Happy New Years! - Jan. 6, 2014

¡Feliz Año Nuevo Familia y Amigos! 

     How has everyone been enjoying 2014? I hope all of you have made many new years resolutions to become more like Christ and share the gospel even more! This is the only complete year for me that I will spend in the mission field and I plan to give it my all. We had a great little New Years celebration where some members gave us dinner and then we went back to our house at10:30 where us 4 Hermanas celebrated with Root-beer floats and all! (Yes real Root-beer!!, some members gave us some Root-beer and ice cream so we could celebrate!!). When it was midnight crazy noise and fireworks were going on everywhere making it impossible to sleep, so we decided to enjoy it too :) Thanks for the little laser lights that you sent me mom, those came in handy that night! But of course the next day we went out to work like normal even though about everyone was gone! However, there were a lot more drunk guys in the street than normal... that always makes things interesting. One of them yelled at his friends, "Ahh alli viene la Barbie, si la Barbie Mormona..." Translation: "Ahh here comes the Barbie, yes the Mormon Barbie.." Hahahah that`s a new one for the books. Anyways, Hna Lino always makes fun of me now and calls me that. Haha. Speaking of, Hna Lino is doing so great! At first she was tired a lot of the time from not having her usual siesta (nap) everyday like she did before and she would always tells me that I have long legs and that I need to walk slower for her haha. But now she is rarely trying to run to keep up and is becoming a power house and contacting everyone! I love my hijita!

      Apart from that, we had a few more interesting experiences this week where we taught a guy who randomly came up to us and told us he used to share with the missionaries and that he read the Book of Mormon in 22 days! So we automatically went to talk teach him in a member`s house that was close by. We shared something really short because they had to leave, but when we asked him why he hadn`t been baptized yet, he said he couldn`t and needed more time... anyways so after we left the member`s house he talked to us more and said he escaped from jail... I think he just means on house arrest or something because apparently he has the weekends free and then he works the rest of the week. Anyways, his friend gave him a Book of Mormon when he was still in jail and that is when he read it all the way through and he said it changed his life completely. That he saw life in a whole different perspective after that and so he is out of jail for a certain time because of good behavior. Crazy right!!??? Afterwards, we figured out that he doesn`t even live in our sector, but the power of the Book of Mormon is so real!!! It really changes lives and I know that book was written by ancient prophets for our day. To give us direction and meaning in life. What a great gift that we all should be taking advantage of everyday! If we want to receive direction or the answers to our problems: READ. If we want to have the spirit constantly with us: READ.  If we want to always stay centered in the teachings of Jesus Christ: READ. It is such a simple concept and doesn`t even take that much time, but it has eternal consequences and blesses us immensely.

         Then another guy on New Years day came up to us and wanted to take a picture with us and we thought he was drunk or a "snake" (creep) at first. We then told him he could take a picture as long as we could teach him first. He agreed and so then we started talking and he actually really was interested in the church. He had tons of questions for us and said he wanted to come talk to us, he just didn`t know how, so he used the picture taking as an excuse. That was pretty cool and we`ll be going back to teach him. 

        Anyways, everything else has been going great here and we have been finding a lot of less actives and bringing them back to church and we are starting to see the fruits of being able to teach their family members, so that is awesome! Welp I hope everyone keeps Christ in the center of their lives in the year 2014 and I love you all soooooo much!!!!!!

!Les quiero tanto!

Hermana Romney       

Pics: 

An AMAZING REAL American breakfast that the sweetest senior couple (the Kimballs) made for us in their house

Photo of New Years with fireworks in the back and everything that we can see from our window since our house is up on a hill!! 

Christmas and Baptisms- What Could be Better?? -Dec. 30, 2013

  ¡Hola Familia!

     I hope that this week was incredible for everyone and that you all remembered the Savior and the true meaning of Christmas this year. This was definitely one of the best Christmases I have had yet!!! 

     Starting off with last Monday, we had a Family Home Evening in the church with the whole ward where we reenacted the birth of Jesus Christ. No worries family, still kept the tradition alive even here in Chile. I had to be the Angel Gabriel (Gabriela in my case :)) and Hna Baturitè was Maria. We had a great turnout and even had a whole family of investigators come that a member invited and then more came as well! 

     Everyone here in Chile celebrates Christmas on the night of the 24th and we had dinner with our bishop and I got to cut the turkey!! It was sooo good and was basically Thanksgiving and Christmas combined. Not bad at all. We even had quite a few members give us presents! Our ward is incredible. 

    Then on Wednesday I got to talk and see my family on Google Hangout!!! The best Christmas present by far. I am so glad I was able to talk to everyone and even got to see all of my nieces and nephews! Thank you siblings for making lots of weird faces through the camera - good to know you all are still the same. Haha. I have the best family ever. Also thank you for the package with all of the letters in it!! I finally got it today... a little bit after Christmas, but it`s all good :) Oh and thanks for sending me the old gummies that I bought in Jerusalem back in July.... hahah y`all would. On Wednesday we also taught Roxana and her family about the true meaning of Christmas and got everything ready for her baptism that weekend! Nothing better than teaching on Christmas day! 

      Then on Saturday was the best event of the week... the baptism of the Pino Peña family! Roxana, Mauricio, and Sebastian were finally baptized and confirmed on Sunday!! It was so beautiful and they were beaming with light the whole time. Also of course we always have trouble filing up the water in the baptismal font and this time when we got to the church about 45 min before, the water was boiling hot!! I literally could hardly put my hand in it for more than 3 seconds. We turned on the cold water automatically, but it wasn`t seaming to do anything... however when it was time to get in the water, they said it was the perfect temperature. Thank you Heavenly Father!! It was such a spiritual experience for everyone and especially for the Pino Peña family. Now their whole family is in the church together and they are excited to be able to get sealed as a family in one year as well!! (Mom and Dad, we also talked about the possibility of us going through the temple together and seeing them get sealed all together in February of 2015 when you come and pick me up!!!!!) Anyways, I love that family soooo much and Hna Lino and I are going to do everything we can while we are still here to help them progress towards the temple. They all gave their testimonies after their baptisms and all said that they were so happy to be in the gospel. When Roxana bore her testimony, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and thanked us for helping her and her family and of course I started to ball my eyes out! She told us afterwards that she felt something that she had never felt before and she knew it was the spirit telling her it was the right thing. Ahhhh I love this gospel sooo much and feel so blessed to be able to share the Truth everyday. 

     Well I`ve got to go, but I love you all so much more than I could ever express in words. Thank you for all of your support and enthusiasm that you give me. I know this is the Church of Jesus Christ restored today on the earth without a doubt. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and I owe everything to Him. I love Him and I know that He loves everyone of us so much. 

Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Romney

The Love of Christ - Dec. 23, 2013

Hola Familia, 

     I hope this week has been an outstanding week one everyone. On Tuesday I got to go picky up my new comp and daughter, Hna Lino!! She is so amazing and I am very lucky to have her as a companion. She is from Lima, Peru and well it would be an understatement to say that there is a height difference between us haha. People call us "Blanco y Negro" or "Litro y medio" (I`m a liter and she is half of one). She is 22 years old and is a convert of less than 2 years!!! Crazy huh? I have no idea if I would have gone on a mission only being in the church for 2 years, so I definitely admire her. She has such a strong conversion story and really brings the spirit. I can tell that she is going to teach me way more than I will teach her. 

 

   First off, Roxana, Mauricio, and Sebastian`s baptisms will be this Saturday!!!!!!!! I am sooooo excited for them and they are the most amazing family. They will be able to join the father, Ricardo, in receiving saving ordinances so that they can get sealed as a family in the Temple in a year. Just only a few months ago, Roxana did not like the missionaries at all and would always try and get her husband not to go to church, but look at her now!! Apparently she didn`t really like the Elders as much and after a while she listened to them occasionally because of the change that she saw in her husband, but since Hermanas switched over and started teaching her, she is much more accepting and tells us that she is actually excited about her baptism now! Sorry Elders :) This really is what missionary work is all about. Bringing whole families into the gospel so that they can go to the Temple and have an Eternal Family!!! Ahhh I just love this gospel so much! Also, Karen stopped smoking for a whole week!! It was a miracle! She called me one day and said she decided she was going to stop smoking out of nowhere. She did fall and smoked one cigarette on Saturday due to a series of unfortunate events, but that is major progress for her!!

     

     So now that I have about 3 1/2 weeks here in the mission, I still feel like a newb to missionary work, but as I feel the spirit working through me, it gives me more confidence. I am confident that this really is the Lord`s work and He is there right next to us every step of the way. I know that when there are hard moments in the mission and we feel inadequate, He will work through us and give us the strength we need. I am also so excited that in two days it will be CHRISTMAS!! My favorite time of the year and a most wonderful time to remember our Savior Jesus Christ. I think this will be one of the most memorable Christmases and I wouldn`t rather be any other place than here in Chile, Concepción serving the Lord. This Christmas season I have been really trying to think about how to give back to Heavenly Father and Christ. Our Heavenly Father really did give us the most amazing gift - His son and salvation by Him. I feel so privileged to share this message this message each and everyday. I want to invite everyone as well to think about what they are going to give to Christ this Christmas. I know the gospel is the most amazing gift we can give to someone and I know that when we give this gift to others, God is so happy because it really is His work and His glory to bring to pass the immortality of man. 

    Family, I cannot wait to see you and hear your voices on Christmas day!!! I love you all so much and remember the true meaning of Christmas during this wonderful season!! 

Hermana Romney  

Photos:

Feliz Navidad from Santa Sabina!! 

My hija!! Hna Lino! 

Teaching our investigators how to make cinnamon rolls at a members house!

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!