Week 73

Adios!

It was my last week! It was pretty amazing! I got to see everyone I loved and we had a great baptism in Saturday. Last night we had a dinner with Paola and I refused to say goodbye so I said goodbye this morning. It was a week full of lots of crying put also! I took a tone of pictures. I don't have time to write much today other than to say that I love you all and I will ether see you soon or talk to you soon:) 

Elder Stutz Funeral

Our district

Hna Sanchez

Investigator Aminta:)

Week 72

Last Week of August

We got to go to the temple this week! It was fantastic! It was a whole lot better than the last time I went. I sat outside on the garden afterwards for a little bit and just thought about life and my mission and the many blessings I have been given. Then that same day we had dinner with Gladys and she made me handmade (literally she flattened them with her hands... I don't know how she does it) and they were delicious! I ate so much I felt sick... But it was a good sick! :) a delicious sick. 

Oh! Also on Tuesday we had dinner with Yelina;) who recently got married and her sister just moved here from DC. Her sister Claudia told us all about her cool job with the government. She has lived all over the world and knows four languages. Her favorite place to live was Brazil because according to her it was a new country and everything was new and big. She also knows Russian! She was really good at it:) she pumped me up. I think I will call her every time I get unmotivated. She has this mentality, that she can do anything! It's awesome:) 

On Thusday my friend Shelby from Murfreesboro came down with her boyfriend to see me:) she took my companion and I out to lunch and we talked about her life. It was great to see her:) I should have taken a picture of us! But I was so distracted that I totally forgot. :( She looked really happy though:D

Yisell and Victor, the Elder's investigators got baptized this weekend! It was a great baptism and the spirit was supper strong. It was also Yisell's birthday and I got to make her a treat. On Sunday they got up to share their testimony and all I could think of was how amazing and how perfectly they said it. It was a perfect testimony! They are "the golden" investigators. I sure love them:) 

This Sunday I gave my "discurso de despedida" they had me talk about the atonement and missionary work. I still felt nervous. And I always prepare way too much for the time I am given. Which is mostly a blessing except for then i left Elder Stutz with like 8 min... Oops. But he ended up going over too:P as I was sitting in Relief Society I was thinking about how much I love these members. They are my family. This week we have all our dinners filled up and even most of our lunches! I might indeed roll off the plane. The only reason why we had to start filling up lunches is because Paola invaded our calendar and sighed up to feed us every empty day we had.... I love her so much! 

Also another cool/gross event. After church in Sunday they gave us treats in relief society. I was so exited because they were my favorite chocolates! So I was unwrapping the chocolate and I look down and there is a tiny worm right on the chocolate!! It was just scrawling around. I showed as many people as were close to me and then Hno Bustamante squishes it! Then we had to dig it out of the trash because Hno Aristizabal wanted to take a picture of it... I think he might sue the chocolate company... Hahaha! But it was pretty cool experience:) moral of the story: Check your chocolate before you eat it, or you might be eating chocolate covered worms. ... or just don't eat chocolate:) 

Oh also... I will only be writing one more weekly email after this because my time has come. Death is eminent :( so for all of those who have asked me: My date of arrival is September 9 at 10:17 from Nashville. I will be flying Delta

Okay enough of that:) Have another fantastic week!

Hermana Orellana

Pics:

Us at the temple:) with silly faces

Los niños;D

What the members share with me<3

Us... Right now...

A snail on his shirt!!

Sis Shenk made me banana pudding today!!:D

Week 71

Fiestas hispanas>>>

Hola amigos!!

I am writing my email from the bus central station in down town Nashville:) Funny story, we originally came down here with Kelsey to visit the science museum and then eat popusas with a Salvadorian family from Providencia but we ended up driving around Nashville going across a pedestrian bridge, walking down Broadway and eating some really hipster pizza, oh! And buying cool souvenirs that I will have for the rest of my life! <mostly cool TN jewelry. ;D and then Kelsey had to leave so she dropped us off at the science museum only to realize, after she had already driven away, that we didn't have enough to time to stay at the museum! We ended up getting refunds and walking to the nearest bus stop so that we could get to the Salvadorian member's house. So this is where we are at! :) I already got winked at a couple of times by some men on the bus. I still have another bus ride... Wonder what other silly business will happen... 

This week we had our Decades Dance! It was really fun and kind of stressful trying to set it all up. All I did was make the poster and then everyone just wanted me to give them all the decoration ideas. So we came up with having one of the Elders spray paint a cool banner, make big flying pac-man posters, and a ginormous ballon peace sign. < that was the toughest part! I was stressing so bad about it that I couldn't sleep Friday night and God finally blessed me with a semi- awake dream about how to do it. It turned out pretty great!:D I give all the credit to Heavenly Father though because no matter how much I thought about  I couldn't come up with how to do it. Everyone dressed up so cool! And we even made tie dye shirts to go along with out matching skirts:) we had a blast just sitting and watching everyone else dance. It was really really hard not to dance but I did it!:D kind of... My arms were doing all sort of twitchy things while I was sitting.:P 

This week we also had some amazing miracles with some investigators. We have two new really amazing families. The Sanchez family from Cuba and the Murillo family from Honduras. We found both families in an apartment complex with a whole bunch of No Trespassing sighs all over it. We prayed about it thought and we knew that we just had to knock there. We figured that if they kicked us out we would leave right away. But no one has stopped us so we kept going and we have found some really amazing people!! They have committed to come to church and they have both been reading the Book of Mormon. They see the blessings and want to continue learning! It's for people like this that I just love! I love being a missionary! 

There is not much else. This week we will be going to the temple!! It will be loads of fun!:) 

Until next week!;D

Hermana Orellana

-tie-dye 

-pac man!! Eating Hno R

-coolest tie-dye

-trying out cool things!

New friendships!! #younglove

On the bridge with my hommies

At "pizza by the slice" with my hommies

Sis Schenk and I doin weird things:)

Week 70

Mid Transfer

Hola Familia:)

This week went by supper dupper fast! We had a lot of things going on.

We have been really tying to find new investigators and it has been

going great! The theme of this transfer is Cubans! Cubans everwhere!

They all want to be baptized:D

On Tuesday, as usual, we went to do service at the bishop Storehouse.

This week was even funner than other weeks because Paola was there:D

She stopped by to do some service! It was loads of fun! It was a

pretty busy day at the storehouse though. We stayed in till 4 because

we couldn't finish the orders. Tuesdays are my favorite part of the

week but they are also the days that I am the most tired:P This time

was also pretty cool because as we were filling orders we got to talk

to the other Elders about dinosaurs. Elder Hernandez wanted to share

his question with us and so we spent the time debating about how and

when dinosaurs came into the creation. It was actually pretty

interesting and a lot of the Elders had really good input. It reminded

me that I still have a lot to learn and also now I know who to go to

when I have deep questions like that...:)

On Wednesday Hna Rudolph and I trained at our district meeting and in

the evening we got to help the Young Women make posters and handout to

pass by for a carnival activity that they having been planing for.

This week I also had exchanged! I got to spend the day in Lebanon

Tennessee with Hna Torres:D What a blast! Our comp unity was

unbelievable! It was almost like we could read each others minds. I

think it might be because we are both from Mexico or something but she

is just simply amazing. I enjoyed spending the day with her but it

also helped me realize how grateful I am to be serving in

Goodlettsville. This is seriously the best area in the world! This

place feels like home.

This weekend we got to help one of our members with her baby-shower

and we also got to attend a three year old's mini birthday with

delicious carrot cake. Also! Paola gave her first official lesson in

Relief Society! I cried like a proud missionary...:'D

Also I just want to give a little shout out to my broskie! He will be

3 months out on his mission this week!:D He is totally killing it.

Hermana Orellana loves Elder Orellana<<

That is it for this week folks! On to a new week full of more

adventures <mostly spiritual adventures (the best kinds of course) I

hope yall enjoy this week. Ours will be full of rain and humidity.

Hermana Orellana

-us at Sophia's birthday and Milo, the most photogenic dog I have ever met.

-Sophia's pictures... She took all the pictures... The three year old...

That like the best picture of me and Hna Rudolph

I blow-dried my hair... Hna Rudoph freaked out!!! I am a lion!!!:D

Why grown men don't go to baby showers... They make them eat baby food! D:|

It was pretty funny though