Welcome home Kate!!

Katie's homecoming will be this Sunday at 9:00. Alpine 7th ward.

> 1- it´s me
> 2-18 de septiembre festivities with little Rayen. She lives in another ward but followed me around all day and wanted to do everything I did.
> 3- Cerro Curacuvi. It was such a pretty day today.

Katie officially comes home OCTOBER 26TH!!!!!! We are so excited to have her home. And just in time for trick-or-treating... NICE.

3- We got desperate and finally took the heat matter into our own hands. We actually made smores while we were at it.
> 2- Let it rain
> 1- Our first day on the job in Lo Prado

Querido familia,
> I really cant believe that May is over and we are headed into June. The only thing about june is I feel like we are headed straight into November. Actually, Friday we had a conference with President May and his wife and half of our mission in Quilicura and for lunch Hna May had a Thanksgiving dinner made for us. She too feels like it is November and so we ate turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. It was almost like the real thing, but a Chilean style.
> Well, we are still working with Daniel. We actually couldnt find him all week long because he works and studies at night and sleeps in the morning. But he showed up to stake conference yesterday and he was wearing a suit coat, white shirt, and tie. He couldnt find his suit pants and was wearing jeans and felt so embarassed. But it was so good to see him there and he got there by himself. That is always the best sign right there. The only thing is he still doesnt have the personal bubble and was always touching my arm or sholder when he talked to me. He told us that he wants to be a missionary someday and is really excited about the church. We are planning on a baptismal service for him the 14th of June. We just need to work around his schedule and teach him all the lessons before then.
> This past week we have been trying to work a lot more with the members and getting references from them because we have been trying to find people by knocking doors and no one answers there door when it is cold outside. Yesterday we knocked from 6 until 10 and only had about 10 people answer their doors. Chileans are really supersticious about getting colds and dont risk anything, such as breathing in cold air.
> Yesterday we went to visit one of the older sisters who has medical problems that hinders her assistance in church and my eyes were really opened by her atitude. She lives with her son who is 21 and is a little Bob Marley. He smokes marajuana all the time and has his buddys over to drink, but is good to his mom. She is a returned missionary, but went inactive for who knows how many years and returned to the church in February. Yesterday when we were talking to her she just kept telling us over and over again how blessed she was because she has the gospel in her life. She had so many different reasons to complain to us, but she was just so happy that she had returned to the church and that she is preparing to enter the temple and the Lord hears everyone of her prayers. I just looked at her and was blessed to hear her bear her testimony. I know that I look at the bad things in life and dwell on them more than the good sometimes and when I do that, my life is a lot harder than it should be. Our atitude and thoughts really hinder how our life turns out. We need to focus on the good things, the blessings that we have and have confidence that the Lord is always there listening to every word we offer in prayer. He knows us so well and wants more than anything our happiness. We are the ones that make life hard and miserable. I just want to testify to all of you that the atonement of Jesus Christ is real and the only way that we have hope and mercy in our lives. Stay close to the Lord through prayer and study the scriptures daily. Then can we have the strength to press forward through our trials, no matter how big or small.
> I love you all and I love this gospel. I have been so blessed to be here and hope that I can help as many of my brothers and sisters come unto Christ.
> Love,
> Kate

This week has been interesting. We have done a lot of knocking and let me tell you, we have found some really interesting people. One was a 15 year old boy that actually contacted us in the street and asked us if we could teach him. So we went to his house a couple times to find him but he was never home. We talked to his dad several times in the door and he would just ramble for about 15 minutes about the most random religious things. I usually stopped listening half way through, which is never good. But we finally found Daniel and taught him about the plan of salvation. During the lesson his dad walked in and wanted to know where in the bible it talked about the different kingdoms of glory. He then started rambling on about how he is part jehova witness, evangelico, and catholic. But all in all, Daniel came to church with us yesterday and loved it. He had so many questions and was asking us when he could be a missionary and what he needed to do to be baptized. We are going to teach him english tomorrow and teach him more about the gospel Thursday. The only thing is is that he is a little girly and doesnt really have a personal bubble. So we turn around and he is right there and is always touching our arms. My companion was about to loose it by the time we dropped him off at his apartment because he touched her elbow right before he turned to leave. We need to teach him about personal space, but he is a good kid and will progress pretty quickly. We just need to get his dad to listen now.
> I know have half the ward asking for me to teach them Piano. It is good that they want to learn because that means I wont have to play in sacrament meeting, but we might have to wait a while before they are ready to do that. It is not the easiest to play for Chileanos because they make up their own tunes and hold notes that dont even exist. Oh during Relief Society, there isnt a piano, and i have to bite my tongue sometimes because las hermanas sing the hymns very creatively. Actually in our zone class I actually caught myself laughing because of the creativity of some of the latinos and the hymns. Yeah, I am trying to be better about that and just learn to follow them. So y´all cant laugh when I get home and start singing the hymns chilean style.
> We were in Santiago last Monday and ran into a couple that is from Alpine, they live in the Hillside ward. They are here in Chile for another week I think. The wife took down our home number and said that she was going to call you. But it was really random to find them in the plaza in down town Santiago.
> We are still in the search for more investigators. There are people that let us in and listen to the Restoration and then when we go back for the second lesson, they arent home. So we still in the search for those people who are ready to accept the gospel in their lives. It is so true that the members are the best ways to find references because they know their neighbors and so we are trying to work more with the members and visit their friends and family members that aren't members. Our ward is really warming up and are ready to leave with us.
> I love you all and hope that you enjoy today. Have a wonderful week.
> Love
> Kate

1- working the fields of the mission
2- I love mountains
3- Our zone of Los Andes

Happy Birthday Kate!

Here is the most recent letter from Katie. She is doing extremely well! I can't believe how time can fly and seem to stand still simultaneously. She celebrated her 22nd birthday on the 18th. We are so proud of her and her enthusiasm to preach the gospel. She is a great example to our family :)

Buenos Días,
> I am so glad to hear that all is going well with you all. I love Monday´s when I get to read your emails and write all the things that have happened here. It is amazing how much can happen in a weeks time. Well, my birthday was really relaxed, bueno, as relaxed as missionary life gets. Actually Wednesday morning I got a phone call from President May and his wife and they sang happy birthday to me and wanted to check in and see what I had planned for the day. It made my day, because it was just like the phone call from Grandma and Grandpa. I loved it, well it would have been better if it really was Grandma and Grandpa, but I´ll take it. Other than that, not much happened. At lunch they sang to me and gave me a huge plate of fruit, just up my alley.
> This past week Hermana Hogan went home and then Sunday is the last day of Hermana Ricks. I cant believe it, I am starting to be one of the older missionaries here. I still feel like I just got here and have a lot to learn, especially the language. Spanish has like 5 different words to describe the same thing and so I get really confused when people start throughing out random words that I have never heard before to describe something so simple. Anyway, this next Monday we are getting 5 new sister missionaries and I am really almost sure that I might have to be training one of them because all of the older sister missionaries here have already trained and usually only train once. So I am starting to get really nervous because this is the last week of changes and then we have cambios next week. But it will be fun to mix things up a bit.
> Thanks for the prayers for Maria and Axel. They are progressing so well. They have come to church twice now and when we go to their house every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night Maria is waiting for us with all her books and pamphlets in hand. She loves the gospel and is really progressing fast, but the only problem is her husband. He is really not all that interested in listening when we come and I know that that is not going to make things easy. That is the hardest thing for a marriage, when one of them wants to listen and the other just wont make the time. But we are planning to have a family home evening with them this week and get another family to try to encourage him to participate with us. They have a baptismal date for this Saturday, but we might wait and see if we can get the husband to jump on board so they can all be baptized together, I am not sure, we need to talk to Maria about it.
> Oh, yesterday I gave my first talk in church. It was not all that bad. I really don't have any fear of talking in front of people anymore. The only problem is is I don't know exactly what I said and I hope I didn't preach false doctrine by mixing up words or something.
> Also I received the shoes mom sent and the package from Amie this past Tuesday just in time for my birthday. Thank you so much. The shoes are working out really good and I love the clothes. They are perfect because things are really starting to cool down at night here. Also thank you Amie, Erik, and the boys for the shirt and cards. I loved them. They really made my Week.
> Thank you all for you letters and love, they help me get through the hard weeks and keep me going. Thanks for your prayers also. The Lord is so mindful of all his children here and I am so blessed to see the changes in the lives of the people here. I love you all so much and pray for you daily.
> Love,
> Kate

photo update

> 1-after they shoved my face in the cake, mean trick
> 2-Hna Padilla, Hna Evans, Hna Michelsen, Hna Hogan, Hna Ricks, Me, Hna Darca
> 3-Gabriela is the youngest daughter of Rodrigo y Angelica. She is the cutest little girl!

1-the farwell of Elder Guevara
> 2-Thiare and Oscar when I told them I was leaving(that´s why my eyes are all red)
> 3-Zone of Quilicura at our last Zone class together. Six of the elders finished their missions.
> 4-Family home evening with Rodrigo and Angelica and their 3 girls with the Familia Moya Lara. We ate sushi, of course.

1- Hermana Johnson and I in the nightly routine. Actually this was when I had hives and we were in a trio for the night.
> 2- Good ol´ hives!
> 3- Hermana Ricks and I with Lucy and Lily. They are converts of Hermana Ricks and they made us an amazing breakfast this morning. They are darling!
> 4- Me and Fernanda. She is the daughter of our momita. Every week in sacrament meeting she comes up to the piano with me and plays the songs with me. It is a little difficult sometimes trying to play around her little hands, but no one can hear the difference.
>