Kyleigh Wittwer

 So there is a story in the Bible where are the Israelites had to put blood on their door so their first born child wouldn't die. Similarly here in Chile there is a law for the 18 de Septiembre (Independence day!) that everyone has to have a flag of Chile visible in their window or outside their house. I think the punishment for not doing it is immediate death but Im not sure.

Anyways yeah this Sunday was Independence Day here in Chile! What does that mean you might ask? It means that every one is partying and nobody want to talk to the missionaries. All week. But hey its alright we still managed to find plenty of people to visit!

One person we found this week was Mariela. We were walking down the road when a car pulled up next to us and a man shouted "Hey are you guys missionaries?? You need to visit my house! I live around the corner and my wife is there, go visit her right now if you can!" You bet we practically ran there. Turns out they are new here in the city. They are members of the church but haven't gone in years, and Mariela actually served a misión. We talked to her for a long time and she told us about how even though she doesn't go to church she still knows its true and still wants to be part of it. She told us that she has done lots of things she shouldn't and just doesn't feel ready to go back. We testified of the love that God has for her and of the reality of Jesús Christ and repentance. This is my favorite part about being a missionary, being able to testify of truths and seeing it change people. And the greatest part, Sunday she came to church!! And the didn't come alone, she came with her two kids. It was so special to see how happy she was in the church.

There are a surprising number of return missionaries here who have fallen away from the church. They make me more sad than anything else here I think. In the misión I have honestly grown so much in my testimony and I absolutely KNOW that the things I am teaching are true. I know that after an experience like this there is nothing that can ever pull me away.

So the 18 itself was a Sunday and because it was a little super dangerous outside we had to be in the house unless we had an appointment. And all our appointments fell through so we had to be inside the house. All day. With absolutely nothing to do. And the worst part? We ran out of gas in the morning so we couldn't even cook! Not that that stopped us, we just made a lot of experiments in the microwave. Some turned out good and some we fed to the stray dogs haha.

Anyways now that the festivals are over its time to get back to work! I am loving being a missionary and I am really truly happy to be where I am right now :)

Hermana Wittwer