May 14, 2012 - Happy Mother's Day!

Hola hola!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mothers who read this!!

Cultural Tidbits

First...Chilean cultural tidbits...its been awhile since I wrote some of those.

Chileans are REALLY resourceful, it isn't uncommon to see a soda bottle being used in other functions, like cut in half with a plant growing out of it, or the top cut off and used as a scoop for cereal, it is also common to see an old tire used as a plant pot. But my favorite example of Chilean resourcefulness is that one day we started talking to a man pushing a cart selling plants. we started asking him about his work and he told us that he doesn't sell the plants, he goes around asking for old shoes and giving plants in exchange for old shoes. Then he fixes up the shoes and sells them...to me seemed like a run around to make a buck, but then i thought about it and maybe shoes sell for more...

Another thing is that here in Chile the rating system for grades is 1 to 7 instead of A to F. So when someone says they got a 6.8 its really good! People also use 7 to describe things that are really great, like if a friend has a girlfriend who's really pretty or nice, you could say, "She's a 7!" And its a compliment!

Greeting people is also a big deal here. I think I've mentioned before that when we go to a ward activity or something, you have to greet everyone, or else people get offended. This past Sunday I noticed that when people got up to give a talk they said, "Hello, good afternoon, to all the people I haven't greeted yet" it's like covering your bases, so no one feels like you didn't greet them on purpose :)

Crazy Week!

Okay, this past week was a little crazy. We had a mini-cambio (which means that me and my companion and another companionship of sisters change companions for the day). Then we had a ward talent show where we had to act out a story from the scriptures, but we did it last minute because...well we're missionaries and don't have time to practice for talent shows. Then I got to video chat with my family!

Three great things, but out of the missionary life norm. so now i'm getting back into the groove of everyday missionary life.

Obedient, Faithful, and Diligent

In the mini-cambio I got to be with a missionary who has 2 months more in the mission than me. She is amazing! I learned a lot from her. I got to see what I can really do if I keep pushing ahead and trying to improve. She mainly taught me about the blessings of being exactly obedient, being faithful (and what that really means) and being diligent.

I learned that when we are faithful we believe that we can do things! Not one negative or discouraged thought enters our mind. We believe, and then we act to bring things to pass. When we are obedient, God is obligated to bless us. You cannot have the success and happiness and sense of fulfillment you want if you aren't being obedient. And then when we are diligent it fine tunes our ability to hear the Spirit and helps us really tune in to what God wants us to do.

I saw miracles walking around with this sister. I was blown away. I work hard , but she works hard and accomplishes amazing things. Now I'm just trying to apply what I've learned...which really is the hardest part. I am at the point in my mission where I feel like I know what I need to do to be more successful and feel more fulfilled in what I'm doing, but I just can't quite do it. How do you bridge the gap between knowing and doing?

I'm still working on it :) But I know that when I figure it out it will be the step to more growth and improvement!

I hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day weekend.

Love you! Hermana Bowns