Don't Let the Mayo Side of the Cheese Hit the Ground

I probably used this photo before, but you can hardly have
an Hermana Schomburg blog post without photos!

So, this week.

I don't have any pictures at all and I'm not sure I really have a good reason for that... at all... except that... I don't know, I think I've crossed over a bridge from thinking, 'OH MY GOSH I NEED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THAT AND THAT AND THAT AND THAT AND THAT AND THAT AND THAT AND THAT' to thinking, 'OH MY GOSH WE HAVE TO BE ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE SECTOR IN FOUR MINUTES AND MY BIP ISN'T CHARGED AND I AM GOING TO BAPTIZE LITERALLY EVERYBODY I SEE' so that.

It also may have something to do with the fact that I may or may not have misplaced my camera but I am not sure because I haven't looked for it #schroedingerscamera 

OKAY, so let me tell you a little bit about this week.

We had transfers today!

I didn't go anywhere. Estoy aquí con mi entrenadora todavía. [I'm here with my coach still.] And also all the rest of the hermanas in our zone... which is slightly odd... slightly a lot... but anyway, we're just hangin out. And we went to the transfer meeting for a bit this morning (since it's at the office) so that Hermana Rhoads could talk to her friends and I could stand there looking at the BILLIONS OF MISSIONARIES. There are so many. 12 at least. 

[For those of you who are not familiar with LDS missions, every 6 weeks, missionaries can be transferred to a new area within their mission and will be paired with a new companion if they are moved.  It is a very exciting time although the thought of change can be a bit worrisome as well.  So when Hermana Schomburg refers to "transfers" or "cambios,' that is to what she is referring.]

Hmm... what did I even do last week? I have a new planner and now I feel lost. What did I do? Where did we go? What even is happening? Where am I?

Who even knows.

Well, this week was kind of a weirdly somber week because a whole bunch of people from the office are finishing up and heading home (and our zone leader as well), so that happened. S/O to them for bein rad missionaries *follow ur dreams* 

OKAY what else?

This is a problem, I hope I get it together soon or this is gonna be a boring email.

Well, last Monday we went to a magical place called 'Mall Plaza Norte' and it was quite magical. WE FOUND AN OFFICE SUPPLIES STORE THAT SOLD THE CUTEST NOTEBOOKS AND THINGS AND I JUST

I LOVE OFFICE SUPPLIES SO MUCH

I MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BOUGHT A COUPLE OF NOTEBOOKS AND ONE OF THEM MAY OR MAY NOT BE FULL OF LIKE NATURAL PAPER AND I KNOW THIS SOUNDS SO BORING BUT IT'S NOT OKAY TÓMELO EN SERIO [TAKE IT SERIOUSLY] BECAUSE IT MATTERS

Then, on Tuesday (I think who knows I don't have my other agenda) we had a billion lessons and I did a thing

I DID A THING

I DID THE BOOP

We were in a lesson and it was all going really awesome and stuff and then it got the point where the Spirit was like, 'okay now this is the part where you invite her to baptism' and I SORT OF SEIZED UP A LITTLE BIT INSIDE BECAUSE I WASN'T SURE HOW TO EXPLAIN IT AND SAY IT SPECIFIC TO HER NEEDS

but then I remembered how we're just supposed to open our mouths and they will be filled

[Doctrine and Covenants 33:8-10]

and so

I opened my mouth

and I don't remember literally a word of what I said, but I know it ended with, '¿Seguirá el ejemplo de Jesucristo y ser bautizado?' [Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized?]

AND I WAS SO AFRAID

AND SHE JUST LOOKED AT ME FOR A SECOND

AND THEN

 

SHE WAS LIKE

'¡Sí, por supuesto!' [Yes! Of course!] and theN I JUMPED UP AND RAN DOWN THE HALLWAY AND DID A DOUBLE BACKFLIP OFF THE ROOF AND LANDED ON TOP OF A MICRO AND RODE IT INTO THE BLAZING PINK SMOGGY SUNSET 

so that happened :)

I'm a little bit happy. 

Just a little bit. 

So we now have two investigators con fecha [with baptismal dates] and I am SO EXCITED TO CONTINUE TEACHING THEM

What else... well, we have been working with a lot of menos activos [less active members] lately and that has been really cool and I am strangely grateful to have been out of the church for so long because I can totally one hundred percent understand the people we work with. I've been able to share our family story with a lot of people and I know that right now I am definitely in this area to help the menos activos. Unfortunately, they don't count very much toward the numbers, but that matters SO LITTLE that it's just not even a thing. They count in God's numbers and that's all that matters :) 

But anyway... I feel like there were these funny things that happened this week that I now can't remember at all but they were so funny and I just know it... I just know they were funny... 

Well, for one, let me tell you a story of the other day.

The other day, Hermana Rhoads and I were walking along after having just conversed for a bit with a menos activo in the street and she was calling another menos activo to make an appointment when she stopped to write. So I was standing there by her and then this group of three people walked past us and the man came up really close to me and said, 'Open backpack' (in English) and sO I IMMEDIATELY WENT INTO GETTING ROBBED MODE AND MY BRAIN WAS GOING A MILLION MILES AN HOUR BUT I WAS A LITTLE CONFUSED BECAUSE HE SAID IT KIND OF HESITANTLY AND I JUST REMEMBERED THINKING 'sir is this your first robbing because you're doing it wrong' AND THEN I WAS TRYING TO GET HERMANA RHOADS' ATTENTION BECAUSE DANG IT I HAVE BEEN ROBBED TWO TOO MANY TIMES AND I IMMEDIATELY JUST SAID, 'Uh, no' AND THEN HE STARTED TO REACH FOR MY BACKPACK AND WAS LIKE 'open backpack' AND SO I STEPPED AWAY AND HERMANA RHOADS HUNG UP ON OUR MENOS ACTIVO AND I WAS LIKE 'No,' AGAIN AND HE KEPT REACHING AND THEN HE GLANCED BACK AT THE OTHER WOMEN THAT WERE THERE AND ONE OF THEM WAS LIKE 'Tu mochila está abierto' [Your bag is open] AND HERMAna Rhoads looked and my backpack was just open and then they started walking away and I felt embarrassed for a minute but daNG IT I HAVE BEEN ROBBED TWICE ALREADY OKAY PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR ENGLISH I KNOW I AM TALL, PALE, AND FABULOUS, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN I DO NOT KNOW THE SPANISH ALRIGHT WOW woW WOw

So that happened. 

But to be completely honest, this week was just really quite slow. A whole heck of a lot of our appointments cancelled on us, so that was hecka difficult. Also just... life. Tiredness. Also being completely afraid the entire week for cambios [changes] to come... 

I have the tired. So many of the tired. 

But a good type of tired. The type of tired where you know you're doing good things and you just kinda want to keep doing good things for all of your life and just be awesome and just help people and hike large hills and walk 50 minutes to reach the other side of your sector and just do all the things even though you are super tired. 

I just love it :) love it a whole lot. 

But anyway, I don't really have anything else to say, so I think I'll let you all go now.

Much love to all of you and a billion saluds! 

CCCCCCCCCCCCIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

-Hermana Schomburg

P.S. Oh yeah, I didn't explain my title. What happened was, one day we were having cheese on crackers and then I remembered that when I was little I liked putting mayo on it too (and also mayo is HUGE here, don't remember if I ever said that) and so we started doing that but then we ran out of crackers and so we just had cheese with mayo on it and then

Hermana Rhoads dropped one

mayo side down

a tragedy

ALSO A QUICK SHOUTOUT TO LITERALLY EVERYBODY ELSE BECAUSE I DIDN'T EMAIL ANYBODY ELSE I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON I EVEN GOT MAD AT ANDREW AND JEFFREY FOR NOT EMAILING ME AND SENT THEM REMINDER EMAILS OH NO I AM A HYPOCRITE PLEASE DON'T HATE ME I NEED TO PRINT OUT ALL YOUR EMAILS AND READ THEM AGAIN AND RESPOND NEXT TIME I AM SORRY I LOVE YOU ALL BUT ALSO I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON

also so quick

WE SOLVED A MYSTERY THE NIGHT BEFORE LAST

there kept getting all these things in my tights, these little cosas [things/stuff] that we didn't know what they were but they would work their way down my tights and bug the heck out of me so we were extracting them by stretching my tights and it was SO ANNOYING BUT THEY WERE ALL THE SAME COSA AND WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING BUT THEN WE STARTED FINDING THEM ON HNA RHOADS' BED TOO AND WE WERE LIKE 'it's bugs

we know it

it's bug babies' 

but then

we did an investigation

and dissected it

and used our magnifying glasses (lol since we both have one lol haha yeah that)

and it looked like a seed

and then

we examined the raspberry jam

AND THEY WERE RASPBERRY COSAS

RASPBERRY JAM COSAS EVERYWHERE

we don't know why they're everywhere but they are ALL OVER OUR APARTMENT

EVERYWHERE

THE RASPBERRY COSAS

that'll be part two: finding out why the raspberry cosas are everywhere

anyway

ciao <3

Well, That's a Pig's Hoof

Ahhhhh I JUST HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT MY FAMILY IS DOING THIS WEEK HOLY CANNOLI

I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER THE THINGS THAT I DID THIS WEEK I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS

I THINK I WAS SICK AT SOME POINT

MAYBE

LOL

WHO KNOWS

THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD THINGS HAPPENING

[We went to Salt Lake City, traded vehicles with Andrew, met his sweet girlfriend Sarah, and sent Hermana Schomburg some photos of our adventure.]

But uh, okay, let me get control of myself because I think there are actually things that happened this week that are notable that I need to tell you all. 

Okay, so, this week I was sick. That happened. It was very much not good and it reminded me that I need to tell you all that it is getting QUITE COLD and for some reason, the chapels are ALWAYS the coldest places in the entire world. Just... so cold.

OH BUT I FORGOT TO TELL YOU ALL SOMETHING LAST WEEK THAT HAS TO DO WITH SUNDAYS

LAST WEEK WE WERE IN SACRAMENT MEETING AND THE BISHOP WAS TALKING

AND THEN

SUDDENLY

THE BURGLAR ALARM STARTED GOING OFF REALLY REALLY LOUD

AND THE BISHOP ACTED LIKE IT WASN'T EVEN HAPPENING

HE JUST KEPT TALKING

AND NOBODY WAS PAYING ATTENTION AND IT WAS ALL JUST SO WEIRDLY FUNNY AND ALSO JUST 

WHAT

and so anyway, we were sitting there kind of trying not to laugh because the bishop was speaking, but the alarm was going off and NOBODY WAS DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. And then it stopped.

And then it kept going, but it was in short bursts.

And so I jokingly made a hand phone and pretended like I was calling Hermana Rhoads and it was so funny but there is also an inside joke with Elder Herrera about hand phones and Hermana Rhoads always calls him on her hand phone, and he and a couple other elders were sitting up on the stand because there wasn't room for them in the congregation and so when the Bishop was done, we started hand phoning the elders and it was just so funny and we laughed reverently for some time. 

But anyway, that reminds me of all the things that I did Sunday, because they were numerous!

Well, you see, I spoke in sacrament meeting this Sunday! It was mission work Sunday, so one of the APs [Assistants to the Mission President] introduced himself (because he's moving to our ward because a whole bunch of office elders are leaving after this transfer) and then I spoke and I started with a joke and everything and it was so great and I was so grateful to Heavenly Father because there is no other way I would have made it all the way through that, especially for all the things I said that I didn't have written down already. 

But anyway, so I spoke on how members can be better missionaries and that they can and should work with the full time missionaries. The gospel is supposed to be preached two by two, which can mean two full time missionaries, or the full time missionaries and the members. 

And then after that, Hna Rhoads and I sang 'Brillan Rayos de Clemencia' which is, in English, 'Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy' :) it was super cool and also just SO MANY THINGS HAPPENED

We have a less active who we're working with and she is amazing and she's a return missionary but some things happened BUT, yesterday she came to church, finally! WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS MY JOY FOR HER

Also, the recent convert that we have... well, the thing is, she doesn't want to go to church because of some problems that she has but, she called us yesterday and asked us why we didn't visit this week and we just kind of said, 'well.... it may have something to do with the fact that you said you didn't want to have anything to do with the church and that you're never coming back...' and we still are trying to figure out what we're going to do. We've been working with her for a LONG time. We'll visit her, but we definitely have some tough decision making to do with her. 

The woman that we're teaching English forgot that we had an appointment with her this week so we're hoping to set a date on Friday :)

We also talked with one of our other recent converts about going to the temple to do baptisms and she was very excited about it! She has had a problem getting to church since her baptism... But we were very excited and optimistic that she would come to church Sunday because we resolved all of her problems with going to church (including finding her skirts and dresses and also making a skirt) but... she didn't show. 

She said, "We went to the office for something and long story short, we left with a sewing machine -
and we may or may not have made skirts for ourselves and our recent convert."
Side note: Hermana Schomburg doesn't actually sew :)

BUT I JUST KEEP THINKING ABOUT OUR LESS ACTIVE SISTER THAT'S A RETURN MISSIONARY AND HOW SHE CAME TO CHURCH SUNDAY AND IT MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER 

What else did I do this week? 

Hmm... 

Well, we were walking down the street the other day and I glanced down and there was a severed pig's hoof there and so I said, 'Well, that's a pig's hoof' to Hna Rhoads and it is now an exclamation. You can use it for anything, good or bad. My friend is getting married? Well that's a pig's hoof! I was sick earlier this week? Well, that's a pig's hoof. 

Is it even hoof for pigs?

No

it's feet isn't it

oh no

oh no

I've made a mistake

oh no

Oh well, we'll pretend like pigs have hooves. 

ALSO, yesterday we went to contact a reference and we were talking with her in Spanish and all and then she was like, 'I speak English if you would like to speak that instead,' and we were really confused because 1) she said English words 2) SHE SAID THEM WITH A BRITISH ACCENT

AND SO WE KEPT TALKING

AND SHE IS ENGLISH

SHE IS FROM BRITAIN

SHE WAS LIKE 'would you like something to drink? Do you need to use the toilet?' AND THEN LATER 'alrighty, just give me a buzz before you come' AND IT JUST WAS SO MANY THINGS FOR MY BRAIN TO HANDLE

I'M TEACHING BRITISH PEOPLE IN CHILE

WHAT EVEN IS HAPPENING

Also, yesterday we had almuerzo [lunch] with a Peruvian family and they made this cool pomegranate juice (THEY JUST BLENDED UP A WHOLE POMEGRANATE) and then I was eating and there was a heck of a lot of food (a heck of a lot) and then I was like (in my head) 'Phew, this is hot, I need a drink, I am not going to be able to eat all of this holy cannoli' and then they came out with the pomegranate stuff and I was so excited and they put it down in front of me and the glass was sweating and I was like 'YAASSSS' and then I grabbed the glass and it was warm to the touch and I thought maybe they had just washed the glass and so then I brought it to my mouth

and then I realized

and I drank it

AND IT WAS HOT

IT WAS A HOT DRINK

HOT POMEGRANATE JUICE

IT WAS HOT

I WAS BETRAYED

THE POMEGRANATES BETRAYED ME IT WAS HOT

IT

WAS

HOT

so that happened. 

And that was my entire week. 

That I can remember right now.

So anyway, I love you all very much and I hope you all have a wonderful week and do wonderful things and just, I hope it's all WONDERFUL.

CCCCCIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

-Hermana Schomburg

This is the medicine Hermana Schomburg took while she was sick -
they had it at the office with her name on it which was a mystery to her
because when she called, they had it ready for her very quickly
and she didn't know why

And apparently this is how she felt while she was sick. :) haha

Robbed by Gypsies!: Intercambio Edition

Secret picture taken inside an Ekono -
like Walgreens but not
 (because they are silly)

hahaha

so that happened

AGAIN

yeah still fine don't worry :)

[See the bottom of the post for more information about Chilean gypsies.]

Let me tell you about the WHOLE week though, because a lot more happens around here than just getting robbed by gypsies, promise! 

Okay, so, this last week we had a wonderful little thing called Zone Conference! And it was sooo cool and so amazing and just all of the yes in the entire world. I learned a whole lot of awesome stuff and I was reminded of our purpose as missionaries: to bring people unto Christ. One of the most essential steps of coming unto Christ is through baptism and it is important that people know that when we first start to teach them. If we don't have a purpose in teaching and talking to people, then what is the point? Our purpose is to bring people unto Christ, so we need to make that clear from the first visit!

A story to go along with that, after zone conference and the focus of baptism, Hermana Rhoads and I invited a woman that we are teaching English (using the Book of Mormon and pamphlets) to be baptized, and she accepted right away! We asked and she said, 'Well, of course,' as if she had been waiting for us to ask the entire time! WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO 

However, on the other hand, we've been working with a recent convert for some time who has had trouble going to church after being baptized and we visit her a lot and she loves having us over but then last night, out of the blue, she called us and said that she's NEVER coming back to church EVER and is changing her number so that NOBODY in the church can call her ever again and she doesn't want to be bothered about it and she doesn't want ANYLTHING to do with the church... but we can still come over and visit her if we like, she loves having us over.

So.

That. 

Uhh... yeah, we're not exactly sure... what... we're gonna do about that... 

But anyway, other things, we went to the temple this week!

AND GUESS WHAT MOMMA GUESS WHAT

GUESS

WHAT

I

DID

HERMANA RHOADS AND I WERE GOING TO USE HEADPHONES BECAUSE OF THE WHOLE YEAH WITH LANGUAGES BUT THEN THEY DIDN'T OFFER THEM TO US AND WE BOTH KIND OF FORGOT UNTIL WE WERE IN THE SESSION ALREADY SO

WE DID IT IN SPANISH

THE ENTIRE THING

AND I UNDERSTOOD IT ALL

I DID AN ENTIRE TEMPLE SESSION IN SPANISH ALL OF IT THE WHOLE BOOP

I DID IT

IT WAS SO NEAT

But also, before we went to the temple, we had to ride the metro to get there. (if you can find a metro station map, I will be explaining the changes and such as we go along and you can follow my journey :P) SO, Hermana Rhoads and I live closest to Cementerios, so we got on there very early in the morning and it wasn't too crowded, but we went from there to Los Héroes where it began to be more crowded, because it was right at the time when everybody was going to work. So, we met up with our zone in Los Héroes and transferred over so that we could go to Pedro de Valdivia, BUT LET ME TELL YOU THAT THE TRAINS

WERE

SO

PACKED

I

DON'T

THINK

I

CAN

EXPLAIN

WELL

ENOUGH

HOW

PACKED

THE

TRAINS

WERE

WE GOT ON AND NOT EVEN ALL OF US MADE IT ON THE TRAIN AND i WAS PRACTICALLY SITTING ON THE PEOPLE THAT WERE SITTING DOWN AND I WASN'T HOLDING ON TO ANYTHING AND THEN MORE PEOPLE GOT ON AND THERE WAS YELLING AND SHOUTING AND ALL THIS STUFF AND THEN

WHEN WE TRIED TO GET OFF

WE ALMOST ALL DIDN'T GET OFF THAT'S HOW CROWDED IT WAS

THE BEEPY BEEP STARTED AND BASICALLY THE ELDERS IN THE BACK OF OUR GROUP JUST SHOVED ALL OF US OFF THE TRAIN AND JUST

WHEN THEY SAY SARDINES IT IS NOT A JOKE

IT

IS

NOT

A

JOKE

And on the way back, I sneezed in the train.

I sneezed on the subway.

I am the reason people don't like public transport.

IT'S MY FAULT

I CONTRIBUTED TO THE ATMOSPHERE

AND I AM ASHAMED

Metro Station Map
follow along if you dare!

But anyway, so that happened.

And now for the really fun story.

So, we had intercambios [exchanges - when the missionaries trade companions for the day and work with the Sister Training Leaders which helps them learn things they are doing well and things they can improve upon] this week with Hermana G and Hermana N and this time I stayed in our sector and led Hermana N around and such (which was terrifying because I am still in training and all of that stuff) and so, we had a lesson in the morning and it was all good, and then we had a lesson in the afternoon and then we were going to try to track down a couple of references we had received and I knew that the quickest way was through la Vega and it was still daytime, so it was still safe (la Vega is a place where they sell a lot of stuff... like a farmer's market... but it's open all day every day and it also is a very dangerous place at night, but, it wasn't night time, so...) so we were walking, Hermana N and I, and we walked through la Vega without any problems and we were walking up La Paz and I was talking about how I really hated birds and I don't ever want to be pooped on by a bird and then suddenly, all of this gross black grease stuff splattered all over the backs of us and Hermana N thought it was bird poop and I did too for a second, but then this guy came up to us and was trying to help us clean it off (kind of) and he tried to take Hna N's backpack off but I told him "No" and started walking away again with Hna N because something was becoming fishy, and then this woman came up with tissues and she was trying to 'help' too and she tried to take Hna N's backpack off and then Hna N took her own backpack off and she tried to take mine and I said "No" and then suddenly there were like six of them all around and they were wiping at the black stuff and one of them came around the back of me and tried to take my backpack off of me but I wouldn't let him and then they all started pointing at the sky and stuff as if to explain where the black stuff came from, but they weren't speaking Spanish and they weren't really speaking any language, I don't think, and then just that quick, the lady gave us all her tissues and the people scattered and left and Hna N looked down and was like, 'They just stole my backpack' but there wasn't anybody nearby anymore and we didn't see anybody with the backpack and just it was crazy, but they replaced her backpack with a different backpack that was brand new and she was excited about that.

Black stuff on the backpack

But anyway, we got somewhere safe and did all the safe things and because it was intercambios, Hna N actually didn't have too much stuff in her backpack. She didn't have any money on her or her cards or anything at all, so we didn't have to worry about that type of stuff. And so yeah... that happened... It was the first time in her mission that Hna N has been robbed and she's been here for 15 months, so I'm starting to think that I just have a curse that all the people around me get robbed. So yeah.

I called everybody in the office after that because Hna N was kind of freaking out a little bit but NOBODY picked up and then Elder Ellis (one of the asistentes) picked up and I was trying to explain to him what happened but I couldn't do it all in Spanish so I told him I was going to give the phone to Hna N so she could explain but she was kind of freaking out and then Elder Ellis was like, 'Wait, Hermana, just explain it to me in English then' and then I remembered that Elder Ellis is from Utah. #ohyeah

So that. 

When we went to the office to get some stuff figured out after that, all the elders kept cheering every time we told them something that wasn't bad about it. Hna N explained that she didn't have her cards or any money and then Elder Jaegar started clapping and cheering and then all the office did and it was all just actually pretty funny.

And also, on the slip of paper that had everything that she lost written on it, she accidentally wrote 'quinientos mil pesos' instead of 'quinientos pesos' which, for those who don't know, is the difference between 500,000 pesos and 500 pesos, so that was pretty hilarious. 

And uh...

Well, I´m sick right now so that's really cool. I can't hear anything and I can't breathe through my nose, but it's all good. I will live. 

Mint herbal tea with milk and sugar -
to prove that she is sick, she said. 

But anyway, I think that's all I have for today! And it's all my time as well. I love you all, cuídense!

CCCIIIIIIAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hermana Schomburg after dancing and jumping about
the apartment while trying to get a spider out of her skirt.

Two very happy hermanas received a bag of brown sugar
from one of the Elders
Brown sugar is not available in Chile so it was a real treat

Then they made cookies!!

 

** My research into the Chilean gypsies has shown that there are approximately 15,000-20,000 gypsies currently living in Chile with approximately 8,000 of them in/around the Santiago Metro area.  They are quite poor and usually live in encampments on the outskirts of town, however some do have "houses" in the local area.  While they are prone to pick-pocketing and theft, they are not typically violent in nature.  The language they speak is Romani, that is why it is unfamiliar to Hermana Schomburg - they are known as Romani people and have passed down their traditions, culture, language, and religious beliefs for generations.  Oftentimes they are beggars, however they prefer to "work" or "trade" for the things they want (i.e. reading your palm, telling your fortune, helping you get black stuff off of your backpacks, etc) and that is most likely why they left a "new" (probably stolen) backpack behind.  Most often, the women do the "work" while the men actually have a trade of some sort, but that is obviously not always the case.  They do not allow their children to attend local school after the age of 10 because the do not want their culture to be diluted by local society.  No matter where in the world they live, they do not assimilate in any way and they continue to be outsiders - by their own choice.  Hermana Schomburg's Mission President was born and raised in Santiago and I have full faith that he is aware of the gypsy issue and that the Hermanas in the area are well trained in safety precautions and procedures. She did exactly the right thing by telling them, "No" firmly as that is what every blog, article, and travel advice column I read said to do. Hermana Schomburg is a target because she is tall and blonde and the locals refer to her as "princesa."  As of right now however, the gypsies have not gotten anything from her.  I think they will grow tired of trying to rob her once they realize that she is not a tourist and she is not giving them anything.   While every situation is different, I will reiterate that gypsies are not violent in nature and their cultural and religious traditions and values do not allow for certain things to take place.  A man who even touches the skirt or shoe of a woman (Romani or otherwise) will be expelled from the group and that is the greatest dishonor that can occur to him and his family.  And that's all I have to say about that. 

Please simply continue to keep the missionaries in your thoughts and prayers and know that she IS being watched over and protected by our loving Heavenly Father.  I know that to be true and I testify that angels are round about her and her companion at all times.  Thank you for your continued support!

We're in the Club

This is a poor quality photo from our Skype session
with Hermana Schomburg on Mother's Day
She is showing us her bip (beep) card
which she uses throughout Santiago for public transportation

ACTUALLY I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO WRITE BUT I WOULD LIKE TO PUT THE FOLLOWING OUT INTO THE WORLD

Our stake conference this last week was a lot about strengthening the family, and even moreso that the best thing you can do to strengthen your family at this time with all the things that are happening in the world is to keep the Sabbath day holy. It is SO important that we go to church every Sunday and focus that day on worshipping the Lord and also on resting ourselves physically and mentally so that we can better combat the evil forces of the world during the week. Families that attend together stay together! And families that keep the Sabbath holy together stay together happily! One of the things that I have to do as a missionary that is a bit hard and overwhelming is to tell people to keep this commandment (because it is a commandment, the fourth to be exact). It involves, in some cases, telling people to put their jobs second and here in Chile, work is most all that the people have. But the reason missionaries do this is because it is SO IMPORTANT. We wouldn´t tell people to put their careers, sports, hobbies, whatever else in second place if it wasn´t vitally important. When we don´t keep the Sabbath holy, we are denying ourselves blessings, that is the simple and pure truth of it. When we neglect any of God´s commandments, we are denying ourselves blessings. The reason that we are on this earth is to have joy and to learn and progress: Heavenly Father wants and promises to bless us, but we must hold up our end of the bargain. 

So my challenge this week is for everybody to remember to keep the Sabbath holy, no matter what. Decide beforeSunday comes what you are and are not going to do; use the scriptures as a guide (Mosiah 13:16-19, Exodus 20:8-11). When we are obedient, Heavenly Father can and must by way of promise, bless us. So, keep the commandments! Don´t deny yourself blessings! DO THE THINGS, GET THE STUFF. In this day and age, the family is under attack. There are countless forces in the world that want to destroy the family, but I can promise that if we keep the Sabbath day holy, we will have the power to overcome those forces and keep our families, the very fundamentals of society, safe from the adversary's grasp. I know this to be true and testify of it in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Sorry to go on that little rant spurt thing, but it needed to be done. 

Also, I´m supposed to explain how church works in Chile! So, in our ward at least (because we have another ward in our building temporarily) we have Relief Society and Priesthood, and then Sunday School, and then sacrament meeting. And... well I dunno... we still open with a hymn and prayer... it´s all normal in that sense... the gospel is still true down here... and still the same... and uh... I dunno :) our ward is a little unique in that we do have ALL THE ELDERS FROM THE OFFICE (except the APs I think) in our ward so every sacrament meeting is made up half by missionaries, but it´s all good. 

I guess it's a little different because it's all in Spanish haha, that makes a difference... but... I think it's all the same :) 

Also, I highly recommend reading the scriptures in Spanish sometime because Spanish has a lot less words than English, so some things are just brutally honest. For example, when Laman and Lemuel say that Nephi is a fool for thinking he can build a boat just because the Lord commanded him to (which is silly because ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE LORD DON´T YOU KNOW THAT LAMAN AND LEMUEL PLEASE GET YOUR ACTS TOGETHER), it says simply, 'Nuestro hermano está loco' [Our brother is a fool] and later (this is paraphrased and also in English) 'If God can do so many other miracles, what makes you think He can´t help me build a boat?' Preach it Nephi. Preach. [See 1 Nephi 17 for the story to which Hermana Schomburg is referring.]

But anyway, this week was super dooper slow and nearly every single one of our appointments cancelled. And by cancelled, I mean that we showed up and there was nobody home. Haha. Wow. Yeah, I have been learning patience and Christlike love this week. I LOVE PEOPLE. LOVE EM. ALL OF EM. 

Okay, gotta go now, I love you all, sorry for the lack of pictures, I didn´t have time to upload many, but this is of a sunset and also Hna Rhoads and I since we´re in the club now. 

I love love love love love love love you all! :)

*yelled* 

CCCIIIIIAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

-Hermana Schomburg

Hermana Schomburg has expressed her desire to receive mail 

while in the mission field. 

Thus far she has only received snail-mail from two folks. 

Please see the side margin above for her mailing address. ----->>>

A Global Forever stamp costs $1.15 and a note from home would make our missionary very happy.
THANK YOU for your support!