Gone Chile!!

Hola Familia!

Well, today is totally awesome! We made it from Atlanta to Santiago and arrived in Chile this morning around 9:30. We made it through customs, finally, and met up with the Elders who drove us to Rancagua! It is beautiful and no one speaks English! Haha, not really, we got to the mission home where there were 10 Latino missionaries who were also new today. I tried speaking with the other three Hermanas and we got our points across most of the time!

My president is awesome and so is his wife. They are the sweetest people. The first thing my Mission President did before he interviewed me was give me a big hug! I love them already. We ate lunch at the mission home but first we were given our trainers. I was able to talk to all the trainers before we found which one was my companina and I loved them all! They had us all blind fold each other out in the front yard of the mission home and gave us all animals. We had to make the animal noise and wander around and find the person who was making the same noise. That person was our trainer. I love my trainer!

I counldn't have asked for anyone better than her! Her name is Hermana Dutton and she is from Utah! She has been in the field for almost one year and she is just so sweet and awesome! I think that we are going to accomplish some great things!

We just got done teaching my first investigator, Miguel. It turns out this was his first lesson as well. It was awesome! I even contributed some and of course I recited Jose Smith's First Vision in Spanish! The spirit was so strong, it was amazing! The thing is, I can't understand anything Miguel or his member friend who was there, were saying at all. When my trainer speaks in Spanish I can understand but they mesh all the words together and speak so fast, so i just look at my trainer and she fills me in on whats going on! 

I love it, though it was a beautiful day with no rain, I have an amazing trainer and our new investigator now has a baptismal date!!! So, what I'm trying to say is I love being in Chile and I love that I get to be a missionary.

The house I live in is this little two story house, but I get a shower with a tub and even a washing machine! My trainer said that they just barely got it and before she was here she washed her unders by hand, but we still have a member doing the rest of our clothes! Haha, just kidding. The Lord provided a way for me do my own laundry. I live with two other Hermanas. MY area is called Graneros it is just north of Rancagua and it always smells like chocolate and sweets because there is a chocolate factory in the middle of the town.

Here are some pictures. I will tell you more later! love you all have a good week!

                                   This is my trainer Hermana Dutton!!

                               This is the group of missionaries I traveled with.

(Received: January 25, 2012)
 

About to Lose Myself in the Lord's Work: Rancagua, Chile Here I Come

Hey Familia,

Sorry that this email is so late again, I couldn't get a letter out last week because I had problems with my emial. Well, today again I had some problems and had to go and get my email unlocked. Don't ask me why it was locked, I have no idea. But, I was upset for a little while today because of it.

Anyways, it has been kind of crazy around here for a while. Since we got our travel plans it seems like time has sped up even more than usual. I can't believe that it is finally here, but I am so ready to get out into the field and do some real work. I won't be able to understand a single thing they are saying but I don't care. It will be scary for a second, but I'm really trying to tell myself "to get lost in the work and have fun with it along the way".  My companions and I are just ready to go. I will definitely miss them though.

I'm glad you got my letter, I was wondering if it was going to make it to you since I got your DearElder letters twice and you said you hadn't heard anything from me. I sent it out on Friday, I guess you got it today. So, I'm wondering too if my package will get to me before I leave. Hopefully tomorrow! That will have given it four days.

Today was just such a good day. We started out by going to the Temple this morning as a District and then we ate in the Temple. Which was awesome since it's just something different from the same old same old. And then when we came back.  (I swear we haven't stopped going.) We packed some today and we are all wondering if we are going to make the weight limit or not. I'm sending a box home with some things in it. For sure, I am sending home my blow dryer and a book for Ariel. Tell her sorry that is has taken me so long, but since I have to send that home I might as well send the things I know are not going to make the packing cut. But other than that, my time is dwindling and I have so much to do. I just keep thinking that by next Tuesday I will be out in the real world, walking the dusty roads of Rancagua and hoping that someone will be willing to listen to my incredibly horrendous Spanish! :D

I'm excited! My goal is to talk to everyone and then when I can't understand what they are saying I will turn to my companion and make her answer whatever question they might have. I figure the best thing to do is try and smile and someone is bound to stop and listen to what we have to say. Today we talked a lot about the Spirit. It was really good for me more as learning why it is so important to have the Spirit and the blessings that come from the Spirit. This experience in the MTC has been difficult, and everytime I try to be more obedient I feel like I continually fall short. But, with the comfort of the Holy Ghost I know that my effort is worth something. And hopefully someone will be blessed for my efforts.

As I was laying in bed talking to my companions this week I just had the thought that being missionary is coolest job I could ever have for the next 16 months. What is better than meeting new people and teaching them how they can have eternal joy!?!

My favorite scripture of the week is in Alma 27:17, I think, where it is talking about Ammon and his exceeding joy.

"Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth." Alma 28:17 (It's really good).

The best part of this scripture is knowing Ammon's struggles before he could ever get to this point of life. IF anything I have learned that the struggles in life can bring about our greatest joy, if we heed the commandments and continually put our trust in God. I know I can do nothing without Him. A small town girl from Montana with little experience in life, not much to work with, but I know that if I'm obedient and willing, God will work mighty miracles through me. My struggle in the MTC, and probably the whole of my mission, will be losing myself. I constantly have to fight with the selfishness inside and focus on others. But this is also something I cannot learn overnight, and it's going to be a long hard process. But I say, " Bring it on! It will be more beneficial to me and others!!"

Well, I have to get going! I am so excited to call you when I am the airport! Hopefully we will get a good amount of time! I love you all sooooooo MUCH! And all those who are reading this! You mean the world to me and I know without a shadow of a doubt that Heavenly Father loves me because He has sent me to you guys!!!!!!!

Hasta Lunes!!

ALL MY LOVE AND SO MUCH MORE!!

Hermana Thacker

(Received January 19, 2012)

You Live for Moments Like Those

Hey Guys!

Thanks for the letter and the email Mom and Dad. I really loved hearing about everyone and was soo excited, and shocked, to hear that Brooke and Dak have made their plans official and public. That is so crazy to me. 

Happy New year.  (I can't remember if I said that to you guys yet or not.) 

So, sorry about last week's letter. I was kind of in a 7 week slump or something (that is just what I have decided to call it).  Since last Thursday, and up until Tuesday, I was in such a weird mood. I wasn't happy but I wasn't sad, I just wasn't excited to be in the MTC anymore I guess. Things just become normal everyday and it is easy to forget how much of a blessing it is to be here for this time. Finally on Tuesday we had a devotional by Elder Haleck, one of the  Quorum of the Seventy, and one thing he said that really stuck out to me was something like, "The Lord knows your true potential."   I learned that I was not living up to my potential those last couple of days and I only have 2 1/2 weeks to kick it in gear and study so I'm that much more prepared in the field.

Our departure date is the January 23, but I still am not sure exactly about the details. I think we were supposed to get our departure info today but it looks like that might happen next week instead. My district and I are getting excited and nervous for the day to leave, but I think the thing we are most looking forward to is starting to go to work. There is really only so much I can do for a pretend investigator, but it amazes me how difficult missionary work really is. I used to think that I knew a lot about the gospel and how it can bless people's lives, and although I do know this it is difficult to to discover the needs of the investigator and then apply the principles and doctrines to them personally.

Yesterday my companions and I had a really good experience with a practice door greet. We were given 10 minutes to knock the door and get inside and teach one doctrine. I thought it went really well and applied a lot of the things we had learned the day before about getting to know the investigator and "teaching that investigator and not the lesson", if that makes sense. It is kinda difficult to go in with a game plan and teach the investigator and not just spit out the words we had prepared before we came in. All three of us felt really good about it though and were really happy with our progress.  You live for moments like those here.

When you are learning so much and trying to apply it in lessons, there are definitely times when you feel like you have failed, but then there are moments where the spirit is teaching the lesson and everyone feels so peaceful and happy. I LOVE IT!!

I take comfort from teachers as well because some of them have told us that they are impressed with our Spanish. Well, all I can say is I feel I don't know much, and when I get to Chile I will probably not have a clue what anyone is saying to me, even my companion but it doesn't matter. The Lord created the earth out of unorganized matter, he can create a Spanish speaking missionary out of unorganized information. :D This I know and testifiy of. Really the only thing I have to do is be willing to put in the time and willing to open my mouth.

I'm excited that you are sending another box, and I really have no idea what I want you to send me. Oh, I do know, can you send me a couple more pairs of those footy socks, you know that ones that you wear with flats. For some reason I only have one pair. I swore that I packed more than that. And maybe like 2 more shirts from my closet that I could wear with a skirt and not a sweater. I hear that Chile is not going to be as cold as I thought and I packed a lot of sweaters and not as many just nice blouses. I don't know which ones but  trust your judgement Mom. I might be sending back some things though from my suitcase in case my luggage is overweight. (Which I am thinking i will be. But that's ok.) My companions and I decided to start packing a week in advance so we can send things home that wont make the cut.

My companions and I are doing well though. I love them. I don't know why we were put together but I think that I have learned so much more from them than they could have possibly learned from me. I came in here thinking that I had so much to teach. Little did I know that I have soooo much more to learn!!

Oh today was sooo good. We got to go to the temple this morning because my companion Hermana Latham has a doctor appointment. But we went to the 7:00 session and then we went and ate breakfast in the temple. I was soo happy. No more MTC food! :D It was good, just to let you know mom I had quische with  some sausage. But then for my comapions doctor appointment we get to go off the MTC campus and go out into the reall world!! YAY for field. Oh the things you get excited for after being here for so long!

I love you guys and tell everyone hello for me. You have no idea how much support and love I feel from everyone! I am truly blessed by a loving Heavenly Father! IT is so evident to me because of all the wonderful people in my life. Especially my family! I couldn't do it without you guys!  I'm so excited that you're starting to read the Book of Mormon! I can't wait to hear all of your wonderful insights!

Love you guys a ton!

Hermana Thacker!

(Sent Thursday, January 5, 2012) 

MTC Cafeteria -- Ain't My Mom's Cookin'

Que Tal Familia?

 

Another week down! Next week we get our travel plans which means I only have 3 weeks left here. I´m excited to go, but I am also a little nervous about being thrown out into the big world. Basically they allow you to get comfortable for a few weeks and then send you into another shock-mode when you reach the field. 

 

I got your letters!! Thank you so much! I loved hearing aobut the party and how everyone was sick from the amount of food present. Way to be family! Way to represent the Thacker name! So, Mom you wanted to know about the MTC food. Well, I was kind of holding off because I didn't want you to worry about me and send me food that I really didn't need to eat, but I have to say that eating in the MTC can be a little sketchy. The food is just highly processed and I learned my first couple of weeks here that I had to choose wisely what I could and could not consume. They do have a wrap line that allows you to create your own wrap, and I have been eating wraps everyday for most of my meals. Needless to say I have become sick of wraps and now no longer know what to eat. It´s like walking into the same restaruant everyday and realizing that your favorite dish isn't good anymore, but you don´t like anything else they have to offer. But that's ok with me. The Elders in my district have been talking a lot lately about how much weight they have gained here. I know that your treats Mom have not helped their situation! One elder has gained 15 or 16 pounds!! We´ve been here for 6 weeks. Haha, I just laugh.  He´s like 6´7´´ and can handle it!

 

This week was kind of strange, but still good. I just deleted half of my letter because I wrote out all the things that happened but they just sounded so negative so please understand that I only have 5 minutes left and that's why this letter is so short. We got a new district in our zone and we got 3 new hermanas. They are super fun and they are all serving in South America. The funny thing is that they are going to the MTC in Peru and they will leave the MTC before we do! 

 

This week we also had to say goodbye to two sisters in our zone. They both left super early in the morning but we always get up to help them finish packing and send them on their way. However one of the sisters was supposed to go to the travel office at 5 in the moroing yesterday. Well, her alarm didn't go off and the front desk paged our residence to find out where she was. Talk about your worst nightmare coming true. Well, we ended up getting her out the door in fifteen minutes and luckily the bus waited for her. I hope she made her flight! WE will be setting three alarm clocks on the day of our departure that is for sure!

 

Oh, so the new sisters in our zone got here yesterday and they speak better Spanish than I do. One of the sisters asked me a questions and I was like, "What!!"  I told her I could only talk to her about gospel related principles since that is all we study. It was kind of funny! 

 

So anyway, my time is up but I love you! I know the gospel is true. Jesus Christ is the center of it!

 

Hermana Thacker

 

(Written Dec. 29, 2011)

FELIZ NAVIDAD! for realsies

(Written Christmas day--Sunday Dec. 25, 2011)

FELIZ NAVIDAD!

 

Today was the big day!! How was it for everyone there?! I hope that someone is eating my portion of the food and nothing is going to waste! Today has been such a good day! Thank, thank, thank you so much for the box that you sent and the wonderful presents! I love the shirt, it is so cute! My companions and I started the day at 6:00 a.m.  We opened the presents that we had. Then we went and ate breakfast.  After breakfast we went to stand in line to wait to get into the gym so we could have good seats for when the Apostle came.

Oh, having an Apostle here was soooo good. Elder Bednar and his wife spoke to us today and it was seriously the fastest hour and a half of my life. I didn't want him to stop talking to us. He talked to us about the character of Christ and how we can know if we are truly converted to the Lord. He said that everyone can have a testimony, but that does not mean that everyone is converted to the Lord. Conversion is a process that we have to continually make everyday. The Lord was always thinking of someone else, never relying on the natural man. As the natural man we are selfish and the first person we think of in the midst of adversity is ourselves. I loved his talk because I learned so many things I need to be doing to be a better servant of the Lord (not only as a missionary but as a member of the Church). 

I loved his talk because it was all about the Savior and how we NEED to become like him. A really good teacher taught me this week that the difference between missonaries and the Apostles is that the Apostles don't hold back there hearts from the Lord. They truly lead a consecrated life with a heart dedicated to the Lord. I hope that someday I will be like the Apostles with a heart truly dedicated to the work. I know I'm not there yet and I'm still so selfish, but that's life and all I can do is strive to be better everyday!

 

I love you guys! Thank you so much for supporting me 100% in everything I do. It makes it easier to be away from home when I know that my family is supporting me. Oh, mom I forgot to tell you that I found my old camera card and it works so no worries anymore. Hopefully in the next couple of days I will be sending home some pictures of my district and my companions! 

 

Life only gets better in the MTC the  longer I am here. However I only have 4 more Sundays left here! Can you believe it! It's crazy I have so much to learn before I leave, but that's the point of life right? Do your best to prepare and hope the Lord can work with the person that you are; also He can work with the knowledge and experiences you've obtained thus far. 

 

Oh, tell the Bridges that I got there package as well! I will send them a note but if you see them tell them thank you for me! It was really sweet of them to send me more treats!!  I know I told you that the Mo Tab was coming to the MTC, well it turns out that was a big rumor that I was disappointed it did not come true. We watched the broadcast this morning, but it was still pretty good. 

 

Sacrament meeting with 2100 missionaries and the Aspostle was also so cool! It actually didn't take that long since they had so many people passing the Sacrament. I watched the Apostle take Sacrament just in case you were wondering if they do it differently or something..they dont! :D haha

 

My time here is going by so fast! I wish I could just step on the brakes of life and slow it down a little. My brain can't absorb all of the things I want to be absorbed.  I decided that I'm never complaining about learning a language again. My teacher, from before, said that it took him 16months to learn spanish on his mission. Usually it's about 4-6 months before you can completely speak and understand, it took him 16. I think that I can stop complaining since its only been 6 weeks and I can make it through an entire lesson with someone at least getting the jist of what I am talking about. Right now it's good enough for me. The Lord will use what little knowledge I have to do the work, I just have to have faith and rely on Him!! 

 

Well time is up I LOVE YOU ALL!!  Know that I am jealous of your Christmas feast tonight!!!

 

LOVE,

Herman Thacer