First letter from the field!

Dearest family and friends,

Someone pinch me- I think I´m in Chile! Wow, so much to write. Our plane rides here were a bit crazy, considering the Travel Office didn´t quite buy me a ticket to Atlanta... But we worked it out. Once in Atlanta, our plane had a slight "malfunction" with the airplane bathrooms, so we had to find a new plane and wait about three hours. Missed our connecting flight in Santiago, but we did eventually make it to Concepcion. Please excuse any punctuation errors, by the way. I promise I´m still an English major, but the keyboards are different here! I´ll try to cram as many stories in here as I can, so here goes!

First and second mission experiences here in Chile. While waiting in Santiago for our flight reassignment, we decided to sing hymns in line. Crazy? Maybe just a bit, but I was super nervous and it helped calm my heart and prepare me for this big adventure. One of the airport workers kept eyeing us, and eventually I got up the courage to talk to him (in Spanish, just in case anyone was wondering). We chatted a bit, and I accidentally told him that I would be here for 80 months instead of 18, but no matter! He asked another question, but there was some word at the end that I didn´t recognize. I communicated to him that I didn´t understand, and he tried to explain, but just about that time, my companion joined us and worked everything out. After we left, I asked her "What does pollola mean?" Turns out pollola is the Chilean word for boyfriend, and he wasn´t actually as interested in my religious message as I had originally thought. We had a good laugh about it... Remember that returned missionary that I met at Institute that told me I should just prepare to be hit on by every Chilean man from 16 to 60? Touche, random stranger. He was more right than I anticipated.

Second experience. I got to sit by myself on the plane, which was what I wanted. (What better time to talk to people? They can´t run away!) I started a conversation with Jimmy, the man next to me and it turns out he had visited with missionaries previously. We talked the whole plane ride (in English! Whew. Last time for a while.) and he was very open with me- he agreed to meet with the missionaries again. He seemed to realize the gravity of our meeting, and told me he had originally been on another flight, and when I told him my flight had also been changed, he felt it even more. I was amazed by how prepared he was, and so grateful that I had the chance to talk to him.

Arrived here in Concepcion. My companion´s name is Hermana Gonzalez, and she is great. Her personality kind of reminds me of Kristine, though no one is quite as amazing as Kristine is. She is from Argentina, has been on the mission for 6 months, and this is her first time as a trainer. I know she is nervous about it, and that she was especially nervous that she was about to get a companion who didn´t speak very good Spanish... Oh dear. Actually, though, she seems pretty pleased with my level of Spanish proficiency. She likes my accent, at least! (Thanks, Mom!) She doesn´t speak any English, and neither do our two roommates, Hermana Mendoza and Hermana Joglar. This is exactly what I wanted, so we´ll see how it turns out. We live in a town about 20 minutes away from Concepcion, called Lirquen (pronounced L-ear-ken). It is BEAUTIFUL. We're nestled right in between the sea and the green, green hills, and there are lots of stairs. It is hot during the day and cold at night, and I have my first Chilean blister and sunburn. My shoes are great, though.

As for the ward here, they are so fantastic! There was a Relief Society activity to celebrate the anniversary of RS, and it was amazing. We met in an abandoned building with a view of the ocean, and all the sisters cooked chicken, homemade bread, and other food. We ate together and chatted, and sparks flew! I don´t know what happened to me or my Spanish, but we got along so well, and I love love love the ward. They seem impressed with my comprehension, though I really don´t feel very fluent. In fact, it is a good thing I didn´t get to write you an email my first night- the first day was hard. That sudden collision of mission dreams and expectations and mission reality was really hard, but the next day I was up with minimal whiplash. I feel better now, and I love it. It is still a lot of work, and the days are long.

(Hermana Cortez)

This isn´t a testimony meeting, where everyone wants to listen to your feelings and end with an "Amen". The mission learning curve is huge- I have to learn a language, a culture, a new way of living, a new schedule, a new way of teaching, a new way of sharing my testimony. Everything is new, except for my relationship with Heavenly Father. That is the same, and stronger than ever, thankfully. So grateful for that. And I feel Him here too, in the streets, in our home, everywhere. Even when the "Évangelicos" quote the Bible to us and tell us we´re crazy. It is all good!


What shall I tell you now... daily living, or more mission stories? As for daily living, we drink powdered milk here, but I don´t think warm milk and corn flakes have ever tasted so good. Syd, you would cry if you ever came here. There are dogs everywhere, most of them just strays. I think I attached a picture to illustrate my point (there was another one behind the car.)

Lirquen has lots of stairs to climb, so it is a good thing BYU gave me a nice taste of those before I came here. Aaaand... what else? More stories.


I love this one. We were knocking doors, (Hna Gonzalez thinks I´m crazy, but I like knocking doors. It is a surprise, and a test of our charisma. Still working on that with the language barrier, but it is coming easier.) and a man answered, telling us he was too busy. He had met with the missionaries before, but didn´t feel like he received an answer to his prayer. He said if he prayed, then received a bonus at work or won thousands of dollars, then he would feel like he received an answer. Sign seeker, anyone? Well, we talked our way in and sat down to share a message with him. Just a couple seconds after I started to pray, all the lights went off in the room. I finished the prayer and could tell he was a bit shaken up. We joked about it a bit, he played with the lights, and they came back on. We continued to talk, but just a few minutes later, when the Spirit was especially strong, the lights went off again. He was really surprised this time, and Hna G and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. He doesn´t live in our area, and I´m not sure he´ll take that for the sign he wanted, but I think it was.


Another story, to illustrate my primary Spanish goof of the week. We were talking with Ricardo, who speaks super strong Castellano. Castellano is basically the Spaniard version of Spanish, and I´m struggling with it a bit. He is older, speaks rather softly, and was telling us why he couldn´t come to church on Sunday. He was talking about a bunch of family members, and when he stopped talking, I said something like "You could bring them to church with you!¨ You should have seen the looks he and my companion gave me... Somehow the conversation had drifted to his family members that had passed away, and then I jumped in with "Oh! Bring your dead relatives to church!" Ohhhh..... I still laugh when I think about it.

(Hermana Joglar, Mendoza and Gonzalez)

Last story for now. We went to visit one of our older investigators, Mercedes. Her son, Rene, who has also met with Hna Gonzalez before, answered the door. His drunk brother was also inside, and started making comments. Promptly tuned him out, then began talking with Rene. He wasn´t receptive at first, saying he was busy and they were visiting. I was trying really hard to focus- when we meet with investigators, it is my goal to think of two people, the investigator and Heavenly Father. If I can feel the connection between those two people, I can use the Spirit to find the right words to say. I was really listening, and then I saw it in his eyes- he was really worried about something. I jumped into the conversation and asked him- "Are you worried about something?" He seemed surprised, and mentioned a trip he was about to take. Tomorrow he travels far away to work in the mountains, and he hasn´t felt comfortable about it. He mentioned it briefly, and we reminded him that Heavenly Father is aware of all our worries. After another moment, he invited us to visit him in his home, which is just on the other side of Mercedes´. The lesson we had was amazing. The Spirit was so strong, and I know we were an answer to his prayer. I invited him to pray about his trip, to pay attention to his feelings, and then to follow the prompting he receives. I also told him that if he receives an answer to this prayer, then he could also seek an answer to his prayer to know if he should be baptized. He accepted the invitation and said he would like to be baptized if he receives the answer to his prayer. We´ll see exactly what happens with him, but it was an amazing amazing experience.


I love you all so much. The consequences of our actions are huge, and I hope each of you know that. Every time we speak to someone, every single thing we do during the day, could have an influence beyond our imagination. I believe that Heavenly Father´s plan is infinitely more intricate and deep than I could ever fathom, and I know I need the Spirit to help guide me to the Lord´s chosen path. Please try very hard, all of you, to be close to Him. He is everything. I love you all more than I can say, and I pray for you every night.


Love and prayers,


Hermana Oldroyd