Hermana Chalmers: A month's worth of letters and pictures

March 10, 2014
Ayooooo! Hoy tengo 6 meses en la misión! Yo no se como el tiempo pasa tan rápido! But the best part was that I got to hear where Cam is going on his mission today. WHOOOOO! I am so pumped for him! Michigan is going to get C Twiced so hard.

This week has been great, but definitely crazy. We had a big mission conference in Los Angeles a couple hours away from our area and we had to wake up at 5am and take a bus to get there on time but it was so great. Presidente Martinez spoke to us and showed pictures of his baptism when he was 18. Then he brought up two gringos that came with him and it was his missionaries that baptised him! It was so amazing. They talked a lot about how the blessing and fruits of missionary service sometimes aren't seen until later, until afterwards.

Also the other day we did some contacts in the plaza. So we go up to talk this group of jovenes and they said they had been busy making some crazy raps so we asked to hear an example and they made up a classic rap something like, "hemos visto, hermana chalmers es escrito, habla de Jesucristo..." and I cant remember anymore but I felt preeettttyy cool.

The other day we went to contact this referral of a member. It was this menos activo and her boyfriend that isn't a member. It was so sad to talk to her because she just kept telling us over and over how she never thought she would be inactive and she used to never miss a sunday and she has been through the temple and everything. She told us how when she started living with her boyfriend and their two kids she got her rights taken away in the church and she is too ashamed to come back. She said everytime she sees her temple clothes she cries. It was really sad listening to her and seeing the look in her eyes of being so dissappointed at the point she is in her life. We are going to work with her to help her start coming to church again. The gospel isn't for the perfect. It is for those who need help like Claudia.

I was reading a talk the other day and I really liked a line that said, "life is hard, not the gospel."

I love you guys!

Love always,

Hermana Chalmers

Hermana Henderson and me

Arauco

The beach

Arauco

March 3, 2013

Hey Team,

I love Arauco so much! It is the coolest little town. We live right on the coast, we went running one morning and ran to the beach and it only took like 15-20 minutes. It reminds me in a way of Sun Valley ID, but Chileno style so definitely not as fancy. I really do love it here though. The people are great too. I dont know what it is about a small town but the people are all slightly crazy and it is hilarious. We went out with a member, Hermana Campos, who is about 80 years old, to visit some of her vecinos that are inactive. We go up to the gate (evert house here is surrounded by a gate so if it is locked you just yell "Alooo" to knock) and Hna Campos all within like 30 seconds screams, "Aloooo!" ... "Hola!" ... "HERMANA!" and then she picked up a rock and threw it in between the gate at the door so they would answer. So so funny.

Also there is a lady in our ward that is originally from St. George. Jerry Tucker. She served a mission here and then came back and got married and has lived here for like 10 years, maybe Sister Webb knows her or something.

My companion, Hermana Kristin Henderson, is awesome. She just turned 22 and we get along really well. Sometimes we have to watch ourselves because we think a lot of the same things are really funny and we will catch ourselves cracking up at things when we shouldn't be. She is also going to BYU after the mission along with every companion I have had, haha so that will be great.

Ask Derek Downey if he knows an Elder Brand from Chile from his mission. He is our branch president here in Arauco and he served his mission in New York around the same time as Derek. Also he somehow gets Dr. Pepper over here so lunch at his house this past week was the best ever.

The other day we were walking to an appointment and we passed this family with buckets of blackberries so we asked them where they got them. Turns out they had just gone out to the campo (like the countryside) and picked them wild. They let us try some and we were probably over reacting at how good they were so they gave us a whole bucket! Yeah! It was the greatest blessing because it was a Sunday and we were completely out of food at the house.

I am so excited to be here and I know that this sector has so much potential. The members are so willing to work hard with us, we just have to help them know what they are supposed to do and teach them how to do it. Also, CONGRATS CAM!! BYU!

Love you guys a ton!

Hermana Meg C

Feb. 24, 2014

Fam! CAMBIOS! I am leaving Temuco-Cautin. So crazy! I am going to Arauco. It is in the North of our mission right on the coast an hour or two South of Concepcion. I am so excited. My companion is Hermana Henderson. She is from California and is Hermana Fonsecas really good friend in the mission. I am so excited! I leave tomorrow and even though I will miss Cautin and Hermana Fonseca I know that this is another opportunity to learn and grow in new ways.
This last week in Cautin has been so great. First off, SERGIO GOT BAPTIZED! I don't know if I have told you about him but he is the fiance of a member who used to be less active but is now coming back to church. He is 22 and is so great. I have never seen someone change so much is so little time. He had a lot of things he had to work on and repent about to be baptized and this past Saturday he got an interview with Presidente Martinez and passed and got baptized a couple hours later that same day. It was the craziest day but also one of the greatest days of all my mission. Sergio was so excited and grateful the whole day. He is a really tender guy and after he got baptized he shared his testimony with everyone and just started to bawl and say how he couldnt even begin to say how grateful he was for the gospel and the people that have helped him to be baptized. I will send pictures!
Also, I played piano yesterday in sacrament meeting. Thanks mom for making me take piano lessons. I knew it was for something. Haha. But really it was last minute because the hermano that usually plays the piano didnt show up so I just had to cross my fingers that I could get by.

I have learned so much in Cautin but I am really excited to go North. There are so many changes in the mission and I am learning to welcome them because each one is really an opportunity for me to change and to become better than I was before.

Love you guys a ton!

Hermana Megs