Re: Sister Missionaries in PANTS?!

P.S PHOTOS:

 A member who works in the airport got me some Air New Zealand stuff!!

My comp let me share the rosca with my teddies haha

Rebeka Retamales and I with the empanadas.

My companion playing with my toys while I took a shower

THE ROSCA

EMPANADAS!!

On Mon, May 23, 2016 at 4:59 PM, Micaella Wilson <micaella.wilson@myldsmail.net> wrote:

This week I feel I laughed a lot, which is always a good thing! 

The laughter started with our district meeting on Tuesday when the nervous yanki Elder accidently said "Jesus Smith" instead of "Jesus Christ" or "Joseph Smith", im not sure which one he wanted to say but we all died of laughter and someone asked: "Dont you mean Joseph Christ?" haha, no one is ever going to let him forget that one!

The we had a lesson that night with our completely enthusiastic investigator called Liber who asked us if he could join the choir, we told him he most deffinately could and he just stood up and auditioned right there, sung us the strangest song I have ever heard haha, he´s a bit hippie. I dont know how I was able to keep a straight face to be honest haha.

Thursday we arrived at the chapel with our bikes and asked a brother there to tighten the chains coz they keep coming off and my companion has to fit it all the time (Im too delicate to get my hands all greesy! haha). 

As he fixed it he exclaimed: "But Sister Wilson! The wheel is about to come off your bike! Its hanging on by one almost falling out screw! Didn´t you notice it moving around!?" 

ME: "Oh! I just thought I had really bad balance on the bike!" hahaha

So we went without bikes for a day to get the wheel all fixed haha. The funny thing is that 2 weeks ago we went to a bike safety course and watched an animation of what happens when the wheel comes off while riding and giggled at the animation nose diving into the pavement.... that was almost me! Guess I should have applied what I learnt... but how should I know how many screws a bike needs! Looked great to me haha.

The yesterday we went to pick up a pot we had lent to a member and she gace us a Roska (photo attached). Its a type of sweet bread with a custard on top. A lot of the time this family give us bread, sandwhiches, cakes, cookies ect because they own some bakeries. They always give us a lot so I always go around giving it out to the neighbours, members and obviously the Elders who are always hungry. I jsut do that without even thinking about it. So when we got the rosca this is the conversation that went down with my companion:

Me: We have a rosca.

Hna C: Yes, we have a rosca!

Me: (In serious thought, almost concerned) Who are we going to share the rosca with?

Hna C: You are going to share it with me, and I am going to share it with you!

Me: (Thinking it was a joke) What families live around here, we could visit someone and eat the rosca with them? Or maybe we could save it until tomorrow and visit the Tau family? Or the Retamales? Isnt it Sandra Lopez´ birthday soon? 

Hna C: (Changing to speak in a really bad english incase I didnt understand in spanish) "WE eat rosca. OUR rosca!"

Me: (Dying of laughter!) You dont wanna share the rosca Hermana?

Hna C: (also laughing) What kinda of poor missionary are you? People give us food and you give the majority of it away! I am still traumatized from my seccond day here when they gave us about 3kgs of cookies and you made little cookie packs for everyone in the zone and only left one cookie pack for us! A normal missionary would eat all the cookies but Saint Sister Wilson goes gifting them to everyone!

Me: Sorry about that Hermana, dont worry we will eat the rosca ourselves haha.

It was so funny haha, because I hadnt even realised that I was always gifting the treats that people give us. I just see a load of food and think; How are we even gonna eat all that haha. Didnt realise how traumatized my companion was haha.

Today we made Empanadas with the Retamales family, love them so much, we had a great time. I am all prepared to make them when I get home. Its a savoury pastry with cheese and ham inside, or chicken or meat, whatevery you want really. 

This week there was a lot going on here, first aid courses, self-reliance courses, talk about disaster preparation. 

It was great to see people participating in all that and the theme was: (If my translation is correct) "When the time to act arrives, the time to prepare is over". Weve been talking a lot about being prepared in the area. We need to decide NOW what we are going to do when a trial, challenge or disaster arrives. There´s no use saying that "we´ll cross that bridge when we get there", HOW are you going to cross if you dont know how to walk accross?

When someone apostate tries to convince us that we are in the wrong church, how are we going to react?

When someone offers us drugs, how are we going to react? 

When your child has a siezure or is choking, what are you going to do?

When you find your husband unconscious what are you going to do?

When there is an earthquake what are you going to do? 

When the fridge breaks, how are you going to buy a new one? 

When your child needs reading glasses, how are you going to pay? 

The most shocking for me was the first aid course, seeing that there are so many people who really dont know how to do basic things that can save a life. When someone is choking, especially a child if we dont help them in the correct way we could kill or badly hurt the person and what we see in movies a lot of the times is exactly what we shouldnt do.

I encourage everyone to take a first aid course, make an emergency finance plan, have food and water storage and to choose now to stand up for certain values and beliefs. Often we think that we will never be in certain situations, but when we suddenly find ourselves there how are we going to know what to do, how to react if we have never prepared for that. 

The mission also takes these things very seriously. At the moment there are a lot of people sick and some dying from Mosquito Borne Diseases such as Dengue Fever. So we have to spray all our clothes with a special chemical, the windows with another Chemical and have mosquito nets on the windows, wear repelent and just this week the area has annouced that the Sister Missionaries in missions with mosquito diseases may now wear PANTS to cover our skin from the mosquitos. Our mission is on the list of missions that have been approved to wear pants, but we are waiting to see what our President says about that. Dont know how I feel about it..... kinda weird.... 

Things are good here! Yesterday was officially 3 months until I finish my mission.... also dont know how I feel about that. I am excited to see everyone and for the next step in my life, but the mission has been such an uplifting and fun and huge experience. Its going to be VERY strange to finish!

Hope youre all well!!

Love you

Hermana Wilson