 |
| 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!! |
Elder McKay Marble Warren~~ Chile Osorno Mission
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Christmastime in Osorno, Chile
Merry Christmas!!!
December 21, 2013
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
 |
| 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
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
A Pretty Good Week!
December 14, 2013
Hey,
I hope you are doing well! Haha. It is kind of funny that we are like chatting live here on the computer. Haha. Pero Mientras... Le Voy a Escribir.
So this week was a pretty good week. We worked... almost like normal. We actually have not been in our sector a bunch. This week we had a zone conference! That was pretty sweet. We all wore Santa hats and sang songs from Christmas as a zone. Well... we were actually with three zones. La Union, Rahue, y Osorno. It was a good day. That lasted from 9 am to 5 pm. Then we walked like four miles back to our sector, and then walked another mile to Centro for choir practice. We are working on a choir performance for a Christmas devotional. And yesterday... we got the whole zone together and we went to sing carols to the investigators in each sector that have a baptismal date. That was way sweet. So now I know all of Osorno. It was pretty legit, actually.
So... I want you to know that we played American football today. It was sweet. Another Elder came and played with us today...Elder Medel. He is actually a professional football player. He played for the Mexican National team. How sweet is that? He plays full back... and he is a beast. It was a lot of fun... but I definitely pulled a muscle and I can tell I will be very sore for the next few days, actually. But it happens I guess. I am getting old and a little out of shape, actually.
So...We are getting coordinated with Elder Borup about when we are going to call home. He is going to call at 10 your time, because that way he can three-way with his parents and his sister who is in Argentina on her mission. So we can talk at like 11 your time? Does that work?
So... I want you to know that Elder Borup and I made Christmas cards... like 60 each. And those will be headed up in a box soon. You will have to deliver them for me, deal? Obviously they won’t get there before Christmas, but I think the people back home will still enjoy the cards when they get them.
Also, we are teaching this lady named Silvina. She is a really cool lady. She is reading in the Book of Mormon and she wants to get baptized. She has a baptismal date for the 18th of January. It is just hard to get her at church because she has a young son who is blind and has other mental handicaps... so someone has to watch him.
I don´t really know what else to say this time. There isn´t much to tell, I guess. It was just a fairly normal week.
Well..... I just got your email. I don´t really know what to say. I have no idea what to think. I am filled with sadness, anger, and frustration all at the same time. I will try to stay focused.
Elder Warren
 |
| Three Zones |
Hey,
I hope you are doing well! Haha. It is kind of funny that we are like chatting live here on the computer. Haha. Pero Mientras... Le Voy a Escribir.
So this week was a pretty good week. We worked... almost like normal. We actually have not been in our sector a bunch. This week we had a zone conference! That was pretty sweet. We all wore Santa hats and sang songs from Christmas as a zone. Well... we were actually with three zones. La Union, Rahue, y Osorno. It was a good day. That lasted from 9 am to 5 pm. Then we walked like four miles back to our sector, and then walked another mile to Centro for choir practice. We are working on a choir performance for a Christmas devotional. And yesterday... we got the whole zone together and we went to sing carols to the investigators in each sector that have a baptismal date. That was way sweet. So now I know all of Osorno. It was pretty legit, actually.
So... I want you to know that we played American football today. It was sweet. Another Elder came and played with us today...Elder Medel. He is actually a professional football player. He played for the Mexican National team. How sweet is that? He plays full back... and he is a beast. It was a lot of fun... but I definitely pulled a muscle and I can tell I will be very sore for the next few days, actually. But it happens I guess. I am getting old and a little out of shape, actually.
So...We are getting coordinated with Elder Borup about when we are going to call home. He is going to call at 10 your time, because that way he can three-way with his parents and his sister who is in Argentina on her mission. So we can talk at like 11 your time? Does that work?
So... I want you to know that Elder Borup and I made Christmas cards... like 60 each. And those will be headed up in a box soon. You will have to deliver them for me, deal? Obviously they won’t get there before Christmas, but I think the people back home will still enjoy the cards when they get them.
 |
| Homemade Christmas Cards |
I don´t really know what else to say this time. There isn´t much to tell, I guess. It was just a fairly normal week.
Well..... I just got your email. I don´t really know what to say. I have no idea what to think. I am filled with sadness, anger, and frustration all at the same time. I will try to stay focused.
Elder Warren
Saturday, December 7, 2013
La Matid Ya Se Fue
December 7, 2013
Mom,
It is pretty crazy to think about the fact that I have now been a missionary for over a year. Like... I think back to one year ago and I was still a missionary. That is a really weird feeling. It is also weird to think that in less than a year from now I will be at home. It blows my mind how fast things have passed. I was going to send you a picture of what I looked like this year on December 5th, but this cyber isn´t a very good one... and I don´t want to get my new camera infected. Yep, that is right. I got the package with the camera and stuff! Thank you so much. This camera takes FAR better pictures than the last one. All of the pictures look really good.
Hey, guess what? Elder Borup made me a cake for my one year anniversary. He is a stud. We used the Twizzlers to write "1 Año" on the cake. We went over to an investigators house and ate cake with her and her dad. It was a pretty good day.
Thinking back on the last year is weird. Like...half of my mission is gone. But the weirdest thing is that... the mission has been absolutely nothing like I expected. Not at all. I think before the mission I had this unrealistic, idealized thought about what missionaries are and what they do. I thought it would be this great spiritual high all the time. Like...constantly having one of those awesome spiritual moments. I thought that it would just... become natural. And maybe it has a little, but it isn´t easy. I sometimes say to people that it isn´t all sunshine and rainbows, mostly because the sun doesn´t shine and it doesn’t stop raining long enough to see rainbows. Haha. But really, it has been a hard year of my life. It is hard being away from home. It is hard learning another language. It is hard living in another country where the traditions and customs are different. It is hard to have wet feet all of the time. It is hard to get up each day and get excited to knock doors for 8 hours in the pouring rain. It is hard to live with companions who come from different backgrounds and have a different way of logic and reasoning. It is hard. It is hard to not see the results of our labors. It is hard to get rejected thousands of times. It is more disappointment than triumph. But it is important. It is worth it. I have come so far. I have learned a lot of things. I am learning to face adversity. I am learning to work with other people. I am learning to have charity and serve and love the people here. I am trying to improve and get better each day. Trust me, I have a long ways to go before I will reach my goals and become the person that I want to be... but I am on the right track. And I am doing the Lords work. That fact alone keeps me going. This isn´t my time, this is the Lords time. I am expected to keep moving forward and to bring the world His truth.
I have a year left. One half. Everyone says that I am on the descent now. That now the time will go by twice as fast. We will see. But all I know is that I am going to do all that I can to fulfill my purpose here. I was called here for a reason. I am going to give it all I have. I feel like I spent the first year learning the ropes and really getting comfortable. The first year gaining the experience I need to really be an effective instrument in the hands of God. Now, I have some knowledge and some experience. I am going to apply what I have learned and really go for it here. Obviously there is a lot left to learn, so I will keep trying to improve. But now is the time to shine. I have nothing to lose here.
In other news... We will be talking on Skype here pretty quickly. I want you to pick. I can call the 23, 24 or 25th. Pick a day. We need to start coordinating it as soon as we can. I want you to respond to this part of the email immediately because I will actually be logged on to my email account on Monday morning. So let me know and tell me a time. And… try and figure out the time difference. I think it is like 4 hours or something like that.
Hey... could you send me the recipe for you chocolate chip cookies! I have been going Betty Crocker style recently, but that gets really expensive.
Also... be looking for a package in the mail. Haha. There is a surprise coming and I think you will enjoy it, actually. We have been.... very festive this year.
The work is going really well here, actually. We are trying to get the investigators to church. We have 8 investigators committed to the church activity tonight, so hopefully they come. Yesterday was easily one of the greatest days ever. We taught 7 lessons in one day... which is awesome for us. We went from lesson to lesson and we were teaching all day. It was cool.
Today we went and played American football with all of the missionaries in the zone. It has been so long since I have played football. It was a ton of fun. After that we went to some restaurant to do an ice cream challenge. It was way easier than the ColdStone challenge. But it was still a ton of ice cream.
Well... I think that is it for me. Keep the faith. Keep busy. Keep happy.
Elder Warren
p.s. I sent that letter so long ago that I don´t even remember what it said. Haha. No, don´t send me pens. I have a million. I am in a big enough city that I can buy anything here that they sell up there... almost. They even have an Apple store here.
 |
| Elder Warren Provo MTC December 5, 2012 |
Mom,
It is pretty crazy to think about the fact that I have now been a missionary for over a year. Like... I think back to one year ago and I was still a missionary. That is a really weird feeling. It is also weird to think that in less than a year from now I will be at home. It blows my mind how fast things have passed. I was going to send you a picture of what I looked like this year on December 5th, but this cyber isn´t a very good one... and I don´t want to get my new camera infected. Yep, that is right. I got the package with the camera and stuff! Thank you so much. This camera takes FAR better pictures than the last one. All of the pictures look really good.
Hey, guess what? Elder Borup made me a cake for my one year anniversary. He is a stud. We used the Twizzlers to write "1 Año" on the cake. We went over to an investigators house and ate cake with her and her dad. It was a pretty good day.
Thinking back on the last year is weird. Like...half of my mission is gone. But the weirdest thing is that... the mission has been absolutely nothing like I expected. Not at all. I think before the mission I had this unrealistic, idealized thought about what missionaries are and what they do. I thought it would be this great spiritual high all the time. Like...constantly having one of those awesome spiritual moments. I thought that it would just... become natural. And maybe it has a little, but it isn´t easy. I sometimes say to people that it isn´t all sunshine and rainbows, mostly because the sun doesn´t shine and it doesn’t stop raining long enough to see rainbows. Haha. But really, it has been a hard year of my life. It is hard being away from home. It is hard learning another language. It is hard living in another country where the traditions and customs are different. It is hard to have wet feet all of the time. It is hard to get up each day and get excited to knock doors for 8 hours in the pouring rain. It is hard to live with companions who come from different backgrounds and have a different way of logic and reasoning. It is hard. It is hard to not see the results of our labors. It is hard to get rejected thousands of times. It is more disappointment than triumph. But it is important. It is worth it. I have come so far. I have learned a lot of things. I am learning to face adversity. I am learning to work with other people. I am learning to have charity and serve and love the people here. I am trying to improve and get better each day. Trust me, I have a long ways to go before I will reach my goals and become the person that I want to be... but I am on the right track. And I am doing the Lords work. That fact alone keeps me going. This isn´t my time, this is the Lords time. I am expected to keep moving forward and to bring the world His truth.
I have a year left. One half. Everyone says that I am on the descent now. That now the time will go by twice as fast. We will see. But all I know is that I am going to do all that I can to fulfill my purpose here. I was called here for a reason. I am going to give it all I have. I feel like I spent the first year learning the ropes and really getting comfortable. The first year gaining the experience I need to really be an effective instrument in the hands of God. Now, I have some knowledge and some experience. I am going to apply what I have learned and really go for it here. Obviously there is a lot left to learn, so I will keep trying to improve. But now is the time to shine. I have nothing to lose here.
In other news... We will be talking on Skype here pretty quickly. I want you to pick. I can call the 23, 24 or 25th. Pick a day. We need to start coordinating it as soon as we can. I want you to respond to this part of the email immediately because I will actually be logged on to my email account on Monday morning. So let me know and tell me a time. And… try and figure out the time difference. I think it is like 4 hours or something like that.
Hey... could you send me the recipe for you chocolate chip cookies! I have been going Betty Crocker style recently, but that gets really expensive.
Also... be looking for a package in the mail. Haha. There is a surprise coming and I think you will enjoy it, actually. We have been.... very festive this year.
The work is going really well here, actually. We are trying to get the investigators to church. We have 8 investigators committed to the church activity tonight, so hopefully they come. Yesterday was easily one of the greatest days ever. We taught 7 lessons in one day... which is awesome for us. We went from lesson to lesson and we were teaching all day. It was cool.
Today we went and played American football with all of the missionaries in the zone. It has been so long since I have played football. It was a ton of fun. After that we went to some restaurant to do an ice cream challenge. It was way easier than the ColdStone challenge. But it was still a ton of ice cream.
Well... I think that is it for me. Keep the faith. Keep busy. Keep happy.
Elder Warren
p.s. I sent that letter so long ago that I don´t even remember what it said. Haha. No, don´t send me pens. I have a million. I am in a big enough city that I can buy anything here that they sell up there... almost. They even have an Apple store here.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Life is Good!
November 30, 2013
Mamita
What´s up, my sweet lady mother? I hope that everything is going well for you! I am sorry to hear that story about your friend... that is really sad. But, everything happens for a reason, and sometimes we just don´t understand.
Mom... I really hope you are enjoying all of the pictures that I am sending you. This week I took quite a few. Do you see that nice one of me with the cinnamon roll looking thing?? Yeah... Elder Borup and I eat that every single day for dinner. It isn´t a cinnamon roll. It is called pan con chicharron (bread with chunks of pig fat) and it is heaven!!! It isn´t healthy... at all, but who cares! Just heat those babies up in la microwave for like... 30 seconds. Awesome!! Haha. Don´t worry though, we keep ourselves in shape. We have huge hills in our sector that we constantly have to climb... and we go running in the mornings. Also, Elder Borup has a pedometer and we are clocking in at like 6 miles a day walking, which is decent. Haha.
Mom.... I FORGOT TO TELL YOU THE MOST EXCITING NEWS EVER OF MY LIFE!!!! You know how I would write and tell you about Alexandra when I was in Villarrica? How she was waiting to get married and then she was going to get baptized? She and Juan got MARRIED and she got BAPTIZED!!!! Hermana McNeil told me that when I saw her in the bus terminal last week. She said that she mentioned me in her testimony durante el servicio bautismal. I was so happy to hear that. And also that family that we were teaching in Llanquihue, with Elder Amone? I think I already told you, but the whole family got baptized and now.... Marta, the lady, is the Mamita!!!!! Life is sweet. I may never see a baptism, but I don´t really care. Because I know for sure that my efforts are not being wasted!!!
In other news.... our house flooded yesterday! Haha. It was a mess! We spent most of the day cleaning up and drying everything. A pipe burst under the sink... and we got it fixed. Oh... and we decided we were going to clean our disgusting house. The problem here in the mission is that all of the houses are absolutely disgusting and full of mold and filth... because missionaries never clean them. So we decided to give the house a deep cleaning. The picture I sent is what elder Borup wiped off the floor in one wipe!!! Disgusting! But it is starting to look better and smell better.
Hey... I sent you a picture of me with the tree!!! The Christmas tree is so legit. We are making all of the ornaments of all of the things other missionaries have left behind in the house. It has so many ornaments. And those reindeer?? Those we made out of socks that somebody left in the house. We basically decorate all the time when we aren´t busy doing something else.
In other news...Elder Borup has a portable ping pong net. We set it up on our desk and ponged it up for a while. Haha. He is so cool. He is making me a hat right now, crochet style. I am pumped.
Mom... I actually have good news to report about how the work is going here!! Finally! We are working hard and talking to every single person. Not only that... but every time we teach a lesson to somebody, we invite them to be baptized. I have never really done that in my mission.... mostly because of fear. But we made the decision to do that as a companionship. So.... the other day we were out knocking doors. After one got slammed in our face... we moved on to the next one. And guess what happened there? The man invited us in right away. That NEVER happens. We met his family and they gave us some toast. Then we just kind of chatted with them for a while about cualquier cosa; just things about life. And guess what we did next. We taught them the restoration. Then... I invited them both to be baptized. They ACCEPTED! Legit! They’ve got a fecha for the 28th of December. So we are going to keep working on them.
We also have some new investigators. Marcelo y Ingrid. They are super sweet. We found them with Elder Pereyra and taught them a short little lesson. We went back with Elder Borup, and guess what we did? We taught the entire restoration to them and invited them to be baptized. And guess what? They ACCEPTED! They got their fecha for January 5th. So we will keep working with them. They are so cool. We asked them a few questions and Marcelo said, "I don´t really understand it... but I just feel compelled to talk to you guys. We have a very busy schedule, but I feel like listening to you when you come is far more important than whatever else we have going on." The dude is sweet. He is a truck driver, so he is gone a lot on Sundays. That is going to be the challenge with them, I think.
So...The work is going well. We are teaching quite a few lessons. We have five investigators that have baptismal dates and we have a few more that are coming to church. Life... is good.
My first district meeting went really well. I made cookies for everyone. I have a pretty big district (four companionships) but the meeting went well. In the district we have six Elderes and two Hermana’s. We have people from the United States, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala in the district. Haha. Pretty diverse. I still don´t like how often I am on the phone, though. Every single night I am on the phone for like an hour and a half straight, verifying numbers and things like that. But... I guess I will get used to it.
Mom... I think that is all for me this week. I am doing well. We are going to take like six hour nap today... because we are exhausted. Hahaha. Check out the pics, they don´t all go on in order. Have you seen the videos? It is of me eating fruit cake. It is gross, but everyone loves it here. Haha.
Have a good week!
Elder Warren
 |
What´s up, my sweet lady mother? I hope that everything is going well for you! I am sorry to hear that story about your friend... that is really sad. But, everything happens for a reason, and sometimes we just don´t understand.
 |
| NOT a Cinnamon Roll!! |
Mom... I really hope you are enjoying all of the pictures that I am sending you. This week I took quite a few. Do you see that nice one of me with the cinnamon roll looking thing?? Yeah... Elder Borup and I eat that every single day for dinner. It isn´t a cinnamon roll. It is called pan con chicharron (bread with chunks of pig fat) and it is heaven!!! It isn´t healthy... at all, but who cares! Just heat those babies up in la microwave for like... 30 seconds. Awesome!! Haha. Don´t worry though, we keep ourselves in shape. We have huge hills in our sector that we constantly have to climb... and we go running in the mornings. Also, Elder Borup has a pedometer and we are clocking in at like 6 miles a day walking, which is decent. Haha.
Mom.... I FORGOT TO TELL YOU THE MOST EXCITING NEWS EVER OF MY LIFE!!!! You know how I would write and tell you about Alexandra when I was in Villarrica? How she was waiting to get married and then she was going to get baptized? She and Juan got MARRIED and she got BAPTIZED!!!! Hermana McNeil told me that when I saw her in the bus terminal last week. She said that she mentioned me in her testimony durante el servicio bautismal. I was so happy to hear that. And also that family that we were teaching in Llanquihue, with Elder Amone? I think I already told you, but the whole family got baptized and now.... Marta, the lady, is the Mamita!!!!! Life is sweet. I may never see a baptism, but I don´t really care. Because I know for sure that my efforts are not being wasted!!!
In other news.... our house flooded yesterday! Haha. It was a mess! We spent most of the day cleaning up and drying everything. A pipe burst under the sink... and we got it fixed. Oh... and we decided we were going to clean our disgusting house. The problem here in the mission is that all of the houses are absolutely disgusting and full of mold and filth... because missionaries never clean them. So we decided to give the house a deep cleaning. The picture I sent is what elder Borup wiped off the floor in one wipe!!! Disgusting! But it is starting to look better and smell better.
Hey... I sent you a picture of me with the tree!!! The Christmas tree is so legit. We are making all of the ornaments of all of the things other missionaries have left behind in the house. It has so many ornaments. And those reindeer?? Those we made out of socks that somebody left in the house. We basically decorate all the time when we aren´t busy doing something else.
In other news...Elder Borup has a portable ping pong net. We set it up on our desk and ponged it up for a while. Haha. He is so cool. He is making me a hat right now, crochet style. I am pumped.
Mom... I actually have good news to report about how the work is going here!! Finally! We are working hard and talking to every single person. Not only that... but every time we teach a lesson to somebody, we invite them to be baptized. I have never really done that in my mission.... mostly because of fear. But we made the decision to do that as a companionship. So.... the other day we were out knocking doors. After one got slammed in our face... we moved on to the next one. And guess what happened there? The man invited us in right away. That NEVER happens. We met his family and they gave us some toast. Then we just kind of chatted with them for a while about cualquier cosa; just things about life. And guess what we did next. We taught them the restoration. Then... I invited them both to be baptized. They ACCEPTED! Legit! They’ve got a fecha for the 28th of December. So we are going to keep working on them.
We also have some new investigators. Marcelo y Ingrid. They are super sweet. We found them with Elder Pereyra and taught them a short little lesson. We went back with Elder Borup, and guess what we did? We taught the entire restoration to them and invited them to be baptized. And guess what? They ACCEPTED! They got their fecha for January 5th. So we will keep working with them. They are so cool. We asked them a few questions and Marcelo said, "I don´t really understand it... but I just feel compelled to talk to you guys. We have a very busy schedule, but I feel like listening to you when you come is far more important than whatever else we have going on." The dude is sweet. He is a truck driver, so he is gone a lot on Sundays. That is going to be the challenge with them, I think.
So...The work is going well. We are teaching quite a few lessons. We have five investigators that have baptismal dates and we have a few more that are coming to church. Life... is good.
My first district meeting went really well. I made cookies for everyone. I have a pretty big district (four companionships) but the meeting went well. In the district we have six Elderes and two Hermana’s. We have people from the United States, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala in the district. Haha. Pretty diverse. I still don´t like how often I am on the phone, though. Every single night I am on the phone for like an hour and a half straight, verifying numbers and things like that. But... I guess I will get used to it.
Mom... I think that is all for me this week. I am doing well. We are going to take like six hour nap today... because we are exhausted. Hahaha. Check out the pics, they don´t all go on in order. Have you seen the videos? It is of me eating fruit cake. It is gross, but everyone loves it here. Haha.
Have a good week!
Elder Warren
Monday, November 25, 2013
Miracles Happen.
November 23, 2013
Mom,
I have a new companion. Miracles happen. Thank goodness. The new guy just finished his training. He is still learning Spanish, so I am helping him out. We get along really well and we have a lot of things in common. We have the same goofy personality. Let me tell ya... after so long of living with someone from another country, it is nice to be living with a gringo now. I am not trying to sound racist... but it is easier to be myself with more... familiar kinds of people. His name is Elder Borup. He is from Orem, Utah. He is 18...a young ‘un. We are having a lot of fun and we are already seeing some good progress in the sector.
As far as my birthday went... it was pretty good, actually. We didn´t go to the zone activity, but we did still manage to have a good time. We went and ate a pichanga with some members. Also, we went to eat pizza, cake, kuchen, and some other stuff. I sent you a video in Dropbox of them singing Happy Birthday to me. It was a decent birthday. I also sent you a picture with all of the gifts that I got.... except for the banana bread that I got from the Mission President and his wife. It was a good day.
Did I mention that I am staying in Ovejería? My companion is the one that left. Also.... I have sort of been given a new calling. President Rappleye called me last Saturday to be the new district leader here. I don´t really know what to think. It is a little overwhelming. I am used to just focusing on my own sector and our investigators and numbers. But now I have to worry about the other sectors and their numbers and investigators. I have to do a lot more paper work and teach in the district meetings. And... I am constantly on the phone. That is my least favorite part, but I guess I will get used to that.
Hey... by the way... I forgot to tell you last time when I received the package, but you can´t send jerky here! If it gets caught then it is a 300 dollar fine. I don´t know if we lucked out because it was turkey jerky... but we should play it on the safe side and not send jerky.
Mom... you don´t need to send anything to me for Christmas. I don´t really know what they are going to be doing here or if we will exchange gifts or not. But it is so expensive to send packages. And I am in a big enough city that if I really need to buy something, I can probably find it. I will obviously get something for my companion, but I will just buy it here. Besides that… Elder Borup and I already set up our Christmas tree! Haha. We found one!!! And it has lights on it. It is basically a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, but hey... it works.
Today we played a three on three basketball tournament. I was with Elder Gonsalvez and Elder Medel. We went undefeated. Haha. I really enjoy playing basketball, you know. And there are always Elders here that are down to play.
Well... I hope you have an excellent week!!! Te Quiero Mucho.
Elder Warren
P.S. Haha... I like your little Spanish touch on the email. Mucho Gusto means... like pleased to meet you; or...a pleasure. You’re a cute little mama, haha.
 |
| Elder Warren and Elder Borup |
I have a new companion. Miracles happen. Thank goodness. The new guy just finished his training. He is still learning Spanish, so I am helping him out. We get along really well and we have a lot of things in common. We have the same goofy personality. Let me tell ya... after so long of living with someone from another country, it is nice to be living with a gringo now. I am not trying to sound racist... but it is easier to be myself with more... familiar kinds of people. His name is Elder Borup. He is from Orem, Utah. He is 18...a young ‘un. We are having a lot of fun and we are already seeing some good progress in the sector.
As far as my birthday went... it was pretty good, actually. We didn´t go to the zone activity, but we did still manage to have a good time. We went and ate a pichanga with some members. Also, we went to eat pizza, cake, kuchen, and some other stuff. I sent you a video in Dropbox of them singing Happy Birthday to me. It was a decent birthday. I also sent you a picture with all of the gifts that I got.... except for the banana bread that I got from the Mission President and his wife. It was a good day.
 |
| Gifts from the Members!! |
 |
| Happy Birthday Boy!! |
Hey... by the way... I forgot to tell you last time when I received the package, but you can´t send jerky here! If it gets caught then it is a 300 dollar fine. I don´t know if we lucked out because it was turkey jerky... but we should play it on the safe side and not send jerky.
Mom... you don´t need to send anything to me for Christmas. I don´t really know what they are going to be doing here or if we will exchange gifts or not. But it is so expensive to send packages. And I am in a big enough city that if I really need to buy something, I can probably find it. I will obviously get something for my companion, but I will just buy it here. Besides that… Elder Borup and I already set up our Christmas tree! Haha. We found one!!! And it has lights on it. It is basically a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, but hey... it works.
Today we played a three on three basketball tournament. I was with Elder Gonsalvez and Elder Medel. We went undefeated. Haha. I really enjoy playing basketball, you know. And there are always Elders here that are down to play.
Well... I hope you have an excellent week!!! Te Quiero Mucho.
Elder Warren
P.S. Haha... I like your little Spanish touch on the email. Mucho Gusto means... like pleased to meet you; or...a pleasure. You’re a cute little mama, haha.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
20 Years...Very Old!!!
November 16, 2013
Mom,
Well... today is the big day. 20 years old. I have been dreading it all week. I actually have been feeling a little depressed this week. I don’t know why. 20 just seems so old to me. I feel like my juventud is gone; my childhood, my youth. It is starting to sink in that I am not a kid anymore. I am an adult. The next milestone is 25... And that freaks me right out. The future sometimes is scary to me. In five years... I will be five years older, five years balder, five years fatter, and full of more responsibilities. But I guess I just have to roll with it and see what happens.
20... I feel like as a 20 year old person I need to be stepping it up. I need to start... pushing myself a little bit more. I am in charge of my personal progress; if I am not actively becoming the person that I want to be... I am automatically engaged in becoming someone I don’t want to be. I have been thinking all week about some good goals to set for myself. I am going to make it happen.
Wanna hear something great? The zone is going to do an activity today for my birthday. They have planned to go play basketball-- (Excellent!). Eat Chinese food-- (I haven’t eaten Chinese since I left the United States). And then to go bowling-- (I haven´t done that in so long!!) I am so excited!! Or.... I was so excited. They planned to do all of that for my birthday... but then my companion.... decided he didn´t want to participate, and that he would rather take a nap today. That is what he wants to do. He threw a fit and called the district leader and said that we wouldn´t be participating in my birthday activity with the zone. And really... there is nothing that I can do about it. I tried to talk to him about it, but he just said he refused and that I couldn´t make him go to the activity. And he is right...and I can´t go anywhere without him. Frustrating! It is like he is jealous that today isn´t his birthday. He continues with his very childish behavior.
But don´t worry, Mom. We have been invited by some members tonight to have a party, two different parties, actually. So it will still be all good. Haha. I am just... learning patience.
To answer your question about transfers... We find out today about the transfers. I have no idea what is going to happen. My companion finishes his mission in four weeks... he finishes two weeks before the end of the next transfer. I am not really sure why. I guess it is possible that I will stay with him for the next four weeks... but it will be complicated because they are shipping him out early. Maybe they will put us in a trio for the next four weeks or something.
Hey... I think that you will really appreciate the pictures that I put on today. They are pictures of me in action, contacting real people in the street. How sweet is that??? I also drew a moustache on the woman on the back of my cereal box and ordered a pizza. Oh, and a picture with a big bull in the city center.
I am doing well. I am fairly happy, considering the circumstances. I try and stay positive. I try to keep my companion working. He has totally 100 percent checked out mentally. He leaves the 18th of December. He is always talking about that. Always talking about what he is going to do when he gets home. How his dad bought him a mansion, a Chevy Camaro, how his girlfriend is a lawyer, and a bunch of other nonsense. Apparently he is getting married as soon as he gets home. He has notified the whole world. Ahh… frustrating! He also has a filthy mouth when talking about women. Absolutely filthy! I have talked to him about it, but he doesn´t care. The other day he yelled something very, very dirty at a teenage girl that was walking past us. He is just.... out of control.
Well... that is all for today. I hope you have a fantastic week. I hope Thanksgiving will be awesome. They don´t celebrate it here.
Elder Warren
 |
| Happy Birthday Pie!! |
Mom,
Well... today is the big day. 20 years old. I have been dreading it all week. I actually have been feeling a little depressed this week. I don’t know why. 20 just seems so old to me. I feel like my juventud is gone; my childhood, my youth. It is starting to sink in that I am not a kid anymore. I am an adult. The next milestone is 25... And that freaks me right out. The future sometimes is scary to me. In five years... I will be five years older, five years balder, five years fatter, and full of more responsibilities. But I guess I just have to roll with it and see what happens.
20... I feel like as a 20 year old person I need to be stepping it up. I need to start... pushing myself a little bit more. I am in charge of my personal progress; if I am not actively becoming the person that I want to be... I am automatically engaged in becoming someone I don’t want to be. I have been thinking all week about some good goals to set for myself. I am going to make it happen.
Wanna hear something great? The zone is going to do an activity today for my birthday. They have planned to go play basketball-- (Excellent!). Eat Chinese food-- (I haven’t eaten Chinese since I left the United States). And then to go bowling-- (I haven´t done that in so long!!) I am so excited!! Or.... I was so excited. They planned to do all of that for my birthday... but then my companion.... decided he didn´t want to participate, and that he would rather take a nap today. That is what he wants to do. He threw a fit and called the district leader and said that we wouldn´t be participating in my birthday activity with the zone. And really... there is nothing that I can do about it. I tried to talk to him about it, but he just said he refused and that I couldn´t make him go to the activity. And he is right...and I can´t go anywhere without him. Frustrating! It is like he is jealous that today isn´t his birthday. He continues with his very childish behavior.
But don´t worry, Mom. We have been invited by some members tonight to have a party, two different parties, actually. So it will still be all good. Haha. I am just... learning patience.
To answer your question about transfers... We find out today about the transfers. I have no idea what is going to happen. My companion finishes his mission in four weeks... he finishes two weeks before the end of the next transfer. I am not really sure why. I guess it is possible that I will stay with him for the next four weeks... but it will be complicated because they are shipping him out early. Maybe they will put us in a trio for the next four weeks or something.
I am doing well. I am fairly happy, considering the circumstances. I try and stay positive. I try to keep my companion working. He has totally 100 percent checked out mentally. He leaves the 18th of December. He is always talking about that. Always talking about what he is going to do when he gets home. How his dad bought him a mansion, a Chevy Camaro, how his girlfriend is a lawyer, and a bunch of other nonsense. Apparently he is getting married as soon as he gets home. He has notified the whole world. Ahh… frustrating! He also has a filthy mouth when talking about women. Absolutely filthy! I have talked to him about it, but he doesn´t care. The other day he yelled something very, very dirty at a teenage girl that was walking past us. He is just.... out of control.
Well... that is all for today. I hope you have a fantastic week. I hope Thanksgiving will be awesome. They don´t celebrate it here.
Elder Warren
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)