Back in Santiago and Mom Thinks it's Scary!

HOLA Haha. Ya first things first now that my mom already knows about it.

 

Story time. So we were walking down the street, in my new sector, which is kind of "Flighty", which means like gangster stuff like that.  There were a group of kids sitting in the park thing we were walking past, and one of the kids asks me if I have drugs or a lighter or something like that, and I just say "no" and keep walking. Then one of the other kids is like, "and what would you do if I did this?¨ and he pulls out a gun and then says ´"what would you do if I just started shooting it in the air?¨ My response? I laughed and kept walking!!! AHHHHH! Ok ya let's just say if I wasn't a missionary there is no way I would walk these streets. But seeing as though I am a missionary, I really am not afraid of people haha. But that's my cool story for this week. (I think the gun was fake, and he never threatened or pointed the gun at me or my companion, he was just trying to show off to his friends).  But I know that the Lord protects his missionaries, and there are missionaries in worse places than me.

[Right now Mom doesn't think so and Dad says the gun WAS probably real.]

Anyway, so on Monday, my last day on the island, we went fishing. It was fun and I caught 3 fish. Then we went and said goodbye to some people. Helped an old lady carry her bags of groceries while she told us crazy stories, and then when we asked her if we could come in and share something, she said no... but that's ok.

Tuesday. was a long boat ride, followed by a long plane ride (neither of the two were very long) then we got back to the office, went and got something to eat, and headed off to the house to change and get to work.  My new companion is Elder Mendieta, he is from Bolivia, he is like a head shorter than me. This is his last change in his mission. He is really funny, and we get along great. We are both new to the sector so we don't know anyone haha. We live in a house behind a member's house. It has 2 stories, and there is a dog! There are 4 elders in the house, one other from Utah and the fourth one is from Mexico. 

On Wednesday, we went and bought some stuff because I didn't have any food or anything. After lunch we went and tried to visit people, and because both me and my new companion are new to the sector we don't have much to work off of, so we are trying to find some people to teach. Let's just say that for the rest of the week we knocked a lot of doors, and not many people answered because they are all on summer vacation. But we are also trying to visit some of the members and get them excited to share the gospel. We have had some very good experiences with that. First I share Jacob 5:70 and then follow with the foot note to 1 Nephi 14:7 (I think) and explain how every member is a missionary and how it's not just the missionaries that are the few, but the members of the church. I then give them a folleto of the restoration to share with one of the neighbors.

I have also met some pretty interesting people here in my new sector. There is a group of small kids that we talked to that were asking us a ton of questions, and now when I am walking down the street, any time they see me they yell my name haha. Also everyone here will shout ELDER and then when we look, they say El de Alado (which means the one next to him). They then laugh like crazy when really it's not that funny. Really we are just trying to find people. We no joke have knocked a ton of doors and not many have answered. but we are still working hard.

 

We have a real church building here, but I still get to play the piano. There were about 65 people in church this Sunday.

Well I'm out of time. The internet is so fast here compared to the island its crazy! But I love you and miss you all!

Leaving For Sure

¡HOLA todas de mis pescados amigos!

My last week here on the island has definitely by far been my best week! We had a ton of lessons, and I was able to say goodbye to people and take pics with them, and I am very grateful for the opportunity that I had to stay here a little bit longer. but now I'm really leaving the island.

So on Monday we went and hiked Mirador del Selkirk which is where you can see both sides of the island if there aren't any clouds... there were clouds, but it was still a really fun and good hike, and the other side of the island is dry and ugly anyway so its ok. It was the longest hike we have done so far, but definitely the funnest.   After that we went and visited the president of the branch to take care of some of the end of the year stuff for the branch. It's crazy how much stuff we have to do at the end of the year. Who knew there is so much work behind the scenes of the church!

On Tuesday we went to deposit the money from this week, and to change the room we reserved for president to have 2 seperate beds. Ends up that the guy had forgotten that we made a reservation and didn't have a room now. Good thing president wasn't going to come. After that we went and taught German and Monica. It was a good lesson. After that we went and set up a ton of appointments for later in the week because nobody had time, but they all wanted to talk to us before we leave.

Wednesday, I learned how to make PAN (bread for all you not spanish speakers) it was really fun, and it didn't turn out that bad so I was grateful for that. Then we were able to go and teach Rodrigo and finally, HE PRAYED IN FRONT OF US!!! This means that we know for sure that he really is praying, and is praying in the right way! I was very happy for this! Then he told us to come back the next day to teach him some more! I love when investigators say we can come back the next day!!! Then we went and taught Paloma, but her daughter was sick so we didn't teach for very long before she was off trying to help her daughter.  So we told her we were going to come back Friday. Then we went and visited with Poncho to try and figure out, and get proof that his sister had really been baptized because we couldn't find her registro in the church records. But he had pictures of her leaving the ocean after she was baptized so it was perfect!!!

Thursday we taught Rodrigo again and this time he was the one that started talking about the Book of Mormon! Haha, I nearly fell out of my chair! He has come so far, and now I am leaving. Oh how I hate that! But it was a good lesson! IM RUNNING OUT OF TIME AHH!!!

Friday we waited for the new elders to get here, and then we went and showed them our investigators, and then we had a family home evening of the branch.

Saturday we had a ton of lessons. Also we were able to visit more people because we could split up and visit more than one person at a time! Also I threw in some of my last testimonies/COME BACK TO CHURCH talks because I'm leaving and can do that haha.

Sunday we had a record of 17 and then 18 people in the church!!!! Haha it was amazing. Followed by another amazing day for lessons and saying good bye to people!

 

TUESDAY JANUARY 22 AFTERNOON EMAIL

 

We would like to inform you that your son has arrived safely after his flight from Robinson Crusoe Island. We picked him up a few hours ago and he is already safely in his new sector with his new companion.

Sincerely,

Elder King

Historian

Misión Chile Santiago Norte

On My Way Back to the Continent

¡Hola todas las personas!

So my time here on the isla is coming to an end. I will officially be leaving the isla Juan Fernandez some time this next week. All good things must come to an end... but I'm excited to finally get back to the city and have a Walmart haha!  I'm going to Zapadores. That's pretty much all I know and my companion is a zone leader and a latino and really short. Other than that, I don't know much.

On Monday it was raining again, so we decided not to do a hike, but I still wanted to do something so we didn't just waste the day... that was until my companion just went in and fell asleep leaving me with no option but to sleep as well.  (guess who didn't sleep that night?) But that night we did have a lesson with Paloma where they gave us Pizza... we didn't have an option, they just handed us pizza. It was good, but it definitely was different than any pizza I have ever had before.

Then on Tuesday, we helped Nana do some stuff around the house, and then went and visited with German and Monica again. We taught them about the plan of salvation, and it was a good lesson, the only problem is that they are old and don't remember what we teach very well haha. But that's ok they are great people, and I'm going to miss them a ton!

So being the secretaries of the ward means that we get to do all of the fun paper work, and we had a lot of that, so we decided to try and get as much done as we could, one of them including and annual history. So we went and visited the members asking about all of the stuff that they did this past year. It was really fun to learn about some of the things they do here on the island.

Thursday we pretty much just tried to go and visit people. We had a lesson with a menos activo. Let's just say it was an interesting moment haha. But she is still a good lady.

 

On Friday we taught German and Monica the last part of the plan of salvation, we also then taught Paloma again, but with her it was just a scripture and a question or 2 and then she had to go.

But I'm out of time.  We had 14 people in church this Sunday.  My companion directed the meeting. and I played the piano for the last time here on the island.

We went fishing this morning.  The fishing pole was a piece of nylon wrapped around a tube and the pole was my hand.  We both caught one fish, and they are pretty big too! It was fun haha. We fished for about an hour, and then at the very end we decided to move to a different spot, and I caught the fish within like 20 seconds haha.  Now we are going to go do my last hike on the island!

 

Love you and miss you tons!!!

 

LATER EMAIL

 

So it ends up that I'm not leaving the island this week. President Essig got called to a special meeting and will now not be coming to the island. This means that the flights that they had schedualed are going to be used by the new elders coming, and my companion and I are leaving next Tuesday. ¡Que Bueno! That is all. Love you and miss you guys tons!

Happy New Year

¡Hola todas las personas! ¿Como fue su Navidad y Año Nuevo?
 

Well my week was pretty good. On Monday we had our p-day and we watched church movies because it was raining... again... but after that we had a dinner with the family that we are staying with. We had LOBSTER!!! Oh my goodness it was so good! Also I had no clue how to eat a lobster... you literally break open every part of that thing and eat it. But it was really good.

Then on Tuesday the entire island was still partying. So we went to lunch, which was a bbq, and then went and tried to visit people... key word, "tried", but we were able to visit with some of the members and share a little bit with them.

On Wednesday we went and taught Rodrigo. The kid who doesn't know if God exists or not. We had a really good lesson with him. We watched The Restoration in English. He insisted that we kept it in English, and he actually understood most of the stuff so that was interesting. Then we finally got him to commit to pray. So I guess we will see if he does it or not.

On Thursday we shared with German and Monica. We are teaching her the lessons and stuff, but she is still planning on being baptized on the continent so we can't really put her with a date. Then we went and did service for several different people.

Friday was pretty much the same as Thursday. Lots of service to help people with their New Year's resolutions and all that stuff.

Saturday we had a ward activity. We had a lunch and a bbq thing after. There were actually a lot more people than we had expected. Several inactive people showed up, and even some nonmembers. It was really fun, and now we have some more people to work with.

Chapel on the Island

Sunday we had 14 people in church! That's a new record in the time we have been here! It was pretty interesting. Pretty much they all got up there and said how the branch needs to do better at trying to reactivate, and helping us out. Yes it was testimony meeting. Then during the classes we had tithing settlements. So after church we had to try and figure out how to input all the information in the computer, and how to fix all of the problems there were. Being a secretary is fun, but is crazy here on the island because it's so unorginized! But I'm learning alot about how the things work. All the behind the scenes of the church! It's pretty fun. But that's all for now.

Some souvenirs I bought.

Love you and miss you all tons!!!

I PUT A NEW PICTURE OF NATE AND HIS FISH SKIN BOOK COVERS IN THE CHRISTMAS POST SO MAKE SURE YOU GO BACK AND LOOK AT IT.

Feliz Navidad!

¡¡¡HOLA HOLA HOLA. FELIZ NAVIDAD, Y UNA FELIZ ANO NUEVO!!!

So on Monday was our p-day and we decided to help Nana prepare dinner for that night. We had stuffed chicken and potatos and stuff. So that was really fun helping her out, and learning how to cook a little. After that we went and watched "The Testaments" in English just because we could haha, and then after that we took a nap. That night we went and helped Nana's daughter make a present with some pictures that we printed off at the church, and then we had dinner at about 9:30 and they opened presents at 11:30 because her granddaughter was too impatient to wait. She got like over 20 gifts, and my companion and I each got a handmade wallet from Nana, made out of fish skin! It's so cool!

Tuesday morning I was a little sick of the stomach, and ended up spending practically the entire morning in the bathroom. Luckly I got that all taken care of before my skype call to my family! SKYPE WORKED ON THE ISLAND!!! haha pretty sure I have been praying for skype to work since I got to the island and it did. Prayer answered. (Mom's prayer too!)  After that we went and visited some members.

 

[The call was great.  Nate looked good and happy and we all got to see him and his fish wallet.]

 

Wednesday. So most of our plans failed again. But we still had a good spirit, and I was sick again. I call the mission medic and she told me to take some pill. So I took it, and after that felt completely WEIRD!!! Ya so I called her again and she told me to drink more and sit down for a while. Nana and Lope told me to go to the doctor like 50 times this week haha.  Still haven't gone! :) But I'm feeling much better so I probably won't go.

We had several lessons this week, and also we had a party for the kids for Christmas along with a gift exchange for the adults. It was really fun, and we had more people than ever there. Even more than were ever in church. Hey at least they know where the chapel is haha. We also got a belated Christmas gift, that we kind of made. FISH SKIN BOOK COVERS!!!! They are very cool and handmade like our wallets.

 

 

Sunday we had 9 people in the church and church ended more than an hour early. That's what happens on an island. For New Years we are going to eat lobster! Finally! and other than that we are going to keep doing what we normally do haha.

Love you all and hope you have a happy New Year!

Good Week for Teaching

¡¡¡¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!! ¡Hola todos! 

So, let's just get right into my week!

Lunes. Was our p-day. It was raining so we really didn't do anything haha. We tried to watch The Testaments, but that didn't work because we didn't know how to turn the tv on. Stupid reason right? But really what tv needs more than to be plugged in and to hit the power button, but somehow we still couldn't get it to work! Haha so we slept. Sounds lazy, but it was totally worth it! After that we went and contacted some references that we had received from some members, and set up some appointments with people.

Martes! We had our first clase de districto here on the island. Usually this is where all the missionaries in your district get together and practice stuff, but when it's only us two on the island it was a little bit interesting, and it went by a lot faster that it normally does haha. But that's ok. I'm leader of districto and of my zone mainly because we switch off teaching stuff each week haha. But after that we went and met with a member whose wife isn't a member. His name is Gérman. They are this elderly couple, and he has cancer, but is still coming to church and doing everything he can. We went to teach them both, Gérman and Monica, but Monica was sick so we shared with Gérman a little bit. It was a good lesson, and he knows a lot even though he says he isn't capable to talk about the scriptures and share stuff.   He told the First Vision perfectly. After that we went and talked with the lady who owns the church building, and who is renting it to us. Her name is Maria, and it ends up that she knows English!  She lived in California for 4 years and so she talked to us in English. We talked to her, and shared a little bit of the restoration and she was very receptive so we are going to continue teaching her.

Mircoles. We had lesson after lesson! Finally we have someone to teach, and every lesson was a good one. One lesson was with a reference that a member gave us that had shared with the missionaries before. So we went and taught her, and then after that we ran to the church to teach a lesson to the cousin of the only missionary on the island. She is a recently returned missionary and she helped us teach. It was an incredibly spiritual lesson, and Manuel (that's the investigator's name) said that he had already prayed and was pretty sure that the church was true, and that the Book of Mormon was true too. It was very cool! After that we went and taught Paloma. She is an old investigator too of the missionaries on the island before, but she left to the continent and never was baptized.  So we are sharing with her, and she had a doubt about how she was going to receive an answer, so we explained to her that it wasn't going to be anything big or crazy, but more her thoughts and feelings.  That's when she started to think about how she feels when she prays and asks about the Book of Mormon and feels peace. So we invited her to continue praying and reading. So we´ll see what happens!

Jueves. We went and shared with German and Monica again, and it was a really good lesson. We tried to set up a baptism date with Monica but she already has plans to get baptized on the continent.  So she is planning on getting baptized so we are going to continue teaching her and stuff, but it was cool that she was already planning on it. After that we went and visited a less active family to share with them. We still don't know why they are inactive but we will keep visiting them.

Viernes. ¡I SURVIVED THE END OF THE WORLD! Haha that was fun. I'm pretty sure we saw every religious leader out preaching. It was interesting haha, but we just went and shared with people as well.

Sabado. So we were going to teach an English class... that was until nobody showed up... but that's ok. We then went and sang Happy Birthday in English to a youth in the ward, that embarassed her pretty good, but it was fun. We also had a family home evening de branch and watched the Christmas Devotional.

Domingo. We had 12 in the church and I'm still playing the piano.

Out of time! Love you all and miss you tons!!!!!!!

Lots of Failed Appointments, How Disappointing!

Nathan Alder

¡HOLA TODAS LAS PERSONAS! Lunes. We were going to go on a hike with Angel, a youth in the ward, but it was raining all day, and we really didnt want to go do anything in the rain, so we slept for a good hour or two. after that we went and met with some of the

8:04 AM

¡HOLA TODAS LAS PERSONAS!

 

Lunes. We were going to go on a hike with Angel, a youth in the ward, but it was raining all day, and we really didn't want to go do anything in the rain, so we slept for a good hour or two. After that we went and met with some of the members that were here, and other than that we really didn't do much.

 

Martes. We did our normal studies, ate, and then went to teach seminary. We had 2 hours of seminary; one to teach him the New Testament, and the other to teach Book of Mormon. I was teaching the New Testament. It was fun, but we had to teach it really fast because he was leaving on Sunday and so we covered only the really important parts of every lesson. After that we had a whole bunch of appointments, (for the first time ever) and every single one of them failed... that was a little disappointing. But we had plans for Wednesday don't worry about it!!!

 

Mircoles. Same schedule: studies, food (we had a soup with cow tail in it), seminary, every single appointment failed... but at least this time we were able to fill the time doing different types of service. We carried a stove to a ladies house.  We pushed some kids up a hill on their little car things. We helped a lady move a bunch of beds around, and then also we went and taught a less active member who wants to come back to church but has to quit smoking  She won't go back to church because she doesn't feel like she can, but we are working with her. Also we received a call from President answering some questions we had, including why he chose me to come to the island. He said, "Well I prayed about who I should send to the island, and yours was the name that came to mind." Talk about your inspiration!  But ya that was fun.

 

Jueves. So to try and finish seminary before Sunday we decided to do 4 hours of it;  2 hours before lunch, and then 2 hours after. With this schedule we should be able to finish teaching everything. We went and taught some lessons, and then everyone went down below to wait for the giant battle ship that came to the island to bring all of the students back for summer break. It also brought 400 other people to visit for a few days. So once again, nobody was home.

 

Viernes. We got a call that morning from Angel, who said that he was actually leaving this day. All of our plans to finish were gone! But at least he is with his family on the continent. Other than that there were just people everywhere!

 

Sabado. So there was a funeral because I guess that someone from the island that was coming back on the boat slipped and fell and hit his head, and ended up dying on the boat.  So once again half the island was at that. We went and started talking to some people down below, and also then went and shared with some members, and helped them put up their christmas tree. It was an interesting day.

 

Doming. We had 10 people in church this week. me and my companion gave the talks! That was interesting haha, and then we finished all 3 reunions an hour early so we just left haha.  Well, not us because we had to put the tithing and stuff in, so we had to stay, but I now know the behind the scenes of the church life, and boy is it crazy haha. But ya then there was a giant BBQ from like 5 until past 10, so we went down there for a little, got some food, and talked with some of the members, and set up appointments with some people.

 

But ya that was my week! Hope you enjoy! Love you and miss you tons!