April 8, 2013
Hola,
Hey, it´s a dang good thing that you remembered and wrote me an email! Haha. I was actually in Puerto Varas earlier and checked my email to print off all of my letters and there wasn´t one from you yet! Haha. It’s okay. You have redeemed yourself. I got a nice email from Dave and two good ones from Makayla. Speaking of those two, I lucked out and got a letter (snail mail) from them both yesterday when I was in Puerto Varas! We just happened to pass by the Zone Leaders house when we were rounding up their investigators for conference. The letter from Dave was a homerun. He knocked it out of the park. Dave always comes through when it is big; enlightening me with all kinds of spiritual wisdom and power. And Dave: You couldn´t be one of the "homies" if you didn´t chill in the Provo MTC for at least awhile. It’s a blessing in disguise that you don´t have your visa yet. All of the "greats" passed through Provo: Nick, Me, Nate, and pretty soon Carter. So... eso. Find joy in the journey my friend! Makayla´s letter was about reading the scriptures, and it was also very good. It made me want to ponder more when I read the scriptures. Sometimes I am in the habit of just reading them, but there is power that comes when we ponder and then apply the scriptures into our lives. She is pretty sweet, isn´t she?
I am pretty dang pumped to hear that you watched every session of conference. I was thinking about you as I watched and I was hoping that you were watching too. People here do gather in the capillas to watch the sessions. Although, they could just stay at home and watch it on the internet. Well, I guess not all of them have internet. But we had to travel to be able to see it in English. We went to Puerto Varas and watched it with six other missionaries in English. It was SO good. Mother... Those prophets and apostles are the real deal! I hope you paid close attention. Here is my advice to you: Read a conference talk frequently. It doesn´t have to be every day, but at least once a week. And then apply it. Apply all the teachings of general conference to your life. Apply everything you learned and felt for the next six months, and then guess what will happen? You will be the happiest that you have ever been in your entire life. You will feel a sense of peace that you have never felt before. It is good to hear the words of the prophets, but we are not true Disciples of Christ and faithful members of the church unless we apply them. As a person who has made sacred covenants, it is your obligation and responsibility to apply everything those inspired men have taught. (And women, because Sister Dalton´s talk was pretty legit.) So... that is my challenge to you. And in six more months they will enlighten us with more. Will you be ready to apply the new teachings in six months if you haven´t applied the ones we just heard? Probably not. So get to it, Mama. :) I left conference pumped UP! We are so blessed to receive that kind of guidance, you know. I am motivated to take my game to a whole new level. This missionary is ready to step it up.
I am glad to hear you are doing well. I am doing well down here in Llanquihue. We spent a lot of time in Puerto Varas in the last week, and we will be going there again tomorrow. We were in Puerto Varas last week in the Emergency Room for a few hours. Don´t worry, I am not hurt. We went there because the mission has a contract with the Emergency Room and I went there to have them check my ingrown toenail. I learned two things there. One, that my toe is infected. Two, that I don´t really trust the Chilean doctors very much. Wanna know what he said I had to do? He said that I needed to be on complete bed rest for FIVE days with my foot elevated above my heart. That is what he prescribed to me. You better believe I was on the phone with the Mission doctor within five minutes asking him if I really needed to do that. He said no... And that elevating my foot would do absolutely nothing for me. He told me to soak my foot in salt water while I am studying and to put Neosporin on it twice a day. Also, I have to stick cotton balls under my toenail twice a day. He said that it should get better if I do that. Well, that and taking my anti-biotic and anti-inflammatory. That cost me a $100!! I am grateful we have always had insurance, because medication here is expensive! The mission should reimburse me for that. Also, if it doesn´t get better they are going to have to cut my toenail off. And I have to pay for that upfront… and I don´t really know how much it will cost. The mission will reimburse me for that, but it might be a good idea to have more money on my card to fall back on incase I don´t have enough cash. Do you think you could help me out by putting some money temporarily in my account just in case? This is all worst case scenario and shouldn´t actually have to happen. Anyway… I guess this is what happens when you clip your nails too short and then walk ten miles a day. Hopefully between all of my foot soakings and pills they won’t have to cut the nail off.
You asked about how long I would be in my area? I have been in Llanquihue for two cambios now. My training will be done in like two weeks. What will happen after that will be a mystery. More than likely Elder .... will be transferred and I will be here to direct the sector with a new companion. It would be pretty unusual for me to be transferred, but I guess it could happen. Something else they could do is split the sector and send one of us to one side of Llanquihue, and have the other stay where we are now. It is a possibility that I could train a new missionary, as well. There are a lot of possibilities... so I actually don´t really know what is going to happen or how long I will be here. I should be here for at least another cambio (six weeks). But I have heard of Elders only being in a sector for one cambio, and other Elders staying in a sector for seven months! Crazy, right?
Anyway... Love you! And tell Linda Gunther that her name in Spanish means beautiful. I always knew that, but I didn’t make the connection until I met a lady here named uberlinda... which means super pretty. That is un poco nada que ver… but oh well. Have a nice week!
Elder Warren
Makayla.... I have a picture with my very first letter from you! I write you a letter every week, but I don’t always get to send it every week because the post office seems to never be open. ¿Sea paciente, vale? Some weeks you may get no letters, but other weeks you might get two or three. Keep being awesome. Suerte con the housing situation!
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