I want to be a missionary now!!!: May 6, 2013 - Where in the world is Carmen San Diego

So customs here in Santiago. Hmmm, in all honesty I just feel almost like i am in the United States, but speaking Spanish. One thing that is different is every house here has a gate surrounding it. So you stand at the gate and yell, Aloh, and then wait for someone to come out. People here greet by touching cheeks and making a kissing noise while also doing a kind of hug. The men we just shake hands. Everyone here drinks soda, juice, or something besides water because water is a little gross here. Also, they offer us drinks (alcohol free of course) all the time. The members here are super friendly and we have Lunch with them almost every single day. They have even brought it to us when my companion has been sick. They dish up the plates in the kitchen and then bring them out to the table. They have some sort of salad ALWAYS. Mayonnaise comes in bags, also ketchup. I don´t know much about the food here because we are fed chicken and rice almost every meal because I can´t have bread. They have little stores all over, like neighborhood corner stores that have super random stuff and some food. It is really great when you are working and you are really hungry. Sometimes we have once or dinner with investigadores if we are there at 7 or 8 and they offer.

So, since there are so many hermanas serving now, we have sister trainer leaders (or something like that) which are like zone leaders and do splits with us. My sister trainer leader is in a trio because she is training two gringas (one is my companion in the MTC, Hermana Jackson). So she came to my sector and I went to hers on Tuesday. So we had 3 gringas who had been in the country for 3 weeks, who cannot understand chileno spanish or speak it, preaching the Gospel together. To make it even funnier, We were like a dumb blonde joke. We had a brunette, blonde, and a redhead haha! It was really fun, and the Lord helped us out and it was a successful day. At one point Hermana Hallenberger and I got splash by a car ramming a puddle, and then 5 seconds later another car did the same thing! We were spotted on our backsides for a while haha.

Spiritual thought or experience for this week. This week was super hard, and at the worst points I turned to the scriptures and knew the Lord would answer my plea for direction. The past two days that has happened and the words spoke straight to my soul. I know that Heavenly Father wants to speak to us, and when we have faith and turn to the scriptures, HE DOES!!!! He has been there for me always, just sometimes I have not been looking for him. I have never realized how much patience He has for us, because in all honesty we can be pretty dumb. Even though we don´t listen, He keeps trying to teach us and does teach us!!! He has a plan for each of us, and we don´t know what that plan is. My vision right now is so limited and small, but his is so large and sees our potential!!! I started reading Jesus The Christ this past week, and one part struck me more than the others. I don´t have the exact words, but the gist was that Heavenly Father knows our futures because He knows us. He knows our faults, tendencies, weakness, strengths, EVERYTHING!!!! I know that when we trust in Him, our lives are better than we could ever imagine. Sometimes we pass through hard times, but we agreed to those hard times. 1 Peter 1 verse 7 has always helped me in hard times, and I have come to treasure those times of intense trial.

Te amo!!!!

Hermana Taylor