Best Birthday Ever!

Okay people...let me just say HOLY SHRAPNEL! I´m going to have a birthday every week so I can get 23 emails.  I´m going to say it again.  HOLY SHRAPNEL.  Thank you all so much for the letters and love and hilarious pictures (Tuck, Noah, Brookie, Richie, and other kid who I probably know but can´t remember and now I´m embarrassed (which means ¨pregnant¨ in Spanish...which I´m not)) (Blob, Tiff, Thayne, mom, dad (who wrote the world´s best letter from Mike Bourne!) Katie, Mikey) and testimonies...it really means a lot.  I can´t get over the OVERabundance of absolutely phenominal people in my life.  I love you all!  Best birthday ever!

Everyone keeps saying my blog entries are generic.  LAME. I think I´m just getting lamer and lamer (eg.  my favorite Coldplay song came on and I started singing ¨Soy un hijo de Dios¨) I absolutely LOVE having no color or style to my hair, I have calouses on my knees from praying so much, I wear really long black socks over wool tights, , putting on makeup is ¨worldly¨, polyester is the new silk, Dansko is the newest Gucci, and the pictures of those sisters in my call letter are starting to look really stylish. I AM A SISTER MISSIONARY! AHHHH!! When did this happen?  ha ha.  People, I love being a missionary. 

I gave a talk in my ward yesterday.  I´m always the ward pianist because the only people that play instruments are the Evangelicos who all play the guitar (and attack Mormons).  Their meetings sound like rock concerts next door on Sundays.  I always sit up on the stand at the electric piano (I´ve forgotten what a real piano sounds like) and there is always one Sunday where I look over my ward and I feel a burst of love for the ward.  I had that this Sunday.  I love where I am.  I love every single person in that congregation...I know them and I´ve seen them in hard times and not so hard times.  They are loving, they are hilarious, they are Chilean...the best race ever!

I spoke in church about something I absolutely love.  Okay, so the Bible ( we have the Book of Mormon, hello! not translated five billion times) but there is something that I love more than anything right now. When Peter was fishing and Christ calls him to be a" fisher of men. " It says he leaves his net IMMEDIATELY- STRAIGHTWAY- to follow Christ.  I spoke about this concept.  I talked about how Kathy left her schooling and jobs to serve a mission because she understood who called her.  I spoke about Hermana Eva (a member in Ovejeria) who drops everything and comes RUNNING to come out with us even though she doesn´t have one of her legs-  because she understands who is calling her.  Peter understood who called him.  In the end, it´s Christ.  When we really understand who calls us...that it is Christ...we drop everything and we go running.  I´m beginning to understand this concept out here.  Even though I saw someone I babysat at the MTC, when that little Elder leader asks me to do something, I do it...not because I want to impress him or prez, but because he is called of God to lead me and my comp in our sector.  When prez asks us to do something, we do it, because we understand who called us. When I´m tired, sick, rejected, wet from rain...I keep talking to people, knocking doors, or helping because all of this is between me and God.  I´m understanding who calls me and it´s beautiful.  I have a feeling that in about 6 months, a whole bunch of nets are going to get heaped up on me and I¨ll have to wade through that shrapnel, but for now I´m enjoying the simplicity of mission life!

Another food thing.  We ate with members on Sunday and a convert from a year ago, Carolina, made us a big bucket of Pichanga.  For those of you who don´t know, Pichanga is the most Chilean food I´ve ever seen. First, you take 3 pounds of french fries, 5 pounds of cut up hot dogs, 90 hard boiled eggs, and whatever other greasy meat you want and then you fry ALL OF IT together.  Then you serve it with pop and eat the mixture with mayonaise. 

 I´m a happy camper.  I know it sounds gross,  but even the scriptures say, judge not, lest ye be judged!

Oh yeah, shout out to the BEST MOTHER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! THank you for the package...not one of the videos works on my camera, but that´s okay...I still love you and all the good sweaters...they are WAY too cute and nice to wear down here. I will make good use of the pink one. Elder Scott is coming tomorrow...and you all know what that means...Hé´s going to tell us all to get married!   Shrapnel!!!!!!    Good thing I´m still a missionary...whew!

Family, friends, blog stalkers, I love you all! Thank you thank you thank you! I realized I hardly write about investigators, but they are there, I promise.  We taught 28 lessons this week and Vanesa is getting baptized this Saturday...she has the hardest life I´ve ever seen in my entire life and the gospel has changed everything.  It changes everything...it always does.

Hopefully this wasn´t too generic for you all! (at least it's not a post-it- right mom?)

Hermana Bourne