Hermana Heywood

Kaitlynn in the Chile Puerto Montt Mission

Coyhaique Summer Call with You, January 5, 2026

January 5, 2026 · Coyhaique

Long Monday call across two segments (you called once during a cleaning P-day and once during family dinner). Deep summer in Coyhaique - 95 to 100 degrees F days. You and Juncker have been pouring water on yourselves to take "real" sweaty pictures, the apartment has flies everywhere, and you are sunburned beyond what local Latinos consider plausible.

Coyhaique summer heat

100 degrees F. You and Juncker have been documenting it - wet-face selfies, water-on-the-head videos. Flies inside the house ("we deep cleaned and they're still here"). You told the Latinos today you're black ("look at my tan line"). You have only this one chance for a summer birthday - January is the warm month. The members you wanted to celebrate your birthday with are leaving.

Maduro extraction - Venezuela news

A safety bulletin from the mission office. Trump ordered the military to extract Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and bring him to face drug-trafficking and weapons charges in New York. Local Venezuelans in Coyhaique are mixed; some are openly upset (a lady stopped you in the street to vent). The mission office instructed:

I walked you through the ChatGPT-summarized version of the operation: US frames it as the culmination of years of sanctions and diplomacy after Maduro held the country despite losing an election and ran drug operations into the US. Critics call it kidnapping. I noted there's an active international-law debate. My parental advice: be aware, don't be worried; "you are literally escorted around by a legion of angels."

You then surfaced the favelas in Rio de Janeiro - police burning out drug-controlled blocks, innocent residents trapped - and connected it to Hermana Soares' Brazilian context. That made the geopolitical aside hit closer for you.

Elder Vasquez trying to learn English from his companions

Elder Vasquez (Latino; the one you knew from Punta Arenas) asked you earnestly whether a phrase was right. The phrase was "you have to bring your black [slur] right now" - taught to him by his American companions as a joke. You redirected him to "black butt." You told me: "These kids are so funny, and they don't mean to be." Vasquez also wants to go into "programming" post-mission and asked if I needed someone - failing that, he could cut my grass, paint the house, "all the Mexican jobs."

Teaching pool collapse - Coyhaique

Walking through it. Your teaching pool is dying right now.

Mostly tracting + contacts to find anyone new. One investigator you described as "a little bit autistic - teaching him is fun."

Trent Howell III - saved contact via me

Your pre-mission boss in Provo (Trent Howell III) sent you a hello. I had moved your number to Google Voice so you wouldn't lose it on the mission, but that meant unknown numbers came in with no name. We cross-referenced and identified Trent. I offered to export all of your contacts to a physical copy so you wouldn't lose them if your phone got wiped.

Mason elected Deacons Quorum President

Big reveal mid-family-dinner. Mason announced he'd been elected Deacons Quorum President on Sunday; he had picked two counselors and a secretary. You: "No way. I'm so proud of you, dude." Mason: "I almost didn't expect to be the president. I thought I was gonna be the Waterboy." Me: "How does it feel to be the biggest, baddest of them all?"

Family dinner - gratitude round

Each person around the table shared one way they saw Heavenly Father's hand that day:

Barbara Bunker's testimony

Mom recounted: Barbara Bunker shared her testimony in stake last week. She served her mission in Korea. Felt at the time that nothing came of it - no baptisms. Years later, sick with the flu, a nonprofit kept asking her to consult; she finally agreed. It turned out to be a Korean adoption agency. Because of her cultural understanding from her mission, she ended up working there for four years, and during a priesthood blessing later was told that children had been adopted into the homes they were meant to be in because of her. Mom's takeaway to you: "Know that you are making a difference and you are where you should be - even if it takes years to see the good." You: "To help Asian babies."

Erin Wood's testimony

The Christmas multistake fireside. Erin Wood (Mom's friend) had a clear prompting to sing in the choir despite her nerves; it brought her real comfort during her first Christmas without her son Cameron (who is on his mission). Day-of, she got a clear prompting to "just focus on the conductor." Mom's connection to you: Jesus is our conductor; keep your eyes on him even with chaos around you and the comparison-traps of other people's apparent gifts.

Beckham Dart - babysitter compliment

Mom got a new class at church and was introducing herself: "And my daughter Kaitlynn, also known as Hermana Heywood, is doing great in Chile." Beckham Dart lit up - "I love her. She's the best babysitter ever." You were surprised; you had always read Beckham as avoiding you. Mom's read: he probably had a crush on you and was embarrassed.

Closing - sandals and snuggles

You floated wearing sandals on a P-day. Per Mackay he won't add rules beyond the white handbook, but sandals aren't in there. The kids snuggled on each other's faces; carrot in Alexa's ear. I have a chip-ranch confession.

Cleanup Notes