Arriving in the Mission Field

 

Hermana Barreiros, Elder Goode, Elder Chuquel and President Barreiros

 

Elder Goode will be serving in Ochagavia Stake, which is within the city of Santiago in an area called Pedro Aguirre Cerda.  The stake has six wards and two branches.  Ochagavia Stake was created on November 19, 1995 and is one of the earliest stakes created in Chile.

 

The Wards in the Ochagavía Stake are:Ochagavía

El Llano
Clara Estrella
Dávila
Diagonal
Villa Sur
Branch Buena Ventura
Branch Lo Espejo

 

 

Braxton's letter.  It was nice to get a handwritten letter from him. 
All is well when they feed Braxton lasagna, his favorite food. 

 

 

 

X CINCO DE ABRIL Home of the famous “Estación Central” train and bus station. Cinco hosts one of the largest stakes in the mission, with an average of 700-800 in weekly attendance. Missionaries enjoy urban scenery of nice homes, parks and plazas, and the above-ground subway trains. The Wards in the Cinco De Abril Stake are: Rivas Vicuna Lo Errazuriz Amengual La Farfana Pajaritos El Rosal

X CERRILLOS As you may have noted by its name, this zone is the home to many small hills to condition a great missionary’s legs. Also home to a great Airplane museum, and one of the longest Ferias in town. (Read more about Ferias Here) The Wards in the Cerrillos Stake are: Primo de Rivera Los Libertadores Cerrillos Mirador Americo Vespucio

X MAIPÚ The Plaza of Maipú. Every 6 weeks, all missionaries come to the Plaza to where the Mission Office is located. Maipú is also home to the Famous “Temple of Maipú”, a great and spacious cathlioc temple where many members gather. There is always a high energy hustle and bustle with the buses and taxis everywhere; and that energy flows right into our changes meetings, where we go wherever the Lord may call us to go. The Wards in the Maipú Stake are: Monumento El Abrazo Ciudad Satelite Maipú Esquina Blanca

X OLIMPO Neighboring the countryside, Olimpo has a peaceful atmosphere, with very few buildings, lots of dogs, and the large park that runs along the street 3 Poniente. The people are kind, the almacens are open, and everyone is always ready to receive you for a delicious once. The Wards in the Olimpo Stake are: Nueva San Martin El Conquistador Cuatro Poniente Las Naciones Los Heroes Rinconada

X PEÑAFLOR The dividing line between the city and the “Campo”. Peñaflor has rural neighborhoods, and makes the smooth transition to the vast countryside. There are many that move to Peñaflor for its country feel, while maintaining the closeness to the city. The church in Peñaflor is progressing little by little, and missionaries are a very important part to its progress. The Wards in the Peñaflor Stake are: El Manzano Villa la Foresta Peñaflor Malloco El Sauce

X TALAGANTE The only district in the mission, which consists of the zones Melipilla and Talagante together. All in this district are working hard to raise attendance and faithfulness, so that they can soon become a stake. It will be Chile’s first new stake in over 10 years. Talagante is known for their immense grape vineyards and wine factories, its beautiful countryside towns, and loving people. The locals oftentimes entertain lively conversations with their superstitious witch stories and life experiences (all in good humor). The Branches in the Talagante District are: Talgante 1 Talgante 2 El Monte La Islita Isla de Maipo

X MELIPILLA The largest zone in the mission, with the giant countryside and rolling hills. The colossal pig and chicken farms provide jobs for countless country people, and food exported to all parts of the world. Old town Melipilla and Pomaire are home to bustling artisan shops where dark clay pottery is born to bring a traditional feel to any home. People here that demonstrate their love for you by giving you lots of food. Missionaries here will never go hungry. The Branches in the Melipilla Zone are: Melipilla 1 Melipilla 2 Bollenar

X SAN ANTONIO The coast! Dwelling place to vacation homes of Chileans all throughout the country. “Cartagena”, “El Quisco”, “El Tavo”, “Las Rocas de Santo Domingo”, and the “San Antonio Port”, are a few of the most well known places and attractions. The coast is full of “Marineros” or the Naval officers, big boats, and sea lions. Those who founded the coast towns built their homes on the steep hills that border the beach sands. Life in the coast is much different than that of Santiago (the city). It is much more relaxed and laid back lifestyle, where people go to release the stress produced by the busy urban atmosphere. The Wards in the San Antonio Stake are: Barrancas Llo-Lleo 1 Llo-Lleo 2 San Antonio Cartagena El Quisco

X LA CIUDAD “The City”. See the map above to learn more about the City Zones in the Santiago West Mission. The Zones Included in the City are: República Ochagavía Cinco de Abril Cerrillos Maipú Olimpo

 



Week 5 - I'm a District Leader

Hey so this week has been really hard.... Two nights ago my District Leader told our District that he was going home to sort out some issues... It was really hard on all of us because he is so close to each of us... I spent a lot of time crying because he is so amazing and has been an example for me in so many ways. After he left President Doll called me out and asked me to be the District Leader for the last week in the CCM. It is going to be interesting and I didn't expect it to happen. They moved one of the other Elders into our District and had him be companion's with Elder Bevan since there would have been 2 companionships that would have 3 each so now there are 3 companionships with 2 each. It's hard adjusting and I know that Elder C will work hard and be back out here soon. He is amazing and will be back as soon as he can be. I am really overwhelmed lately by everything and seeing him go was really difficult. 

We haven't gone out to teach in the field yet that is for Wednesday and Friday. I can't tell you about it because I haven't had the opportunity yet and I'm excited for it. Elder Mertz is now part of my District so it should be good overall. There has been a lot of chaos and sickness lately. Many people are sick and I'm feeling under the weather again, but I'm doing just fine. I know that as I don't complain and go out and serve regardless of how awful I feel that the Lord will work through me and bless the people. I have learned a lot this week and Spanish is coming along great. Meetings on Sunday in Spanish weren't as bad as I expected. I can usually hear what people say and understand the meaning. I have gotten really good at reading Spanish and being able to pronounce it perfectly when I see it. I also have gotten a lot better at converting Spanish I read back into English.  

Things are good and I have a lot going this week and I wish I could email next week. It will probably be like the first day where I get to send one email saying that I made it out to the field. I will update you on as much as I can when I am out the first week. That next Preparation Day I will share everything that I can. Love you!

 

 

Here are 2 photos one of the missionaries leaving next Tuesday and the other of the missionaries living at Alcantara. The missionary couple on the front right of the picture with fewer missionaries is Elder and Hermana Gilbert. There live at Alcantara and take care of us. They are our 2nd set of parents. Their mission ends in 1 week. They go home the day that we go out into the field. I am so grateful for them and they have taken great care of us. They live in Washington state and they do so much. I figured I would share those experiences.

So here in the CCM I haven't found very much that I have needed so far. There have been a couple little things, but nothing that cost that much overall. I am considering buying a Scripture Case this week and they are 10 mil which is $20 so I am probably just going to get a case for my Book of Mormon. I haven't found any nice Spanish Scriptures that I want. They don't have any hard back and I can't find any Spanish Book of Mormon's that have tabs. I could get a Bible that has tabs but they don't sell them in Quads at all here. The nicer Spanish Book of Mormon is around $16-20 USD. I don't know what I honestly want. The scriptures that I have currently were. I don't really need much more but I am trying to find cases that will help me remember Chile and other things out here. It's really hard to find things though and 2 hours each week has made it really hard overall.

 

I can't wait to be out serving, but I'm going to miss all of my District and the other missionaries that came out with us. There are a lot of people I have gotten really close with. The work will be amazing and I'm not too worried overall. It's just a hard adjustment to speaking solely in Spanish all the time, like I'm going to have to do out in the field. I won't be able to fall back on English whenever I want. I don't know what will happen and for me that is normally a stressor, but I am leaving it up to the Lord and I know it will be just fine. Thanks for all that you do for me. Enjoy camping! I love you and let everyone know that I miss them. Love you!

 

El Autobús!

Hermana Tolk's mother posted this photo on Facebook.  I was so happy to see Braxton's smiling face in the group.  Front row is Hermana Tolk, Hermana McQuinn and Hermana Kirkpatrick.  Braxton's companion, Elder Harrah, is to the right of him.  Behind them is Elder Bevan and Elder Christensen.  I don't know the rest of the Elders and Hermanas.  This is the bus that they ride on each day to go the ten minutes from Al Contara to the CCM and back.

One of the other missionaries said that they just got 40 more new missionaries at the CCM.  A few live at Al Contara and the rest live at the CCM living quarters.  The next two weeks will be a change for Braxton's district.  They will be out in the city  more doing contacting and working with the full time missionaries teaching lessons to real investigators.  It should be a nice change from the structured 12 hour school setting they have been in at the CCM.   

Don't worry too much about me.

This week's entry has several email threads running through it.  I tried to put them together and included some of my comments to help Elder Goode's comments make sense.  My comments are in red.

 

Elder Gilbert gave me some forms and they printed them off for me but I haven't been able to tell what is left. I don't know which ones for certain I still need. I know that you can check online and let me know about what I still have. I have the temple next week and I don't really have a way to print off the names.... It may be best to just email them to Elder Gilbert and then I can ask him about them and see if he can print out more. The first two trips I was able to get 9 done each time and I have gotten 15 male names done and 3 female names but I don't know much more. This week is going great. Sorry my email time was later this week.  More missionaries means the times get mixed up. I will be on until 3 your time. 

Hi Bud,

I am here!  It has been an interesting day, waiting to hear from you.  We waited all morning and then went fishing for a while, but I forgot my license.  It was in the back pocket of the jeans I wore yesterday, so we came back to get it.  I am sure glad!  I am grateful that Dad listened to his heart. 

Most of the names on your account are done.  If you had two forms last week and they printed all the names off, then just do the ones you have left.  There should be 19 males and 20 females from my set.  Just do them if you can.   

Don’t do the rest of the cards you took with you to Chile.  Those were on the heavy cardstock paper.  Do the new cards that were printed last week.  They will have only endowments ready to do, with no sealings.  There is one with your name on it for Christopher Brown and the rest should have my name on them. 

Have you received anything in the mail or from the pouch? 

Love,

Mom

The temple was great I have enjoyed it and it is fairly small. The whole temple is on 1 floor.

I did find my notebooks and I bought 4 last Tuesday after emailing. Today we had shopping first and I went with my companion and he found a jacket for the field that he could wear during exercise.

My Spanish is coming along well. I don't know nearly enough though.  Mostly I have been learning a lot of words that relate to teaching my investigators. We are trying to speak entirely in Spanish, but we don't always have the words so it is difficult. I enjoy teaching our investigators.  The time that we are teaching goes by so fast. 15-30 minutes goes by so fast and feels like 5 minutes. I enjoy teaching. This week we taught 15 lessons and 1 of them was for Priesthood for all of the Elders still speaking English. After 4 weeks, we go to Spanish speaking for the meetings. My companion and I were the only Elders who have taught Priesthood since I got here. Otherwise it has just been Elder Gilbert teaching all of them.

I have forgotten to tell you, but I have performed 2 musical numbers with groups here. We performed “Nearer My God to Thee” and we performed “Come Unto Christ” where different Elders and Hermanas sang solos and everyone had a solo part and then we sang the chorus together. It was really good. We did these for Family Home Evening for Weeks 2 and 3. One of the Hermanas in my District is a really good singer. Her name is Mckenzie Tolk. She actually has a CD that is being sold at Deseret Book and her dad is David Tolk and he has CDs that are out as well. You should look them both up. I thought you might be interested in that.

Things have been crazy, but good overall. Things are great but I feel so lost with the roads and everything. The field is going to be really confusing for me. Santiago is massive and reminds most all of us of a European Salt Lake City. There are so many different types of architecture and cobblestone roads at parts. It is very different. I don't like how it smells like smog and smoke so much, but that's normal for me.

The days are crazy and having 28 people currently living at Al Contara since a few just left for the field and having 10 more moving in tomorrow. It is getting crazy. The CCM is getting so full. There were only 26 people when we started and they all lived at Al Contara. It is crazy.

Have you Google Earthed the CCM and the temple yet? Also you should try to find Al Contara. I don't know exact addresses for either so I can't help you much, but it is really interesting.

It isn't too horribly cold, but it is great here. I love the people I just wish it were easier to speak to them. They are intimidating when you have a hard time speaking Spanish. The last two weeks will fly by. These two weeks we go on splits with missionaries and contact and do stuff out in the field. I have to say that teaching practice lessons for investigators with Law of Chastity problems is intimidating especially when they want to get baptised and their girlfriend wants to move in and isn't interested in the church. That was a really hard lesson but things are going well. Teaching in Spanish isn't impossible I just have to listen really well to the people to understand everything and they don't always speak clearly and it is all slurred together which is difficult to understand. Overall it's good. Even the Latinos say that they can barely understand Chileanos which is comforting.

Wow!  I am impressed that you are doing so well.  I am happy that you are using your musical talents.  Keep it up.  Use every opportunity you can to sing.  David Archuletta used it a lot to get into the people’s homes.  If they weren’t interested in listening to the message, he would ask if they could sing a hymn for them and usually after they sang it, they people would then invite them in and listen to their message.  I am glad you were able to sing a solo, also.  That is awesome that you also got to teach a Priesthood Lesson.  So cool!

I have heard several times that Santiago is a lot like Salt Lake City in weather and in the way it feels.  However, President Brigham Young was inspired to lay it out with square blocks and numbered streets.  You will just have to learn each sector as you are assigned to it.  I am sure they will have maps for you to use with everything laid out and marked well. 

Make sure to get names, addresses, and phone numbers of everyone at the CCM so you can contact them all after your mission.  Hermana Tolk’s mother joined the Santiago Oeste group on Facebook, so I had already learned about her musical abilities and her dad’s music.  I listened to a bunch of his music last week when we were in Heber and I was on the computer at night.  I will have to purchase some of his CDs.  He is a pianist and it is really good music.  You would love it.   

These last two weeks will be awesome as you are out in the field more and getting experiences with real people and real problems.  Trust in the Lord and you will be able to have the words you need to teach them.  You were promised the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues.  The language will come.  Pray for help and then trust what comes into your mind.  Enjoy these last two weeks.  It is going to change and get harder once you are in the field, but it won’t be boring anymore. 

I love you so very much.  It is so very good to hear from you.

Love,

Mom

Usually when I hear people talking in Spanish I don't know all the words they are saying but usually I can listen and tell others who are confused about it generally what they just said. Usually I don't even understand how I did it. Things are great but I'm out of time. I love you and want things to go well. Keep me updated on all your fun adventures and I don't know if I will be able to keep up with everyone. There are a lot of people here in the CCM. I am trying to get all the names for the missionaries in my group going to The Oeste mission. Things are crazy, but good and there are a lot of awesome people here. There is an Hermana living in the CCM housing that is from Hooper so we talked for a while about home. That was really cool. Love you

Make sure you are thanking Heavenly Father for that wonderful gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues.  It will be such a help to you in the mission.  It works through the power of the Holy Ghost, so keep yourself worthy to have his companionship and you will continue to be blessed with these gifts.  I am grateful that you are receiving daily help from heaven.

 

XOXOXOX

Mom

Thanks and I love you have an amazing week. Talk to you next week. I haven't sent letters home yet, so I will have to email Curtis next week about his birthday. Thanks for everything. I am really enjoying having it all here. I haven't really needed anything. I did buy a Spanish hymn book so that will help, but I haven't found much else. I didn't like the nicer sets of Spanish Scriptures, so I have basic ones.

Oh by the way there was an Earthquake on Saturday and I had just fallen asleep and my companion woke me up to make sure he wasn't going crazy. I missed it though. It was apparently like a 5 on the Richter scale. Don't worry I will be just fine see you next week! Bye.

I got an email alert about the earthquake.  It was near where the last one was and a little less in strength, so I wasn’t worried about you.  I know you are busy which makes it hard to get letters written home. 

I will do all that I can. Thanks for everything and I am still having a hard time getting all of my stuff organized and repacking will likely be a nightmare, but I'm sure that I will get the hang of it. I have found most of my stuff, but organizing will be interesting. They told us to pick out certain things and then all of our suitcases went into storage, but we still have access to all of them if we need. I found the picture cubes but haven't pulled them out. Is there anything inside them? Also I found the other pictures behind in the photo book. Thanks for those I didn't know about them until this week, so it was good to find them. Love you.

There is nothing inside the cubes.  Just wonderful voices from home.  I am glad to know you will get the other bags back so you can pack up all of your stuff.  I was worried about how you would fit it all back into one small case.  I will send more photos later, but I wanted you to have some from home.  I hope they don’t make you homesick, but bring peace and love your way.

I keep the picture book by my bed and it helps me a lot to have pictures. Thanks so much bye. 

So concerning the CCM lately. There are more missionaries in the CCM now and I wasn't emailing in the morning because of that. So the latest I could possibly email is at 2 to 3 for you. It will be any time between 8 and 11 and between 12 and 3 for email starting typically at 8, 10, 12, or 2. I don't know if the day will change. It shouldn't though. I have one more email day here in the CCM. In 2 weeks I won't get to email because that is the day that I go into the field and I need to get organized and everything so there won't be any emails that week. Sorry, but I figured I would let you know. I am glad that you are having fun and enjoying your summer. Keep having fun and the time will go by so quickly. I can't believe how long it has been, but it will just keep going quickly. Don't worry too much about me. I will be just fine. Love you and keep me posted on everything at home. Sorry I don't have any new pictures for this week. If I manage to take a few I will send them to you through the camera. Love you and see you next week.

Love, Braxton

Thanks Braxton.  I will look forward to a photo or two.  Please take one of your beautiful, smiling face and send it to me.  I know things get messed up down there with p-days and the constant changing.  I also knew I would probably miss a week of email when you get moved from the CCM to the mission.  You could still try to send a photo or two and a quick message. 

Have a super awesome day.  I love you so much.

Mom

 

Today's Missionary Miracle

You need to learn what a short email is... It shouldn't take more than 3 minutes for me to read it.... Oh well, I'm glad that things are going well at home and I hope that you have a great time. Things are going really well for me and I have found that I am really getting better with my Spanish and memorizing things is getting a lot easier. I can recite several different scriptures that I need and they can be recited almost as fast as some of the Chileans can speak. Things are great and I'm glad that you had a great time fishing. I have a lot of emails to respond to so I will do my best. Currently I have around 15 to get through and only 45 more minutes.

Emails and Notes from Mom: in purple today

Hey!  I just read my email and I did it in 3 ½ minutes.  I thought I did wonderful this week condensing it down to the important facts.  You know I like to write.  Please answer my questions.

 Are you feeling better?  How is your cold?  ¿Es usted feliz y saludable?

What is your favorite food?  Have you tried La Ensalada Chilena?  Have you had Los Completos yet? 

 Have you gotten any letters yet?

 Did you do anything special on the 4^th of July? 

Another picture of my District then all the 32 missionaries at Al Contara and then the house we are staying in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Elder Mathewson who is in the group who has been at Al Contara for nearly 5 weeks now sketched this picture of the house. He is from Canada and is a really good artist. Here is the photo so you can share.

 

I have a hard time knowing what all of the foods here are called. I haven't had a Completo yet. I am doing fairly well. I have a lingering cough from my cold and I had a rash last week on my hand that is nearly gone now. Don't stress over those things I'm perfectly fine. Mostly it has been my body reacting to the change to the cold and my dry skin. We didn't do anything special for the 4th and I haven't gotten any letters from home yet. I don't know if I've had Ensalada Chilena yet. I probably have seen it, but haven't tried it. I've tried most of the food. We get a lot of rice, pasta, chicken, meats, different sauces for the foods, but everything generally tastes good to me. Even the white rice tastes better than what I had at home. I don't like most of the drinks they are too sweet for my liking. I like the water and they do a lot of bottled water so I refill mine very often. Things are going really well and I am doing just fine.

 

Note: One of the Elders in the Chile Santiago West Mission started a blog for the mission.  I got a link to it this week.  It is sweet.  Check out the section called Life in Chile and you can see some of the food that Braxton will be eating.  We know he is going to just LOVE that LA ENSALADA CHILENA.  Braxton does not like raw tomatoes. 

http://misionoeste.blogspot.com/

Today when I go shopping I want to go buy at least 2 more notebooks. I am writing so much lately and I want to have some extra notebooks for out in the field. There is a Leders 2 blocks from the CCM and a mall on Providencia that we can walk to in 10 to 15 minutes which has several stores. The money conversion from pesos to dollars the last time I checked was 545 pesos to 1 USD. So 1 mil is approximately $1.80. A mil is a 1000 peso. Things here on average cost around the same as home. Notebooks are 2 mil so about $4. Things feel like they cost a little more though. I haven't spent much and I haven't needed to yet. I am doing well and I just don't really know what I need yet for everything. It's hard finding time to go through all of my stuff and seeing what I really need to pick up.

Thanks for the photos this week and last week.  It was a fun surprise to get some a few hours after you got off the email last week.  I hope to see some more of those this week. 

Buy some cough drops or cough syrup if you need to and buy whatever notebooks you need.  You can use money from your Checking Card if you need to.  Just get what you need. 

 Are you stressing much or have you started to relax a little?

 In the photos, it looks like some are wearing coats and sweaters, some short sleeves, some long sleeves.  Is it very cold?  Are you wearing your coat and sweaters much? 

I think I've seen the salad but I haven't tried it. I'm pretty good it feels about as cold as when Utah is in March. It isn't too bad but I have been trying to stay warm and it isn't too bad.

Try to keep everyone updated with the pictures. I don't know if all of my friends get to see them. I know that Shara told me you showed her a few. I send the pictures to you each week and just hope that you let everyone see them all. I'm trying to give you all that I can in my email time. It's hard to keep writing as much and often I don't always know what to share from my week. It's really starting to blur together and it is getting hard.

Did you by chance get an email from President Doll? He was trying to get you to email the temple names to him for me. I could use Male names for Endowments and the Hemanas in my District would love to help with temple work too. I don't know what happened on everything but I haven't received any letters or temple names so I don't know what you want me to do. I'm almost out of time and I hope that you're able to figure it out.

I sent the temple cards to you in the mail.  They are in two letters coming through the USPS.  I sent some men and some women names.  I hope they arrive this week.  I have not heard from President Doll.  I can print out a temple ordinance request form and email it to you and President Doll and then when you go to the temple, you could go and have the cards re-printed there.  I will try to do that.  Do you have President Doll’s email address?  When do you think you will go to the temple again?

President Doll emailed you. He was wondering about it and no I don't have his email. We go to the Temple at 2 pm today. I don't know what to do about it. I gave him your email and he emailed you for me. It should have come in last week. I've got to go. I hope that you can find out for me. Bye.

Note from Mom:  I sent these two emails as soon as I could, but it was too late for Braxton to get them today.

Here are the two temple request papers.  Print them off and then when you go to the temple you can have cards printed.  Try to do the cards on your sheet first.  That is the Temple Cards2 document. 

Have an awesome day and week!  I love you so much.

Mom

Braxton, I also sent the forms to Brother Gilbert.  I had his email address from the photos he sent to you.  I hope that he will get them to you or President Doll.  I am hoping and praying you get them in time. 

Love,

Mom

Note from Mom: 

A year ago, Braxton and I prepared some names for the temple.  Braxton was supposed to find some names that he could do baptisms for when they went to Youth Conference.  Because of a conflict with his school Choir group, he was not able to go to Youth Conference.  Since then, I have worked more on the surrounding relatives of the first group Braxton found.  We had about 60 people who needed baptisms.  The week after Braxton went to the temple for his own endowment, we went back to the Logan Temple and he and his cousin Braiden were able to perform the baptisms and confirmations with Braiden’s brothers, Ryan, Britton and Mason and another cousin Makayla.  Braxton baptized and confirmed Makayla for all of the females and Braiden baptized and confirmed his brothers for all of the males.  It was an awesome spiritual experience, and one of the best days I can ever remember.  After the baptisms we went and got lunch, then Braxton, Craig and I went back to the temple and did initiatory work for some of these people.

 

Another day we went to the Salt Lake Temple and did an endowment session.  Then Braxton took some of the temple name cards with him to the Chile CCM.  He and his district were able to do nine of the endowments the first time they went to the temple.  I sent him some more cards in the mail, but he has not received them yet.  After Braxton got off the email, I thought for a bit and realized that the photos he had sent to me had Elder Gilbert’s email address.  Elder and Sister Gilbert stay with the missionaries at Al Contara house.  So I took a chance and emailed Elder Gilbert explaining the situation in one email and then sent him the attachments in a second email.  I kept hoping and praying that he would check his email today before they went to the temple.  He did and I am grateful for another missionary miracle.  The Lord is always mindful of us, but especially his faithful missionaries.    

I got this email back from Elder Gilbert about an hour after Braxton ended his email session.

Sister Goode,

I received your email and printed off the information and will take it with me to the temple when we go in a few minutes. We will be with your son in the temple today and this should be a wonderful experience to do some of this work today in the Santiago Chile temple!

Thank you for sending a well prepared son to the mission field. He is going to make a great missionary.                      

Sincerely,
Elder Gilbert​

Final Note:  I checked on Family Search tonight and Braxton and his district were able to complete 10 more endowments today.  Sweet!

I Know That I'll Be Just Fine!

This is my companion and I. 
Elder Harrah and Elder Goode

This is my District.
Back Row:  Elder Bevan, Elder Christensen, Elder Goode, Elder Harrah
Front Row:  Hermana McQuinn, Hermana Kirkpatrick, Hermana Tolk

Sorry that I have to send pictures separate. I can't exceed 15 MB of data per message so I can usually send one or 2 pictures at a time.

I thought that I had told you about my companion and District already. My companion is Elder Harrah from Blackfoot, Idaho. He is a convert to the Church and has been going for 3 and a half years. My District is Elder Christensen who is our District Leader and Elder Bevan. Sisters McQuinn, Tolk, and Kirkpatrick are also in our District and then Elder Harrah and I.

I told you about my companion in one of my letters already. We get along well. We are the only two missionaries in our room currently. There are 2 bunk beds but our room is the smallest one in the house. I don't know if they are going to add another companionship to our room but they could potentially tomorrow. We will most likely email on Tuesdays during the MTC and the times will range from starting at 8 am to starting at 10 am for you. Which is anywhere from 10 to 12 for me. Don't worry too much about it. Usually my Companion falls asleep before I do and he hasn't complained about me snoring yet. He feels more like a brother to me and we don't have problems really. There are times when we both get a little irritated, but we have figured out how to work with each other well. I'm glad that I have the companion that I do and the District that I'm in. Things are really going great. 

 

The temple was really nice they have headphones for English for those who aren't ready to do it in Spanish. All of the Elders going to The Oeste (West) mission did names for me at the temple that's why there were 9 names done. There are 2 districts going to Oeste and there are 14 of us total. There are 9 elders and 5 sisters (Hermanas).

 

The CCM 

Centro de Capacitación Misional

 

 This fountain is between the Chile Santiago Temple and the CCM.

Things are going really well. My companion and I taught 9 lessons this week in Spanish and by the 2nd or 3rd day they had us teaching lessons entirely in Spanish. Now we are working on our presentation of lessons and making sure that we do certain things as we teach. It's a lot of work but I have found that I enjoy it, but I stress too much because I don't always feel ready for each lesson. I'm working on being prepared and memorizing phrases that I want to use, but it isn't always easy for me and I write down a lot of what I want to say. I need to work on being less dependent on my materials and knowing the words from memory that I want to share. I've memorized the missionary purpose and the 1st vision in Spanish so things are coming along. It's different and I've been trying to eat less but I end up eating a lot regardless. There's a lot of good food and if I don't eat enough I feel like I'm starving before the next meal.  

Thanks for all that you do and I will try to keep you updated on everything. It's really hard to talk to Chilean people though they talk faster than anyone I've ever heard. Even the Latino elders and hermanas tell us that they have a hard time understanding what Chilean people are saying and they know Spanish. The people are awesome though and try to slow down and help you if you don't understand what they're saying. I'm picking up more and more but there's a long way to go, but I know that I'll be just fine. 

Sorry that I'm out of time. I have had a great time so far and things are going well. I don't know where I need to take mail to be sent here at the CCM. I haven't written any letters yet because I'm always so busy and I don't know where I need to take them. I'm trying to figure out where things need to go for all of those things and where things are in the area. Thanks so much for everything and I love you. The time goes really fast but I get around to all of the emails that get sent to me and I usually can write a little extra here and there.

 

Elder Gilbert and Hermana Gilbert who are over Al Contara (the house where he lives) send us pictures that they take of us and those are where some of the pictures I have forwarded come from. They do a lot for us and make things easier. I'll try to take some pictures today that I can send to you next week. I can only take pictures when it is Preparation Day so I will get some today and send them next week. Thanks for all that you do. I love you.  

I'm doing all that I can to counteract everything that I can and I'm getting along with everyone and I have had a cold for the past couple weeks because of the immediate climate change but I'm perfectly fine. Allergies aren't too bad and I'm taking all of my pills and using my inhalers before we exercise in the mornings. Things are great just constantly rushed and it is like a very jam packed day of school with exams that matter a whole lot more. Even in practice I feel love for the people and want to give them what I can and make their lives better. It's hard to do everything right all of the time but I'm doing everything I can. Talk to you next week. Love you!

 

Note from Mom:

It was so good to hear from Braxton today and to get the few details about his health.  That has been one of my biggest worries with sending him on a mission.  We sent stuff with him for colds, but I don't know if he kept his first aid stuff at the CCM or sent it on to the mission with his two large suitcases.  I was up getting ready this morning for Cub Scouts, but didn't expect him to email that early so I didn't get to ask him all the questions in time to get an answer back.  I just have to trust that he will figure things out on his own.  It is tough to know he is stressing and worrying, but I know that through his struggles he will see growth.  Please pray for him!  Thanks for all the prayers we know have been said on his behalf.  We are grateful.