7-28-2014
Here we go again. Another letter I´m about to write to my family and friends. Thanks for the updates and for the letters letting me know you guys are all still enjoying the Utah summer :) I´m emailing a little late today because we had a meeting for all the zone leaders. I get P-Day all day which is nice tho... so I´ll take advantage and hopefully take a nap. A nap. Yes. That would be awesome. Anyways the meeting went well and we were able to eat Papa John´s. I talked awhile with Elder Ainge, which is Danny Ainge´s son. (Manager of the Celtics I believe) He´s a pretty cool kid and we talked about some basketball. I wanna play a quality game on a wooden court if you guys didn´t already know haha. Anyways this week was pretty good. Elder S is awesome.. we´re a lot alike and get along really well. The thing is.. I don´t know if I told you guys this, but this is his last transfer. He goes home in a month and we´re trying to work really hard. None of our investigators were able to come to church. We had committed all of them to come, but it looks like the downpouring rain stopped them from coming. It´s been raining for like 3 days straight now. It´s pretty ridiculous. I bought an impermeable (rainsuit) or pants or whatever which don´t work at all. They like broke and lets water in. Instead of buying an expensive pant I´ll just be buying an umbrella today to get me through the rest of winter.. shouldn´t be too much longer. Last week I bought some more pants... 2 pairs for 16 bucks a piece to see if they can get me through the rest of my mission. One pair I crouched down and my crotch area just ripped.. but I´ll see if I can sew them up. My boots I bought worked well for awhile, but now they let water in too. Like in Utah, it´ll rain but then it´ll like stop ya know? Here, when it rains, it rains for at LEAST 2 days straight. You might think like it stops every now and then, but no. It´s constantly RAINING. It´s so annoying haha but that´s the way it is. We´ve been lucky the past couple of weeks with no rain. Anyways V is progressing well. He´s the 9 year old that will be getting baptized on August 9th. He didn´t come to church because his mom was sick. He wanted his dad to baptize him for awhile, and we´re still not 100% what he thinks about somebody else doing it, but he´s excited to get baptized.
The area I´m in isn´t too dangerous... well there´s one place that is at night. We try not to go there at night.. it´s super sketchy apparently. We work there very little even during the day, not because it´s dangerous, but because we have more success in other places. I´m back into a ward where I need to help with a lot of stuff.. cleaning the church, and passing the sacrament. We showed up to clean the church, and we were the only ones for like an hour. Haha then more people showed up. It´s all good tho.. it´s a good chance to serve and help out the ward. Like 70 or so people attended on Sunday, more than normal because it was ward conference. The stake president gave a sick class in priesthood about missionary work. I´m enjoying helping people in this zone as a zone leader. We get asked a lot of questions from a lot of other missionaries, so it´s fun to help out where we can. I´m still getting to know all the people in the ward and we´re trying to gain all the members confidence.
I´m glad you guys enjoyed St. George. I´m jealous. I love watching the Blue Angels/Thunderbirds. Wouldn´t that be sick to be a pilot like that? I can´t believe how different the good old Mount Jordan 4th ward is going to be when I get home, and even when DJ Teaskie gets home. (sidenote: Could you forward me Tanner´s last few emails before he gets home? Thanks.) New bishop, and a lot of new people. Bishop Stoddard is a stud bishop, but Matt Raty will be sick too. Yeah like you said... Sam and Teaskie will be in the ward still so that´s cool. About the shoes... I don´t know what to do either. I would probably like a new pair when I get home. Maybe just not a WAY nice pair or something like that to get me to the end. I don´t know.. what do you think Mother Teresa? Hopefully everything works out with meeting up with Melissa. A couple more requests in a package I was able to think of. I don´t know if I have more protein that I used before.. but maybe you could send that in a ziplock bag or something? And also.. maybe a couple more pairs of socks? Church socks and long black nikes? I´m running out due to laundry misplacements and old age haha. Homemade cookies from Robyn? :)
Anyways I gotta go now but I love you all and thanks for everything!
Monday, July 28, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
CONGRATZ HAYDSY BOY FOR THE BAUTISMO
July 21, 2014
Hayden, CONGRATULATIONS DUDE! That´s cool you were able to get baptized. That was a complete surprise to me.. someone had mentioned something about you getting baptized sometime but I hadn´t heard any more. But that´s cool dude.. you´re a baller. Would´ve liked some pictures tho :( Oh well.. maybe next week. Anyways, I´m glad everyone`s health is improving.. I´ve been praying for everyone. I´ve been doing well. I´m not a fan of changes.. in fact I had changes in the mission. Or.. just when I have to change areas. It sucks as you have to adjust to everything. But I´m used to it now and know that it just takes time to get used to everything. I get along really well with Elder S.. he´s a really cool kid. We both played high school ball, and we both love the same type of music. We always talk about Angels and Airwaves, Cute is What we Aim For, and just bands like that. We live on the 5th floor, and it´s not too cold. I get a tiny bit cold at night, but it´s not too bad. It´s a bunk bed of like 3 beds... they added one a little bit ago and I swear it´s not very safe haha. I´m on the very bottom and there´s like a total of 8 inches between my face and the bars on the bottom of the next bed. To adjust my bed or my blanket, I have to ¨slip¨ out of my bed to fix it. As Robyn would know, I like my blankets PERFECT. It´s kinda ridiculous and I¨m thinking about taking my bed off and putting it somewhere else. Anyways being zone leader hasn´t been too bad... we have a pretty big zone and we´re working really hard. We have few investigators.. but we´re working hard to find more. One of them is 9 years old, named V. If everything goes well, he should be getting baptized on the 9th of August. His mom is full on active, and he just wanted his dad to baptize him for a really long time, but he smokes and stuff like that. Anyways he wants to just get baptized now so we´re working with him. Another investigator is named D-Sizzle... well okay that´s just what we call him cuz he´s a straight up gangster. Hahaha he´s so funny but not really progressing, but me and Elder S have a lot off fun with that name we gave him. I live with a kid from Canada, and one from Argentina. Hopefully I only have this sector or 1 more because for reals changing areas just sucks. My area is definitely poorer than Santa Sabina. Santa Sabina is very BLESSED. It´s such a cool ward. Here, like 60 or so people attend, and there was like 4 dudes for priesthood other than us missionaries. SO DIFFERENT than Santa Sabs. A lot of the area are little apartments so it´s a little difficult, and the actual houses type things are in like downtown Concepcion basically. It´s a little more ¨gangsterish¨ (Can´t remember the word to explain that in English) but the members I¨ve met are really nice. Well, that´s about it for the update on my sector. I still don´t know the area very well or all the people but it´s just a process. I can´t believe Jon met up with Elder E haha. I just talked to him the day he left.. He´s a pretty cool kid and that´s weird to think he´s at home now talking to my brother haha. Good old Grandpa... being stubborn. Is he like still normal then? Like remembers everything? Just curious. I love my G-Pa. Tell him that please haha :) Are they seriously changing the ward boundaries? That freaking sucks. Kinda depressing.. gonna be so different. I don´t know what else to update you guys on.. or questions I had. I hope you guys enjoy St. George... and I also want a really good update on the ward changes. That´s also way cool Hayds got baptized... I really want some pictures of his baptism, and the picture where he looks just like me. In that picture, I´m guessing he has REALLY red hair. Haha gosh I can´t believe that. Anyways I love you all and I´ll talk to you guys all next week!!
Hayden, CONGRATULATIONS DUDE! That´s cool you were able to get baptized. That was a complete surprise to me.. someone had mentioned something about you getting baptized sometime but I hadn´t heard any more. But that´s cool dude.. you´re a baller. Would´ve liked some pictures tho :( Oh well.. maybe next week. Anyways, I´m glad everyone`s health is improving.. I´ve been praying for everyone. I´ve been doing well. I´m not a fan of changes.. in fact I had changes in the mission. Or.. just when I have to change areas. It sucks as you have to adjust to everything. But I´m used to it now and know that it just takes time to get used to everything. I get along really well with Elder S.. he´s a really cool kid. We both played high school ball, and we both love the same type of music. We always talk about Angels and Airwaves, Cute is What we Aim For, and just bands like that. We live on the 5th floor, and it´s not too cold. I get a tiny bit cold at night, but it´s not too bad. It´s a bunk bed of like 3 beds... they added one a little bit ago and I swear it´s not very safe haha. I´m on the very bottom and there´s like a total of 8 inches between my face and the bars on the bottom of the next bed. To adjust my bed or my blanket, I have to ¨slip¨ out of my bed to fix it. As Robyn would know, I like my blankets PERFECT. It´s kinda ridiculous and I¨m thinking about taking my bed off and putting it somewhere else. Anyways being zone leader hasn´t been too bad... we have a pretty big zone and we´re working really hard. We have few investigators.. but we´re working hard to find more. One of them is 9 years old, named V. If everything goes well, he should be getting baptized on the 9th of August. His mom is full on active, and he just wanted his dad to baptize him for a really long time, but he smokes and stuff like that. Anyways he wants to just get baptized now so we´re working with him. Another investigator is named D-Sizzle... well okay that´s just what we call him cuz he´s a straight up gangster. Hahaha he´s so funny but not really progressing, but me and Elder S have a lot off fun with that name we gave him. I live with a kid from Canada, and one from Argentina. Hopefully I only have this sector or 1 more because for reals changing areas just sucks. My area is definitely poorer than Santa Sabina. Santa Sabina is very BLESSED. It´s such a cool ward. Here, like 60 or so people attend, and there was like 4 dudes for priesthood other than us missionaries. SO DIFFERENT than Santa Sabs. A lot of the area are little apartments so it´s a little difficult, and the actual houses type things are in like downtown Concepcion basically. It´s a little more ¨gangsterish¨ (Can´t remember the word to explain that in English) but the members I¨ve met are really nice. Well, that´s about it for the update on my sector. I still don´t know the area very well or all the people but it´s just a process. I can´t believe Jon met up with Elder E haha. I just talked to him the day he left.. He´s a pretty cool kid and that´s weird to think he´s at home now talking to my brother haha. Good old Grandpa... being stubborn. Is he like still normal then? Like remembers everything? Just curious. I love my G-Pa. Tell him that please haha :) Are they seriously changing the ward boundaries? That freaking sucks. Kinda depressing.. gonna be so different. I don´t know what else to update you guys on.. or questions I had. I hope you guys enjoy St. George... and I also want a really good update on the ward changes. That´s also way cool Hayds got baptized... I really want some pictures of his baptism, and the picture where he looks just like me. In that picture, I´m guessing he has REALLY red hair. Haha gosh I can´t believe that. Anyways I love you all and I´ll talk to you guys all next week!!
Monday, July 14, 2014
Me voy a... Concepción.. super cerca!
Costume activity
Costume activity where Elder R dressed up like a homeless guy. He was lying outside the church during a sandwich activity. At the end he was going to walk in and eat the food, and see the members reaction. At the end he was going to undress so all the members knew it was him. It was a planned activity that only the ward mission leader knew about. The 2nd counselor in the bishopric, even before the activity started inside, kicked him out of the parking lot where he was laying down. After we told the 2nd counselor, he felt really bad haha. I´ll see if I can send a picture. We didn´t have makeup... so we think of the next best thing... shoe polish. Haha yes we put shoe polish on his face... he had a hard time getting it off :)
Trenton's district
Saying goodbye to a few families in Santa Sabina before getting transferred to downtown Concepcion
Hello all! First of all, I want to say I will be praying for you guys and all your health. Seems like there´s some health issues going on and I will for sure be praying. Anyways, we did have transfers today, and guess what? I will be leaving Santa Sabina. I didn´t really want to leave, but that´s mission life. I will be going very close, about 10 minutes away in bus, to the zone of downtown Concepción. I will be going to a ward called Laguna Redonda. I will not be going as District Leader however. The President called me last night and asked me if I would be willing to go as Zone Leader. So, I will be going to be zone leader and my companion will be Elder S. He is from Utah, went to Timpview, and played basketball there. I actually know him and have done a couple mini-cambios with him in Linares. He was also my zone leader when I was there in Yungay. He´s a really cool kid and I get along well with him. I told him in Linares when he was leaving that for some reason I felt like I would be his companion somewhere down the road, and it happened so that´s pretty cool haha. Anyways I´m excited and it should be pretty fun. There´s all elders in my zone, including the assistants. I was actually in my future house about 8 weeks ago to change after playing soccer. I´m going to live in an apartment that´s on the 5th floor, with no elevators. Haha I´ll sure be loving the stairs. Anyways where I study it´s a closed off room so I should have a heater in there :) where I sleep is a little more open but at night isn´t the worst because I have all my blankets, just in the mornings to study. I´m excited though and it should be pretty fun. I will also live with an elder from Argentina that I get along pretty well with, and another gringo that´s pretty new in the mission that I don´t know. I started saying goodbye last night even before I knew cuz I just kinda knew I was leaving haha. I saved my favorite families for tonight, and I´m going to print off some pictures I made to leave them. I will also leave N with that triple, and a framed picture I got for her. I´m planning on going to Lider to buy some dog toys for her dogs. They´re cool but Bella is cuter and more of a baller. I went and finally got a haircut at our ward mission leader´s house. He cuts our hair for free and I love his kids. One is 2 and the other is 5. The 2 year old wouldn´t let me leave.. it was sad haha. I just miss my nephews. We had 3 investigators in church though.. B´s husband, and her son J, and guess what? N´S HUSBAND! He came and he liked church. The daughter too said she wants to come next week. They´re such an awesome family.. really nice.. and I´m hoping they will all be baptized her within the next couple of months. I know J too will be getting baptized here pretty soon. It´s fun to see people progress from the moment that you get to know them. It´ll suck not being able to continue working with them, but it´s all good. Elder F too, in our house will be leaving. I´ll miss that kid. He is so funny and we had a lot of fun together. Anyways Elder B and Elder R will be staying. I´ll miss the both of them as we had a lot of good times haha. Anyway, on Saturday morning we had a ¨family morning¨ with B´s family because that´s when her husband isn´t working. They made us pancakes and we were finally able to share with the husband. He´s a really nice and humble guy and likes coming to church. We were able to reactivate that family and we´re hoping all the family will be members here pretty soon. I don´t know what else to update you guys on... that´s about it. Just be saying goodbye to some families I got to know here. If anyone is planning on coming to pick me up in the future, Santa Sabina would be a good place to visit because it´s right by the airport and there´s a ton of members. Just saying. That´s cool that you guys were able to celebrate Jeremy and Jon´s birthday, and also go to Silver Lake (thanks Trevor for the video). Brielle seems active as ever.. climbing up and down stairs.. haha she also sounds like a baller. I wish I could just hold her for like 5 minutes. Someone give her a big hug for me. Anyways I can´t think of anything else... that´s about it. Thanks for everything and I hope everyone is doing well with their health. Again, I´ll be praying for everyone. I´ll talk to you guys next week!!! LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT UP
July 7, 2014
Heyyyyyyyy dudes. How´s it going? I´d like to start off with one request to you all. Can you all please stop feeding Bella so much? She´s kinda big. Hahaha for reals tho... maybe you guys don´t notice cuz it´s a gradual process but wow she´s getting big. The pictures inside I loved of her but I legit thought Dallin was sitting under the tramp with Jabba the Hut. She´s so freaking cute though.. I love and miss her. Also, I want to say Happy Birthday to Jeremy and Jon on the 12th. Getting old aren´t they? :P My twin brothers... such ballers. I´m glad you all enjoyed the 4th of July! I bought a Papa John´s pizza to celebrate. Also, a member gave me a 1998 authentic Chilean jersey from the World Cup that year as a gift that day. It´s so sick and I rep it all the time. Anyways, B and her family came to church again today. She still wants more time for her son to learn more about baptism, and I imagine he´ll be baptized her within a month or so, but I don´t think I´ll be there to see it. It´s all good. I feel like I did my part with finally bringing them back to church after 8 years, and it´s cool because she really feels good and she just looks happier. We also have an investigator named O. He is the husband of a less active we found and they decided to come to church. They have the cutest little daughter oh my gosh. She´s 2 years old and she just sings and dances to the songs on Frozen. She watches videos on youtube and acts everything out that´s going on. During church though, she was just singing and running around all the benches. Haha I thought it was funny because the mom was trying to catch her the whole time. It´s been pretty cold here, but our small room in our house has been really nice. We sleep and study in the same small room, and we have a heater we turn on. It´s automatic so it keeps the room the same temperature all night. I had a mini-cambio the other day and it was soooooooo cold in a different house. I couldn´t sleep and it was miserable studying. I´m hoping if I get transferred, it won´t be too cold in that house. I´m loving the house I´m in during the winter. Last year in Linares, was miserable to say the least. Let´s all pray I don´t go to Chillan, where it´s absolutely freezing. Yesterday, the mission president and his wife came to visit Santa Sabina. They hadn´t gone there yet and wanted to see what it was like. We had a TON of less actives there, and he was pretty impressed and made a comment about it after. During the 3rd hour, we all met as missionaries and discussed how the ward was doing. It´s going pretty well, and he asked if 6 missionaries was too many or too little. I told him it seemed to be fine. There are more missionaries coming in than leaving and he said he´s going to have to open up some more sectors. Uh oh. The biggest fear I have is getting tranferred to an area/house where it is freezing, because it just makes everything miserable. All the sister missionaries I came here with go home this next transfer. So weird. N is still doing well! She comes every week with a member, and she gave the prayer is the Gospel Principles class. She prayed that her family as well could be members like her. I just got done buying her a photo frame and I´m going to print out the picture of her baptism and give it to her, along with the triple Mom bought through the website. Anyways this week was really good and we had a ton of lessons with people, and we brought a ton of less actives to church. We´re feeling pretty good about that. Anyways that´s about it for this week. The shoes... I don´t know what you want to do about those. I´m still using my 2 pairs of shoes I got right now..they aren´t in the GREATEST of shape, but they´re still usable. Also, congratz to Isaac Naylor for getting called to such an awesome country like Chile! Sucks he has to wait so long, but he´ll love it here. Shoutout to Lauria for getting Big-J to write me. Haha and to Lauria for writing me.. definitely made me laugh. Lauria... how much does he charge to rent from Howell-Buster? Is he still updating that movie stash he´s got? Well, I wish I would have gotten an update from Mom on her CAT scan. Hopefully all is well and she´s feeling better. Well, I better sign off. Thanks for everything and I love you all!!!!!!
Heyyyyyyyy dudes. How´s it going? I´d like to start off with one request to you all. Can you all please stop feeding Bella so much? She´s kinda big. Hahaha for reals tho... maybe you guys don´t notice cuz it´s a gradual process but wow she´s getting big. The pictures inside I loved of her but I legit thought Dallin was sitting under the tramp with Jabba the Hut. She´s so freaking cute though.. I love and miss her. Also, I want to say Happy Birthday to Jeremy and Jon on the 12th. Getting old aren´t they? :P My twin brothers... such ballers. I´m glad you all enjoyed the 4th of July! I bought a Papa John´s pizza to celebrate. Also, a member gave me a 1998 authentic Chilean jersey from the World Cup that year as a gift that day. It´s so sick and I rep it all the time. Anyways, B and her family came to church again today. She still wants more time for her son to learn more about baptism, and I imagine he´ll be baptized her within a month or so, but I don´t think I´ll be there to see it. It´s all good. I feel like I did my part with finally bringing them back to church after 8 years, and it´s cool because she really feels good and she just looks happier. We also have an investigator named O. He is the husband of a less active we found and they decided to come to church. They have the cutest little daughter oh my gosh. She´s 2 years old and she just sings and dances to the songs on Frozen. She watches videos on youtube and acts everything out that´s going on. During church though, she was just singing and running around all the benches. Haha I thought it was funny because the mom was trying to catch her the whole time. It´s been pretty cold here, but our small room in our house has been really nice. We sleep and study in the same small room, and we have a heater we turn on. It´s automatic so it keeps the room the same temperature all night. I had a mini-cambio the other day and it was soooooooo cold in a different house. I couldn´t sleep and it was miserable studying. I´m hoping if I get transferred, it won´t be too cold in that house. I´m loving the house I´m in during the winter. Last year in Linares, was miserable to say the least. Let´s all pray I don´t go to Chillan, where it´s absolutely freezing. Yesterday, the mission president and his wife came to visit Santa Sabina. They hadn´t gone there yet and wanted to see what it was like. We had a TON of less actives there, and he was pretty impressed and made a comment about it after. During the 3rd hour, we all met as missionaries and discussed how the ward was doing. It´s going pretty well, and he asked if 6 missionaries was too many or too little. I told him it seemed to be fine. There are more missionaries coming in than leaving and he said he´s going to have to open up some more sectors. Uh oh. The biggest fear I have is getting tranferred to an area/house where it is freezing, because it just makes everything miserable. All the sister missionaries I came here with go home this next transfer. So weird. N is still doing well! She comes every week with a member, and she gave the prayer is the Gospel Principles class. She prayed that her family as well could be members like her. I just got done buying her a photo frame and I´m going to print out the picture of her baptism and give it to her, along with the triple Mom bought through the website. Anyways this week was really good and we had a ton of lessons with people, and we brought a ton of less actives to church. We´re feeling pretty good about that. Anyways that´s about it for this week. The shoes... I don´t know what you want to do about those. I´m still using my 2 pairs of shoes I got right now..they aren´t in the GREATEST of shape, but they´re still usable. Also, congratz to Isaac Naylor for getting called to such an awesome country like Chile! Sucks he has to wait so long, but he´ll love it here. Shoutout to Lauria for getting Big-J to write me. Haha and to Lauria for writing me.. definitely made me laugh. Lauria... how much does he charge to rent from Howell-Buster? Is he still updating that movie stash he´s got? Well, I wish I would have gotten an update from Mom on her CAT scan. Hopefully all is well and she´s feeling better. Well, I better sign off. Thanks for everything and I love you all!!!!!!
Monday, June 30, 2014
PENALTY KICKS...
Okay family, how´s it all going? I enjoyed reading your letters as always! This week was alright, except for Chile lost in penalty kicks. Soooooo disappointing. We were locked in our house, and were just calling members every so often to check the score. I´ve never seen a whole country just go on pause during a sporting event. It´s unreal. There´s no buses going, no people, everything is closed, and even 95 year old grandmas are cheering for their team. I´ve also never seen people so devastated in their lives. In the house, we were pretty devastated as well. Chile would have played on the 4th of July which would have been cool, but wow the Chileans were just destraught. Oh well, life goes on. Hopefully the US can keep it going.. how sick would that be. Everybody here is giving props to the US for improving, slowly but surely. Anyways N got confirmed on Sunday, and she´s doing really well. B´s family came to church again. The husband, and the son who aren´t members came as well. There´s also a 22 year old daugher who is, and a 6 year old daughter as well. The daughter just loves when we go over and always wants me to play games with her haha. Anyways they all came to church, including the activity we did on Friday. We did like a Family Night. Anyways Elder R is a pretty cool kid. He´s way nice... like about an hour ago he decided to buy me a red sweater for 10 bucks. My black sweater was really dirty and I wore a grey one like 3 days in a row, and he decided I needed some more variety. Haha he´s a nice kid. . To answer your questions Mom, we have to cook every night if we want to eat. About 4 out of the 7 days, I don´t have any time to eat anything. I go to bed absolutely starving, but I guess I´m just used to it. In our house, we actually do our laundry which is so much nicer, but that´s very rare. Most houses don´t have a washer/dryer. My next area a lady will probably do it. All the elders houses are crappy here. For example, we pay about 150 bucks a month to live in our house. Wanna hear about the sisters apartment? It costs 580 bucks a month.We live 4 elders in a tiny house, and they have 2 sisters in a brand new huge apartment with 2 bathrooms. Case closed. As of right now, we aren´t living in filth. We took advantage of being in the house during the Chile game and did a full on cleaning job. We also didn´t leave after, because there were car alarms and everything like that going off and apparently a dude tried to rob the sisters. Anyways we didn´t leave until things had settled down and cleaned our house. It was nasty. Mold all in the windows, spider webs everywhere, fungus growing in the shower, and stuff like that. But that´s every house here in Chile basically... the houses just get nasty. I´m glad you had a nice birthday, and enjoyed Leatherby´s without me :( I love ice cream. It´s just not the same here. I miss smoothies and milk shakes. Hopefully the Lake Powell trip for Robyn and Brian turns out better than the last. I just can´t picture Dallin being active, I still think of him as the the little kid sitting on the floor and not really talking. He sounds like a funny and active kid. Well that´s basically all I can think of for this week... thanks for praying for me and for everything you guys do. Keep pushing! I love you guys!
P.S. I also want to wish everyone a HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! My 2nd favorite holiday next to Christmas, and wow that day is just awesome. Being with the whole family, parade, barbecue, fireworks, and homeade ice cream. I´ll be thinking of you guys and I hope you guys all enjoy such a great holiday. Living in a different country has made that holiday mean even more, and has made me so much more thankful for the country we live in and to be an American. It´s such a dope country. I LOVE AMERICA!!!
Here´s a few pictures. One is of the nicest dog with just a jacked up leg. He lives pretty close to our house. I feel so bad for him, but he doesn´t look like he´s ever in pain. He just limps weird and the leg jiggles every which way. Another is of the apple juice I finally decided to buy. I miss the apple juice that was always at home haha. Another is the bugs/ slugs we find on our shower curtains sometimes and on the walls and on the floor. They come out late at night. Not nearly as big as the ones I found/stepped on in Linares, but still. Another one is me on some hills we always have to walk up. At the end of the days, I´m just exhausted. Another is a puppy I found on the street that I sent home in a box to you guys to be with Bella. She should be there in about 3 more days. Be on the lookout please. Another one is just proof of how rich the area I´m working in really is.
P.S. I also want to wish everyone a HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! My 2nd favorite holiday next to Christmas, and wow that day is just awesome. Being with the whole family, parade, barbecue, fireworks, and homeade ice cream. I´ll be thinking of you guys and I hope you guys all enjoy such a great holiday. Living in a different country has made that holiday mean even more, and has made me so much more thankful for the country we live in and to be an American. It´s such a dope country. I LOVE AMERICA!!!
Here´s a few pictures. One is of the nicest dog with just a jacked up leg. He lives pretty close to our house. I feel so bad for him, but he doesn´t look like he´s ever in pain. He just limps weird and the leg jiggles every which way. Another is of the apple juice I finally decided to buy. I miss the apple juice that was always at home haha. Another is the bugs/ slugs we find on our shower curtains sometimes and on the walls and on the floor. They come out late at night. Not nearly as big as the ones I found/stepped on in Linares, but still. Another one is me on some hills we always have to walk up. At the end of the days, I´m just exhausted. Another is a puppy I found on the street that I sent home in a box to you guys to be with Bella. She should be there in about 3 more days. Be on the lookout please. Another one is just proof of how rich the area I´m working in really is.
Monday, June 23, 2014
BALLIN
6-23-2014
HEY FAMILY! I love you all did you guys know that? FIRST OFF, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER TERESA ON THE 25TH! I hope everything goes well and I´ll be thinking about my one and only mother that day. Okay so SECOND off, "N" GOT BAPTIZED! Thanks Mom for putting her name on the temple roll. The baptism went well and she´s really happy. I´ll see if I can get some pictures sent off! And also putting "J" on the temple roll worked! We have been working with their family for awhile, and FINALLY, they ALL came to church. Including the dad that isn´t a member that I had never met before. I was sitting in sacrament meeting, and I was excited for N's baptism, we had another investigator in church (which I´ll talk more about), and then I see J and his whole family walk in. I was so happy. It was weird, but I can´t even explain how happy I was haha. Anyways, they loved the church, and the mom told me I´ll see you next Sunday. I´m pretty excited for them. I probably won´t be here for when J and possibly his dad gets baptized, but I feel like I´ve done everything I can for them, and am happy that they finally came back to church after 8 years. About the other investigator we have, his name is "Jo". Now I don´t want to jinx this, but he´s so incredibly prepared for baptism. Actually, the older elders we live with found him, but ended up giving him to us because he lives in our sector. He is 23 years old, can´t read very well, and doesn´t really understand when he reads, but has a lot of faith. The first visit we had with him (2nd with missionaries), he said he had read some of the Book of Mormon and prayed, and God had definitely answered him. The elders actually had left him with a whole chapter, but he only read one verse because that´s what he thought his homework was. It was Alma 32:20 that he read... I can´t even remember what that has to do with.. I know 21 is to do with faith, but either way he said the next step for him is baptism. Haha he´s a golden investigator. He´s got a baptism date for July 6th, so if everything goes well, he will get baptized that day. We´re pretty excited. Finally seeing the blessings after having a lot of patience. Second off, I just want to say how ridiculous that goal was that Portugal put in with 10 seconds left. I was SOOOO disappointed haha. I LOVE AMERICA. Okay so in my defense, I did see a little bit of the game. It´s almost impossible to not see the games here because EVERYBODY is watching it. It´s okay, at least we came away with a tie and we still have an opportunity to advance if everything falls into place. A lot of Chileans were talking about Beckerman´s hair... hahaha I was just laughing. And Chile..... wow the Chileans are going crazy. They took out Spain, and things we´re crazy. We basically have to be in our house, but we definitely know when Chile scores a goal. It´s sooooooooo loud and everybody is just blowing air horns, running around, and going crazy. We left a little after the game, but ended up going back to the house early just because it was too crazy. We had permission to do that if things were too crazy and dangerous out. This is why I´m emailing so early... we have to be back in Santa Sabina by 12, when the game starts. Apparently it just gets too crazy here in Centro (downtown). They play against Holland, and it seems like Holland will win, but we´ll see. It´s nice because I have 2 teams now that I can cheer for haha. Sometimes after the games, it´s kinda sketchy in the streets and people will yell at me like who´s your team? So they don´t beat you up, we´ve realized all you have to do is yell LET´S GO CHILE!!!!!!!!! And they just get so happy and you become their new best friend.. hahaha. It´s so fun though to be here during the World Cup... it´s such a big deal.
Other than that, not much else has happened this week. Just got N baptized, working with J and his family, and Jo. Oh and guess what? C.G. came to N´s baptism! Not to church, but just the baptism. She said she liked it, but I´m not sure if that changed her mind about anything. We will be passing by this week and see what happens. We have 3 more weeks until changes, and I imagine I´ll be leaving Santa Sabina. I will have been here for 6 months which is a long time. When I´m in an area, I´m in an area. It´s kind of unheard of to only have 3 sectors with how long I´ve been out, at least in this mission. Haha but I liked it, because changes and adjusting to everything is kinda hard. That's too bad that Jeremy got mono, hopefully he can get over it pretty fast. I remember when DJ Teaskie had it, and was sick for awhile.THERE´S A LEATHERBY´S IN DRAPER? That´s so sick.. I love Leatherby´s. I miss it. I miss just restaurants. Justin moved to Price? Hmmmmm.. by the way, he told me he would write me at least one time while I was out. Still waiting Justin :P Remember your sweet spot in around the world? Bro, you were money. Lake Powell? I swear Robyn and Brian just went. Where the big wind storm happened and everything. Has it really been a year since that happened? What the crap. Cowabunga Bay with Teags, haha I miss my nephews. There´s this famliy here that I love. She actually came with us to J´s family to help us get them to come to church. Anyways, they have 3 boys. One is 10, the other s 8, and the other is 6 or so. The first time they invited us all over for breakfast for Elder F's birthday. After, we all had a nerf gun war. They love nerf guns and Elder F and Elder R brought theirs. I didn´t have one, and neither did my companion. But like 2 weeks ago, we both bought one at Lider. For Elder R´s birthday, we all went to have breakfast again. Then we had a nerf war. Hahaha they put on Star Wars background music, we had goggles, and it was a full on war. The couches were everywhere, the kids were jumping on me and shooting me, and they were loving it. Haha the parents were just taking pictures and videos and they said their gonna send the pictures to us soon. All at church, they´re just pretending to shoot me with their pretend nerf guns. They´re such a cool family. Okay so this letter is really long, but this week was just a really good week. Good luck to my country in the World Cup, and hopefully Chile can win again so they can get first seed in their group. I love you all and I´ll talk to you guys all next week!!!
HEY FAMILY! I love you all did you guys know that? FIRST OFF, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER TERESA ON THE 25TH! I hope everything goes well and I´ll be thinking about my one and only mother that day. Okay so SECOND off, "N" GOT BAPTIZED! Thanks Mom for putting her name on the temple roll. The baptism went well and she´s really happy. I´ll see if I can get some pictures sent off! And also putting "J" on the temple roll worked! We have been working with their family for awhile, and FINALLY, they ALL came to church. Including the dad that isn´t a member that I had never met before. I was sitting in sacrament meeting, and I was excited for N's baptism, we had another investigator in church (which I´ll talk more about), and then I see J and his whole family walk in. I was so happy. It was weird, but I can´t even explain how happy I was haha. Anyways, they loved the church, and the mom told me I´ll see you next Sunday. I´m pretty excited for them. I probably won´t be here for when J and possibly his dad gets baptized, but I feel like I´ve done everything I can for them, and am happy that they finally came back to church after 8 years. About the other investigator we have, his name is "Jo". Now I don´t want to jinx this, but he´s so incredibly prepared for baptism. Actually, the older elders we live with found him, but ended up giving him to us because he lives in our sector. He is 23 years old, can´t read very well, and doesn´t really understand when he reads, but has a lot of faith. The first visit we had with him (2nd with missionaries), he said he had read some of the Book of Mormon and prayed, and God had definitely answered him. The elders actually had left him with a whole chapter, but he only read one verse because that´s what he thought his homework was. It was Alma 32:20 that he read... I can´t even remember what that has to do with.. I know 21 is to do with faith, but either way he said the next step for him is baptism. Haha he´s a golden investigator. He´s got a baptism date for July 6th, so if everything goes well, he will get baptized that day. We´re pretty excited. Finally seeing the blessings after having a lot of patience. Second off, I just want to say how ridiculous that goal was that Portugal put in with 10 seconds left. I was SOOOO disappointed haha. I LOVE AMERICA. Okay so in my defense, I did see a little bit of the game. It´s almost impossible to not see the games here because EVERYBODY is watching it. It´s okay, at least we came away with a tie and we still have an opportunity to advance if everything falls into place. A lot of Chileans were talking about Beckerman´s hair... hahaha I was just laughing. And Chile..... wow the Chileans are going crazy. They took out Spain, and things we´re crazy. We basically have to be in our house, but we definitely know when Chile scores a goal. It´s sooooooooo loud and everybody is just blowing air horns, running around, and going crazy. We left a little after the game, but ended up going back to the house early just because it was too crazy. We had permission to do that if things were too crazy and dangerous out. This is why I´m emailing so early... we have to be back in Santa Sabina by 12, when the game starts. Apparently it just gets too crazy here in Centro (downtown). They play against Holland, and it seems like Holland will win, but we´ll see. It´s nice because I have 2 teams now that I can cheer for haha. Sometimes after the games, it´s kinda sketchy in the streets and people will yell at me like who´s your team? So they don´t beat you up, we´ve realized all you have to do is yell LET´S GO CHILE!!!!!!!!! And they just get so happy and you become their new best friend.. hahaha. It´s so fun though to be here during the World Cup... it´s such a big deal.
Other than that, not much else has happened this week. Just got N baptized, working with J and his family, and Jo. Oh and guess what? C.G. came to N´s baptism! Not to church, but just the baptism. She said she liked it, but I´m not sure if that changed her mind about anything. We will be passing by this week and see what happens. We have 3 more weeks until changes, and I imagine I´ll be leaving Santa Sabina. I will have been here for 6 months which is a long time. When I´m in an area, I´m in an area. It´s kind of unheard of to only have 3 sectors with how long I´ve been out, at least in this mission. Haha but I liked it, because changes and adjusting to everything is kinda hard. That's too bad that Jeremy got mono, hopefully he can get over it pretty fast. I remember when DJ Teaskie had it, and was sick for awhile.THERE´S A LEATHERBY´S IN DRAPER? That´s so sick.. I love Leatherby´s. I miss it. I miss just restaurants. Justin moved to Price? Hmmmmm.. by the way, he told me he would write me at least one time while I was out. Still waiting Justin :P Remember your sweet spot in around the world? Bro, you were money. Lake Powell? I swear Robyn and Brian just went. Where the big wind storm happened and everything. Has it really been a year since that happened? What the crap. Cowabunga Bay with Teags, haha I miss my nephews. There´s this famliy here that I love. She actually came with us to J´s family to help us get them to come to church. Anyways, they have 3 boys. One is 10, the other s 8, and the other is 6 or so. The first time they invited us all over for breakfast for Elder F's birthday. After, we all had a nerf gun war. They love nerf guns and Elder F and Elder R brought theirs. I didn´t have one, and neither did my companion. But like 2 weeks ago, we both bought one at Lider. For Elder R´s birthday, we all went to have breakfast again. Then we had a nerf war. Hahaha they put on Star Wars background music, we had goggles, and it was a full on war. The couches were everywhere, the kids were jumping on me and shooting me, and they were loving it. Haha the parents were just taking pictures and videos and they said their gonna send the pictures to us soon. All at church, they´re just pretending to shoot me with their pretend nerf guns. They´re such a cool family. Okay so this letter is really long, but this week was just a really good week. Good luck to my country in the World Cup, and hopefully Chile can win again so they can get first seed in their group. I love you all and I´ll talk to you guys all next week!!!
Here´s a picture of the 4 of us after a house inspection. They called us 10 minutes before to tell us they were going to do it, and we ran back to the house and cleaned it in 10 minutes and the picture is us with the Celestial Kingdom paper.. meaning our house was really clean haha.
She got baptized!
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Special Tribute to Jeremy and Staci
This is a special tribute written by Trenton, and read by Jonathan, at the wedding dinner held on Thursday, June 5th, 2014 at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building:
I have so many memories of Jeremy that I can´t really pick out just one. Most of them just happened when I was alone hanging out with him. I think he may be the only one that remembers it, and I won´t go into too much detail, but Jeremy.. hopefully you know what I´m talking about when I say Disneyland, closet, and tiny towel. I will never forget that. Other than that, I think my favorite memory of Jeremy was just how close we got when we both lived downstairs. Just being able to hang out with him every night when we should have both been sleeping. Also, I will never forget all the car rides in his car just blasting Angels and Airwaves/Blink 182.
I think Staci should know a couple things about Jeremy before she marries him. First off Staci, he doesn´t care what people think about him. That is just his personality and he just wants to always have fun. He might embarrass you in public for this reason, but you´ll get used to it. Second, you´ve never seen Jeremy mad until you´ve watched him play Call of Duty. He´s decent yes, but not as good as me. Watching him somehow quietly yell at the TV at 3 in the morning and throwing his controller on his bed so he didn´t wake up my mom a room above is a funny sight you need to see. When he gets mad or frustrated, just know it could be worse, and even funnier.
Staci, you should probably know a couple things about our family as well. First of all, we are AVID UTAH FANS. When it´s Saturday and it´s game day, you will know it. Even if it´s an away game and we are watching it on TV, you would think we were on the front row at a home game. There will be yelling and screaming and if you don´t control my Dad, silverware thrown at the TV. WE LOVE OUR UTES. Second, we like to have fun together. We are constantly joking around, making fun of each other, and doing whatever we can to enjoy ourselves. When you have joined in on one of our family dance parties with glowsticks, you will know what I am talking about.
What I love most about Jeremy is his personality and his attitude towards having fun, and also his love he has for the family. One thing that always sticks out to me every year is when Christmas time comes around. We usually all draw names and buy a present for one other person, but every year Jeremy has a gift bought for everybody. It´s not some regular gift, but he´s goes all out every year on everybody. Just the fact that he´s so unselfish is something that I love about my brother. I think as myself as a perfect mix between my twin brothers, but I´m a lot like Jeremy. I know he came before me, but he definitely got my looks. Also our love for the same music, the same movies, TV shows, sports, and horrible attitude towards school is what I love about Jeremy.
Jeremy has been an example to me in so many ways. Like I have mentioned, his example in being unselfish is something I admire. Also, his example of serving a mission in the same country as me is pretty cool and something I´m grateful for. Also, I love his outgoing personality and I think I´ve taken after him quite a bit in my personality. More than anything, is his love for other people and his constant attitude towards having fun.
I would like to leave you guys with some advice: Stay strong, and when times are tough, pray and read the scriptures. I know God answers our prayers and if we are humble enough to ask Him sincerely, he will help us. He gives us trials and pains so that we can learn and progress. In these toughest of moments, he tests our faith and our patience. He wants to know if we are willing to give it all we can and rely on Him for help. The other advice I wanted to give you guys is just to always smile. Life really is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. I love this quote and I´ve tried to apply it in my life. Whatever happens, we can wake up in the morning and make the decision right there whether or not we have a good or bad day. It´s up to us.
I´d just like to give a shout out to Staci and welcome her into the family. I´m excited to gain another sister into the family and know you will be a good example to my brother. At first, I was a little disappointed my brother would be getting married while I was gone. In fact, before I left, I told him he couldn´t. But after I thought about the blessings I´ve received and how close I´ve grown to Brian and Heather, my other in-laws, I knew everything would work out. Again, welcome to the family, and good luck with Jeremy. I´m glad to hear you guys got married in the temple. I know with all my heart that this Gospel is true and that we have the restored church upon the earth. I know that families can be forever. This knowledge keeps me going as I love my family more than anything else. All we have to do is keep the commandments. God asks us so little, and if we can just be humble and do what He asks, we will be able to live with our families forever. I know we will have tough times, That why we have prayer, the scriptures, church, our family and friends, and a living prophet. If we are obedient, we will be happy not only in this life, but also afterwards. Thanks for everything and I can´t wait to meet you when I get home!
I think Staci should know a couple things about Jeremy before she marries him. First off Staci, he doesn´t care what people think about him. That is just his personality and he just wants to always have fun. He might embarrass you in public for this reason, but you´ll get used to it. Second, you´ve never seen Jeremy mad until you´ve watched him play Call of Duty. He´s decent yes, but not as good as me. Watching him somehow quietly yell at the TV at 3 in the morning and throwing his controller on his bed so he didn´t wake up my mom a room above is a funny sight you need to see. When he gets mad or frustrated, just know it could be worse, and even funnier.
Staci, you should probably know a couple things about our family as well. First of all, we are AVID UTAH FANS. When it´s Saturday and it´s game day, you will know it. Even if it´s an away game and we are watching it on TV, you would think we were on the front row at a home game. There will be yelling and screaming and if you don´t control my Dad, silverware thrown at the TV. WE LOVE OUR UTES. Second, we like to have fun together. We are constantly joking around, making fun of each other, and doing whatever we can to enjoy ourselves. When you have joined in on one of our family dance parties with glowsticks, you will know what I am talking about.
What I love most about Jeremy is his personality and his attitude towards having fun, and also his love he has for the family. One thing that always sticks out to me every year is when Christmas time comes around. We usually all draw names and buy a present for one other person, but every year Jeremy has a gift bought for everybody. It´s not some regular gift, but he´s goes all out every year on everybody. Just the fact that he´s so unselfish is something that I love about my brother. I think as myself as a perfect mix between my twin brothers, but I´m a lot like Jeremy. I know he came before me, but he definitely got my looks. Also our love for the same music, the same movies, TV shows, sports, and horrible attitude towards school is what I love about Jeremy.
Jeremy has been an example to me in so many ways. Like I have mentioned, his example in being unselfish is something I admire. Also, his example of serving a mission in the same country as me is pretty cool and something I´m grateful for. Also, I love his outgoing personality and I think I´ve taken after him quite a bit in my personality. More than anything, is his love for other people and his constant attitude towards having fun.
I would like to leave you guys with some advice: Stay strong, and when times are tough, pray and read the scriptures. I know God answers our prayers and if we are humble enough to ask Him sincerely, he will help us. He gives us trials and pains so that we can learn and progress. In these toughest of moments, he tests our faith and our patience. He wants to know if we are willing to give it all we can and rely on Him for help. The other advice I wanted to give you guys is just to always smile. Life really is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. I love this quote and I´ve tried to apply it in my life. Whatever happens, we can wake up in the morning and make the decision right there whether or not we have a good or bad day. It´s up to us.
I´d just like to give a shout out to Staci and welcome her into the family. I´m excited to gain another sister into the family and know you will be a good example to my brother. At first, I was a little disappointed my brother would be getting married while I was gone. In fact, before I left, I told him he couldn´t. But after I thought about the blessings I´ve received and how close I´ve grown to Brian and Heather, my other in-laws, I knew everything would work out. Again, welcome to the family, and good luck with Jeremy. I´m glad to hear you guys got married in the temple. I know with all my heart that this Gospel is true and that we have the restored church upon the earth. I know that families can be forever. This knowledge keeps me going as I love my family more than anything else. All we have to do is keep the commandments. God asks us so little, and if we can just be humble and do what He asks, we will be able to live with our families forever. I know we will have tough times, That why we have prayer, the scriptures, church, our family and friends, and a living prophet. If we are obedient, we will be happy not only in this life, but also afterwards. Thanks for everything and I can´t wait to meet you when I get home!
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