Mini-Hermanitas

My dearest family and friends!!

I hope this letter finds you safe and happy. Next week is "cambios", so I´m really not sure how everything will work next week. Anything could happen from here! I´m really hoping that I stay in Lirquen with Hermana Gonzalez- I´m just starting to get a handle on the area and I feel like there is still so much learning and growing that we need to do together. Of course, I´ll be happy with whatever happens. Stay tuned!

This week was crazy, and passed so quickly! But before I write anything else, I have news. They made me a trainer!! Can you believe it?? We have so many sisters coming to the mission that literally every sister in our mission now is being trained on how to be a trainer. I hardly feel qualified just yet to be a senior companion, but I know it will work out somehow! Okay.... just kidding, everyone. Had to include a little April Fools for you, just to keep you on your toes! Apparently Latin America doesn´t really observe April Fools- I tried to plan something with Hna Gonzalez to pull on the other Hermanas, but she had never heard of it before. Darn. To tell the truth, though, this April Fools is only a half-April fools. This week really was a special one! We received a whole bunch of "mini-missionaries" and, every sister had the opportunity to train/work with an hermanita Thursday through Sunday.


We had a training meeting on Wednesday for all the sisters, and it was fabulous. We learned more about planning, our key indicators (lessons with a member, investigators with a baptismal date, etc. They are our guiding principles as missionaries to help us know where to focus our efforts.), and extending commitments. All of those lessons were exactly the ones I needed most, and I loved all the practices we did. Thursday night we picked up our Hermanitas, and I was assigned to work with Hermana Bravo. She was the sweetest girl ever! 17 years old, very easy-going, very positive, very flexible. It was her second mini-mission, and her second time in Lirquen! Crazy, huh? We chatted, and went in a group to drop off all the minis to various members´houses. They slept and ate breakfast with the members, then spent the day with us.


Friday was our first day with our mini-missionaries, and planning a day for 9 missionaries (Hermana Joglar had two companions) in one little town was an experience! We planned out the day and went out to work! We studied in the chapel, since space is limited in our house. I restudied with my comp a talk that we received last week in district meeting, The Vision to Baptize. It sets a really high bar for us as missionaries, and really helped me define my purpose here. I´m working towards it! We contacted a lot that day, and Hermana Bravo was super sweet and a good support. Saturday was similar- lots of contacting and a couple lessons as well. During my hour of language study (I forgot to include that as part of my daily schedule when I wrote last week.) I had lots of help! Spanish is picking up, though I still feel like I miss a lot. Working on it!

Erica and Hermana Bravo

Saturday night was our Missionary Activity. The other hermanas and I made a list of questions about the scriptures, the organization of the church, the leaders of the ward, etc. and mixed in some fun challenges. Sing a hymn, hug the person next to you, etc. We numbered the questions and pasted sticky notes with numbers on the chalkboard, and divided everyone into two teams. There was lots of laughing, lots of teasing, lots of love. It was a really bright moment, that time to be with my ward in a fun, loving, open atmosphere. I will treasure that memory!

Sunday was crazy- we woke up, got ready, went to pick up the hermanas, then went to church. Called our investigators one more time to remind them about sacrament meeting, went to try and pick up a family, but the Mom was at work and hadn´t given permission for the children to go. We´ll meet with this family again this week and I hope we can win them over!! Ran back to the church in time to play piano for Ward Conference. I love playing, though I have to laugh half of the time- the congregation has their own way of singing the hymns, and sometimes it takes me a verse or two to adjust to their timing. I think they sing louder than our home ward, though, so more power to them!


After church, I ate about the fastest lunch I´ve ever eaten in my life. You´d be proud of me, family! We grabbed suitcases and dropped the hermanitas off at the stake center, which was sad!! We had a great time with them, though I think Hermana Gonzalez loves me more now, considering that her companion was very shy. She said this week that she feels a bond with me that she´s only felt with one other companion (and she´s had five in six months). We´re still working things out, and I´ve begun to pray for her during all of our companion prayers, which I think has helped. She still makes comments here and there but we´re making progress.

Erica and Hermana Gonzalez

Hm, maybe a few short funny stories? The other day, Hermana Gonzalez and I were contacting and met a man who was walking two dogs. He asked us why Noah brought two of every animal on the ark, but none of the people. We looked at each other and basically just shrugged, and he proceeded to explain that animals are better than people and we´re probably all going to drown. Ohh, funny man. We also met up with two men in the street who were quite eager to pull out their pocket New Testaments and argue scripture with us- it took us about fifteen minutes to find enough time to say a polite goodbye. Oh, and how could I forget? Cleaning supplies are different here, but perhaps I should´ve known better than to clean the toilet with dish soap last week. The toilet was bubbly for the rest of the day.... Sorry, hermanas!! I´ve started to dream in a mix of Spanish and English- usually little nightmares that I´m breaking the rules by traveling without my companion.

Here come some of the deep thoughts of the week. These past three weeks here in the Lirquen ward have been perhaps the most tender, spiritual sacrament meetings that I´ve ever attended, specifically during the administration of the sacrament. As I pondered on this yesterday, I could think of several reasons why. Here on the mission, I´m constantly learning and thinking about baptism. The talk I mentioned earlier lays out very clearly the absolute necessity of baptism in our lives- without it, we cannot return to live with our Father in Heaven, we cannot live with our families, we cannot properly access the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Without it, we have no real reason to keep the commandments or work towards a higher goal, because baptism is the door to all the covenants and promises we desire in this life and the next. This reminder of my baptismal covenant holds much more meaning now.

The next reason may seem silly, but they almost missed me this week during the sacrament. Bishop motioned to one of the boys to come back for me, but before he did, I had a minute or two to realize just how badly I wanted to partake of the sacrament this week (especially considering that next week is General Conference). Three weeks without the sacrament? Wow, it felt really, really heavy. Thanks, Bishop! Also, I love to think just how true the church is, in Chile, Utah, and everywhere else in the world. Somewhere on the other side of the world, my family is making the exact same covenant that I´m now making. They´re singing the same songs, looking to the same God, and hearing the same sacrament prayer. The gospel really is for everyone!

In addition, I´m ever learning about my Savior and the role He plays in my life. I feel closer to Him than ever before, I know Him better than before, and those few quiet moments to sit and think of the sacrifice He made for me are increasingly tender. There just aren´t words for it. I just hope that the next time each of you partake of the sacrament, you´ll do it with a reverent heart and a little more thought for what it actually means.


I love you all!! My Easter testimony is this- that Christ really does live and love us, and that He really did fulfill the ends of the law. We are beyond blessed to have this restored Gospel, and to have an advocate in the Savior. I love and pray for you all!!


Happy Easter!


Hermana Oldroyd

Lirquen