It was so hard to say goodbye to
Solange, but she said that I’m invited to her temple sealing (wherever it will
be) and I promised her I’d come back for that. I won’t miss it for the world.
Solange and Jaime
Tuesday
was moving day. I had a really cool experience. We got our bus tickets from
Curico to Rancagua and loaded our 6 suitcases onto the bus. Hermana Garcia and
I headed to the freeway, we started heading north. I decided to take advantage
of the bus ride and read the talks Mom, Dad, and Michael sent me. About 10
minutes later, out of NOWHERE, the Spirit said, “Hermana Gardanier, stop.
Listen” So I stopped reading and just listened. I didn’t know what I was
listening for, but I just listened. I heard the sound of the bus driving, I
heard a mom talking to her son, I heard a child playing on a smart phone, and I
heard a man talking to the bus attendant and right them the spirit said, “Listen!
Escuched!” I started listening to their conversation, but I couldn’t hear much.
They were really far away. I concentrated and hears 3 words, “just Rancagua
south.” I knew that this was what I needed to hear, but I didn’t know what it
meant. So I thought about if for a second. This bus stops in 2 places in
Rancagua, the terminal (where we needed to go), and Rancagua south (which is
literally just pulling over on the side of the freeway and dropping people off
so the bus can keep going towards Santiago). I realized that this bus was not
going to stop at the terminal. Just Rancagua south. The future played in my
mind like a movie. Me and little Hermana Garcia and our 6 huge suitcases
getting dumped on the side of the freeway, 2 miles away from the terminal where
everyone was waiting for us… I couldn’t believe this was happening. I turned
and looked at Hermana Garcia all peacefully sitting there writing a card,
completely trusting me in getting us to where we need to be. So I started
praying. I said, “Heavenly Father, I know there’s an answer. I know there’s a
solution. But which one is it? Tell me what I need to do, and I’ll do it.” I
still had hope that I was wrong and we were headed for the terminal, so I knew
I needed to ask the bus attendant. I asked, “Are we going to stop in the
terminal?” He said, “No.” I asked, “CAN we stop in the terminal?” He laughed,
and then realized I was serious and said, “No. We are on strict schedules,” and
walked away. Then I looked out the window and the Spirit said, “Look where you
are.” I realized that we hadn’t passed San Fernando yet. Then it all clicked.
We needed to get off in San Fernando and switch buses and get on one that went
to Rancagua TERMINAL. That’s what we did. The other miracle was when we got off
at San Fernando and Elder Carneiro said, “Oh thank goodness you’re here. We
have a Hermana here who needs to get to Rancagua and we can’t send her alone.
Can you two wait for her?” So we waited. And it turned out to be Hermana
Christensen! We got to ride together for 1 hour to Rancagua. Tender mercies.
Olga and Edgar with Hermana Garcia and I
I
learned something about the Spirit. God wants to help us. I’m sure that if I
hadn’t put the problem together and if we had ended up stranded on the side of
the freeway, then the Spirit would have comforted us and strengthened us along
the way. But if we are willing to listen and act upon promptings BEFORE we even
know we are in trouble, the Spirit will warn us and help us avoid danger and
problems.
I
made it to Cachapoal safe and sound. This house is HUGE. It’s like a super nice
hotel. It’s the nicest place in the mission. We have a DRYER for our clothes…
God loves me so much. My companion is so beautiful. I adore her! I love
how I feel around her. She is wonderful.
I
love the feel of this area. It’s getting chilly (Chile J) and so at night when the sun
is down and the lights are on it sort of has a New York feel. Rancagua is TINY
compared to NYC but compared to Santa Cruz, Rengo, and Rauquen, I feel like a
missionary in Manhattan. It’s a dream come true.
Thursday
was leadership council and it was so good as always. I love seeing all my
friends. And just being around President is so special. We also learned how to
install alarms for house security. I never thought that I would learn so much
about house improvement on the mission. Also, I realized why I got moved here
to this giant apartment… Now that I’m a plumber and “toilet trained,” I got
moved to the house with the most bathrooms. Score J
This
afternoon all of our appointments fell through, but I LOVE contacting in this
area because there are so many people!! I have a goal to stop and talk to
EVERYONE I see that is sitting alone on a park bench. We did that today and met
some pretty amazing people.
Solange group hug
Augustine
Young Women
Natalia
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