Happy New Year

Thanks for everything I hope that everything is going well and that you are enjoying everything.

We work a lot with the parks and everything that is around. We are working really hard and no we can´t do splits with the priests. We can only with Elders and there are a lot of opportunities. I´m not too worried I am just working hard to help the people and keep doing my best each day. Thanks for all that you do and always writing to me. I really appreciate all that you do and that you are always looking out for me in every little thing. It means a lot to me.

Okay. I will find souveniers don´t worry too much about that. More than anything I am looking for things that I want and that will last and be good for a long time. I am doing just fine and everything is going well. I haven´t taken money out yet because everything here would charge extra fees. I don´t know where I need to take out money to not get charged and I can´t remember where it was and I have not really been worried about that.

Okay.  It is not a problem.  Just look at the little icons on your Checking card and try to find a teller machine that has the same icons on as the card.  Then it shouldn’t charge a lot of fees.

Okay. More than anything the 3000 peso charge is a 5 dollar fee and not exactly something that I like..... I am being really good about money like always. I never lack and usually I have a little extra saved away for the emergencies or the moments when I have to use more to be okay but I am being very good about the money don´t stress. I will probably at some point use some but thanks for always having it ready. I just don´t usually want to use it if I don´t really need it. That´s how I live life simple and happy. My companions never understand how I can give away so many things without even having a hard time they really like that. They say that the American missionaries usually don´t share or keep their packages for themselves but that has surprised every one of my companions that it isn´t that important to me. I enjoy seeing them happy more than enjoying the food or toys or anything else. I love to give but at the same time I like to be prepared for the future not living outside of my means. Thanks for your concern and I will do my best to have my memories and everything as well thanks and I love you a lot. I don´t know how much more time I have but I really appreciate all that you do for me.

We got six to eight inches of snow last night.  That is our first good snowfall of the year.  Clain is out shoveling it right now.  I am sure you will miss that opportunity!  Did you ever get to shovel snow down there?

Ya right..... Snow...... It just rains. In the mountains there was snow but that was it.

Hey I found two new people from records can you look into the parents of this person they were in a record and I just created them but they need more information. The code is: 9M6D-9M5 Thanks!

I´m out of time thanks for everything and I will talk to you next week thanks!

  

Merry Christmas!

I know but we will see. I am doing good with everything and I picked up the package yesterday at the concert in Maipú. It was really good and we performed 4 times. In Talagante, 5 de Abril, Olimpo, and Maipú. President Barreiros said that they are going to do other concerts in the future so I will have other opportunities to sing in the mission. It was really great. The thing that I like most is that I get to keep all of the music to remember the choir.

Photos of the Choir that sang in the La Navidad program this weekend.  

Choir members on the bus, probably going from one location to another for the program.

Thanks and I am doing my best to enjoy every tiring day of exhaustion that I have. I am really tired after this last weekend getting back to our apartment around 11 or 12 every night. It was a really crazy week with very few lessons. But I am doing just fine even though my sector is really low on numbers.

Elder Correa hasn´t received anything and he said that he doesn´t receive packages. He really wants to work on his English and get it down. A lot of the Latin missionaries like the quads that we have in English because there aren´t any in Spanish. They tend to like the blue ones with silver like I have and I don´t know for certain but something special for him like that maybe a middle sized blue quad with silver and if you have the opportunity you could put his name on them. Juan Sebastian Correa Mejia. I know that he would love that, but I don´t know if it is too expensive or anything. His birthday is the 17th of January if I am still with him it would be really great and if not I could give it to him when I see him. But that is what I have been thinking. Thanks! Love you!

 Two photos of Braxton with Elder Chuquel, his first trainer in the mission.  

 Photos taken by Hermana Gutierrez at the concert.

Okay, I knew about Chuquel being basically engaged and yes I knew about his missionary that he met when he was with Elder Smith his trainer that came to Lo Espejo and found him. Elder Chuquel has been a member for a little more than 2 years with a year of that time in the mission. I know the Bertangna couple well. They are in the office and I know Cecilia really well. She works in Al Cantara and came to the concert yesterday and took the pictures. She works to keep Al Cantara running. She does laundry, works and everything for the church, but isn´t a missionary. I also know the Andersons well. We just got a new couple the McCain couple from Idaho. Elder Correa didn´t sing in the program, but Elder Vasquez did with me. There were 24 missionaries in the choir 6 of each part. It was really good I went with Elder Hatch to all of the practices and my companion worked with his companions while we went to practices.

I got my package yesterday and we opened it this morning during the morning of Preparation day and we started decorating, but didn´t finish. My companion is frustrated because he wants to open the presents, but loves the scriptures and we read them in Spanish and English to help him learn and understand. I love your Epistle of Letters to Missionaries. I read a lot of the cards and things this morning. We opened 9 of the 12 Stars after reading each scripture and guessing and we will do one a day until Christmas.

Thanks I live in the street Santa Rosa on the West side it is like 259 or something like that for the street number. it is in the middle of 3 department buildings. I am going to take treat bags to District Meeting on Wednesday to give to my District. There aren´t enough for the whole zone so just the District will get them. We did a White Elephant as a mission last Thursday and I got a Santa mug and I gave a Mate cup and straw to someone I don´t know who got it, but it was an Elder. We also are doing a zone white elephant but we each have a name to give something to. Mine is Elder Fernandez that used to live in my apartment in Lo Espejo. He is a District Leader now in my Zone, but isn´t mine. He went to Republica then one change later, so did I. In my apartment it is just Elder Correa and I and I think that just about covers all of the questions, but I will do my best to keep up with them all.

With the Christmas concerts for the mission there were 4. We had one in Talagante on Friday, 2 on Saturday one in 5 de Abril, one in Olimpo, and on Sunday we had one in Maipú it was really great. I am doing really well and I am going to send a few pictures of the week. We are going to start with Christmas and work back.

This photo is of the mission at our Christmas party that we had and with the whole mission. Have fun looking and finding me. 

After I opened the box and took out the papers yesterday. We waited to go through everything until today because we were exhausted and I had to carry a 24 pound box through metro that was about an hour from my house and put it down to rest during metro but still had to carry it for like 20 minutes. But I am happy and so is my companion just that he wants to open everything. We are going to have a great time. Thanks for sending everything and I know that it was really expensive, but I appreciate all that you do for me. We are going to hang the chains later we put them all together today but need to put them up. We also played a couple rounds of bingo with the two of us. We are going just fine though just really tired. Thanks for everything!

This is the invitation for the concert that we had in color if you hadn´t seen it. It was really awesome and with all of the performances our mission president said it was like 2 Stake Conferences or about 1000 people but in Chile that is a great turnout. I don´t know if that was total or just Maipú because Maipú was packed.....

Other food that we had with our family from Ecuador. It was really interesting and new and I wasn´t exactly used to it, but I liked it overall. Ask Curtis if he has seen this before?

These are called Arepas. We made them with a less active member and we had them with cheese inside. They are really good. We had them another time in a Family Home Evening with less active members and active members. 

Each year our mission makes a mission card with photos of the whole mission and all the missionaries, so I am going to send a photo of this year´s to you. That way you can know who all the missionaries are in my mission right now and where they are all from and who has been my companions. Elder Ballard from my group is training right now, if you didn´t know and he is training the first Bolivian in our mission, Elder Barrero or something like that you can find them in this photo and look at the whole mission enjoy.

Nearly Christmas!

Figure out what your companion wants to do and we can work with that.  Does the cyber you are using have cameras?  We will go to Cache Valley on the 26^th for the Parkinson party so that is probably not the best day for us.  The others should be fine.
   

We are going to be at a cyber and we have to verify if it will be open on the 25th. My companion is going to Skype on the 26th because his family can that day. We will be in a cyber for everything, so don´t worry too much.

What time are you going to Skype on the 26^th?

He will Skype on the 26^th, but I don´t know the hour yet.  We can do them separate if we need to.  Let me know. My companion just said at 4 which is 1 in the afternoon for you.... I don´t know. What do you want to do about it?

Will the Cyber Café be open on the 25^th?  That would be the best for us, but if not, we can do the 26^th at 1:00 our time.  I think it is actually noon our time.  We are four hours different now, I think.  Right now it is 11:50 a.m. here.  What time is it there?

4 so yes it is 4 hours different now. So it would be 12 for you then. On the 26th. I don´t know if Cyber will be open on the 25th but I will ask and let you know before the 25^th, probably the next Monday to verify if it will be open.

The Parkinson party is in the evening, so we could Skype with you before we go up. 

I have been trying to answer them all. I will let you know and I only have 1 hour for Skype so it will be little bit short and quick.

Elder Correa has been here for 3 months and it is a really hard area to have people to teach. They are all so busy and plans fall through with everyone.... It is really frustrating. We try passing by to confirm our appointments for everyone and calling to plan things during the day and a lot fall through.  The ward is great, but they are really only available on the weekends. They work a lot. We had 160 people at church yesterday, so it is fairly consistent. We are doing everything that we can to have success.

Carlos came to church with his family this week, so he has the needed attendances.  We just have to finish teaching all of the lessons that we haven´t yet, which will be a challenge and plan his interview and everything at the church building that is half an hour away.... That is probably the hardest part about church is that it is so far away but yet the people come which for me is a miracle in many ways. I am really excited and doing all that I can.

We have been practicing a lot of songs. We have about 6 or so songs that we will be performing as a choir.  I am losing a lot of time in my sector for choir practices and performances this week, so it will be really crazy. We also have our Christmas party that is a reunion of special changes because missionaries are going home that day as well. So it will be large. I have a choir practice Thursday morning at 8 and the reunions until 4 in the afternoon. So 5 in the morning for you until 1 in the afternoon.... It will be a long day, but it will be good. I´ll keep working on writing more and doing my best to keep you informed.

They are finishing their missions. It is just when they end because they had a change at one point that was 8 weeks long and caused this need of special changes.

Ya things are good with Elder Correa and I know there are a lot of people. Look for Cerro Santa Lucia in Google Earth and that road by it is the edge of our sector on the south side and inside of Santa Rosas to the East is ours until it hits a large road that is east of another that is called Portugal. That is the other border and there is another street south of Diez de Julio. That is our other border. All of that space is our sector. Our church is on the corner of Republica with Gorbea if you want to know how far away everything is for the sector. The other part of our ward is west of Santa Rosas that right now is the sector of Simi Squad. That is more information for you.

That´s awesome that everything is going so well and that you are enjoying this time of year. I am barely realizing where we are in the year. I just barely got here it feels like and now it has been a half month.... I don´t understand how the time passes so quickly, but it does and there is never enough time to do everything that we would like to accomplish, but enjoy everything and serving the people in the time that you have.

We walk usually or use metro if we need to go to other parts, but walk a lot. My shoes are fine and no, I don’t need insoles.  I am doing just fine.

Simi Squad is a companionship that uses computers to make El Rescate or the books for each sector, The Rescue in English, that have all of the members that live in your sector. They also have a phone to receive all of the calls for references and they find the people that have moved and where they are living now and send their directions and do a lot of the hard work for the mission. They are in the office until 6 in the afternoon and then head out for 3 hours a day to teach. They lose a lot of time but help the whole mission.

There are 3 right now because one ends his mission on Thursday. Elders Baumann ending his mission from United States and Elders Trejo and Bittencourt. Trejo from Mexico and Bittencourt from Brazil. They all have more than a year in the mission but are working hard. We also know that they are going to be changing sectors. They are going to switch sectors with the Sisters in our Zone so they will be in Republica and the Sisters will be in Diego de Almagro 1.

Brother Schneiter said he would send you an email with the link to a YouTube video of the presentation they showed at the Ward Party. 

  

I have the link.  Also, my small speaker broke.... The charging port, the little metal ends inside are broken so I cannot charge the speaker which makes it useless for music.... I don´t know I have been looking for a speaker here but don´t stress about it. I haven´t found anything yet, but I am going to find something that I can use because I miss having music....

I am sorry.  I know that must be a pain.  Music is awesome!  Does your companion have a music player or speakers?  I can get you another speaker if you want and send it with this package that I have ready.  I would have to move it to a box, but that would be okay. 

I don´t know.... I think I can find something but don´t stress about it right now. I am doing okay. I am working with everything I am going to try to send a few photos to you before I have to be off. This one is of lunch with our family from Ecuador ask Curtis if he has seen this before. It was really good and a different flavor than what Chileans eat normally so it was really awesome. Chileans like food bland and boring and other countries have more interesting flavors. But things are going really well.

  

Please send that photo again.  It only sent the top half of the photo.  Weird.  I thought that Chileans ate a soup like this.  I have seen it on the Mission Blog.  It is called Cazuela, with rice corn on the cob, meat and squash in it. 

I have had it before with Chileans but this was different more Ecuadorian. The flavor was better. I don´t have time to send it again.... It took forever to load.... Sorry I really don´t have time to send it again. I really have to go. We have an hour and a half to do all of our shopping still. We had to be in Maipu for the morning for a Choir practice so we are a little rushed today. Thanks for everything and for all that you do. From Republica to Maipu in Metro is about an hour. You can look up the metro routes if you want. We are in the stop for Santa Lucia so there and line changes and everything really interesting. Thanks for everything and enjoy the cold..... I want to be cold..... I am warm but it isn´t as warm as Utah gets in summer but I am in the street more so it feels like it. The winter here was really nice for me to have time to feel nice when I got to the mission with the cold. Thanks for everything and I will keep writing all that I can and doing my best.

Elder Correa and Elder Goode in Diego de Almagro

One of the missionary moms posted on Facebook that there was a fire in a chapel in the Republic Stake.  Was that your church building?  Did you hear about it?

It was at another church building and yes I heard about it. It was in Parque O'Higgins not my church building. Mine is in the Stake Center and there are two wards there Rebublica and Diego de Almagro. 

Can you just upload all of them to my Dropbox account next week?  Please!  I am so happy to see your happy face today.  Keep on smiling!

No I will just keep sending you photos through email. I have a few this week. Starting with my new companion and I. He is from Cali, Columbia. Things are going really well though. It was a harder week with a lot of time in the street.... We are having a hard time finding times when people are in their houses because they all work so much and aren´t home.... We haven´t had more than 2 lessons in a day yet.... It is really frustrating for me..... I want to have more lessons to have more progress but it is interesting. Our attendance at Church was 161 and our goal for the end of the year is 167 so we are pretty happy with that. Right now we are working to find more investigators and help them progress this month. We have a couple but not a lot honestly. My last sector had around 20 investigators and here we have less than 5..... It is really interesting....

Really rough....  We only had 11 lessons last week and I don´t like it this way..... I am working really hard and contacting a lot we had 89 contacts this last week. We have one new investigator that we are going to work really hard with this week he came to church this last Sunday to have his baby blessed in the church and his wife is a less active and her parents are active. We have been teaching about Family History and I really need your help. SUPER IMPORTANT......  Can you help me find out how to link the Family Search accounts so that when one person does something on their tree it shows up on the others? Because it isn´t happening and this family wants to have their trees connected and I don´t know how to do it...... They are really awesome and are from Ecuador..... Imagine that.... I am looking for a baptism of the husband of Soley who is Carlos. We had 3 lessons with them this last week and are going to start into the lessons with Carlos this week and work really hard to help him be baptized this month. Thanks and I really need to know how today.

He has 16 months and he has 3 months in this sector and had 1 baptism that was basically ready when he got here. He is really excited because his last companion was really lazy and wasn´t working hard but I am sick of being on my feet all day..... We are looking for ways to be in the houses more..... Thanks and I will keep sending photos. We decided to cook Plátanos and we had beets and a salad it was really good. I am learning to cook with him and he is learning English from me. 

Thanks for the photo.  It sounds like they need someone in this sector who is a good hard worker.  That would be YOU!  Has your companion had any baptisms here?  How long has he been in this sector?  How long has he been out on his mission?  I am happy your attendance is close to your goal. 

Yes..... They want it to have the correct name code for each person and it always shows up person unknown. Carlos wants to add Soley and have all of her branch of the family show up but it won´t because he can´t find her and she has all of the branch finished.... Each want to do their side of the family and join them together just by adding the other.... It is really frustrating because Carlos is doing all of his family that aren´t members and aren´t in the system and Soley will have to add them all individually.... The parents of Soley as well will have to do it all the hard way and they all want what Soley has but don´t know how to get it.... I am really frustrated with it because I don´t have a lot of time and I can´t individually do it all at once. We need to start focusing more on the lessons and not just doing their family trees..... I need a way to make it all show up faster. Soley has all of her grandparents and to great grandparents. Carlos has his parents but to create them all with take a lot of time for 4 accounts.....

If they add something for a living person it will not show up in the other account.  Each person will have to add the living people to their own account.  Once they get to the deceased people, then they should be okay.  It is like adding a bridge from the living to the dead. 

When I first opened my account, I had to add Dad, all of our children and grandchildren, my parents, dad’s parents and each of our grandparents.  It was the grandparents who were deceased.  Then when I added each of them, it populated the rest of that branch of the tree. 

I had to do the same thing for Dad’s account and for your account.  It is meant to protect the living people in the tree.  No one else can see the living people I add except for me.

Is this the problem they are having?

The thing is that they all have accounts.... and they want them to have all of the information..... I will have to work with them to explain everything about the system and that is really annoying.... Oh well I will have to explain and work with it.....

If entering in all the information for the living people is a burden for them, then have them just work with one account and not two or more.  I have several couples in my Sunday School class who just share one account.  It works out alright. 

Here are some photos of the city from an apartment we were visiting in with our Ward Misson Leader. Also do I have a Skype account to use for Christmas calls?

More photos of other parts only a little of this is in my sector most of my sector is the other direction. Are you sure there isn´t another way to connect all of the accounts?

I hope that these photos help you see a little of the view and that the apartment buildings are huge.... I live in one that has I think 24 floors.... I honestly don´t remember they all have a lot.... Thanks for everything and I am out of time enjoy your week and I will work with what I have for now and help them to all work through one account and add everything into one and if they want to they can create the others for their own accounts but I will explain that so that they can all have the people in their accounts and then we will start working on teaching Carlos. He is really receptive and I don´t doubt that he could be baptized in a short amount of time. Thanks for everything and enjoy your week!

No we cannot use computers of members we have two options Skype in cyber with cameras if it has them or in the church using the computers there and we have 4 days that we can Skype for 1 hour. 24-27 any of these days.

I understand thanks. More than anything it is really frustrating because it would be so much easier if everything just showed up.... Oh well thanks and I have to go bye! Love you!

Love you, too.  Thanks for the photos.  Good luck.  You can do anything.  Nothing is impossible with the Lord.

I understand and I will let you know next week which day my companion and I are going to Skype we are going to talk about it and plan it out. Thanks for everything and I will work with the families to help them have their family history tree. Thanks for everything. Love you!

I am grateful to another mom for posting this fun photo of Braxton.  When they meet up for transfers or other meetings they like to get together with their mission family members.  There is a tradition in the mission that your Trainer becomes your Father.  Braxton's trainer is Elder Chuqel with the pink tie.  Elder Chuqel has also trained Elder Prisbrey, who is on the far right with the light blue tie.  Elder Smith, in the center,  trained Elder Chuquel, so he is Braxton's Grandfather.  He also trained Elder Stevens who is second from the left, so elder Stevens is an Uncle to Braxton.  This is Braxton's Heritage in the Mission.  I can't wait to see how it continues to grow throughout his mission.  

I am grateful to another mother for posting this poster on Facebook, also.  Braxton was selected to sing in the choir for this program which will be presented on December 19th, 20th and 21st in the mission in three different locations.  He was excited to be able to sing and perform again.  He loved doing that last Christmas with the Syracuse High Madrigals.  I am sure practices are adding a bit of fun to his December as well.  I hope he will remember this as one of the highlights of his mission, to sing about the birth of our Savior, in Spanish.  I wish I could be there to watch and listen.  I hope it touches hearts and brings new people to investigate the church.  What a wonderful Christmas blessing! 

One Baptism, A Transfer and Photos Finally!!!

Thanksgiving I forgot to do stuff and was really busy.... It was really busy this week. 4 of our investigators passed their interviews, but only 1 was baptized. That was Isabel that I sent photos of the other day. Ashlee is going to get baptized this week and the other two are going to wait for a while, but still are going to keep coming. I am really excited to be in another sector, but there will be a lot of challenges here. I know that I will learn and get used to it and the sector will improve. There is a lot to do here, but I know that it will all work out. I am really happy and excited with changes and I have better computers to use to email, so it will be really good!

Elder Vasquez baptized Isabel and she hasn´t been confirmed yet. The boys didn´t feel ready, but they are still progressing. It is fine. Things will work out. I am doing really well and I sent the photo to your email Saturday night or for you Saturday afternoon. I sent a lot of pictures from my camera you should have a lot of them....

I didn't get the photos.  The email program must have blocked them.  Can you send them again?

I will send the photos that I have, first of Isabel and afterwards others. Look for an email from my camera they were all from my camera. I sent you another message with all of that information.....

The Guerra Zapata family that are really great and they are progressing still. Elizabeth, the mom, needs to get married, to be baptized and the two kids will when she is or with more times attending church.  Their father doesn´t come..... he is the father of the youngest and the photo was taken at the church.

The family of Melanie. She the taller woman. She was baptized by Elder Fernandez in the other sector and yesterday her sister Miriam in pink and Israel the guy holding the young kid were baptized by Elder Decker and Elder Villablanca that are in the other sector. They are a great family and I was teaching the sister of Melanie and Miriam.

Here is a photo of me with Miguel and Javiera. She is the sister of Melanie and Miriam and they are progressing, but still haven´t come to church.... They didn´t even come to the baptism which was frustrating..... Oh well, they are really great though. I am really excited though for my new sector. These photos are the people from my last sector basically.

The Soto Flores Family. Jessy, the mom is the one that I gave an inhaler to. They are converts of Elder Smith and Elder Chuquel. They are really great and it was really great to visit with them. All of them speak English, except for the Dad, who isn´t the dad of any of the kids, but they are awesome! Great people that were in my last sector.

I am basically out of time for today, but I will let you know more about my new sector, Diego de Almagro 2. It is in the zone Republica and before I was in the zone Ochagavia in Lo Espejo 2. My companion now is Elder Correa from Columbia. Things will be really good here and I will get you a photo of him for next week. Thanks! Love you bye!

It shouldn´t be a problem anymore with photos at least while I am in Republica so for at least a month and a half I will focus on finding good photos for you! Love you bye!