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| 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.
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| 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. |
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| 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 |
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| 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!
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