Merry Christmas!!

I think I am the happiest person on earth.  Sorry everyone else.  Me and the Chilean comp are buckling down, focusing our unmakeuped eyes on the work and glory of God, letting our uncolored, unstyled hair fly, walking our gross, caloused feet to the bone and WORKING! That sounded really gross.  I seriously hope I´m not as bad as I describe.  I´ve attached my most recent photo to this blog so you can all get an idea...:)

People, Merry Christmas.  My favorite part was going to the local old folks home and singing Christmas carols to the ancianos. The blind one clapped all through ¨Silent Night¨ and the deaf one talked through ¨Angels we have Heard on High¨.  The tiny little grandma with crippled hands said she wanted to knit me a pair of socks and I can come get them on Friday.  They are such wonderful children of God.  ON Christmas day, HEavenly Father put us in the path of Ana...A little old lady with flaming red hair that lives alone because her daughter died 4 years ago.  She lives in a one room house with a broken wood stove in a mudfield.  We sang Christmas carols and taught her about the Savior and gave her pictures of Christ (I´m pretty sure it was her only Christmas present) She expressed her desires to follow Christ and commited to be baptized 22nd of Enero.  It was so wonderful.

I feel joy in serving Heavenly Father and His children. It is THE greatest blessing of my life and sometimes I just can´t contain the gratitude I feel.  I feel like everything is so clear.  It´s like Elder Uchtdorfs talk in Conference about slowing down and focusing on the basics.  That´s the only stuff I focus on out here and it really brings JOY.

Big Congrats go out to ALEXIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No way Paul.  What a wonderful couple....I love freshman year.  Tambien....HILARY HDAWG congrats on your matrimony tomorrow.  I went to Coyhaique and the elders had this gigantic envelope and I walked in and said ¨who the heck is that for!?¨ (but in spanish obviously) I was exceedingly pleased to discover it was for me and even more pleased to find out that you are getting marriaged tomorrow! AHHHH. yay. And luz and jess....I love you both.  Make sure you take lots of pictures with my creepy mannequin.

What else? Really great to talk to you fam.  You all sound wonderful and it was nice to hear your voices. I really don´t have much to say because I´d rather be working.  It sounds like you all have my future pretty well planned out and I´m super happy about that.  YOU all can worry about my future...I´m going to be thrusting in my sickel.   I LOVE YOU ALL.  Grandpa Hal...good luck in that toe and vein pageant...I´m rooting for you!

Hermana Bourne

Merry Christmas!

Aysen is the only place I´ve ever served where there is the simultaneous threat of earthquake, tsunami, volcano explosion, blizzard, flood, and dog bites. I. LOVE. IT.  Merry Christmas to all.  Remember that we are celebrating the birth of the Savior of our souls. Independently of any other person on earth, I know that Christ lives.  I will be in His service for the rest of my life because I desire to please my Father in Heaven.  We chopped a bazilion pounds of wood, so we´ll be toasty and happy all week.  People, I love you all, but writing home is so lame.  Parents, I will call the 24th at 1 or 2 my time....


Merry Christmas, I love you!
Hermana Bourne

"I'll probably never come home...."

People, my mission could NOT be cooler.  People are progressing, I´m turning more into a ¨sister¨ every day, the relief society goes and visits our investigators without even being asked, EVERYONE wants to eat Sunday dinner with the new Hermanas. I love being a missionary.  A lady we taught once stopped us in the street and said she got an answer to her prayer about the restoration and wants us to come by.   I´m the only gringa within an hour busride.   It rains every day all day, I got emails from RAMROD and teef! .  I think I saw a Trex come down from our coniferous mountains and I. AM. LOVING. IT. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Every second of every day I can see and feel and hear (and taste sometimes) the blessings that Heavenly Father is constantly pouring over my head....it´s ridiculous.  What a happy, growthfilled, solid, wonderful time of my life.  I´ll probably just never come home.   Sorry.

This week we solidified a bunch of stuff in the sector.  We have a handful of really wonderful investigators (two of which came to the branch....miracle!!!!) who understand what they are working for.  The branch president and his wife are the best people I´ve ever met and trust us completely.  The sisters are just dying to come out with us....I haven´t even really seen my comp because we´ve been in divisions almost every day.  We got the house all clean and liveable and ready for the next few months.  We bought a meter of wood to keep us alive and have been chopping to our hearts content.  I broke down and finally bought an umbrella....my first one since Ovejeria in January.  We solidified a bunch of worthy goals....spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and yes, physically. We raised the ¨Estandarte del cuerpo celestial¨ .  It says ¨in memory of our health, our pride, our friends, families.¨ We are giant nerds....but seriously...what would happen to YOU if you ate 2 potatoes and 3 pieces of bread at lunch every day for more than a year....uh oh. :)

I´m kind of all over the place in the email because we are in Coyhaique and our bus is going to leave.  We came to eat an all you can eat buffet of pizza with the elders.  It was so hilarious.  We have hands down the best zone this cambio.  They all rode a mechanical bull after.  We declined politely.  Wouldn´t be appropriate for hermanas...pucha. 

Kathy Jones, can I just say how much I love you? Thank you for being a phenominal friend and fellow hermana all this time.  I prayed and fasted for you while you were out and loved your lettters.  I was thrilled to hear about your hard core (other religion) baptism who is going to serve a mission.  What a giant blessing.  I know YOU were that change your last sector needed.

Well family and friends, I´d invite you to the phone call on Christmas, but my family is escaping to the mountains of Idaho for Christmas sorry! LIZ AND JESS, I WANT PICTURES. I LOVE YOU BOTH and was thinnking about you today. less than a month! wow.

I´m sorry, we got to run...have a beautiful day.  I enjoy every second down here....what a lucky hermana.

Hermana Bourne

Holy Shrapnel!! I'm in Jurassic Park!!

HOLY SHRAPNEL!

So much goodness!

1.  I am in the best sector of the best rama of the best zone of the best mission IN THE WORLD! (Sorry beckron and Ramrod).  I lied about Coyhaique.  I´m more isolated than even that!  After arriving in Coyhaique after a whole day´s travels..me and my comp took a bus through a wilderness for and hour and a half to the beautiful pueblo of Puerto Aysén.  Oh. My. Goodness.  I feel like I´m in Jurrasic Park.  Chile is so weird and different.  I am, once again, FREEZING.  It rains 400 days of the year here and the giant mountains that surround us on all sides are always snowcapped and all mysterious and GREEN.  We have a river that runs throught the pueblo with a puente that looks like the one in San Fransisco.  There are signs that says ¨tsunami danger zone....run to higher ground¨ I´ll take a photo and send it out as soon as my suitcase comes.  My comp is from Santiago and reminds me of a statue...she´s really noble, but hilarious and wants to be perfectly obedient and wants to know everything.  We have the best time together.  Yesterday was incredible.  There haven´t been sisters in this branch for 15 years and so EVERYONE is taking really good care of us.  The branch prez is INCREDIBLE and is wife is even more so.  I don´t think I´ve ever fallen in love with my sector and the people so fast.  My sepulture is beautiful and I will die happy and working.

2.  Beckron, thank you for writing me! wow.  I can´t believe it.. It´s like yesterday you pulled out your calling and shouted in disbelief ¨WHAT?!¨ Taiwan...wow. I love you.  Call my family because Katie my little sister is on board to live with me next year...we can coordinate :)

3.  Mom, I love you.  Thanks for your emails.

4. Okay, someone has to talk to Presidente Lon Packard because my comp knows him and we both agree he´s awesome.  Hermana Donoso has 9 brothers and sisters and they are ALL members in Santiago.  The world is so small.  Remember how my seminary teacher´s brother baptized my comp?

5. Opening a sector is hilarious...we only have the carpeta (uhhh...notebook of the area..something like that).  I´ve reverted to thinking in Spanish and dreaming again. LOVE IT! We´re meeting random people all over the place and we have to create some more stability this week...but we are getting to know everyone and I love it.

6.  So I´m reading in Lucas in the Bible and I think it was in cap. 14, but I was so impressed with the Joseph Smith Translation.  It says something like ¨settle this in your hearts, that you will do what I teach¨ I can´t get it out of my mind. In D and C 58:29 I think it teaches us that even if we obey, we can still be condemmed because we obey with a doubtful heart.  Our hearts MUST change to desire what God wants, or He can NOT change us.  If we do everything that we are supposed to but still secretly hold these desires in our hearts, we will not become like the Savior because it is not possible.  We need to even give the secret desires of out hearts to God or we will not be capable of being saved because that´s not how He works.  He doesn´t want to make the natural man inside of us better or change it.  He wants to kill it.  Then He wants to give us a whole new heart.  I have a testimony that when I have honestly tried to give my whole heart and mind (MY will and desires aka obey with happiness)  not only my strength and might (aka..obedience maybe with a little resentment) to God, He has made something SO much better of my efforts. Just some thoughts floating around...

7.  I have a compromiso for all of you. DON¨T BE TRUNKY.  I don´t like it.  If you are trunky I´ll just stay down here and buy a little piece of campo and live here the rest of my life.  Chao no mas with the rest of you!  Nah, it´s all a big lie.  But seriously, write me about your testimony...what helped YOU on your mission...how you helped someone else today or what you learned while studying the scrips!

8.  If you are debating...go on a mission.

9. Best christmas package ever mom! Thank you so much, thank you thank you thank you.

10.  We are doing okay infiltrating the man zone.  The Elders down here are the sweetest in the mission and are really taking care of us (even though they ALL live between 1 and 5 hours away)

I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

Hermana Bourne

 

Gettin' moved!

People, I´ll never, ever be right about anything, EVER, on the mission. My little missionary brain was full of plans and schemes and wonderful things for the gold mine that is Radimadi and BAM....guess where I´m going.  I¨ll give you a few clues...

1. There have never been sisters in this zone before (aka...the MAN zone)
2. I have to take a 2 hour bus, a 2 hour plane ride and another hour bus.
3. It gets more snow than Utah.
4. It is apparently the most beautiful part of Chile.  

Go find a map and find Osorno...got it? now go south, south....hit Punta Arenas? Too south.  Go up and find Coyhaique...right in the middle of nowhere...where no sister has ever been invited or dared to go.  AHHHHHHHH!

Bueno, Prez called me last week and said ¨Hermana, you´re leaving Radimad.¨ My Nephi-like missionary state was evidenced by my response.  I shouted no! and started crying.  But don´t worry, I¨m making sure to bring my diapers and pacifier to Coyhaique.  It was just kind of a shock for my little brain.  I was planning on dying in happy valley Radimadi with all of these people that I´ve really come to love through service.  I always like to think of myself as the type of person who will take a deep breath and square her shoulders and boldly say ¨I will go and do¨ when a call like that comes along....I obviously have a long way to go :)

I really am excited though.  What a wonderful adventure.  I´m getting sent to open a sector and I´m taking the new Chilean along with me so I can finish her training.  Her name is Hermana Donoso and she is exactly who I want to kill me out here.  I love starting in new sectors or with new companions because it gives me the opportunity to leave everything below par or lame behind me and start again and be the best missionary I can possibly be.

As the very trunky family countdown starts (Thank you for reminding me exactly how much time I have left in EVERY single email from EVERYONE!), I can´t help but feel pure gratitude for this very, exceedingly short period of time God has gifted me to be in His service.  I love the Chileans, I love my companions, and I love to serve my Father in Heaven.  I know independently of everyone else on earth that Christ lives and loves us.  I know of the reality of the restoration of the Gospel and the central doctrines of it because of my own searching, studying, pondering, praying, asking, and receiving answers.  God has answered so constantly and so consistantly that it leaves no room for doubt.  I feel as if the faith that I started with has grown and has become something that flexes and breaths.  It´s marvelous, to serve.

I love all of you.  Happy Thanksgiving! We forgot it was THanksgiving until we returned home that night.....whoops.  Still grateful nonetheless.

Lizzie and Clark, could you BE a more attractive couple? (that´s what I look like after a day of tracking.......NOT!) Jessie, I´m expecting competing pictures!!! RIchie, you are amazing. THank you for your lesson on faith and your living example of it to me.  Tiff....today is a lot of days after thanksgiving day...everything seems to be going our waaaaaaaaay! (I sang that the day after Thanksgiving day.  Love you) Katie, way to go with the emails and SOPHIE I love you thank you for the email.

People, go to church this SUnday.  Really listen.  Look around for someone who needs help.  Ask God to make you His instrument.  Help the Bishop out a bit.  Be an angel for someone...thats what we´re here for.
Love you all.

Hermana ¨going to be a frozen, Chilean popsicle¨ Bourne

"super model sisters..."

Okay people, they dropped a bomb on the Hermanas of the Gran Misión- Chile Osorno.  After zone conference, Hermana Lovell asked all of us ladies to stay after the conference to talk to us 10 minutes.  As the Elders filed out of the room, we wondered what was going on....were they going to call Hermana district leaders? Is a mission for sisters now required? Were we all to return to our native lands to get married? Hermana Lovell pulls out exhibit A (aka first photo) and says...who received THIS when they received their call.?..we all raised our hands.  Forty year old women in black, ¨mom jeans¨ skirts and sensible shoes made for men and triangle haircuts....I think my grandma  used to have a couch covered in the flower material of one skirt!  The Hermana Lovell said that there had been a change worldwide and that we were encouraged to be attractive (but not TOO attractive), clean, and comely young women.  She then busts out exhibit B of these "super model sisters" that obviously do not have to jump barbed wire fences, walk all day in pouring rain, dodge cow pies and dirty street dogs.  They look like they get pedicures, dye their hair and exfoliate weekly....Our skirts can officially now hit just below our knee (instead of the former mid-calf) and we are encouraged to wear patterns and colors and semi-fashionable cuts and styles....This is the most shocking thing to happen in my entire mission.

joke.

sigh, I guess this announcement didn´t really come as a surprise... My first cambio here, I saw a nun with a skirt shorter than mine!......

People, I can´t express the gratitude that I feel to be Hermana Bourne.  Radimadi, newly christened ¨the secret gold mine¨ is just wonderful and I want to die (aka end my mission) here.  This week, I did a study of the balance of the justice of God and of His mercy.  100% true, all of it.  I´ve learned that we are our own judges.  The truest and deepest desires of our hearts will be ours because we will really act according to our real desires and not just what we say we desire.  In Alma it says that we will stand or fall...being our own judges. wow. Hard Core.  To be a missionary is the most confusing, hard, happy, patience-requiring experience of a lifetime. My good buddy Cepta Jones wrote me a letter last year that talked about a verse in Matthew where is says that if your right arm offendeth you, cut it off.  But how can we cut off a part of us....a part that we love...a part that makes us who we are? AHHH! My arm! It hurts....and over the course of my mission, the parts of me...the ¨natural man¨ parts,things that offend the Spirit have been being sawed off and it hurts! But that´s the price we pay if we´re going to be better.  Chao no mas arm!

Once again, I love each and every one of you and I'm pretty convinced I´m the single most blessed person in the entire world.  Give yourself a pat on the back for being such a good blessing...then go read your scriptures and help someone else!

Hermana E Bourne

I love being a missionary!!

Friends, family, 

First of all, I love all of you.  I´ve been overly blessed with an abundance of absolute awesomeness in my life...so thank you...each and every one of you....you make life beautiful. We have an awesome zone conference on Wednesday and my zone got chosen to sing the musical number.....our musical talent ability is so low in this particular zone, that my zone leaders are forcing me and another Elder to sing in front of everyone....holy shrapnel...poor people listening.  I´m going to try and get in touch with my  high school chamber days ....pull out that hand drum and pink satin blazer we wore...maybe even some panlettes.Ahh, the good ole´ days...

People, I LOVE being a missionary way too much.

Oh wait....HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLEY on the 20th.  I love you.

Where was I? No, I really love being a missionary.  Radimadi has turned into a gold mine.  This was the one sector that I did not want to come to.  Every missionary who has ever served here has told prez to close the sector.  This Sunday, I looked around and saw so many changes that are happening in people´s lives.  A broken Colombian family is getting ready to go back to the temple and get resealed...we have four people progressing towards a baptismal fecha, people are praying and reading and wanting this in their lives.  I look forward to Sundays now because it means I get to receive the remission of my sins.  All I can think about are the scriptures that we are going to share in our next lesson and how we can get a ward activity going.  Sure, we coud focus on the bad or the boring or the really, really horrific things that still take place (members robbing converts and fun stuff like that) but I´m going to focus on the good.

Prez visited the branch for the first time in a year and gave the best talk ever...about HOW we should serve in the church.... He is the best man in the entire world. The Hermana Lovell snuck homemade cookies into my backpack and said I could have them all if I wanted...but don´t worry! I shared them with my compy and our cutie little investigator that we walked home and put with fecha that day because she absolutely LOVED church.

So we´re trying to establish the beloved ¨Noche de Hogar¨ Every week in the capilla. (Family Home Evening...you South American missionaries know what I´m talking about....The most important things to the latinos are the temple, Noche de Hogar, and futbol :) ) Our mission leader showed up super late because of work and a member of another faith was his collectivo (taxi) driver.  Alexis LOVES being Mormon (convert from 10 years ago...was going to be a Catholic priest, but then served a mission and got married in the temple, has a child, and is our strongest member).  He said to the driver ¨leave me here on the corner at the church.....the true one¨ And then he smiled and got out.  He is super soft spoken and looks like he´s 14 (he´s 32) and he just laughed as he told the story.....

There´s all sorts of hidden beauty here in Chile.  Today, our Zone Leaders and Distric leader and his comp (us 6 make up our whole district...we are the only people in the whole city of La Union) thought it would be an awesome idea to take a bus an hour out to the countryside (campo) and hike an hour through cow fields to find where the Rio Bueno starts.  It DID turn out to be an awesome idea and we had a fantastic time. 

I don´t know what else to write you all.  I´m ridiculously happy (missionary happy...the best and most innocent kind), healthy (aka fat), and working hard (my body is dying).  I think if I sat and wrote for days and days and days I could never capture what one day holds here...I´m going to try really quick:

Wake up, pray, pray sola, excercise, shower (well....light the gas shower on fire and THEN shower), eat cereal and yogurt made down the street  (I´m in the yogurt capital of Chile...MOOO!), Study an hour by myself (best best BEST!), study and practice and memorize with comp, go out and serve or talk to random people in the street or to a meeting of some sort (an hour away), eat an awesome chilean lunch with the mamita and our mission leader and wife, go home and study Spanish, study and do outlines and practices of lessons we want to teach, leave house at 3 and from that second on walk miles and miles, knock a bazillion doors, run away from dogs and drunks, talk to every person we see in the street, try to get members to come out with us, think and scheme for the week, sing in the street, pray, listen to the Spirit, be happy, be rejected, be rejected again, walk through cow fields looking for an address that probably doesn´t exist, get in houses, try to find out when Heavenly Father wants us to say to them, pray really hard and hope to speak by the Spirit, have some lame lessons, get rejected by someone who knows it´s true, castigar the less active who didn´t come to church, find some really weird people. find some really lovely people, have everything I believe questioned, walk, walk, walk, call people to accompany us, pray, feel happy, sing again, talk to more people in the street, walk in the rain, death sun comes out, visit someone progressing, have an idea come to your mind and you follow it and it works and you help someone (THE best), run home to arrive just in time to pray, call the District Leader, write down goals and make a million plans for the next day, pray, pray sola, DIE into my bed.

THAT is what I have been doing for months and years and months.  THAT is what makes me happier than anything else I´ve ever done and THAT is what will make you happy too.

That is just a normal day, sometimes there is a cool conference or we get to go to church.  A mission is the best.

Love you all

Hermana Bourne