Can´t beleive that its Pday again... SO FAST!

Las P-day, fuimos a la mall with the other hermanas. this mall had an ALDO!!! WHAT? I felt like i was in America. Way better than the mall in Paraguay to say the least. ha! Didn´t buy anything, just was window shopping.

This week seriously has been super fast. Hna. Parada has been a little sick and sometimes couldn´t work too hard, as well as another Hna has been sick for like 2 weeks so we did a couple interchanges so the two that felt good (Hna Ramos y yo) could leave and work in one of our two sectors! We actually found some people as well :)

As for our investigators.. this is the rundown on them:

Ivana, the nieta de los abuelos. She is SO GREAT. doesn´t want to have a fecha yet, but she is reading and praying and she feels good she says. she is so cute, always asking us, Did you guys do this... read and pray to know if it was true? She is definitely trying to figure it out and i just want to help her. I also love teaching her grandparents. Their testimonies are super strong. Just don´t go to church! I don´t get it.. he was a OBISPO. ah, i just want everyone to come to church and expereince all the joy and blessings that come from attending!

Tomas... yes, we made him a calendar of things he needs to read EVERYDAY. and he is doing it... so thats good. At the begining it´s just a little, a few verses and then this week it starts getting more. Sad news... not gonna be baptized this Saturday. We just don´t feel like he is ready. he has the lessons and todo pero he doesn´t have his testimony yet. but i know that through reading more and more he´ll do it. I just don´t want him to get baptized for his wife (who is a member). And she doesn´t either. Because she knows he won´t be faithful to the church if thats the case. but still working with him!

We found a man named Carlos in the street the other day. We started teaching him about the LDM and bautismo. He accepted a fecha on the street. I couldn´t beleive it. I hope he really understood. I think he did. He wasn´t like... si o si, baptize me, but he said if he comes to know that the LDM is true, he´ll be baptized. We haven´t taught him since then, but have a cita martes con él. I´m excited. and i think he lives with his wife and maybe grandkids.. who knows. here there are always a TON of people living in the houses. grandparents, aunts uncles, sibllings, friends, and their dogs. it´s crazy!

Elizabeth, we taught her once, and she had such good questions and everything! We set another appointment for sunday night with her, and we went but she wasn´t there. Bummmer! But this morning we had a message on our phone, and it was her and apoligized that she wasn´t home a family problem in Limache, but she wants us to call her and come back! It´s just crazy that she called us, we´re always calling and asking, ¨cuando podemos reunirnos??¨ but she called us! I know she´s a keeper..

 this week our martes and wednesday and filled with citas. SO good! we´ve just been contacting lots and putting citas so i hope they´re all home!

I just want all these people to come to church. I´m sitting there in sacrament meeting stressed that they haven´t come and wondering if they´ll come before the sacrament and then during the sacrament i try to think of Christ but my mind is on all of the people we´ve invited and i just am like... ¨why didn´t you come!?? please, come! ha! .i decided my goal this week is to study more on how people can really feel like they need to come to church!

 

Saturday Hna. Parada was super super sick.. her head and stomach hurt.. i think it was like a migrane or something, but we went to the clinica and they gave her an IV and everything to give her meds.. she felt better. off and on her head still hurts, but she says thats normal. The assistantes came and picked us up and brought us to our house.. they are seriously so great. Such good missionaries, men, stong testimonies, I was thinking of Robbie and how maybe he´ll be an assistant in his mission!

I was studying a talk by Elder Bednar in the Abril 2012 Liahona... on the Atonement. SO GOOD! oh my gosh.. i am gonna study it again this week. he was just talking about how sometimes we think the Atonement is only for sin, but it´s not. He then went on to give so many examples from the LDM and everything. REad it.

Also finished the bom this week... i´m always sad to finish, but excited to start over again! I was reading in 2 nefi 15:4 and i love the question and thought to myself.. What more can i do in this ¨viña del mar?¨ food for thought... everyone can apply it to something!

Our zone meeting this past week was 4 hours long because new president, new norms and todo. nothing too big has changed. just i can´t wear rings unless its the typical CTR ring that i don´t even like.. but thats the only thing that was really different. If anything it was just going over the rules that maybe before hand weren´t being kept super bien de la mision. But president gave us all our personal Liahona with ways to find nuevos! the new 8 ways...

1. Part member families (have a cita with one tonight!.. noche de hogar baby)

2. Menos activa familias

3. Recent Converts

4. Actual investigadors

5. Old investigadors.. in the carpeta de area

6. Young single adults

7. YM/YW

8. Returned misioneros.

With these we are supposed to pass by 5 Menos activas and 5 part member families every day! lots of work and planning but i love it. Genious way to find nuevos. these people already have the support, just have to find them and encourage them. and the others we are just supposed to pray that when we ask for references that people will come to their mind. I love it. my own liahona a encontrar!

I still love the ward. everyone is great. lots of support. dad... some main streets... San Jose, agua santa.. i live in the street Camino real, but way way arriba, closer to another chapel, the barrio Recreo.

well family!

all is well her in Viña- its gorgeous here! The Church is true. The mission is a time of lots of learning and trial, but more than that time of love and success. Even the smallest things are miracles. For instance, taught our collectivo driver today on our way to internet. Just planting the seeds are miracles!

Love you all. sounds like things are going good! can´t beleive summer is over!

Keep Smiling,

Hermana Sargent



 

 



 

 

 

 

 

hna parada and i en la calle

 

 

hna Ramos and I

 

 

Hna Parada and i en the clinica

Hola Family!

before i forget, we have a mission blog... misionvinadelmar.blogspot.com check it out!

Still loving Viña, I just can´t get over how beautiful it is here... honestly we have a vista of el mar from almost everywhere! and sometimes we are SO close to it! I love being close to it.

This week was good, seemed to go quickly!

Well, when I got here really we had one investigator, one. So we´ve spent alot of time looking! And honestly it´s paid off... here are some of the people we´ve found:

Isabel- passed on the street and then turned around to talk to her, turns out she used to go to church and that she really liked it. She had her nietas with her and they are all SO GREAT. honestly, the kids here are so so receptive! Can´t wait to teach them more. I see progress with them.

Tomas- he is the one they had earlier, reminds me lots of Jean from my last area, very intelligent, a little quiet, but his wife was a menos activa and now has been reactivating and they´ve started to teach him. His main hold up is that he hasn´t received his answer. But the other morning I was studying and thought, really if he is reading the LDM he´d want to be baptized, so i asked Hna Parada if he is reading and she said... not really. So we decided to focus on the LDM with him. I KNOW that if he reads it EVERYDAY he will receive his answer. the LDM can change lives, i know it. I´ve seen people testify. But Tomas accepted a fecha de bautismo. yay. 18 de agosto. I hope that he can really do it, it´s just him feeling the Spirit.

Fresia- We were on a street and i heard a house that was playing beethoven SUPER FUERTE. I said, we need to knock here. so we did and this lady came out and she ended up letting us in and we sang her a hymn and taught her basically about bautismo. She felt the Spirit. i know it. I could see it in her face and how she acted at the beginning to the end of the lesson. She didn´t accept a fecha, becasue she´s ¨already been baptized¨ but i know that she can progress.

Ivana- Granddaughter of some menos activas. The WHOLE family is baptized except for her. her grandparents really wanted her to meet with us and she´s great. gonna read the LDM and we have a cita with her! I hope that her hearing about the gospel can rekindle something in the grandparents to return too. The grandma has a leg that doesn´t move and thats the only thing thats stopping them porque ellos tienen testimonios!

Those are the ones that i can really see progressing! We just need to keep finding and keep working and being obediente!

The ward here is GREAT! I seriously just feel love from them and i feel like there are a handful that are trying to help us in the obra misional! One of the hermanas told me if I bought the fabric she´d make me a dress... how nice is that?! I think i´m gonna do it.mom, what fabric would be good?? ha! The bishop reminds me of the Actor Alec Baldwin (i think... on 30 rock) and is just funny. This ward is more financial stable than Villa Norte. The houses are nicer, lots have cars, ect.. but still really nice humble people.

MY Birthday was great. We had a zone meeting and they all sang happy birthday to me (once the hnas told them all it was my b-day) and then i got a package from mom with letters from everyone, shirts, candy, MK stuff, ect! THANK YOU! I LOVED IT. I opened it that night and shared some treats with the roomies! They all made me cute little cards... and i also recieved a package from Q with a dreamcatcher, earring, letter, and candies! So sweet and thoughtful. thank you!

I felt loved this day, I just wanted to work and thats what we did. Nothing better to do on a birthday here in Vina! and i was close to the beach so i can´t complain! Thanks for all the wishes from you all :)

In the ward 10 BYU-I students are here until Dec for an intercambio. Its so funny.... all these gringos and me. 5 girls/5 guys, some live with the members and others solo... it was fun to have them there, lots speak spanish, but not all. I felt like i was in a student ward with them! my first sunday and their first sunday as well. ha! they might be here the whole time i´m in this ward. But it´s fun to have them here!

The area is lots bigger than Villa Norte and lots and lots of hills. Honestly I like it though, I feel healthier just walking up the hills all day. Sometimes i feel like i never decend. ha!

This week i was reading in the Liahona de Julio in understand our covenants with God I loved this quote... ¨We should remember that keeping our covenants is not merely a list of things to do, but a commitment to become like the Savior.¨ I loved that. REally, our goal in life is to become like Him, everyday. And we can always do that just by just doing the simple things that we know we should do!

Well, Family, that´s about it for now! this week was good, adjusting to the new ward, different companion, new area, ect, but it´s all good! I hope i can just continue to jump in and work! Know that i love you all and am thankful for everything that you do for me!

The Church is true, Christ lives, the Book of Mormon is the word of God. This can bring us happiness everyday!

Love you all,

keep smiling,

Hermana Sargent





Hola Familia!

I´m emailing Tuesday because yesterday were transfers and I got transfered. I am now in Agua Santa, in Viña! It´s the city of Viña del Mar, I can see the ocean from our apartment and i just already love the feel of the city. It´s a mini NYC. Definitely a city girl.. like the country for a while, but my heart is all city! MY comp is Hna. Parada de the south south of Chile, city name, Victoria. She leaves in December, so shes older in the mission. She´s great. She has a mentality to work hard, so i really hope thats what we do. She told me that last change wasn´t all that good and that they didn´t leave the apartment for about 3 weeks because of her comp was sick... i don´t want to know more, not sure if its the whole truth I didn´t ask questions, but it´s kinda like starting over. Not many people they have here it sounds like, but honestly, I just want to be 100% obedient, work hard, and i know juntos we´ll see success! The area is super nice, everyone has like big houses and more money, so it´ll be different than Villa norte, but every change is necessary! Funny thing both Hnna Tamayo and Riggs served here before Villa Norte! ha!

We don´t live in our area so everyday we have to take a collectivo (taxi) to get there, we can walk, just takes longer and yes, everything is UPHILL. my legs will be in good shape after this transfer, but the views are worth the pain sometimes of walking uphill. I´m sure it´ll get more and more normal, it´s only been a day! ha! We live with two other hnas. one from Peru and one from Mexico... my spanish better improve this change in this cambio! haha

The liders de zona nos llamaron on Saturday to tell us the changes... I REALLY thought that I was staaying with Hna Tamayo in Villa Norte so when the leaders call they say.... ¿Que piensa, se va o se queda? (go or stay) this is how the conversation was...

LZ: Hna... se va o se queda?

Me: me quedo!

LZ: no hermana, se va

Me: QUUUUEEEE???? mentira!

LZ: no hna, usted se va!

Me: Elder, este es un broma??

LZ: no, se va hermana!

Me: Ya, gracias elder... chou!

I was totally not expecting it, and then monday all the people who were getting changed came to the office and our president callled out the cambios, it was fun and when he called you name, you stood and then your new companion stood and then he said where and we left! super simple, but fun to see where everyone was going! Hna Tamayo is training a new missionary that comes today! She´s nervous but she´ll do GREAT! I´m gonna miss her, last cambio was just way way too fast for my liking.

It was sad to say bye to the people in the ward... especially Hilding and Magali, they are seriously like my Chilean Parents. So great, but asi es la mision, Change is always good!

I don´t even know what to say about the last week, lots happened with our area, it was a good week, but now i´m not there..

but Tania is progressing well. she´ll be baptized one day, i know it! Super sweet.

Alejandra and her family, she is progressing the most, i think her husband isn´t too fond of us, but allows her to meet with us and she still has lots of questions.

we just met lots of people this past week, one named Sergio, he lived in upstate NY for 12 years so we were speaking in English because he wanted to practice... so hard to teach in english for me now.. it´s horrrible! but he was super great. Told us that he was catholic, but left the church about 4 years ago and now that he doesn´t go he feels closer to Christ than ever and that all of his prayers are answered.

Also, visited a menos activo family and the mom isn´t a member... it was a miracle that they let us in because the other times we´ve passed they aren´t really receptive, but we passed by and taught them, trying to plan a Noche de Hogar with them. I hope they all progress and come to realize that no matter what mistakes they´ve made they ALWAYS have the Atonement of Jesus Christ and can ALWAYS come back to church and feel that joy and happiness they´ve once felt.

Last week hna Tamayo and I set challenges for us to accomplish everyday! It helps us just realy stay focused and get work done! We didn´t accomplish all of them because some where harder than others, but we tried. it was really great.

oh my gosh.... last thursday, when you all were eating Cheese Shop or something, i ate the grossest lunch yet on the mission. I honestly don´t know what it was but just a mixture of too many things... kinda like the Christmas goodies we get when there are more than one thing on a plate... ya, not too good. but it was SO weird. The Hna who cooked it for us had us sitting at seperate ends on the table (like beauty and the beast) then she left to her own room and was watching TV for the WHOLE TIME! so weird.. but ok, this is bad, but we dumped some juice thing she gave us down the drain because we couldn´t drink it... it gave me the shivers. Hna Tamyo picked up the glasses, tip-toed into la cocina and dumped it down. ha! SO funny. we were laughing but trying to do it silently because we didn´t want her to come out of her room!

Sounds like LJ was heavenly! It always is, lets just move there.... ya?? you all look beautiful in the photos. And super exciting about Dyan and Mark! Love how they told you all. super cute!!

On Friday, we were studying the language and it was silent for a second and all of a sudden I heard the voice of Barry White... so i opened the windo more to listen and it was our neighbor was playing ¨can´t get enough of you love baby¨ made me think of dad and that he was probsies listening to it on the beach the same time! 12.00 pm my time.. so maybe like 8 or 9 there... it was super funny!

Last Wednesday we did intercambios as well... just within la pension. But i went with Hna. DeMille to her area! It was really fun! Learned good things and it´s always fun to see other areas!

KAYLA...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON THURSDAY!! too bad we aren´t there to celebrate together, but know that i´ll be thinking of you! Go LEOS!

Mom, haven´t recieved the packages yet, but it´s because mail is different when there are transfers, but Thursday we have our Reunion de Zona and we get mail then, so i think it´ll be there! And if not, it´ll come! Its probably better i don´t have it as the temptation to open it! ha! but Thank you in advanced because i know it´ll be so great! thanks for the early b-day wishes family!

Efesios 4:22... i like this scrupture lots, when it talks about the ¨hombre viejo¨ (don´t know what it is in English) but it made me think to always be thinking Am I better than my ¨old self?¨ It´s just a scripture to always do a self check... always be better than the day before! we can always progress. at times we may feel like we´re in a stand still, but we can always progress. I know that.

Well, I am happy here in Viña! To be honest really happy. Even though it might be harder to find people just because the rush of the city, more money, ect, ect. I KNOW that we´ll find people. I know that i am here for a reason, even if it´s just to plant the seeds for people! The mission in the best, seriously, everyone needs to go on one! The opprotunity i have EVERYDAY to share my testimony with people is amazing. I know this church is true. We are blessed to have this gospel in our lives. We need to share the gospel with others. Challenge: Invite a menos activa or non member to a FHE, doesn´t have to be anything crazy spiritual to start, just so they can see what it´s like!

well, this week I am gonna work work work. I just want to see people understand the importance of our message. I want to build the unity with my new comp that i had with Hna Tamayo and Hna Riggs and I know that we can have that! just with time.

Love you all, so so much! you´re all the best!

Keep Smiling,

Hermana Sargent



 

 

 

granddaughter of a menos activa

 hna demille and i in intercambios

Hilding and Magali... :)

 

Hna Tamayo and i

we were sad... :(

new apartment

 

(top bunk baby.. hope there isn´t a huge earthquake)

 

view from balcony... i´ll try to get one better when there aren´t clouds this week

Hna Parada and I this morning!





Hola familia de mio,

Yes, I thought for a second to just email a short email because I have to admitt, i am a little jelous that you´re all in LJ, and i´m not. but it´s all good. Really, if you´re gonna be in a place, nowhere better than LJ, right??

This week was good! Seemed super fast and short because our p-day was last tuesday, but here i am again, starting the LAST week of this change. Honestly, where does time go? I can´t even believe it!!

We were able to teach Alejandra this week, her husband was at work, but honestly, she has the desire to know, full of preguntas, she didn´t come to church which was kinda a bummer, but this week I know she will. it´ll be SO good if she comes because she´ll feel something different. She told us that she wants her kids to have an understanding of God, but doesn´t really know how to go about teaching them...helllo, primary! ha! I just am praying that she´ll continue to progress, she is reading and had lots of question sobre oracion so that´s good. When people have questions, they have interest and that´s all we can ask for!

Camila and Millaray... haven´t seen them this week, everytime we have a cita, it falls through and they´re sick, the baby is sick, not home, algo asi, but it´s just keep working with them, might be a slower process, but hey, as long as they can accept it, it´s all good! I think because they had fechas and just didn´t show up to their baptism they have embarrasment/verguenza, but it´s ok! I just want them to understand and really feel the Spirit and the affect that it can have on their lives! Camila is 24(has a child) and Millaray is her younger sister that has 10 years!

Tania--- es nuevo! There is a familia en la barrio that is super great. active and all, they have 4 sons, and one of their sons has been menos activa for sometime... but he started coming to church and he brought his GF, tania, she´s been to church 4 times already and at first DID NOT TALK, seriously, it was like pulling teeth, but the past couple weeks shes been way more talkative to us, and she took our her nose ring, no body told her to, honestly, she just looks different than the first day i met her, but this past week we were able to teach her a little, and this week we have a FHE with her boyfriends family to teach her. I really think she is gonna accept, with time maybe p/q su familia es evangelica, but i can already see something different in her so it´s just time! I´m excited for her though!

This week we were walking in a street and there was this group of 4 girls 17 years old (Paige, KG, Q, and Me) ha! but anywho, I felt like we needed to talk to them, entonces, fuimos and we started talking to them, turns out, two are members, one menos activa and the other active, we asked if we could share something with them, and the active one was like... YES, PLEASE! so cute, so we shared with them. it was really cool because two of their friends are members and were able to talk openly about the church with us and them. Only one lives in our area, the menos activa, but we got the addresses to the other girls and the menos activa, Daphine, came to church! we have a cita to visit her and her mom viernes. yay!

Mom, I got the dear elder about Sam Kastigar, not sure if you got am email i sent, but she is the trainer of Hna. Ahlmann from the MTC in Argentina! Small world because Hna. Ahlmann and hna Riggs are besties and Sam Kastigar is training Hna Ahlmann. Crazy! So cool though Heather San Diego is serving as well. Happy for her! She´ll be great. I love that so many hermanas are serving! it´s so great. When we all get back we´ll have so much to talk about!

Hna Tamayo and her health are not that great. I just have to be patient with it though, I really think she has a parasite, but hopefully this week we´ll go to the doctor. She is still working, its not like we can´t leave the pension, but it´s effecting her strength to work, but she is trying to improve and honestly, our relationship is not being effected by it, so thats good. I really feel bad for her, sometimes she just feels like she´s going to vomit while walking in the street. no bueno. Is it bad I am kinda excited to go to the doctor, I just want to see how the doctors are here in Chile... ha! I´m sure it´s fine, just curious. pray for her though that she can feel better!

Robbie, mission advise... if you´re ever a district leader or anything with a leadership position and a Hermana calls and asks for a blessing, just do it! We called our DL on Saturday because she felt super mal en la mañana and he was like... well, i can, but call your bishop first and see, which is fine, but she would have felt more comfortable with him, and he only lives like 15 minutes away, not too far. it was just kinda weird. she ended up getting a blessing from a ward member, but would have liked it better with him. just advice for you. but obey the mission rules, maybe they have different ones. who knows!

we met some guy on the street this week, named Marco (we think) he was a little drunk, he is around our age and invited us to come to his Party that night and drink some Pisco Sours with him and his friends, we told him that we couldn´t and he goes... ¨para ser misioneras, ustedes son lindas!¨ (for being missionaries, you´re pretty) ha! So funny. WE have his address so maybe one day we´ll pass by and try to get him converted!

oh my word.... in RS, every week they do a music practice, to learn hymns that they don´t know. I think in Chile, they only know about 15 hymns in total because we´re ALWAYS singing the same ones.. and the ones that are SO long and slow. I don´t get it. but anywho, in RS they do this practice and the lady who is teaching is teaching the hymns wrong. I want so badly to be like... ¨perdon, puedo enseñar? But hna. Tamayo and I just laugh with eachother and accept it. mom and robs, i think of you often and think... they would DIE if they were here. it´s really bad.

My knee has been kinda weird these past few weeks, I keep thinking, ugh, not gonna say anything because it´ll go away. but i think maybe just cause it´s cold here. But it´s all good. my ACL isn´t torn, i can tell that. no worries, just kinda weird. occasionally it´ll swell up a bit, but i´m doing my exercises to help it, so we´ll see.

Last week in our district meeting we had to make up word to a hymn to give our district animo for the work! We chose a Christmas song (Christmas in July anyone??) but it wasn´t all that creative so we made up dance moves to it and sang it in our meeting, the elders were laughing SO hard. it was hilarious. oh the funny things on the mission...

mom, you asked about the dogs. Yes, they were running at us, trrying to bite us, and yes i through a rock and then turned and walked as calmly as possible in the opposite direction. (it was a brisk walk) Luckly, I haven´t seen those dogs since.

Transfers are next week... who knows what´ll happen! I think I´m staying, but sometimes I feel like I could be leaving as well. It´s hard to know because the new president, no one knows how he likes to do transfers! I´m game for whatever, he knows best and i´d be sad to leave, but also excited to see something new, so who knows. I´ll know next monday though! can´t believe it´s that time again already! SO FAST.

 

Robbie... you should visit my old work, and go visit Steve. Just to tell him that I say hello and told you to come visit him! Give him my blog address... how is my blog mom? It´d be fun for you i think... plus help me keep my job for when i return! it´s in the Health and Wellness center on 900 E and 1600 N... something like that... google it.

Also, next week, can you send me the recipe to my no bakes.... they are better than anyone elses... i don´t know why! more PB maybe or maybe it´s just the LOVE!

Well, as jealous as I am of ustedes, I am really happy here in Viña, while typing this letter I just kept thinking, the mission is pretty sweet. Obviously there are times of hardship, but mostly it´s all good and the good things totally wash out the hard times. This change we really haven´t had much success, no one progressing, but we´ve always seen miracles, even the little things. That is from God, I know it. He is kind. When we are working hard we can always recognize the little things as miracles. This Church is true. The Book of Mormon is true. This week I have been reading in 3 Nefi and just can´t get enough, I´m getting close to finishing and i´m sad to finish, but know it´s always there to just start over from the beginiing and strengthen my testimony even more. Jesus Christ lives, He is our Savior. He suffered for us so that we can live with him and with our families para siempre. I cannot wait for the day to give my thanks and a nice hug, but for now all we can do is follow Him and try to become more like him daily.

Well Family, I love you all. This is your homework this week: ride a wave for me, eat some Jeffs Ice Cream and a BLT from the Cheese Shop, go running (oh I MISS RUNNING), and laugh lots!

Thanks for everything! Know that I always am praying for each and everyone of you and that I am happy!

Keep Smiling,

Hermana Sargent

 

 

 

 

 

 

state pride

dad will understand if no one else does...

i thought it was funny! someone can translate it there!





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!