Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Porvenireno

January 13, 2013

LDS Church Porvenir, Chile


Mama,

Hey, this week was a pretty good week here in Porvenir. This place is so small. Super small. Haha. I think I will take a second to answer the questions that you had asked me.

Do you need your sunglasses?  No, haha. I am okay.

Is it sunny every day?  It isn't sunny every single day. But the weather changes super-fast, from raining to sunny. But... you can get sunburn when it is cloudy.

Are the days long or short? Sunrise/sunset (Is it like Alaska?)  Super long. There is sun until like 11:30 p.m. and the sun is up by like 4:00 a.m.

Is it snowy?  There is no snow right now. It has been like 36-45 degrees. Something like that.

Do you live close to the water?  We live like a few blocks from the water. There are tsunami warning signs everywhere.

What are the houses like?  The houses are all old and colorful. All the roofs of the houses are different colors.

Do you live with some members or in an apartment?  We live in our own house. It is super nice, actually. But we live on the Branch Presidents property.

What kinds of exercise do you do besides walking?  We do a huge amount of push-ups and sit ups; Tons of them. We also use my exercise bands to do arms and such. I do like...30 minutes of Cardio (plyometrics) every day.

Is the food there any different?  It is a little different. We still eat beans a lot. But here... we never eat fruits or vegetables because they basically don’t exist.

Was your companion new to Porvenir also?   This is his second cambio here.

Do you have a car, phone, and computer?  We do not have a car. Our phone??? Super dinosaur; Super old school. We don’t have a computer. We email on the computer in the church.


P-day Donuts and Ping Pong


This place is really different compared to other sectors. We are on the island of Tierra del Fuego.  We are legitimately an hour’s plane ride away from Antarctica. Isn't that crazy?  The king penguins live here!!!!! The big ones!! I am already making the arrangements to go see them. We know a guy who just went to see them and there are THOUSANDS of penguins here. But they are like two hours away The way people speak Spanish here is a lot different here as well; a TON faster, which is incredible because Chileans already speak super-fast. SUPER fast. But it is all good.

The work here is going alright. It is a sector that has a lot of challenges. A lot. We had 15 members at church yesterday... which isn't very many. But we are working on that. Actually, I do have some good news. We are going to have a wedding on Friday and a baptism shortly after. One of our investigators is getting married and is going to get baptized!  He is pretty cool his name is Cristian. He has a mullet. I am jealous. Ha.

This week we are going to Punta Arenas for interviews with President. We are leaving on the boat tomorrow at 7 p.m.  We will be returning from Punta Arenas on the boat on Friday morning, and we should get back just in time for the wedding. But, we also got permission to take an avioneta (a 15 passenger plane) if all fails so we can make it back to the wedding. How legit? Right?  We will be in Punta Arenas for a few days and I will be going on an intercambio with Elder BORUP!!!! How sweet is that!  Also, we will get to go to district meeting. We aren't usually allowed to go... because it costs like 40 bucks to travel from the island to Punta Arenas and back!

Hey, I am glad everyone enjoyed the Christmas cards! That is why I made them. It took me FOREVER to draw on the back of all of those!  A really long time! So I am glad that everyone likes them.
Hey... I gotta go. I am going to try and send a picture. Dropbox doesn't work on this computer... so patience. :)

Elder Warren

P.S. Sorry it was short today... I had a ton of emails to read today... and I can’t print them. So I just have to read them.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

I Am On A Different Planet!!

January 6, 2014


Mom!!!!

Hey... I have a ton to tell you! Holy cow!! I am definitely down very, very far away. I am with Elder Keetch from Lehi. He is super sweet; a really good missionary. We are getting along really well. Things are different down here. There have been a lot of changes. I guess I will start from the beginning.

So last Sunday I gave a talk in church in Ovejería. I cried like a baby when I announced to the ward that Elder Borup and I were going to be leaving. All the members were super sad, and the majority of the women were all crying in sacrament meeting. It really was one of the hardest goodbyes of my entire life. I felt SO at home in Ovejería with Elder Borup and the members. It was so nice being in a strong ward where the members work hard and are strong. I made some friends for life up there in Ovejería. I am actually still really sad that I am not there, but I am sure that will go away when I get adjusted to the life down here. The members threw a huge going away party for Elder Borup and I on Monday. That was really nice of them.

So now...the traveling... We got all of our suitcases weighed and down to the bus station. We sent one suit case each for Tour Bus, so that suitcase will get here in like a month. We traveled with seven in total down here. We went from Osorno to Puerto Montt. Then we went to the airport in Puerto Montt. We flew down from 90 degree weather to Punta Arenas where it is like 30 degrees right now. I was actually thinking about it... I will not have a summer for three years. I left in the dead of winter to the mission to get to Chile in the end of summer. Then I passed the whole winter here. Then we were starting to get into summer, and I get sent down to Punta Arenas where it is freezing. Then I will probably go back up north in like six months for winter again. And then when I will be approaching summer again here in Chile....then I will go home to Utah to the winter. Crazy.

So we took a shuttle from the airport to one of the church buildings to meet up with our companions. Elder Keetch and I went to the Zone Leaders house because we couldn’t leave to Porvenir because there is only one boat that comes here a day. So we went and dropped off the bags, and then went to the grocery store to buy food for the next month. We dropped like 70 bucks on cereal and stuff. There isn’t a real grocery store here in Porvenir. And everything is super expensive here, so that is why we stock up when we go to Punta Arenas. We only go there once every transfer cycle. So once every six weeks. Crazy. We never see other missionaries; go to trainings or meetings... nothing. It is different. But, I have to tell you a story now.

The story I will tell you now might freak you out just a little bit, but I feel like I should tell you. It was actually one of the coolest experiences on my entire mission. But don’t worry, promise?  Okay, so Elder Keetch and I finished buying our groceries and we went back to the Zone Leaders house in Punta Arenas. We dropped the stuff off and it was 9:25.  We thought "great, we have five minutes to go out and do two contacts."  So we go out and we have no idea where we are going because it wasn’t our sector. So we start walking and we both feel like we should turn left. We started walking and we didn’t see anyone in the street. Elder Keetch said "dude, there isn’t anybody here."  I said we should keep going because something would turn up. Then we did one contact and the guy was rude, but we kept going. Then the Zone Leaders come around the corner. We start walking with them back to the house when a group of men come up to us and start screaming at us. They went after Elder Vazquez. He is the new Zone Leader and it was his first day in the sector. The guy kept getting in his face and we all said, "We don’t want any problems, we are just trying to walk home."  The dude then slammed Elder Vazquez up against the wall and pulls out a knife. So I jump in between them and shove the guy and say, "Look, we don’t want any trouble with you. Leave. Now."  (I was much bigger than him). He started yelling at me, waving his knife around. Then his friend comes up and punches me in the face. I just stood there and said, "Calm down." He punched me again. I then repeated to him "Calm down." And so then I get punched a third time. So then I look him right in the eye and say, "You better leave. Right now." He yelled something else... and then they all left and we walked home. I kept my cool. I was really tempted to wreck the dude’s life when he punched me, but something held me back. I was calm the entire time. The thought came to me that if I had hit him; the missionaries would have even more problems in the future with the gang.  But anyway, looking back on the experience.... It was awesome. Here is why. We got back to the house, and we decided to be obedient and leave for the last five minutes to work, even though we weren’t in our sector.  We chose to be obedient, and because of it we were led by the spirit of where to go. We didn’t know why we needed to turn left, but we felt like we should and we followed the prompting. Heavenly Father led us to the Zone Leaders. If we wouldn’t have shown up, it would have been just two missionaries instead of four; and the way that the guy went after Elder Vazquez..... Elder Vazquez probably would have ended up getting stabbed. It is crazy. The Lord takes care of His missionaries. He sent us to prevent something really bad from happening to one of our fellow missionaries.

So... then the next day we go to take the boat to Porvenir. It is like a three hour boat ride. We saw some whales on the way, and some dolphin looking things.  We get here.... and it is like a deserted little town. There are only like 4000 inhabitants; tiny. And the church here?  It is super weak. There were 12 people at church yesterday. There is so much work to do here. The members are all inactive. The active members (all 12 of them) are super disseminated. We’ve got so much work to do here. Porvenir is notorious for being the hardest sector in the mission. Having only 4000 people in the town and a SUPER weak branch.... it makes missionary work tough. We walk around all day and see absolutely nobody in the street.  In Osorno, we were talking to a ton of people in the streets all the time. This place is super calm and tranquillo, so don’t worry about me getting hurt or anything. Lots of the great leaders of our mission have spent time down here. It is a place of growth. It is a place to learn. It is a place where we can become better people. We are totally alone down here, so we HAVE to rely on God and His power and His comfort.

There is a hole in the ozone layer here. The sun is super strong. You get sunburned when it is cloudy. We put on buckets of sunscreen. We are having... fun. We do a lot of exercises. We are playing ping pong here. (And yes... packages take a long time to get to Punta Arenas, and even longer to get here because we never go to Punta Arenas.)

I am happy that you got my package and that you already delivered the stuff!!! You are awesome. That is why you are my momma. I always look forward to your emails and hearing from you. I might write you a handwritten letter today. I hope you are doing awesome. :)

Elder Warren

Lejos...Nos Vamos

December 28, 2013


Mom,

Well... We found out our cambios today!  Let me just say.... really unexpected. Really unexpected. So President Rappleye called and said Elder Borup was going to Fitzroy in Punta Arenas. And me...Also to Punta Arenas, Porvenir.  Let me tell you a little bit about Porvenir. It is the furthest south city in the entire mission, and probably the furthest south city of any mission in the entire world. That will be as close as I could possibly get to the Antarctica. To get there...I have to take a bus, a plane, another bus, and a boat to get to where I am going. Crazy, right?  It is completely isolated from everything. We will be the only two missionaries down there. I will be with Elder Keetch. There isn´t a grocery store or anything in the city, so we buy all of our groceries once like every six weeks!  We don´t attend district meetings or anything, because we are too far away from everyone and everything. We only leave the sector once every six weeks! Crazy! Haha. Kind of funny, but I am going to the only zone in the whole mission where we can use sunglasses. The hole in the ozone layer is right above Punta Arenas, supposedly.

Christmas was good. It was a little weird talking to you people, though. It seemed almost a little bit like talking to strangers. Maybe that is because I have been gone for such a long time. It was good though. Crazy to think I only have one more phone call left in my entire mission, right? Weird stuff. You seemed... okay. You actually seemed a little sad to me; which makes me kind of sad. I don´t want you to be sad or anything! Don´t be sad!!! Keep your head up and keep moving forward. I love you.

I don´t have a lot more to say. I am doing just fine. I was sick... super sick yesterday. I slept all day. But I am a little better now. Hey.... you won´t hear from me until next Monday, just so you know. I will have P-day on Mondays again.

Elder Warren

P.S. By the way.... they are taking both of us out of Ovejería and putting in Hermana’s. Crazy stuff.

Fun Mission Memories-- Elders Borup & Warren


Christmastime in Osorno, Chile

 December 21, 2013


Elder Warren and Elder Borup

Christmas Activity at the Church

Singing in the Plaza



Silvinia has a baptismal date of January 18, 2014

Looks like a pedicure for these two!!



Merry Christmas!!!

December 21, 2013

Singing in the Plaza


Mama

Hey... I hope that you are doing very well and that you are having a good week. Staying strong and being positive. I want you to know that all is well here. Todo Bien.

Here is what I read to keep me going along.

Doctrine and Covenants 31

 1 Thomas, my son, blessed are you because of your faith in my work.

 2 Behold, you have had many afflictions because of your family; nevertheless, I will bless you and your family, yea, your little ones; and the day cometh that they will believe and know the truth and be one with you in my church.

 3 Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation.

 4 You shall declare the things which have been revealed to my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun. You shall begin to preach from this time forth, yea, to reap in the field which is white already to be burned.

 5 Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back, for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Wherefore, your family shall live.

 6 Behold, verily I say unto you, go from them only for a little time, and declare my word, and I will prepare a place for them.

 7 Yea, I will open the hearts of the people, and they will receive you. And I will establish a church by your hand;

So... there you go. That is the scripture that has been helping me. I am fine. I am good. I am not going to let something like this distract me from what is important. The hardest thing for me is probably not being there to help you out. I worry about you and how you are going to go about doing all of your things without any help. But hey, I have faith that the Lord is going to provide for my family while I am here.

I want you to know that I haven´t gotten the package sent home... but I did finish all of the Christmas cards. It took me forever. There are like 50 of them, so you are going to have to be on top of delivering them. Haha. The people will probably get them by Valentine’s Day.

To answer your question about the weather; it is really hot here right now and it isn´t raining. It is about 90 degrees and it is humid. I wear a short sleeve shirt every single day, and I have probably the sweetest tan line ever from where my watch is. Hey... I want you to know also that I wear that red watch all the time, just like back in the good old days.  But yeah... in our bedroom in the house it is usually in the 90s. And no, there is no such thing as air conditioning in the majority of the houses.  If you send chocolate... it might melt, but I don’t know. It can be refrozen in our house. (We have a freezer).

That is very nice of Uncle Butch to send me Christmas money. Hey, I made him a Christmas card, so he will get that eventually. I will also whip out a thank you note at some point.

I like to sing... but we have been doing WAY too much of it. Haha. We have been singing more than we have been actually working. Last night we went and sang in the plaza. I sent pictures of that. It was cool. Then we had a Christmas activity in the church and our baptismal goal came!

The baptismal goal is named Silvina. She is legit. Her dad is a member, named Orlando. He is blind (visually); but she is progressing a ton. We basically teach her every single day and we leave homework for her to do, like answer questions about chapters in the Book of Mormon. And she actually does everything we ask her to do! That is the cool part. She will get baptized. We got the fecha for the 18th of January. So we will see how that goes. I am pretty confident that it will happen. We have had some really powerful lessons with some serious guidance from the spirit.


I hope that you enjoy the photos today! I only sent about 30 of them. Haha. There is one of us at the infamous foot doctor. She looked at my feet again, and they look pretty good she said. Nothing is ingrown. Nothing is wrong. So... that is good.

In other news...I think I could probably shave twice a day... because I basically have a beard by the end of each day. You can actually see the shadow in a lot of the photos.

Hey... make sure that you keep the blog nice and updated. Elder Borup’s family lives vicariously through my photos because Elder Borup doesn´t send any pictures home. I think his camera got a virus or something. Deal?

Well, I think that is all for me for now. I will be looking forward to seeing you on Christmas!  Have your questions ready for me... because we both know how fast that time passes on the phone.

Elder Warren