Hi!! How are you? Sounds like things have been busy and
super fun! I always loved those fall festivals. It really brings the ward
together and is so much fun. So things are great here! It´s been a busy and
wonderful week! The most exciting news... Esther is getting baptized on
Saturday!!! I am so excited for her! It has been challenging to make it all
work out, but it finally is! First they didn´t have the money. Then Esther
called us up last week to say she wasn´t sure she even wanted to marry Ruben
which is crazy since they´ve been together for 12 years and have 3 kids. Haha.
She was just nervous I think. So we talked to them both and got them excited
for it. Then we went with them a couple days ago to sign the papers and pay for
the marriage and they were missing paperwork which would cost 2000 more pesos
which is a ton. But they rounded up everything they had and we pitched in a
little and they got all the money they needed. So now they just have to get
married on Friday and we´re all set for the baptism on Saturday. I´ve learned
that things aren´t always easy. Satan does everything in his power to stop
people from becoming a family and joining the church. But this just shows me
how much Esther wants it. She is so ready. I really believe their family will stay
active. Maybe I´ll get to go to the temple with them in a year to get sealed!
How awesome would that be? I´m crossing my fingers. On Sunday we had a ton of
investigators at church again! It makes me happier than anything when that
happens. This one lady we are teaching Glenis, came to church this week. I
didn´t think she wanted to at all but there she was. I was ready to give up on
her. And then in church, it seemed like she wasn´t enjoying it. Like she was
bored or something. But then when we met with her a couple days later she said
she loved it and thought it was so great. Wow I am just learning so much, to
never give up on people. So on Saturday we got to do a Mormon helping hands
service project! Well basically we just wore the vests but our ward cleaned up
some of the streets. But it was so fun! And our investigator David came and
Ruben (Esther´s partner) and one of their kids. David is really loving the
church. He comes to church, he comes to service projects, he comes to our choir
practices. It´s so great. His baptism is in a few weeks. Well the English class
went well! There were only 4 people but I feel like I did okay. It´s hard
though. English is a hard language. I don´t think I could teach someone it in
English. Spanish is much harder. For now, my companion is helping me. In the
future, she is going to teach a class on how to read in Spanish because a lot
of people here can´t. On Monday we had a huge celebration at a member´s home to
celebrate her daughter´s and an elder´s birthday. It was a feast! I´m counting
it as my Thanksgiving. There was chicken, rice, salad, lasagna, pasta, cake,
and lemon bars. Haha. Wow I was so stuffed afterward. But it was so fun! Oh so
today I got the package from Aunt Sarah! Thank you for the mosquito net! That will
be so nice. I keep hearing of people getting dengae and I am kinda scared I
will get it. But she also sent an advent calendar for December. There is a card
for each day for me to open. It is so cute! I´m excited to open them! We played
paintball today as a zone!! My first time! It was really fun! And then I got to
go to this store called PriceSmart which is exactly like costco or sams. Not
that I need anything in a huge amount... but it was still fun. So we are
singing on Sunday in church with our choir. It is not so good... but all that
matters is that it brings the Spirit. I do not have a good voice. But compared
to everyone else here... I am like Cristina Agulera. Haha. Seriously though.
They aren´t so good at singing. But they try really hard. Did I tell you we
sing a hymn before every lesson we teach? It is so great. On Friday my
companion and I and the 2 elders in our branch are going to sing I can go the
distance from Hercules in English and then in Spanish. It will be fun! So right
now we have a goal as our zone that each companionship will activate 3 families
before Christmas. It is going to be very hard, but we have one coming every
week right now. We just need two more. But you´ll never guess how many
inactives are in our branch... 350!!!! I can´t believe it myself. There is so
much work to do. Okay enough about me. Wow it has been a long week. Haha. So
only 8 trick or treaters? Wow. Our neighborhood is getting old. lol. But your
pumpkin looked awesome!!! Good job!! That´s great you´re putting together 24
hour kits. Everyone should have one. So, no, the weather is not getting cooler.
It is sooo hot everyday. But I am getting a really nice tan! So every other
Wednesday we get 3600 pesos or about $90. It´s plenty to live off of. We spend
a lot of it just traveling to and from Santiago for meetings. But I always have
extra. The homes here are not great. They are usually made of cement blocks but
are very, very small. And the power goes out a lot. We are so lucky to live
where we live. So my eating schedule is not the best... I eat cereal for
breakfast, for lunch usually a sandwich or pasta and I don´t really eat dinner
that often. We get fed a couple days a week usually for dinner but usually I´ll
just eat some crackers or something. We get home so late. I go straight to bed
after we plan so I´m not even hungry. But anyways... I´ve lost about 40 pounds
so far! I´m excited about that! My clothes are getting kinda loose though.
Haha. But once I lose a little more, I´ll get them taken in. Okay so I´m sorry
I haven´t sent pictures yet! I really want to but every week we are so late to
emailing and have like no time. If we go earlier next week I promise to send
you some! I love you all so much! You are my favorite people in the world! I
hope you have a wonderful week!!!
Hermana Woolf
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