Scaring the Dogs

¡HOLA! Yo no sè como hablar en Ingles ahora. pero esta bien porque español es mas bakan!

Haha this week was a good week. It was a little slow, but that's ok. Pretty much we knocked a lot of doors this week with very little success. The people we are teaching are starting to progress very well. Saturday and Sunday are the best days for us because that is when people are in their houses. So Saturday we were able to find some new people to teach and keep ourselves busy. Then on Sunday we had an interchange(?) (not sure how that translates from Spanish to English but that's what I got haha) with one of the zone leaders. So he came and helped us with some of our more stubborn investigators.

While the zone leader was here we had a lesson with Victor. He has a baptismal date for this Sunday. So this lesson we finished teaching the last of the things that we needed to teach, and then we were going to do the pre-interview for his baptism. That's when the zone leader said, ya let's do that and then just do the interview while I'm here. So Victor is ready to be baptized this next Sunday!!!

Also Hector my convert from the last change has been working with his family, and now his wife Graciela and his daugter are going to get baptized this next Sunday as well!!! His whole family is going to be baptized!!!!!!!

Funny story that happened this week. we were knocking on a door. Really we don't ever knock we stand outside their gate and shout "HALO" and wait for them to come out. But there was a dog at this house and he was barking at us a lot and it was really annoying haha. So I decided to just stare into the dog's eyes. That's when the dog stopped barking and just backed away. Then when I moved it freaked out and jumped back. Haha it was so funny! I have a stare to scare the dogs haha. I think that's why I haven't had any problem with the gangsters in this area. They know not to mess with me haha.

But things are going good here. I'm working hard and I have decided to extend my mission one month instead of coming home 2 weeks early!

You Did What in the Street?

¡Hola!

 

So this week was really slow I'm not going to lie, but the change is half over now so only 2 weeks left until I change right? Actually I think I'm going to stay in this sector for a little bit longer, but I am doing super good.

This week we had a lot of appointments starting at the begining of the week. Pretty much every single one of them wasn't there. So we would call them and they would tell us to come back in 2 days or the next day, and they still weren't there. So we passed by for the same people multiple times this week without them being there. We also dropped some investigators for a little because they weren't progressing because school started and they get really busy for a couple of weeks, so we have been trying hard to find new people.

So first of all we have this investigator. Juan is his name, and he is an ex-boxer. (not the dog, but like the fighter type) and so because of an acident his nose broke.  So he talks a little funny and is a little difficult to understand,  but he's a nice guy. At the end of every prayer, he says, "Amen, Amen, Amen" 3 times without fail. He told us he says that to reinforce his amen or something like that, but last night we went to teach him. Ends up that he had just drank a coffee (we have taught Word of Wisdom like 3 times) and so I shared something about how we first need to search the kingdom of god before we search other things. Out of nowhere he goes off talking about his nose and who knows what else and I'm sitting there thinking (what does this have to do with searching the kingdom of god?) Ya it was crazy. Then he started asking us a bunch of questions that we had already answered.  It was crazy.

But we also are teaching Victor. Victor showed up to church one day out of nowhere as well. It ends up that his girlfriend is a member and that she asked him to go to church with her, but he is progressing really well. He has a baptismal date for the 24 of March. Time is going by so fast! Before I know it, it will be General Conference! That's so crazy.

This week I also threw up in the middle of the street.  That was fun. We were walking down the street after lunch one day and it just came up. Luckily nobody was around. It was funny because I threw up, and just kept walking. My companion asked me if I was ok and I said "ya let's go". Then I took a 5 minute break to calm my stomach down a little bit more and we kept going.  Haha. Oh the life of a missionary.

But that's all for now. Love you and miss you all tons!

 

 

New Sector

¿Como Estì po loco? So this week was pretty interesting.

 

So pretty much this week, I spent a lot of time getting to know my new sector, and the investigators here. One thing that is amazing about missionary work, it's the same no matter where you go. There are just different people.

Monday I moved to my new sector. and tried to start to get to know a little bit more about my companion and the sector and all of that stuff.

On Tuesday, I got to know a lot more of the members and the investigators here in the ward. The ward here is really small, and has suffered alot. Pretty much the ward is the size of a branch. I guess it was worse before I got here, but pretty much the members still don't help very much because they have a lot of stuff to do. We teach a lot here in this sector. The problem is not very many of the people that we are teaching want to keep their compromisos. I don't know how to say that in English... commitments? Ya I don't know.

Wednesday and Thursday we did the same. We tried to find new people, and see if the investigators that we have are going to progress or not.

Then on Friday. we knocked doors all day. No joke our plans were 3 hours straight of knocking doors, and it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The people in this sector are nice and they at least answer the door.

My new companion and I get along really well and we work well together too. We teach fluidly and know how to work hard and if necessary we can play good missionary, bad missionary, and try and get the people to understand the importance of reading and praying.

But that is pretty much my week. Getting to know everything, and trying to help my companion in his first change as district leader.

But that is all. Love you and miss you tons!

 

 

Hector and his wife

He was surprised and happy to see me at his baptism

 

 

Hector and the new missionaries

 

 

Transferred Again!

Hola. Wow it is super hot right now! I feel like I am in a oven.

This week was good. It was the last week of Elder Mendietas mission. He is going back to Bolivia. We spent this entire week preparing for the baptizm of Hector and at the very last minute we didn't get to baptize him this week. A sister in the ward got suddenly sick this week and passed away, so we had a funeral on Saturday and didn't get to have the baptism. Then, to top it all off, I got transferred... Elder Mendieta in his entire mission only had 5 sectors. I have less than a year, and I have 5 sectors as well. Don't ask me why I get switched around so much. But there is good news. I will get to see Hector's baptism! I explained to president why he wasn't baptized last Saturday and he gave me permission (something that never happens when you get changed) to go see the baptism.

 

Last Monday we went to Plaza de Armas  and we went and bought stuff. Then right before we left we went into the giant cathedral. It was really pretty, but it was so cold that I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

Other than that, this week was really slow. Other than preparing for the baptism. Oh ya. We had another water balloon fight, pizza night, and brownie night. We also gave Hector's wife a giant bible so she could read it, and she was so happy! She hugged my companion! Haha his face as he tried to not let her and then explain why was priceless.

 

A little about my new sector. I'm companions with Elder Malerva. He is from Mexico and has a little more time than me in the mission. I'm in the Barrion Ferím Viveceta. It seems pretty gangster. More gangster than my other sectors. I guess I'm the first Gringo in this sector since like a year ago. The members only feed us 3 times a week. That's new, but ya more information next week.

Love you and miss you guys!

 

 

4 elders in apartment in Zapadores

 

Me and Elder Mendieta

 

I already wore out my shoes

 

Our dog Rocky or Lucky

(Seems like Nate always needs a dog)

 

Going Crazy From Walking Too Much

Hola todos!

 

So this week was fun. Although I think I'm starting to go crazy haha. We have walked so much this week it has been ridiculous.

So we have been teaching Vilma more, and she is progressing amazingly. This week we taught her about the Book of Mormon and how to pray with sincerity to know if it is true or not. It's interesting the different ideas about prayer, and how some people really don't know how to pray to Heavenly Father.

We also found one member Menos Activo who didn't want to pray and never did pray. She also is afraid to pray. Ugh sometimes working with the less actives is the worst because I feel bad. All I want to do is help them, but they don't want it ,and it is worse when they reject us because they already know about the gospel... agency... hate it and love it at the same time.

Pretty much we knocked on a lot of doors this week, and we walked a ton. I'm starting to go crazy from walking so much. I am starting to find the littlest things to entertain me, but this is my explanation as to why. So I used to dance a lot before the mission, and I had a ton of homework and stuff. Also I have a very active imagination. Combine the two and it means that my brain likes to work fast and process things quickly... well without dancing to use my brain and just walking in the street waiting for people to come to the door, there is a lot of time where my brain is thinking about anything... usually involving my surroundings, and I'm starting to go crazy. My companion thinks I'm hilarious, but I'm serious too. That's the best part.

So we live in a house thing with 4 elders. The other 3 elders that I live with have made it their goal to make me district leader by next change. What does this mean?  This means that they are trying to talk me up to president. I DONT WANT THIS!!! I am perfectly fine where I am working hard without any drama. Why does this matter?  Well we had interviews this week. The first thing that President says to me, "Elder Alder, I have heard very good things about you." Then after that my entire interview was about how pretty the island is. But in all of their interviews they all said stuff... oh well I´ll go where you want me to go right?

On to Hector. He is doing amazing. We went to all 3 hours of church on Sunday. He is very excited for his baptism, but we have to change the date because he is now going out of town next Sunday. So we are going to see what we can do, but he is progressing amazingly.

Another investigator that we have is Roberto. We have taught him 2 times and then he left on vacations. We left him a Book of Mormon before he left, and when he got back and we went to talk to him, he told us he had read half of the book! So we are going to pass by tomorrow and see if that is really true and what he thinks about it!

Other than that it has been a boring week. no cool stories about crazy stuff. Just a lot of knocking and walking... lots of doors closed, and very few opened haha. But I'm still loving it, and working hard!

 

Our kitchen where I make Brownies and Cookies in a gas oven

 

Our Tiny Bathroom

We have to open the bathroom door with a string!

 

Here are a couple of my crazy ideas!





 

Water Balloon Fight

 

We crushed these melons with our heads!

Zapadores

¡COMO ESTÎE TODOS! I am quickly learning that every day is a different day with new experiences and crazy stories to be found.

This week was a very long week, but a very good week. Of course something crazy happened but that's ok.

First, we met some members that are from Chile, but are living in Utah now, and they were going to go back to Utah in a couple days, and so they offered to take something back with them. So my parents got a hand delivered card from me this week! That was interesting.

Silvia... Silvia is this really nice lady that doesn't want to accept that the sabbath day is Sunday, not Saturday. It was fun sharing with her, but it didn't go anywhere. But the past 2 times we shared with her, people have come to visit, and everytime they sit down and share with us, they see that we have reason, and so at the end we set up appointments with them. One of them we went and visited, and we are now teaching her, and her husband.

This week we also dropped 4 investigators for various reasons. They don't want to keep learning, or they don't want to keep their commitments. So there really isn't any use to teach them if they don't want to learn. So by Saturday we had 1 investigator... Then Sunday happened, but before that other crazy stuff haha.

Hector is progressing and learning wonderfully. He accepted to live the word of wisdom and is now trying to stop drinking. His wife is also participating again, and is going to give up tea. So we bought her some herbal tea and some ecco for her to drink.

So my companion, and the other elders that we live with think I am totally crazy, but let's be honest, I am totally crazy, and I keep things fun when times are hard!  So I do some crazy stuff to keep things interesting. Nothing dangerous or against the rules, but just little stuff that keeps us laughing and with good spirit when all we do is knock doors all day haha.

Crazy story time!!!

We were knocking some blocks, and one man opened the door and instantly said that we should come in. Normally this is a blessing, but the spirit said otherwise. Both Elder Mendieta and I felt that it was not a good idea to enter the apartment, but the man insisted and told us not to be afraid, and then said that we are missionaries, and that we have angels protecting us, so we should just go in. But we knew that was not the right thing to do, because he was absolutely right, we do have angels protecting us, and they were telling us not to enter the house. Now the man didn't appear threatening, and we really don't know if anything would have happened, but we both had the same feeling that we should not enter the house, and it was very clear that we shouldn't.  After talking to him for a little, we found out that we was a member, disactivated, and that he is now friends with the devil, and I'm pretty sure he was on drugs or something.  But the Lord blesses his missionaries! We will never know what could have happened, and I like it that way!

Sunday we found 3 new investigators. We had a reference from some other missionaries, and originally we didn't have the plan to go see them  but we felt like it was what we needed to do, so we went, and before we could shout "ALO" a little kid was shouting "there here, there here!" and before we knew what was going on a lady named Vilma let us in and we shared with her on her front porch.  It ends up that her brother was recently baptized and she saw such a difference that she wants to learn too.  We were able to teach her the Restoration, and set up a date for her to be baptized!

We also went and taught an antiguo investigator.  She let us in and we shared with her, and with a friend of hers that lives close by. It was really awesome!  When we went to go teach them they said to us "Hey did you guys feel the Tremblor that just happened?" WE MISSED IT AGAIN! I want to feel it!  Haha.

At the end of the week it was a good week. We have interviews with President this week. UH OH! Haha better behave huh! But that was my week. Things are amazing here, and I am loving it! Oh and we had to try and find a home for a kitten, and the members that we live with love that I am here because their dog got sick and they have to give it meds, and so I am giving them, and I hold him down so they can clean his ears and stuff. Working in a vet clinic payed off after all! I am finding out that everything I did before the mission is being put to use one way or another!

Nate with the city in the background
 

 

Did you know I went to Paris?

 

Nate and Elder Meldieta

 

Merry Christmas In January

 

Nate and the River Mapocho.  He says it looks like chocolate milk.

 

The Virgin

 

Zone Zapadores

Golden Investigator

¡HOLA FAMILIA Y AMIGOS!

 

So we found our GOLDEN INVESTIGATOR, his name is Hector. We found him by teaching his wife, Graciela. So we live outside of our sector and we have to walk into it.  Every day we pass an almacen (like a store out of a house type thing. They are everywhere in Chile).  Before I got to the sector my companion bought something from her, and she started asking questions about what we believe so we set up an appointment to go and teach her. Her husband recently had surgery and got one of his legs cut off a little bit below the knee. So we tried to teach Graciela twice the Restoration, but she kept having to get up and leave, or the member we brought talked and took the whole time. So one lesson trying to teach the Restoration again Graciela tells us that her husband likes to drink, and that it bugs her when he does that. Ya well we figured out why. So he was trying to help someone in their store and he calls for her to help. She goes to help, and he kinda freaks, and kicks us out of the house, and tells us never to come back. But of course us being the kind hearted and stubborn missionaries we are we went back. After both me and my companion had the impression that we needed to share with him we slowly went back. The first time it was to return a bottle, the second time it was to buy ice cream from them. Then the night came that we had set up another appointment with his wife. We entered their store part and just started talking to him, asking him how he was doing, and that's when he started opening up and sharing with us. He talked about his situation and how he feels hopeless without his leg. So we started to share scriptures with him and talk. It ends up that his parents weren't religious at all, so he isn't either.  We started to teach him the basics. God is his Heavenly Father, and that he wants to help us in our lives. Also that he can pray and find out for himself if God really does exist. It ended up being super spiritual, and during our prayer someone touched me on the shoulder and walked away. (We found out it was an older member of the ward that walked by and touched me and that she then prayed that we could help this man). But we ended up leaving him with 2 pamphlets;  The Restoration and the Plan of Salvation.

 

So we went back a few days later to teach them, and it ended up that we only taught Hector, but that he had been reading and that he loved it. We ended up teaching the Plan of Salvation to him, and he accepted everything we taught him. He almost cried when we explained to him that after the resurrection he would have his leg again. It was a really spiritual lesson, and he really does have the desire to change and to find his faith in Christ.

The next lesson we taught was the Restoration. We taught mainly Hector but Graciela came in for the actual restoration part of the lesson, and that is when we realized how much Hector was absorbing the teachings like a sponge. Graciela came in and started asking why it was necessary for a restoration. (The thing we just explained before that) and Hector taught her exactly why as if he had been studying it for a long time.  It was amazing! After that we gave him a Book of Mormon, and set a baptisimal date for the 24 of February.When his wife found out that he agreed to be baptized I thought she was going to have a heart attack. We then invited him to church and offered to pick him up.

 

On Sunday he went to church with us, and at the end of sacrament meeting when we were asking him questions he started to cry and said that he could feel so much love, and kindness, and faith in the room, and that he wanted to have the same faith here with us.

SO...If you don't know someone or they are new in the church building, GO SAY HELLO!!! It really does help, and you never know, they could be investigators!

 

In other news, I'm learning Chilean Sign Language.  It is similar to American Sign Language, but a lot of things are different.  I started learning it because we have a deaf converso.  He had some books for us to study because we have to teach him the lessons again. We teach every convert the lessons after their baptism so we can try and keep them active.

 

My companion and I are getting along really well.  We teach together really well.

 

Today we went and climbed the Cerro San Cristobal. At the top is a giant Virgin Mary statue. It was fun, and we climbed it as a zone. We live with some members, like in another house behind their house, and they have a dog, so pretty much every night we play with their dog. I am also the "veterinarian" so every question animal related is directed to me haha. Umm... what else? I think that's it for right now...