Hermana Heywood

Kaitlynn in the Chile Puerto Montt Mission

Morning Call with You (Valdivia), May 4, 2026

May 4, 2026 · Valdivia, Chile

Roughly 43-minute morning call. Your week 60 of the mission, currently in Valdivia with Hermana Artieda. Three substantive threads: a possible AP call coming at interviews on May 9 with transfer day May 20; your recent STL work including two crises you helped manage; and your planned return home the week of September 23, 2026.

Opening - mission plaque and Paul Cardall

Natalie and I walked past your mission plaque at the meetinghouse on Sunday, May 3. I told Natalie that she and you would have plaques up at the same time once Natalie leaves. You asked which scripture I had chosen for the plaque. After joking back and forth with several false guesses, I confirmed it was Alma 26:16 ("Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord… for our joy is full"). You said you had been reading that chapter the day before.

You thanked me for sending Paul Cardall. You said you and your companions listen to it every day.

Anti-Mormon street encounter

The day before, a man told you and your companion you were going to el infierno (hell). He asked, "Have you guys prayed to know if this church really is true or if it's against everything Jesus has taught?" You said yes. He pressed: "Are you sure?" You said yes again. He told you everyone who attended the nearby church (your meetinghouse, just up the street) would go to hell, and urged you to pray again. You called the encounter funny. Afterward you and your companion had "a real good talk about loving people even when they're stupid."

Mental health and a possible future field of study

You asked me whether I had ever been tested for OCD. I said no, then asked whether your interest was for yourself or for those you serve. You said it was for those you serve, and that your companion's love of psychology has gotten you thinking about studying psychology yourself. "I'll see what happens." I mentioned a teammate at work with ADD/OCD-type patterns.

Brief Spanish tutorial - "Listo / Vamos / Ándale"

I asked whether listo meant "ready" and could double for "let's go." You clarified the closer translations: vamos and vámonos for "let's go," and ándale as a more colloquial "let's go." When excited, you can just shout "¡Vamos!"

Hair transplant - future trip to Turkey

I told you I have been seriously considering a hair transplant. Procedure cost in the US is roughly $4-6 per graft and I'd need around 4,000 grafts, putting it near $25,000 per procedure with two procedures needed (hairline first, crown a year later). In Turkey it runs $1-2 per graft and includes airfare and hotel stay. I described the process - donor area shaving, follicle separation by hair count (single follicles forward to avoid "doll hair"), planting like a garden, three weeks of redness, hair falling out and growing back over six to nine months for full result by a year.

You told me you would go with me to Turkey. We discussed returning together. You offered to save your own hair to make a wig. I responded I would just need good scalp glue.

Family logistics - when you come home

You confirmed you get home the week of September 23, 2026. You have until January (2027) for school to start. You noted Bryson has his own house, leaving Alexa and Mason as the only kids in the home for July and August. I commented that all the kids will essentially be grown.

Week summary - harder finding, strong companionship

You described it as a harder week for finding people, but a good week overall. You and Hermana Artieda continue to get along well: "She's one of the most loving people I've ever met."

Upcoming schedule (Transfer 8 final weeks)

The next two and a half weeks before transfer day on May 20 are densely packed:

You noted that if the mission president calls you into a different leadership role, you would be travelling to your next sector earlier than May 20.

Possible AP call

You are anticipating a possible call as Assistant to the President (AP) at the May 20 transfer. The math you walked through:

If the calling does not come, you said you are okay with that. You would likely be sent somewhere new and hope to finish your mission in Chiloé (an island region you have not yet served in). That would let you cover all of the mission's areas.

STL work - two recent crises

You described the STL role: "I love being a leader. I love being able to help people. I love that my job is to help people and to love people." You said the thing that has made you happiest recently is that hermanas have been calling and texting your companionship first when they need help.

Crisis 1 - Hermana bitten by a dog. No further detail given.

Crisis 2 - The "witch" house. A companionship was in a lesson where they began to feel very unsafe. The man they were teaching started making temple signs. He had a hat with symbols on it and a book of symbols he was having someone read from. He was writing names down in a book, attempting to give a blessing "from far away." The hermanas texted your companionship: "Call us now." You and your companion did not answer for about an hour because the hermanas had also called the elders, who happened to be on the same street and responded first. The elders went and removed the hermanas from the situation.

A few hours later, you and your companion learned the man was a convert who had been baptized years ago and now has dementia. There was no actual problem, but you affirmed the hermanas were right to leave: "If they didn't feel the spirit, then it's better that they leave than keep themselves in a situation." Me: "Better to follow the prompting than not."

Investigators

You are teaching a number of college students, but none have time to meet consistently. One man who had been on track for baptism had to move out of the area.

Diet and exercise plan

You have been working with an AI assistant on a structured eating plan for the rest of the mission ("six months" plan, your words). Target is 2000 kcal/day. The plan structure:

Companionship is averaging about 6 km of walking per day. Morning routine has 30 minutes of planning followed by 30 minutes of workout, then personal study, then 10:30-1:30 contacting. I suggested moving Takis to lunch to give the body the rest of the day to burn it; you pointed out members' lunches are not adjustable.

Members feeding missionaries

You contrasted Chilean ward dynamics with Utah: in Utah, "you never see the missionaries." In Chile, "the missionaries are at your house weekly. You feed them every other week, you're doing family home evening every week with them. You see them at church. They just become a part of the ward." You said you feel lucky to serve in this culture.

My week - Kris and the gopher snake

I have been struggling with a teammate, Kris, whom I have worked with for about seven years. Pattern: Kris starts a task, gets distracted, switches to another task, gets distracted, switches again, finishes nothing. I described ADD/OCD as potentially a superpower when channeled into hyperfocus, but the distraction-loop pattern is the version I am trying to manage. I have been trying to figure out how to tell Kris to "manage himself as an adult."

I mentioned a long walk on Sunday, May 3, where I saw a gopher snake about a cubit long. Non-venomous, eats small mammals and insects.

Closing

Connection issues toward the end. You lost audio after I offered to send you a picture of the snake. The call ended without a clean goodbye.

Cleanup Notes