Hermana Heywood

Kaitlynn in the Chile Puerto Montt Mission

Afternoon Check-In with You (Puerto Montt), May 18, 2026

May 18, 2026 · Puerto Montt, Chile (mission home compound) and Herriman, Utah

About a 40-minute afternoon video call. Mom was on her phone elsewhere and not on screen. You were at the mission home compound with Hermana Snowder (asleep) and Hermana Figueredo. About 30 minutes left in your P-day.

Opening - audio setup

I said hi. You could not hear at first; we both checked audio. You asked how my day was going.

Beach trip and empanadas

You said the day was good. You went to a place called "Ladina" and to a beach, but only had 30 to 40 minutes there because of an hour bus ride and a late start. You ate empanadas, which you described as "just calzones, but with just meat inside" - made fresh, and really good. You went to the mall, got frozen yogurt, and bought "the bakery cookies." Then came back to the house. I said that sounds amazing.

Lessons this evening

I asked what was on deck for the rest of the day. You said you had less than an hour of P-day left, then you would go and do "some lessons." I asked if you meant appointments. You asked what the difference was. I said lessons are teaching appointments; you are meeting with someone to visit them. You said yes, an appointment.

You added that the sector already had established areas, so the appointments were joining the team. You are going to change sectors tomorrow. The current lessons are like saying goodbye to the members.

Sector change tomorrow

I asked where you are changing to. You said the new sector is on the other side of the area, changing wards within Puerto Montt. I asked how close to your old ward. You said about ten minutes. I said that is crazy. You said you have only been here for one day, so you do not know anybody.

I asked if that is hard. You said, "I'm kind of used to it at this point. It is what it is."

Tired, and the no-BS RX bar

I said you seemed tired. You said, "I'm always tired." I held up my snack: "a no-BS RX bar." You asked why I did not just call it an RX bar.

"Six weeks to sickly"

You saw the egg wipes on the bar. You asked if I am back on my "six weeks to sickly" program. I laughed and confirmed.

Hermana Snowder says hi - 7 out of 7

Hermana Snowder came briefly on camera. I greeted her. She said it has been a really long time. I asked if she had enjoyed her mission. She said yes, "seven out of seven."

You said this is one of the perks of being Hermana Líder Viajera: your mission mom is "literally the most awesome missionary," and you get to learn from her for a day and a half, which has actually been about three days at this point.

T. Rex nativity stickers

You asked if I drew the nativity on my wall with a sharpie. I said no, they are stickers. You said it looks like two T. rexes. I said it does look like two T. rexes singing to a bat. We both laughed.

Mason's bandana day

I said Mason wore gang colors to school. You asked what that meant. I said Mason wore a bandana. You explained that for three weeks you have been trying to get points for a school challenge - if everyone in the group wears the same thing, they get points. You asked if Mason is in sixth grade. I confirmed. You said when you get back he is going to be in middle school. You are 5'3", and Mason was as tall as your knee before the mission. I said Mom is still taller than Mason and "she can throw you out the window."

Snowder's last real day

You confirmed Hermana Snowder is not going home tomorrow, but tonight is her last real day of teaching. Snowder was there on your first day, and you are here on her last. You said it is special to be "changed by their mom twice." You said, "I was there on your first day, and you can be there on my last."

I said, "That makes me sad inside."

My work update - two meetings, best day ever

You asked how work is going. I said I have only had two meetings today and it has been the best day ever.

TV, eye strain, blue light glasses

You asked if staring at the TV all day does not make my eyes hurt. I said no: it is an OLED TV, really sharp, essentially a big monitor. It is 4K, and because of the size, text appears larger - "almost like an old-man one." You asked if I do not need blue-light glasses. I said that would be nice, but Mom does not want to spend any money on it; it is not something I ever wanted to do.

"It's for his podcast"

You asked about the microphone. I said I just moved it because it was right on my face. You said the microphone is "for his podcast." I asked what my favorite podcast was that I have made.

I said probably when we gave Mason a green tomato and called it a piece of fruit or an apple, made him eat it, and it was really gross. It was not what we told him it was, and we laughed because he still ate it. I said yes, we made a video of it; that is my podcast.

Onions and Chilean salad

You said something funny: before the mission you did not like onions, but now you love them and will eat them raw. I said Grandma Heywood loves onions, and Bryson loves them too. I said I like sautéed onions but am not a big fan of raw onions.

You said when you get home you are going to make a Chilean salad: cut up a tomato, cut up an onion, add lemon juice, oil, and salt. Or a lettuce version: lettuce with salt and lemon juice. To make it Venezuelan or Colombian, you add avocado. I said that sounds good.

Hermana Figueredo on camera

I asked where your new companion is from. You said Argentina, and that she speaks fluent English. Maybe a little bit before the mission, but she will be fine. You turned the camera and brought Hermana Figueredo on.

I greeted her. She said hello. I said her English is perfect. She said, "It wasn't that hard to learn." I introduced myself: I am Jason, Hermana Heywood's dad. Mom was not on camera but you introduced her by name. Hermana Figueredo said it is nice to meet us, and that her daughter (you) is an angel: "I'm so blessed."

You said it is funny because you had actually met before, when you started your mission in Punta Arenas. You did an exchange together. You told her at the time that she needed to visit you in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

You said: "We have to go to Argentina after my mission. We're gonna come and visit all of South America. We're going to go visit all of my contacts in Peru, in Buenos Aires, in Brazil, [and] then the other half of my contacts in Utah." Snowder added something about her own homecoming. I laughed.

Hermana Snowder's homecoming in June

I asked when Hermana Snowder's homecoming is. Snowder said: "My homecoming is actually going to be in June because my little brother is going on a mission and we're going to do a combined homecoming farewell."

I asked how to get the details so we could attend. Snowder said she would add me to her email list and send out the homecoming invitation that way. I said thank you. She confirmed my Gmail address.

Buenos Aires pronunciation joke

I asked if the s in "Buenos Aires" is silent like in "hamburger." You said yes. You shared Figueredo's emails. Hermana Figueredo sent her "saludos" - greetings.

I asked if you have seen how to spell Hermana Figueredo's name. We briefly lost video. You returned and said you were sending it to me.

Spanish, Chilean dialect, and relearning

I said even trying to speak Spanish to you now, my tongue gets tied. You said that is because I have not lived in Chile for a year and a half. I said true, but I "barely have a grasp of the English language."

You said what is really funny about Chile: you can understand and speak Chilean Spanish, but if you go anywhere else in the world, your pronunciation will be bad and you will not understand anything, because Chileans basically have their own language. I said dialect. You said you are going to have to relearn Spanish, "but it's okay." I said you have already done all the work to learn Spanish; better pronunciation will be cake.

Josiah Queen and the Joseph CD

You told me that if I am ever looking for worship music, I should listen to Josiah Queen.

You then asked if I have the Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat music on CD. I said I should, and that I do, but I do not know where it is. You asked if I could find time to send it; you have it in your head. You asked if I have watched the play. I said yes, the one at Tuacahn; I have not watched the one with Donny Osmond. You said I watched the one at Tuacahn on a date that was not with you. I laughed. You said you saw the one in Hurricane, Utah, with the orchestra. I said I watched it too.

I hunted through CDs on camera. Most of them are Grandpa's. I found Jim Brickman Love and The Best of Afterglow. I concluded the Joseph CD was not there, possibly downstairs. I said I have the CD; it is just a matter of ripping it. I thought I already bought it digitally.

Screenshot of you

I told you I got a screenshot of you. I will send it. It is when your eyes were relaxed: one of your eyes is wandering off, doing its own thing, while you are making a "th" sound. You said, "Thank, Dad. That's so awkward." I said we should put it on your mission plaque.

Honey Nut Cris

You riffed a "Cris" / "Honey Nut Cris" name pun toward Mom off camera.

Weather and time check

You said today it was 10 degrees Celsius. I said maybe that is cold. You said in Coyhaique it was triple that when you were there. The time stamp you gave was 6:45 or so your time. I asked when your first lesson is and how long until you need to go.

You said about 15 minutes until P-day ends at 6:30.

Book of Mormon study - Alma's mission chapters

I asked what you have been studying recently in the Book of Mormon. You said you have been studying in Alma - "all the mission chapters" - which is very cool. I clarified: Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah. You said yes, and then all of the battles.

Training and leadership progression

The conversation turned to how training and leadership progresses on the mission. You said it depends on the missionary. Some are junior comp for a long time, then train one and go to leadership. Some get bumped up to trainer quickly, train a couple, then go to leadership. Some train one (like Hermana Snowder did with you), go to leadership, end their mission, then train another. You said this is what Snowder did: she trained you, went into leadership, is ending her mission now, and trained one more (Figueredo). You joked you got called Snowder's most favorite and least favorite child in the same breath - "because I'm her most favorite child. But I'm her only child. Which means I'm her least favorite child."

You said you are "crying" because you are so tired you yawned to crying.

iPhone envy and phone retention

You said when you were at the mall today you went into the iPhone store and it made you miss your iPhone. You have been bragging to Natalie about how much Natalie is going to love it. You asked me if they are making Hermana Snowder give back her phone as part of the new plan. I asked. You said no, the rule has changed; missionaries now keep their phone. The phone you are using now will go home with you. The screen protector is a little bit cracked but otherwise fine.

You offered Mom (off camera) a trade: Mom could have your "trash phone" and you could have Mom's nicer Pixel. You said Mom likes her Google phone; you could have the nice phone and Mom could have the trash phone. You asked for me to bring you a soda.

SIM card and the number

You asked how SIM cards work with iPhones at home: does the SIM card give you the number, or do you still have to pay for the number even with a SIM card? I said I think the SIM card has the number attached to it. You asked if we would sell your number. I said we would not sell it, we would just let it go. You sang the Frozen "Let It Go" lyric. You added: "Doesn't bother me either." I laughed.

Hermana Stewart's dad and the hair meditation

You said you were talking to Hermana Stewart, and Stewart's dad meditated his hair back into existence. He had started losing his hair, and had been meditating since he was a child. He believed in meditation and the power of the brain. When he started losing his hair, he meditated and told himself it would grow back. It grew back thicker. I said I would have to see what I can do about that.

You said Stewart says her dad can do a handstand or headstand on his hair because it is so powerful. You issued the challenge to me: "To be a yogi. And do a headstand with your hair." I said that "made Dad tired."

Yelling - Bonnie's granddaughter and the ostomy bag

You asked who was yelling. I said Mason was yelling at Riley and Decklin (Riley Brooks and Decklin Oldham), saying Riley is too old for Decklin.

You relayed what Riley had said: Bonnie's granddaughter has Crohn's disease. They are putting in a colostomy bag for the next year to give her bowels a break, and then removing it. You called it a "colonoscopy bag"; we worked the term out together - ostomy.

You described what an ostomy is: "they cut a little hole in your stomach or in your belly. And they sew it to right there so that instead of, like, having your lunch come out your bum, it comes out your stomach. And so it's on the outside so everyone can see your lunch." You said the gases from an ostomy bag are worse than Mom's trumps - "and that's saying something." You did not know why; "it just is." You concluded, "So there you go, be grateful. I am so very grateful."

Wrap

You said you probably have to go because we have about four minutes and you need to leave. "I like you guys. I'll try and call tonight. Okay? Have good visits. Leave those people with a spirit. Okay, I'll do surely. Love you, K, and have a great day." I said love you.

Cleanup Notes