November 25, 2013

Okay so last Monday night, Hna M and I left for Talca and spent the night there. Tuesday we got up early and made for the train station. We met up with the rest of the missionaries who were getting transfered from Talca and we put all of our luggage on the train and left. It's a bit stressfull because the train doesn't stop for very long so we had to move everything really fast. The trains are like metros and have doors on both sides. In the train car I was in we had all of our luggage on one side of the train because the train lady told us that all of the platforms would be on the other side. So we went on our merry way. I enjoyed talking with the other Hermanas and such. We were about 10 minutes away from San Fernando when I had a sudden realization that there was a very good chance that the zone leaders in San Fernanado would be on the platfom to help everyone getting off and on the train. When we got to the platform in San Fernanado the doors opened on the side all of our luggage was on (and of course one of MY suitcases had to fall out.) So all the missionaries on the train had a frantic moment of moving all the luggage to the other side of the train so people could get on and off. Suddenly a bunch of missionaries from San Fernando came over with more luggage. Sure enough, the zone leaders were there. I don't remember the other one's name, but one of the is called Elder Archuleta. They helped an Hermana get off the train and another Hermana get on the train. I said good-bye to the Hermana getting off (Hermana B) because we've been in the same zone since I got to Chile and we were off to Rancagua.

So I'm now in Rancagua. Holy crap, it's hot here. We've been at a steady 90 degrees all week...I think. They measure temperature in Celcius so I'm actually not sure. 30 degrees C. So far I'm really enjoying Rancagua. The only thing is that my sector, Manzanal is really huge so we are walking a TON. The first few days were brutal. I'm starting to get used to it, but it's still exhausting. We also don't have very many investigators so we are doing even more walking and contacting. But the good news is that I'm enjoying myself. My companion, Hermana U is also really awesome. We get along really well.

We do have two investigators preparing for baptism on the 14 of December. Their names are M and J. M is 13 and drinks and smokes. J is 16, almost 17, and pregnant. But they are both AWESOME. It's crazy that they're so young and already have problems with the commandments, but that just goes to show the times we're living in. We've taught them both the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. Last night was our lesson on the Law of Chastity. We first did a short lesson on the Plan of Salvation. When we got to the Law of Chastity, both me and my companion were super nervous. We didn't want J to feel bad, but we also wanted to be direct with her. We had spent the whole day trying to figure out how to teach the lesson. Luckily we had the spirit and that helped infinitely. At first she looked like she was going to cry. She had her head down the whole time and her face was a little red. When my companion asked if she would keep the law of chastity she looked up and said she can't because she's already broken it. I felt prompted to tell her about about the Lotus flower. It's a flower that grows in the worst of conditions, but it's a really beautiful flower. I told her that even though she's broken the law of chastity she has something beautiful: her child. And now she has the chance to repent and keep the law of chastity from the point on. She said she would do it! It was probably one of the best lessons I've been in. We were both able to feel and follow the spirit.

The ward here is super small. There's about 40-50 people that go every sunday. Most of the members are old, but they're all super loving. I love the ward so far! Of course, there's no one here to play the piano, so you can guess who's the new pianist. This sunday my companion and I helped in the Primary. There's a girl in the primary named E. She's 3 almost 4 and adorable. Apparently she's hasn't really liked any of the missionaries in the past, but for some reason she's in love with me. During sacrament meeting she kept walking over to me to pet my hair and try to say my name...everyone has a hard time saying Hutchinson. She's super cute.

We also taught a CTR (in Spanish it's HLJ) class about fasting. My companion made same money out of paper to illustrate the point of fast offerings. At the end of the lesson when we asked them what fast offering is, one of the little boys said "uhh...when you have fake money?" hahahah it was really funny.

So that's what's going on with me. I'm really enjoying Rancagua!

President Warne called me to tell me that I will start taking medicine soon. I'll have to take it for 4 months and get a blood test every month to make sure I don't have any reactions to the medicine. I have a feeling I'll be here in Manzanal for all of those 4 months. So I will hit my half-way mark in my second sector......eh, could be worse.

Hermana Hutchinson