Hermana Heywood

Kaitlynn in the Chile Puerto Montt Mission

Evening Catch-up with You (Valdivia), April 27, 2026

April 27, 2026 · Herriman / Valdivia

Short Monday evening catch-up call. I joined the call accidentally as you (which is why you couldn't see me) before we sorted it out. The substantive thread: a full update on Mauricio, your convert who passed the sacrament for the first time on Sunday.

Opening - I joined as you by accident

You: "Hello?" Me: "Hey, can you hear me?" You: "Now I can. I could hear you a little bit, but it kept telling me I was the only person in the call." Me: "That's weird - it was showing two of you. I wonder if I accidentally joined as you." You asked how my day was. You said yours was long, but it was good. I said Mom was right there with me.

Book of Mormon painting activity

You said it was a good day. A little bit long because you painted Book of Mormons for the hermana leaders' day and ate Papa John's. It was stressful because you have no money now - you spent it all on the air mattresses. I asked if you could ask the hermanas to contribute to activities. You said you do. I said that would have been a fun activity. You said they're cute with the stickers. I noticed a Chile jersey in the video; you confirmed.

Mauricio update - passed the sacrament

You: "This is our convert. He passed the sacrament for the first time on Sunday." Me: "That is amazing. What's his name?" You: "His name is Mauricio - M-A-U-R-I-C-I-O." I asked when he got baptized. You said he got baptized with you and Hermana Artieda. You found him your first week in Valdivia. He got baptized about four weeks later. Now he's passing the sacrament. I said that's awesome.

You: "It's been super cool to see his progress. It's been super fast." I asked, the first week of your mission? You corrected: your first week in Valdivia. You added: "Yeah. He's the guy who smoked 30 cigarettes a day."

You walked me through it. He had actually read the Book of Mormon back in 2019 - he didn't tell you that until a few days ago. You showed up at his door and told him about Jesus, and he liked it. He came to church. You invited him to be baptized. You and Hermana Bennett (one of the younger hermanas in your zone - you were on exchanges) invited him with a plan: go from 30 cigarettes to 20, to 10, to 1, to none.

I said: nice, good plan. You: "He was like, 'Okay, let's do it.' Then I think this was before the next Sunday - Hermana Bennett said, 'No, you're going to stop now. You're going to cut dry - not smoke anymore.' He said, 'Okay, I guess I can try.' The next day he smoked six, then five, then never smoked again. Well - he smoked one a couple weeks ago. But he talked to the bishop about it before he talked to us about it."

Me: "That's exactly what he should have done. That's cool." You: "He's incredible. It's been so cool to see the change. When we first saw him he was just darkness and sadness, and now he's this little ball of shy light. He's super shy and has social anxiety."

You showed me a video. You could see his funny little shy half-smile when he's trying to get out of his comfort zone but can't really because of the social anxiety. His face expression doesn't change. I watched the video. I said: "That was so cute. Really sweet." You: "He's just trying so hard." Me: "I love it. He looks like Matt Fusano." You: "He does. That's funny."

Me: "Isn't it amazing to be a part of somebody's growth in the gospel - them committing to it? Kaitlynn, good job." You: "That's really cool. Good job, Jesus. Thanks for using these hands." Me: "Thank you for being his hands, his mouthpiece, and his enforcer."

Gratitude journal, then the president called

I noticed you were writing in your journal. You said you were writing things you're grateful for. You realized you're not very grateful for things anymore, and you need to be. I said I like that. Did you write Mom? What about Dad? You said yes - then: "Okay, the president is calling. I'll call you back." Me: "Bye, see you." To Mom after the call: I appreciate you recognizing that yourself. I love it when you can learn a lesson on your own.

Cleanup Notes