1-8-12

Monday: Today was really cool. Elder Brady and I were the only ones
home, still, and we slept in. It was awesome. I studied fo ra while,
before he got up and we went to use Internet. Just for a bit, so we
could return in the afternoon `cause that`s usually when Daddy writes
me. I ended up chatting with Devin for a little bit. He told me about
his favorite games and books. We got completos with the other Elders,
when they got back, with mint ice cream for dessert. I`d missed it.
Nobody had written me, of the family. Elder Maldonado felt sick. He
asked if I`d go to the Apartment with him. I read for a while, until
sundown. But my lightbulb blew and I couldn`t read more. Smith and
Brady said they hand`t found anyone in their contacts. And so ends the
first transfer here.

Tuesday: So we got gas this morning. That means no more cold showers!
But my shower was actually too hot, and the controls were broken-ish,
so I couldn`t cool it down. I acutally missed my cold shower. Today is
the first day of the new transfer. I studied some more of Helaman 4.
Something I`ve always found strange is how often the Nephites and
Lamanites fight. It seems so pointless. In this part, the Lamanites
have conquered much of the land. But Moroniah (spelling in english?),
the Nephite general, "reconquers" some cities. I turned it into a
battle of good vs. evil, like we have in our lives and saw that we
have to be brave when the "bad" conquers parts of our lives, and
reconquer those parts. ALWAYS resist temptation. We had our lunch that
was really far, today. When we got home, I called Mirta, from
Hualpencillo. She wasn`t doing so well. Ever since we met her, her
father has been an instrument in the hands of the Adversary to hedge
up the way. Apparently, right before Christmas, he told MIrta she was
dead to him. She just barely turned 16! She got kicked out of her
house and is now living with her sister. But she said she had a happy
New Year`s. I felt so proud of her. She`s so optimistic. Always. I
shared a few Scriptures with her before telling her I loved her and
hung up. I`ll be praying for her. We did contacts and got into a few
houses, actually. In the evening, we played soccer with the youth.
Camilo, the recent convert, and Pablo, who got back from his
mini-mission, were there. Pablo said that Pres. Martinez adores me. He
said he talks well of all the missionaries, but he really likes me.
That helped me, especially because I`ve been feeling kinda like a
failure. Soccer was really fun. But now I`m super tired.

Wednesday:
Today went well. We got up and waited for our undependable bus. It
didn`t show up on time. We eventually made it to our Distrizona
Meeting. We all had to introduce ourselves to the two new Missionaries
in Tirùa. I think my comp. has changed for the better in the six weeks
we`ve already spent together. In our District Meeting, he was
definitely participating more than he used to. We did a practice
lesson. I said we could do it in Spanish or English, and he chose
Spanish. He struggled for a big, but he didn`t give up, and I was just
cheerin` him on as hard as I could. I taught them about "The Vision of
Baptizing", a talk by Elder Corbridge. I tried to help them understand
WHY we baptize, and the importance of the remission of sins. I hope we
can see results soon. It`s been getting harder and harder for me to
stay strong. I don`t feel depressed, just tired of fighting. I don`t
want to be a bad Missionary. I WANT to be strong and make the right
decisions every time, but sometimes I`m not that strong. It`s like I
know the answer, but not how to execute the plan itself. Anyway, Elder
Smith and I went on an exchange to do a service project for Hna.
Soledad Rodriguez. Then we finished up, doing contacts. As we headed
to the house, we pooled our money and bought a big bag of mashed
potatoes. 32 servings baby!

Thursday: So, I completed 20 months, today.I`m in the 20`s! I know
that sounds like a lot, but I`ve still got 4 left (Devin!)--plenty of
time to work. I studied alone, until I had to report our numbers to
the zone Leaders. After I did that, Elder Hall asked me how I was
doing. Usually, I tell him I`m alright, but today I came clean. I told
him I`m tired and my comp. is dragging me down. Elder hall has been
Elder Brady`s Zone Leader all of Elder Brady`s Mission, so he knows
him. He asked if Elder Brady had progressed at all. I told him he
hadn`t. When I told Elder Hall all this, he said that it shows. I`m
losing energy. Anyway, Elder Hall said he`d write Pres. about our
situation. Elder Diaz, from tirúa, doesn`t have a cell phone, and
didn`t know the Meeting in Concepción was cancelled. So we tried to
cut him off in our city, but he wasn`t on any of the buses. Elder
Smith went with me. He and I have gotten to be good friends. He just
has a really strong personality and likes to be right. He`s totally
gonna help me bargain-hunt when I get back. After lunch, my comp. and
I did contacts for a while. Then, we tried to visit an inactive member
that Elder Smith had told us had kids that aren`t baptized. They
weren`t home. At night, we found out our oven works. So we made
brownies. It was a weak oven, so it took 2 hours. Hahah. it`s 12:10 AM
right now. But they`re delicious, so it`s totally worth it.

Friday: I got up, this morning at 8:15 `cause I left our phone (alarm
clock) in the other room and didn`t hear it. I got up and did my
personal study. I`ve never asked for an emergency transfer, because
I`ve considered it cowardice and going against God`s will. But I am
really getting close. During lunch with the Branch Pres.`s wife, she
aske dhow much time I have left. When I told her, she said she wants
me to finish here because I`m so happy. She confessed that she`s a bit
of a serious person. As I began giving her some advice, she asked me
for counsel with one of her neighbors. She feels like she`s losing a
friendship. It was interesting how the Spirit guided the conversation
so she could receive her answer. In the afternoon, I had to use email
really quick, and chek the class I have to give next week. But when I
looked, I found an email, saying Daddy`s in the hospital with blood
clots in both lungs. BLOOD CLOTS!!! LUNGS!!! I can`t function without
my Daddy. I just can`t. Mom said the blood thinners should take him
back out of the woods. I`m just really scared. We had an FHE with the
Neira family and a few other families. They hadn`t warned us that we
had the lesson. We taught the Book of Mormon and then watched "The
Testaments." I told Madelyn about Daddy, and she offered to call mom
tomorrow. that`s so nice.

Saturday: I had a really cool personal study today. I`m starting to do
the activities in the Seminary manual for the Book of Mormon that I
found. today, I studied pride, and why it`s sometimes called the
"central sin," and all the other sins that can come from it.
Thankfully, Helman 3:35 shows us how we can get rid of pride. It comes
from giving our heart to God. That`s what Alan and I are trying to do.
he`s so awesome! Madelyn called me this morning. She had a very soft
tone of voice, as if she didn`t want me to get hurt. She said, "I
talked with your mom, and she said that you need to remain calm when
you hear this--" I stopped listening right there. I started thinking,
"I don`t have a Dad anymore. What`s the family gonna do? That am I
gonna do?" And my heart was racing. But Madelyn rephrased it and said,
"You mom says to remain calm, because your dad`s out of the hospital
and recovering." I told her she scared the living CRAP out of me.
GAH!!! But I`m very relieved that Daddy`s alright. Whew! the place
where we use Internet has a girl, our age, who works there. she took
this week off because her dad died. I`m going to give her chocolate
and the Plan of SAlvation when she comes back. The 4 of us and her
chat when we go over. I think this is God, preparing her. I hoep she
can feel better. I can`t imagine how she must be feeling. I got a
glimpse, and it almost drove me crazy. We did contacts in the evening.
We got in a few houses today. There was on lady, Graciela, who was
really nice and receptive. I asked if Elder Smith would sell me one of
his Portable hard drives. He`s thinking about it.

Sunday: today was a great day. Well, mostly. Now that we finally have
gas, again, for warm showers, our water heater broke. It`s okay. I
only got one hot shower and I fount I didn`t like it as much. I guess
I`ve just gotten used to these showers. We were almost late to church
again, even though we`re two minutes away. Let`s see, nothing exciting
happened in church. After that, we had lunch with the Neira family. We
had barbeque meat again: beef and turkey, with an awesome salsa. While
I was at church, I fount out that Ayleen, a member of the family,
wasn`t feeling well..but I don`t know if it was emotionally or
physically. So I shared a Scripture from Mosiah 4 that says we aren`t
commanded to run faster than we are able, and that we should just be
diligent in what we can do. I f we do that, we`ll receive all the
blessings we need. It`s so amazing that he put all of the commandments
within the limits of everyone. Oh! And I was thinking about Moroni`s
primise. He invites us to ask if "these things are NOT true." Why not
ask if they ARE true? I think it`s because the latter is too easily
dismissed by most people. Can someone who doesn`t believe the church
is true prove that it ISN`T true? I think I just condemned myself to
dual-questioning everything for life. We finished our contacts today.
wE met our goal for the first time, and we got some new investigators.
YEAH! At night, we watched Elder maldonado`s copy of "The Errand of
Angles." In my opinion, it captures the real feeling of a Mission
better than "The Best Two Years." The whole movie, whe`s having a LOT
of hard times, and only a few happy times. But at the end, all she
remembers are the good moments. It was way cool.

1-1-12

Tuesday: Due to the fact that we gave up our Pday yesterday so we
could have our distrizona, we were allowed to do our Pday stuff today.
We started out by playing tennis. Last week I was pretty bad.
Seriously. this week, I got really good at serving. that reminds me of
a quote I read once: "Life is like tennis--he who serves best almost
always wins." that`s pretty cool. Anyway, today was pretty epic. Elder
Smith beat the 3 of us consistently. but I finally beat him in the
last match. Haha. It was the last match because I quit while I was
ahead. :) We went back to the house for a while before lunch. While
there, I finished my reply to Cassie. While I did that, elder Brady
went with elder Smith to write the family. Elder Maldonado went to
lunch with the Branch President`s wife. We arrived on time, expecting
to see the other 2, but they arrived 30 min. ate. Their taxi wasn`t
clear on where they wanted to go. Then I went to write MY family.
Kevin said he`s going to Bulgaria tomorrow. That sounds exciting. In
the afternoon, we were invited to play soccer with the youth, a common
thing in the Mission, but we were so darn pooped form this morning. So
we just did the normal contacting. We found a few nice people.

Wednesday: Today was a great day. When I got up, I decided to call
Elder Calaway. It had been a very long time since I`d spoken to him.
Gosh it was so good to hear from him. Actually, from our brief
conversation, I could tell that he`d changed a lot...for the better of
course. He`s always been someone just trying to do their best. We
talked about how weird it is that time the time has passed so fast. We
remenisced about the last time we got to call our parents. His dad had
answered and acted normal (i.e. "hey jake.") So funny! he said his
parents asked about me in the phone call. "Where`s Elder Merrell?" He
said they really like me. I had written them a letter, telling them
what a good boy they have. I forgot how much I love Elder Calaway. He
really is one of my best friends--someone I can count on. He said
we`re going to play a lot of xbox live when we get back. I miss him a
lot. He said he might be training this next transfer. I`m so happy for
him. It waws just one of those moments when you realize just how big
your heart is, and how good it feels to love. I put all my finished
letters I`d written in their envelopes. We had lunch with Hna. Daz.
She lives on top of a big hill that makes me sweat every single time.
We spent the afternoon doing contacts. We had an appt. but she wasn`t
there. I got a little discouraged. In one week, I`m almost certain
I`ll have another comp. I can`t wait to see how that goes.

Thursday: I had some personal study time and loved it. WhenI spoke
with the family, I got to have a one-on-one conversation with Cassie
(sister). She`s so good about reading her Scriptures. She says that if
she doesn`t read in the morning and night, she feels restless and not
as happy as when she does. I feel exactly the same way. Thinking about
it, she`s changed a lot. I remember at the beginning of my Mission, or
even as recently as this past Spring, she seemed a bit more confused.
But now I can see the Spirit influencing her life, and she can see the
joy that comes from it. That makes me so happy. I miss my family a
lot! We had lunch with the Neira family. They served us peeled
potatoes with roast. It`s a really common chilean dish. In fact, we
had it yesterday, too. In the afternoon, I went on exchanges with
Elder Maldonado. His companion`s causing him some problems, too. He
actually broke down and cried because he felt so bad for not having
been able to do good work this transfer. I understood that. The sad
part is I think he`s staying with his comp. one more transfer. We did
contacts in the afternoon. We had some appts., but they all fell
through. It`s shocking how little success we`ve had this transfer.

Friday: Today was a good day, but also a little sad. It was sad
because elde rKemp went home today. I KNOW, RIGHT?! I remember when he
left, two yars ago. For me, time in the mission passes normally. Not
fast or slow. But I believe that will change my last day, when I look
back and say, "Already?" I got a little taste of that today. Because,
for me, my Mission has always been looming in the future, it has been
the focus of my financial endeavors, and the bane of potential
relationships. but I literally only have a few months left before it`s
already over. But I`m not going to focus on that right now. Elder Kemp
served his Mission with excellency. I actually got my comp. to have
personal and comp. study with me. And he liked it! It was so wonderful
to hear what he`d learned and for him to want to share it. I learned
some great things in Helaman 3, myself. We had lunch with the Sister
that doesn`t season her food. But the food was extra good and she was
conversational. She sent us home with 4 giant loaves of home-made
bread. In the afteronoon, I got to interview Camilo for his baptism
tomorrow. He came to Church, on his own, our first week here. Since
then, he`s come to all the Young Single Adults activities and is in
the Branch Choir. He`s already a member, pretty much. The Interview
went great, for the most part. I had to fill him in on some doctrinal
points, because the other Missionaries had skipped some stuff. But he
passed. He`ll be baptized tomorrow, at 11. It`s funny because he`s
getting baptized in 2011 and confirmed in 2012. Pretty sweet!

Saturday: Today was a good day. We woke up really early so we could
run to the chapel and turn on the baptismal font., for camilo`s
baptism. Then, we came back home and studied and got ready like
normal. When we eventually returned for the baptism, we were really
diappointed with all the people that didn`t show up. There were 3
members and the 4 of us. 2 of the members only showed up because they
had to give talks. Elder Maldonado was chosen to do the actual
baptism. He kept complaining about hwo small the font was. As he was
bringing Camilo up, he guided his head right into one of the metal
handrails. OOPH! But camilo said he was alright and we ended fine.
Afterward, Ayleen Neira, a way cool youth from the Branch, asked if
she could speak with me. She thanked me for the Scriptures I always
share after lunch. She said that, out of the 4 missionaries, the
ScripturesI share always impact her and are exactly what she needed.
that`s proof that the Spirit`s guiding me. Sweet! We were going to
spend the night at the Diaz family`s home, but Hna. Diaz called at
7:30 to cancel. Dang it! So we just did the normal thing until it was
time to go in. Not a lot of success. We found out our transfers
tonight. the 4 of us, in curanilahue, are staying . I`m going to be
with Elder brady for 6 more weeks. That`s going to be really hard for
me. I called Elder Lisonbee. He`s going to finish in Yumbel, where
Elder Burch is currently serving. Elder Calaway`s going to train in
Ñielol, and share a house with Elder Montalban. Elder corliss is
training as well. And...the Pres ahs decided to re-open Tirúa. My time
there was really hard. I hope they have better luck. Elder Lisonbee
said he`s getting an iPad when he gets back. He`s excited to wach "The
Amazing Spiderman" at midnight with me, and use our iPads in the line
while we`re camped out. He knows me so well. :)

Sunday: So, it`s 2012. that`s the year I go home. that also means I
spent all of 2011 in a foreign country. That`s awesome! My New Year`s
commitment is to continue the good habits I`ve learned in the Mission
(i.e. Scripture study, daily prayers, keepng commandments, etc.). And
more dates with girls! I was behind on my quota last year. Haha. This
whole "New Year" thing is seriously freaking me out. Anyway, we went
to church alright. In the afternoon, I tried to study Spanish with
Elder Brady, and he asked, "Why?" His usual response to EVERYTHING.
I`m so frustrated. because of the new year, we`re starting the "Gospel
Principles" book over, hopping off the 3 classes we`ve been stuck on,
for months. We learned abou tHeavenly Father...and i learned
something! Or maybe it just "clicked." It is this: the more we know
God, the more we`ll love him. It`s something I`d been wanting to know,
in the back of my mind. Because if we DO love him more, we`ll have a
greater desire to obey his commandments. And if that desire comes,
we`ll have more power to resist temptation. But how do we get to know
God? Reading Scriptures, prayer, and keeping the commandments. It all
fits! The Neira family`s warming up to us, at our lunches. Oh! And I
totally finished my marking of the Book of Mormon where it mentions
Christ. It took about 3 months, but I did it! Not my whole "system" is
done. The other companionship got permission to go to Talcahuano to
visit some people. We just stayed in our sector and did contacts.

12-26-11

Monday: Today was a great Pday. I spent some time in the morning
writing back to Kevin. I like talking with him. I feel like we`re on
the same level. It`ll be so great to see him again. We started out the
day rather well, I think. Elder Maldonado got together a lot of tennis
equipment and invited some members to play with us, at the Church. I
remember being better at that sport. Everybody eelse was totally
kicking my can all over the place. But then I got warmed up and things
went more smoothly for me. After only 2 hours of sunblock-free fun
time, I turned bright red. Yay, Chile. We then went to write the
family. Mom sent me a bunch of pictures of home, which I loved.
Kevin`s doing well in Ukraine. We were going to have FHE with the
Neira family, but they cancelled on us. Ugh!

Tuesday: Today...I loved today. We got up early to go to our Mission
Christmas devotional. We got to see a lot of my friends, including
Elder Lisonbee, and Elder Kemp. Right before the conference started,
President and Sister Kemp came in, too. they both said hi to me. Pres.
Martinez gave them both some time to share their testimonies. As they
spoke, I felt such a strong Spirit of love come from them. The nwe
Missionaries introduced themselves, and I got to see my "grandson",
Elder Tholl. He had the best Spanish out of all of them. Then, we got
to see the MIssion slideshow. It was a LOT shorter than last year`s,
but my photo of me, posing like spider-man made it in. AWESOME! Pres.
told us we have a big influence on his kids. We had a talent show,
full of pianists and guitarists. Then, Pres. wanted to show us how
we`d influenced his kids. I thought his youngest daughter was going to
play the piano, but when Pres. called Hna. Eggbert up, I knew what was
up. Hna. Eggbert is famous in the mission because she can put her
whole hand in her mouth. So can Pres`s daughter, apparently. a lot of
good Missionaries are leaving this transfer. One Missionary said he`d
wanted to go home at the beginning of his mission. But Pres. Swenson
saved his life with one word: "no." I got chills when I heard that.
The Mission is hard, but it`s the only way to learn this stuff. I got
a letter from Cassie! It was sooooooooo awesome. She makes me so
happy. And WHO she is is so impressive. I`m proud of all she`s done.
Way to go, Cass!

Wednesday: Today was the same old, same old. We got up early so we
could go to our Distrizona Meeting. I usually go before the other
companionship, for my leader meeting. But today, the early bus never
arrived. So I had to go with the other Elders. I don`t think I`ve
mentioned this yet, so I will now. It`s been a week since we ran out
of gas. Now we`re taking ice-cold showers. This hasn`t happened in a
year. I think it`s because of the new financial system. Some sectors
need to travel more than others and they used to get more moeny for
that travel at the beginning of the motnh. Now we have to pay for
stuff and reimgburse it. that takes a few weeks. Anyway, everyone in
our hosue is too broke to buy new gas. It`s sweet. When we eventually
got on the bus, we found the lebu Elders, including Elder Corliss. His
comp. had to go home yesterday because he was really sick. I got to
teach my District about asking good questions that cause introspection
and can, at the same time, instruct. JUST LIKE THE SAVIOR DID!!! Very
early in my Mission, I realized this is one of the most important
skills and have dedicated a lot of practice to improving it. I read
something I wrote in the MTC, and the way I spoke was so different. It
was better. Some of the Elders I`ve lived with ahve been a little more
relaxed and crass, and I fear that I`ve become less concerned with my
language. I`m setting a goal to become closer to Christ, this week,
and through my life, through respectful speaking. Obviously, this
never happens in Spanish. so this is meainly to be a better example to
the others in my District. We had some appts. in the afternoon, but
they fell through. We met our goal of contacts, but we didn`t get any
news. BLAST! The Zone Leaders said next week the whole Zone`s gonna
come and help us find people.

Thursday: today was a good day. I woke up and did my studying and
learned hwo to better overcome temptation and sin by casting it out at
the first sign. a lot of studying can be way more effective if we are
aware of what we learned and make constant efforts to apply it to our
lives and make those changes that are the fruits of repentance. We had
our session of Weekly Planning in the morning, as well. While we were
doing that, I got a call from Edler Zuñiga, my hijo. they said
Scarlett will be baptized on February 25th, and that she wants me to
return to Los Angeles so I can baptize her. She`s so special. I hope
she realizes that. That news pretty much made my day. For lunch with
the Neira family, we had rice with steamed veggies and a wonderful
chicken breast. It was very well done. the weeks here are passing by
so quickly. We only have next week left of this transfer. That`s
crazy! In the Afternoon, we had to go on exchanges so I could
interview Alvaro, the other sector`s investigator, for his baptism
this Saturday. It was one of my favorite interivews. He really has a
testimony. He noticed the change between where he was at first and
wheere he is now. He feels a lot calmeer and like a burden has been
lifted. The whole purpose of the interview is to give them a chance to
testify before a representative of the Lord that they are willing and
ready to make a covenant with him. What a wonderful blessing that is.
Tomorrow`s Elder Brady`s birthday, so I got him a box of 30
bon-o-bons. They`re his favorite candy(try and imagine me getting that
information discreetly...it wasn`t. haha.). We did contacts for a
while in their sector while Brady and Smith worked in our sector. Well
done.

Friday: Today was really hard for me. We just didn`t have that much
success. But I`m still good!

Saturday: So today was Christmas Eve, which, inChile, is way more
important than the actual Christmas day. elder Maldonado and I went to
the Chapel at 7 in the morning, to fill up the baptismal font for
their baptism. We came back and did the mnormal thing until 10, when
the baptism was going to take place. Elder Maldonado and I were going
to do a special musical number, but I really don`t know how to sing
harmony and we ended up cancelling it at the last minute. The branch
members are finally warming up to us and acting friendly. I guess
everyone likes a good basptism.And on Christmas Eve, too! Alvaro was
so happy, and not at all nervous. Everything went off without a hitch
(think about that saying. It doesn`t make sense). Last week, Hna.
Nidia assigned Elder Brady a Scripture to share for this week. He did
remarkably well. He knows Spanish. He`s just got to push himself.
because of the holiday, none of the doors we knocked opened. When you
think about it like that, especially in this season, I just think of
that picture of Christ knocking on the door. It`s pretty cool, being a
Missionary during Christmas. All of our contacts were done in the
streets and no one gave us their address. I called Hna. Roa, from my
last sector. She was doing well and sent me her love. We were invited
by Hna. Diaz to spend Christmas Eve with her family. Everyone eats
dinner at 10:30 here, and our curfew put some roast and potatoes in a
container for us. I called hna. Pinar, too. she was so happy to hear
from me. My hijo and grandson were eating dinner with her. I was happy
for my posterity.

Sunday: Today was so awesome! I`m so happy right now. It was
Christmas, today! Our meeting with the Ward Mission Leader was
cancelled. In church, we only had to go to Sacrament Meeting. It was
filled with talks by little Primary girls. The smallest one, who
looked like she was 6, gave a 10-minute talk about what she wanted to,
nothing written. It was a wonderfully impressive discourse.
Afterwards, we had some free time to ourselves before our lunch. We
went home and just relaxed, taking it easy. Eventually, we went to
lunch with the Lazo family. I had so much food that I couldn`t exhale
all the way. Haha. Then, we got to call home with a "video call!" It
was like another world, being able to see and talk with them.
Lindsay`s new home was all decorated and cozy. Everyone`s so excited
for me to come home. Cassie got a new iPhone 3GS. SO jealous! She said
she didn`t know how to use it, and I just had the biggest urge to just
drown her in geekiness. Devin has been stocking up on good galmes
while I`ve been away. He`s such a good padawan. Awww. That`s so great.
Mom said I`d earned a little "somethin`-somethin`" for when I get
home. WOOT! Mom`s super happy. She loves working in the temple...and
swimming...lucky. Haha. Goodbyes weren`t too hard, until Daddy. then,
for somereason, my eyes started sweating uncontrollably. It probably
looked like I was crying. And the air pressure (or something vague)
made it hard to keep my voice from shaking. I love them all so much.
Now I`m all emotionally numb, and stuff. Groovy.

Monday: Today was a great day. We changed things up, this week.
Instead of having Pday, we had our Distrizona, and here in
Curanilahue. Everyone came here, so we didn`t have to spend money on
travel. Everyone came here and we started heading to the woods. We
were also going to share about the Restoration. I helped those of my
District feel that burning desire to know something that Joseph Smith
had ( I find it interesting that, out of all the people that I`m sure
had their questions, he went on a hunt for truth. "I will go and do,
not sit and stew."). I then invited them to go out, into the woods,
and oepen their hearts to the lord, ask for help in their struggles,
and for answers to questions they`ve had. I personally asked to have
strength in my decision-making, being able to be strong and follow
through with what I say I`ll do. As we left the forest, I felt a
distinct peacefulness. I want to be able to help people repent and
change, and I can`t do that if I`m fonforming to them. that`s a cool
thought. we had a big barbeque lunch, with salad and soda. It was so
good, and there was a lot leftover. for the afternoon, we did
exchanges as a zone. I went with Elder Aizpurùa, from Panama. He`s
Elder Mcconnell`s son. Sweet, huh? The whole zone "attacked"
curanilahue, doing contacts. We found, like, o ne good guy. But he
wasn`t that receptive. Just relatively good. It was so stinkin` hot
today. In the evening, we traded back and we went to get some
breakfast for tomorrow with the christmas money mom and dad gave me.

12-18-11

Monday: Today, my fever was crazy. I woke up with a fever of 102.4. I
was getting kind of nervous. Physically, I just felt weak. Our first
activity of the day was to go to the Government building to finish the
process of getting my second ID. It was a possibility that I would get
arrested, so I bought a candy bar on the way, for nourishment. That`s
smarts, man. Luckily, the woman who was attending me was actually
working her first solo shift, and we didn`t have any problems. She was
actually really nice. On the way to use Internet, I didn`t feel good,
so we went home for a few hours. There, I laid down and tried to rest.
But I got..."hot flashes" is the best word I can think of. I`d be
shivering one moment, then Ii`d break out in a sweat the next. It was
awful. So I called Hna. Martinez to ask which meds. I should take. She
told me and told me to drink lots of water. We eventually left to get
something to eat. We entered at the same time as someone else. He
ordered 3 completos and 3 drinks. Then he gave my comp. and me one
each. He wouldln`t let us pay, either. How nice. Then, we found out
he`s a member from Talcahuano. We wrote the family after that. Kevin`s
opening a sector, over there in Ukraine. Alan`s just a stud in
everything he does. Daddy wants Dev and Cass to do what`s right. I
hope that I can be as good of a Father as he is. He just loves, loves,
LOVES his family. I went with Elder Smith in the evening, to have our
FHE with the Rodriguez family and Manuel. Manuel didn`t show up. We
waited for an hour-and-a-half. But Soledad Rodriguez is so awesome.
She`s my mamita for this sector.

Tuesday: This entry`s going to be a little shorter, because I was just
sick all day. We went to distrizona. Our Zone`s doing really well,
with their baptismal dates. I taught about How to Begin Teadching. We
went through the 10 points laid out in Preach My Gospel. Everyone
repeated the points, applying it to one of their Invetigators. I even
got Elder Brady to memorize 4! His problem isn`t a learning handicap,
it may jsut be a lack of mativation and maybe laziness. But with
enough encouragement and positive reinforcement, I think we can get
him going. But before the class even started, I just broke down from
the pain. Elder Smith went with Elder Hall to buy me some medications.
I spent the rest of the day in bed, pretty much. Elder Smith gave me
some pineapple ice-cream we had in the freezer.

Wednesday: Today was the same as yesterday, but with less activity in
teh morning. The good news is that my fever`s down to 100-ish and my
throat and ears don`t hurt anymore. so that`s great. I thought about
Alan today. I know it`s a day early, `cause TOMORROW`S his birthday,
but I found one of his emails I printed up. He`s so awesome. On
Monday, he invited me to work out and beef up with him after the
Mission. Totally going to do it.

Thursday: So last night, chile played against Ecuador and won. As a
result, the whole country took their cars to the streets and honked
non-stop `til 1 AM. We live next to the busiest intersection in town.
Ugh. As of this morning, we hadn`t done any work for the week, due to
my fever. I decided I would work today because 1) it needed to be done
and 2) I had cabin fever. So I got up and studied like I was supposed
to. We had lunch with the Neira family--barbeque again! it was so
good. Last week, Madelyn said I copied my "Scripture Shortcuts" system
and that others were much better. She just kept insulting me. But she
was better-behaved this week. her younger sister, Eileen, is a huge
fan of swimming and we got to talk about that. Madelyn is going to
BYU-I in April. She speaks English?! Anyway, we came home and made our
smoothie (OJ, pineapple sherbet, Kiwi, and apple). YUM!!! My comp. was
loathe to see his week-long vacation come to an end. We did contacts
for a while, before Hna. Martinez called me. She asked how I was. I
told her my throat and ears don`t hurt, but I still have a fever. She
said I still had to get my anti-biotics from elder Corliss in Lebu. My
comp´s out of money, so I took Elder Smith. we picked up the meds. and
some letters. I got one from Kevin and one from Elder Calaway`s
girlfriend. She was thanking me for the letter I sent her, telling her
hw awesome I think Elder calaway is. It was a good letter.

Friday: Today was a great day. I felt really good. I got up and did my
personal study (loved it) and all the usual stuff. Elder Smith
accompanied me to the store to buy a little bit of food. I got some
instant mashed potatoes, some milk and cookies, and more toothpaste.
We came back to drop stuff off, then we had to make the long walk to
our lunch. this Sister gave us unseasoned rice with unseasoned meat
last week. This time, we went with garlic salt. It totally did the
trick! the Sister doesn`t even sit at the table with us. In the
afternoon, we did some contacts--and we actually found some good
people. One guy, Leandro, is a dad. I asked him ho whe felt about
that. He said he loves it, and that it makes him happy. I got to tell
him that god has prepared a way for them to be together forever. He
seemed pretty interested in that. Another woman, Irma, was really
receptive as well. She said we coul dcome by next week. It just felt
good to be workin gagain, doing what I`m here to do. those times in
the Mission, when I`ve had to stay in the house, have just made me
feel bad...and restless. but working, just like obedience to all the
other commandments, brings a great measure of peace that I prefer over
anything. elder Smith and I went to use Internet briefly, so he could
coordinate his phonecall. After that, we had an FHE with the Llancapan
family. We read Alma 42 with them. and Hno. Miguel. their youngest
daughter, Ana, is a member, but inactive. We tried encouraging her to
read her Scriptures more. she wouldn`t commit. Are people like that
back home? Here, people won`t commit because they "might" mess up.
Well, that`s why we set goals, people. Anyway, we came home and I had
potatoes. Yum. My comp. won`t take part in the companionship, still.
It`s getting hard for me to stay motivated.

Saturday: Today was so awesome! I got up and got my studying done.
Elder Maldonado asked if I wanted to go by the feria, which is like a
one-ay-of-the-week street market. Everybody goes there, and sells whay
they want. I`m pretty sure that these wouldn`t exist if chile had a
health code. But it works for me. they had a ton of fruits and veggies
that were just so vibrant with their colors. But they also sell
miscellaneous stuff. Watches, for example. I got a watch with an
orange-and-black display. I was so anxious for lunch, today. we
decided we would call our families today, to set up our Christmas
call. It was SO AWESOME!!! Cassie answered the phone with Dev. It`s
going to be so great to be home, and do things with them. We talked
about a lot of things in little time. Gosh, I missed them. But I think
they`re more trunky than I am. They were already planning things we`ll
be doing when I get back. After the phone call, I was in a kind of
shock. I wanted more. I miss them a lot. But I`ll be with them again
soon. WOOT! We walked back from lunch, and worked until 7, when we
had a Christmas Devotional, provided by the Elders` Quorum. I liked
one of the messages, inviting us to live christmas on another level.
The first 2 levels are toys; decorations and the nativity; The 3rd
level is remembering Christ always and following his example.
Afterwward, we had refreshments. I love soda. There`s a pineapple
soda, KEM, that I just adore here.

Sunday: So this might be one of my worst streaks in the Mission. It`s
been 4 weeks here, in Curanilahue, and I still don`t have 1
investigator. I literally drag my comp through everything. I miss
having a companion that I can rely on. I`m getting tired. We didn`t
make it to our Meeting, today, because he didn`t get up on
time...again. Manuel, the guy that came last week, didn`t show up
today. The other Missionaries` Investigators are doing great. Alvaro
is going to get baptized this Saturday. I`ll have to do his Interview
this week. In Sunday School we`ve been doing the same 3 classes for
almost 3 months. It`s ridiculous how repetitive it is. I`m sorry. This
entry is really grouchy. I don`t know why I`m so on-edge. It actuallyw
as a gorgeous day. Most days are, here. It`s so green and colorful,
thanks to the yellow sunshine. It`s so great. We had macaroni-shell
spagghetti with a fried egg thrown on top. Typical Chilean dish. It
was delicious. In the evening, there was a broadcast from Salt Lake
City, showing the General christmas Devotional. Camilo, the other
sector`s investigator, went to see it. It was cool, because he got to
see the Prophet. Pres. Monson said that EVERY Christmas he reads "A
Christmas Carol" and "John Whitman`s Mansion." I`d never heard of the
latter. It`s a story of a man like Scrooge who had a dream of the
after-life. All the generous people got big mansions from their good
deeds. He had a little one because he never sent any "material." I
really liked that message. We played cards after the day.

12-11-11

Monday: I remember a time, when I was with Elder Calaway, right after
we spoke with our families, when we wanted to know how much time we`d
have, when we spoke with them again. I calculated that I would have 19
1/2 months. Today I completed 19 months! That`s one of the numbers I
always thought was really high when I was new. Haha. Time just won`t
stop and let you sit. I didn`t really get a Pday today. At 7:30 I was
on a bus to Concepción with Elder Corliss and Arnett, on our way to a
Training session for District Leaders only. When we got there, I saw
Elder Lisonbee and we sat by each other, enjoying each others`
company. The first persons to train us surprised me. It turns out that
Pres. Martinez has Sister Assisstants! It was definitely a different
feeling to be taught by Missionaries without ties. Anyway, they helped
me realize a quality that I want in my wife: I want her to support and
encourage me in my callings. They were telling us things like, 2We
trust your decisions. You are men of God, and you are here for a
reason." It was an interesting spirit that accompanied them. We
learned that we have to give our Missionaries "The Vision of
Baptizing," in order for them to know where all this is going. The
Assisstants (Elders) taught us more about our responsibilities in
Exchanges and things. Pres. Martinez explained the importance of
having the HOly Ghost. Elder Richards, when he visited, explained that
the enthusiasm we have is recognizable as the Spirit, or was it the
other way around? If someone`s depressed, it`s because they lost the
Spirit. We had a long ride home, and then wrote the family. All is
well. Mom loves being a Temple Worker and is hearing a lot of cool
stories.

Tuesday: Today went pretty well. I got up to shower early, so my comp.
would get up on time and shower and we`d still have plenty of time
before the bus came. It kinda worked. This was the first Distrizona we
did, implementing the new "report sheets"--forms that included our
Weekly Planning and progress of news--and I got to put some of the
things I learned yesterday into practice. Up until now, I`ve ben too
casual with my District. I thought I was being happy and friendly with
them. But I found a balance where I can still be my happy self and
still be able to correct them. In my class, for instance, they tried
to joke and put off the class for as long as possible. Before, I
wouldn`t have known how to take command or, more importantly, WHY. But
that time I have, to teach and inspire them is so vital, so I took
command, had better posture, and kept them focused. It worked. They
started listening to me and behavin better. In the Afternoon, I went
with Elder Maldonado to visit an Investigator while our comps. went to
an INternet Café to do an emergency transfer of moeny. They said
they`d be 10 min. Alvaro, the Investigator I visited with Elder
Maldonado, is great. He`s gonna get baptized on the 24th. We taught
the Restoration and he felt the spirit and it was great. We did
contacts for a while after that.

Wednesday: So we worked pretty hard, today, doing our best to do what
we should...and we had some amazing experiences! We started out the
day a little differently. we traveled to Lebu to start my second
Carnet. I`m actually late, and I might be arrested. We got there, only
to find that the man who had to attend us wasn`t in today. I`ll be
busy for the rest of the week, so I have to wait for Monday. Lame. We
got back in time to pick up the clean clothes. Then, we went to have
lunch with Hna. Diaz. It was funny because we had tough meat with
bones and cartilag eand I had trouble cutting. She (or I?) made the
joke of meeting my future in-laws at a dinner with meat like that, and
the impression Id make. That`s why I`m going to order sammon, or
mashed potatoes, or some other more malleable substance. haha. We
didn`t have any appts. set up for the Afternoon, so we did contacts.
It actually went really well. The Lord must have known how hard this
was getting for me. I remember we`d been contacting for about 3 hours
before our first Spiritual Experience. We were too early for where we
wanted to go, so I chose to "explore" and take the scenic route. Well,
actually I took the route and then came up with the reason because I
wasn`t sure. I decided to knock a few doors on one random alley. We
got in the first hosue. We started talking about her son and eternal
families. Eventually, we found out her father died 3 weeks ago. We
wouldn`t have found her if we`d taken the "quick" route. Later, we
were walking and we passed a man in his doorway. we kept going before
I felt to turn around. He didn`t want to let us in. We spoke and I
pulled out a pass-along and he invited us in. We talked a lot before I
offered to say a prayer. He hadn`t paid attention well. When I
finished the prayer, he wasn`t reactive. He wouldn`t talk or blink or
move. I had a very strong impression to reach out and touch him on his
right shoulder. As I did, he jumped as if shocked. He explained he`d
felt as if something warm had fallen on him. I invited him to be
baptized and he said yes. Guided by the Spirit much? OH YEAH!!!

Thursday: Today was an alright day. During our weekly Planning, our
Zone Leaders came and joined us. the 6 of us went to lunch with the
Neira family. The Dad was ticked, `cause he thought we`d spread romors
that we got sick, last week, due to his cooking. we never did! elder
Arjona went to Cañete with Elder brady to work for the day. i stayed
here with Elder Hall. We were outside ALL DAY knocking doors. Usually,
when we do contacts, we get into a few houses. Not today. aBut I LOVED
eing Elder Hall`s comp. It was so great to not be working alone. He`s
such a dedicated guy. I planned out all of the people that gave us so
much as a "pass by some other day." We were banging on all cylinders!
But, for some reason, we weren`t able to find someone to let us in. We
met several people that said they don`t like the church, but couldn`t
give a reason why. one lady told us to come by another day. When we
asked which day, she told us, "NEVER!" I don`t know how people can
treat their Salvation like that. By the end of the night, I was
freezing and my legs hurt so bad it gave me tingles.

Friday: When I woke up today, after the 5 other times I woke up during
the night, I was completely stiff. Every movement created a creaking
of muscles. My night was so restless because my recently aquired
snburn kept overheating me. I was wearing SPF 80! Elder Hall and I
left aound 8:00, to Cañete, for Interviews. He wanted to change and
shower. Elder Arjone (bless his soul) offered to buy us breakfast. We
had a ham and cheese sandwich followed by a banana split...when I
think about it, that is like a Missionary Mom`s nightmare. Haha. It
was delicious. Our Interviews went really well. First, the Assisstants
gave us some really cool training. Last July, a new program came into
the Mission field. it includes 8 steps on how to help an Investigator
be really converted. First they asked us to put ANY concern we had on
the board. They said they would give an answer to each of them. And
they did...just not how I was expecting them to. they showed us that
any concern we have can be resolved with one of those 8 lessons. Then
the Sister Assisstants (still weird) got up and reviewed the 6 steps
of teaching by the Spirit: Observe, listen, discern, ask inspired
questions, teach pure doctrine, invite to act, repeat. We did a
practice that was different. We were to use those steps to find and
resolve a person`s doubts. But instead of Investigators, we taught the
Assisstant and Zone Leaders and themselve. I had my Interview with
Pres. where he gave me a pep talk and told me to have patience with my
comp. Then i returned an hopped into a practice, teaching Elder Arjona
with a new Misionary. Afterward, Elder Arjona said I really touched
his heart and helped him. I love him. The Assisstants bought everyone
completos. then, we came back. Right as we got hom,e a Policeman from
Lebu, where i`d started my paperwork for my Carnet, called me. He
saiid he`d finished mys tuff and was in Curanilahue. He handed it to
me and saved me $5 in travel. YES! My sunburn, and the sun, gave me a
pounding headache that forced me to retreat home. Elder Smith and
Elder Brady went to our appts.

Saturday: Today kind of sucked. On the bright side, my muscles stopped
hurting. I spent the morning writing my talk I have to give tomorrow.
The other Missionaries were doing their own thing and just tried so
hard to avoid getting distracted and staying focused. I had a really
great time exploring the topic of my talk. Little tip: If there`s
anything youre unsure of, or want to learn more about, just write a
talk about it. The revelation that accompanies the process is so
great! I wrote my talk about Family Home Evenings, as was assined to
me. I discovered something I hadn`t known before: An
advantage/blessing for the parents, thanks to FHE, the Father is
viewed as the authority in the house. How many broken families do we
have in this world, that wouldn`t exist if they just followed the
Prophet? Well, I guess if everyone did that, they`d end up getting
baptized. Haha. Before we went to lunch, I called Elder Lisonbee, to
wish him Happy "monthday". He turned 22 in the Mission! I love him.
Haha. W ehad fried fish and rice for lunch. i loved it! Afterwards, my
comp. told me he wasn`t feeling well. I told him to lie down. I took
his temperature later. 101.4 So I had him take a drink of water
throughout the day, as well as have him take some ibuprofen. We pretty
much just laid in our beds. I had a fever of 99.something. it was
relatively cool, but we were both sweating a lot. Gross, right? My
head still hurts and it`s late. I`m going to bed.

Sunday: We were blessed today. we worked so hard this week, when we
could, but before today we hadn`t found more than a few people. Before
Church started, we had our meeting with our grouchy Ward Leader. One
of the four of us has problems getting going in the mornings and we
didn`t make it out on time. Anyway, we arrived 5 min. late and Hno.
Neira accused us of sleeping in. It`s tough, paying the price for
someone else`s mistakes. We shared our stuff efore going to pick up
Miguel. He didn`t answer. But when we started the firt class, a member
walked in with a non-member friend. He totally lives in our sector!
His name is Manuel. He said he just came with his friend, this time
only. Elders Smith, Maldonado, and I had to give talks today. I went
first and talked about Family Home Evenings. Elder Smith spoke on the
power of prayer. Elder Maldonado spoke on why it is important to read
the scriptures. A Sister said my Spanih was like listening to a
General Authority. Boo yeah! I spoke with the non-member afterwards.
He said he anted to hear us out. His member friends invited him and us
to an FHE tomorrow. In te afternoon, I got the fever Elder Brady had.
My temp. kept rising, until it stopped at 102. As I was resting, I
thought of something. Everyone alays asks, "What would Jesus do?" I
didn`t know, before the mission. Now I know he`d do the will of the
Father. SO... We should ask, "What does Heavenly Father want me to
do?" For me, that makes it easier. When I was back in bed, Elder Smith
brought me medicine and Elder Brady brought me a hot water bottle. I
felt cold, taht`s why. They`re good guys.

12-4-11

Monday: Today was a great day. We got to enjoy the morning in the
house, cleaning and relaxing. Then we went to get lunch. We had
completos. YES! We then wentto use Internet to write the family. Daddy
said they all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving. but he also said it
was kind of lame because it was just the four of them. They want me
home. I think they`re "trunkier" than I am. Haha. I got an email
from...Joe! He is currently in Orlando, Florida. What the heck?! I
hope he`s doing well. loved hearing form him. We did exchanges at
night. I went with Elder Maldonado. We tried to contact a member who`d
said she had a referral for us. But she wasn`t home. So we pretty much
just did contacts all night. But then I had the idea to share the "17
Miracles" movie with the Diaz family. They were totally down for it.
It really was a beautiful movie. We were all feeling the Spirit so
strongly. Then they gave us some refreshments. Yum.

Tuesday: Today was great. We actually got picked up on time, this
week, to go to our Distrizona in Cañete. The Zone Leaders are sking us
to get reports on all of our Districts investigators and their
activities. In our district Meting, I said something insensitive to
Elder Brady. As soon as I made the remark, he got quiet, closed his
eyes, and started shaking. I was just thinking, "Oh crap. I`m an
idiot." He turned around and went to the bakc of the room and refused
to participate. I went over and stood by him, and rubbed his back. He
was crying. He said he learns things by touch, and that doesn`t wrk
with languages. I`m such a jerk. He accepted my apologywe hugged and
cried and stuff. We did contacts in the afternoon. We got into 3
houses. One in particular, Estéfani, was really great. She`s young,
about 23 or 24, and has a 4 year-old daughter. I noticed how her eyes
shone when she spoke of her daughter. So we decided to teach about
Eternal families. She said we could come back tomorrow. We`ll see how
that goes. My whole run-down with Elder Brady has let me know just how
far I have togo before I can get marrand have kids and relationships
in general. Dang it! But I guess it`s normal to mak mistakes
sometimes. As for making upfor hose mistakes, I think I`m doing
alright.

Wednesday: Today was wonderful. It was kind of funny in the morning,
though. I was so excited to study. We ran, I showered, got dressed,
got all my books out, and then the other MIssionaries told us we had
to do service. We did that for a few hours before we got back. I was
just sitting down to study en the Branch res. called and asked us to
come by, to pick up the Permaneced list. We got back and I read
twoverses before my comp. reminded me of an appt. we had in 15 min.
DANG IT!!! We couldn`t even find the guy. We took out money beto
lunch. After lunch, we met with Camilo, the kid who went to church on
Sunday. We waited in the Chapel, and I was pleasantsed when he
arrived. We taught the Restoration. He`s been through a lot of
churches, looking for truth. he wants to do what`s right. When I told
of the First Vision I felt the Spirit so strongly. I was oing to
explain tHAuthority, but I lt impressed to ask how he felt. He said,
j"I feel a calmness I`ve never felt before." This message is so
powerful. "It doesn`t depend on the Message, but the messenger," as
Boyd K. Packer said. He wants to read and pray about the Book of
Mormon. He also said he wants to be baptized. WOOT! But he belongs to
the oher missionaries. We did contacts until night. Then, the Ward
Mission Leader invited us o his son`s b-ay party. It was great.

Thursday: So this is the last entry in my 398-page journal. WHAT?!
what the crazy sauce is that all about? ;) We got up and, after doing
the usual, we did our Weekly Planning session. The only problem: we
don`t have any investigators, after our week or so of being here in
Curanilahue. I now that we should be measuring our success by how e`re
doing with ourselves, rather than base it off of the decisions others
make. But not seeing any success...well, it gets discouraging
sometimes. We DID have a delicious BBQ fo lunch. It was smoked meat,
full of flavor and not cartilage. I ate as muchI could. All of our
appts. with "future Investigators" fell through. Another day full of
contacts. We fond a lady that wanted to listen to us, but just that.
She "has faith in her own church." When I asked her why, she said
"because it`s closest." She was so hard-hearted, and I just wanted to
help. I was very grateful for the respite from the sun, thanks to
cloud cover, as well as for the good night`s sleep ahead of me.

Friday: So we wer up all night, the four of us. Elder Smith, Elder
Maldonado, Elder Brady and I. It turns out that we all have food
poisoning and we spe the night vomiting together. It`s really weird.
All four ofus. Weird. Before the Mission, I`d never met what I like to
call a "vocal vomiter." I have now met a few. It`s someone that yells
at the top of their luns until they become reaquainted with their
previous meal. Let me tell you, it`s enough to turn anyone`s gut. We
cancelled our lunch today, because even though our mouths wanted food,
the rest of us couldn`t take it. I tried to study in the morning, but
I had an enormous headache that prevented me. Eventually, it went away
and since, out of the four of us, Elder Maldonado and I were feeling
the best, we wenti some people and get the laundry. The people weren`t
there, and the laundry wasn`t ready. We came home and slept. Later,
the two of us went to try and teach Camilo about baptism, but he never
arrived at the Chapel. ile we were there, Elder maldonado started
asking me what I thought of him. He said he`d been h aving a lot of
introspective doubts lately. He asked questions about my family and
what I missed most. He`s got one tmore than me. I can tell that he
misses his family a lot. I bet he`s looing forward to his Christmas
phone call. Camilo never showed up, so we headed back to thepartment.
As the evening has progressed, the others` symptoms have improved,
whmine have progressively worsened. My stomach is cramping, my head
aches, and I`m dizzy,creating nausea. Ooph! But it`s nice to be in
this together. It creates kind of a comraderie between us. it`s sweet.

Saturday: So today was part 2 of the "food poisoning doosies." but on
the bright side, even though I didn`t feel well enough to go too far
away from the toilet, I WAS able to study. I was finishing up Alma 42
and read some advice that Alma the Younger gives to his son. There`s a
part where he tells his son not to excuse his sin in the slightest
degree. He says this is so he can be humbled down, to the dust. I was
pondering on how that oculd work, and I realized that if we were
always making excuses for ourselves, we would never feel guilty. And
if we never felt guilty for our actions, we would never feel the need
to repent of those things we`re doing badly. heavenly Father really
can`t excuse us...at all. When I learned this, I realized just how
much I sometimes make bad chioices or mess up because I give myself
excuses, or crutches to go off of. But I`m not going to do that
anymore. I think it`ll help me in my endeavor with Alan, of getting to
be the best people we can be. We didn`t cancel lunch today, `cause we
just HAD to get out of the house. While we were waiting for lunch to
be ready, we shared stories of how we got our various scars. Or
rather, everyone else did. I didn`t have any cool ones. I`ve kind of
made it a point to avoid dangerou/stupid situations and, as a result,
have lived a relatively dulll life. Hah! We were also talking (in
English) about where we`d be calling our families for Christmas. Then,
the Brother walked in and invited us. Sweet! I spent the Afternoon
napping. I woke up several times with chills and sweating. I`m feeling
better, though. We`re gonna work our butts off tomorrow, to try and
make up for some of the stuff we haven`t haveen able to do. I`m tired
right now.

Sunday:Today was fast and Testimony meeting. It was really great. We
got to our Priesthood meeting and Hno. Neira asked why we hadn`t gone
to the Executive Comitee meeting, asking if we had slelpt in. I hate
how the people in this Branch assume the worst about the Missionaries
based on how the last ones behaved. First ofall, that meeting is
invitation-only, so they have to invite us, which they didn`t do. And
second ofall, I was totally up at 6:30, getting ready. Judging and
prejudice suck. We had a really great class about Brotherhood. The
teacher turned the word into a cool acronymthat doesn`t work in
English. Sunday School was about Exaltation. The testimonies were
great, as always. We had lunch with Hna. Nidia, who washes our clothes
for us. She toldus about what it was like, to be a mom of missionary
sons. She said that when both of them came back home they were
different...and she didn`t like the changes. What kind of jmother says
that about her own sons? What kind of changes deserve that reaction?
Almost all of my journal entries have been dedicated to self-analysis
and discovery. I`ve definitely come a long way in self-confidence. But
what will those changes be viewed as, by otheres? 2 years is a long
time. What will I think of THEM? It`ll certainly be interesting. I
couldn`t sleep most of last night. In the time I had to think I
thought of the time I have left to me as a Missionary. There`s so much
more I can do and learn. But it`s not very long until I get to see my
family again. I still remember my first shock as I realized that I was
leaving them. Scary and intimidating as heck. And soon, after all the
waiting and missing, I`ll be back with them again. What will that be
like?

11-20-11

Monday: Today was a great Pday. I slept in and enjoyed being able to
rest. Then we headed off to Laja Waterfall. This is my second time
going there and it was just so pretty. I went closer to the base, this
time, because there was less mist and got some really cool photos. We
came back to Los Angeles and went straight to lunch with Hna. Marita.
She made some yummy pork and rice. They showed me a picture of their
son, Mario, with my family...in MY HOUSE! It was bizarre. Then, Hna.
Marita brought out this awesome wafer cake. It was so good! When we
wrote the family, I had 16 emails! I was from more people wishing me
happy birthday. Lindsay`s in Nebraska now, and even though she wasn`t
unpacked all the way, she was able to have decorated for Halloween. We
visited Alejandro, a new investigator. He`s pretty receptive. He wants
to know our purpose for being here. We did contacts for a while,
finding a few people, before going to FHE with the Garcia family. Hna.
Garcia made completos! Mouricio Garcia, their son, is awesome. He
showed me iphone stuff, and I showed him a cool tie knot.

Tuesday: Today was a good day. We got up and went to our Distrizona
meeting. I gave a short lesson about how to find people more
efficiently. Then, I asked everyone to share what they`d learned from
their companions. Elder Gomez and Elder Barton were just chill, but
Hna. Clavero and Hna. Velasquez were crying as they wxpressed their
love for each other. They had passed through a hard time together, and
it bonded them. elder Zuñiga said I taught him what it means to be a
good teacher, and that he`d remember it for his whole life. When I
spoke of my hijo, remembering all that we`d beeen through and all I`ve
learned from him, I started to cry, too. That love just filled me
right up. In the afternoon it was hot. I fear for the sun. The air
isn`t too hot, but the sun is so strong it hurts. We were supposed to
meet up with a member at the church, but we waited in the shade across
from it, `cause there is none on THAT side. He didn`t show up so we
got ready to go. As we were leaving, we found him on the other side of
the truck we`d been sigging by. Hed been there the whole time,
avoiding the sun, like us! He`s so great. He has 5 kinds of cancer but
was the first to volunteer. He was very enthusiastic. Today was mostly
contacts and finding back-up plans. But I had a good time talking with
people. When we dropped off the laundry, we had a pillow fight with
Paula, Loreto, and Tuka--Hna. Pinar`s little girls.

Wednesday: Today was excellent. we got up and headed out kind of early
so that we could get to the other Stake`s Stake Center on time ofr our
Conference with Pres. Martinez. I got to talk with Elder Montalban for
a bit. He told me crazy Doctrine principles that blew my mind. The
Assisstants had an object lesson on the Church`s Soccer field. They
asked who didn`t like Soccer. I raised my hand and was promptly chosen
to play. The haters played the pros and lost, but it was a good
lesson. It had to do with training, and the importance of learning
from those who knew what they were doing. We learned about the Holy
Ghost from Pres. A lot of MIssionaries said farewell, because they
finish in a week. What will that be like? I had an interview with the
Pres. that I`d asked for. I wanted him to transfer me to a place with
less sun...but then I realized that was dumb and asked for a
recommendation of sunscreen because APF 50 ain`t cutting it. He
actually told me my transfer!He wants me to open a new Sector! Visit
people that haven`t heard the Gosoopel. it`s like "The Other Side of
Heaven." I`ll be with a challenging Missionary, one who doesn`t like
Spanish. Pres. thinks I can help him out. I`m kind of nervous because
they don`t have a house for us yet"they`ll get one, I hope). I don`t
know the streets, and we won`t have a phone for a while. But I`m
really excited, too! WOOT! Jorge cancelled his appt. and we did
contacts with Hno. Amstein. We visited an inactive that gave up 20
years ago. But he is having hard times and needs help. He said he`ll
try and come to church.

thursday: We got up this morning and got ready for the day. I`m
studying Alma the Younger`s letters to his son, Helaman. They`re so
wonderful. He explains a little bit about the Liahona and it`s
symbolism. the "director" represents the words of Christ that, if we
follow their guidance, will tell us what we should do. I have enjoyed
coming closer to christ through the application of what I learn in my
personal study. But I can always work on being more teachable. We had
our Weekly Planning before going to lunch. I LOVE the
tomato/onion/cilatro salads Hna. Ordenes makes. We studied Spanish for
a while, before going out to teach David, someone we`d found right
before General Conference. He asked us, first thing, about Tithing. We
resolved his doubts and, with the help of the Spirit, invited him to
be baptized. He siad he wanted to be prepared and we said we`d help.
we ran to the Centro to make photocopies and then went to pick up a
member to hlep us. We only did 1 contact because, it turned out he and
the Member had worked together, and they talked for a while. We met
with Hno. Garcia for comité. Then Hna. Roa gave me a 2nd b-day gift!
It`s a black t-shirt with "Chile" on it. The "i" in "chile" is shaped
like the country. It`s awesome. we talked for a while before we went
to our appt. She (Viviana) wasn`t there. Oh well. At least I didn`t
roast today. Cloud cover ROCKS!!!

Friday: Where did the day go? We got up and got ready. It`s been
cloudy for 3 days now, without reain or sun. It`s been awesome! It
turns out that, out of all South America, Chile receives the greatest
amount of Solar radiation, and Pres. said that, out of all of Chile,
our Mission is right under the biggest hole in the Ozone. Holy smokes!
In Alma 38:3 I found out how to have joy: Faithfulness to covenants,
diligence in Church callings/work, patience in trials, and
long-suffering with our neighbors. We passed by Marcela, a contact
from a while back, and found that she just works in our sector, and
actually lives in Villa Las Americas. So we wrote down her address and
passed it to the Elderws there. we had lunch with the Garcia family.
Their veggie lasagna was awesome. Right afterward, we had to go to
Santa Barbara for an Interview. It was different. Patricio, the
candidate, seemed to be having a hard time with the questions. He said
he sometimes thinks about other things. I eventually got him to tell
me his mom was diagnosed with stomach cancer and was acting strange.
Yesterday, she`d forbidden him from calling his big sister who`s
studying in another city. He was sad, so I read him some Scriptures.
We finished the Interview and we got back in time to visit Hno. Ruiz,
who my hijo has been telling for 3 weeks, we`d visit. I didn`t know
until today, so we went. Then the day ran out. I`m pooped.

Saturday: Today was great! We had a great companionship study,
learning about the Missionary purpose and how we are to help others
really come unto Christ. The more time I talk with people, or just see
things really, the I realize that the world is just in really bad
shape. for example, some drunk person was walking toward us, and then
he suddenly jsut threw his 1 1/2 liter glass bottle at us. But being
drunk didn`t help his aim. And in the night, we joined a search party,
looking for a rapist that had just finished the dirty deed. But I know
that, for all of that, that as a Missionary of God, I can really help
and serve p eople when they need it most. We had lunch with Hna. roa.
I love her. On the way back, Hno. Ordenes aske dus to help clean the
Church. So we did that. We did contacts on our own, and then with Hno.
Pinar as well. When we dropped him off, we noticed his family was
watching "The Lion King." That`s Alan`s favorite Disney movie! He`s so
awesome. We received our transfers! I`m NOT going to open a sector, it
seems. I`m going to Curanilahue1 with Elder Brady. It`s in the same
Zone as Tirua was. That`s great! Elder Zuñiga`s gonna stay here...and
TRAIN! WOOT! I`m gonna be a grandpa in the Mission! Elder Gomez is
going to be a Zone Leader, which is great! Elder Burch is still
Junior comp and is ticked `cause Pres. won`t make him a leader. I
don`t know how to help him.

Sunday: Today was a good day. I mean REALLY good. No day, in the
Mission, will you ever feel as loved as the day you say goodbye to
everyone. I was really surprised by how close I`d gotten to several
people. Hno. Mansicca, especially. He had threatened me on my first
day, to me sure I behaved. But today he said that I had done good
work, and helped the Ward, and thanked me for all my efforts. Same
with Mauricio Rodriguez. We had lunch with the Solar family in the
countryside, as wella s their relatives. I met someone named Lexly.
That`s a cool name. They put on Robin Hood (disney cartoon version)
while we waited. They took a really long time. Haha. We stopped by the
Hospital ato give a blessing to the wife of one of Santa Barbara`s
contacts. He`d said she was dying because of her pregnancy. It turns
out he was drunk. We got there saying, "Hey, we heard you were dying.
We`re here to save your life." (Okay, not EXACTLY like that) But she
was fine. Just chillin` with her meds. AWKWARD!!! We went by Hno.
Felix, the Muffin Man (he actually says it in English). He gave me 6
muffins as a gift. Finally, we said farewell to Scarlet. I gave her
the drawing I asked Alan to do for her. She loved it. I love her.
She`s going to do a lot of good in the Church. The Sisters in
Nacimiento (in my district) said I was their favorite district Leader,
and the Zone Leaders said I could "leave Avenida Alemania with my head
held high" for the work I`ve done. yup. It was a good day.