Wow, lots to write this week so I´m just gonna do bullet points because it´s easier to think that way (yes, I am turning into dad)

- Just a quick update on Hilding Magali and Martiza, all are well. MAritza had a hard week because she´s just lonely, doesn´t really have lots of family support and just works lots, but she´ll be fine. Just has to always remember to rely on God and remember that God loves her. Hilding and Magali... so great. Reading, attending Church, Hilding received the priesthood the other Sunday.. YAY! Magali comes to all RS activities. So great. Just thought you´d want to know. Really makes me happy to see how they are progressing!

-Hna Tamayo and I are doing great as a companionship. I feel really blessed because I just feel like I can get along with almost anyone. I could definitely see where some people couldn´t get along well with her (she´s had some bad companions) but it´s just because her personality is strong. But honestly, she´s great! We are always laughing and talking, no problems at all. Her health is so so... she was sick all day Friday so we didn´t leave the pension, but it´s all good. I organized all the menos activas (see photo) but she just has a bad immune system, along with the other girls in the pension, they get sick too often... they always ask ¨how come your never sick?¨ I tell them it´s because I drink lots and lots of Water, and i believe it! But we´re good!

- This past week it was our goal to do lots of invitaciones baptismales, we had about 11 in the streets just in contacts. No one accepted like... ¨YES! Baptize me!¨ but it was good. IT´s honestly not hard, and its good practice for me, and the mission is really emphasizing to do them. No one can be baptized if we don´t invite!

- Yesterday we had our conference with the new mission president! It was AWESOME. Always to start the conference we take a picture of the people there with the president and wife, and we always sing the mission song as they walk in, it was different to see a new president with his wife and 4 little kids, but honestly, I just felt like... yes, he is my mission president, called of God to be here, serving in this mission. I think I was more excited than some because he will be my Mission Presidente por la mayoria de mi mision!

- At the conference we always do practicas with how we can improve as missionaries. The teach a short little thing and then we practice, i honestly love it because I learn a TON! but one of the things we were practicing was contactos, finding their necesidad, and helping them with LDM, and placing a LDM with this person. We split up into 2 groups and each group had there different necesidad. So it was our turn to go, so I walked up to an Elder and introduced myself like I would on the street and right then, President Kanhlein (pronounced Ken.. like the barbie, and line.. normal) came and stood right next to this elder to observe. He was there the WHOLE TIME!!! It was good because I really was trying my hardest to do all that I could, but talk about intimidating, I haven´t even officially met him in my interview and he was there observing! ahhhhh... but it went well, I placed the LDS with the investigator (elder) and president told me it was good and that he liked that I was smiling and happy. ha! but oh man... intimidating.

-We were getting ready to eat lunch at the conference and president said to me... ¨¿Hna Sargent, de que parte de Tempe vive? So we were talking about that. He really served in Tempe, In Chandler, mesa, ect... He actually started his mission our here in Vina for 2 months and then received another call, and now is back here... crazy, huh? But small connection between us.

-Then I had my interview with him, I thought it was gonna be in English, but nope, all in Spanish, but other Gringos (not all) had theirs in English.. not sure why I didn´t! But it was good to know that I could do it all in Spanish! He just asked me to tell him about myself, asked if my family was ok in the states, asked what things from the conference I wanted to apply more and how i was gonna do it. It was good. He told me he was impressed with my Spanish, and told me that he can tell I am gonna grow to be a great missionary and with my animo y felicidad in the work people will just be drawn to me and want to learn. It was really kind. He told me if there is anything that i need that I can always call him or his wife. They are just so nice, great testimonies, I´m excited to get to know them better.

- During the conference he challenged us to ALWAYS have a LDM in hand, so when I was leaving i had one in my hand because he asked us to have one always.. but the other Hnas forgot or something, but we were walking out and he was there shaking hands and goes, Hna Sargent, con un LDM en mano, que bueno! it made me feel good, I feel like we already have a relationship and its just gonna improve with time!

This week we have found a few people! WE had close to 90 contacts this week, and we are being blessed to find people and I know if we keep doing that, we´ll continue to be blessed...

-Alejandra and Martin—we found Alejandra in the street one day walking with her 2 boys and we asked if we could pass by, and she said yes, so we went and taught them the first lesson, her esposo y hijos. It was good, they have lots of questions which is always a good thing because it means that want to figure it out, we have another cita with them manana, I´m excited to teach them the plan of salvacion, I think this is what they´ll like to hear the most! I´m praying that they´ve read the LDM and have prayed because that´s where it ALL starts!

-Camilla y Millary- they are old investigators that had a date and everything for their baptism, they just never showed up to their baptism.. the font was filled and everything! We decided to go back to them and they let us right in, we haven´t asked them yet, what happened because no queremos be forceful, but I think slowly they´ll accept the gospel and really come to understand it!

- Patrick... we started the contact and he started talking to me in ingles, but i couldn't tell if it was ingles o español..it was weird, my brain was just confused. But he lived in San Fran for 20 years, he is from Chile, his wife is from Italy, so they have a communicacion of Ingles, italiano, y español. CRAZY! but he was so nice and asked for something to read about our church, told us to call him to set an cita because he wanted to talk to his wife first. but I honestly could see him accepting, just the few minutes we talked to him! I´m afraid I´ll have to teach in Ingles... ah, would be super hard! ha!

but anywho, those are a few of the people we´ve found, no one still that's really progressing, but i know that they will come. Just faith and obedience and honestly, I´m happy doing what I am doing, I don´t feel guilty like I´m not working hard or anything, so I guess I can just keep going!

- this week for one of the lunches we had Salmon and Cus-cus! oh my gosh, I was in HEAVEN. i miss fish, don´t eat it here because it´s expensive compared to other things.

usually we have rice, pollo, and ensalada, or some type of pasta, or a typical Chilean dish, so far, I´ve like it all.

- the other day within a 2 hour period 4 dogs almost attacked us... not exaggeration! Straight up, casi no atacó. my heart rate was SO high. ugh, why are there so many dogs on the streets. everyone says the pounds are full and they can´t just kill them... but they need to build another pound or something! way too many!

-DC 121: 7-8 I love when it says ¨Endure it well¨ not just endure it... but endure it well. love these scriptures. great to share with people in times of sadness.

- This week I taught Hna Tamayo las palabras ¨word¨ and ¨pimp¨ she was asking what ¨pimp my ride¨ was ( a tv show) so i had to explain. ha! so funny to hear in a latin accent.

well Family, I love you all, the church is true. we are SO blessed to have it as such a huge part of our lives! Sounds like you all are great and that you have had a fun and busy summer. Thanks for the support and prayers. I appreciate them a ton!

Love you all, miss you lots, but am always praying for you and know I am in the right place here in Viña del Mar!

Keep Smiling,

Hna. Sargent

 





 

 

even chile cares about recylcing! 

all the menos activas en el barrio... muchisimo!

Hna Riggs and I in la conferencia

Hna Tamayo y yo

 the hnas i live with (Hna DeMille, Tamayo, Me and Ortega)

en the bus!

 

district activity

 

 

 I really can´t believe I am in the 4th week of this cambio, it´s gone by really really fast. And it´s weird because we don´t have anyone (still) that is progressing, but time is still going rapidly, and we are still being blessed with teaching people. I guess thats the mission, find and teach!

 

happy birthday mark, yesterday!! Q today, and this saturday to Shauna, Jett and Tyce!! whoo-who. Party it up for me :)

 

This week we found a family with 4 kids, and we were just sharing something quick with them, just the first visit, getting to know them, explaining to them our purpose, ect. and we were talking about how families are eternal, just that it´s one of the main things that we share with the world and really porque nuestra message es unique and we were conversing of this a little bit and she told us that she beleives that we will all be angels in the next life, and not have families that we will need to care for and that we´ll always just get to rest and relax and not have to worry about our famillies. It was SO weird to me. Why in the world would God give us families, just to ¨rest¨ and not have families in the next life? I wanted to say that to her, but i didn´t. So badly i wanted to teach the plan of salvacion in its entirety but we only had about 3 minutes left, but we set up a cita to return so i´m excited to teach her about the plan of salvation with her familia! It just amazes me more and more everyday how much the gospel makes sense!

I have gotten questions about the menos activas here... hay altas!! Seriously, i feel like we randomly meet someone who has been baptized but doesn´t go to church 3 days a week. It´s just sad to me, if all the people were active and worthy here, the wards would be STELLAR. This past week i have gotten the feeling that we need to work with the menos activas more, because really to have a menos activa come back to church, usually there is someone in there house that isn´t a member and that we can maybe teach. Really though, i don´t know why there is so much inactivity here, but sometimes i think it´s just as, if not more important to get these people back in the church as it is to find nuevos. These people have already made the convenios and it´ll just be harder for them, plus they could be so blessed here in this life to have the blessing that the Gospel brings. But yes, tons of inactivity. Its sometimes hard to start teaching the menos activas, because it´s just a little awkward to start and to know what they need to hear, because i find that most people either 1. still believe it, just don´t fully understand it or 2. people are just confused and got baptized just because 3. got baptized, messed up with something and feel guilty to go to chuch! but dad, you should come serve your reactivity mission here in Chile!

I had the STRANGEST dream this week.... I dreamt that I was on a mission, but i don´t remember who my companion was... not Hna. Tamayo and we were in the same ward as Elder Holland, so we decided to stop by and share a short message with him and his wife. I remember his wife was sooo kind and let us in and we sat down and started talking to them and Elder Holland was just sitting there... not saying ANYTHING. he was in his P.J´s and was just kinda onry. so we shared a message and then Robbie appeared out of nowhere and we were all talking and then Elder Holland just got up and said, ï´m going to bed¨ and he left. So we left there house and I just remember Robbie being so annoyed with how he acted and was like... ¨How can an Apostle of God not have anything to say about your message you shared?¨ it was so weird. Don´t think that would ever happen!

but then the next morning in my personal study i am reading a talk from conference a day, and i was on his talk! which by the way is SO good. Everyone should go review it, there is a formula for faith that i just love! I love reviewing the conference talks, we finally got the Liahona here as missionaries and it´s just so great to read them. really cool as a missionary because things apply to not only me and my life, but how i can help myinvestigators have this same knowledge!

My 4th of July was different than usual. Didn´t do anything until the night when the Hnas were back in the house and we had Rootbeer floats and listened to 1812 overture! ha! It was actually really fun. At least we did some celebrating! But I loved hearing about all of yours... sounds like it was a BLAST! 12:30am depature time... thats too late for me even! ha!

Ayer en iglesia di un discurso! It went well, it was on members as missionaries! I think the ward takes what they understood to heart, really so much potential to help the work, but they just aren´t really into helping the missionary work. And it´s hard! I know i wasn´t before either.. at all. but after, definitivamente! Members play a key role in helping the kingdom of the Lord progress!

ewww... there is a ¨snake¨ in the ward! snake in the mission significa someone who is just kinda creepy... or is more interested in the missionaries that the word of God! Anywho, there is ¨snake¨, a member in the ward. Last week, he told me that i looked like a model (two times) and then yesterday he told me how beautiful my eyes were.... CREEEP. I will do my best to stay away. the worst think is... he is like older... 50ish. ugh. gross.

Hna Tamayo and I are doing good still. We get along super well, sometimes its still hard because I feel like i´m the trainer, just always... ok, lets do this, or this, but i think it´s just the latin american culture, just more laid back, always late, ect. but it´s good, because it´s training me to be a trainer one day in the mission! Really though, she´s great. a good missionary, i am learning lots. I hope we have one more change together! We just want to see success together! She is a professional dancer ya know, so the YW asked her to teach them Salsa for a mutual activity and we were able to get permiso a hacerlo! it was super fun. She told me that she was impressed that i could do it and have rhythm because most Gringas that she´s seen can´t. ha!

REally, the mission is great, although we don´t have too many progressing investigators, it´s still good. And we are talking and teaching people about the Evangelio, and thats our responsibilidad. I sometimes get caught up with the numbers in the mission and sometimes find me comparing to others, which is awful, I know, but when i think about it, I just need to focus on this area, and the people who i have had the opporotunity to share the Gospel with. I know people will come, it´s just we haven´t come in contact with them yet! I think thats the pattern of the mission though, sometimes there are tons of people and other times, not too many. That´s what I´ve heard at least, but really it´s my goal to just start a conversation with EVERYBODY in the streets. we talk to lots of people, but sometimes people pass and I think... ¨why didn´t I talk to them?¨ I never wanat to make them feel like Im forcing anything on them but just sharing something breif and asking if we can pass by one day could change there lives! that´s a goal of mine for sure! i just need mas paciencia y fe! :)

My espoñol is improving everyday! Its weird to just be able to speak and not have to think in English first. it´s just normal now to speak most the time. ObviouslyI still have lots to learn but it´s good. This week I felt like it was a good week of spanish. And I´m sorry, my english is awful and I can´t spell anymore if you haven´t noticed through the emails. ha!

well, Life is good in Viña del Mar! I´m happy, i´m healthy, and I´m helping others come unto Christ. Not much more that I can ask for!

I love you all, thank you all for the prayers, support, and love! I feel it everyday here and couldn´t imagine serving without a supportive family!

les quiero y extraño!

Keep Smiling,

Hermana Sargent :)

 

 

Hna. DeMille and I with our rootbeer and our 4th of July sign! :)

 

 

 

 

what happened to june?? Seriously, i feel like it just started recently. It´s so weird to think it´s already July! And even weirder to think its summer there and here i´m in a coat and boots! oh, summer, where art thou?? ha!

anywho, sounds like you´re all doing great and just living it up this summer. so many trips and pools and yummy food! I love hearing all about it, keep me updated!

as for this week, it´s still good here in Chile, unfortunetly, we´re still having some troubles finding people, but we have been blessed with a few, I just don´t really know what to do about finding more, but we are really working on it and really trying to figure out what the best method to finding news is. It´s like we can find people, but don´t have tons of interest in continuing past the first couple lessons, just don´t want to progress, but i Know they´ll come, just gotta keep having faith, and Skye told me this and I have tried to do it more ¨pray like everything depends on the Lord and then work like everything depends on you¨ I really liked that, think it can apply to all missionary work.

As for people this week,

Javier... this week Hna Tamayo and another hna (Hna Demille) were sick, with fevers and all, and when you have a fever you aren´t suppossed to leave the house, so we did a companionship exchange, yo y Hna Ortega (from UT) It was really funny actually, because we both arrived the same day and have only been here for a 8 semanas now... weird. But anyways, we did our best. She speaks less spanish than I do, but we managed and it was just kinda fun to do a switch, we worked in both areas that day and just got to know eachother better which is good! I think she really enjoyed it and kept telling me how fun it was to switch it up for the day and how it made her excited for the next change because she can just kinda start new, with a new comp and all (that is if Hna Demille leaves) but anywho, we found Javier, and he is about 16 years old but very catholic, but very open to learning more about religions. el nos pregunto altas preguntas y realmente hicimos bien a responder. just realized that was in spanish... he asked us lots of questions and we did a good job of responding. Really though, he already has started to read the LDM and his first question was.... ¿Quien es Nefi? ha. love. Really I am excited to go teach him again, a person with lots of questions is just a person waiting to hear the truthfullness of our message!

Henry, henry has a family, super great and when he was younger his mom rented out a piso of their house to the missionaries. So he knows lots, but has never been given or read a LDM, so we gave him one and he is going to read it, so he says, but he told us he had interest. He says he has his own beliefs but that he likes to hear about other religions and learn about them (reminds me of dad in some ways) but he told us to come back and converse with him and his family! And to let us know when there are activities and stuff at church because he wants to go!

La familia Codero Veloz, slowly moving along, nothing huge to report other than i love the children and the mom still needs the gospel SO much in her life! Pray that we can teach them more often! I know they can accept it... hopefully this week we´ll put a fecha with them.

Ok, this is the super sad news of the week.... Ivens, the son of Hilding and Magali who baptized them only 2 weeks ago, or maybe 3 now... anyways he doesn´t want to come to church anymore. He told us that he just doesn´t want to go and that he wants to go back to his old life... he is smoking marajuana again and really, it´s SO sad. we were at there house the other day, teaching Hilding and Magali and Ivens came out and we were just talking to him because he didn´t come to church the other Sunday and he just started talking about how he doesn´´t like the Bishop and that he doesn´t even know anymore if there is a prophet. but he understands that the Santa Cena es super important! Honestly, he was just talking to us and i was just thinking....what happened? I KNOW there was a event that took place and thats when he decided all of this. I know he had an interview with Obispo hace 2 semanas and i think there something happened. not sure what, but honestly, i almost started crying when he was talking because 3 weeks ago he was just solid, testifying to his parents, baptizing his parents and now he is smoking weed. I just don´t get it. He was also diagnosed this week with OCD and bipolar which i could´ve diagnosed but maybe that has something to do with it. really its just weird to see. And he was only baptized 3 months ago! so so strange. I guess what i can do is pray for him and he is open to let us visit him so thats what we´ll do. and the church leaders know it as well.

Thats one thing about here in Chile, inactivity. it´s SAD. i really think only 15 percent o menos son activas- its awful. I just really want to help bring people back to the church, i guess i just wonder, what are people not getting when they are baptized. is it the missionaries teaching, their understanding, there is obviously a fault somewhere. it´s my goal to really make sure people understand that they need to preseverar hasta el fin!!!

In Alma 46:8 i love this scripture and i thought of ¨how quickly do i move away from the Lord?¨ I think it´s important to remember that, and also if we find ourselves further from Him than we´d like to be... who moved? The Lord is ALWAYS there.... it´s us who moves away. Food for thought.

Ok, Hna Tamayo and I are still doing good! Shes really great, we have alot of similar interests, some different, obviously, but lots of the same. it´s funny, because to get to our area we pass the metro station and there is always american music there, adele, michael buble, JB, britney spears, beyonce, you name it, they´ve played it, but we both love it! It´s probably bad that we like it so much but really we hear about 10 segundos and then it´s gone, but so great. We are learning together and bettering our teaching style together! Our companionship is still good :)

oh, a DOG broke my umbrella. I wanted to kill it. ha! it came running towards us, its not a scary dog though but it´s huge and strong, but it was raining and the dog was dirty and it always jumps on us but i didn´t want it to get my coat dirty so i put my umbrella out to stop it and it just trampled over my umbrella and it´s broken now. :( I LOVED it, such a good umbrella (remember mom, we got it at REI and it was like wind resistant and everything) ugh, so sad. but lucky the casa had another i found, not nearly as good, but it´ll do. i really though was annoyed about it though for a while, just cause i liked it... i still have hope i´ll be able to fix it, but don´t think so.

the other day Hna tamayo and i were walking and i hear some Chilean yell... ¨hello, beautiful, I like you legs¨ (but in a chilean accent) Hna Tamayo was laughing so hard.... i just kept walking and thought to myself... how can you even see my legs... I have a missionary skirt on, with tights and boots... my legs were hidden. ha! It´s probably the only phrase he knew how to say in ingles. really funny though.

I have eaten a completo... and yes, they are tasty. only with avacado y tomate. :) delicious. I think hot dogs would be better with avacado and tomato tambien. maybe for your 4th of July festivities you can add that to the mix and think of me! but there is this place, didn´t eat one from here... but it´s called Harry Completo. how awful the name sounds, yes, but it´s harry potter! I took a photo... please look at it. oh, HP all over the world. i love it.

new mission pres and his family arrived and started yesterday. haven´t heard anything but am really excited to meet him to be honest, some people are triste, but i´m excited porque he´ll be MY president the rest the mission!

well, family, I love you all SO much! Really, couldn´t ask for a better support system while serving! Robbie, get ready, everyone will be jealous but it´s SO fun to have!

The church is true, this is the work of the Lord, we´re all a part of it, we can all be examples to everyone around us!

Sé que Cristo vive. Jose Smith fue un profeta llamó de Dios. Tenemos el sacerdocio en el mundo hoy que puede ayudarnos en todo! Familias son eternas. La iglesia es verdadero. Somos bendicidos a tener eso en nuestras vidas. Satanás tiene mucho poder y hay tempación en el mundo, pero con ayuda de Dios siempre podemos vencer este tempación. El Libro de Dios es verdadero, son palabras de los profetas de Dios. Le quiero el Evangelio.

Gracias por todo familia! You are ALL the best! never forget that!

les quiero MUCHISIMO y les extraño tambi.

ya listo, chau!

keep smiling,

Hermana Sargent

 

 

 

me infront of harry completos... i hate how coats add 30 lbs to the foto.

 i promise, it´s just the coat! ha!

 

beautiful sunset the other day!



 

Well, since I know you´re ALL dying to hear about my new companion I won’t make you wait any longer!

Hermana Tamayo, from Panama City, Panama, She has a year on the mission, leaves in December and really is great. At first I was nervous to change companions a little, not nervous, just curious to see who it´d be and honestly, super sad to see Hna Riggs go, but after the first day with her it just felt so normal, like how it was suppossed to be! She is a convert to the church for 4 years and about a year of that was menos activa, one day just decided to go to church and felt super strongly about serving a mission. So she followed that prompting and has been here in Chile for a year! So crazy. Only her and her mom were members when she started her mission and now 18 miembros de su familia (members of her family) are members! Talk about mission blessings.

She is a professional dancer and has one year left until she graduates as a Chef! I want her to make me some food ;) Really though, we get along super good, she helps me a TON with my Espanol and I help her with her English. It´s just good. Yesterday we were walking and she told me that President was really inspired with this companionship because she needed someone with the excitement that I have and just someone who can bring out her personality because the cambio antes (companionship before) she was just really serious she said, but I told her it’s my goal on the mission to work hard, but have fun and share my personality while doing it, so I´m glad I could help her!

It’s definitely weird without Hna. Riggs though, not so much as the companionship, but with the work. I realized after she left that she just always took the lead in things, which was good because I was and still am learning. But she left and I was left with the area. I had to step it up and take the lead! It was hard at first, and still is hard because we´re still lacking progressing investigators, but really it´s super good for me becuase it makes me want to really work to find new people. I also didn´t realize how much I learned from Hna. Riggs until she left, I think that’s just how companionships are. You don´t realize something until it´s gone! Sometimes I feel like I´m training myself. Hna Tamayo has never trained and estoy acostumbrada a training and just kinda explain things how we did it before and if she wants to change it, that’s fine because I´ll learn more from her! I just have noticed with her I´m speaking more in lessons, doing more of the compromisos (committing people) and I think it´s good. Definitley is gonna help me be the type of missionary I want to be!

Mom, yes I got you package! SO NICE. I can´t believe how quickly packages get here... seriously, took 13 or 14 days. That’s like nothing. Must be cause I´m not in Paraguay! ha! But really, thanks a ton. Scarf has come in handy, as well as the snackos, and I gave Hna. Tamayo the shirt because Hna. Riggs mom sent one to me. Super great! Thanks a ton. Also, family, thanks for all the dear elders... the elders have started to notice the pattern of lots of letters for me! ha! But I just say, ¨tengo mucho personas que me quieren¨ (lots of people that love me) es cierto (true), I can feel the love from all of you all the time! ;) gracias.

The other day, well it´s happened a few times, there has been no power so we got into our house to plan... no power! ya! Lit some candles, got a flashlight and got at it, but it’s kinda fun when it happens, we all decided to eat a bowl of cereal in the dark in candle light. Super fun! ha!

Our reality show episode had its season finale... with Hna Riggs that is! It was HILARIOUS. Ok, so cambios (companionship) here, when someone in the companionship is leaving, you go to Vina in the office. So Hna Riggs and I were headed there with ALL her stuff. (btw, she went to Limache) She had TONS! 3 FULL suitcases, I swear one of them weighed a good 70 lbs. and you know me, that packing nazi, I was in awe... I really don´t know how she has stuff, but she did tell me she can´t throw things away easily, which is not my problem! But anywho, we had 3 bags, her pillow and coats and scarfs in hands. We walked to the metro (subway) but to walk from our house it´s a dirt path, and it was kinda soft dirt cause of the rain, but not quite mud, so super hard to pull through the path. We got on the SUPER crowded metro to Vina and then, pushed and pulled her stuff through the city of Vina del Mar (which I LOVE... totally NYC vibe) and finally arrived to the mission office. Seriously though, I´m sure we looked ridiculous, two gringas with bags and pillows and everything... one man asked me if I was tired because I brought my pillow. ha! So funny. Really though, good last episode, we just laughed the whole time basically!

I was supposed to give a talk yesterday in the ward 15 minutes of every member a missionary. I was kinda excited to give it, but when we got there they told me I didn´t have to give it because we had 3 confirmations and two people from the stake spoke, so no time. But oh well... that´s so Chile, they don´t think through things until 5 minutes before Sacrament meetings!

Dad.... guess who I met??? PEDRO!!! ha! We were walking in la calle (the street) and this guy came up to us and stopped us and was like, ¨where can I get more of your books?¨ so we were just talking about the church, we asked for his address to come talk to him, but he told us he wasn´t interested in meeting with us, only wants to read and compare to other religions, but his name was Pedro. I´m still convinced that I´ll baptize a Pedro on my mission! Mi meta. (my goal)

Yesterday Hna Tamayo wanted me to teach her in English so she could listen and practice, so I started to teach the Plan de Salvacion en ingles (plan of salvation in English) and it was SO hard. Honestly, I like couldn´t do it. I think it´s because I´ve been memorizing the lessons in Spanish and then to switch to English was super dificil. (difficult) Verdad. No podria hacerlo. We got some great laughs out of it. It´s fun to help someone with their English and have her here to help me with my Spanish. I really hope it just improves a ton these next weeks with her. Sometimes I think, my Spanish should be better, but I just have to remind myself.. I´ve only been here for 7 weeks. Patience with yourself!

As for investigators, we don´t have any really progressing. We have some that we teach, but don´t understand fully yet, but I think it´ll be good to really just focus on finding new people this week. We both just really want to teach because when you aren´t teaching the days are harder, but this week all we are gonna do is FIND!! I know people are there, and we have people, they just kinda get brushed aside when you have people with fechas (dates) and baptisms, but we really want to work with the members and menos activos. (less active) There is this family, familia Brito, who are all members except the dad, but menos activos, so we really want to try to work with them more and also we found another lady who got baptized 4 years ago, but never felt accepted in the church and she has 3 kids and a spouse that aren´t members. So there are definitely people to work with, it´s just a matter of finding! I hate to even write that we don´t have any progressing, because we really have some great people, it´s just a matter of teaching so they understand better the importance of our message, but that is the mission, I know it´ll just take off here soon!

Also, I have had the prompting to make sure my ¨emergency kit¨ is ready for an earthquake this week, often. So I have it all ready, but the weird thing is, randomly last night Hna Tamayo and the other Hnas that live with me were talking about how they feel an earthquake is gonna come soon! SO Weird. who knows... it´s been a while since there has been a temblor, only one since I´ve been here and usually there are about 2 a week people say, so I think everyone is thinking it´s all building up... kinda scary. But I´ve always imagined myself cleaning up stuff and doing service on my mission! We´ll see.

Mom, did Maritza add you on FB? She told me she was going to... just curious to see if she did or not! ha!

Well family, all is well here in Chile! I am happy, I am working, and I am learning. Isn´t that what a mission is all about!

The Church is true, no where else I´d rather be that right here serving the people of Chile!

Love you all,

Keep Smiling,

Hermana Sargent



 

 

 

 

service for a ward member, painting! yay!

 

yes i am lots taller than her! ha! but Hna Tamayo and I

 

Happy Fathers day yesterday to all the Fathers in the Fam! Really, look up to you all and apréciate all you´ve done for me in mi vida! Glad you got the card and the video dad! Super cheesy video, i know… I´m a sister missionary singing Called to Serve for my dad, but hey, that´s what I´m suppossed to do! Glad you had a fun day and felt celebrated J

Yes… all the baptisms happened yesterday! It was SOOOOOO great. Oh man, just to witness first had the gospel coming into peoples lives. They were all there at church, and then alter we had the service and so many members stayed which is awesome. They were all dressed in white and were all smiles. A little anxious, but once the service was started, i think it calmed any nerves they had! The service was great. Two spealkers, there favorite hymns ¨joseph smiths first prayer¨ and ¨Dios da valor¨ (can´t think of it in english… maybe God Speed the right) Then they were baptized. I just felt so much joy and love for them, and I was thinking… If I feel this much love for them, how does God feel? This is the key to enter into the Kingdom of God and they just did it. I love them, and its just amazing to me to think of really how much love God has for everyone! Then after the baptisms they all bore their Testimonies. Super fuerte. They just really testified of what they knew, how the BOM has helped them and how they never thought they´d find or join into the Mormon church, but through people, examples, and seeing how people were happy they just couldn´t deny it. That was probably my favorite part of everything. Just watching them bare testimony to all the people who were there, so simple but you could feel the Spirit and that´s all that matters.

There has been more rain this week…just see photos. It´s crazy. Think I´m gonna buy some rainboots because really… my boots are fine in the rain, but this isn´t rain, it´s like lagos in the calles. I need to build an arch like Noah sometimes. Ha! Fun tradition here though, whenever there is rain here the people make these things called sopaipillas. Super rico. Basically like a scone but it is made with squash in it. I can´t eat too many though, but it´s just fun to see everyone cooking them when it´s raining.

Some sad news… Hna Riggs is leaving! It´s super rare for someone to leave in the middle of training, it happens, it´s just rare, but it´ll be good. I´m gonna miss her for sure, but I am also excited to see who my next comp is and I know I´ll love her just as much. I have gotten the feeling the past couple weeks that Hna Riggs is going and that I´m gonna get a latino. Which i´m excited for because my Spanish will improve a TON! It is totally stressful though, because I have to be the one who leads my new comp everywhere and find the people. It´s the mission, but i was thinking in another 6 weeks (after training) I would be doing that, but all is well. The Pres knows best and I have been so appreciative of the time I had with Hna Riggs. She isn´t going too far so I will see her in conferencias and stuff! They don´t tell us who our companions are until we meet in Vina and get them. just to avoid gossip and stuff, so I will find out tomorrow when I take Hna Riggs to the office and i´ll let you all know next week!

This week we´ve found some good people! There is this one family I just wanna talk about... ok, so we were walking on this street and we heard kids in this house and decided to knock... well, yell. So we yelled and these 3 CUTEST children opened the door. (11, 10 and 7) There mom was sick but we asked them if we could sing them a song and so we did, they learned it too! and then we asked if we could come back another day and they said tomorrow!. So we went back the next day and the mom came out and talked to us. She was sick but told us to come back after the weekend. kinda a bummer cause we wanted to see them more often, but anywho, we were walking by that street 2 days after and the mom was outside hanging laundry. we were just going to say hello but she was like... ¨pasen pasen¨ so we went into her house and just started talking to her. She NEEDS the gospel. she is solo with these 3 kids, don´t have a ton of money, but seriously, she just kinda vented to us about how she sees people that are happy and wonders why she isn´t and why God puts her through hard times, ect ect. She takes her kids to a church because she wants them to have good morals but doesn´t even really beleive in it. We just testified to her that God loves her and that our message can bring her the happiness she is looking for. She agreed to let us go back so tonight we have a Cita with her! I just know that she can benefit from the Gospel. She´s sad, but wants to be happy, she doesn´t drink or smoke because she knows that only temporary happiness and wants to be an example for her kids. me siento que she will soak up our message like a sponge. I really am praying for it atleast!

We had a conferencia on Thursday, ultimo con Pres and Herm Gillespie. It was good, I don´t feel too sad to see them go, they are GREAT people I just haven´t had the chance to really get to know them, but they talked about the new Pres. I am really excited to meet him. I just feel like we already have a connection because he served en Tempe! It´ll be different for sure, especially because su esposa will be tending to their 4 kids lots and he´ll probably travel to things solo, but thats ok with me! I really don´t know much different. I just am excited to see if things change a ton!

Hna Riggs cumpleanos fue Sabado! Super fun! She felt celebrated and the memebers new about it so whoever we saw would wish her happy birthday! I couldn´t get her anything because she´s always with me, but i made her a card and we´re gonna go to the street vendors today and I´m gonna get her something she likes, along with some dulces at this place thats super rico. She totally felt loved though. 3 birthday cakes in a 2 day period. really fun! we also had another dance party for our exercises that morning.

People always tell me that Makenna looks like me from the family photo I have here. They say she could be your daughter! So precious. :)

What is this dating game Robbie won... hilarious! already living up the BYU experience... who you taking dude?? WRITE me!

well, I´m doing good here in Chile. I´m sure this week will be different with a new comp and everything, but that´s just the mission and I know whoever it is I will be able to learn from her and we will find people. Hopefully i do a good job on taking the lead of where to go all the time until she gets comfortable with the area and knows who the people are! It´ll all be good. Goal this week... find people to teach TWICE!

La iglesia es verdadera. La Expiación es real. José Smith fue una profeta, Tenemos el LDM que puede traernos felicidad y consuelo. Dios nos ama, realmente. Me encanta la oportunidad que tengo a compartir mi testimonio cada día con alguien. Es maravillosa. Familias son eternas y el evangelio puede bendicir todas los personas! Cristo vive.

les quiero muchisimo!!!

keep smiling,

Hermana Sargent



 

 

 rain rain rain... Thinking i might buy some rain boots....

oh. just some cows on the streets in Chile! ha.

view from my area!

back of some sweatshirts our jackets made! and hna Riggs braid... i did that. :)

the zone... love this photo.

my zone!

 

Familila carlson (there son who got baptized 2 months ago, baptized them)

Hna Riggs and Maritza and me

Maritza with her Cousin (stake pres)



Sounds like you´ve all had a crazy week! Kinda fit into mine too. We just had no time this week, lots of meeting, conferences, etc. But it was all fun and good so I´m happy about that.

Wow, Ribbie´s call… still can´t get over it. Definitely wasn´t expecting that one but SO happy for him. Really, it´s just right. I can feel it. I´ve heard of some GREAT success stories from the Philippines, and I think the weather is pretty nice… ya? Not sure… if i have time today i´ll get on LDS maps and look at it.

This week we had a conference with Elder Richards… over Chile, it was SO good. Orly him and his wife Spike and it lasted about 2 hours and i just didn´t want them to stop! His wife talked about Change and how we really always need to trust in the changes that are made here and how the misión presidents are set apart by an Apostles and that's just about the closest to our Savior and how every little change is for a reason and just Trust in God and call to him in times of trouble. Loved it.

He talked about just ways to teach in simple ways. It´s so good to learn and hear about that because really, when you just talk, the people don´t understand, it´s all just about the simple facts and the Spirit that they need to feel. He told us, not to use examples to explain something, just scriptures and doctrine. Kinda hard because honestly examples are the best to help people understand, but this will make us rely on the Spirit more! It was fun to meet other missionaries from the Mission, it was basically just a party! haha! Really though, super good and very though provoking. made me want to be a better teacher and missionary!

Hilding and Magali had their interviews yesterday and are getting baptized next Sunday!!! YAYYYYY. they are SO ready, we had a FHE with them on Monday with a family in the ward and the family was talking about how to be an eternal family and they were explaining the temple and in a year (I´ll be here!!!) they can go and get sealed... They just both started talking about how it´s there 50 year anniversary next august and how that´ll be so great to be sealed forever there 50th year of marriage. It was amazing to hear that they actually understood and realized the importance of it! Also, they are having family prayer... how wonderful is that. They both have powerful testimonies of the LDM and read it daily. Love them. Can´t wait for Sunday.

Maritza, hasn´t had her interview yet, but it´s on Tuesday... sometimes I feel nervous about her, but she´s ready, really, has a testimony, knows its true, i think her personality just is funny... kinda scatter brained.... but i love her for it. She´s special, her baptism isn´t set for sure until the interview, but we should have hers on Sunday as well.

Just amazing to see people really accept and understand the importance of our message. Its so true and SO good! ´

Reality show episodes.... Yes, I should probably not call them that, but really, it´s just hilarious now.

OK, so we were in lunch and we head our phone vibrate in our bad (ya, we have cells here in our mission... HM STATUS) anywho, we look quickly and see Jean has called TWICE. immediately, we think... oh my gosh! Has he had a King Limoni/Alma experience and received his answer and wants to be baptised ASAP? we call him back and all he says is ...Can you come by sometime today? We fit him into our already hectic day and all day long.... thinking of why he wants to see us. We decide on 3 things.... 1. his mom has a gift for us 2. he felt awkward and bad about our DTR and wants to apologize or 3. He got his answer.....

so we show up to his house SO EXCITED. just really wanted to know why... unfortunately he didn´t have an Alma or King Limoni expereince... it was just his mom had bought us these light pink boot slippers... yes, they are rather ugly, but very warm so they were appreciated. that was all he wanted. Super nice of his mother, but he is not gonna be getting baptized any time soon. (see photo for visuals)

episode two: We go to teach this one lady... Patricia, we immediately find out she has NO belief in God, at all... she´s studied all forms of science and just doesn´t see how it could be possible... yadda yadda yadda... anywho, within this cita with her the following things happen...

1. I try to testify that really there is a God and how she can know, and I said something along the lines of, I prayed and i have received my answer that there is a God and that he loves me, and you. She immediately interrupts and starts laughing saying, you can´t receive an answer... it´s not tangible, then Hna. Riggs tries and she just is laughing at us.

2. she then tells us we need to do more drugs.. no joke.

3. She tells us that she hopes in the next 10 years of our life we can find something different

4. We then ask her to say a pray before we leave and she really doesn´t want us to, but gives in and during the prayer... she lights up a cigarette.

it was just crazy. way too much bad in one lesson. WE left just feeling bad for her though, and then thought she´s gonna have a shock in the next life. needless to say, we won´t be going back to her...

Our musical fireside went great last night. A few technical problems with the videos, but all is well. The Spirit was felt and that's what was most important. I think the investigators who went really enjoyed it.

Last night i was standing at the front on the ground, right next to the front of the Chapel, and i just hear a kid behind me go... ¨woah, que alta!¨ I turn around and I was the SAME height as him and he was on the stand. it was really just funny. he was probably like 10 or so... not a 4 year old. ha!

we had a lesson on obedience last week in our Zone meeting, those are the BEST! i just really like this quote... ¨El Espirit es en los detailes¨ (the spirit is in the details) it´s so true. exact obedience brings the spirit, blessings, and miracles,

this morning i was reading Alma 29... one of my new favorite chapters in the LDM. read it.

Our major struggle right now is just finding people, we´ve taught tons of first lessons and stuff, but it´s just hard to find people who have the desire to really listen and understand the importance of our message. But we know those will come, we just need to be grateful for those that we´re teaching and that we have people being baptized. Sometimes i wonder, what am I not doing, why aren´t we finding more, but this week I´m gonna work on my faith and really just talking with EVERYONE in the streets, also, hopefully the members can be a support and find people to teach. That´s the biggest struggle though, I think sometimes it´s just i feel like i need to be doing SO MUCH MORE but sometimes we just can´t do that and there is a reason for everything!

Side note.... the lady next to me has head phones on and keeps singing really loud... it´s funny! and I hear Adele playing outside.. last week was Michael Buble.. I like this computer place!

well, family, thanks for love and support. I honestly feel it and couldn´t imagine serving without the support of my family. We are blessed to have a family like we do. I hope everyone realizes that! The gospel is true, missionary work is great, we´re ALL missionaries. don´t forget that!

well, love you all, thanks for everything! I´m doing good here in Chile, just trying to stay warm :)

Keep Smiling,

Hermana Sargent

p.s. sorry if my spelling is awful, this Spanish to English thing is hard sometimes....

 

 FHE with the Font family. (daughter is 25)

 3 month mark... thanks Hna. Riggs for my sign :)

 these awesome slippers that Jeans mom gave us!

the herd is still with me... always!

 Hilding, Magail, Ivens, and us

 

Las hermanas... they all live in my house

Well, this week Hna Riggs and I decided that our mission is like a reality show. Yes. I just said that. It´s honestly just so entertaining in everyway.

Let me just start off with all the tall comments I have recieved this week....

Bishops son: tiene 8 anos and is autistic. He looks at me and then yells ¨usted es GIGANTE¨ (you are a giant) and then he starts climbing me, like the nieces and nephews do, but we aren´t suppossed to hold children so I was like.... ugh, but he´s autistic and doesn´t know so it was ok. SO funny though.

Then we contacted this guy on the street who said ¨don´t wear high heels unless you´d be huge!¨

This is the best.... We walk into the house of Hilding and Magali (Carlson familia) and Hilding comes to shake my hand and goes... ¨Hna Sargent, todavia sigue creciendo¨ (still growing) It was SO FUNNY. We have a good relationship so I know he meant no harm at all. ha! Love all the tall comments, I´ve started writing them down so I have them post mission. Im sure I´ll have at leatst 50 in the next while.

Ok, this week, honestly, it´s been a little harder. Last week was just so good. Lots of people and dates and this week has been hard to find people. Seriously, it probably doesn´t help that the past 3 days have been a DOWNPOUR of rain, really, hardly stopped, but it was just harder. No one is en la calle and people don´t want to open their doors to talk to us because of the rain, so they´ll just shake their hand through the window and shake there head no. So it´s just harder. But honestly, we just want to teach people, that´s all. Find, teach, and convert! We are staying positive and the rain has stopped today so I think we´ll be able to find more people. Thank goodness.

Ok, Friday was crazy... reality show story. We were walking to the chapel because we had a cita and then there was a ward activity we went to, and we were walking in the downpour, we turned on this street and were walking forward, all of a sudden we notice this drunk man, with a cane walking quickly towards us, yelling at us, we are getting closer to him and look to the street to cross but there is this HUGE HUGE puddle of water, and we werént in boots, like huge. We look back at the drunk man who is pretty close and back to the puddle, I say to Hna Riggs, should we jump? One last look at the drunk who is right by us now and yelling louder... and she goes, ya, jump. So we jump off the sidewalk, land in this puddle and book it to the other side of the street. we then are greated by this other man, some construction worker who has a chain saw type thing in his hand (ok, not really, but some piece of dangerous equipment) and he yells something and keeps walking, we then look back, drunk man stilll yelling at us, trying to come and we turn and keep walking to the capilla, we then hear a SPLAT and turn around and the drunk man has fallen, so now we´re in this dilemma of, what to do? help him, or get to safety and not let him follow us? Luckily someone goes over to the drunk man and helps him so we can continue to walk to the capilla. Through this swamp (yes, my swamp talk came out if you´re wondering) and then finally made it to the capilla in safety to wash our shoes off from the swamp. It was really just a crazy 10-15 minutes. So funny. Oh the mission....

Ok, now onto the more spiritual stuff.

1. We had a cita with Hilding and Magali this week that was so spiritual. Hilding just told us ¨yo decidí¨ (I´ve decided) about baptism and he is for sure doing it!! He told us that he hasn´t found anything like the BOM and he just really knows that it´s of God and wants to be baptized because he´s never had anything feel like it. Then he said the closing prayer, which he usually does and he always blesses our families and thanks God for having you let us come to Chile to teach him and then he started crying and said, ¨help me that I can have the same relationship with you that these Hermanas have.¨ It was just so powerful. I was just smiling because I was happy. He gets it! The ONLY problem is getting him to church... ugh! But he will. I know it.

2. Maritza is progressing. she just gets it. Clicks with her, and we have permission to teach her in this ward! Yay! She told us that she needs to talk to the Bishop about some stuff, not sure what, but I think something with her ex-husband, but I just am praying whatever it is, doesn´t delay her date of baptism! Really though, she´s great.

3. Jean, he is the hard one... just doesn´t have an open mind or heart honestly, we had a little break through with him on Wednesday I think, and he really wants to know, just hasn´t found out yet in his manera! it´s kinda frustrating but it´s all good. I just hope he can continue to progress. He just needs support from the ward and they aren´t the best at that to be honest.

4. The other hermanas in my house have been a little sick lately, pretty sure one had pneumonia, last week, at the grocery I bought clorox wipes and have been wiping everything! I don´t want to get sick! I don´t feel it, so I think it passed. I sure hope so.

5. last night we had a noche de hogar with this family, our investigator didn´t come because of the rain... but it was so great. They are a solid family, just makes me want to have a family like that one day. Reminded me of our FHE´s at home. Just lesson, song, treat, game, ect. super normal. I loved it. Felt right at home :)

6. This week I read a talk by Ezra Taft Benson, its Beware of Pride in April 1989, seriously, SO GOOD! You should all read it. It was just powerful, man, I don´t realize how many things deal with pride, something I think everyone can work on!

7. I´ve gotten questions about the ward and the support. I really think they just think missionaries are suppossed to do everything. They don´t realize that these people need friends in the ward so at times is frustrating, but it´s ok. We are doing what we can for the ward and us. The mission is really trying to work through members to find people, so we are trying to do that. But yesterday morning, it was raining, hard. It was our ward conference and serioulsy I think only 20 ward members were there.. you can really tell who the fieles are. Only had 9 women in R.S. it´s just crazy. I can´t believe it. It´s just rain, yes, I know it´s a lot of rain, but COME TO CHURCH. It´s SO important. Oh, South America. Also, none of our investigtors came because of the rain which is a let down, but all is well. Next week!

8. Really the mission is good. This week was hard, I´m still new so I don´t know what to do when no one is letting us in and we are trying to find new people to teach, but I know that we will be blessed through diligence and obedience! I knew coming into this that it wouldn´t be like all roses, but I am grateful for those harder times because it make me rely on the Lord and really try to get guidance!

9. I am thankful for this opprotunity I have to serve a mission. Really, it´s just a blessing. I have already learned so much and still have 15 months left, my brain might explode. Spanish is coming, I just want to be perfectly fluent in 2 days, but that won´t happen, but it´s going good. I´m not struggling too bad. I just have to focus harder with others when I´m too tired to understand, but I can get most of it. It´s good!

10. Robs, had a dream you got called to Baltimore and this morning I woke up with the song ¨Good Morning Baltimore¨ in my head and thought if you go there you can sing that every morning. I still think you´re gonna come to Chile though... :) you will be called where the Lord needs you because you´re gonna be BOMB!

Well, I love you all so much. I think of you all the time and am so thankful for the support that I have from each of you! I really feel the prayers here and hope you can feel the ones I give for you!

Love the gospel, Love the mission, Love my companion, Love the Chileans, Love the food, Love Spanish, it´s just all good!

Sounds like you are all doing well and busy now that summer has started! So weird because my winter is starting...

Love you all lots!

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Hermana Sargent

 this is for dad :)



 ya, my mission is beautiful



This is Jean, and that was him when he was a child...
this photo. we laughed about it for a while

the zone walking to the picture place..
what a sight of 12 LDS missionaries all together. ha!