March 25th Update

So!

If I could, I would write my whole letter about Flor.

She is very much likely one of the funniest people I've ever met in my life. She has a date for baptism, and she came to church yesterday. And.... she may just have schizophrenia. One of our members that came with us to the lesson told us that her other sisters had it. She for sure is still a winner. She's just hilarious. She just is so expressive. One time, she started the conversation with, You know, I have to tell you something: I couldn't eat the bread (from the sacrament). Because I saw one of the boys touch his nose and his ears before breaking the bread. I just couldn't do it.

Aw, she's just great. But anyways.

Clara and Luis are having some rough times. Clara is having a rough time quitting smoking. But! She can do it. I just know it! The trick is if she can have the faith to do it, too. 

I'm still learning loads here! One of my favorite things that I'm learning this week is the importance of gratitude. It's incredible really, how much BETTER your day can be with gratitude. My morning prayers, I focus on saying basically everything I'm grateful for, and then 1 or 2 other things. And the day is just so much better. Try it out! 
 

Thank you for all your support and love! I just love you all, and pray for you.

Love,

Hermana Lovell





PS THANKS so much fam for the easter package! It was sweeeet! Who knew Cadbury eggs are so tasty!!! :)

March 18th Update

Wow!

Here we are. Another week in Chile.

This week, I've really got to think about the "knock and ye shall receive" principle that is everywhere in the gospel. How many times is that mentioned in the scriptures, and how many times do we actually have the courage to ask for it?

I know that God really does want to give every righteous desire of our hearts. I know that as we work hard, and are diligently working to obtain our goals, Heavenly Father will provide us with a way to obtain it.

Clara is wants to get sealed in the temple! But first she's got to quick smoking. I've gotten some crazy stop-smoking ideas for some Elders, but we'll see which ones we actually try out.

One thing that I've really been focusing on is gratitude. We can be so unhappy if we forget how to be grateful. Heavenly Father gives us so much, but if we don't acknowledge it, we don't really get anything out of it. Even if we had everything we could possibly ask for, and we were ungrateful, it wouldn't mean anything.
I'm sure grateful that God loves us. I know that EVERYTHING we recieve in this life is for our growth. Even those times when we can't understand why things happen at the time, the experience will only make our future sweeter as we learn what Heavenly Father wants to teach us.

I love you guys! Keep being wonderful :)

Love,

Hermana Lovell 

PS Hey! I met a boy just like by crazy nephew Nick Templeton! And I met a little girl just like my niece Emmie! I sure love my family!! :) 

March 11th Update

Well this week went super fast! 

Fall is coming here in Chile. It's getting a little chilly. Bah ha ha ha. Thank goodness that Constitución is a bit on the relaxed side when it comes to weather. It gets super windy sometimes, though. Not exactly conducive for us skirt-wearing folk. We get by :) 

Clara and Luis and still super fantastic! They are super funny. Luis is a Menos Active, and we found out yesterday that he and is sister were orphans when he was like 15. That's when they got baptized, and it helped them grow up with good principles. And now Clara, his girlfriend, is hooked on reading the Book of Mormon. She's so blunt and honest, and she's hungrier and hungrier to understand more of the gospel. They've got a little 10 year old named Ignacia that is wanting to get baptized, too. They have got to get married first, and then they're planning on the 6 of April to get baptized. They sure are wonderful!

Something a little funny about life is that there's a lot of time when we run around asking everybody else for answers. Maybe our friends, or family, or leaders. But you know what? We've really just got to get on our needs and have the faith that we can recieve answers from prayers. That Heavenly Father really knows, He really cares, and He really wants to teach us something. There are some times when you just have to say, "Well! It looks like I still haven't learned what you wanted me to learn...because this still is really hard." But, it'll always get better. But! The mission rocks. Life is great. Still learning loads here in good ol' Chi-Le. 

Love you folks! 

Love,

Hermana Lovell 

March 4th Update

Well, I’ve made it through the first week of training, can you believe it!? Me either. Things are definitely different now. Hermana Gomez, my comp, is from Peru. My trainer was from Peru, too. But really, it’s fine with me because Peruvians know how to work hard! Ha ha. We’ve been opening this sector for hermanas. That’s been great. The Elders were not exactly 100% squeaky clean with their area book……. But it’s okay J

We got two families to teach! What!? Isn’t that great? J Clara, Luis, and Jorge and Joanna. They all live together in an apartment. Clara and Luis have got to get married, so they want to get baptized in April. The other couple wants to wait for them. We’ve just got to keep them on the straight and narrow until then! Out of nowhere, we found the brother of Jorge yesterday contacting, and we got to teach him a lesson. Heavenly Father really does have a hand in everything.

It’s been really rough sometimes. Because now it’s feels like I’ve got a lot more responsibility on my shoulders. I got frustrated for a little bit that I couldn’t have great numbers after a few days into the week. Sometimes, when hard things happen, we forget perspective. It just feels like we’re going to be in this situation that totally stinks for. Eh. Ver. But that’s where hope comes in. And remembering that really, Heavenly Father is aware and sees you. He knows you, and He really is just trying to bless you. I can honestly say that every trial I’ve had, in the mission and in life, has blessed me to enjoy life better than I could have before. Because without the bitter, we really can’t understand and enjoy the sweet. The perspective is the key, right? It’s just about taking a step about, and realizing, “Why yes, I’m still breathing. There’s still a fight to be fought, here! And it’s not going to be forever. And God and my Savior still love me, and They’ll still support me just as much as I will let Them!” It’s really true, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. The anticipation and worry of bad things happening are usually ten times worse than the actual event.

So yeah. I’m still here. Still working hard, and learning loads. Trying my best to be my best. It’s pretty great I highly recommend a mission for all you folks out there. There really is nothing like it.

Thanks for your letters, your prayers, your love and your support. I love you so much, and I’m so grateful for all of the things I’ve learned from you. Keep chasing your dreams. I’m praying for you J

Hermana Lovell

Pretending to work out. Just kidding. We went running.
Do you work out?

When I was in the house for a week for an ingrown toenail.
It was fierce.

LOOK OUT FOR GERMAN SHEPARDS!
First dog bite of the mish. And the owner didn't even care it happened.
Every time I see it, I feel so hard core. I hope it scars.