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

Easter Miracles: Doing the Father's Will

March 28, 2016

Well this may have been the greatest week of my life! It started out a little crazy, but it ended with 2 VERY VERY happy Converts and 2 VERY VERY happy sister missionaries.

 

Well I hate to admit it, but one time we got to the house a couple minutes late....like after 10...and we suffered the consequences this week! ALL OUR MEMBERS BAILED on us!!! I am not even joking. We had at least 3 members to accompany us everyday and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM BAILED ON US!!! Like they called us at the last minute. And then the Noche de Hogar fell through twice...but We prayed and repented every single day. And the best part was that we still accomplished and even went above and beyond on our goals. It was really amazing what happened after we repented and then prayed to do the will of the Father.

Well also this week I went back to my birthplace! Yes that means I returned to good old BULNES!!! It was so crazy. I didn't know how to feel. I saw a bunch of members...but it's kinda sad...the only members that go don´t have animo (excitement or motivation)...its  kinda depressing. But they all remembered me and I cried when I had to leave them again. It was kinda a miracle for me that they had good memories of me, because when I was there I couldn't speak Spanish or understand them, but they still loved me. Haha I now can see all my progress as a missionary. It was an Easter miracle.

This week, like I said in the beginning of my email, we had 2 baptisms!!!!! WOHOOO!!!! I don´t get excited about the baptisms en si, pero mas en las personas.(baptism itself, but more for the people) I really love these people. Like really. Brenda is 26. Her boyfriend is super supportive. But she has had a hard hard life.  Her mom doesn't really have time for God...and Brenda is just a miracle. I feel like she is my best friend. We always talk and we talk about really cool church stuff. Like she always asks me how the spirit feels and what it is like to be a missionary. She is so sincere and loving. I wish I could take her home with me!!!

Cristian also is really really awesome. He is 15. His parents want nothing to do with the church in general. But he came SOLO to the church like 3 months ago. Then we went and visited him. We talked and gained his parents confidence. And now he is the newest HOMBRE JOVEN de barrio Copihues!!!! (Young man of the ward Copihues) It was really sad, it broke my heart, because no one in his family came to his baptism. But he looked around and he told us: "my family didn't come to support me, but my new family did." All the jovenes (youth) stayed to support him. It was a beautiful, spiritual moment!!!

Well that is the story of the week of Hermana Poulson. I have really focused a lot on what it means to do the Fathers will. This is His work. Not mine. He is always here to help me. I have really thought about what that means. I read a lot in Jesus The Christ and the Bible and I really admire Christ. He is so humble and so perfect. I can´t even imagine how difficult the atonement was, but he did it anyway. 

Not mine, but thine.

That is what we all can strive to do.

Hermana Poulson