i'm about to brag about chile. :)

11/22/10
But fiiiiiirst SHAUNA CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING THE FIRST ONE TO GET MARRIED IN THE FAMILY WHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THERE IS HOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT IS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahahaha i was beginning to think our family was cursed or something hahahaha. Nice and you are officially moving out that is cool. Hahaha i am just so blown away that all of that is happening. Craaaazy.

Oh yeah and as far as Thanksgiving goes i guess it didn´t happen hahaha or doesn´t exist here because i didn´t really know or think about it till i read your email. So i guess im a little sad i didn´t get to have a gigantic meal :( but nevermind haha.

About my package..... it was great!!!! But something happened to the music player i was joyously listening to cumorah´s hill for like 30 seconds and it just stopped. i don´t know what happened but i can´t get it to work. it must have gotten fried or something?? im not sure.... but i went and got a battery for the other spot for energy and it didn´t work either..... so :( i am sad. but iv almost ate all the food and candy youv sent already!! THANK YOU!!!

its really weird to think its starting to snow and stuff. by the way you should let me know how the winter is this year as far as quantity. but here its starting to get pretty hot right now and im starting to get really tan and my hair might start turning super blonde again so i´ll be the ultimate gringo hahah!!! but yeah thank you for the sweaters and stuff i am using them when i need too and stuff.

haha ok now i want to talk about fresia where i am. i am pretty far south like 3rd zone in the mission? the puerto varas area. but fresia is sooooo great haha. everyone tells me its a bad area but i LOVE IT hahaha. like oh my heck i have a huge grin on my face right now. the people here are awesome. i love them. its such a farm town hahaha like my comp says this is the most farmiest farm town hes been to. like people ride around on horse in these buggies or like a horse with a trailer or something attached to it around town. and the people here are workhorses!!! HOLY COW! like i wish the united states was more like this. they start a road and finish it in like 2 or 3 days!!!!! its nuts!!! they go to town on things!!!! they make everything here! they heat their houses with wood or gas which they have to chop themselves and burn or refill the gas and they just kick butt!!!! but this town is so small i love it. you know its small when you can walk down the middle of mainstreet every day haha. its super fun here i love it. always girls are hooting and yelling at us when we walk by its soooo funny i guess they love americans or something. or people try to speak english to us to be funny all of this is soooo funny. hahahaha. and almost everyone is catholic and evangelico hahaha. there is this big catholic church that is huge and everyone knows about. I cant wait to see another spire in the sky when our church gets built. i guess were gonna have a new one in like 3 or 4 months??!! maybe ill be here to see it!!!!!

alright so things that happened this week. im getting everything figured out with the branch presidency. its really hard to meet our goals do interviews, assign talks, worry about the members, worry about all the less actives, and worry about investigators and finding people. and a bunch of other stuff. but luckily i am organizing all of this pretty good i think and things are improving. apparently there are like 145 members here!!!!! i dont know how its possible!! consistently in church we have like 20 maybe. so we have a lot of work to do.

OH and i started the book of mormon again. I am totally in the zone with reading again. im at jarom already hahahaha. also i am reading the book of mormon with less active youth. like there is this kid cristian who is just soooo cool. i dont even know why i think that but he said hes just read 1st and 2nd nefi like a bunch. so we started at jacob this week. we read a chapter or 2 for every lesson we have with him. the last on we had he was like "holy cow this is like exactly how it is today in the world etc.." and hahaha ya i am just sooooooo happy. i lllllloooooveee the book of mormon. i love 2nd nefi but for your first time reading it i might just skip some parts hahaha or the whole thing. the story really picks up at jacob.

and for christmas i have no idea what i want hahaha..... ummm lots of food? or maybe like a portable dvd player apparently those are good to watch like the church movies for investigators on and play music also so two birds with one stone!!! and of course more music. lots of motab. that would be cool if you could get some music of youtube. like piano songs. like there is this one piano version of the halo song on youtube that is really cool. or like some chrono trigger music. or there is one song by switchfoot iv been thinking id want the "are you who you want to be one" ? ya kind of interesting but i feel like it applies to me right now and motivates me and would be good hahaha i feel embarrased telling you these songs i want.... umm maybe i feel good the michael buble song? the rule on music here is as long as it uplifts you and doesnt have romantic overtones. all of these songs make me feel pretty good or motivated so that is why. dont think i am evil!!!! they all have meaning!!!!!!!

so funny story hahaha this was sooo cool. we taught like 20 kid in the middle of the street no joke. it just started out with one of our investigators margarita whois like 15? but then one friend came and another and another and before you knew it we had like 20 kids just sitting reverently in the street listening to us teach! haha i have a huge grin on my face right now. it like reminded me of jesus teaching all the little children. its so fun because we like ask questions and they all answer and stuff. hahaha but we taught them how to pray and be nice to people it was great. its so fun talking with the little kids it still blows my mind how everything here is just spanish you know? like yesterday i was thinking during our meeting with the former branch pres and i just got hit with culture shock all at once like I AM IN CHILE SPEAKING SPANISH AND THE ONLY PERSON WHO DOESNT SPEAK ONLY SPANISH IS MY COMP. and also like holy cow there are no american candy bars and a &ws or walmarts around here. hahaha. sometimes this happens and im like wow i am on my mission holy cow!!! haha stuff like that. but i love speaking spanish and understanding it and learnign the rules of it hahaha am i weird??? its sooooo fun!! and its crazy because IVE LEARNED SOOOOOO MUCH ABOUT LIFE IN JUST 3 MONTHS.... it blows my mind how much more i will learn!!!!!!!!!!

some things that are frusturating. there is this kid Luis. he is 15. he is incredible. his dad drinks a lot and his family doesnt have religion. wev had a couple of lessons with him and he is reading the book of mormon and the pamphlets and we taught him how to pray and he is praying and he knows its true and we want him to be baptized. BUT his dad is a little crazy and doesnt want us to come around and teach him anymore or baptize or anything...... soooooo yeah. that is frusturating..... i feel so terrible.... its makes me really sad. because he needs help. he wants to set an example for his family. he needs help with his life but we cant. just wow... and jose and another investigator whos been great doesnt have work and starting the lose faith he´ll get a job.

BUT FOR all of this i have the scriptures for help. when i was reading as couple days ago in 2 Nefi 4:15-35.... YEAH THAT CHAPTER IS GOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!! and i was reading in enos today. ALSO SUUUUPER GOOOD!!!!!!!!!! but in reality the whole book of mormon is good hahaha so i can´t say anything specific cause its all amazing.

but im learning thinks dont always work out the way you planned. they never do and so you just have to trust the lord and follow the spirit and miracles always happen. there is a reason for everything. try to see the good in every situation. i am pretty used to people not being home but i dont just give up. we pray and make something happen. thats why i like this chapter in second nefi. quit feeling sorry for yourself. count your blessings. whenever i feel bad for myself i slap myself in the face and think of all of the people in the world who are perishing in darkness. who don´t know where to turn. who don´t know what is right or wrong or what to believe. we are the light in the darkness. the streetlamp in the dark alley. so if you are having a hard time right with something PRAY READ THE SCRIPTURES and count your blessings. read the lyrics in the song. it is like a formula for problems hahahaha. i know that things happen, but are you going to sit and wallow in despair and feel bad for yourself???? or "awake my soul!!!!!!!!!" you can choose the see the good in things or the bad. life is what you make of it. all of the people here live in really tiny houses. but they have houses. they have food. they are happy. BE HAPPY!!! HAVE A GOOD ATTITUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahaha these are things i have realized!!!! buuuut yah. time to go i think.ç

elina i´ll be waiting i haven´t gotten it yet!!

HELLO EVERYONE AT THE FAMILY PARTY!!!!!!!

kelli your teeth look super great!!!! congratulations!!! DANG!!!

CHAITO FAMILIA y AMIGOS!!!!