to them when they see their loved ones finding happiness in the gospel.

     So we almost had a super cool moment this week. We had a mini-cambio and as we were just contacting the people that walked by, we ran into a mom and her two kids. We then taught her at a nearby park where her kids were playing and she just moved to Chile a month ago from Venezuela. It´s not normal to see a very dark skinned person here, so for a second I thought she might be from the US, but nope definitely not. Anyways, her daughter is named Shaneska (my favorite name I have heard here yet) and she accepted baptism and a date as well, but she didn´t remember her address and we have been trying to call her, but no luck. Super lame, but hopefully we`ll run into her again.  

        Also this week we found the sweetest girl named Nicole who is 16 and her mom who are super prepared to hear the gospel. On our first lesson, we talked a lot about families and they both had tears running down their faces. You can tell that they both want that happiness and unity in their family that only the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring. On our second visit, we brought a joven-cita member with us named Stacy and as we walked in Nicole was so excited to see Stacy and apparently they know each other from school! The spirit was so strong in that lesson and it was an instant connection. I am so grateful for the spirit and how it guides us to have inspired thoughts and make inspired decisions.     

      Especially this week I have learned how important it is to love the ones who are closest to us. The other Hermanas and especially our companions need to know how much we appreciate them and how much we love them constantly. I think sometimes I get so caught up in helping our investigators that I forget to think about the ones who are really close to us. Most of us I think can be guilty of this. We get so caught up in school or work or even our callings that we forget to love those who are closest to us. I encourage all of you if you haven´t done so recently to tell the ones who are closest to you how much you appreciate them. To slow down and take the time to do so because those are the people that matter most. Here on the mission we see so many examples of families who don´t do so because they are caught up in work or what not, but the deepest happiness really does come from the family. 

       I have been eternally blessed to have the family and friends that I do. I want each of you to know how much I love you and appreciate you. I know I don´t say that enough and I definitely didn´t before the mission, but you all mean the world to me. I love you all and remember to constantly stay rooted in the gospel of our savior Jesus Christ. He has given us the example and has shown us the greatest example of love. Have a good Thanksgiving week! 

Hermana Romney 

 

P.S. my trainer Hna Lovell has only one week left in the mission!! Crazyyy and I´m going to miss my "mama" so much! She´ll actually be going over to Argentina to spend Christmas with her parents since they are mission presidents in Neuquen! Sweet right?? We had an instant bond. 

Pics: one from the newbie conference which was amazing! Another of a texas cow a member had in their house!

Lessons Learned- Nov 18, 2013

Hola Familia y amigos, 

     I hope all is well with everyone at home or on your missions wherever you may be! This week was another great one and thankfully it is warming up here! It`s usually pretty sunny in the day and warm, but we are by the coast and so there is a nice constant cooling wind. I`m still getting used to the fact that we are just starting summer time in November. 

     So this week was definitely one for learning. Since my comp only has two weeks left in the mission now, she`s been helping out a lot of the other sisters going on mini cambios (where we switch companions). In fact, this week she was gone for 3 days straight leaving me in charge with other Hermana`s that have less time than me in the mission. (Fun fact: our mission is super young and about 2/3 of the missionaries haven`t hit their half way mark yet.) We refer to ourselves as New and Newer, kinda like Dumb and Dumber, but hopefully not as bad. Haha. Anyways, it was quite interesting having to plan everything for 3 days when only one companion (me) knows the sector, but I am so glad that the Lord is on our side, otherwise, we would`ve been lost. Okay so it actually wasn`t bad, but I definitely learned so much! Especially when Hna Lovell came back and I got to see her role in a new light. 

     I am so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost that we have to really be guided and comforted. I know that there is no way I could be doing this all alone and I am so glad that I don`t have to. For our whole entire life we are entitled to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost as long as we are worthy of it. How great a gift we are promised. 

     Investigator time: so we just started teaching Karen this week who is 25 and is so cool. She used to go with her mom to church for about a year until 6 months ago when she stopped. Well last week she decided to come again because something inside of her moved her to do so and she`s pumped to learn more. Anita is the mom of two recent converts and she is super stubborn and sassy, but we love her and with the gospel she opens up more and more everyday.  Roxana and her two kids Sebastian and Mauricio are working towards their baptismal date coming up. The father Ricardo is a new convert of 2 months and now we just have to help Roxana and her kids. We talked about getting sealed in the temple with Ricardo and he is so motivated to help his family and I just love them all so much. They have seen countless miracles happen in their lives as soon as they joined the church and their family changed completely. They used to hardly talk to one another and would fight all the time. However, since Ricardo got baptized, they have seen a complete change in everyone and they are so much happier now. This gospel really is meant for families. 

      I have been SOOO incredibly blessed to be born into my family. Mom and Dad I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me and siblings you are the best!!!! I know the gospel has been a HUGE factor in the way we were raised and I am eternally grateful. I am working as hard as I can so that every family in Chile can have the same, as I expect all of you to be doing the same in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all!!! 

con mucho amor, 

Hermana Romney 

Pictures are from the zone activity we had today. Chile is so beautiful!!!!!

Nov 11, 2013

Hello!

    Alright so I don`t have much time today, so this week`s letter is going to be a little short. Luckily nothing too crazy happened this week like the last one, but it has still been eventful as always. I learned to never assume that a nasty couch belongs outside. Otherwise if you put it outside to make room for two new Hermanas in your house, the old evangelical lady who owns the house will yell at you for an hour and make you clean all day (Yes this did happen to us). Speaking of our apartment, the picture below is of an actual fugus mushroom type mold that was growing in our shower that we found. Other than that, our week was really good and I feel a lot more comfortable in our new area. Actually Elder Holland had a meeting here with all of the bishops and stake presidents in our mission, but we didn`t get to see him....bummer. However, we did get to have a meeting with the bishop afterwards and he is excited to change things up and we are super pumped as well!  

         So my trainer didn`t want to admit this to me at first, but we are in a much harder sector and the people are a lot more reserved and not as willing to accept the gospel. It`s all good though because we have just been finding new ways to work and really concentrating on working with the members. Actually we had a super sweet family home evening with a family of 5 (the father is a new convert and the rest of the family is not), who we are teaching and another young family in the ward who the husband is a return missionary and hasn`t been to church in a while who came for the first time yesterday! The family home evening went super well too and we as missionaries hardly had to do anything, the members did it all which is definitely much better. Hna Lovell and I like to call ourselves the catalysts. We are here to help members do missionary work and to help reactivate and retain other members. And why not do all three at the same time? I know that the Lord really does work through us as missionaries. It`s incredible.

 

      Actually this week I have really been working on trying to follow the promptings of the spirit. It`s hard! However, I have seen miracles happen and I know that it is definitely not me that`s making it happen. I know God loves each and everyone of us so much and knows us individually. He cares about us and wants us to be happy. I love you all as well and hope you have a good week!

con mucho amor, 

Hermana Romney

Nov. 4, 2013

Familia! 

    Wowzass I`m beginning to think that there will never be a normal week here in the mission. Transfers were today and I will be staying in Santa Sabina with my comp Hna Lovell, but she leaves early in 4 weeks so we`ll see what happens then! Also 2 more Hnas are coming to live with us though and share the ward and I am super pumped about that. The ward boundaries are HUGE and there is so much potential. Also I found out that we have about 15 new pet slugs that like to just chill in our bathroom and kitchen every night at about 3 am. One night I woke up to use the bathroom and just about woke up the neighbors when I saw them all. The next night of course I had to see if it was a normal habit for the slugs and so I set an alarm to wake up at the same time and sure enough there they were just hanging in our shower. We have still yet to cure the problem, but we`re working on it. 

     So Santa Sabina is such a great ward. My comp says she has never seen a ward like this ever outside of the US and I am pretty pumped to be working here! Since we didn`t know anyone or how to get anywhere, we decided to work with the members and the investigators of the Elders. I think the members trust us a lot now and we got tons of great references! We even had a baptism this Sunday! Pedro was baptized and he`s a champ. He`s got Parkinson`s Disease and so mentally he`s all there, but physically not too much. He`s niece is on a mission and he loves reading the scriptures. We were mostly excited about Mariana`s baptism yesterday though!!! I love her sooo much and she is super cool. Reminds me a ton of my friends in Monterrey. We were bummed we had an emergency transfer the week right before, but all of her nonmember family came! The president even gave us special permission to call her right after and she just seemed soooo happy!! Ahh moments I`ll never forget. 

     It really is so true that when we follow the commandments, we will be happy. Heavenly Father loves us so much that he has given us guidelines that we should follow for our own happiness in this life and in the one to come. He only asks us to be obedient and we are promised eternal life and everlasting happiness. What more could you ever want? Who knows better God? I am so grateful for the sacred scriptures that we have and especially the Book of Mormon. I have gained such an appreciation for the Book of Mormon and it brings an incredible spirit. It is so important to read it everyday!! But really! 

   Well I love you all and am so glad that everyone is doing well and having a good time together. Cuidanse muchisimo y les quiero tanto! 

Hermana Romney 

Pics:

1) Julia and her Fam

2) Mariana and the necklace she made me! 

3 and 4) from our morning run - you can see the ocean from that hill! 

5) Pedro`s baptism