You Are Speaking in Sacrament Meeting

July 22, 2013


Mom...

I am going to come right at you and tell you that you better be dialing the phone to tell Bishop Gurr that you would be happy to speak in Sacrament Meeting. He received revelation from the Lord to ask you to speak. Turning him down would be like turning down an assignment from the Lord. So… you best get on that!!

Sorry if that comes across as a little bit straight forward and abrupt, but it is the truth!
The week here was good. A lot has happened in a week. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was emailing you. I do have my new companion, Elder Aburto. I don’t have time to upload photos today, but maybe next week. He is a really nice guy. I don´t have any problems with him so far.
Before he got here, I was working with Elder Ocampo, de Mexico for two days. We were four elders living in the same house. It was actually pretty fun. Elder Silva worked with Elder Malaver from Peru. Elder Ocampo has only been on the mission for three months, so it was cool working with someone who had less experience than me.

Having only been here for a week and a half, I didn´t know very many people when Elder Aburto got here. So we have been having an adventure learning the sector together.  It has been so obvious this past week that we have been guided by the Spirit. Seriously. When he got here, we couldn´t find the map. I thought that maybe Elder Silva left with it. We searched the whole house looking for the map. We really needed to find it, because without it we wouldn´t have been able to find people’s houses. We stopped and prayed and then we kept looking. Within minutes we found the map in a place that we had already looked.

Another example is that we were looking for a certain street, and we couldn´t find it. We were lost, late for our appointment, and we didn´t have the number of the person to call and ask them for directions. Suddenly, a member appeared behind us and asked us if we needed help. She told us how to get to the house and we made it to our appointment.

Something else that happened this week was that we visited an inactive lady. She has not been to church in over nine years. We went in there, and told her that the branch needed her. And that Heavenly Father needed her in church. We gave her the assignment to say the prayer in Principios Del Evangelio. She came to church and brought her daughter, who isn´t a member. So that was really cool. :)

Today I spent the day in Pucón with an Elder from Mexico, one from Guatemala, and a Chileno. It is pretty legit that I have friends that are from every country in South America.

It sounds like you people are busy up there in Utah in the heat. It is about 20 degrees here. I am cold. Haha. The weird thing is that even when it is 20 degrees, it rains, it doesn´t snow. It rains and turns to ice instantly on the sidewalk and stuff. Although the other day it did snow for like 10 minutes. That was actually pretty cool.

I want you to check my account. I took out 86 dollars. I will explain more about that later, but bottom line is that there are dishonest elders that use the sector money, leave, and then we are left to pay bills. I will be reimbursed, so no worries.

Yeah, the Eddie Bauer jacket is no longer water proof. It used to work pretty well, but then I think the waterproof qualities wore off. So… something other than that. :) And some kind of treat for Elder Aburto? His birthday is in three weeks. :)

You are the best mamma in the whole world. I tell a lot of people about you. I appreciate all that you do for me and that you are always worried about me. I am fine. I am a big boy down here, doing my thing.

Elder Warren

P.s.  Heck yeah, sign me up for a trip to the Holy Land!! That would be legit. Why are the Gunther’s going there?? I don´t remember.

Ask Brett if he is watching the Tour de France. They had ESPN on in the restaurant where we ate in Pucón today. I saw that the highlights were playing and I thought of him.

I was called as a counselor in the Young Men’s presidency here with Elder Aburto... How sweet is that!

Still Alive

July 15, 2013


Mom,


The time here just flies by. It is super weird how the time works here in the mission. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was writing you an email. It is weird that you didn´t get it on Monday? I sent it on Monday… strange. Haha.


Things are good here. We have been teaching some good lessons with people. There are a couple of good investigators that are progressing. The hard part is getting people to come to church. We had one investigator in church yesterday, but ironically she is one of the ones who isn´t progressing very much. We will just keep working hard to get people to church.


I don´t really know what to say... Haha. Elder Silva will be leaving on Tuesday, and Elder Aburto will be coming here. I will have to direct the sector... which is always a little bit difficult. It has been kind of weird being with a companion, knowing I would only be with him for a little while.


As far as the rain jacket goes... I like grey or black. But if you buy one... make sure that it is waterproof. My coats are all kind of waterproof. The Eddie Bauer one is okay, but it isn´t completely waterproof material. It doesn´t have to look very formal. It can look sporty. Just something that will keep me dry. That is the most important. Haha. And yes, you still send everything to Casilla 7-0 Osorno, Chile.  And remember that it is through the United States Postal Service.


You are kind of funny. Haha. No, we don´t have a car. Or bikes. Those don´t exist in our mission. Haha. We still walk places, or take a taxi. We take taxis quite a bit here, actually.


Sorry I don´t have anything very worthwhile to say today. Haha. I should really write some things down to share. We have spiritual experiences all the time and we see miracles every single day, but they are such a frequent occurrence that they just seem normal to me. But I bet you would probably like to hear about them. We gave like 12 Priesthood blessings this week. So that was pretty cool.


Elder Warren


P.S.  It was great to hear from Kathryn Maddix and from Carters father with some pictures of Carter in Madagascar.

Where Am I?

July 9, 2013


Mother!


Holy cow... things are crazy down here. Haha. I am not in Llanquihue. There was an emergency cambio. Those almost never happen. The real cambio wasn´t supposed to be for another week! Buckle up and get ready to hear what happened!!!


A Sobre cambio only happens when there are big problems with a companionship. Don’t worry; Elder Amone and I were tight. We got along super well. But when another companionship doesn’t get along, another companionship also has to split up. So it was the other companionship. What happened is that my current companion, Elder Silva, got punched in the face by his last companion!!!! What the freak!? We were sitting in the house when we got the call from President Rappleye. He said I needed to pack my bags and head up to Villarica first thing in the morning. He told us what happened and said that he was going to put the Elder that threw the punch with Elder Amone, because he said that if the Elder tried to hit Elder Amone, Elder Amone would kill him. Hahaha. So at 11:00 Wednesday night I packed my bags and was gone by the next morning at 9:00. This Elder that threw the punch is a very aggressive person. He is famous in the mission for fighting with everyone. He has gotten in fights in the street with a few drunken guys and a gangster. He has some troubles with his temper. So... after 5 months in Llanquihue I didn´t get to say goodbye to anybody. Absolutely nobody. That kind of stinks.


It was a two hour bus ride from Llanquihue to Osorno. Then we all had to talk to President. Then a four hour bus ride north to Villarica. A long day of traveling. I came up here with Elder Chamorro (Chileno) and met up with Elder Silva. He is from Utah. His Mom is from Venezuela and his Dad is from Ecuador. He is super nice. I really like him a lot, but President said that I would only be companions with him for a week, and then another Elder is going to come up here from Chiloe; Elder Aburto (another Chileno). So... That is going to be a challenge because I will be directing the sector... so I have a week to learn where everything is. Crazy stuff.


It is weird being in a new Sector. It is super different here. We are in a much bigger city. There are eight missionaries here; 4 Elders and 4 Hermanas. The section where we live is super nice. Like… all of the houses are super nice. It is weird. There aren´t as many dogs here, either. We are in the furthest sector north in the misión, so it doesn´t rain as much either. It hasn´t rained since I got here.
Being at church was one of the weirdest experiences of my entire life. So we roll up there and the capilla is huge. Brand new, and beautiful. Like… 5 times bigger and nicer than the one in Llanquihue. Guess how many attended in Llanquihue? 70 on average attended Church. Here? 23. Only 23 people. I felt super uncomfortable. I had to go up and present myself in this big chapel to 23 people… so strange. And the members here… aren´t as friendly with the missionaries. And I am definitely going to lose weight here because the mamita makes hardly any food. I guess I just gotta look at it like a blessing in disguise.


There is an active Volcano here that is Only 20 minutes away. It is really pretty here. Super pretty. There is a huge lake and everything. I don´t have any pictures of here yet. With the move and how crazy everything was… I haven´t had a chance to take any pictures. This picture is of me and my umbrella when it broke in Llanquihue.


It is fun being in a city with a bunch of missionaries. We teach English classes here as well. There is a sister missionary here from Paraguay. She speaks English really well. I would marry that lady just for her Accent! Haha. ¡Que chueco! I am just kidding. But I do like her accent. Today we had an activity at the church. We played basketball, ping pong, and a Hermana from Nicaragua made us typical food from her country.


I still haven´t seen my package. It is probably in Puerto Varas (close to Llanquihue) because they probably forwarded it before they knew about the Sobre Cambio. So… I don´t know when I will see it. That is super nice that you are sending me an iPod. Hmm… What else do I need? I don´t really know. Whatever you think. There are things that I always want. Maybe the pants that I sent home in the mail? All of my pants are fine, but it would be nice to have those two other pairs. Also…maybe a rain jacket? I know I have two, but one of them isn´t extremely waterproof. It keeps me sort of dry for like… a few hours. The other one I have (from Eddie Bauer) is better. I went and looked at some in Puerto Montt at the mall, in the North Face store. But they were like 400 bucks. So… I didn´t buy it. I don´t really know what kind; something waterproofish/warm. I would keep looking myself, but we are like 3 hours away from Valdivia and that is where the closest mall is. These things aren´t urgent or even required… just things on my wish list.


I love you. The pictures of the Adrienne and the family are super cute! I think the mail system here is weird, like you said. Because I sent something to Kinzie Payne and she got it in like two weeks! Haha. I sent something for Brett. Tell him happy birthday. There is also something in the mail for the family Allan. I didn´t have their address, so I mailed it to you. I heard from my dad. I sent him a letter today, too.


I hope you are doing well. I also wrote you a letter. Who knows when it will get there… but eventually?


Love Elder Warren


p.s. I heard from Nick. I sent him another letter with 50 Chilean pesos. Haha.

Ella Nos Dejo

The New Mamita's

July 1, 2013


Mom,


The last week was fine, I guess. Actually… It wasn´t that good. My companion and I get along well, but Llanquihue is a tough place. We still don´t really have very many people to teach. Five months here in Llanquihue, and we have only had one investigator progress: Sixta. She is super cool. She made me a hat. She taught me to make sopapillas and bread. She is supposed to get baptized this Saturday. All she needs is her baptismal interview. But we went over to her house last Thursday, and she didn´t want to talk to us. She said she talked to her family members and she is not going to investigate the church anymore. She was actually really rude to us. I don´t know how things like this happen, I really don´t. She had received her answer about the Book of Mormon and about Joseph Smith. She wanted to get baptized. And then overnight… she doesn´t want anything to do with us.


It is hard to stay positive. So hard. I feel honestly like I have been here for five months and I haven´t helped a single person. Nobody. I am here to help people. That is all I really want to do. More than ¼ of my misión has gone by, and nobody has benefited from it. I don´t really know what to think. It is depressing, actually. I am trying hard to keep pushing forward and give my best effort, but it is difficult.


To answer your question; I still have the speaker, but not the iPod. They used to be fine with us having iPods that had the capacity to play videos as long as there were no videos. But there are Elders that don´t do what they are supposed to, so they announced that everyone who had an iPod that could play videos needed to send it to the office. So, I decided to be obedient and send mine in. Obedience is supposed to bring blessings, right?


I finally got the letter from Nick!! That was probably the highlight of the week last week. It sounds like he is doing really well over there! I also read his emails home. He is a stud. Hearing about how my friends are doing is refreshing. It also makes me want to work even harder. My friends are a source of strength for me.


That is cool about the new bishopric. Tim Gurr is legit. So are the others. Tell them I say hello. Tell Bishop Maddox that I took his advice seriously about reading the Book of Mormon. I finished it again last week. Four times now on the mission, twice in English, twice in Spanish.


I liked your scripture. I actually looked one up to share with you! Mosiah 24:15.  And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit CHEERFULLY and with PATIENCE to all the will of the Lord.


I love it. I love that scripture.


I had a ton of other things to say... but I am out of time. I love you.


Elder Warren


P.S. That is me and my Mamita's, Ines y Maria. And also, me drinking our coffee that we drink every day. Apparently….. it isn´t against the word of wisdom here. Jokes. It is something that looks, tastes, and smells like coffee... but isn’t coffee. It is called Ecco.

Ingrown Toenails Are The Worst!