HEEEEEEEEEEY FELIZ NAVIDAD A TODOS!!!!!! 

Christmas in the mission is a blast. I ate with some members, then visited other members and ate some more, and then visited some other people and ate some more. By the end of the night I wanted to die a little bit, but it was so worth it. And EVERYONE gave us so so soooooooo much meat that for a second I thought I was in Argentina. Afterwards I swore to be a Vegetarian but it only lasted a day. oops. 

So sad news: we had cambios. My compañera will be staying here with Hermana Richards and guess where I will be going? Guadalupe. San Fernando again, whooooooo!! It's going to be a little weird because I just left San Fernando the other day (5 months ago) but also I'm excited for it. I'm going to be an Hermaña lider, which means I will get to do intercambios in my old sector, and I will be living with my old compañera Hna Alvarez, so that's going to be amazing! I'm super sad to be leaving but also excited for whats coming. 

So the worst part about leaving a sector is saying goodbye to everyone. I hate goodbyes. All the investigators told me to call them when we found out if I would leave or not, so I did. And a few of them started crying on the phone... And then Sunday didnt come to church because they said they didnt want to say goodbye to me in front of people. I thought me leaving would make more people come but instead we only had one investigator come, so that didnt work out as I had planned...

Tonight I will be finishing the last of the goodbyes. It's hard because I'm leaving a lot of good people and a lot of good friends (many of which will be baptized in the upcoming weeks) but that's the mission life. I think I have learned more in my 5 months in Baquedano than I learned in my 4 years in highschool. I've learned a lot about the world, a lot about the gospel, but more than anything I've learned a lot about myself. I've realized that I can do things that I never thought I could do before. And I've realized that it really has nothing to do with my personal ability or talents, but everything to do with the other name on my name tag. I know that I'm doing what God wants me to do and that it's through Jesus Christ and his atonement that we have been able to see so many miracles here. And for that I am so grateful. I know this is His work and there is nothing better that I could be doing at this time in my life. 

I love you all and hope you have a great New Years!

Hermaña Wittwer

A letter from President Harris...

December 26, 2016

Dear Brother and Sister Wittwer and Family:

We are writing to tell you that in our recent transfers, your missionary, Sister Kyleigh Nicole Wittwer, received a new assignment to serve as an Hermana Lider (Sister Training Leader) in the San Fernando Zone. As a Sister Training Leader she will be responsible with her companion to teach and support 8-12 other sister missionaries in their missionary duties.  She will conduct companionship exchanges weekly to train, teach and support other sister missionaries. She will also be a member of the Mission Leadership Council and attend the monthly training meetings with us, the Zone Leaders, the other Sister Training Leaders and the Assistants to the President.

The responsibilities of leaders are outlined in the mission manual and include the following:

Leaders inspire and support those they serve. In addition to setting a strong example, they:

·         Inspire others to have a spirit of love, unity, obedience, and hard work…

·         Encourage missionaries to live a high standard of obedience, especially by living the first principles of the gospel…

·         Teach other missionaries in companionship study, companion exchanges, district meetings, and other settings…

We are pleased that Sister Wittwer is willing and worthy to accept this assignment, and we are confident that the missionaries in her care will be blessed by her service.

We thank you for your support and encouragement to your missionary. We love her and appreciate her service in the Chile Rancagua Mission.

With love,

President Reed J. Harris                    

Sister Kathleen Harris

Short, but sweet...

Alright folks sorry this will be a short email but this week I just want to tell you about a miracle we had. We have an investigator named Maria Teresa who wants to get baptized so bad. She goes to church, studies what we leave her, and prays always. Basically perfect with just one little flaw. She smokes. She used to smoke a lot a lot, but after we taught her the word of wisdom she slowed down a little. We offered her a priesthood blessing from the elders which she accepted. We visited her a few days after the blessing and she told us, "Know what? I havent smoked since the blessing. I go outside, light my cigarro, and can't do it. In that moment it just appears so... gross. So I just drop it and go back inside." Priesthood blessings work!!! She will be baptized the 31 of December :)

Hermana Wittwer

So Monday we got to do a service activity/Christmas activity with the 2 zones in Rancagua. We went to a (casa de ancianos? old peoples home? I forgot how they are called...) and we sang a bunch of Christmas songs. My comp and I had to sing in a special number with the Elders of Baquedano but it didnt really phase me because I firgure if I sing bad, the old people wont remember it long. At the end we sang "Savior, Redeemer of my Soul" and Hna Harris played the violin and an Elder played the piano and it was sooooooo powerful. We were all in tears when we finished. It's amazing how during Christmas you really can feel the difference as people strive more to remember Christ. 

This Wednesday we had a special activity in the church called Capillas Abiertas (open houses?). Basically we opened up the church and we had a bunch of members come to explain their organizations and we had banners to explain the things we believe. In the sacrament room we had a giant image of Christ and we made it into a little mini visiting center. A lot of people came and it was amazing how strong the spirit was. Everyone left in awe.

 Later we visited some of the people who came and they all said it was a great experience. There was a family we are teaching and the daughter Fernanda never wanted to listen to us. But after going to the open house she said "Wow I felt so... different there. I don't know  what it is but I think I like your church more than mine!" She accepted a baptism date for the end of January so we are excited to see how she progresses.

This sunday we had a miracle. In church we met a woman named Maria Teresa. We talked to her and she told us she was meeting with missionaries in 2008 in Santiago but was never baptized, but that she wanted to change her life and she wanted us to visit her. So after church we went to her house and talked to her and taught her a little and she is GOLDEN. We set a date for her baptism the 31 of December. She really wants to be baptized this day and I think she is already more converted to the gospel than a lot of members here! 

Merry Christmas!!

Hermana Wittwer

Weird things that have happened this week:
-2 people thought I was from Argentina
-1 person thought I was from Germany
-Somebody asked us if we would let them into our neighborhood to catch a rare Pokemon that was inside
-Our best family of investigators decided to tell us they already got baptized like 20 years ago. 
-Some guy who was sitting next to me in this internet cafe asked for a selfie with my compañera and I. We got his address and will send someone else to visit him. 

But other than that its been a pretty normal week! 

This week we have been focusing a lot on the Light The World thing the church is doing. We have seen that video with about every single person I know here in our sector and pass cards of it to everyone we talk to. If you guys haven't p seen the video or aren't doing the things every
day DO IT. We as a mission are trying to do the things every day, but its a little hard when one of them is something like "call you mom and tell her thanks"... 

We have been focusing on inviting people to church a lot this week but here in Chile there is a problem called almost everyone will say "oh yeah ok I'll try to go!" but then they NEVER actually come. So this Sunday we were determined to get people to come. So we woke up early and left the house early to go look for our investigators. We woke some people up. And called a lot of people. And they still didn't go... haha I think we are going to have to look for new techniques to help people get to church. 

This week that is coming is going to be super great and we are going to have like 20 investigators in church on Sunday, so get ready for next weeks email! Love you all bye!

Hermaña Wittwer(Mom note: I hope that dog doesn't have fleas...)

This week the coolest thing happened. There is this old investigator from like 2 years ago that we have talked to a few times named Daniela. She is 23 and has a baby of 2. She received the missionaries before but wasn't baptized and then she lost contact with the missionaries. Well we found her like 3 months ago and taught her once. We invited her to be baptized and she said no. Since then we have passed by like 20 times but she is sometimes not there and is sometimes unable to attend us. The thing is she doesn't have a cell phone (who doesn't have a cell phone these days?!) so its HARD to get in contact with her. But she did come to church a few weeks ago when we invited her. Finally we managed to pass by and visit her one morning when she was there. We talked to her for a while and she told us "You know what? Your persistence has paid off. I finally got my answer in your church the other day and I want to be baptized. When can i be baptized?" My companion about died from joy. And me too a little. It was such a miracle! So we are now planning her baptism for 25 of December. It should be good :)

As a mission we have had the goal to give 2 Books of Mormon out every day. I'll admit, sometimes its hard. We don't always manage to do it. But we try to do it every day we can and we are honestly seeing MIRACLES. Its crazy to see how many people are willing to accept the book and learn more. I absolutely love the book of Mormon and know that it can and will change these peoples lives more than anything else.

This Sunday no investigators came to church which was a little bit of a downer BUT we did have a ton of less actives come! (side note: Chile has more menos activos than about any other place in the world. Its crazy how many you can find by just contacting.) I like working with less active members because they already have their testimony, you just have to help them remember it... and help them remember that the gospel is more important than members that might have  offended them haha.

Anyways we are working like crazy here to pick up our sector! Also I think it was Thanksgiving or something this past week so just want to let you all know that Im super thankful for you and for your support! Les quiero!

Hermaña Wittwer


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