2nd Week in Chile

Happy Birthday to our beautiful missionary!! 

She turns 20 on St. Patricks day!  

HOLA FAMILIA!!!!!!!! 

All your letters this week were SO EXTREMEMLY good to receive! Thank you SO much for your love and support! I really do appreciate them so much! I feel like there are A LOT of questions to answer so I’ll try my best to answer everything! Dad, I don´t know the exact number of baptisms and or missionaries... all the numbers I’m not really sure of. So sorry! Ha our apartment is only Hermana Pereira and I. We walk about EVERYWHERE! The serros (hills) here are super intense. The members feed us SO MUCH FOOD! but with all the walking and hills it is somewhat balanced. I think from all these hills and stairs I now have the calves of a Samoan rugby player. ha

This is the view from my apartment!

  Buses, micros are our main transportation to get to central viña. I feel like we are going to die about every time we ride one. The other day we were riding to a member’s house for Almuerzo on the bus and I swear we were going to die. We were going 80 down this small street, dodging dogs, and old ladies. Hermana Pereira dropped her pamphlets, my nametag flew to the front of the bus, and both our skirts were all over the place. You can only imagine the scene. But we survived. 

Downtown 

The ward members here are incredible like I said earlier. It is has been an absolutely humbling experience going into some of the houses here. A hermana in the ward we had lunch with the other day, I swear it couldn´t even be called a house. It was as big as our mudroom. SO humbling, these people really do not have anything, but they do have the gospel and they make that the rock and foundation in their lives. Their testimonies are so incredibly powerful and have strengthened mine so much! I love them! Last week we were eating lunch in a members home and their 20 year old daughter wanted to know how I did my hair (sock bun). I taught her all about it and she came running up to me during church on Sunday with her sock bun! So funny!

We have 2 new investigators Marisol and her 12-year-old daughter Monsuratt. Monsuratt reminds me of Lauren Chaney, super young but looks and acts like she is 20! They were a referral from the Elders in Viña. We have been to their house twice and we invited them to come to a baptismal service on Friday! And they came! It was so incredible watching the service. After the 23-year-old sister was baptized the young women in the ward sang the baptismal primary song. I looked over at Marisol during the song and tears were flowing down her face. The spirit was so incredibly strong. Hermana Pereira was crying. I think the spirit truly witnessed to Marisol the importance of baptism because we have talked with them a little bit about it. This week we are teaching them about the restoration. They are such amazing women and I believe that the Lord has prepared them to hear this gospel. They were all laughing at me saying that all I do is smile even when they are saying something sad or bad that has happened...cause I don´t understand. haha oops. So I may not speak the language great but I can certainly smile!

Lots of bugs here. BIG SPIDERS. fleas. I think there is a bicho in my bed because I have bites all over! ha 

We eat a lot of fruit. 

For dessert sometimes we eat cough drops. ha interesting.

The Mission Home

There are so many people here in Reñaca. We are doing a lot of contacting. Since it is still summer many people are visiting which is hard finding actual people we can teach here in Reñaca. Like you said dad, many are visiting from Argentina. 

This past week I’ve read a ton of the Book of Mormon and my testimony of it is SO incredibly strong. I just finished reading about Christ in the Americas. My relationship with the Savior has grown so much through reading this true translated book. I can testify to you that our Savior lives. That he suffered for us. That he knows each and every one of us. That THIS is His gospel.:)  The Book of Mormon is full of answers. Here, I find them every day! I am so grateful for the spirit that we experience every day here on the mission. To reading scriptures, to bearing witness of this gospel, and to being lead to those needing to hear this gospel! 

Dad to answer your question we have 30 min to email here! haha mom every time I show a picture of my family they all say you look like Cameron Diaz! ha Lauren... this family in the ward here are convinced you served a mission here and are now living in Colombia.... hahaha quite hilarious! 

Family, I hope all is well. It is so good to hear from you. Thank you so much for your love and support I really do appreciate it!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxo CON MUCH AMOR 

Hermana Katelyn Nicole Smith 

The rest of her letter was of a personal nature.  We will share it in the weeks to come....