5 empanadas and 20 lbs later...

September 21, 2015

Oh my this week has been a week of adventures and miracles. I feel like I say that every week but still there are so many amazing things that are happening and the Lord really is preparing the people to receive the message. 

I decided to do something different this week and write like a scripture for every day and explain a little about it.

MONDAY: Mosiah 4:27  And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.It was p day so we did our stuff in Conce and came back home and made cookies for the members of our ward. Elder Siaosi gave me a cookbook so I have been trying new recipes, Chilean cooking is WAY different, even if its just a bunch of rice and pollo and hotdogs. Hermana Heaton and I have been having lots of fun. She is an incredible missionary. I look up to her so much. She speaks Spanish better than me and she just has a love for the people here. They all love her so much and it's so easy to be her compànion. She loves working hard and we really are seeing the fruits of our efforts for the work we are doing. 

TUESDAY: 2 Nephi 25:23. For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.We had Zone Class. The Zone leaders talked a lot about our Metas. Or our Goals. As missionaries our whole life is planned out. We have specific goals that need to be met each day and if we do our part to meet our goals we will be blessed. I had to speak about how making goals has changed my mission. I felt helpless. I don't know if I am a good example of this or not - sometimes all I see in the columns are zeros But luckily with lots of prayers I was able to speak a little and share my testimony that if we really focus on setting and achieving goals we will see a difference in the work. I chose this scripture because of the GRACE AFTER ALL WE CAN DO. I love that promise that if we do our part Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are obligated to do theirs. 

WEDNESDAY: Alma 13:24  For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory.Literally we had 8 lessons today. That has never happened in all my mission. We had 3 lessons with new people. 3 LESSONS!!! We found a family!!! The mom just had a baby but her other kids are older. But she said that she always wanted to know more about the Mormons but never knew if she was allowed to enter the church. So we had a lesson about the restauracion and invited her to church and the whole shabang. The only problem is that its 18 weekend and everyone is gone to the campo.... Oh well we will find her this week!!

THURSDAY:  We continued to do the work here and talk with literally everyone. The 6 pages that we have to fill up contacts have been filled up and we only have 2 weeks!!! We have tons of people to visit I just hope that the addresses are real. We have seen little miracles everyday. I love it. I really know that as we really commit ourselves to serving with all our heart that the miracles will keep coming. HAHA and apparently there was an earthquake yesterday so I emailed you guys and I guess you know I am alive and well and if I died I guess Presidente Arrington would call you;)

VIERNES: 2 Nephi 28:7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.Yeah I am not even joking. That is all we did all day. That is why the title of my email es así. We enjoyed the 18 with the members. We made about 250 empanadas with a member in the morning. And we ate literally so much food. At night we went to the Church activity and watched the people dance. They are amazing! Even the little nursery kids can dance la Cueca!!! I will send all the pictures of the day. It was so much fun and even though no one wanted to listen we still had fun!

SABADO:  All we do is teach and preach no matter what. Everyone was on vacations and if they were visiting Hualqui they did not want to talk to the missionaries. But oh well we just keep teaching and preaching. We did everything we could to get a Leccion con Miembro pero...nadie quería escucharnos. 

DOMINGO: D&C 59:9-10, 23.  And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;

  For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;  But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.We went to church of course. My companion and hermana Prettyman both spoke in church. It was awesome and next week hopefully Marlene will get baptized. We just keep praying and doing what we do and we know that if we are doing our part, and if it is the will of the Lord, she will get baptized. 

Okay that's about it. I love you guys and I am so so so blessed to have the BEST family in the world. I love you all more than you can imagine!!!

Hermana Poulson

New Beginnings...

September 14, 2015

Bueno Bueno. Un otro semana aquí en la mejor misión del mundo!!!! (Good Good. Another week here in the best mission in the world!) I had a great time this week getting to know my sector. It has been an adventure here with Hermana Heaton. She has 2 cambios in the mission but knows the language better than me. Its hard to have a gringa companion. Especially after a whole mission of latinas. Speaking of that some contact said that he was 110% sure that I was Chilean!! Made my day!! It`s weird being with a bunch of gringas. There are 4 of us. We all live in a little house. But don´t worry I love it. I love it here in Hualqui. Its like Bulnes only a LOT bigger and there is a ward instead of a tiny little branch. There are about 180 people on average that come to church each week. I feel like it is imposible to know all the members, but I am trying my best.

There are so many people preparing for 18. They celebrate with eating lots and lots of food. Its like a mix of 4th of July and Thanksgiving. So pretty much that means I am fasting this week!! JUST KIDDING!!! I am excited and we are doing lots of work. I love it here. 18 is a great time to get investigators because everyone is happy and wants to share with you. Also I have made empanadas and tortas and pajaritos. I love making food!!

There are some pretty great miracles here. The sector is huge and it was divided between the 2 companionships but now it is all open. So its kinda like whitewashing and opening a sector but not really. We have about 4 investigators that are progressing. Marlene is like 50 and has some mental problems but really has a desire to be baptized. She will be baptized the 27th. Richard is her brother and he also wants to be baptized but smokes a LOT. so we will work with him. Also we have Cristel who is like 12. Her grandma is a member menos activo and so they reactivated the family and Cristel will be baptized the 11th or so of October. 

There were some pretty crazy stuff that happened this week. A random guy came and asked me to dance la cueca (the national dance of Chile). We said we couldn´t dance. He said he would show me how. And then we explained that really we CAN NOT dance as missionaries. It turned into a really good gospel conversation about how sacrificios traen bendiciones. (sacrifice brings blessings) Also we talked with another guy (well we talk with literally everyone we see) But this guy was stopped in a bus stop so we talked with him. He asked us a whole bunch of questions. I know that the spirit was with me because I could understand every single word he said. And when I didn´t have an answer, the words just came flowing out of me or my companion. I LOVE DOING CONTACTS!!!

Saturday the 12 of September was DIA DE SERVICIO!!! We all got together as a mission and did service. We met in the streets of Concepcion and took all the posters off the walls. I didn´t think it would be much work, but let me tell ya, the Chileans use LOTS of glue and there were like 10 or more posters on top of each other. It was freaking CRAZY!!! There were tons of people that came to talk to us. Some told us we were crazy. Others started crying and saying we were angels. One really old man bought a chocolate and gave it to my Zone Leader, Elder Turley. Its amazing all the opportunities to share the gospel through service. Even President was out there doing servicio with us. He stayed and talked to my companion and I for like an hour. I just love President.

This week I have really been focusing on how to feel the spirit. I really doubt myself and I feel like the spirit doesn´t work through me. Sometimes I just get really frustrated and stressed. And then i realized that is probably why I don´t feel the spirit. I have been studying the scriptures and also the talk by Elder Bednar. And I realized that really we can feel the spirit all the time. Here in the mission we are doing pretty spiritual stuff all the time. I need to trust in the spirit and not in myself. 

Okay thats about all for this week. I don´t know what else you wanna know but yeah. LOVE YA LOTS!!!

Hermana Poulson

Chao Talcahuano!!!.....Here come the tears....

September 7, 2015

Bueno...Los cambios viene de nuevo y...me voy a Hualqui como companera mayor!!! (Well..... the changes come again.... I am going to Hualqui as Senior Companion.) My new companion is Hermana Heaton! she is from Panguitch, Utah and finally I will have a gringa companion!!! It will be tons of fun and I am so excited to see what we are gonna do!!! I still feel like I haven´t been out that long and its crazy to think that I am a senior companion. I know it doesn't mean a lot but still it's a lot of responsibilities!! BUT I AM SO EXCITED!!!! I am sad to leave this sector because I have loved getting to know the people here. I am sad to leave Hermano Victor ...... especially because he was really progressing. But I have faith and I am praying that he will get baptized!

Stories of the MIRACLES that happen here in the mission.

We found a family to teach!!! They have two little kids that are absolutely ADORABLE! We had one lesson with them last week and we have another planned for this week. They are a young couple and they feel like they have been missing something in their relationship and they are actually searching for a church!!!! Seriously it was amazing and we went with the wife of the bishop and they got along super well and she invited the family to the Noche de Hogar! Seriously this ward is the best!!!! They didn't come to church Sunday because it was raining and the baby is like 6 months and so they couldn't make it. But I know that Hna Bucarei and her companion will help them and they will get baptized! They aren't married but we are teaching them about eternal families tomorrow and I know that it will change their life!!!! Ahhh I just am so happy for them!

And here is the miracle lesson of the week!! So Hno Victor is the spouse of a member and this week we just passed by to visit to see if he was there. We can´t actually set up appointments with them so it was really a miracle if Hna Elizabet would be there. But guess what she was!!! Victor was at a family party and we didn't expect him to come. As we started to say the opening prayer there was a knock at the back door. AND IN WALKS VICTOR!!!!! We had a lesson about faith and how we can get testimonies. He said that all the members have testimonies really strong and that he doesn't. We testified and promised that if he did his part that he could have his own testimony. THE SPIRIT WAS SO STRONG!!!!! After the lesson we had a prayer and this is what Victor said: "I was at the house of my mom with all my siblings. We were laughing and having a good time. Suddenly I felt that I should come home. I didn't know why. I was enjoying myself there. But now I know why I was supposed to come home. I walked in and here were two little missionaries. And that was exactly what I needed to hear." 

THAT IS A MIRACLE!!! Heavenly Father is working miracles in the lives of the people here. I am so blessed to be a part of the work here.  

I am excited to see all the new adventures. It has been a blast here in Independencia...and I am sad to leave. It wasn't as hard as the last transfer but still it is difficult to leave all the people you love. I had difficulties and I remember how hard it was to stay with Hermana Bucarei. But I have learned so much from her. Its crazy how much your life will change in 6 short weeks. I am so much stronger, much more patient and I can truly say that I have developed Charity. I remember how upset I was that I would stay her companion but I remember the prayers that I said every day. I prayed that I would know that this cambio was for me. That I could learn and grow. And now I really love my companion and I will miss her a lot. 

I pray everyday for the chance to find. I know that there are people here prepared to hear the gospel! I can´t wait for all the adventures in Hualqui! (I actually have no idea how to say the name of that place...oh well)

Chao for now. I love you!!!!

Hermana Poulson

8 months

August 31, 2015

Well 8 months seems pretty crazy...I can´t believe I have been out this long. Really it feels like a dream still! A dream where people are shutting the doors or telling me I am crazy;) But still its a dream. I really wouldn´t want to be anywhere else right now. 

Here in Talcahuano things are getting pretty crazy! Its almost 18 de septiembre (which is like 4th of July in the United States!!!) Pretty much you eat in every single house. They feed you completos, empanadas, some weird dulces, pajeritos (not birds...its a dessert) and cualquier otra comida! Hermano Juan Seguel said that I will need to fast for at least a week before the 18th! 

This week we found out that our investigator smokes LOTS of weed....and that really he has no desire to stop. Actually that isn´t even his biggest obstacle. Really he couldn´t decide between his Friends and the Church. If he chose the Church he would receive SO MANY BLESSINGS...and if he chose his friends he would have the company and the house and everything. Really I think the hardest part of being a missionary is when the people miss out on all the blessing of the gospel, only because they don´t wanna accept it. We are praying and everything to help him. Prayers and fasting work.

We had a district class with Elder Martinez and guess what we watched????? We watched Living Scriptures (those stories from the Book of Mormon that I watched as a kid!!!!) It brought my childhood back! We watched the story of Alma and Amulek. There is a part where he is knocking on the doors and the people reject him.  We knock on a door and the people reject us we say "hay aluien como el/ella en cada parte." Even if more often than not, it happens in every house.

It has been raining a lot but now there is SUNSHINE!!!! There are more people in the streets and we can contact them and talk a little bit more. When it is raining the people are kinda grumpy hahaha. It is nice and we are going to start doing more activities outside. We are going to paint the Plan of Salvation in the streets!!! I am so excited!!!!!

This week we also had a ward activity. We made invitations that looked like tickets to an airplane and did that activity where the plane crashes and we all die. We then visited the three kingdoms. Telestial was a party with Coke, strobe lights and music. Terrestrial was a bunch of futbol and someone trying to teach about baptism. The celestial kingdom was like the temple- All white and holy (like Hermana Poulson, that's what all the primary kids said). They could wander around and explore the kingdoms and suddenly Juan locked everyone in the rooms they were in. Kingdom by kingdom they could go to the cultural hall and eat. It was such a spiritual experience for the investigators (hno victor y marco) One of the kids, Barbara (12 years old), was the only member of her family in the celestial kingdom. When we went to eat she kept saying "where is my mom? where is martin?" She was worried and sad that they couldn´t eat with her. I feel like that is how we will be. If we all die and go to the celestial kingdom and ONE MEMBER of our family is not there I can promise that we will feel sad. We will feel the sorrow because that member of our family will not be there to experience the blessings that we will have. BOOM that really hit me this week. I want all the people in my family, all the people I teach to be there with me in the Celestial kingdom. There is nothing on this earth that is worth losing the blessings of Exaltation and eternal life with our families!!!

I also thought about when I did that activity for YW and my family was there in the celestial kingdom, all dressed in white. Really that image is permanently engrained in my mind. It gave me a glismpe of heaven. I am so grateful for eternal families!!!! I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!

I think that is all for this week. I want you to know that this gospel really is the greatest thing we have in our lives. We are so blessed to live in this time and have the opportunity to share our light with the world. It is really really hard to share the gospel with people living in Utah (I hear stories from all the members about the glory of living in Utah...they pretty much worship us) But I know that everyday we can be a light and share our testimony with our family, our friends, and whoever else we see. 

We have been sharing with the members about 3 Nefi 12:14-16. And I will offer you all the same challenge I offer the members here: SHARE YOUR LIGHT. INVITE 1 Person to church, Share your favorite scripture online or with someone in your work or school. And ALWAYS ALWAYS PRAY FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES to share the Gospel. I promise that they will come!

LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOOO MUCH!

Hermana Poulson

To la Playa and Beyond!!!!

August 24, 2015

We went to the beach today for our pday!!! It was really cold and reminded me of the times we went to California and it was raining and we were the only people on the beach! haha It was really fun. The water was freezing (and I only know that because I fell in). Our zone had an activity and we played some beach soccer and went exploring and found a pirate cave.

Sorry once again my time is short. 

We are teaching lots of new people the only problem is they don´t wanna progress. But its okay I am not desanimada!!! I am sorry I am short on time. I sent a letter today with a surprise. I just love you guys and I will write a better letter next week. I am loving the mission!!!

We had interviews with President this week and we were invited to share our favorite scripture. I shared mine which is found in Alma 7:11-13. It is about the atonement of Christ. I want you guys to read it and think about how Christ has helped you in the trials and difficulties that we have. Also to try something new if you could send me your favorite scripture and why! that would be awesome!!!

President shared 2 Nefi 23:25 about how we need to rejoice in Christ. I want you to do the same!! okay I have no time and my companion is reading my emails so hahahahaha

I will end with my testimony. I know this is the only true church. I know that Christ is our Savior. Really like the scripture says he suffered for our trials temptations and everything. If we let him he will become our best friend. 

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

con mucho mucho amor,

Hermana Poulson, la misionera de Independencia;)