Week 9 in Placilla

"Rocío Quiroz was baptized yesterday!!! Wahoo!!! It was so incredible amazing. The spirit was so so strong. Right after her baptism I was filled with the incredible love of God for her. It was truly powerful. She is an amazing example for her family.  She bore her testimony after the actual baptism, and she could not stop smiling, she could not explain how amazing she felt, and she was literally dancing off from the stage, it was adorable. She is amazing!! Lane Lawrence gave her his missionary scriptures, and she guards them with her life. Thanks, Lane.

For the service, we asked people to make some desserts, but we didn´t know if they were going to do it, and so we spent some time to cook some crazy things. (dad you would have been proud). I made an apple crumble thing. The Bishop looked at it and said, "What is this?" haha. and we made some brownies that were good, ( because it was from a box), and bread pieces with jam and manjar (caramel like substance) that people liked. My comp and I were laughing hysterically because we had to walk a long ways with plates of food to the baptism. But it was a success and people ate it all. And other people brought cupcakes and cookies and things. 

Quiroz family

Rocio Quiroz with Maggie and Sister Siler

Working hard in Placilla

Maggie and her companion, Sis. Siler, are busy in Placilla. Maggie is enjoying this area and has much to do. Below are pictures of people and places. I do not know much information about most of these pictures, but they seem to tell their own stories. Enjoy!

In from the rain.

Brand new, clean apartment!

New bed, no fleas. Whew.

Chilean bar-b-que

Ate it all gone.

Transfer Day. New companion. Still in Placilla.

With Maggie's new companion fresh from the MTC, Sister Amanda Siler from Logan, Utah.

Rainy, rainy in Valparaiso.

With a friend in Placilla.

Another friend in Placilla.

Is this anyway to treat three hard working sister missionaries? Hmmm?

Below are pictures of various people and activities...

Photos from Placilla

I don't know where this picture was taken, but my guess is that they are at the church.

A church member? An investigator?.

Sis. Amy Schrader (right) and their new companion (middle) fresh from the MTC.

Preparation day at the lake. Maggie says it smells just like the Uinta mountains!

Preparation day with the zone at the lake.

Young Women's activity?

Transfer

Maggie was transferred Placilla on April 8, 2013. Placilla is a wealthier area not too far from Valparaiso. Maggie said that Valparaiso looks a lot like Paris, "cool and old". Maggie and her new companion, Sister Schrader from Colorado, have both been in Chile only six weeks. Sister Schrader has had several years of Spanish, so with her Spanish and Maggie's enthusiasm, they are doing great. Maggie reports that people are very kind and showing mercy to them by speaking a little slower so that they can follow along.

Maggie's new apartment is all new, new furniture and new beds. A couple of weeks ago she came down with a strange ailment with symptoms of little red welts all over her body. The official diagnosis:  Fleas! She and her companion de-bugged the apartment and the welts were all better. So...no bugs so far in this new apartment.

They have many new investigators and have much to do. Maggie is anticipating great things in Placilla!

Chile!

Maggie left the MTC on February 26 at 3:00 a.m. and after a five hour lay over in Miami, FL she boarded a red-eye arriving in Chile the next morning. She and the other newly arriving missionaries slept a little at a local hotel, and after interviews and orientation she boarded a bus for bumpy red-eye ride to her first assignment in the city of La Serena.

She met a girl on the bus who turned out to be a daughter of less-active church members and happened to live in her new area. Maggie and her companion, Sister Megan Smith (a Lone Peak grad), have been teaching her. She has a baptismal date for next week.

Maggie loves the warm beautiful weather, the scrumptious fruits and veggies, and she is developing a taste for Chilean rice. Maggie is amazed how many strange sounding Spanish words can come from those Chilean lips sounding just like gibberish. However, she is thrilled that when it is important to understand what is being said she understands perfectly!

 There was a problem with the plumbing so Maggie and Sister Smith resorted to filling the baptismal font with the fire hose.

 Monserrat's baptismal day with her parents, Maggie, Sister Smith and a member of the ward. Maggie and Sister Smith had Easter dinner with Monserrat and her family.

Missionary Training Center

Maggie entered the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC) on January 16, 2013 to begin serving in the Chile Vina del Mar. She would love to hear from family and friends. Her email is margaret.plothow@myldsmail.net.

Maggie had a wonderful MTC experience. Early on in the MTC she had a goal to read the Book of Mormon in Spanish before heading off to Chile in six weeks. She read out loud to herself every free minute and she completed her goal the last week in the MTC. The elders in her district called her a machine. I told her to tell them that she IS a machine who could kick their butt!

MTC compaion, Sis. Holbrook from Boise.

Elder Brandon Poulos

Cousin, Sis. Marissa Sainsbury