Radimadi is hilarious!

Short on time today sorry!

Shout out to my MOTHER, Grandmother!!! Best birthday packages EVER THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.  The videos worked and everything! SOPHIE you are GIGANTIC...it´s amazing. 

Okay people...Radimadi is hilarious.  So we are teaching a family of gypsies.  The mother...who looks just like a gypsie from the movies put a gypsie blessing over my head and over the heads of my family members...watch out!  Also...we were making calls the other day when the local transvestite contacted us.  His name is Pablo, but he prefers Gina.  We have two black, stray dogs that follow us around day and night...they sleep outside our house and do contacts and go up to doorways with us...if only they spoke Spanish!

Miracle of the week! We are teaching three parejas (uhh...english...people who live together) who are just fabulous.  This week, we challenged Elizabeth to get baptized on October 30th.  She looked down at the floor and said, ¨ I´m sorry hermanas..I can´t.¨ ¨Why not, Elizabeth?¨ ¨Because I´m getting married that weekend and 

we´re going to be visiting the campo that weekend to be with our families.¨BEST EXCUSE EVER for not being able to get baptized on a specific date.  She has fecha for the next week.  People are really starting to come out of the woodwork here.  It has been easily the hardest cambio of my life to have a whole new sector, branch, and companion all on my little gringa shoulders...but I was starting to get comfortable as a missionary...so Heavenly Father threw this gigantic, really hard, uncomfortable burden my way and my legs are wobbly under the load, but we´re standing.

Grandma Cynthia asked for a Chilean recipie!  Here´s two:

 

COMPLETOS FOR TWO (mostly because everyone I know just got married!)

-two fresh, delicious, hot hoagie rolls (none of this gross U.S. hot dog buns)

-two giant hot dogs

-one avacado smashed up with salt

-one tomatoe diced

-a whole bunch of mayo (Chilean mayo is SO different and way better sorry)

directions: put it all together in this order: bread, meat, tomatoes, avacado, mayo

 

PICHANGA

-anything you can think of (potatoes cut like fries, small pieces of dough, cut up sausage and hot dogs and every other kind of meat you can think of, hard boiled eggs, avacado, anything else)

Directions: fry anything that can possibly be fried in oil and serve with mayo

 Thank you for the prayers.  I am surrounded by really supportive Elders and leaders in my zone...my ZL gave me a blessing (I actually came with him to Chile...fantastic Elder) of comfort and I´ve been feeling angels constantly around me to bear me up.  My comp is making microscopic changes for the good and my heart is (hopefully) becoming a little softerr because of this experience.  She wishes all the Chileans were Japanese and constantly makes comparisons....but we´re working on being happy and productive.  I literally am incharge of the entire sector, branch, members, less actives, finding, contacting, teaching, talking, interacting, smiling, and dragging my comp from one thing to the next.  She has no active desire to improve which is a little foreign to me.  I hope she can see the joy that I have at doing this (through my baggy eyes and absolute exhaustion) and keep finding that joy. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR ME!

Family, Friends, Blog stalkers...thank you for everything.  Keep praying, keep reading the Book of Mormon, Keep choosing the right and DO what you are supposed to and you will be happy...I love you all!

 

Hermana Bourne

 

Chile's Bicentennial

And the award for the best slash nerdiest friend ever shoutout goes to …….Rob Labaron!  Thank you for the package… I died with laughter…ate everything and then swore I´d never wear that Snuggie and have been sleeping in it every night since receiving it.  Best. Package. And Letter. Ever.

Next shout out goes to Tiffany Andrews who is officially really OLD. Way to go Tiff.  Teaching 3rd grade..   I´m so proud of you. 

Hilarious anecdote of the week.So we are teaching gypsies from the Czech Republic.  We´re talking they sleep on the floor, we teach them in a big circle on the floor, they have curtains hanging everywhere, they have a fire bowl, I thought the mom (who weighs 70 pounds and was wrapped in gypsie clothes and long skirts and scarves and everything) was going to cast a spell on me,  they are drunk a lot of the time, the whole neighborhood is scared of them, they wash their clothes in the river, and none of them go to school.  They have cool gypsie names like Fardi and Rubiski.  Rubiski is my favorite.  So we headed over their one day to teach and we show up…the 14 year old cousin is rip roaring drunk with a dirty butcher knife…made us a little uneasy…but we started seeing how they were and talking when all of a sudden he says ¨my tooth hurts¨ and shoves the point of the knife up behind his back molar and starts to dig around.  There was blood everywhere. He started coming towards us so we just booked the heck out of there. Upon our return 3 days later, we found that he´d managed to get half of his tooth out.  Disturbing.  But seriously, they are a great family and really special… I don´t know how long we´ll be teaching them though.. they tend to move around a lot. 


Chilean Equivilant, Spence Kirk is officially from Santiago.  We live in this tiny little village, but rich tourists come all the time to pasear.  So we´re walking down the street when this ginormous,beautiful pickup truck pulls over and Senor Spence Kirk gets out and asks me for directions…it was hilarious.

Well,I went crazy this weekend.  September 18th is their national holladay of independence.  It was the bicentenial this year and Chile already has a bit of a drinking problem. So for our own protection (even though I think I can outsmart a drunk person), we had to stay inside the house three whole DANG days and couldn´t even go out unless we had set appointments.  I. ALMOST. DIED.  I´m surprised my comp didn´t find me outside, up against our fence trying to contact people passing by.  I´m really grateful that was my only 18 here.  I can´t stand not working...I feel so dirty.  But the ward had a cute little activity and I ate my body weight (a considerable amount) in empanadas and huesillo (dried fruit boiled and served not dry...I LOVE it) and we got to see a little cueca (the national dance!) and then Heavenly Father blessed me that I got sick over this weekend and not some other weekend.  I got to clean the house like 8 times and write every Chilean I´ve ever met and reread my journal from this last year.

This has 100% hands down been the very best year of my life. Every time I´m in need of something (good or hard), Heavenly Father finds a way to give it to me.  If I need peace, He sends His Spirit to comfort me...I´ve been praying to have the greenie Spirit back and He´s found a great way to do that too.  Anything seemingly hard or unfair will just work for our benefit...even though it doesn´t seem like it at the time.  But I have blatant confidence in my Heavenly Father...that He is there every step of the way and that everything will work out beautifully...because it always does.

Fam, Friends, I love you!  Thank you for your encouragement and prayers...I really need it.  Love you all! 

Hermana Bourne

Family, Friends, H Dawg,

 First of all a shout out to H Dawg Holland! Send me the invite...CONGRATS.  .  

I didn´t really even write about Vanessa´s baptism.  As you can see by the picture...she is a really small woman and our two ginormous gringa heads are eclipsing her.  This Sunday she was confirmed and gave a very appropriate, brief, and heartfelt testimony.  I was so grateful and amazed to see the changes she has made in her life (she comes from abuse, abandonment, prostitution, and every other incredibly horrible thing you can imagine).  Tambien, at the baptism (which we did in the Camino Real building) the daughter of Victoria (my very first baptism) Amanda got baptizzled.  I´m not going to lie....exceedingly special moment for me and her family as they endure to the end together.  The picture doesn´t show how excited we all were because NOBODY is paying attention...but that´s okay.  (Emmy! Where are your pictures?!)

The mission is just beautiful.  I had a hard time adjusting to Rahue Alto again right after bomb.comPunta Arenas.  But I really have grown to love the sector and the wonderful people.  Two weeks ago, we found a young family who asked us to come by and start teaching them.  Alex and Angela. They have prayed and received confirmations of the Spirit.  They told us they want to come to church and know that eventually they will be baptized.  For some reason we visited 7 inactives this week and 6 of them came back to church yesterday with really big smiles.  I was walking along with my compy just satisfied at all of the change I´ve seen in this sector.  I felt like we have really been able to do some good.  I¨m comfortable and really happy here....you all know what that means! Cambios are on Wednesday and I´m getting moved.  BAAAAAAAAH!  I´m getting moved into the countryside.  It´s like the Provo of Osorno.  The Zone is La Union and my sector is Radimadi. (rawdeemawdee, mom).  I´m finishing training for a gringa named Hermana Herbert and I´m just a little nervous.  She doesn´t speak Spanish yet.  Welp, that´s where a lot of prayer is going to kick in.!

Nah, I´m good. I have faith because everything that has happened out here as been directed by the hand of God and I know something beautiful is waiting for me amidst the cowpies and even-more-rabid dogs. 

Speaking of GIANT SLUGS last night.  We were calling the DL and giving him the weeks numbers, when, all of a sudden, Elder Carrizo heard a blood curdling scream on the line.  I went over to heat up some water to make us our nightly cup of ECCO (coffee made from wheat...totally WOW approved...but I¨m still addicted...see picture) when I saw a slug as long as my hand.  It was disgusting.  Luckily Whismeister knows Tai Kwon Do and totally killed that thing.  JK, she picked it up and threw it out our door.  I think it was half snake.  Luckily, it only left a giant schmear of goo on the wall and a quickened heartbeat in my chest.  I think that thing has been lurking for two cambios by our sink.

Well, fam, I love you all.  I blink and the majority of my mission is gone...it just gives me nausea.  Katie, turn in your papers and I¨LL serve your mission for you!  Deal? Deal!  It´s the happiest, hardest, best thing in the entire world.  There are so many adventures to be had....like two nights ago Vanessa asked me to translate Michael Jackson´s ¨Beat It¨ into Spanish...or how we have to light the gas heater on fire to take a shower and sometimes there are fireballs...or how some people answer the door naked (we need some new investigators :))...or how my whole life gets changed every six weeks...or how some people call us the devil....it´s the best.  I LOVE the mission and I love you all!  Be good!

Hermana Bourne

 

Fantabulous Week

HOLY SHRAPNEL, the blessings are just too much this week!  

 Vanesa had her baptism and for some reason I can´t send pictures AGAIN this week! Sorry.  The "specialist" part was that we did the baptism in combo with my first ward, Camino Real- and Amanda, the daughter of Victoria and sister of Deisy (my two first baptisms) got baptized.  I did the musical number and just died of happiness to see everyone again.

Elder Scott came...most. awesome. experience. ever. I don´t know how I´m ever going to write everything I learned, felt or heard in that conference.  The entire mission (except Punta Arenas and Collaque) gathered together to welcome him in the stake center in centro. So the meeting with Elder Scott started...we were all lined up, ready and waiting to take a picture with him.  Right as he walked in, one of the Elders fainted from locking his knees...we all worked to cover it up as we sang ¨somos sois llamados¨...what unity!! It was hilarious.

  When we finished, he yelled ¨fantastico!¨ We all got to shake his hand before we sat down.  He started his remarks with a joke and he was just so wonderful and loving, then he announced we were going to do a practice... I knew right then that me and my compie were going to do it (out of 120 missionaries)...but I was filled with peace.  Elder Scott asked if there were any volunteers and two pairs of Elders went and practiced...then he let president pick the Hermanas to practice...and of course, out of everyone, Bourne and Whisenhunt!  We taught a five minute lesson about the Book of Mormon in front of Elder Corbridge (presidencia de la area Chile), Elder Scott, President, and our entire mission...HOLY SHRAPNEL.  They all got to raise their hands and give us compliments or advice.  As we were to go sit down from the stand, Elder Scott said...¨Hermana, tell your parents I said you did a beautiful job.¨ Wow. Booyah!

 I was feeling super awesome and super weird because I was participating a ton in the conference...directing all the hymns and practicing in front of everyone...like it was the Hermana Bourne show.  Just wait, it gets better.

 Then, he gets up after our break and says ¨now I´d like to give you some advice for after your mission¨ I KNEW it!! The marriage talk...and oh, what a marriage talk it was... anyways, so that part of the talk ended and he said he was going to speak to us as an Apostle...the whole feeling changed.  It was dead silent.  As this apostle of God bore testimony of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, I felt the Spirit whisper to me that yes, he is an apostle called of God.  I started praying for him that he would be able to receive revelation as to what he should say to us a missionaries.  His testimony of the Savior sunk deep into my hear and I´ll never forget it.  

We finished by singing the mission hymn ¨con fe en cada paso¨- I was on the stand directing and was so grateful to look over this huge group of missionaries that I love and are great people.  The song came to a close and I turned to make my way down the stairs, when I almost ran into Elder Scott.  whoops.  He was very gracious and it was such a blessing to be near an apostle of God.

Fantabulous week. The mission is the single best thing in my life and I´m just enjoying every minute.  Now all you people, go read your scriptures,+ pray,+ serve someone else and = happiness.

Hermana Bourne

 

ps WRITE ME!

Hermana Bourne

Casilla 7-0

Osorno Chile

Simple as that.

 

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

 

Hi family and blogstalkers!

This week was all work, all sun, NO rain!  HOLY SHRAPNEL!  Beautiful, beautiful, brautiful!  We are (as a zone) all about to get on a bus to go to entrelagos (beautiful country with lakes and shrapnel)...we planned this paseo all week because down here in the dead of winter it felt like spring in Utah for one whole week...not a cloud in the sky.  And guess what it´s doing right now? raining cats and dogs.  But thats okay because the gospel is still true!

 

Shout outs go to TEEF and BLOB and my FAM for remembering.  Love you all! Thank you.

 

I guess the only thing I want to share this week is that I finished the Book of Mormon again.  I did it in English this time.  It was a challenge that prez gave us 8 weeks ago to read the Book of Momron in 8 weeks...he gave it to the whole mission.  As I finished up, I felt so grateful for the opportunity to read this marvelous book again.  It really contains the ANSWERS and if we would only REALLY read from it more frequently, we could solve a whole lot more problems.  I did the classic kneeling prayer to ask if these things were true and didn´t feel anything.  I went through the qualifications in my mind....okay...with real intent...check! I really want to know because my increased testimony would help my investigators.  With a sincere heart? Check! I love God and know He will answer.. Faith in Christ?  THAT was when it all changed. Something unexpected happened.  I was lead to think, I mean REALLY think of my Savior and what He did for me and what He is still doing for me.  Something inside just welled up inside of me and I felt like Nephi when he cried ¨O wretched man that I am¨.  I was just filled with this godly sorrow for everything stupid, or mean, or lame that I do.  I won´t go into details, but I proceeded to sincerely repent for like 15 minutes.  After this happened, I reflected on the experience.  Wasn´t I suuposed to have received an answer that the Book of Mormon is true?  Why did I feel that, then? 

 

As I pondered,  I was lead to profound gratitude for this experience.  There is no question that this book is the word of God...because it lead me to ACT...and more than that it lead me to act upon my faith in Christ and to trust in HIS merits and HIS mercy and HIS atonement.  I really believe that everything that that book says is real and good and true and that we really SHOULD repent and come unto God because that´s what every page of that book says.  I see and feel the fruits of that book and because I know that the fruits are good and godly, I know that the book is.  I will look on that experience as a very special and sacred thing for the rest of my life.

 

On a lighter note...I think I found my new favorite scripture.  Can´t remember where it is in Mormon, but he says that MORON did that which was wicked in the sight of the Lord.  I thought it was funny.  That´s what you get for being a sister missionary.

 

Fam, friends...I love you all.  Sorry I don´t write that much or that often, but I just like it too much down here...and anyways, I´ll see you all soon enough.  Just do what is right and PRAY, STUDY your scriptures, and GO TO CHURCH (and serve others and go to the temple) and YOU WILL BE HAPPY!  Love you all.

 

Hermana Bourne

 

I haven´t written a good ole´ fashion letter to just the fam in a really long time. 

 

Dad, thank you for everything.  I love seeing worthy priesthood holders.  The one´s down here are far and few between, but they give their lives to God.  I can think of 3 Chilean men that I admire more than almost anything.  And then I think of you and what you do and you are at the top of that list.  Thank you for repenting and giving your  life to God.  I don´t know if any of us will understand the ramifications of your personal decision to follow the Savior.  It is the greatest thing you could´ve done for yourself and for us, and you undisputedly did that right (I know you´ll debate over the whole privileges slash responsibilities jazz your whole life). Grandpa Hal, I´m putting you right on the list too of absolutely phenominal priesthood holders.  You and Grandma are the two best things that have ever happened to the family.  Thank you for your prayers, concern, love, and years and years and years of just putting up with us! I LOVE YOU. Your examples do NOT go unnoticed.

Mom, Could you and Haven look any cuter?  YOU get the Holy Shrapnel of the week.  It sounds like this summer has been kind of a ¨whirling around the head¨ type of summer.  I hope you know I´ve been praying for you a lot.  Our last zone conference we spoke a lot about change.  It´s inevitable and unavoidable...it will come...and most times, it will hurt.  But I was thinking as I was looking at that picture of you and Haven all the changes that have taken place this year. Weddings, missions, testimonies, baby, progression, weight loss (seriously, you and dad look awesome!), weight gain (Sophie looks awesome too!), deaths.  Life truly is the grand university where we come to learn...where we come to fall, where we come to overcome.  I read a talk by Elder Wirthlin about living in thanksgiving daily.  I thought back to when I read that talk for the very first time and how that combined with your grattitude journal inspired me to make my own.  That was the turning point in my life.  I am truly happy, I am truly grateful.  WRite down the things you are grateful for.  Mom, you are the best mom I could ever imagine. (not to mention the prettiest)...and YES I am using all the product you sent me...I look female today!

Mikey, Ashley and Havey, You two have officially created the world´s most attractive baby! (That´s what you get when you have the world´s most attractive parents (and by default the world´s most attractive grandparents, right?)).  MIkey, I think you start year 2 of med school.. I always tell elders and comps about you two and how you are both so incredible.  It makes me happy to know that you two are doing everything right.  AAAASHLEY...I´m not going to lie, I did the david dance and thought of you.  

James, YOU WOULD!  You look so happy and free skydiving.  Sophie is next! Isn´t it the most incredible feeling of freedom, fear, and happiness? I´m so proud of you for doing that.  How the heck are you? Did I tell you that your letter really helped me a few weeks ago?  Never forget the lessons you learned on your mission!  Keep working and doing what is right.  It sounds like you are just becoming the world´s biggest stud...I´ve had to stop showing pictures of you to sisters and Chileans because they are all falling in love with you.

Katie, GO ON A MISSION.  Well, first, go skydiving and THEN go on a mission.. Oh wait, you already went skydiving?  HMMMM!!! Your pictures look awesome.  What the shrapnel are you wearing?  The fun part is if you turn in papers in December and get your call, you can go to Lizzie and Jessie´s sealings for me!  Mom said they were all worried about me not being there, but seriously!  Dont´ put off temple blessings for anything!  I´m so happy for Liz and Jess...what babes.
I have an assignment for you today...read your JRu journal, remember how you felt and why you felt that way and then put into practice what you were doing there. Love you. ps you have a birthday present coming in the mail....best. thing.ever.

Sophie girl! Out of everyone.  I miss you.  SERIOUSLY.  I have three pictures of you in my scriptures and I almost can´t look at them anymore cause I´m just dying without you.  Sophie, keep being good.  I expect you to be the kindest, smartest, singingest 10 year old on the planet when I get home. (you have a present coming in the mail too!)

Overall family, I´m just happy.  Me and the Whismeister were chatting yesterday.  We experience life´s biggest dissapointments out here...people let us down minutely.  But through it all, we are happy.  More than that, we are joyfull.  When I was in Camino Real, I remember at 7 pm every day it didn´t matter WHAT we were doing or where we were or how hard it was raining because a wave of delerious happiness would come over me.  This week, it started up again.  Beautiful sunny day with people progressing and all that incredible jazz.  We knocked a door of a bitter, hardened, and kind of evil lady who yelled obscenities and horrible things at us and then asked us what the last miracle we performed was. I testified that I had experienced a change of heart through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ and that was the greatest miracle I could hope to have.  The wave of joy and delerious happiness flooded over me as she continued to yell at us.  I told her it was a pleasure to meet her and that she would always be invited to listen to missionaries.  Then I sincerely felt the desire as I prayed in my heart that God would give this little old lady the chance to hear the Gospel again, maybe in a different way or at a different time.. It was beautiful. 

I love this and I love you all.

Love em.