Sometimes the bird poops on you and you just have to rub it off and keep going

¨We are not and never need to be alone. We can press forward in our daily lives with Heavenly help. Through the Saviors Atonement we can receive capacity and ¨strength beyond our own. ¨- Elder Bednar

Let me tell you- I am relying on this promise! I am so excited for this next cambio (companion changes). Literally my face hurts from smiling so much just thinking about it! I am going to be a trainer! 

But let me also tell you- I am so nervous. I am so young (in months in the mission) and feel so inadequate. But here´s the thing- I know this promise from Elder Bednar is real- that Heavenly Father knows I still struggle, really, really struggle with Spanish- but I also believe he knows we really only speak the language of the spirit! That I can just pray and pray and if I do my part and am obedient I can receive the help and make sure Hermana Parkinson (from Spanish Fork, Utah) will have the best first months in Chile!

Also I am so excited and already know that she is the best, because she has this sector to come to first! Ha-ha. She did something right in the first life! 

Our area is on fire. And I know it’s from hard work! I love it. But really, we have so much to do and so little time in the day. 

 

¨Mormonja¨ in Spanish monja is the word for nun.
So we are the morMONJAS. Ha-ha our rain gear is nasty ugly. 

"H" is rocking it. He is reading the book of Mormon- we asked him if he has started the other day and he´s all pretty muuuch- "yeah, I’m in 1 nefi (Nephi) chapter 3. Laman and Lemuel are lame. But Nephi is really cool and I love the stories of their families." Ha-ha, love it. 

Then he came to church and has been praying. Everything is so good- and he sees the importance of baptism- he just still isn’t sure if baptism is for him. Auucha. 

But we had a killer family night with him yesterday and the familia Moreno. We talked about the tree of life. Oh boy, let me tell you- this gospel is true and it makes people and families so happy! 

Our new roommate.  UGH!

Theeeeen- our other family. Oh my gosh, Hermana Parkinson is going to love them. It’s truly awesome to see. Nothing more than awesome. We watched the video about José smith and his experience with the first vision. Then when we finished we asked "V" what was his favorite part (expecting a typical 9 year old answer) but he blew us away. He simply stated the part when José prayed and received an answer. How it's really pretty and then he explained how he could pray and receive answers. (What?!)  

After this we talked to them and I was able to just bare testimony that marriage and baptism are part of God's plan for them. And I know this because of the change in their familia.  We talked about marriage and baptism and they still want to work towards it! 

Super cats. These are the girls of the branch president- they
make cat clothes and try to talk in English. It’s hilarious.
The latest are these capes with ¨super cat¨ written on the back.  

Then the next day was crazy in church. The time change was hard for a lot of members then on top of it we didn't have light or heat in the church (and we are still in the end of winter- so it was cold and dark). However, it was perfect. Because it was the Sunday of the testimonies and it was beautiful to hear these faithful saints bare testimony from a cold, dark pulpit- but truly radiating light and warmth. Beaut. 

I love serving here. I am so excited for Hermana Parkinson! 

You know what else makes me so excited? Every time we go to buy fruit. One, because it is so delicious. But also because I am really, really tall for Chile and I always get the best fruit because it’s the highest up! 

Also mail. Best. Love. I got a package from grandma ball- I didnt think about how it was probably for my birthday until after I opened it. But I hid the card under my bed with the rest of the stuff and some of the treats- then we celebrated and ate treats from gma ball and made a cake from gma Simpkins. It was a delicious week! 

Speaking of grandma Simpkins she asked about the pulga (flea) problem. Yep we are heading in to spring because the pulgas are back and a biting.  I don’t know why I do this to myself but I counted all the bites- as of right now I have more than 40. 

Also lets just talk about how my house in an insect zoo. We have spiders, fleas, whatever amount of snails and slugs (on the walls, floor, sink, doors, total.) But last nights gem was a spider only mom could love. 

We were sitting talking to "A" and "H" when "H" made this swan out of an apple. It was sweet (literally it was a delicious apple. (Ha-ha bad joke). 

Well family, I had an experience this week that I think just about sums up my mission. We were walking to an appointment when a bird pooped on me. We just stopped, and I grabbed a handful of grass and dirt- wiped off my jacket and then we just kept on going. It wasn’t until we were a block away that I started busting up laughing- pointing out to Hermana Latham how that was not normal. Ha-ha. 

But that’s the thing I´ve learned here- it sums it up, sometimes the bird poops on you and you just have to rub it off and keep going.

I love you!

 xoxo Hna Ball