Bonus Weeks! Los Catalas are amazing!

July 4, 2016

well i don´t have time today I have lots of stuff to do. here is a summary of my week.

monday - PDAY we went shopping and went to hang out with the hermanas of our house. it was relaxing. 

tuesday - we had minimcambio. i went to BULNES it was a blast. wow....17 months ago that was my first home....now I am freaking old....

wednesday - we just worked real hard. We have knocked over 100 doors this week. we knock at least 25 every day. It's been a rough week to work with members or to find people. 

thursday - we went to CONCEPCION to get to know Presidente Catala. Ellos son INCREDIBLE!!! I am bummed that I´ll only know them for a week or so. 

Friday - we had tons of citas and worked really hard again. We have been finding lots of people just they need to progress. We had a mexican night as our ward party and ate tacos. 

Saturday - Conference of the Catalas. We met up, all the zones that aren´t close to conce to get to know Presidente. It was a blast. They are so amazing. I got to see many of my friends for the last time. We also saw so many miracles today. Even the contacts were unusually nice. We found JOSE my favorite old man in the world. He accpeted fecha and came to church! He shared with missionaries in santiago about 50 years ago when the first missionaries came to chile and he liked the church until they told him he couldn´t take the sacrament. But it's okay we helped him. 

Sunday - well it was the sabbath so of course it was nice. we were able to bring Jose and he had a really spiritual experience. He wants the priesthood and wants to go to church every sunday. See miracles do happen your last weeks in the mission. 

Well I will have more next week, as it will be my last email as a missionary . wow that was pretty depressing.

Somos Campeones y Misioneros, Chao Arringtons

June 27, 2016

Well it's been a crazy, spiritually uplifting week. I have been so blessed. I had my last interview with Presidente Arrington...let me just say it was a sad, but good experience at the same time. He is so amazing and so simple. It has been such a blessing to work with him. He helped me to realize all that I have done and all that I can continue to do here in the mission and despues. (after).  Wow I just can´t believe time flies so fast. I feel like just yesterday I got here and now president will be leaving.

This week we also had the Good Bye conference for them. It was crazy! The night before we had 14 Hermanas sleeping in our house! 14!!!!!! And if only you could see our house. It is TINY but cold. And it's winter and we had no blankets. It's okay we only all have frost bite now ;) But it was fun. We seriously had a slumber party in which no one really could sleep. I got to spend time with my companion from the CCM, Hermana Long, which was a much needed blessing. Also I saw my sweet little Herrara. Aww I miss them so much. 

In the Conference we listened to Presidente and Hermana Arrington, we watched two awesome videos. One that Hermana Arrington made, the other one that we made for the Arringtons. I pretty much killed it! It was so awesome and fun. I will miss them dearly, but at least I'm from Utah too, so I will be able to see them again. Presidente gave us final words of advise. He shared with us the scriptures que se encuenra en (that is located in) Alma 38, one of my FAVORITE Chapters in the Book of Mormon.

"2 And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your steadiness and your faithfulness unto God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that endureth to the end. 
3 I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the (CHILEANS)
4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; (OR THAT PEOPLE SLAMMED THE DOOR IN YOUR FACE OR REJECTED THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST)  and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.5 And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day. 
6 Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these things of myself, but it is the Spirit of God which is in me which maketh these things known unto me; for if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things."And what more of a testimony could anyone ask for. I am so blessed to have gotten to know los ARRINGTONS. And as much as I will miss them I am excited to meet los CATALA and learn from them.

Trunkiness has not overtaken me. Actually I still don't have anything ready to leave. And also I may have not gotten my visa done (hope you won't be mad if they make me stay in Chile ... BROMA) (JOKE)
I also want to end with a spirit insight I had. My companion and I were talking about what it means to be a leader. I honestly don´t feel like I am a great leader or that people should look to me as an example. And that's when we found the talk that Presidente had us read: The Greatest Leaders Are the Greatest Followers. Here is my FAVORITE part of the talk:

"If I were to ask you, “Who is the greatest leader who ever lived?”—what would you say? The answer, of course, is Jesus Christ. He sets the perfect example of every imaginable leadership quality.But what if I were to ask you, “Who is the greatest follower who ever lived?”—wouldn’t the answer again be Jesus Christ? He is the greatest leader because He is the greatest follower—He follows His Father perfectly, in all things.The world teaches that leaders must be mighty; the Lord teaches that they must be meek. Worldly leaders gain power and influence through their talent, skill, and wealth. Christlike leaders gain power and influence “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned.”....There will be times when the path ahead seems dark, but keep following the Savior. He knows the way; in fact, He is the way. The more earnestly you come unto Christ, the more deeply you will desire to help others experience what you have experienced. Another word for this feeling is charity, “which [the Father] hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ.” Then you will find that in the very act of following Christ, you are also leading others to Him, for in the words of President Thomas S. Monson, “As we follow that Man of Galilee—even the Lord Jesus Christ—our personal influence will be felt for good wherever we are, whatever our callings.”

That is what I want to share with you today. I will keep working hard. I just can't believe its almost come! I will have a more significant letter next week. LOVE YOU FAM!!!........con amor del país de los Campeones, (With love of the country of the Champions) (CHILE WON THE COPA AMERICA AGAIN THIS YEAR, SHE SAID THEY DIDN'T GET ANY SLEEP LAST NIGHT BECAUSE OF ALL THE CELEBRATING!!)Hermanita Poulson

Conversion and Change in Chillan

June 20, 2016

I have spent way too long trying to think of a clever way to start an email...but guess what? I guess there is never a way to start it....So this week was full of blessings. I don´t want to not be a missionary because I feel like my life is full of blessings. This week we worked really hard. We have been searching trying to find new people that progress. We have TONS of first lessons and then they all disappear. We are pretty much farmers because we are planting cualquier semilla! 

We saw lots of miracles with our converts. Like half of them have disappeared, they went on vacations or we tried calling them and they quite answering. But after a STRONG impression of the spirit we were able to find BRENDA!!!!! I was so happy. I have been so worried about her. She is so amazing and has the strongest testimony, but passed through a month of Trials and quit doing the church basics. We prayed and even fasted that we would be able to help our Converts and Heavenly Father answered our prayers. I think that is one of my favorite things about the mission, is that I can see how Heavenly Father answers us more. And the thing is that we don´t pray for us, we pray for them. Its been such a blessing to see the work progress here is Chillán. 

I had a minicambio with Hermana do Espíritu Santo. How sick is her name?!?!?! It was pretty good. The night before in planning we had the crazy idea (possibly the spirit??) that we should go to Crisol and work. el Crisol is like a creepy abandoned city. It looks like it belongs in a scary movie. I was always too scared to enter. But we did it. I got lost but we asked directions and found a way to enter houses. WE found a couple people. They were interesting. One old man had like 88 years. We tried teaching about the need to come unto Christ, even if you are old and about to die, but he was weird and started saying all the stuff that the Jehovah Witnesses say about us. And then he started singing an evangelica song. Then when we said the closing prayer he wanted to say it, but he said it in his head, so like 3 minutes later I just said AMEN and we left. Afterwords we died laughing.

 

We worked a lot with Jessenia. She got baptized yesterday. She is 10 and has lots of desires to do good. She is helping her mom to stop smoking and drinking tea. She also is just a really good example. Her mom is less active but still tries to do what is right. Before we started teaching them I went once with Hermana Romero. And after that I never wanted to go back. They always complained about the church and the things they couldn´t do because they were members. But then God really humbled them. And Jessenia was able to get baptized. She won't get confirmed for two weeks because I forgot that the next Sunday is stake conference...WOOPS;)

My life has been pretty crazy. There is so much I want to do. I just want to work as hard as I can for as long as I can. I know the only thing I can do is testify of the work. I was able to get a blessing on Tuesday morning to help me have more peace after the news that Ali passed away, and it was the best thing ever. I am so grateful for the Priesthood in my life. I have seen so many blessings this week. I am grateful for the chance to be here in the mission serving with all my HEART, MIGHT, MIND, and STRENGTH. 

I'm gonna keep working hard until the last minute. LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!

Hermana Poulson

A week to remember

June 13, 2016

Wow. I don´t know what to say. I think that is why I am lost. So this week has been insanely fun! We have continued to teach REPENTANCE!!!!! And I love it! I have no idea how strong the spirit can be when you teach someone the process they need to do to get baptized or just change their life in general. It's amazing. 

This week was a little different. We had District class and I learned a lot about how to become a better missionary, I always learn something new. Elder Parker is a great DL. Then after I went on a mini cambio to Quillon. It's so pretty!! It reminds me a lot of Bulnes just a lot bigger. I got to work with Hermana Guymon, She is amazing. I tried not to stress her out too much ;) Just whenever we have mini cambios everything ends up falling through. It's a great learning experience and we all develop more patience. 

I made a trip down to Conce this week to have my FINISH STRONG training. LOVED it!!! I got to see Hermana Burnham and Hermana Long. It was great to see them and to hear how they are doing. I love them. It was weird not to see our elders....Ademas aprendí caleta acerca de las metas y lo que puedo hacer para terminar fuerte! (I learned about the goals and what I can do to finish strong) haha take that trunkiness!!!!

I have so many goals to help me become a better missionary. Hermana Veron and I made goals to improve and work harder. I just want to have one great month and help more and more people feel the Savior's love. 

After all the craziness that has happened it was great to have Zone class. I stressed a lot about what we would teach and how. We had to teach the other missionaries about repentance. I will attach the image we found. I just love Christs face! He has a perfect love! 

Also this week we had una clase de Hermanas. We prayed and thought about each Hermana and what they needed. We prayed some more and thought about the talk by Presidente Uchtdorf about Forget Me Nots. We found the talk and printed it our for the Hermanas Today we had our class and we felt the spirit so strong. I could feel the Love that Heavenly Father has for each of them. I can see the potential they have as missionaries and future leaders, and as moms and as faithful church members. The spirit helped us to realize that we are loved and that we are never forgotten. I received so much personal revelation. I love the spirit.

I just wanna end with my testimony. I know the gospel is true. I know that there is a plan of salvation. I know that as we pray to receive this knowledge we will feel the Holy Ghost. I know that the Atonement of Christ can lift every burden we have. I know that as we repent and live the gospel daily we will be blessed.

I am praying for the McCashlands. I have been crying for the past hour because I love Ali. It was so sad to hear that she died and it still isn´t real to me. She was my best friend for almost all my childhood. I know that I will be able to see her again and that death is NOT THE END. Please send my love to her family. 

con mucho amor, (with much love)

Hermana Poulson

p.s. I have learned that I have an addiction to Sushi...how weird is that? I have had sushi cravings all week so Saturday we bought some sushi. YUM!!!!!!(The first time she tried it, it made her sick for days)

Arrepentios Arrepentios

June 6, 2016

I just have no idea why time flies so fast! We have been working like crazy. I don´t know where the strength comes from. My companion is just killing it! I love working here with her. i am constantly humbled by her. She is such a Christ like example. We have grown a lot spiritually. Honestly it was hard when Hermana Romero left. I felt like I was doing it alone and that I had to step it up a lot to fill her shoes. But really we are teaching in unity and we are working hard, which is really the only thing I want to do right now.

I am constantly humbled by the circumstances of the members here. Recently we went to visit some members and share more with them. We applied the good old Como Comenzar a Enseñar. (how to begin to teach) And wow.....they all have struggles too. Heavenly Father trusts the missionaries so much. The members are passing through really difficult times. I feel bad that sometimes I got angry because they always canceled on us or didn´t want to go do visitas con nosotras. But I repented. 

Speaking of Repentance, I have been doing my personal studies about repentance and teaching boldly to prepare for Consejo con Presidente. (Council with President) I was reading examples about repentance. In almost every chapter of the Book of Mormon it talks about repentance or Christ. And that got me thinking about the importance of repentance. It isn´t just important for the people to prepare for baptism. It isn´t just important for the people who have committed serious crimes/sins. It's for all of us. I realized that I need to repent. Haha but really repentance is sooo crucial for our salvacion. 

En consejo hablamos de esto. Hablamos de la importancia de enseñar el principio de Arrepentimiento a los investigadores y prepararles para el bautismo y para hacer cambios en su vida. (In Council we talk about this. We talk about the importance of teaching the principle of repentance to investigators and to prepare them for baptism and to make changes in their life.) Wow I honestly felt the spirit so strong. It was awesome to listen to the Assistants teach and just feel all this spirituality. We did practices. I practiced with my Zone Leaders and wow...They teach really well together. We were able to see how calling people to repentance can really be a blessing. We talked about being BOLD. If you know me, I am timid...and shy. Sometimes I still freak out when we are in lessons for the first time. But don´t worry I have progressed a lot. We talked a lot about focusing on the commitments. That's the focus. We want them to progress we want them to have this repentance. 

And so here is the best part. This week we put in practice all we learned!!! Guess what!!! We had so much success!!! And we felt the spirit sooooo soooo sooo strong in the lessons. We taught a couple families and we found people that really needed to hear this message of repentance. We started teaching one investigator about the restoration and when we got to the compromisos he asked us when he could be baptized and how. WOW that was exactly what Presidente had promised us. I felt the spirit so strong. My companion felt the spirit so strong. la Hermana Fabiola, our member, felt the spirit sooooo strong. She told us afterwards that she loved going with us. 

Well i am out of time...sorry for the short kinda weird message of the week. I hope you learn something from what I have written. 

I love you sooooo much! Please don't be trunky! (She's calling me to repentance) Please Pray that I can PERSEVERAR HASTA EL FIN!!!!!

Love,

Hermana Poulson

After 17 months I have no idea of a creative title...

May 30, 2016

Well it seems like Cambios have come upon us. I am kinda glad this will be the last sleepless night, wondering if I would leave my sector. Thank heavens I am staying here with Hermana Veron. Last night we had one of the Hermanas that was going home stay with us, and Hermana Dominguez was called to be an Hermana Leader. And so the three of us couldn't sleep. We didn't know that we were all awake at 4 in the morning until one of the other Hermanas started talking in her sleep and we all started laughing. Oh I just love the little funny experiences of being a missionary. I always cry at cambios. I have made so many good friends here in the mission. And all the people I love start leaving....boooo. But it's okay. I know that one day I will see them all again. I feel like this cambio passed by really really really fast, maybe because Hermana Romero left me midcambio...but really I have no idea why time has to pass so fast.

 

This week was a wet one. We enjoyed our time in the rain. I am grateful that I have rain boots! And rain skirts! and an umbrella that doesn't open all the way;) Haha there's a funny story about that...I will tell you later;) But we have seen lots of miracles because of the rain. Sometimes people are nicer and they let you in because they see that you are freezing and wet. Other times they send you away because they see that you are freezing and wet and don´t want that in their house;) But it's okay. I have learned to LOVE the rain. 

So we are in the continual search for new souls to save. We have been able to find at least 10 new people every week, but when we try to find them again they never seem to be there...but it's okay we just are planting some seeds. We are working with a 9 year old and her mom to help reactivate her and baptize her daughter. They are sweet. I love teaching children, I feel like they can understand me more. Also we have been teaching a couple other people. Really we are just searching and praying everyday that we can find who God has prepared. Sorry it doesn't sound that interesting to you. 

This week we also had a couple ward activities. We had a HUGE Book of Mormon adventure. MY MIND WAS BLOWN!!!!! A guy from barrio Libertador came and explained how the Book of Mormon is true from a archaeological perspective. We visited (via google earth) and really all that Nephi says is true. There really was a place called Bountiful!!! Seriously it is BAKAN!!!!!(Awesome)

 

Then we had an activity of New Converts. It was crazy. We made like 100 sopapillas and pebre. I was in heaven!!!! And then NO ONE CAME! Only the Obispo (Bishop) and his counselors and their families and our Lider Misional and his wife, who is a CR. Que FOME!!!! Pero bueno. Disfrutè muchas sopapillas y aprendí como se siente ser converso de la iglesia. (But good. Enjoyed many sopapillas and learned how it feels to be a convert to the church.)

Sunday came around and I was asked to play the sacrament hymn. I hope this doesn't offend anyone...but Chileans cannot sing well. I was playing I Stand All Amazed. And they started singing the same song but with another melody. And so I tried to play louder, but it's a sacrament hymn. #chileanprobs #neveragain And then to make it all better I was asked to give a 15 minute talk about whatever topic I felt the ward needed. I feel like no one listens to me anyways so I started talking about how we need to be more like Christ and how he is our example. other funny story. I messed up words so I made one of those weird sounds to try to cover up my mistake. Afterwards Diego (the joven (youth) that reminds me SO MUCH of Derek) came up and said that I was the first missionary that has spoken in tongues in the sacrament meeting. Oh my. I cried laughing. At least I can learn to laugh at all the dumb things that happen to me;)

Well I don´t know what else to say other than that I love you and I am so grateful that I have the oportunidad de estar aquí en la misión y representar mi Salvador. Estoy tan agradecida por cada día en la misión. Sé porque estoy aquí. Aprendí que significa ser miembro de la iglesia de Jesucristo. Nunca saldré de ella. Sé lo que el Señor me ha mandado y en esto glorio.

Bueno voy a ayudarles a aprender español. Chao! Mando mucho amor y cariño de la tierra prometida de CHILLÁN!(opportunity to be here in the mission and represent my Savior. I am so thankful for each day in the mission. I know why I'm here. I have learned what it means to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. I will never leave it. I know that the Lord has sent me this glory/blessings. Well gonna help them learn Spanish. Chao! I send much love and affection from the promised land of CHILLAN!

Hermanita Poulson (la unica gringa de nuevo en la casa...voy a aprender español antes de terminar) (the only gringa back in the house... I'll learn Spanish before finishing)

Waiting on a Miracle

May 23, 2016

Like you all probably know by know I love miracles!!!! And this week we have seen so many that I have no idea what to do!!! Lets start with Monday! We slept!! That was a first because I feel like we are literally running all over the place stressing about so many things. But it was good to just relax. 

Tuesday we had a really great District class and learned about How to Begin teaching and how we can improve. The first lessons are SOOOOO vital to the life of an investigator. And we have seen an improvement this week. I love how God works. I then had a mini cambio with Hermana Diaz (brought back the Arise memories....oh no) She lived with me last cambio. I have stayed in my zone for all the mini cambios. But that's okay because I love my sector and all the members here...even when they bail on us last minute. 

Wednesday we just worked hard and found some new people. We are always finding. And that's a good thing.

 

Thursday we had a really great day with tons of citas fijas (fixed appointments) and tons of stuff to do. We were in a Trio with Hermana Dominguez because Hermana Cortèz went to Conce for the newbie conference. We had members to do divisions (splits)...and then (like always) the members cancelled. So we literally had 8 different citas fijas (fixed appointments) and there was no way to lograr todas estas citas.(to be able to achieve/reach all the appointments) Oh believe me I was stressed and I called every member in our phone. NO ONE ANSWERED ME!!! But it's okay because somehow we had really really short lessons and were able to lorgrar (reach/achieve) lots of our metas.(goals) But also by this time we had only 1 lesson with a member. And our goal for the week was 7. I was sooo upset. We were being so obediente and so diligente and we just weren´t seeing any results. That's when we prayed super super hard and it was probably the most faith filled prayer of my mission. We prayed for God´s help to reach our goals. We put goals with faith, hoping that we would lograr them. Oh just wait to see how many miracles happened.

Friday, we did divisions (miraculously) with a mom and her daughter. And we completed practically half our goals. Then Chemy left with us to visit a family. They are soooo good but are just too lazy to change. (crazy lazy Chileans) haha But with faith they will one day have the desire to change. That's about it for Friday.

Saturday we went to make food with a less active mother, her daughters are Literally insane. I am so grateful my mom loves me and has never beaten me up or yelled at me. Thanks mom for Loving me soooo much!!! You are the best!!!!!! Afterwords we went and ate a weird dish called boudin de lentejas (boudin of lentils)....I don´t recommend it to anyone. She explained that it was like lasaña...Jamas(Never)!!! NO me gustó..... but we also completed with all our goals!!!! And MORE!!! It was seriously sooo rewarding. 

Sunday. Our investigators came to church!!! I love that feeling. Also we went to teach primary. It was pretty sick. Until they all started whining...

Monday again!!! We celebrated Thanksgiving. We had an asado (roast) and each companionship brought food. It was pretty dope. I invented my own brand of stuffing. It's called Hecho Por Hermanas (Made by Sisters) it will be making its way to the states shortly. ;) I found out that my friend Elder Rojas is going to be the next assistant. I can´t wait. 

I really have nothing else to say about this week. Other than something cool that we learned in our studies. I will share with you our revelation:

This is from Elder Renlunds talk.
“Tienes que saber que el Señor no te ha llamado por lo que hayas hecho. En el caso tuyo, probablemente sea a pesar de lo que hayas hecho. El Señor te ha llamado por lo que Él necesita hacer a través de ti; y eso solo sucederá si tú lo haces a Su manera”. "You have to know that the Lord does not call you by what you have done. In your case probably despite what you've done. The Lord has called you by what he needs to do through you; and that will only happen if you do it your way."

Algo maravilloso ocurre en el servicio de un misionero o misionera cuando se da cuenta de que el llamamiento no tiene que ver con él o ella, sino que tiene que ver con el Señor, con Su obra y con los hijos de nuestro Padre Celestial.  "Something wonderful happens in a missionary's service when he or she realizes that the calling is not about him or her; rather it is about the Lord, His work and Heavenly Father's children."

This week we have focused on not making this about us. Yeah my email probably sounds a lot like how I just wanted to meet my goals. But I promise it isn't like that. We have been working so hard to find good people to teach and not because we want more numbers or to look like we are having success, but really to find the people God has prepared. We know that we are imperfect people trying to do a perfect work. And we are helped and guided by the Perfect Person. We just need to be humble and be willing to do all he asks of us. That has been the greatest thing I have learned this week. I know that I am imperfect. I am trying my hardest everyday to give Him my all. I don´t want to have any regrets at the end of my mission! I am so grateful that I have a great companion that knows how to listen and teach by the spirit. I am so blessed to have seen so many miracles this week. And not just miracles in the work,but in many different aspects of my life! 

Well I think my letter is really disorganized. Better luck next week;)

Con MUCHO amor y besitos, (With LOTS of love and kisses)
Hermana Poulson

Just a normal week in the life of a missionary

May 16, 2016

Well it's been one of those weeks. I think I stressed myself out without Hermana Romero. Pero Bueno....it's been a great week. I have no idea why Heavenly Father just wants to give us so many miracles. It must be because Hermana Veron is AMAZING!!!!!! So anyways this week was full of all sorts of exciting stories.

First was my Mini Cambio with Hermana Panek!!! I love her so much. We figured out that she knows my roommates from College!!! How crazy is that?!?!?! So we spent a good couple minutes talking about all the crazy dumb things I did in college...haha it made me miss Morgan and Emily.....sigh....but in our mini cambio I stayed in my sector and we saw a lot of blessings!! We found a really awesome family that just got married in the summer. Macarena is a friend of Hermana Bucarei and she is sooooo ready to just be baptized. She is a nurse so we had a great connection. I think it was one of my greatest Como Comenzar a Ensenar moments.....And we are helping them to progress! I just love seeing miracles. Hermana Panek is a great missionary and great friend.

Second was the day in the rain. I don´t know if you remember pictures that I sent from last year....well here it rains kinda a lot. Layton doesn´t really get much rain. And so i kinda maybe got a little soaked. And my companion and I may have forgotten our rain gear. And our citas may or may not have all fallen through right in the heaviest part of the rainstorm. But let me just say it was splendid. WE HAD THE BEST BLESSING/MIRACLE ever!!!!!! We were doing our normal contacts in the rain trying to get people to stop and listen to us. When all of a sudden a door opens! And out comes a lady. We did not say "Alo" or anything. She asked if we knocked on her door or rang her campaña. But I swear we didn´t do anything. And so being the good little missionaries that we are, we started talking to her. At first she wanted nothing to do with us. And then suddenly she just invites us into her house. We start getting to know her more and talking about religious stuff. She has been looking for something more in her life!!! And it was the best!!! I love Golden Investigators!!! But then the problem came...her husband hates....and I mean HATES the church. So this week we will be having secret meetings in the house of a member. But really she is amazing!!! Pray for MONICA;)

Lastly our Interviews with President. Ahhhh it was a sad but exciting day. We talked about a lot of good things. Previously I asked Pres if he would do my last interview and of course he said no...:`( but we talked about all the things I have learned here on my mission and we did a mini last interview. I can´t really share all of it cuz it was really personal and I cried a lot;) But I am so so so grateful that Presidente Arrington was and always will be my mission president. I have grown soooo sooo sooo much in these last 16 months. We admitted that at the beginning I didn´t really live up to my potential as a missionary. I didn´t have the confidence in myself or the spirit. But we talked about how much I have grown and how I have become the missionary that God needs me to be. TRUNKY WARNING: It doesn´t end when I finish the mission. I will keep progressing and growin=)

Also Presidente may have almost killed us (Hermana Arrington, Hermana Veron, Elder Alder and Elder Mace) We went to lunch with them....Chileans drive really really crazily...but we ate really good food. STEAK!!! it wasn´t rice and chicken!!! WOOHOOO.

Well I think the spirit left my email. So I will leave you all with my testimony that I know the Church is true. I know that Christ loves each and every one of us. He helps us to progress! I am a witness of his love and mercy, even if there are times when we feel like we don´t deserve it. 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
hermanita POULSON<3<3<3<3

Our trio is down to two...

May 9, 2016

Well it's been a pretty sweet weekend. I loved loved loved being able to talk to my family. You guys are the greatest blessing in my life. I don´t think I really appreciated you that much while I was home, but here in the mission I just love you all to pieces and I love the fact that I have the best family ever!! You guys are so amazing and I am so so so so so blessed to be your Daughter, Sister, that annoying person that lives in Chile and writes you random emails every week ;) 

SO it's been crazy. I am not even sure if it is real. I don´t want my companion to leave. (Sister Romero) It has been such a great opportunity to serve with her. She has helped me to grow and I am a better missionary because she gave me the best example. I think every single one of my companions have helped shape me into who I am today. I am so GRATEFUL that I have companions. I love it. She is going home to México...so now I have a place to go vacation in winter woohoo!!! But on the serious note, I love the friendships that I have here in the mission. I love the people so much. All the members here are amazing. Yeah they have flaws too, but you just gotta love them with all the Christlike Love you can have.

We had another bautismo this week!!!! Miguelina got baptized. I think I told you about her. She was the contact that actually contacted us after we got off the bus. She was GOLDEN!!! I have honestly prayed for an experience like this my whole mission. She progressed sooooo fast and it was amazing to see how much the gospel changed her life in just 2 and a half weeks! She was smoking, living with a pololo (kinda) and was almost at the point of death from a weird disease. But she had the faith and strength to find us and talk to us. And together we helped her come closer to our Savior and our Heavenly Father, and THEY changed her. Her family is NOT supportive of the church and told her she was joining a devil worshiping sect. Her pololo (boyfriend) told her that she was crazy. He said that she changed a lot and finally admitted that at least the changes were for the better. YEAH GOD SOFTENED HIS HEART!!!! 

We are kinda overwhelmed by all the converts we have. We are working with Carlos, an old man who has cualquier enfermidad,(any illness) but he is enduring and enjoying the gospel! Also Margarita,...oh i love her so much. She is like a heavenly grandma who is passing through lots of health issues. Also we are working with Claudia and Fransisco who are just progressing and loving every second of the gospel. They went to the temple and are both serving in Young Men's and Young Women's. And my little boyfriend Augustine....awww I just love that family so much!!!!! Also Brenda is just on FIRE!!! She is going to speak in church next week!!!! And she wants her son and her boyfriend to join the church. She just has a love for the Obra Misional and the gospel. I feel like we are best friends from the pre-existance!!!! Cristan is getting a little lazy. He has a hard time getting up at 9:30 to come to church and studies all the time so he never can have citas...but when we go it's a PARTY in the house of Cristian (a veces sin cristian) (sometimes without Cristian). Oh my too many good memories!!! Sandra is...interesting. I love her. She is really really really shy and it's hard to open up to us. But we are working with her. Her boyfriend Rodolfo kinda looks like the guy that plays Captain Hook in Once Upon a Time....weird huh?;) So that's a little summary of the converts!!! I love MISSIONARY WORK!!!!!!

We are also looking for tons of people. I wish all the people wanted to hear the gospel. But sadly they all have their own religions and so many of them are hard hearted...but it's okay! I know the Spirit can soften any heart that is hardened!!! 

I finished reading Doctrina y Convenios this week. Estoy tan agradecida que tenemos profetas vivientes hoy en día. Nos ayudan a saber lo que Dios quiere para nosotros. Sé que José Smith fue un profeta y que Dios tenía una obra maravillosa para él. (I am so thankful(grateful) that we have living Prophets today. They help us to know what God wants for us. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that God had a marvelous (wonderful) work for him.)

Well I am not sure what else I should write. I know Mom wanted more of the miracles I see every day. I know that you are probably all sick of my miracles. Let me just tell ya...Sometimes I feel like Heavenly Father should be sick of blessing me so much ;) We have had so much éxito aquí en (success here in) Chillán!!! One of our many miracles is that Heavenly Father always gives us a taxi!!!! We have been walking around our sector and it's HUGE and it takes like 1 hour to get from our house to the sector where all our converts live...and we go there a lot. But randomly the buses and colectivos (groups) have been giving us FREE RIDES!!!! And then we give them FREE LESSONS!! AND FREE FOLLETOS!!! (free literature) and that is why I think they love us so much ;) We also have been doing 20 contacts each of us everyday. That means we talk to about 60 people sometimes more. And we still have time to have lessons with all our people! And find more new people to teach!!! Heavenly Father just loves us too much ;) He wants to give all of us blessings!!!

Well Hope this letter makes up for the crappy one last week!! Love you bunches!!

Hermanita Poulson, ¡¡¡¡¡¡su misionera FAVORITA!!!!!!

well this letter kinda stinks...

May 2, 2016

Hey what a week. I haven´t got lots of time, but I feel like I will just see you in a couple days!!!! I love being a missionary and I love my sector, my companions and practically everything. I am a little nervous because Hermana Romero will be leaving me this week. I don´t know what I am going to do without her...But it will be good. I am loving my time with Hermana Veron. She is a sweetheart. We are working sooo hard and we will help more people come unto Christ.

 

The people here, they are amazing and so humble. I love teaching them. We have been able to find lots of people. I think our biggest problem is helping them understand the importance of church. I love being a missionary! I love helping people come unto Christ.

Sorry it's so short I had to fill a couple forms for missionaries and leader stuff. 

Hermanita Poulson

Los tres Hermanas de México, Argentina y EE.UU.

April 25, 2016

Yeah lets just say that being in a trio is legit. Especially when I have two of the best missionaries as my companions. I love these girls so much. I really feel like they are my sisters. So yeah we have worked soooo hard. And we are seeing the results. I just can´t wait to tell you what happened!!!

So it starts out that we spent all day Monday in CONCE! I was FINALLY companions with Hermana Burnham! and it was so much fun! We really had lots of fun and it was great. I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!! And then I cried because Hermana Godown went home. She is like my adopted mom. I know that if it wasn't for her I would not be here in the mission today. (She lived in the same house with Kylie in her very first area when things were a little rough.)

Tuesday we came here with Hermana Veron. She is a sweet heart. She is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. We went to work after lunch and the craziest thing happened!!! Well we did our normal bus contacts and as soon as we got off the bus a lady came to talk to us. She asked us if we were missionaries from the Mormon church and of course we said yes!! She started crying and asked if we could come to her house in like an hour. And of course we said YES!!! Well we got there and started teaching. She told us a lot about her life.OH MIRACLE Miguelangelina...hahaha....long story...I said her name wrong during the prayer...her name really is Miguelina. Really she is a miracle. She accepted fecha bautismal and everything! SHE even came to church. And she wants us to baptize her nieta (granddaughter) who is coming to live with her. AWWW I love miracles. I know it comes from being obedient. Also Bastian, hijo de (son of) our convert Brenda, is listening to the lessons!!!!! BEST SEMANA (WEEK) EVER!!!!

 

We had a ward party!!! Noche de Postres (Night of desserts) y Karaoke. They made me sing Adele...how embarrassing....but we made lots of food and there was lots of participation. I won the prize for most Diabetica...which explains why I have gained like 20 lbs here in the mission. I made cinnamon rolls.... I love American postres (desserts). Somehow the missionaries remember me for my postres...how lame is that ;) 

Well anyways I learned a lot in consejo (Leadership training meeting) about how to be a better missionary, even if I was really sick that day! How to really teach by the Spirit and focus on people. I feel like sometimes I just teach lessons. This week we really focused on the people. Especially all the new people we found. We decided that we wouldn't teach anything until we at least got to know the people. IT works!!! The people were more receptive and we definitely felt the Spirit more!!!! Haha too bad I am like 15 months into the mission...oh well FINISH STRONG!!!!

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!

Hermanita Poulson, o pulsera porque nadie puede decir mi nombre...(or bracelet because nobody can say my name)

Pictures:

The last time we will all be together before we go home :'( (Hermana Burnham, Hermana Long original CCM Sisters)

We took better pictures... but this one works too ;)

Best Selfie - Love all of them!

Sister Trainers - I was insanely sick that day! (She is still smiling)

Gracias! I finally got your Easter package today. (That was sent on the March 1, Good thing all that candy has lots of preservatives!)

It's a trio...

April 18, 2016

So I have learned something important. TIME FLIES WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN!!!! Well I can definitely say that this was the funnest cambio ever!! I seriously have loved being with Hermana Romero, she is amazing! Really I have learned so much from her and I have sooo much confidence in her. Together we found a lot of people. And this week we had a couple of mini cambios. With permission of Pres we did two mini cambios de dos días con (changes of 2 days with) a couple of Hermanas. I did a trio for Tuesday and Wednesday and then on Friday I went and stayed with one of the Hermanas and her companion went to my sector. So technically I only worked Monday, Thursday and Sunday in my sector. It was pretty darn weird. I had to find members to accompany my comp who stayed in our sector.

We had a baptism on Sunday!!! It's incredible. We have received references from a ton of members. (hint, hint) And the last 3 baptisms that I have had have been from REFERRALS!!! (MEMBER MISSIONARY WORK) I am so pumped!!! I know that Heavenly Father trusts in my companion and I and the members do too. 

 

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!!! If you didn't know I lost my camera case with memory cards (I was going to save them on a pendrive one pday but nope i didn´t have time) But I have been praying and fasting for the last 2 weeks. And finally Saturday night I told Heavenly Father that I wasn't going to worry about it anymore. And guess what happened on Sunday? A member (who is blind) came up to me and asked me if this was my camera case!!! I cried! HEAVENLY FATHER HEARS AND ANSWERS PRAYERS!!! EVEN IF IT IS SOMETHING SO SILLY!!!!!

So that's pretty much my week. I can´t write everything. 

Also I just wanna say the cambios son muy muy dificiles (transfers/changes are very very difficult) Ahora estoy en mi último sector con mis ultimas compañeras.(Now I am in my last sector with my latest companions) I love them both. My new comp is Hermana Veron, she is from Argentina. I LOVE MY LATINA COMPANIONS!!!!! It's going to be lots of fun. I will be with Hermana Romero for 3 more weeks! I am excited for my first real trio and we will be working so much with the members! I know we will do lots of divisions (splits) and then more this cambio!!

CHAO! Lo siento que es muy disordenado mi correo...(I feel my email is very disorganized)

Hermanita Poulson

Blessings and Miracles and a little problem called LICE...

April 11, 2016

Well just so you all know this cambio is a cambio of 8 weeks so this week was a BONUS and this coming week too!! It's like Heavenly Father gave me two extra weeks of blessings! I love working with my sweet, powerful companion Hermana Romero. And I also loved my two mini cambios this week.

I met my soul sister. Her name is Hermana Guymon. She is from Utah and comes from the same life as me!!! We are seriously the same person, only she is WAY more prepared than me to be here on the mission. She is working so so so so hard and I love it. We made some awesome goals and talked about how it was for me. I relived my training and all the great experiences of being a new missionary. The only problem (and it wasn't that bad) was the RAIN!!! Summer officially ended and we had our first experience in the rain. Let's just say I was not prepared and neither was my sweet Hermana Guymon. She lost her bag of clothes on the bus and so I lent her mine...she is just WAY WAY taller than me so it didn't work. We didn't have an umbrella and used my rain skirt as a cape. word to family and friends: NOTHING IS WATERPROOF!!!!! 

Also I spent 2 days with Hermana Lisboa and Hermana Ellis! MY FIRST DAYS as a TRIO!!!!! It was really really great. We worked HARD in their sector para ayudarles a tener mas personas y tener mas unidad como compañeras. (to help them have more people and have more unity as companions.) I can testify that I was prepared to come here to help them in this specific moment. I won´t explain everything that happened, just to keep it confidential between Hermanas, but I KNOW that I came here to help them both. I was reading my Patriarchal Blessing and I just felt the answer to my prayers. I love PERSONAL REVELATION.

Well we kinda ended our baptism streak. But we have had another answer to our prayers and fasting. Like 2 weeks ago we prayed and fasted SPECIFICALLY to find a joven or jovencita (young man or young woman) that could prepare to go on a mission. We contacted, knocked doors and everything. Then we received a referral from Hermana Lisboa y Hermana Ellis. It was the girlfriend of their convert. Sandra!!!!! I love her. She is really really really shy but awesome! We have been teaching her for a week and she is really amazing! She went to church before and came to conference and this week we have taught her practically every lesson. She told us yesterday that her and her boyfriend both want to serve missions!!! And then come back and get married!!! HOW CUTE IT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS!!!!!

Okay and now that part you are all waiting for! So it turns out that I have had lice for a couple weeks! All the Hermanas in our zone have been infected with lice. Well first off,me and my companion, and the 2 other Hermanas that live with us. And then of course as Hermana Líderes we have mini cambios and Hermana Romero and I infected the whole group of Hermanas in Chillan!!! WooHooo!! So this week we have spent everyday cleaning our clothes, our sheets and our house. AND OUR HAIR!! We are almost at the point that we wanna put TANAX in our hair. Seriously it was the nastiest experience of my life. I called the mission nurse and cried because I was soooo traumatized.

That just goes to show that in the mission we pass through practically everything. 

Lots of love from your favorite lice infested sister missionary,

Hermanita Poulson

I'm pretty sure we got HIGH on Conferences

April 4, 2016

Well this week was pretty darn amazing. We had Zone Conference, and we sang a song that was really awesome! I will try to send it next week I don´t have my memory card or that card reader to send stuff. I learned so much! We talked a lot about the conversion of Pedro. I mean Peter. It was really interesting. Peters conversion comes through invitations. Christ invited him to LEAVE THE BOAT and FOLLOW HIM. He invited him to WALK ON WATER. and lastly he invited him to FEED HIS SHEEP. We experience a conversion asì(like that). We have to leave the boat, leave all the worldly stuff behind and follow Him. We have to walk on water, or in other words do nearly IMPOSSIBLE things. But through Christ nothing is impossible. And lastly the call to feed the sheep. We are all mini shepherds trying to be like the Great Shepherd who is Christ. He has trusted us with his special sheep, they may be family, children, friends or just people we know that look up to us as a leader, example and light. Those are our Sheep and we need to take care of them, but they aren't really ours. They are Heavenly Fathers!

So now I want you to think about your conversion. What are you doing to follow Christ. Read your Patriarchal Blessing and look for all the specific gifts you are given and how you can help others to become converted.

Also this week, I feel like I didn't do much in my sector, but I did 2 mini cambios this week and one of them was for a couple days...which was exciting but a little nerve racking! I stayed in my sector and did the work SOLA!! WOHOO I AM A BIG GIRL NOW!!! But it was really fun. I am soooo grateful that my companion got sick in my first weeks here and that it kinda forced me to lead the sector and everything. Hermana Dominguez and Hermana Ellis are so awesome. I love getting to know other Hermanas. I know that I am not a perfect leader, but every time I try a little harder to be a better example. I really feel the spirit working and guiding me to where I need to be, or what to say. We had a really good learning experience with each of the Hermanas. I feel like I learn WAY more from them than they do from me.

And of course it was Conference Weekend. I don´t wanna be trunky, but this was my last conference as a missionary. I wanted it to last forever. I feel like I could sit and listen for 10 more hours of conference. I love how all my questions were answered. I know now what I need to do to FINISH STRONG as a missionary and then continue my mission at home. I know that I need to GO TO THE TEMPLE as much as possible. In fact I know that the temple will be a HUGE part of my life. I Loved how the theme of the conference was Hope. The gospel is a message of Hope. We can all be better than we are now. And we are never alone. I think that was the message that the spirit spoke to me. I am never alone. And though I will never be perfect I can keep giving my best. I loved the talk from Elder Oaks (even though I only heard half of it) I love that the Spirit speaks to us. I love how I can receive Personal Revelation. That was always something that I have struggled with. But here on the mission I have learned to listen and recognize the voice of the spirit in my life daily. I love Conference. I love the words from Elder Holland. I was thinking in terms of my mission. I know that when I come home I will not have this same spirit that I feel now. But I don´t need to fear tomorrow. I know that everything that I have learned here will help me be the person God needs me to be Tomorrow.

Oh last story so it was a crazy almost hurricane like storm in Chillan during the conference. And we lost signal. But then my sweet and beautiful companion says: "we need to pray" and we all prayed, members and missionaries, that the storm would stop and we could finish. AND IT DID. I only missed half of elder Oaks talk. MIRACLES.

So like I said, we are pretty much on a spiritual high. And it's the best feeling ever!!!!

Les amo màs que puedan imaginar!!! (I love you more than you can imagine!!!)

Hermana Poulson