THAT´S RIGHT: THE PRSIDENTE OF OUR MISSION BOUGHT US ICE CREAM.

March 23, 2015

Mi familia,

I am well! Today starts the FIRST day of a new cambio! Hermana Rivera and I are staying together in La Reina! On the 26th of March, I will have SEVEN months in this sector....Time has FLOWN by! This week was amazing! Lots of good memories!

We had an awesome letter with Tamara, one of our investigators. We taught her the first half of the Plan of Salvation. I love teaching the Plan of Salvation! Really, how cool is it to know what we know? To know that our life has purpose! I know I am on this earth to prepare myself to return to the presence of my Padre Celestial. I love Him, and I love how merciful He is with us. Tamara is progressing. She is praying and reading. It is crazy to see how prepared she is! She has a baptismal date for the 12th of Abril. After our lesson, we walked to a little store that sells pastries, etc. Bueno, turns out the shop is just outside of our sector, so Hermana Rivera and I had to wait on a street corner while Tamara went and bought jajaja. It was awkwardly funny.... but she bought us little pastries with a yummy cream and they were soooo delicious! Love her! She is 19, and full of animo. We are excited for her!

On Thursday, Hermana Rivera had an interview with Presidente Wright. We took the subway, and then a bus to the mission office in Apoquindo. My companion has some heath problems that she wanted to discuss with Presidente. We also had the chance to talk with Presidente Wright together. We talked about ways that we can strengthen our companionship. It was great! Afterwards, we walked across the street and Presidente bought us ice cream! THAT´S RIGHT: THE PRSIDENTE OF OUR MISSION BOUGHT US ICE CREAM. So fun! We sat down and he told us a crazy story of how a mission president in Buenos Aires was kidnapped. Good times jajaja. I love President Wright. His love for the missionaries in our mission is so evident. He truly loves us. I am so blessed to be here learning from him.

Friday was sooo lovely!!! We took Hermana Alicia to the temple for a tour!!

Alicia with Hermana's Megan & Rivera at the Santiago Chile Temple

 It was soooo great. Felipe, a return missionary in our ward, drove us. He teaches at the CCM, and he is great! He dropped us off, and we met up with the hermanas serving in Pocuro, the sector where the temple is. So where the temple is located, in the same lot there is a church building, the MTC, and the hospital, where people can stay who come from distances to attend the temple. We started the tour in the church building, and talked about Joseph Smith, the apostles, and President Monson. Then we went outside, and walked to the temple. The Santiago Temple is just AMAZING. So beautiful!! I love being there! We walked around the temple, and the hermanas talked about the temple, and what we do in the temple. They talked about the importance of the family, and making covenants with Heavenly Father. We got to enter the temple because when you open the doors, there is a tiny little room before the desk where nonmembers can be. We talked a little bit there, and then the hermanas told us we could enter into the reception area where the desk is. We walked in, and IT WAS SO PEACEFUL. A little miracle, the missionary couple who attends our ward in La Reina was there in the reception area! Elder Brumble was standing at the desk, and Hermana Brumble was a greeter. It was so cool, because every Sunday Elder Brumble greets us at the door of the church building. It was great that Alicia could see them. They looked so great in their white clothes, and it TOTALLY made me miss the Newport Beach Temple. I LOVE the temple. I am so excited to be sealed there one day with my Prince Charming (but that’s all far off in the distance, right? Lolzz....). 

Saturday night was sooo fun! We had the Relief Society anniversary dinner! The Elders quorum made dinner, and served all the ladies. We went with Hermana Alicia, and a menos activa, Maria Escobar. It was so presh. The husband of the Relief Society president came and picked us up. As we were driving to the church, I was just so happy. To think I was in Chile driving in a tiny little car with two old ladies and a nice Chilean man made me so happy. I love being a missionary, and seeking out those that need the love of Padre Celestial. The dinner was in the cultural hall, and the decorations looked sooo beautful!! The hermanas did karaoke jajajaja. So Hermana Rivera and I went outside in the foyer and made some phone calls to invite people to church jajaja. Good times, good times. 

Today is Monday, and Hermana Gomez leaves for Argentina in a few hours! Every change, all the missionaries who are getting transferred meet at the church in Trinidad. 

So, Hermana Alcantara, Hermana Alvarenga, Hermana Rivera, and I went to Trinidad to meet Hermana Gomez. It is always fun to go to Trinidad because we get to see friends and say goodbye to the missionaries who are leaving. Good times. Fun fact: when we got to Trinidad we saw Hermana Wright talking with an adult lady who looked American. We noticed her husband was with her. So we said hello and started talked with her. Turns out she was the mom of one of the APs who is going home today! I started telling her how great of a missionary her son is. Then all of a sudden Hermana Wright said, "your son is in that van pulling in!" So we turned, and the APs were entering the parking lot in their van with some other elders. It was sooooo presh to see this elder and his mom embrace. Soooo presh! They both started crying, and Hermana Wright was taking pictures!! Sooo cute.  

Hermana Gomez, Megan's trainer and companion the first six months of Megan's mission

Hermana Gomez came back to our apartment. We ordered pizza, and she made brownies. Hermana Daniela Cortes, the hermana who always posts pictures of me on FB, drove us to the mission office to drop off Hermana Gomez. We had a brief goodbye, but it was good. Hugging Hermana Gomez for the last time was hard.... I love her sooooo much! She has changed my life! 

I am looking forward to a new change. I am so happy to be here. 

Also, thank you Beth and Darin Rich for your letter! I had forgotten how funny you guys are!!! Kearon is presh! Cannot wait to meet him! Seriously, your letter made me laugh out loud several times. It was so personal jajajaja!! 

Also, yes, got the package! The apron is presh! I will take photos! 

Family, I love you! I know Jesus Christ lives. He is at the head of His church. The Gospel of Jesus Christ can change us. He can make us better people if we let Him.  I love my Padre Celestial. I love temples. I love being a missionary. 

Love, Hermana Mittleman

It Was Humbling!!

March 16, 2015

Hey fam! This is the last week of the cambio! WEEK 6. Wow. This change went by SO fast! Livin´ la vida loca here in Santiago! This week was great! Went by fast, but what else is new?? 

We had a lesson with the twins, Katherine and Barbara- AT LAST. We talked about Joseph Smith. We read with them in their Book of Mormon stories book the church has. It was so great! They are now 10, and soo presh. Hahaha, I had my hair down and they both kept me telling me, "Hermana Mittleman, se ve tan linda hoy día" (Mom translation: Hermanan Mittleman you look so cute today)  jajajajaja. SOOO PRESH. 

We had another lesson with two other investigators who are going to get baptized. We went to a ward member’s home, and we talked about the Restoration. It went really well!! Afterwards, we went to the setting apart of a (Mom translation: Young girl) jovencita from the ward who entered the CCM here in Chile on Wednesday. She is going to Concepción. It is cool because she lives like 40 minutes from the MTC jajaja. And her brother works in the MTC, so it’s all fun. 

We had a zone conference this week! It was amaaaaazing. President Wright talked a lot about temples. I felt soooo happy and content. I love the temples, and I know it is important to go often. The conference was like six hours, but it was amazing!!! Hermana Wright talked about faith in Jesus Christ, and how we should take His yolk upon us. He wants to carry our burdens, and He wants to help us. Every day. Because He loves us! I love thinking about the love of Jesus Christ. He is so amazing! I know the Atonement is something I have to study more and more. 

We did divisions with our sister training leader! I went to a sector called Apoquindo with Hermana Lopez. Hermana Paddock, our leader, came to our sector and stayed with Hermana Rivera. Hermana Rivera was nervous, but it worked out great. 

One of our menos activo´s (less active members) dogs peed on my shoe this week.....it was humbling jajajaja. We were talking with her outside of her gate, and her dog was sniffing around outside, and all of a sudden I felt a warm liquid on my foot.... and I looked down AND HE WAS PEEING ON MY FOOT. GOOD TIMES. 

Sunday was great! We had four investigators in la capilla!  (Mom translation: chapel) And all of them are planning to get baptized! 

Not much time left. I love you all!!!

Hermana Mittleman

Megan & Hermana Alcantara- SEVEN MONTHS THIS WEEK!

I Know Heavenly Father And Jesus Christ Have Blessed Me Sooo Much With My Spanish. I Love It!

March 9, 2015

My lovely family!

I love you all! This last week was reallyyyyy hard for me. I am so much better now. But let´s just say I really began to doubt whether Heavenly Father really wanted to listen to my prayers.... I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS ATTITUDE TO ANYONE. Really, I do not know what on earth was going on in my little head. But I KNOW Heavenly Father loves me. I know He wants to here me speak with Him. I LOVE praying, and I know He listens. I love the perfection of my Heavenly Father. He means so much to me. Friday night during our weekly planning session I told everything to my companion, and that really helped me to say it out loud. 

Wow, so the week flew by. Hahaha, like EVERY OTHER WEEK. I am really noticing how well I can communicate.

I know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have blessed me sooo much with my Spanish. I love it. So thankful!

Miracle of the week: An antigua investigadora called us and told us she wanted to meet with us because she had to tell us something really important! I had met this investigator before, and she is so receptive and has a lot of faith, but she did not feel ready to be baptized. Hermana Gomez and I realized we could not help her progress at that time, so we stopped meeting with her. She has been receiving the missionaries for three years now. So when we showed up, she basically told us the night before calling us, she prayed and received a confirmation that the La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias is the true church of Jesus Christ, and she wants to get baptized........ WAIT, WHAT??!! Hermana Rivera and I were so surprised jajajaja! I had thought of some of the possibilities of why she had called us, but to hear her say those words was crazy jajaja. So she has a baptismal date for April 5. She is 19, and really precious! She works like crazy in the mall in our sector, so we are going to see how and when we can meet with her. 

A missionary in our ward returned from Brazil on Tuesday! He is awesome, and calls us "sisters". So presh. We are going to have a family home evening with him and his mom tonight. 

Hermana Gomez, aka my lovely trainer, is going home in TWO WEEKS. I think about her a lot, and all that she taught me. 

My companion, Hermana Rivera, is doing well. Her desire to work is so inspiring. I am so happy I have a comp from Mexico. There are not a whole lot of Mexicanos in our mission. Blessed! 

Santa Lucia, a little tourist place closer to Central Santiago.

I LOVE being a missionary. I loved reading Madison´s email. Really, my mission is teaching me so much. It is CHANGING me. I am slowly becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. He is molding me into His disciple. It ain’t easy jajajaja! BUT IT IS WORTH IT. 

Love, Hermana Mittleman

A young joven in our ward is leaving for Concepción this week! She spoke in sacrament yesterday, and it was lovely! We are going to her setting apart tomorrow.

This Will Always Be Enough.

March 2, 2015

Hello! I have no time! We had a craazy P Day. We went to the southern part of the mission in EL CAMPO AKA THE COUNTRY. So beautiful!  It was an adventure.

This week passed fast. Congrats to Madison for making it to six months! That is wonderful. I love being a missionary.

 It is fantastic. My personal testimony of Jesus Christ has been strengthened sooo much. We read The Book of Mormon with Alicia, our recent convert. She came to church on Sunday, which is FIVE consecutive Sundays. Really, she is a miracle. She loves reading the Book of Mormon. She gets SO excited as we read and apply it to our lives. I love her. LOVE HER. She is soo presh. 

Hermana Rivera is doing well. She is presh, and I am grateful to be with her. 

Hermana's Mittleman & Rivera

Chile is so great. Really, words cannot express my feelings of gratitude to my Father in Heaven. I love Him. I love Jesus. I know they live. They love me. This will always be enough. Love you!!!

Hermanita Mittleman

Hermana's Gomez, Mittleman & Alcantara

I Love La Reina, And I Love My Area. It Is Not Glam, But It Is MINE.

February 23, 2015

Holita! Here I am in Chile! Just having the time of my life. Oh my lanta, I just love my mission. It is hard, but I love it! This week FLEW by! Insane! 

My birthday last week was awesome! We had a little fiesta in the capilla. I invited some Hermana friends and two ladies from the ward. We ate Papa John´s and cupcakes. Then after we went to the casa de la family Ortiz Cortes. Hermana Daniela had totally decorated for my birthday.... IT WAS SOOO SWEET! I love them! I felt so loved. We had cake, and they gave me some earrings from Lapiz Lazuli. It is a stone here in Chile. They are little butterflies, and sooo presh. So thankful for their love. And of course, in the night, President Wright and Hermana Wright called me and sang to me! So presh! 

It was a great week! My companion, Hermana Rivera, is a hard worker! She misses home, and it’s been a little hard for her. But she loves the Lord, and she is a wonderful example for me. We had a meeting with all the new missionaries this week...it was weird returning as a trainer! ah! Talk about being humbled! 

This week we did divisions with our sister training leader, Hermana Paddock. She came here to La Reina and helped me. We had a LEGIT lesson with a menos activo familia. We taught about the Atonement, and we OWE it to Jesus Christ to show up at the capilla every Sunday and REMEMBER what He did for us. We felt the spirit so strong! ...They did not come on Sunday...but that is ok! My testimony of the Sacrament was strengthened immensely. 

We had a recent convert, Hugo, accompany us to a lesson this week with Marquitos and Anita Maria. Hugo got baptized December 28th of last year, and lives in the sector of the other hermanas. He cannot read, but he is so humble. He had cut his hair, and now he just beams with the Spirit! It is amazing to see the change that occurs in people as they come to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. As we were walking with him after the lesson, it was late and really dark, but I felt so safe with him! As disciples of Christ, I knew we could trust him. So great!

The twins are on vacation...lolz! They have a baptismal date for the 22nd! So, prayers for them! 

Alicia received the gift of the Holy Ghost yesterday! It was so presh! Hermana Rivera and I walked her up to the stand! One of the bishopric members performed the ordinance, and when it was done, Hermana Rivera and I returned to the stand to help her down, and she said to us "did you bring the tithing?" hahaha, and I was like, "yes, afterwards we can give it to them!" So. presh. 

I love being a missionary. I love Chile. In the meeting of the new missionaries, Hermana Wright told us that the streets of Chile will be a sacred place for us for the rest of our lives. We give everything here. Our hearts, our time, our testimony, etc. When Hermana Rivera finishes her training, I will have 9 months in the mission!

I love La Reina, and I love my area. It is not glam, but it is MINE. The Lord has given me this tiny area of his vineyard where I can work every day. I love Him. I know Heavenly Father lives.  I love you all!!!

Love, Hermana Mittleman

My best friend, Hermana Aponte. We will go home together! she flew to Chile with me, and was only in the ccm two weeks like me with awful spanish jajaja! BEST FRIEND FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE

To Help One Of God’s Daughters Enter The Waters Of Baptism Is An Honor.

February 16, 2015

Familia!!!!!!

WOW. Crazy, crazy week. SOOOOOO happy to see the pictures from Brody´s baptism. TOO PRESH. Seriously, I am dying looking at all of the tender pictures! So fun you guys could go to Utah for the weekend. Loved the pictures Dad sent me. 

So yes, a wild week! MY NEW COMPANION IS FROM MEXICO!!!! SHE IS SOOOOO PRESH. Hermana Rivera from el estado de Puebla. She is 19 years old, and soooo amazing. She is very kind and precious. In all of the houses we visited this week the people said stuff like "she’s just a little girl" or "she´’ a little doll" jajajaja. So tender! It was hard saying goodbye to Hermana Gomez, but last night Hermana Rivera and I had a good heart to heart for about an hour and a half. We were both crying, and now we are really united as friends and as a companionship. Looking forward to working with her. Training is hard and overwhelming, but the time keeps going, and so there is no time for fear. ONLY FAITH FIRM IN JESUS CHRIST. 

SO YES FRIDAY THE 13TH MARKED SIX MONTHS IN THE MISSION..... WAIT WHAT.

Hermana Alcantara & Megan

So crazy! The time is flying! But enough of that! I have a year left to consecrate, and I am so excited! The mission is THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE....... THE BEST.... THE BEST. Literally, cannot put more emphasis on that. Hermana Alcantara and I made a banana bread cake.... but then ants got to it, so we couldn’t eat it....ha. Kind of sad jajaja! But yes! Saturday was Valentine’s Day.... What even. Hahaha, we had more important things to think about. I was thinking a lot of Brody (eight year old cousin who was baptized on Valentine’s Day) during the day.... que tierno!!!! Also, Alicia’s baptism interview!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Elder Davis is our new district leader, so we met up with him and his companion on the edge of our sector and led them to the house of Alicia, which wasn’t too far. I was so nervous while he was interviewing her. We had practiced her baptism interview every day, and I was praying so hard. And she passed! 

So....... yesterday, February 15th, 2015, Alicia del Carmen Marin Bahamondes got baptized!!!! 

Alicia del Carmen Marin Bahamondes Baptism 

My favorite 70 year old Chilean. Hermana Rivera and I went to her house in the morning for breakfast. Then a member came and picked us up...as we were driving Hermana Alcantara called me and told us the heater in the baptism font was broken, so we would have to have the baptism in another capilla in our stake. I was like, what. Are you serious. It had already been such a stressful week organizing the baptism and helping Hermana Rivera and I just wanted to cry.... BUT I SAID A PRAYER AND I WAS FINE. So yes, church was great. After the meetings, we drove to the other capilla and everything was ready. A family in our ward had their son come home from Peru this week. Elder Ariel Rojas. We randomly met him on the street on Hermana Rivera’s first day, and we asked him to baptize Alicia. He was an AP (good sign, right?), we felt good about asking him. Even though the baptism was in a different capilla, a lot of members came!!! Our district leader came with his companion and an investigator. So did our zone leaders. The service was great. Alicia was so excited. When it was time, wheeled her to the baptism font, and she was so excited. The water was PERFECTLY warm. And EVERYTHING WENT PERFECT. She was sooo happy coming up. Like literally, I had the best feeling ever. I couldn’t stop smiling all day. Neither could she! Soooo sweet! I will send a million pictures. Basically, to see all of our work pay off was SOOOO FULFILLING. I love Hermana Alicia sooo much. To help one of God’s daughters enter the waters of baptism is an honor. It was so special. We are excited to continue visiting her and helping her prepare for her confirmation! 

I know Heavenly Father lives. I know Jesus Christ lives. They are everything to me. Our covenants are so important! Today I turn 20 years old! My Padre Celestial has blessed me so much...I can’t express my joy to be here. I wish I could hug my Padre Celestial and just thank him.... but I know I can thank Him through my actions. I will be obedient. I will smile. I will serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. THIS LIFE IS SO PRECIOUS. Do we realize what we have? Do we realize who we are? We are sons and daughters of a King! 

Chile is great. So great. I love my life. I love my Savior. I love my Heavenly Father. I love Alicia! CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES. Love you family! A year left in Chile. I am twenty. Life is soooooo good.

Con todo mi amor,

Hermana Mittleman

Hermana's Megan, Clawson (from Laguna Beach)  & Millett.