Everything is different now*

*References this moment from Gravity Falls

Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes! The Hermanas made French Toast. So Gringo. So good, and now I´ve completed my first Birthday in the Mission. One down, one to go.

Hermana Bazaes is now safely home, because I totes killed her. In a missionary sense. May she rest in Peace. But boy was it a wild ride to get everyone packed and ready to go.

In other news... the sector of Curanilahue is now Closed for missionaries until further notice. oops. I guess I just have that effect on people and places...

And because there are no longer missionaries in Curanilahue, and Hermana Chavez and Hermana Bazaes left, Hermana Rocha and I spent the last day of the Cambio cleaning the Casa of Curanilahue. It was.... a hot and crusty mess. But now it´s all clean! And also empty. Except for maybe one yogurt which we may or may not have forgotten in the fridge. heh.

I'm now in Cabrero, Los Angeles. It´s a little Pueblito. Very, very small. so tiny. But SO HOT. It's like a sauna.... it's like someone's barbecuing in a sauna. What in the fweet happened? like, 40 degrees Celcius. I don't even know how to convert those numbers. [that's 104 F]

But wait, There´s more....
I'M IN A TRIO HERE. 3 companions in 3 transfers. I´m 3 for 3 here. Now I´m with Hermana Lopez (of Honduras) and Hermana Fança (of Brazil). And it's just us here. But it´s completely different from Curanilahue. Very, very much the opposite. Everything is different now. But different isn´t bad.

Here's one thing I learned this week: Change is hard. Change is really hard. But I like what Elder Christofferson said in his talk about the little tree that is cut down by the gardener. There´s a really great video, something like, "The Will of God," that I would recommend to y'all. Anyways, change is hard, but hard is good. Hard means we are doing things that will help us to grow and become more like our Savior. Hard means we aren't doing things easy or lazy, or for ourselves. God loves it when we do hard things.

We will see you all for Christmas!!!
Feliz Navidad!

-Hermana Baer

Someone Broke that.... But I'm gonna fix it*

*references Kung Fu Panda
Subject line because of that one time when I accidentally broke our dryer. I straight up ripped the door off the machine....scripture power is real.
But don't panic because we did fix it.

This week:

-we worked our little buns off serving the members. I made Gringo cookies with all the things the fam sent in the package and we visited the members in their houses, sang to them, watched Iluminar el Mundo, and reminded them to serve others and not forget the true meaning of Christmas, dagnabit! Then we gave them a little cookie and speedily departed to visit other members. We hope that doing this will remind them that we love them and that they can invite the spirit to their homes for Christmas through service.... And you can too!
(Author´s note: If the dear reader has not already seen the Light the World video and/or is not participating in the 25 ways for 25 days, they are strongly urged to begin doing so.... now [please begin this video clip at 7:40 seconds and end at 7:50].)

Since we were focusing on the members this week, we've had little to no contact with our investigators - mostly because they aren't in their houses and never answer their phones. But turns out that God is good and our two (2) investigators showed up at church all by themselves! Miracles and what have you.

One thing I've noticed this week is that when we feel inadequate...inadiquite? (lol sorry i can't remember how to spell words) it's because the Lord is teaching us how to use our weaknesses. It's like when we first begin to exercise a muscle that we've never used, it's hard and we don´t like it and our eyes might be a little sweaty, but we can trust that when we are through we are going to be stronger and more prepared for what comes next, maybe helping others with the same experience. And when we do this, turning outward after or during hard experiences, we understand more the work of the Saviour, because that's what He did for us, and really, He is the One who knows what we feel and need. Trust Him!

 Okay. That is all.
See y'all rull soon.
-Hermanerm Baer 2.0

P.S. thanks to all for the Buthuthday wishes.

Cookies!

Churches and stop me if you've seen them...

I'll put that box in another box*

* References Emperor's New Groove.
Hey! Good news, the Xmas pack from the fam arrived! Sad news, it was definitely opened and rifled through. Good news again, this made it much easier for me to open. So..... lol Vive Chile, I guess.
But thank y’all so much!! I may or may not have openly wept at the sight of brown sugar and also everything else from my family in Sweet, Sweet, Free Country USA.

This week:

-Christmas Devotional. So gr8. We woke up at 4:30 so we could travel by bus with the other districts to Los Angeles. At 7:30 we stopped because the driver was like, "Hey the bus is leaking fluids and is about to explode.... Imma call my other bus driver buddy so y’all actually arrive." And we were like, "ok coolcool. We'll just wait, then." So our 4 hour trip was actually 6 hours and we were extremely fashionably late for the Devotional. :]

-For the devo we contacted in the streets and then had a flashmob in the plaza and everyone gave their Christmas-wrapped Libro de Mormón to the people who gathered. So great. Then we had some lunch and sang songs and listened to testimonies. Then we got our Xmas packages and hit the road again. Also I saw my favorite CCM companion Hermana Ellis. She’s the best.

-Good news. Raul our negocio friend/investigator loves the Book of Mormon. We are gonna work to get this man to Church.

-Also I have a new goal. Imma take a photo with every church here in Curanilahue. Photos attached for your viewing pleasure.

-We worked for a day with Hermana May, the mission President’s wife. She always brings cookies for interviews. Also her sweater was made of llama fur. She’s fabulous.

Okay. I think that is erething.
Stay in touch, but no touchies...
-Hermana Baer

Photos:
Dem cookies do

Hermana May

And when it arrives.....

Contacting at the Christmas devotional

Hermanas at the Party. I mean Devotional.

We love to travel.

Tired but alive.

We worked with the mission president’s wife for a day here in Curanilahue. She’s pretty much the best.

Them churches

Also the most terrifying nightmare dolphin yard decoration I have ever seen. Enjoy.

You gotta fight... for your right.... to Paaaaartaaay*

*It's a Beastie Boys song from 1986, but I think we won't offer a link this time.
 
That said, Presidente May, our mission presidente wants everyone to know the Christmas Devotional this Wednesday is not, I repeat NOT a party. We're missionaries. We don't live that kind of life. It's more like an OMNIZONE. (Hint: use this word to score big in Bananagrams).

Now back to me:
-I had my very first encounter with a True Bible Basher.™ Then, for lack of better word, boyfriend, of Elsa, Carlos, is Evangelic Pentacostal. Big words, bigger hatred for the Book of Mormon. Carlos was yelling and swinging the Bible around and Elsa and her brother, Segundo, were defending the Church (which was a pleasant surprise to us) and finally we just were like, "Bruh. We're not here to fight. We know that our message is true, and if you want you can know, too. We follow the example of Christ and we don't fight with people. We don't believe the Bible or other scriptures are weapons to be used to attack the faith of other people. ¿If Christ were here with us, right now, what do you think He would say or do? *pleasant and expectant smile*"
and then Carlos said........... nuffing. But made this face the rest of the time  >:(  
And we just smiled and left after setting a baptism date for both Elsa and her brother. Boom. The 16th of December, btws :)

 -THEN Elsa and her brother were at church on Sunday. More, they both attended the Relief Society activity on Thursday. oops. Segundo was on time, which we appreciate, but also, he was also a man. So we told him we would see him on Sunday and there he was. He's chill. no worries.

-Never fear because we are working our little buns off here in Curanilahue. It doesn't really matter what others say about the gospel, so long as we are firm in our knowledge of what is right and continue to treat others as Children of God. Because that´s what they are (duhr).

 -Also, we helped a family deconstruct their house. I really enjoyed a day of hard labor because at the end I felt like we accomplished something. Even if it was literally destroying the home of a member. heh. oops. [We tore down the old house of wood and they will be building a new one.]

Thanks to Everyone for all the prayers and help. No photos today because..... i hart Chilean technology. but know that they will be coming soon to a blog near you. Until then, look at the other Hermana Baer's letter. It´s gonna be big.

-Hermanerm Baer

. . . To the Beach* . . .

*Said in the Mr. Bean Voice.  [And here is footage of Mr. Bean at the beach. Just mentally photoshop Noelle over him.]

This week in The Many Adventures of Hermanerm Baer...

-Our menos activo brother came to church after a very long and difficult absence and is now our new Mission Leader!! We are 100% ready and excited to work with him bc he's an RM of only 3 or 4 years so he remembers the mission and how to help us.

-We had intercambios, I was with Hna Chavez and we contacted for lit er ally the whole day because all of our appointments fell through and then we were lost for like an hour, but I had a really great time. She's amazing.

-We are working with an investigator Raul (hombre) who we found in his little store, and who, shockingly, asked us about being missionaries and said he was very interested in learning more and attending our church. We are more than happy to be working with him, but are impeded only by the fact that he works literally everyday all day long, so we are teaching tiny, tiny portions of the gospel in his store....not really ideal for the spirit, but we are working for an appointment in his home. Good news: one time we dropped by his shop to follow up and there he was.... READING THE BOOK OF MORMON. He said he liked it and it felt very much like the Bible. And we were like, "yeah that might be because its also the word of God." and he was like, "oh. that's pretty cool." and on the inside I was like, Bruh, just wait till you get baptized...

-We spoke with our new investigator from the capilla abierta, Elsa, who told us that the day of the open house she had been having the worst day of her whole life, but when she spoke with the missionaries, she felt like she was talking to angels. More, when she came to the chapel and listened to the words of Christ she felt like she was on fire, but also being hugged very tight. She now has a baptismal date for the 09 of December!!! Hey. Look at that. She's fabulous and we accidentally were at her house for like 3 hours because she was telling us everything about her life. So many words happened. We are so excited for her to be part of the Church and we want her to be baptized ASAP. Or the 09 of December. Whichever.

-Also, just an update.... you may remember Juancito, yes he does have a baptismal date, also for the 09 of December, but we are really worried that he doesn't really understand or value the gospel bc it has been 6 months and 2 sets of missionaries and 0 commitments kept. We are praying that he will have a change of heart and begin to recognize the importance of a personal testimony

-The cutest little old lady we found who said she wanted to be baptized, turns out......... is, with all love and respect, un pocita locita. We will be checking in now and again, but now is not the time for her to be taking the discussions.

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and love. We know you are thinking of us and we work to make the prayers a reality..... interesting how prayers aid action, but action without sincere prayer can just be a waste of time.... the two go hand in hand for success. Spiritual Thought: Its a trick

- I just think that if you haven't read Jesus the Christ you probably should. Its blowing me out of my mind nugget. So much about our Savior. So spiritual, so smart. so good. okay.

That is all.

-Hermnerm Baer

PHOTOS: We went to the beach. AT LAST. and it was cold. but it was still the beach. So all is well. We played some games and ate some hotdog things. Muuuuuuy rico.

Our beloved and favorite nueva Elena is so proud of her son who is a carabinero (policeman) that she insisted we take a photo with his hat :]))))) so awkward..... Also she was so generous and kept offering us queso straight from a massive block, and we couldn't really say no, so I ate like, a kilo of cheese. She's the best.

Photo of our Companeras! Left to Right: Hna Bazaes, Chavez, me, Rocha.

I’m a Trendy Handbag*

*References this Homestar Runner moment

Subject line because I accidentally bought a bag that´s basically a fanny pack. So stylin. But it´s more secure and smaller than my other bag, and I´ve been assured by various/multiple sources it´s better.

This last Saturday we had our Capilla Abierta - The Chapel Open House - where the members invite their friends for a church tour and introduce them to all the organizations and presidencies in the ward. All the zone works together to teach and serve the people who show up. We had 8 members and 7 investigators attend. Woot!

For those praying for Juancito, Muchas Gracias! He´s got a fecha Bautismal set for the 9th of December. Yay!

We´ll be having a capilla abierta in each area every Saturday for the next month or so, and I´m really excited to get a chance to learn from the missionary work of other areas.

Que Mas? Ah ya. We´ve been working with the sweetest Menos Activa, Ana, and she came to church with us this week for the first time in like 6 years. Hurray for progress!

Spiritual Thought: I´ve been reading in Jesus the Christ to learn more about the life of the Savior, and one thing that I love is that Christ always used his Divine Powers to serve and lift others, never did anything to aggrandize himself, or do anything that would attract attention that would distract from the sacred purpose of His mission or the Glory of His Father. I´ve learned that we can work like the Savior by demonstrating humility and patience in all we do. The Gospel isn´t flashy, but it is bright - we can do small things that make a big difference but don´t necessarily attract attention. We can use our powers for helping others, not ourselves.

Okay. Ya. And That.

So sorry, there are no photos this week. oops. I´m pretty sure the other Hermana Baer has some pretty swaggin photos. Check it out.

-Hermana Baer

Curanilahue? More like COOLanilahue

Amma right or Amma right?

Transfers this week and We all four of us get another 6 weeks here in Curanilahue. Woot for us!

I hope that there is a photo attached of two of our favorite, ugly but precious in the sight of the Lord dog friends here in Curanilahue. They love us and always follow us. We love every crusty, flea infested creature here in Curanilahue. Because everyone here has fleas. A harmless little flea...*
[*references this scene from Disney's Emperor's New Groove]

This week we worked our little bottoms off. We´ve noticed something rather curious.... turns out that, like, half of Curanilahue are baptized members, but we have an active ward of just about.....50. Odd. We are really excited to help people remember that one time they probably really liked something about the gospel.

Highlights included:
-Contacting. Everyday. In the rain. Because of La Niña. Hey, just what is La Niña anyways? and what does this curious atmospheric phenomenon mean for my summer? Probably it´s gonna be a hot one right?

-More crazies. Super fun. They really love to talk to us or just follow us at uncomfortably close distance. Hermana Bazaes says it´s probably me. And I said, yeah, who wouldn't want to follow me around all day. Humility is my greatest quality.

-I killed all the fungus in our room. It had been encroaching on my study space for some time, and I had enough. So I cleaned it. I was like,¨Die, earth scum!¨ but it probably wasn't as funny as I thought it was. I have crazed eyes in the photo. Probably because of all the breathing in toxins. Or just flash. But who can be sure? Yup.

We´ll see you all on the other side. Have you read the letter of the Other Hermana Baer? If not, you may do so.............Now.

Okay. I think I have photos? It´s like a bad soap opera. Will there or won´t there be photos?

BUT. behold. a completo

Me murdering mushrooms

Scruffy. Our most loyal and filthy four legged-friend.

 A little bit less than a quarter of Curanilahue from one of the hills. It goes on, and on and on. It´s huge, okay? :)

And this house. ¨Excuse me... are you aware there´s a river and your house is on top of it?¨

Right now Curanilahue is a branch. There are like 50 members active (more or less) but less than 10 years ago there were 2 wards with more than 300 Members. But there have been a LOT of Problems here in Curanilahue. A LOT. And it´s really not the members fault... Sort of. We´re working on it. Lol there are no elders here, just the four sisters. Sister Chavez from Bolivia has been here 6 months and is kind of the Anchor here.
 
Thanks for all your support, prayers, and help. I love hearing about your missions. It helps me have a perspective. of sorts.

Toodles Hermana Baer


Lebu Zone

But if you buy two completos*

*References this Kid History episode (#3) about Chilean missionaries.

completo

Turns out, it´s really only two dollars because completos are a thing and actually just Chilean hot dogs! and YOU CAN HAVE ONE, TOO! Steps include boiling your hot dog, toasting the bun, putting diced tomato and mashed avocado on said hot dog and toasted bun, and topping with mayo, mustard, and ketchup. Not too bad, all said. Photo included for those who are visual learners. (booo. The computer here can´t read my images. I´ll send the photo next week. Or y'all can just look it up. Sorry. Hurray for Chilean technology!)

Here are the highlights from the week:

-BUT I had my first Completo!

-We went to Concepción, like the city part of our mission, and it´s super cool! Ya. Also the temple is almost done. Right now they have a cardboard Moroni as a place holder for the real one, which arrived in September, but is waiting in it´s coffin box until the tower part is finished.

-We stayed in the mission home Thursday night for district conference Friday. As the say here in Chile, it was super quico (pronounced qwik-o with the pinky extended like a princess).  They even had an upright piano and carpet.... which is kind of like our house right now..... People. I´m here to tell you life is different on the other side. God is good. America is free. Love it. LoooOOOVE. iiiIIIIT. (Teeth barred, fists shook). :)

- We celebrated the cumpleaños of our Hermana Chavez and had some cake stuff! pretty good! The food here is really good. Very fresh. Very a lot of it. So much. I´m going to be really fat. Because you have to eat all of it. To show your gratitude to the members. With which we eat every. single. day. So generous. I´m going to have to roll to appointments at the end of my mission.

- And the part everyone was waiting for. TAAAKE ME TO CHUURCH. it´s a song. you could look it up, but I can´t recommend it because I´m kind of a missionary right now. We did go to church with the Evangelics. How was it? In a word: Loud. Really loud. It was like a rock concert, but with more children. There was all sorts of wild demonstrations. If I had to sum up the whole experience, I would say a lot of noise because they sang songs the whole time and yelled and their live band (who wasn't actually that bad) played fast and loud and there really wasn't a lot of teaching, or learning, or worship. There was a lot of recognition and awards for the members and especially the pastors and even a song about how their church was so true and the other churches were Satan´s armies....(Alma ch 28??) Pretty wild stuff. Hermana Bazaes was very, very shocked.
I know for sure that the spirit wasn't there because it was so darn loud. While we were standing there in the noise, I had the distinct thought that if the Savior were to have walked into the room, it would have become very quiet very fast, and so what I learned was that we need quiet moments in order to feel the spirit. We need to be still and listen. Also, I´m super grateful for the truth that we have in our church. A lot of wild and confusing things happened in their service, and I´m encourage y'all to take a quiet moment and reflect on the truths of the gospel that have blessed your life.
Then call the missionaries and work with them or something, i dunno, do what you want if you live in America.

-Now that we are more familiar with what the evangelical family believes, we are excited to work with them and ask them questions that might stimulate some thought and reflection about our gospel and their own beliefs. Anyways. That was a lot of words.

Rull quick second spiritual thought: In 1 Nefi 8:5-6 I was thinking, who is this man in white that Lehi doesn´t recognize? And this is what I noticed: the man asks Lehi to follow him to the Tree of Life. Who else asks us to follow him to receive the joy of the gospel in its fullness? Definitely Christ. (See any part of the New Testament.) I dunno, but I would not be surprised if In his dream Lehi saw Christ. But what do you think? Am I accidentally blaspheming? If so, let me know before I make it worse.

Maybe you should take a break, or go outside or something, or read the letter of the Other Hermana Baer. It´s pretty good.
But don´t take just my word for it... Check it out!! (Reading Rainbow maybe?)

 --Hermana Baer

With Hermana Saunders at the Mission home in Concepción

District Conference

Take anything you want! Spare me my life!*

*References this Japanese video teaching English through exercise.

 
Subject because this week while we were contacting in the street, we were approached by a woman. She staggered up to us and in "English" asked us what time it was, who we were, and where we were from. I was halfway through a granola bar at the time of her approach, and in the middle of our "conversation" she looked down at my snack, and staggared forward with her hand outstretched and said, 'La mitad" or translated to something like "gimme the half." I was a little surprised and didn't really know what to do.... so I was like :])) Awkward double chin and I gave it to her. She ate the whole thing. We told her to have a nice day as we backed away slowly.... I was robbed of me dinner. Ah well. It was actually really funny.

I'm grateful that this is as close to danger as the Lord has let us come here in Curanilahue.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support.
Slowly, but surely the work here is pressing forward, and progress is being made. Like, this week, I told a joke and somebody got it. Hurray for miracles. :)

But really, we are meeting people who are being prepared by the Lord. One sweet old woman in particular comes to mind. We were contacting (or maybe just regular type lost) in a street yesterday, when we felt impressed to talk to this little Abuelita. We greeted her, and she asked if we were on our way to an appointment or if we could come to her house and visit with her! So we did. At her home, she told us she had been taking the discussions from some other missionaries and attending church, but they had stopped coming, and she could no longer walk the distance to church, and was there someone who could help her attend? She also said she wanted to be baptized. (!!!) Miracles I guess.

Now for the other highlight of the week.
Yesterday, we contacted a house, and to our surprise we were invited in by the woman. We spoke with her, her husband and his mother, who are all supes Evangelical. They were surprised to learn that we believe in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. We talked more about religion and families, and, turns out, the Evangelics don't believe in Eternal Families - very sad, lonely doctrine if you ask me. Anyways, at the end of the discussion, we asked if we could come back and talk more. They were very hesitant, until Hermana Bazaes asked about when they attend their service. I'm not really sure what happened, but turns out I guess we're going to their Church with them next Sunday night and now we have more appointments with them. So.... There is also that.

Yah.

Ah, in case you were wondering, we have lunch with members Everyday. The menu (usually) follows this format:
1. a salad and maybe some soup depending on the weather with some juice
2. A main course, almost always with potatoes and rice and assorted meats.
3. a dessert - usually flan or jello or a little bit of cake.

Overall the food is super great. It's very fresh and really not that strange......... so far.

Thanks for everyone's support, prayers, and faith.
We'll see you all real soon! :)
-Hermana Baer

here is a photo of Curanilahue. This is one of the many big hills here. I'm working on more...

You're die :)

Subject is what Hna Bazaes always says to me when I speak in English like a Native kind of like: chu know it, wjhat I say?

WOOT 2 months down, only 16 to go.

Hey. This week guess what we did? Ya. We contacted a ful. All day ereday.

We're working with our investigator, Juan, but it´s rough I tells ya. Everyone knows that he´s taking the lessons for his polola, (girlfriend) who is super amazing and super strong in her testimony of the Gospel, and we don't know really how to help him understand the importance of keeping commitments and having his own desire to actively participate in the Gospel. But that's the agency, I suppose. We have faith that we will find people who are ready and waiting to receive the good news of the Gospel.

Highlight from the week. When I was feeling discouraged becuse we didn't have anyone to teach, I prayed that we might have the opportunity to find someone who needed our help, someone we could serve and maybe share with. That same day, we came across Emma, a super sweet Abuelita who we offered to help with some household chores. She was really glad to let us help her and also, I think, have someone to talk to about her family, which is really struggling. We shared with her 3 Nephi 17:7 about Christ healing people, and especially healing our hearts, and offered to come by and talk and help another day. She wasn't too sure, and I'm not sure we'll see her again, but I really needed that opportunity to serve and feel like we were at least helping someone. Yeah so turns out, I guess prayers are answered or whatever. God lives, peeps.

Hey, quick question for y'all. I was thinking about Jesus Christ as the Perfect Missionary, and wondered, why didn't Christ ever Baptise anyone? I think it's because it was the responsiblity of John the Baptist, but also, I think that Christ was the perfect example of selfless service. Numbers during missionary work are important, but more important is the desire of the missionaries to serve and invite people through their words and example. But what do you think?

Until Next time.

Photos? Maybe...

Chile from the Air

The View of Curanilahue from my window

yah, I'll try to take a photo of Curanilahue, but we will see what happens... it's a wee bit peligroso to carry a camera if ya know what i mean.

I'm gonna need a sign that you're understanding me

I've got the swirly eyes from Fantastic Mr. Fox here, and I make the arm signal.

Hey. Things are really different here. Like. Woah. Also. I don't understand anything. woohoo!

Because this area is huge and there is only one sort of investigator, we spend most of the day contacting on the street. Curanilahue is a MASSIVE little town. It's very densely populated and surrounded by little mountain forests. The people here don't have much, so I'm very humbled by how generous the members here are.

Here are some highlights from this week:

1. One time we were mistaken for beggars. A very sweet and confused old lady tried to give us some money. Of course we declined, and instead offered to give her the message of the gospel.

2. I dunno about the Evangelicals where you live, but here they are on the prowl for Mormons to fight with. They do love their Bible. Most of the population here is Evangelic. It's a real treat for us.

3. We had intercambios or splits for greenies like me, and I worked with H. Rocha the Brazilian. She's super fabulous and I really love to spend time with her and learned an awful lot in the brief 3 hours we had together.

4. Hey more contacting. We love knockin' doors.

5. Return and report with all the new missionaries in the mission office. I got to see Hermana Ellis and it was really nice to see a familiar face. I hope she's doing well because she deserves it!

Uhkay.. Sorry there are no pics again.... I make a promise to send photos next week.

Mom: Evangelicals? I pictured mostly Catholics. Not so much Cattolica? What do you do on P-days? Can you share just a little more about your apartment, your food, and stuff.  

Noelle: We live right across from the Bombadores like the fire department and they have the most wonderful siren they love to use at random hours of the day and night. Imagine the blitz sirens for bomb raids. Right outside our window. We are grateful for their service at all hours.
I have only met one Catholic to date. Everyone else is evangelical. REALLY EVANGELICAL. 
P'days we write and buy what we need for the week then.... H. Bazaes sleeps then we contact. I don't know what other people do, but I'm sure there will be a day when we can do something fun.
We really have to run. I miss y’all tons.

Curanilahue

Natural pool of Curanilahue

Fake it till ya break it

¡Hola Todo!

We are safe and arrived in Chile last Tuesday.
 I{m so sorry for all the mistakes I{m gonna make, but this keyboard is more foreign to me than the moon. Sorry again. Imma do my most best.

Hey, guess what? It's a bit chilly in Chile. Whoda thunk... It's just now spring here, so it rains a lot and hasn't yet been above 60 F. :) But no worries. It could be worse. I've heard it's snowing in Utah. 

OKAY SO...we left the CCM Monday at 4:30 PM, took an all-night flight to Santiago, then from there flew an hour to Concepción. We were greeted by several missionaries and the president. We then traveled to the mission home - which is basically an enormous and beautiful hotel close to the temple. We had lunch, and wrote home - as you probably know - then traveled to the mission office to receive areas and companions.

Chile looks like a mashup of many different places - it's got the planning/structure of a South American country, superimposed over the coastline of the American northwest, with the slightest flavor of European in the buildings, you have imagined Chile.

The Language is....... not really Spanish. In Mexico I could understand or at least follow reasonably well, but here it's altogether different. THIS IS NOT THE LANGUAGE I LEARNED IN THE MTC. But it's okay. I'm guessing it's like the American equivalent of a strong Boston or Deep Southern accent - which would be confusing to learn. And it is. It kinda sounds Italian to me, but hey, who knows. Check it out.

ANYWHOO....we got to the mission office and got new comps and areas. Herman Ellis and I said goodbye, then we all rushed to catch our buses. Right now I'm working with Hna Bazaes, H, Chavez, y H Rocha (of Bolivia and Brazil, respectively) in the Area of CURANILAHUE (Coor an ill law way :) This area is HUGE. Also, It's a white wash, so we all kind of get a new beginning here. We spend most of the day contacting because...... there aren't any new investigators. Good news! There are a buttload of menos activos. Bad news: no one knows where they live. :) What a treat. We are really getting to know the area.

Hna Bazaes is la Mejor - the best! She's from Santiago, and so is teaching me how to speak like a native. And she even speaks a little English! Yay! She'll probably be studying Law at BYU in about 6 months, so, watch for that.

Conference was great. I even got my own private viewing in English - all the rest of the RAMA /branch sat in the chapel and I sat in the Overflow with my own TV and headphones and waved at everyone else. So fun. What an experience.

Even though I never really know what's going on or what anyone is saying, I'm glad to know that I don't need to worry too much because I am exactly where I need to be. Anyone who is serving or working for the Lord can also be comfortably clueless. No worries.

OKAY I GOT NO TIME AND I CAN'T WRITE WELL ON THIS

Ciao!

Photos: I dunno the order but here:
- CHILE from the air
- View from our window
- Temple??
[Mom's note: we only got the temple photo in her email. Hope to receive and add the others soon.]