Hermana Heywood

Kaitlynn in the Chile Puerto Montt Mission

Evening Call with You (Valdivia), April 20, 2026

April 20, 2026 · Herriman / Valdivia

Roughly 72-minute Monday evening video call. Connection broke repeatedly throughout. The call spans an enormous range of topics.

Opening - nails, water bottle, Carmel Tropico perfume

You showed off your nails (I thought one was a ladybug; you corrected - it's a brown "poop spot"). You are making a bracelet that dangles from your water bottle. You also showed off a "Carmel Tropico" perfume you bought as a $4 bargain. I smelled it and said it smelled like my laptop. Mom recognized it as a knockoff of a Brazilian brand Hermana Nada uses - the legitimate version runs about $45.

Timing belt on the minivan

I took Friday off and replaced the timing belt on the minivan myself using YouTube. Got back to work for an hour, then had to leave to drive to Logan for Bryson's concert. You were sad you missed your "Daddy-Daughter fix-it" time. Me: incredibly high potential to make it scary, but it went fine.

Music request - Paul Cardall, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat

Recurring thread from this morning. You confirmed the mission president gave you permission to listen to music outside the gospel library. You asked for anything about Jesus, Jacob, and sons (Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat), plus Paul Cardall, plus worship songs I have on CD. The plan: I download them into Google Drive and email you the link. By the end of the call I had sent the Paul Cardall folder, which you opened on camera: "I have been first on Paul Cardall for seven years... I'm going to have the best personal study ever tomorrow." Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat is still TBD.

Sensitivity to violent media

You ran a zone activity today and you watched The Prince of Egypt at the church. You had to leave the room when the Hebrews were whipped. You have noticed you can't watch any TV with violence anymore - even animated, even the new Greater Love video. All you can watch is Bluey and some BYUtv shows. Me: never feel ashamed for being sensitive to what you hear and see.

Skin doctor

I have growths on my face that bug me and want them removed - I would rather have a scar. Mom mentioned that if a new dermatologist won't do removal on the first visit, I may need to go to Dr. Low in Provo. I'll try to set up a local appointment first.

Bryson's band concert in Logan

I drove up Friday for the concert. Bryson did really well - proud of himself, worked hard for it. Payton is the band's singer; you had watched a video and felt like Payton was screaming. My assessment: Payton has potential but needs to practice. Everyone else in the band is better at what they do than Payton is at singing, but they don't have another singer, so kicking him out for someone better would be awkward at this point. Good for him for having the confidence to sing.

Sunday hike

I hiked about 6.5 miles in the mountains on Sunday. So peaceful - you go far enough and there's just nobody out there. Birds, breeze, warm sun. You: when I get back, we're going hiking.

Zone leadership update - choosing to be happy

I asked what turned your day around, since you had been having a rough time. You: you felt very attacked this past week by the elders for anything the zone did, and you are already insecure about your work as an hermana leader because you don't feel like you know what you're doing but also don't know what more you could be doing. You talked to Mom for five or ten minutes earlier, and Mom helped you decide to control what you could control and not let "the mean Jason in my head" run things. The funny coda: at the end of the day the elder who normally antagonizes you came up and asked "didn't you notice I didn't say anything mean to you today?" You had noticed. You are happier now because you chose to be happy.

I added a parallel story about Mom sometimes spending all day arguing with me inside her head, then needing me to have a perfectly calibrated reaction when she finally tells me about it.

Trump politics aside

Local cleaning lady was making Trump jokes with her brother-in-law yesterday. Locals call American missionaries "Trumpito" / "Trumpedoes" - little Trumps. So far no one has been mean to you personally for being American.

Young Women's organization name changes - long banter

You just saw that the Young Women's organization has new age-group names. Mom knew the actual names: Beehives are now "Builders of Faith," Mia Maids are "Messengers of Hope," Laurels are "Gatherers of Light." You pretended Mom had said "Tickle Bear" and ran with it. Your proposal: just bring back beehives, mia maids, and laurels.

I then proposed my own names:

You told me to call President Oaks immediately. My response: "If a woman can be the Sunday school president, then a man can be the Young Women president." Mom added a real news note: the Sunday School president role can now be either a man or a woman.

"La sacerdosa" - your running Spanish joke

In Spanish, "sacerdocio" (priesthood) is grammatically masculine. You have been telling everyone you have "la sacerdosa" (a feminized form) and getting people to laugh. The bishop in Valdivia greets you each Sunday with "So, who have you baptized with your zoho?" When elders are struggling, you offer a "bendición de salud" (blessing of health) "with my sacerdosa." Mom worked in a teasing reference to you having a scar on your backside from something - Harry-Potter-style except on the cheek - because you ran fast enough that lightning only got the part that stuck out the back.

Porter's mission farewell

Porter is going to Australia on his mission. You were surprised - you didn't know he was healthy enough to go. Corbin (his brother) spoke at the farewell and said "I never in a million years thought Porter could go on a mission. I thought he was going to live in his bedroom and never leave for the rest of eternity." Mom felt sad for Porter because it was all true. Mom added that Porter had been the only one in his own circle who didn't think he could do it, then realized everyone else believed in him - that was nice.

Elder Bragg (an Area Seventy) spoke at the farewell. Mom remembered him from a 2023 General Conference talk on Christ-like poise. Bragg told a story about how the last time he spoke in General Conference, his son-in-law Ryan showed him a tweet: "Really? The guy's name is Bragg, meaning to boast, and he doesn't talk about humility. What a waste."

Two "golden" investigators in Valdivia

You and Hermana Stewart found two new investigators on Sunday - students in Valdivia, neither originally from the city, both referred by a member who invited them to lunch without telling the hermanas in advance. They were just there. You taught them the Plan of Salvation at lunch yesterday and the Restoration today; both eat it up. If they come to church this Sunday, you will invite them to be baptized. You and Stewart signed a little "covenant" - not a real contract - with each other and with God to do everything you can to find two people to be baptized. (You did the same thing with Hermana Artieda in the previous transfer.)

Upcoming intercambio in the dangerous sector

Tomorrow you do the intercambio with the hermanas in the dangerous sector that has been driving you this past week. You are nervous; you think you will be the one going to the scary sector. The zone leaders had their weekly call with the APs and they are tired of the stories - they may pull the hermanas out entirely and put elders in. You agree: even if the sector were objectively safe, if the hermanas perceive it as a hazard they won't work hard there because they're too scared.

Charlie movie and the Bryson song

You watched Charlie (the sad one - "Mercy dies"). The worst part wasn't Mercy dying; it was that you remembered the song from the movie that always reminded Mom of Bryson. Mom used to ask you to play it when Bryson was gone. It made you want to play the piano - but you were getting your nails done at the time and didn't have the sheet music.

Mom: you are exactly where you are supposed to be, just be present where you're at.

Transfer math - 154 days, plan in 54 days, September 23 release

You walked through the next several weeks: this week conse hoo leaders, next week leadership council, then interviews and the blitz with the hermana leaders, then the last full week of the transfer, then the new transfer. You think you will leave Valdivia in the next transfer. Because you are now "old in the mission" you will have 1-2-3-... 154 days left. You get your flight plan in 54 days. Release date: September 23, 2026.

Toot jokes

You tooted on camera. I told you to spray the cheap perfume to mask it. Result: vanilla poop. You launched into a riff on people trying to mask musk with spray ("Mascar Musk"). Mom shared the powerful poop blanket memory: there was one time when she and you were under the blanket together, she essentially pooped her pants, tried to flap the blanket to clear the smell, and it just blew it back into both your faces. You: "When you do, it's powerful." Mom: "Yes it is, which is too bad."

Hawaii post-mission plans

You: when I get home, can we go to Hawaii? Some negotiating about who comes (you don't want Mason; Alexa is in). Mom will lobby for sleeping on the beach to save money. I agreed to take you to Hawaii - "on the way to Turkey." You remembered we almost went to Hawaii right before your mission but went skiing instead, which made Bryson mad. Me: "Bryson just got mad because it made him feel bad."

Family update - Natalie's hair school

Natalie is at hair school M/F until 7 PM, T/W/Th at school until 6 PM; she doesn't come home for lunch anymore and just goes straight from school to hair school to maximize her hours. She has girls camp June 10-13 and the Gardner family reunion. Whether she has to do summer hair school depends on if she needs more hours. She wants a senior trip; Mom isn't sure when that would fit.

Choir history reflection

Mom prompted: should Alexa take both PE classes her sophomore year to get them out of the way? You: yes, take all the dumb classes your first year so you're not stuck with them as a senior. Hard year, but the rest are good.

That tipped over into a long reflection on the high school choir hierarchy: Harmony (~100 girls), Legacy (~30), Madrigals, Jazz Choir. You argued Jazz Choir is actually harder than Madrigals, but Madrigals gets all the attention. You didn't do choir in 10th grade (orchestra instead), switched in 11th; you think you could have made Jazz Choir if you had started earlier but didn't have the confidence. Confidence is what gets you the solos - the red-headed girl Salah always got solos because she was confident. Mom told you that watching you in choir you were the one who lit up the whole stage - everyone's eyes were naturally drawn to you. I confirmed.

Alexa's Matilda opening night

Alexa just finished her first night in the Harmony cast of the school play (Matilda - "Revolting Children" is one of the songs). Tonight wasn't open to the public, just to teachers, so they could get the kinks out without it being embarrassing. The email letting parent families come came late this morning so we didn't make it. Mom noted Alexa was added to Harmony, which means she made the cut to potentially move up to Legacy next year. Mom got a text from Alexa partway through the call asking that she be in a good mood.

Closing - Google Drive storage, Kyla home

You are almost out of storage on your Google account (25 GB folders, 13 GB email). Action item: I will offload your photos.

You saw Kyla today (Siemens, who is now home from her mission). Kyla looked like she was doing great. Sign-off: "Keep sending me music."

Cleanup Notes