4 Months...

Hola mi familia! Como estan? 

Sabe que? I have 4 months in the mission. Can y´all believe that? I can..but can´t but can... Eh, I don´t know. It´s weird. And then after this next transfer is my "yearish left" mark. Que en el mundo?

But I´ve been doing a lot of reflection this past week about the mission. And honestly, it sounds cliche cause it is what everyone says, but it really is the best time of your life...and the worst time, all wrapped up into one. One day you are on the verge on tears and super depressed cause...tons of different things. And then in a different moment, you couldn´t image being happier in your life because of simple things or steps of faith oooorr I don´t know, lots of stuff!

In a mission, I think that this is the time in your life when you are going to be closer to God and the Savior than in any other time in your life. You learn to literally rely on them in every moment, with every problem, saddness, and doubt. And yeah, at times we all forget stuff like that and then we learn it again and our testimonies of the divinity of Christ grow. It´s kinda funny isn´t it? How in one moment we have a super strong convinction of something and then after time, we forget or we lose it and then we learn it again....siiiiighh human probs I guess. 

But really, this week, I have spent a lot of time on my knees. And now, I can testify that prayer is real. God really listens. He listens to every question, every sad event, every happy moment..He listens. And He answers. Always, He answers. It´s not always through the means that we are expecting. Sometimes He answers through ourselves, sometimes through feelings, sometimes through things that happen in our day, and sometimes through other people. But it doesn´t matter in what form He responds to our needs and questions, because the point is that He does. I know that with all my heart. And I am so grateful for the peace and rest our souls can find through prayer. And I´m so grateful for the miracles big and small that we can see in our lives through prayer.

And about Christmas, apparently we use Skype in this mission, so Mom, if you would be so kind to send me my old skype info (like username and password) so I will be able to skype you guys on Christmas, I would be extremely grateful. As for the time...I have no idea. Sorry :/ We are going to be in the house of a less active and her family so we need to confirm the plans with her first. So I´ll let you know next week at what time exactly...we are thinkin in the late afternoon though.

But that´s all for this week! I love you guys sooo much, and I´ll talk to you in 9 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love always and always, 

Hermana Abigail Page

Baby it's (hot) outside...

 

 

 

 

To start with the most important news first... (coughcoughcough) I GOT 3 PACKAGES THIS WEEK!!! Woooooooooooooooooooooooo and a boat-load of letters!!!!! Whooooopwhooopp! But now all the elders in my district officially hate me haha. Poor fellas who don´t have a ´Momma Page´  like mine ;) I´m so excited to go home and open ´em all up...EARLY CHRISTMAS! whatwhat!

After mom told me that a package for Hermana Barros was in the mail, I told her that I was going to pray for a package for her. And she (on multiple occasions) called me crazy and told me no and didnt believe she could get one. But I just kept asking her, "Donde esta su fe, hermanita??" tehehe....Secret Santas are the best! Today she was so confused when the elders handed her her big ´ole package! She is so grateful for it Momma, so thank you! She kept telling everyone "this is from the family of hermana Page!!" :) (she is gonna write you an email to say thanks, mom.....but it´ll be in spanish. so dallin or matt...or google translate should be able to help you). 

Oh, one more things about packages that is super funny but slightly uncomfortable. Our zone leaders and district leaders pick up our mail about once a transfer and then bring it to us. But of course they are curious, so they read the customs form on the outside that says whats inside...eh ya mom, next time PLEASE don´t put "tampons and bra" on the customs form!! Oh how uncomfortable it is when the other elders ask the ZL´s/DL´s what I got and they turn a little red and say "ask hermana page youself". Bahahaha...poor little guys. 

Summer Christmas is so weird. I don´t think I´m gonna get used to it anytime soon. In general I´m just really confused with the other hotness and Santa Claus and Christmas lights and the sun not setting til 9 stuff all at the same time.. Eh, whatdaya do.

Anywho, to be honest, I don´t have much to say this week. It´s been a crazy week...but crazy normal for a missionary. Lots of walking (and sometimes running). Lessons...spanish (ha)...more walkin.. ya how we do. 

Oh! We are in a  trio until 18 de December with one of the hermanas of the other side of Limache (there are 2 areas en Limache), pero ahora we have both areas to manage. Limache is en our control!!!!!! Nahh, just kiddin´. The only difference is that know, we walk and contact TWICE as much. Wooo. But I really like Hermana Lopez and Hermana Barros, so ´erdays a fiesta...but all we want is una siesta. Haha, see what I did there? Ahhh, I crack myself up sometimes. 

Oh pucha! It´s time to leave! 

I love you all and I hope the you all are enjoying the Christmas season! Please remember your Savior in this of the year. Through Him, we are never alone; through Him we have hope and joy in this life; and through him, we truly can live again. Of this I  am certain. Oh what joy this sweet sentence gives: I know that my Redeemer lives. With all my heart I know He lives. Turn to him, and watch the miracles. 

Love you all to the moon and back again. More than words can describe!

Choose the right. 

Love always and always, 

Hermana Abigail Page

Cowboy take me away...

This week we had intercambios (splits) with the sister training leaders..and it was my turn to stay in Limache. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous after they called us cause it was going to be my the first time in Limache without Hermana Barros. And then after the sister training leaders phone call, our district leader called and asked if I could teach in the district meeting the next morning...and that the assitants were going to be there. Of course I said yes, but after I hung up, I kind of had a panic attack (not gonna lie). The next day, there were no buses in Limache so we were late to intercambios and then late to the district meeting...and so when we got to the district meeting we started opening the door saying "lo siento, lo siento, lo-- PRESIDENTE??" ...Yep, the mission PRESIDENTE was sittin´ in one of the chairs  cause he had decided to attend the meeting as well. I about turned around and left the meeting..or died right there, one or the other. Talk about crazy day, ya?? It was crazy when ya think about all the stuff that happened. But to be honest, it was one of my favorite days in my mission so far! I think it´s because I kinda of proved to myself that I know more than I think I know, that I can lead out, and that I am a good missionary. It was a day of...progress? Ehh, that´s not the right word, but my english is failing me and I can´t think of the one I want. That´s a good sign right??

And there is no doubt in my mind that the only reason things worked out okay and I was about to do everything during intercambios is through the grace and power of the Lord. I prayed like the dickens during all of this, and I know that the Lord was there helping me every step of the way..with spanish, with confidence, with remembering stuff, with the spirit, with TODO. I am so grateful that we have a merciful and powerful Savior who can help us with each unsure step and make our weakness strengths. Surely he is a God of miracles :)

yyyyyyy Yep, but other than that, it was a normal ´ole week in the life of a missionary...and I´m here, livin´ the life :)

(Oh and yes Mom, I got more letters! But I myself won´t get them til our next district meeting....and the zone leaders are going to Viña next week, so I´m hoping they will come back with my Christmas package! YAAAYY CHRISTMAS)

Let´s all for this week folks! 

I love you all there and back again!! Thank you for your prayers and letters and emails and for being my family/friends. Y´all mean the world to me!

Til next week!

Love always and always, 

Hermana Abigail Page

Earls gotta die...

 I HATE PULGAS. Oh wait, y´all don´t know what pulgas are...pulgas are fleas. And I swoney they are minions of Satan that LOVE to eat missionries in Chile alive in the dead of night. It´s terrible cause when we go to bed, we are so ready and excited to sleep, but then we don´t want to sleep at the same time cause we know that we are going to wake up with new pulga bites... Eh.
But on a more happy note, Saturday was the baptism of SUPER SERGIOOOO. Well his name is actually just Sergio, but we always call him "Super Sergio" because he was probably the easiest, most golden investigator in the history of the world. He actually was the first person I taught a lesson to here in Limache on my first real day...and now he is a member! Crazy, huh? My first contact-to-baptism experience.
Funny story about his baptism real quick: Gustavo (the baptizer) didn´t explain the whole process of the actual baptism by immersion. So Sergio only has his nose hand in the palm of Gustavo, the other is hangin by his side, and the arm of Gustavo that´s supposed to support Sergio´s back has recently had surgery so it doesn´t have any strength. So after the whole "having the authority...lalala", at the dunkaroo part, Sergio starts leaning forward to go heads first, Gustavo tries to stop him, Sergio then doesn´t know whats going on so he grabs the side of the font for dear life as he is trying to squat in the water to go under, Gustavo´s trying to push him down in the water backwards, finally Sergio lets go and goes down in the water but them Gustavo´s lame arm cant lift him up.....hahaha. It was quite the process...but it counted! And that´s all that matters right? In a few years from now everybody will laugh about it. But Sergio is still super and the most adorable slightly oldish guy every so it all turned out well :)
Other than the fact that he was so prepared by the Lord beforehand, another thing that really helped with Sergio was the fact that for almost every single lesson, we had members present.
 Honestly, with how perfect everything was with the coversion of Sergio, I now have such a testimony of the role of members in the conversions of investigators. Without the members working with us missionaries in every phase of the work, we aren´t going to have much lasting success. EVERY MEMBER A MISSIONARY. I know we get tried of getting the "missionary work" speech..trust me, I know. I´ve been on the other side. But now I´m on the other other side. And I can see that missionaries need members, and members need missionaries. One without the other doesn´t make much sense.
So this is my invitation to you all este semana. Work with the missionaries. Be a missionary without the tag. When the missionaries call needing your help, drop what you´re doing and answer. When they ask you to fellowship an investigator, do it. When you see an opportunity to open your month and talk about the gospel with friends, be bold and trust in the Lord. Make sacrafices so the work can progress! I wish I would have done that before my mission with the missionaries.
I know that if we all labor a little harder in the Lord´s vineyard, we will see miracles. Cause I know with all my heart that miracles exsist. We just gotta trust in the Lord and put our best foot forward in faith.
That´s all folks. Not too too much this week that I have time to share... Time? What is time? They don´t have that here... Mom, maybe you could ship me some, cause I miss that stuff..
Be good this week. Remember who you are and what you stand for. Have the day you have!
Chau chau mis amigos!
Love always and always,
Hermana Abigail Page

Elves with attitude...

Happy Thanksgiving this week!! Wow, I´m gonna miss Thanksgiving and good ´ole American eats this Thursday. It´s so strange to me that´s Thanksgiving time cause here it´s all opposite-like (and cause they don´t have cool stories of Indians eatin´ once with gringos here), and also it´s so strange that I´m gonna be sweating at Christmas..Summertime Christmas...Qué en el mundo?? My mind and body is just confused all around with this opposite hemisphere nonsense.. But I had hot chocolate (with marshmellows!) the other day, and I felt like it was Christmas at home :)

There´s the news you´ve all been waiting for... I GOT MAIL!!! WOOOOoooOOHHhhoOOOoOOooooOooo! And lots of it. In fact, I kind of got my whole zone mad/jealous with all the mail...hehe. 16 letters! Talk about it´s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Half from Mom and Dad, and then letters from Sis. Gardiner/Ben and Lucy, Sis. Mitchell, Leslie, Rachel Schmitt, Stephanie Nanto, and Bro. Hamby! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank y´all sooo much! I stayed up late that night and read them all cause I couldn´t sleep knowing I had them haha. 

This week I wanna tell y´all about someone in our ward named Marcel. 

Some background: Marcel has only been a member of the church for about 6 months. He goes to every activity (clase ingles, baptisms, noche de capilla...you name it, and he is there), and he knows every person. A few years back, he was jumped by some friends of his ex-wife, so now Marcel has a lot of health problems...like he is on the verge of mentally and physically handicapped in lots of ways. But to be honest, I don´t think that I have met a sweeter soul in my life. 

He collects boxes (and the such) and gives them to the recycle people for income, so obviously he doesn´t have a lot to go around. But always Marcel is the first to buy you a "regalito" (gift). For example, he bought us sodas at the tienda the other day because it was super hot; he bought Hermana Barros a Disney English/Spanish activity book  to help her learn english; he bought a boy a new white shirt and tie for his mission; and when I was sick a while back it brought me cough drops and soda. 

I don´t know how to tell you guys just how sweet he is, but I can assure y´all that I know for a fact of is one of the most choice spirits our heavenly father has. He makes my day when we see him, and he is such an example to me of selfless service and charity and kindness. And I honestly want to be more like him in a lot of ways.

So this is my invitation this week to you guys: (I know you don´t know Marcel, but I´m sure you guys know someone in your lives who is just like him...someone who has nothing and gives everything..) This week, serve some. Love someone. Help someone who maybe never asks for it. I know that if we all do this this week..and every week after for that matter.. we are going to begin to feel the purest form of love. We are going to start to feel Christ´s love. And then we will begin to take steps to be more like Christ. 

..Besides, it´s Thanksgiving and Christmas time..what better time to serve people??

That´s all I´ve got for this week though. I love you all, and I hope with all my guts (ew, graphic) that you guys have a great week!

Love always and always, 

Hermana Abigail Page

Hey there, Delilah

First off, Hermana Barros and I are together in Limache for another transfer... whoop WHOOP!

Second off, this email isn´t going to be too long because this p-day has been crazy, so lo siento ahora por eso. 

But I want to share a quick experience that I had this week: 

This week we had a Noche de Hogar (Family home evening) with our recent convert Carla, her family, our other recent convert Jaime and his girlyfriend, and also with lots of other families in our ward. To be honest it was kinda a gathering of almost all my favorite people in Limache. Hermana Barros and I were teaching a lesson about the tatics of Satan, honesty, and fortifying ourselves. At one point, everyone was going around sharing experiences and their testimonies, all squished together like a big ole family in the little living room, and I was sitting there soaking it all in.. listening and feeling and enjoying. And then BOOM, the spirit hit me like a ton of bricks. It was one of those moments when the stars align and everything seems clear, ya know? Anywho, in my head this was kinda sorta what went down: "Wow, the spirit is so strong right now. It´s so weird that I don´t even know hardly anything (the spanish) that´s going on but I can feel of the truth and spirit and the love in this room. Wow, the Church is soo true. I feel so much love for these people right now. I literally feel like a family. These people ARE my family here. Wow, I love the people of Chile and I love the people I´m serving  and I love my companion and my mission so much. WOAH, lots of love and the spirit.....don´t cry, don´t cry......"

Before the mission, Dad told me "love the people and love your companion, and you will have found your pearl of great price".

Well, sitting in that living room on Friday night, I think I found my pearl of great price :) 

Sorry it´s short but that´s all for this week! 

Thank you so much for all of your support, and emails, and prayers, and everything else you all do in my behalf!! It literally makes my week when I get to enjoy it all. I love you all like no other, and I pray for you guys all the time. I hope all is well, and you guys are finding blessings and miracles every day. I know miracles exist, and I know my Savior lives. 

CTR cada día my peeps.

Love always and always, 

Hermana Abigail Page

"Hola Satanas! Tenemos un mensaje sobre Jesucristo.."

Happy belated Halloween! People here "try" to celebrate Halloween, but it´s too American for some people, so it´s just an awkward holiday down here to tell ya the truth.. Some people get REALLY into it, and others think you are a devil worshipper if you even think about muttering "dulce or truco (trick or treat)". So yep. As a missionary it´s even more awkward cause you´re like "Hola little boy dressed up as Satan, tenemos un mensaje sobre Jesucristo para usted" ...or  "Hola little children, come get dulce and salvación"  OR "(eellllllllllooooo knock-knock equivalent) Hola como esta? Somos misio- Uh, no we aren´t here for candy--uhh-awkward. Podemos compartir-- ehh--no quiere? Okay nevermind. Tenga un bien noche." All around it´s just a lose-lose situacion. But I realize one thing...being a missionary is just glorified trick-or-treating in a way...but backwards. We go door to door offering "candy" to people.....yep, that´s pretty it in a nut shell. 

When I went on exchanges this week, my feet and legs got attacked by fleas (pulgas) in the other area. My feet liked like a red shrek or somethin...muy feo. The next day I felt like I was walking on fire. Not fun, incase you were wondering. But after some magic cream-gel-stuff  from  my sweet compañera, all is well that ends well, and my feet are back to their normal color and size..WOOO.

Miracle for the week: my very first day as a missionary in Limache, we contacted and did a quick first lesson with a man named Sergio (my first nuevo). We didn´t think much of it cause in the next weeks you couldn´t find him again.....(time passed until yesterday) POOF. He has a baptism date...and I INVITED him to be baptized! :D Long story short, Sergio is in his 50´s, loves to ride his bike, is kinda quieter, but literally the sweetest little guy there is! He kinda reminds me of Dad now that I think about it!! Woah... anywho, once we found Sergio again about two weeks ago he has been golden! Seriously! Sergio has come to church both the past Sundays and reads and chose his own baptismal date and loves the "paz interior" of the gospel and he loves to listen and learn lots and he is a straight up G to be frank. I just think it´s really cool cause he is my first "contact to baptism" ya know?

Anywho, that´s about it for this week. Wednesday is transfers, but I think I´m safe cause I´m mid-training, so that´s good. I´ve been here a whole transfer??? So weird... Seriously time is so weird. Days are long, weeks blur together so quickly, and then after a blink of an eye a whole transfer is over! 

I´m learning to enjoy every moment good, bad, early, hot, cold.....TODO! 

I am so grateful to be a missionary. I am starting to see what people were saying when they say it´s the hardest two years/year and a half but also the best. That´s my new goal...to make this without a doubt the best year and a half of my life. Wish me luck!

Hasta próximo lunes, I LOVE YOU GUYS..more than words or thoughts or emails can describe. Be good while I´m gone.

Love always and always, 

Hermana Page

**For Christmas (or any other time if I´m too late por Navidad): I want an etsy bracelet like Jaclyn´s that says "Have no fear"....it´s my favorite line from my pat. blessing and it helps me a lot in my mission. Ya know, casual and comfy like I like it...something I can wear ´erday. 

"Getting to know you, getting to know all about you..."

Sup my peeps.
So anywho, right to the point.. last week Momma made the comment that I didn´t talk enough about the basics (town, companion, pension-apartment...) when I first got here. So this week, I thought that I would rewind a bit and fill y´all in a bit more about those sorts of things.
President Kahnlein: He is really nice, and he cares a lot about the missionaries. He is a letter of the law kind of person.. But he is patient with the missionaries and he is always proud and uplifting with their work. He expects a lot of us, which makes us work hard. He served a mission in the United States, so THANKFULLY he knows english, but it´s the funny "missionary" vocabulary english... ya get me? It makes me smile haha. But yup, that´s him in a nutshell.
My Area (Limache): Limache limache limache....what can I say. We´ve got some narly hills in Limache. For example, this week I spilled going down a everest-scale dirt road hill. Haha...yeaahh I had to take a shower when we got home that night cause their was dusty dirt all over me. It´s kinda suburby in parts and then some more ghetto-y types of areas...like literally 4 "walls" and then something covering it. But I like it! It´s a comfy type of ghetto if ya know what I mean. Like a "crappy first house" kinda feeling..You acknowledge that it´s struggling but you still love it.
The people in Chile are generally really nice...except the cat-calling dudes..that´s just slightly really awkward. I love Limache though...it´s my first home in Chile so it has a piece of my heart.
The weather in Chile is SUPER bipolar....kinda like a desert in  the fact that it´s super hot during the day and then freezing at night. So at times, deciding what to wear is confusing.
Que mas...Oh, our ward is really great! There is another set of sisters of our ward as well. The members are all so loving and kind. We are struggling a bit with getting the members to help out with the missionary work (times like that when I wish I was serving in Kannapolis Ward! ;) ...but really). Our apartment pension is in the kinda suburby area. It´s pretty beat down cause missionaries have been using it for over 13 years, but I like it. So yep...that´s all I got about that stuff.
Compañera: Hermana Barros es mi amiga mejor en Chile :) She is a sister to me lots of ways and a momma in others. She is so funny. She doesn´t know english, but she learns random phrases like "I have a toot" and "What´s your problem besides you face?" It´s so funny....ohhhh Hermana Barros. I am so grateful that she is latina!! Because now, I am learning spanish the right way, ya know? But it´s funny cause now I´m learning some words with an Argentinian accent cause she is from argentina.....eh, oh well! Atleast I´m learnin right? She LOVES to be EXACTLY obedient. At times it drives me up the wall, but it´s teaching me a lot and I´m learning that it´s just her faith outwardly demonstrated, so I´m gratful for her example. She keeps me uplifted and always encourages me, even when I feel like I am no help during lessons. She watches out for me like a big sister and then lifts me up like a mom :) She is always happy and excited about the work and her whole heart and soul is in it. She is such an example to me cause she is only a convert of a year and a half..and the only member in her family. Her faith reminds me a lot of Zachary Ward :) I love her so much, and literally everyday I am reminded about how grateful I am for her.
So yep, there´s the background stuff for you guys! Sorry I don´t send pictures through email anymore..most of the computers here are messed up with that kind of stuff, so I´ll just wait and send my whole card home later.
For Christmas..I want my christmas pjs still pleeeease! And maybe some socks ooorr I don´t know...surprise me! Maybe some fruit snacks (cause those don´t exsist here....yeah the food market is a bit different) or maybe stickers for the little niños. Anything! Anything in a  package will be Christmas to me :) Oh! But definitely send me my recipe book! (but the measurements are different here..hmmm ..so maybe just a few copies of things like cookies or brownies or stuff like that)(I don´t wanna lose my real book so maybe just send copies) ...and the steps to make rice cripy treats please!
Welp my time is up once again. You guys have no idea how much your emails and prayers help me every week. Thank you thank you thank you soo much with todo mi corazón! I love you all like the dickens. All day every day.
Please be good while I´m gone and search for ways to lift others up every day...cause everyone is going through their own form of Gethsemane in their lives. Seek for ways to lift the burden and help them bear their cross.....through love, faith, a smile, and Christ, all things are possible.
Until next time, remember who you are and what you stand for :)
Love always and always,
Hermana Abigail Page

"Cuidado!"

Hoopla one and all.
To start this little guy out on a good note, right after I emailed you guys last week, we had to stop by the mission office and... I GOT SOME LETTERS! But not from  Momma or Daddio... From Sister Nusbaum and Katie!! (so thank you tons you two!!! And Katie, when I have a spare second *literally*  I will write you back!)
I am glad to hear about how beautiful Andrew´s funeral was. I wish I could have been there! I´m not gonna lie, hearing about what happened has been really hard on me this week. But a little tender mercy from the Lord has been the fact that literally every lesson we ended up teaching this week was the plan of salvation. So to me, that was a comfort that was reiterated in my mind multiple times this week. Gotta love those tender mercies, huh?
So here in Limache there is this guy who drives around a little Nacho Libre bike that is fixed up to look like a train. So when he drives around he blows the horn and it goes "chuuuuuchhuuu" (like a train)! Well inside his little train bike doohicky is maní (peanuts)! The good kind with baked sugar or whatever on the outside. It may not seem like a huge deal or whatever, but after walking around all day and nothing too exciting happening, to us, that chuuchuuu sound of like a halleuah chorus! The other day, we quite literally chased him down for some maní... yeah, he knows us by name now haha.
My feelings over the past few weeks with spanish can be catigorized as just short of bi-polar. Sometimes I´m like "yaaayyyy, I got this" and then other times I´m like "wow..it sucks to be me right now". But something that I learned this week is that the times when I am beating myself up and down on myself, I am quite simply lacking faith in myself and in the power of the Lord. I´ve learned that patience and faith go hand in hand. Besides, I see progression in my understanding spanish and my ability to speak it, but at times I seem to block all that out and focus on the ´not´. So my goal this week is to lose the fear and keep the faith. I really liked something Mom said in her email to me this week.. "I can´t do perfect, but I can do faith". That´s what I´m gonna do. If I get only remembered as one thing on my mission, I want to be remembered as a missionary that never lacked faith (faith in herself, faith in the work, faith in her companions, faith in her ward, faith in the Lord....fe en todo.) Because faith is the foundation of everything in the gospel. One if the few phrases that I can say in spanish that I always say to our investigators is: Without faith, we can´t do much of anything; but with it, we can do and see miracles....That would be a good way to be remembered if I do say so myself.
So to get to the storytime of the email.... (coughcough)
So this Saturday was a very eventful day! Our investigator Carla was baptized!! And I consider her my first real baptism cause I was there for the teaching process. Carla is wonderful and sweet and has some really good friends in the ward so I am really excited to witness and help her with her transition into the church. Now we are teaching her 10 year old son Oscar..and after the first lesson we had with him, he said "I´m gonna be baptized...Mom can I watch yours this weekend so I can see how it´s done?" We had to calm him down a bit and tell him to take a step at a time cause he was setting the details aready haha. So great.
Then later that afternoon, we were walking down a little side road to visit an investigator. Our dog Monsi got this HUGE dog that lives down there all angry and riled-up and I was right there so I was like " woooaah there big fellow" and so I picked up the pace a little bit cause he was jumping all around and starting to attack Monsi...but when I started to book it for the other side of the road.....(now Mom, before I tell you what hapenned, know that I am okay...........okay, to continue..) Satan (that´s what  I call the huge scary, angry, crazy dog) looked over at me and jumped on me and bit my arm. I fell to the ground and then Hermana Barros started hitting him with a brownie pan that was in her hands so I rolled away once he let go. (it was super scary in the moment and it hurt like the dickens but now that I look back on this...its a pretty funny image haha..well for me anyways). At the time, I was luckily wearing my thick winter coat (the blue one), so that stopped a lot of damage from happening  to my arm, and I´m gonna have to get an Hermana in the ward to fix it cause it now has a big ole hole in it. But the dog did bite me (like pierce skin with blood and all that nonsense) and the owner didnt have paper proof of a rabies vaccination, so now I´m currently getting a shot every other day for the next two weeks and I´m on meds to make sure I am A-okay. So yep, now I´m a REAL missionary...dog attack (check).
So yes Momma, don´t be scared or nervous, cause I´m aaalllllll good :)
Random sidenotes:
-Dad, before I left you said you were gonna pick up drawing...how´s that going? Caaause I wanna a picture!
-Who´s name do I have for Christmas? Cause I gotta start lookin..
-This week, that one song "somewhere out  there beneath the pale moonlight, someone´s thinking of me and loving me tonight (dududududu) somewhere out there someones sayin a prayer...blahblahhh" ...that song goes through my head when we are tracting and I start missing home or just think about family..love it!...then I start thinkin about Fivel Goes West...classic!
So yep, that was my week and my time is now up. I know you all have lots of questions that I haven´t answered yet, so I will try and do that next week.
Until then, know I love y´all and I pray for you guys all the time and you are always in my heart...siempre siempre.
Thank you to the moon and back for your support and prayers and everything thiny micjiggy you guys do.
Keep being awesome and keep makin the Lord proud :)
Until next week...
Love always and always,
Hermana Abigail Page

"The Beast"

First things first..we had zone conference this past week, entonces.... I GOT A PACKAGE FROM MOMMA :D I was so happy, I coulda flew home on a unicorn! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you a million times over! I got it right when I needed it :) No mail other than that (no letters). Oh, except for today.. We stopped by the mission office for my mission debit card and they gave me a letter from Caleb Marshall haha. I was como "what the random?" But yep, hopefully I will get LOTS of letters from people next zone conference..in about 6 weeks (boooo).
 

So this week I realizd that I never told you guys about Clase Ingles. There is a brother in our ward that lived in the US, so he teaches english in Thursday at the church and we go. It is like a little slice of heaven once a week. I never knew how much I missed english, until I actually use it and I realize "wow, I do know how to communicate with people!" Sometimes, I feel like I am losing my social skills because I can´t talk to people in a REAL conversation... goodness, I ´m gonna be soo awkward after my mission at this rate! But on a bittersweet note about language, in the night after planning, I am allowed to say that prayer in English..but lately, it has been getting harder and harder for me to say it in only english cause my brain is hot-wired español all-day, er-day. I take it for a good sign though!

Here in Chile, people eat dinner for lunch...meaning that their HUGE meal is almuerzo and then they have a little tea-party/lunch-sized meal for once (meal after almuerzo). I have been struggling with this stomach-wise cause my stomach is used to little to no lunch and then dinner. To "fix" it the Hermanas in our ward give me more food so then "my stomach will change faster.." .....riiiiiiight.. or I´ll just puke on the way home..whichever come first I guess. Normally we don´t get once/dinner (we are supposed to work right through it), but whenever a member invites us over for once, it is my favorite thing ever! I feel like we are having a tea party cause once always consists of little sandwiches, some kind of hot drink, and then a postre/dessert. Me encanta :)

As I have said before, there are MUCHOS dogs in Chile everywhere. When we walk by there fences, they ALWAYS go loco..barking and growling and running in circles and jumping and peeing in a general direction and foaming at the mouth..its quite the adventure to say the least. And it always reminds me of the movie "Sandlot" with the dog `the beast´ haha...classic. 

-Sidenotes: 

---Dad, count your blessings that you are only bishop. In our ward, the bishop is bishop (obviously), his wife is primary president, and their son is young men´s president and early-morning seminary teacher! Crazy, huh?

---In the Book of Mormon, Nephi always says "my soul delighteth in plainess"...and then he goes on an Isaiah rampage. What up with that? Talk about awkwardly ironic.

---This week I have had the longings to have homemade cookies (warm from the oven); to watch Ella Enchanted, Surf Ninjas, and all the princess Disney movies; and to watch the boys  play Fifa together (never thought I would miss that).

---Spanish......yep.............it´s comin along.....sorta. Let´s just say, I´ve had my better trials. 

---2 Nephi 9: totally about the plan of salvation. Where has this chapter been all my life?? After coming across it in my personal study the other day, I´ve dubbed it one of my new favorite chapters. 

---Mom, for your portuguese, have Dad ONLY talk to you in Portuguese for a certain amount of time daily. It´ll stink and at times you´ll hate it, but it´ll help you more than anything else. Trust me.

I am so sad to hear about Andrew Page. I saw him tons in the MTC and he always brightened my day. He was so kind and happy all the time, and I was so grateful for him to be there with me in the MTC...he literally shined as a missionary (and only a select few of us actually do that).  I beat the Lord needed his brightness as a missionary on the other side...like Emma and Grandma. It´s so heart-breaking but it´s all part of the Lord´s  plan for Andrew. We now have to trust the Savior and guide us and help us walk each step for the next little while in this hard time.Tell his family that I am so sorry for them and that I can honestly say that their son was a great missionary..because I saw it first hand!

So one last thing before I go, this week in my personal study, I came across another section of scripture that I now love. In 2 Nephi 4:30-35...it´s a prayer of Nephi. I don´t know why but reading it really hit home with me (in the ´ole corazon). I decided that I wanted to have the same experience with prayer that Nephi had in these verses. That night, when I said my bedtime prayer, I did. I can´t even explain the experience that I had, but I in all honesty, there have been few experiences when I have felt closer to my Father in Heaven then I did that night. I felt comfort and love and support and every feeling that I needed to feel from Him. 

...All I have to say is, prayer is real, and I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves us enough to NEVER never ever leave us helpless in our moments of joy and in our moments of sorrow. 

Christ lives. I know this with all my heart.

I have to go now cause my short time is up..(I could email y´all day if I could)..so until next time, I love you all with all my heart and soul and God be with you siempre.

Love always and always, 

Hermana Abigail Page

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"...

 

 

So who else thought that this General Conference was one of the best ever? Anyone? Anyone? I know President Monson agrees cause he said it like 3 times! I totally second P. Monson! I´m not sure why my soul hungered for the good word of God so much leading up to this conference, but I literally was CRAVING conference. And like always, the good Lord delivered :) (This was the first conference that at no point did I dose off! I was so happy!) Anywho, I could go on forever about each talk and how much I loved it and what I learned, but I won´t cause I only have a teeeeeny bit of time to email y´all, entonces (so)... I´ll do a quick once-over..

Conference answered so many prayers that I had (and ones that I wasn´t aware that I had also). I felt the love of God touch my heart multiple times while servants of the Lord addressed us. Goodness, I don´t even know how to describe the peace and spirit I felt during Conference! It was wonderful, happy, perfect.. I am so grateful for living prophets and apostles and all those of and called of God to guide His people. What a blessing it is that God speaks, not spoke. I love Conference! It is my favorite semi-annual time of the year! There are very few ways to be more edified than watching conference.. Seriously. (ps-when it comes out, please send me a copy of the conference ensign!)

Qué mas...

Oh, Dad, you´ll be happy about this: apparently when I talk I have been using a portuguese/brasilian accent on certain words. Like father like daughter, huh? I guess it´s a sign I need to be in Brasil! 

Yesterday, mi compañera told me that people here think that Americans are stiff and not loving because we don´t greet people with a kiss.. Personally, I think the kissy thing is really nice and all cause it makes me feel like we are already close, but I like how we do it in the US also cause in the US, it´s kinda like we earn our greetings, ya know? Like when you first meet someone, its a shake of the hand  or a wave, then you work your way to a hug and so on and so forth...ya get me? So yeah, that´s my thoughts on that...I don´t like that people have been saying that right in front of me knowing I can´t understand.....(to quote Stephanie Tanner from Full House) "how rude." 

I have finally convinced Hermana Barros to let us sing one Christmas song a week! Yaaayy, Christmas! I´m so excited for Christmas...but it´s gonna be weird that it´ll be warm here. What happened to "White Christmas"??

On the micro (bus), occasionally American music will play. I love it when this happens cause it´s usually really retro stuff like Journey or the Beatles. People always give me weird looks when I start singing along like "you understand this stuff??" Makes me smile every time :)

The other day while tracting, Hermana Barros and I encountered a Book of Mormon basher. He chased us down on his bike. I of course didn´t understand what was going on cause I don´t understand spanish, so I was just standing there thinking "lalalalala..wow this guy is reeeeaallly excited about the gospel...lalala". Only after we awkwardly ran away did Hermana Barros tell me that he had been hatin´ on us. Oooooh....so he doesn´t want to know more and be taught? ..Oops. Not understanding 87% of what goes on around me is part of my daily life here, so I´m used to it by now haha.

So this is the last time I will change it I pinky promise! My address is:

Hermana Abigail Page

4 Norte 1112 Casilla 631

Viña del Mar, Valparaiso

Chile

(I´m sure anything like this will eventually find it´s way to me either way so it´s all good hopefully) Like I said last week, I only get my mail once a transfer during zone meeting..so no mail yet :p I want my mail so bad! After all the stuff you guys have sent, I´ll probably have a mountain! :D wahooo for mountain mail. But I´ll let ya know when that actually happens. Today I sent a package and some letters. (apparently packages take about a week and letters take about a month to get to the USA..) I´ll be sending letters sparaticly throughout my p-days though, so keep your eyes pealed for ´em!

Next time you get a chance, could y´all maybe send me some Rodney Yee morning yoga dvds? just one disc with a few of the morning ones would be nice! I just miss my yoga (with Daddy)  and it helps keep me healthy and optimistic...soo yep.

One last thing that happened this week that I want to share is when we were following up with a contact for a second visit, another man came to the door and straight said  "oh, hola Hermanas!" Confused, we asked him if he had talked with missionaries before. Turns out that he is a less active that we didn´t know about (which actually happens a lot out here). He even served a mission and everything! So we went in and talked to him about faith and enduring to the end, and then at the end of the lesson we asked him to pray. At first, like always, he resisted but eventually he said yes. That was one is the most heart changing prayers that I have ever heard, and he almost started cying. This experience just reminded me of how important it is to keep the fire burning always. Just because you served a mission or just because you watched conference doesn´t mean you´re safe. You need more. You need constant and sincere scripture study and prayer. You need to feel the spirit consistently. You need conversion in yourself first. And that´s everyone´s course of life I think, is to seek conversion in ourselves. If we are always doing this, I think the Lord will be proud of our service when we see Him again and say, "Lord, I´m converted".

Let us all seek to be a little better, and try a little harder, and reach a little further this week.

I love you all. Thank you a million times over for your prayers on my behalf. I draw so much strength from them.

God speed until I see you again.

Love always and always,

Hermana Abigail Page

"I'll never let go Jack"

First off, Dad, what you said in your email about small works and each little bee was exactly what I needed to hear this week cause I have felt like my seemingly meaningless drops of honey aren´t worth anything. So thank you for, once again, being the answer to my prayers :)

Anywho...CHEELAAYY. It´s an interesting place. 

Things from this week:

-There is this icecream truck that always drives around playing Christmas music and that sort of icecreamy truck nonsense, but the thing is...it sells gas haha. I just imagine grown people running outside waving pesos in the air in their pjs wanting more gas to heat their casas...makes me laugh every time. 

-The ward misson leader in my new ward owns a wicker shop...like wicker furniture. It´s pretty sweet! He makes it all and it is all legit stuff. Mom, you would LOVE it. If I could send you something that big I would....but I can´t, so a picture will have to suffice.

-In the good ole USA, I feel like public transportation is a dying practice. But in Chile, it´s hoppin! Everyone and their grandmother takes the bus or community taxi´s....We are packed like cattle in those suckers sometimes. Talk about cozy!

-I have come to know that the Lord gives us strength out the wazoo here cause there is no way in heck-fire that I could do what we do as missionaries (running, walking, talking, having the spirit, only having less than 8 hours of sleep, yadayadayada without the help and strength of the Lord! It´s honestly a miracle we don´t all fall over and die!

-We have pets here in my new area! Well...not officially, but there are about 3-4 dogs that take turns walking with as ALL DAY. Literally, they wait for us in the morning to leave, and they even wait for us outside of appointments! I think it´s the darndest thing! My companion hates them cause we get bit by their fleas, but I like to think of them as our little angels :) They keep us company and keep us safe throughout the day! Little stray, dirty rays of sunshine! Their names are Monsi, Bermudes, Diego, and Samson.

Okay so the moment you have all been waiting for...

I am in an area called Limache. It´s about half an hour drive from Viña I think. It´s kinda more on the ghetto side, but I really like it. My trainer´s name is Hermana Barros. She is from Argentina....and she only speaks Spanish. Literally, no english. (I blame the Mitchells´ prayers for that one). So obviously, communication is challenging at times, but with lots of pointing and dictionaries and my broken spanish, we make it work. She is really sweet though, and she is helping me be a good missionary! With the whole only spanish situation, my Spanish is going to be great by the time she is done with me hopefully! Blessing in diguise.

I get mail about once a month at zone conferences...so I haven´t gotten any yet. I WANT IT SO BAD...and I know it´s there...I can feel it. They´re hoarding it from me.

Just to be sure, my address is:

4 Norte 1112 Casilla 631

Viña del Mar, Chile

Sorry this email has been so scattered. I don´t have a lot of time today and these keyboards are super ghetto so it´s taking twice as long. Since I didn´t get to tell you guys lots of stuff I´ll write a letter later tonight and send it off next pday.

Oh, one last thing... I had my first baptism of Saturday! Haha wow, almost forgot to put that. His name is Jaime and he is super cool! I obviously was only at the tail end of everything though, so I don´t really count him. But he is super comfortable with the ward and he has lots of friends, so I think he is solid, which I´m super excited about. The last thing Chile needs is another less active member!

I´m going to end on a note that Mom got me thinking of in her email to me. Martyrs is a concept of the gospel that I am particularly fascinated by. From countless Prophets of old to Jesus Christ himself to the brothers Joseph and Hyrum, the gospel of Jesus Christ is littered with countless martyrs that were willing to seal their testimonies with their lives. That right there is a testament that this is the true church and gospel of Jesus Christ restored to the Earth once again. How flickel are we when we are asked to simply pray or visit a family in need once a month and we murmur. Don´t lie to yourself people, you have murmurred once upon a time. Why are we so stupid? We have the truth. We have the fullness. We have the Gospel! We have Christ! It such a wonderful blessing to have and know about this gospel in our lives..why don´t we follow it? Why don´t we share it? Why do we voluntarily fall short of all Christ and God have in store for us? ...Shall we not go on in so great a cause?

Love always and always, 

Hermana Abigail Page

-ps. the picture thing on the computers are broken so I will just have to wait and send you my card when it´s done. Sorry Momma :/

-pps. Please spell check for me...these keyboards stink.

Ah hombre

HOLA HOLA mi familia y mis amigos!

(Here in Chile people say `hola hola` y `cho cho`...yo no sè why they do it twice, perro me encanta)

Anywho, where do I even begin??

So I got in Chile on Friday after flying all night. Usually I have no problem sleeping on a plane, but for some reason my back was hurting really bad so it was really hard. But they gave us all of the cool pillows and eye masks and blankets and TWO meals! Olè! :) So overall the flight was nice.

After we got to Chile and got picked up by our mission president, he took us on a really quick tour and than dropped us off in the middle of Viña with some Book of Mormon`s and said "See ya at the mission home"...yeah, we had to find our way there by asking for directions in a language WE DON`T SPEAK. It was un poco dificil. Luckily, an old couple had pitty on us and walked us the whole way (which was quite a walk). While we walked we gave them the Spanglish version of the first dicussion. That was a little hard to do while finding our  way, but we managed.

Since we got here early, I techinically don´t have a trainer yet. They put us with sister-training-leaders and zone leaders til wednesday, which is the actual day of transfers and all that.  So yep, I am with Hermana Ortiz from Guatemala y Hermana Plothow from Orem Utah. They are so great! Being with them for the first week was the answer to a pray I didn`t know I had! They are both patient and encouraging and obedient and super great examples of the kind of missionary I hope to be.

The first night after we got back to their apartment, we immediantly got to work. We tried to visit some less active membros, then we went to a ward activity, and than we went and I helped teach my first 1st discussion...AHH. Quite the day to start out with right?? I know. I wish our ward activities were like the  ones these Chilenos have! There is tons of dancing and singing and TONS of decorations and food. It`s a tad crazy, but I really loved it! I can already tell that I am going to love these people lots :) I didn`t know that I was going to speak during my first discussion. I was just sitting there, doing my thing (pretending like I understand any of the words people are saying), when all of a sudden, the Hermanas stop talking and look over at me. The only thing I knew was that we were talking about the Restoration, so I decided a simple testimony of prophets and Joseph Smith would be good. After I talked the Hermanas didn`t say anything for I solid 15 seconds, which is a lot longer than ya think. Afterwards they told me that the spirit was so strong during my little testimony that they just wanted it to sink in with investigator Rosa. I guess sometimes I can help people more when I don´t know the language cause I have to fully rely on the Lord and the Spirit to talk to them, ya know?

Since then, we have taught lots of lessons, and talked about the church with many people in passing. I even feel like I am understanding what people say more, which I am so grateful for.

Oh, funny story! So the Hermanas told me today right before we got on the bus that I had to talk to someone cause it`s good practice with my Spanish and that`s the best place to do it...So I brace myself and say a quick prayer. A little family gets on the micro (bus) and sits next to me..I look up and the dad is wearing a Carolina hat! Bahaha, I thought that was a sweet tender mercy from the Lord!

Something else funny that happened: we were teaching a lesson and the girl we were teaching had a cute little cat. She said that the cat was really shy and picky with people, but I said "Hola gato bonita!" and she came right over and sat on my lap and let me pet her the whole time we were there! Another tender mercy! And it made we miss my kitties...

Let´s see what else....

It´s really pretty here! It kinda reminds me of Utah and Charlotte mixed into one. The houses here are all different colors, so when you ask people for their address, you also ask what color there house is haha. I think that´s funny.

It´s reeeally cold here right now, so I´m so grateful that I brought winter stuff cause I´ve been wearing it everyday. (they call tights "panties" here...it makes me laugh every time someone talks about tights now..tehe)

I don`t know if I have mail here or not waiting for me...no one has given me any or said anything, so I have no idea to be honest. I´ll let you know though. One of these days, I am going to send home a package with extra stuff I can´t carry around and maybe some letters in it for people or something. I just have to find out where one is in my real area when I get there.

The food is good I guess...not too different to be honest. They eat vegetables cooked but cold here so thats different. But honestly, its just rice and meat and then fruit for dessert. I like it. And we don´t really eat dinner here...just a big lunch with a member family.

I already love Chile. I know I am here to do the Lord´s work. I know that right now it is really difficult to feel like I am helping anyone cause I don´t know what they are saying, but even then I am so beyond greatful that the Lord is here helping me as well. I am nothing without Him, especially in this different country. I am so grateful for the peace and the hand He always has outstretched for me to grab. I know I say this a lot, but I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve in the Lord´s vineyard (literally..VIÑA del mar...haha get it?).

I love you all and I am BEYOND grateful with all my heart for your support and emails  and letters and everything. My time is short and limited, so I may not respond to everyone personally. Just know that your email of note helped lift my day ten times higher and I am SO grateful for you :)

Again, I love you all. There aren´t words to describe.

God be with you til we meet again. Do His work. Be Hiw discople always.

God speed mis amors.

Love always and always,

Hermana Abigail Page

"Whatchu talkin 'bout Willis

I´m gonna start this week´s email off on a more serious note. One aspect of the gospel that I have been dedicating a lot of study to lately is the concept of grace. Throughout my life, I always heard the phrase "His grace is sufficient" but I honestly didn´t really understood what it meant. After coming on a mission, grace is a principle that I have to exercise and learn more about everyday in order to function as a missionary. In the Bible Dictionary, it says, "The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ...It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts...grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient. Hence the explanation, “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Ne. 25:23)." (boldness of words added by me). In my life lately, I have had to turn to the Lord every 5 seconds it seems for help, understanding, support, and lots of other things. Through many different means, I have come to realize that Jesus Christ is mi Salvador. Yo sé que mediante Jesucristo, I can become the missionary He needs me to be, I can become clean oltra vez, I can return to live with my Heavenly Parents after this life, y I can be a part of many miracles in my life and in the life of others. I know that if I do the best and try to be the best I can, the Lord WILL make the difference. I have come to know that His grace truly is sufficient. No matter how little our best is, he CAN and WILL fill the gap. When we even exercise simply a twig of faith and effort, the Lord will recognize it. I know that He will never leave us helpless. I know with all the itty-bitty fibers of my being and with all the pumpings of my blood that He will help us through every time on our life (good or bad) if we turn to Him. And I know that sometimes having faith is hard. Stepping into the unknown and trusting/hoping someone will guide you through the dark is scary. But with everything in life, the first few steps are the hardest, but before you know it you´re strollin along with no problem. I know that God NEVER shuts us out...we are the ones that shut Him out. After all He has done for us, after all His son has done for us, we (in our stupidly frail pridefully human selfs) turn our backs on Him. He wants to bless us in our lives; in fact, He begs us to let Him bless us. The ONLY thing we have to do is follow Him, remember Him, turn to Him. In all honesty, we have the easy end of the deal if you think about it (be good, get a cookie). I´m so grateful for the Savior´s gift of grace in my life. He has filled my many gaps countless times, and I would be nothing without Him. I´m so grateful for His perfect example of what I need to be in this life. I´m so grateful that I have Him to turn to everyday of my life. And I´m so beyond grateful that I have this opportunity to be His missionary for the next year and 17 months. I know He loves us. "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of Him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of Him: That He lives!" (Doctrine and covenants 76:22).

Now onto the happenings of this past week here in the CCM...
This past week, as you all know, was 9-11. Being out of the country for that day was a bit weird... I really wished I had an American flag or something. It´s hard to believe that that was 12 years ago! All day I had songs like "God bless America" and the "Star-spangled Banner" stuck in my head. I even made our district do the pledge that morning (you´re welcome Unlce Sam). Being in Mexico has really made me realize how blessed I am to be in an American. And I know people complain about bad stuff going on governmently in the US, but honestly, even with the bad stuff, we´ve got it made! I think that instead of focusing on the bad, we should acknowledge all the blessings and good that the good ´ole USA has to offer. I mean think about it... we have TONS of freedoms, we have the cooliest national anthem, we have the most kick-butt "becoming a nation" story, we have pretty sweet founding fathers, we are a nation built on religious freedom, AND we have clean water everywhere! Huzzah for America!
Also in honor of America, the boys (the Elders in my district) all sang country songs all day. It was soo great! I didn´t realize how much I missed it til they serenaded me haha.
Last week in the middle of the night, I apparently started spouting out perfectly fluent spanish in my sleep. I have no rememberance of this occuring, and I think it´s pretty sweet! But my question is.. WHERE IS THAT WHEN I´M AWAKE?? Goodness, I gotta work on transfering it over I guess.
Hermana Nelson got a huge package full of delicious treatsies  from her Momma this week. We all attacked that box like a bunch of crazy monkeys after the last banana! Hey, don´t judge. Homemade is the best, and it happens to be it short supply here.
Oh! Friday was Friday the 13th..dun dunn duunnn! But don´t worry, nothin happened that I can recall..except we saw a cat! But it was white instead of black, so we took that as good luck!
Here at the CCM, we have to drink water from those little water filter cooler things (ya know..like the ones people stand around at work and gossip at). Anywho, so the boys have been stacking empty ones behind the door, so that when we open it they all topple down. So the other day, us Hermanas decided to get them back. While they were at a meeting, we stacked up about 24 big empty jug things behind the door, and then we covered all the windows and made sure that that was their only way of entrance back into the room. A few mintes later, they came barging in and BOOM BANG POW DONG. All of the jugs came tumbling down (apparently you could hear the ruckus from outside the building and across the street). Oh sweet revenge. Disclaimer: Don´t try that at home boys and girls. Forgive and forget. Don´t do drugs. Stay in school.
On Saturday night was our big Mexican fiesta for their independence day. It was crazy and loud and there were dancing latinos and sombreros and screaming and fireworks and "viva mexico´s"and rolling r´s and tons of Mexican pride in that little gym. My head and ears were ringing for what felt like hours afterwards, but it was really fun and interesting to see their version of the 4th of July. I love their traditional dresses that twirl all around and the dances that they performed for us. Let me tell y´all somethin, Mexicans have LOTS of pride. I wish more Americans were proud to be American. I feel like that´s a dying thing, which makes me really sad. I heart America with all mi corazón.
Random side story: I literally almost got run over by a zamboni floor buffer guy the other morning. I was walking past him, and then all of a sudden he lost control of the bluffer thingy and I literally had to jump out off the way. It made me laugh so hard, cause it reminded me of a time when all us Page chitlins were still youngins and we were at Food Lion one night with Mom and we were running from "THE BUFFER"...you guys remember that? And we were pushing Tory around in a Nascar buggie? Oh goodness...good times :)
And last but certainly not least, as I said in the quick email from yesterday, I am now leaving for Chile the day after tomorrow instead of in a week. Yes, I was just as suprised as you all probably are. I already explained the "why" and all that nonsense yesterday (and I assume Mom posted it to my blog), so I won´t repeat myself. I go in and out of shock/denial multiple times a day. It just doesn´t feel real yet, ya know? And I love the CCM a lot, but this isn´t a real mission. I haven´t experienced anything yet. It kinda just blows my mind that I´ll be in Chile on Friday.. I was mentally prepared for a whole other week, so packing and laundry and all the details and stuff will be taking over my life tomorrow. I´m nervous out my pants but also I´m really excited and I know that now I´ll just get to jump into the work of salvation that much faster, but part of me is really sad to leave my CCM family. These Elders and Hermanas truly are my family and I´m gonna miss them lots after I leave. But I´m so excited to see and talk to them after our missions and have a reunion like Alma and the sons of Mosiah after their missions. (Alma 17:2-3....Look it up). We will all be so growed up in the Lord by then :)

Welp, I hope you all have a wonderful day..or night (depending on when you read this).
My challenge for y´all this week is to forget yourselves, and go to work. That´s something I learned again this week. The Lord has need of all of his servants in the hastening of His work. Enlist in His army everyday of your life. (He gives great benefits to veterans ;)).
I´ll send another email Thursday before I´m off. Until then, God speed.
God be with you til we meet again.
Love always and always,
Hermana Abigail Page

I got a ticket for the long way ´round

Hey Momma,

I know today isn´t my p-day, so you are probably wondering why in the world you are recieving this email from me. Well that´s a really good question mi madre, and I have a rather good response para usted!

Surprise attack: I´m leaving for Chile on Thursday! (as in 3 days... yes, about a week before schedule). I would have told you eariler, but us Chilean missionaries didn´t know we were leaving early til yesterday. After we heard a rumor that we were leaving early, we went to the front desk to figure out what in the world was goin´ on. Turned out that the rumors were true, and we are peacin out this week. (Glad we heard the rumors though cause otherwise we still would have no idea) Communication around here struggles a bit to be honest.

Not gonna lie, I was in shock for a few hours, and then during sacrament meeting, the closing hymn was "God Be With You Til Again"...that pulled us all out of shock and got our whole district crying. We have all become so close and we are kinda like a little motley family here at the CCM. I´m really bummed to leave them here for a whole week without us. Also when I found out we were leaving earlier, my first thought was "Holy humpty dumpty, I don´t know any spanish!!" So I´m a bit nervous about that as well.

It´s all just so weird cause I was mentally prepared and scheduling for another whole week, so the change is  kinda messin me up a bit.

The reason we are leaving earlier is apparently because next week is Chile´s independence day celebration stuff, so there were NO empty flights. So since there was no room in the inn for us missionaries, they are sending us a week early, so we can still get there. And it´s only the Chilean missionaries that are leaving early.

I guess with us, the Lord is hastening the already hastened work, huh? :)

I´m excited and nervous and still kinda in shock and all the other things I could logically be feeling under the sun...I´ll tell y´all more about all that in my real email tomorrow.

Until then, no worries, I´m good!

God speed.

Love always and always,

Hermana Abigail Page

A snack that smiles back!

 

O-la me uh-mE-goes! Que pasa con ustedes? Nada? Bueno.

This week has been a lot like the past 3 before it... LOTS of studying, sitting, strollin´, silliness, spiritualness, and lots of other things beginning with the letter S. When I look back at the week as a whole, I always think...Wow, nothin really happened. But for y´alls email, I think really hard and come up with a few random stories that may entertain or uplift you for a bit. So sit back with nice american snacks and enjoy, por favor!

First things first: Happy monthiversary to meee! Yes, it has been a complete month (4 weeks) since I have left the fine state of North Carolina (or been in the fine country of America for that matter). So crazy, huh? It´s crazy to think that I only have 17 more months left of my mission!! Ahhh, that´s not enough time! Even though this month has been a rollercoaster of emotion and change and growth and all that, I love being a missionary so much! I haven´t even really done anything yet and it´s already been the best experience of my life! I can´t wait to see what the other 17 months bring!

So y´all know how I worked at the Provo MTC cafeteria? Well something that some of the missionaries do there (if you didn´t already know) is a thing called "the tower challenge" (dumdumduummm). The tower challenge is when your whole district (ours is twelve people) eat an entire tower (container thing) of cereal in one sitting. Literally from the tiptop til it´s empty. In Provo, this challenge of champions was forbidden cause lots of people were getting sick and all that nonsense. It was on my bucket list though, so I told our district about it and they all thought it would be way fun to try to do. So at dinner, we filled up over 50 bowls of Fruit Loops and (sneakyly) carried them to our table and plowed in! Don´t get mad Mom...I ate 7 bowls to help contribute, which ended up being more than all the boys did on their own haha. Thanks for letting us eat cereal for every meal growing up Momma, it trained me well ;) And since the CCM is new, we started the legacy of "the tower challenge" down here south of the border! Booya.

Speaking of meals here at the CCM, I am glad to announce that we haven´t seen spam in a few weeks!! Yay for no more spam! The other day, I seriously thought I had died and gone to heaven...we had wings and calzones for dinner. And they were sooo good!

Also, the other day at dinner, there were grapes and I got really excited cause there are never grapes. I was so excited that I decided to stick as many in my mouth as possible without gagging. I got 17. And they were pretty plump little fellas! Hermana Nelson tried to do it too, but when her mouth got full, I told her that it made her look like the evil old lady from ´Chicken Run´. That made her laugh so hard grapes spewed everywhere from her mouth and she kept laughing so hard that she peed herself. Again. And when I say peed herself, I literally mean, there was a huge wet circle on her skirt and a nice wet spot on the chair. She has the funniest bladder problems. But never knowing if laughing will make her pee makes the act of laughing a lot more fun haha!

A bit more about food: this week everyone has been missing American fast food, like: Chickfila, Zaxby´s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cookout, Yum-yum, Panera, Mickey-D´s ice cream, Wendy´s, Red Robin, 5 guys.....I think y´all get the jist. Entonces, enjoy what y´all are blessed with cause you guys are livin´ the American dream right now! And also now I know why all the Mexicans hop the border...it´s for our food!

Speaking of Mexicans, Friday is Mexico´s independence day! Apparently the President of Mexico goes on a balcony with a huge Mexico flag and waves it crazily yelling "VIVA MEXICO". There is gonna be lots of fireworks and crazy people everywhere and the fiesta doesn´t stop all night long. In the CCM, we are gonna have a little celebration on Friday night too. I´m really excited! All week everyone has been decorating and giving us little mexican candies. Should be a good time :)

There are two Mexican men that work here at the CCM that have become two of the cooliest people in my life: 1) Mario the mower guy & 2) Marco the janitor. I have never actually talked to Mario the mower guy so I don´t know what  his name actually is. I call him Mario because he is FOR REAL the reincarnation of Mario (like super mario brothers..mario and luigi). He has a red little newsie boy cap like Mario does; he wears a red shirt with overalls; he wears white gloves while he works; he has a stache; AND to top it all off, he has a little backpack thing with the handle thing that he holds around front (like in super mario sunshine or luigi´s mansion). IT BLOWS MY MIND. We have tried to capture a creeper picture of him, but to no avail. We will keep trying though! And then onto Marco the janitor. Every morning when we would go to class, this nice janitor guy would talk to us, but we never knew his name. Finally, the other day we asked and he said he was Hermano Marco. So now, every morning when we see him, we yell BUENOS DIAS HERMANO MARCO. Seeing him seriously makes my day every morning :)

Lots of people this week have been getting sick. It´s pretty gross. One of the Hermanas in our district was sick, so I got to sub in for her and teach with her companion. We started the lesson with singing "I Stand All Amazed" and then we taught about baptism. It went so well! And the spirit was so strong! I look back at it now and I realize that it was totally a gift of tongues moment for me cause I was flowing and saying everything I wanted to say. Lenina (the investigator) was sitting there smiling and really feeling the words we were saying. It was so wonderful! I love teaching this gospel. It brings such joy into my day and into the lives of those we teach. I love seeing the light in others eyes as they begin to learn and understand how the gospel of Jesus Christ can change and bless their lives. It must be kinda like how Heavenly Father feels when He sees us learn and progress and grow spiritually closer to Him... So cool :)

Random tidbits for this week:

-Our CCM president is the grandson of Parley P. Pratt! I think that is so awesome! I wanna tell him "dude, your grandpa so AWESOME", but that might not go over so well haha.

-One of the counselors in our branch presidency looks EXACTLY like the evil guy with glasses for Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark that gets his face melted off and his eyes come out at the end. Yikes. I realized it in the middle of sacrament meeting on Sunday, and I can´t look at him the same now.

-I play a TON of basketball here, and the other day I made THREE three-pointers in a row! Whooop whoop! I hope you´re proud Daddy!

-New Hermanas moved into me and Hermana Avery´s room this past week. They are super sweet but kinda really creepy at the same time. They just stare at us a lot, so it´s a bit uncomfortable. They also like to sing opera and read other people´s journals...let´s just say, it has been quite the adjustment.

-Hanging out with my district (especially the Elders) makes me really miss my brothers. I miss messing around with you 4 knuckheads. You four fellas are my bestest friends ever.

-The other day we were practicing some spanish phrases and my teacher (in spanish) asked Hermana Avery why she had not been baptized. She responded by yelling "CAUSE I DIDN´T GET AROUND TO IT, ALRIGHT?" (quoting Stephen from Nacho Libre). I almost died laughing cause of it was such a successful usage of a Nacho Libre quote in real life!

-Random songs that have been stuck in my head this week: "Come Thou Fount", "The Candy Man Can" (from Willy Wonka), the chorus of "Called to Serve" in spanish, "Bailamos", and the last song from A Muppet´s Christmas Carol when Scrooge is singing around the town.

 

Welp, this is the end of yet another not too exciting yet somewhat entertaining email from me this week. I hope y´all enjoyed yourselves.

I miss you all, and I pray for you lots. Thank you for your emails and for your prayers or for even thinkin about me. It really does mean a lot to me!

Thank you for your examples that have helped shape me into the missionary I am now! I can´t thank you guys enough.

 

I´ll just end by saying that I know that this Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) is God´s true church on the earth. I know that this church and gospel is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ from when He was on the earth. I know that Joseph Smith truly was a prophet called of God, and that through the power of God, he restored this wonderful gospel again in its fullness. I know that our God is a loving God, and that He wants to hear from us, as His children. I know that if we turn to Him, he will do many mighty things through us in our lives and in the lives of others. Oh how wonderful it is that Heavenly Father trusts us and allows us to lift up one another. I am so beyond grateful that I am able to do just that for a year and a half. I am so grateful that I can have this gospel bless my life multiple times every single day. I can testify that if you want more happiness, peace, love, or Christ-like feelings in your life, you need look no further than this gospel. I testify with all the surety I have in my heart, that it can change your heart if you let it. I know it can, I have seen it, in myself and in others. Let Christ change your life.

 

I love you all. More than you can ever know.

God be with you till we meet again.

 

Love always and always,

Hermana Abigail Page

 

 

Caution: Slippery when wet

Hola mi familia! Què pasa?

The weeks are starting to run together and fly by and through and up and down and sideways, so this email will have no real order to it because I am going to type it as the stuff comes to my memory. Entonces, lo siento ahora.

I`m going to start by explaining this week`s email subject name and the purpose thereof. As I have said in a past email, it rains a lot aquì in Mexico City. However, this past week, the heavens must have been having a pool party with a slip`n slide or something cause it has been pouring buckets down on us. (And it always seems to be at dinner time, when we actually have to be outside). Anywho, speaking of  slip `n slides, that brings me smoothly into my story believe it or not. On Friday, we had just finished eating dinner and it was pouring outside, and while mis hermanas were huddling under umbrellas howling about their hair, I did the most logical thing and grabbed off my shoes and made a run for it back to our classroom building. As I begin running I think "hmm, wow this sidewalk is slippery, I better stop running til I get to the street" so I tiptoe fast walk to the asphalt and then make a break for it across the road. Little did I know that in Mexico, the paint on the roads is SUPER slippery (especially when wet) So I go "slip, catch, slide, slip, catch, SLIPSLIDE SPPPLLAAASSSHHH" right into the river (road gutter thing) of water. I quite literally slip `n slided across the street. I was soaked from head to toe, and I cut up and busted open my knees and my elbows and my ankle. But there I lay, in the running river, laughing my head off cause I for some reason thought it was so funny. I ended up having to go to la clinica, but I couldn`t walk there so my compañera gave me a pigggyback ride across campus. She`s a champ. The doctor cleaned me all up with iodine and the such and bandaged me up quite nicely. Now I have some pretty narly scabs (ew, sorry scab is a gross word), and I`ll most likely have a scar of some sort on one of my knees. But I`m alright, and it makes for a pretty exciting story, right? I thought so too.

Also on Friday..I GOT MAIL FOR THE FIRST TIME!! It was so wonderful! I`m the mail lady for our district so I go and check the post office every day and it felt sooo great to finally have my name on something instead of one of the stinkin elders` name with heart and stuff (bleh). Momma, the galletas (cookies) were still sooo good, and everyone in my district loved them. It just tasted so good to have something homemade, ya know? Hearing from you guys was so wonderful! Thank you for letters!

One of the most spiritual experiences this week was when we had TRC on Wednesday. Hermana Avery and I ended up having to teach one of our teachers. We were teaching him as himself, which was a bit weird cause we always teach people as pretend investigators. Anyways, we started in Spanish and then he switched the conversation to english so we taught in english pretty much the whole time. To get to use english in teaching for the first time was such a wonderful experience! There was no language barrier, so the spirit could prompt us to say anything! The spirit was so strong, and Hermana Avery and I were crying as we bore testimony. Goodness, I can`t even accurately describe to y`all how wonder of an experience it was. We really helped a real person with real problems they were facing in life. I felt like a real missionary and representative of our Lord and Savior :) I can`t wait to be able to do that for real for a year and I half of my life! What a great blessing!

Soo, guess who I see around all the time since last Tuesday...JOSEPH NANTO!! When I ran into him on Tuesday, and yelped for joy and I almost tackled him in excitement...I probably looked like such a spaz haha. It`s so different seeing him with a missionarytag on. But he seems to be doing great and his companion seemed pretty nice and cool, so that`s good. Goodness, I love having Joey here. It`s so nice seeing a bit of home every once in a while. And let`s be honest, he`s a hoot! Nothing phases that kid :)

Also, there was a live MTC devotional broadcast last week with Neil Anderson. It was pretty good. And I saw KAITLIN BAKER in the Provo MTC chior! The camera loved her cause I saw her about 9 times. Such a ham ;) When I saw her, I accidentally said really loud, "HOLY COW THAT`S MY ROOMIE!" I scared a few elders that were sitting next to us.. uhhh lo siento fellows.

Què màs.....

We teach A LOT here. The other day, we taught about 6 lessons in a day. I was soo tired by the end of it, but it was a good kind of tired (kind of a `joseph after the first vision` kind of thing).

My companion Hermana Avery is really good at Spanish. She understood it before she came here so that helps a lot in lessons. At first, she used to have to help me with about every other word, BUT the other day during a lesson, I had to help HER with lots of palabras! It made me feel so good! Even though I know I`ve made lots of progress, it`s hard sometimes to see it from the inside looking out, ya know? It`s easy to get discouraged. But when I got to help my "spanish-smart" companion, I realized in that moment "wow, I`ve made LOTS of progress!" I even can understand the jist of what people say a little bit better without having to make them slow down to kindergarden level. Whooop whoop! Confidence boost: check. Paso a paso, my friends.

I got a letter from dad yesterday..Thanks Dad! It completely made my day :) I love the little funny smiley faces you draw on the envelopes. The talk by Elder Bednar you sent me about grace and the atonement was wonderful! That is a principle of the gospel I have be studying up on and trying to get better at exercising in my life, so it was perfect! Also, on Sunday multiple talks and classes and devotionals were on grace and the atonement, so it was doublely perfect! It`s in moments like that when I know Dad`s an inspired guy :)

Random comments and thoughts that don`t fit in anywhere else:

-I organized a game of trashketball as a review game to study spanish during on of our study times on sunday. It was pretty fun, and it made the boys way happy, so score 1 para me.

-During gym time, I have been playing lots of basketball lately. $teah, you`d be proud! I can make so `nothin but net` free throws. And a few of the elders in my district that played basketball are teaching me how to shoot 3-pointers. I`ll be an all-star at the rate I`m going in no time! I`ll be able to hussle Daddio by the time I get home!

-One of the only fruits they have here that aren`t sketchy is cantalope. I honestly eat it with every meal. I think by the time I get home, I will no longer enjoy cantalope.

-I am already sad about the day I will have to go home and go back into the "real" world of craziness. I love the spirit that constantly abides with me as a missionary. AHH, I don`t even know how to explain it...It`s just one of the best feelings in the world.

 

I would just like to end this little dohicky by saying I love you guys so much. Thank you so much for all your support and prayers. I`ve come to feel so close to the spirit, the Lord, and my Heavenly Father over the past few weeks. I love them, and I love this work. I feel so honored and blessed to be a part of this work while the Lord is hastening his work. I know that the Lord will and does support us through anything in our lives (good and bad). I know we are his children, and I know he will never EVER in a million trillion years leave us helpless. We are the ones that forget he is there, not the other way around. Seriously you guys, turn to Him. Look to Him always. Follow in His footsteps as closely as you possibly can. I know he can change hearts. I`ve seen it in myself and in many others. Always trust, never doubt. Our God is a God of miracles, but miracles require work and lots and LOTS of faith.

 

God be with you til we meet oltra vez.

Love always and always,

Hermana Abigail Page