February 17, 2014
Mamá,
Well, I will start off by telling you that we have been doing a lot of traveling. So we left Porvenir on Tuesday to come to Punta Arenas and drop off Elder Keetch at the airport. Elder Powell got here on Wednesday. We left Thursday for Porvenir again. But we had to come back yesterday for a special Mission Conference! Wanna hear who came?? Walter F. Gonzalez of the Seventy, Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the Seventy and Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Twelve! Legit! They were all in the chapel in Puerto Varas up North. All of the missionaries from Pucon to Puerto Montt were actually present in the conference. We had to be there through satellite, Zona Punta Arenas and Zona Cohyaique (too far to pay for all of the plane rides). It was sweet, actually. Let me tell you about the miracle.
We were in the capilla, and it was like a conference call kind of thing. We could see them in the capilla in Puerto Varas y in Cohyaique. But there was some kind of a problem that we couldn't hear the people speaking from the pulpit in Puerto Varas. They were scrambling trying to fix it for like a half hour. Cohyaique also couldn’t hear anything. So then we all just knelt down. All 30 of us in Punta Arenas and all 24 in Cohyaique, saying a personal prayer that the transmission would work so that we could hear the words of the apostles and authorities. I looked up from my prayer for a second on the big screen to see all of us on the web cam and all of Cohyaique kneeling in prayer. It was POWERFUL; 54 missionaries praying as fervently as they could to be able to hear the instrucciones of the apostles. The spirit came into that room almost like I have never before felt in my life. We all finished praying. We are sitting there for like a minute and then.... boom. There is sound and we get to hear the conference! It was a miracle. It was seriously the coolest thing ever; definitely a highlight.
So, the talks were great. We will just say my whole perspective of the mission has changed. I am just so pumped up to keep working; To better my efforts; To increase my knowledge; To work hard; To keep going strong. It was definitely great to be "present" at this special mission conference.
Okay, so I will tell you a little bit about my companion. He is the coolest guy. He is from Heber. He is a soccer player, and I think that he is going to play in the university after the misión. He is super nice. 19 years old. He has 6 months on the mission. I think that he is an absolute missionary machine. He speaks the language really well; really well for the time that he has. He knows what he is doing. He talks to people. He works hard, which is awesome. He has a good, positive attitude. He is just a really good missionary. We get along really well. Really well.
The food here in Chile just isn’t very healthy. It is just all carbs; potatoes, rice, bread, sometimes I gain a little weight, but I lose it quickly. With Elder Powell, we get up a half hour early to leave to go jogging. So I am already losing a little bit of weight. I was totally going to send you a picture today, but I left my cable in Porvenir. So next week will be when I send pictures. Deal?
Wait... Lindsey Bills and Ethan Clark are getting married.... to each other? That is crazy!! Super crazy! I didn’t know that.
Hey, I sometimes worry about you having a back surgery like that while I am not there. Who is going to take care of you during your rehab?
Speaking of Elder Borup, we are sleeping in his house again tonight and tomorrow night, I think. It is always super nice to talk to him and remember all of the good times in Ovejería. He was a super good companion for me.
Hey, send Jordan a B-day shout out for me. I don’t have his email address and I haven’t sent a letter yet. Deal?
Well, have a good week. Be safe. Be good. Read your scriptures. Okay?
Elder Warren
Elder McKay Marble Warren~~ Chile Osorno Mission
Monday, March 31, 2014
Door Slams!!
February 10, 2014
Mom!!!!
Hey, I want you to know first of all that it has been about six week since I have been here with Elder Keetch. He is leaving tomorrow. He is headed to Puerto Montt. My new companion will be Elder Powell, also from Utah. I think he has like 6 months on the mission or so. Something like that. It will be good. We are going to travel to Punta Arenas tomorrow on the barcaza (ferryboat). We will probably return back to Porvenir on Thursday or so. So... there is that news.
This week... was interesting. Haha. It is really funny sometimes how things happen. We seriously had EVERY single appointment fall this week. All of them. Every single one of them. Like... not kidding. But it is okay, because we took advantage of that to get to know people. We talked to as many people as possible in the streets (the streets are usually fairly deserted here). We knocked a bunch of doors. Oh my goodness. This week, I got a ton of doors slammed in my face. Usually people are polite enough to end the conversation nicely. But here?? Nope. I will be talking and people scream "go away!!" and then they slam the door in our faces. Haha. I usually don’t really get upset by that. I just kind of laugh about it and say. "Otro dia será" (maybe another day) and then we just keep going. That is what you gotta do. You just got to keep going. Laugh. Keep a good attitude. I feel like that is the secret to life; Attitude and Effort.
Wanna hear one miracle that happened this week though? Okay, so we had a bunch of appointments set up for the day. Like four. ALL OF THEM fell. So we said, “pucha, what are we going to do now?" So then we decided to go out and to look for a reference that we had received. We didn’t really know how to get there. We were just told that the person lived a kilo metro outside of the city by some hotel thing and they had a white car. So we start walking. We didn’t know for sure how to get there. But we kept going and found a house by the little hotel and they had a white car. So we go and we knock the door. A lady holding a baby opened the door. We commented how cute her baby was. I said, “Hey, you are friends with Carolina!" She just looked at us and then told us to come in! That never happens! Usually the references here are a little chanta, but this one was good. We go in and we talk to her and her husband for a little while. We get to know them. And then we taught them the restoration. They paid attention and actually PARTICIPATED in the lesson. They made comments and asked questions and everything. That NEVER happens here in Chile; at least not in my mission. I have always had to work so hard just for the people to sit still in the lessons. Most people don’t pay much attention or participate at all. They just sit there while we talk and they usually don’t answer questions. But these people were different. They asked some awesome questions. They asked intelligent questions. I have a good feeling about them. We set up an appointment and we will visit them again this week. Okay, so what was the point of that story? This is the Lords work. Not ours. We had plans to do something, but that all fell through because God had something better for us to do. He had a family that we needed to go find and to teach. He is in charge. We are just working hard so we can be the instruments in His hands.
You asked what I meant when I said the members are disseminated. I think the big problem is that we are so far away from other church members. The branch is weak here because of it. We are a branch in the stake of Punta Arenas, and the stake leaders only travel out here when there is Branch Conference. So, the members feel abandoned out here. There is never any training from stake leaders for the members of the church here really. The Branch President here has been the Branch President for 17 years!! That is way too long! You usually are only in for like 5 years. But there simply isn’t anyone else here that can fill his spot. Also, materials never arrive. The new handbooks for Joseph Fielding Smith haven’t arrived still. So nobody prepares lessons or anything. It is just kind of sad. Church starts at 10:00 here. Yesterday, at 10:00 we were the only ones in the building with one old guy. The meeting started almost 20 minutes late. And that happens every single week. People just don’t come. And those that do don’t come on time. The people just seem worn down and not very happy. They actually don’t really like the missionaries either. They are just disseminated. But it is okay. It is teaching us a lot. We are working really hard to help the members. We are doing a program to read the Book of Mormon in 4 months! There are a couple of people that are sort of excited about that. I think it should help.
Well, that is all for me. I am happy. I am staying positive. This is good for me. I really have to put all of my effort into this place. I am doing what the Lord would have me do. I am gaining really good experience. This is good.
Be happy. Be safe. I love you and miss you.
Elder Warren
Mom!!!!
Hey, I want you to know first of all that it has been about six week since I have been here with Elder Keetch. He is leaving tomorrow. He is headed to Puerto Montt. My new companion will be Elder Powell, also from Utah. I think he has like 6 months on the mission or so. Something like that. It will be good. We are going to travel to Punta Arenas tomorrow on the barcaza (ferryboat). We will probably return back to Porvenir on Thursday or so. So... there is that news.
This week... was interesting. Haha. It is really funny sometimes how things happen. We seriously had EVERY single appointment fall this week. All of them. Every single one of them. Like... not kidding. But it is okay, because we took advantage of that to get to know people. We talked to as many people as possible in the streets (the streets are usually fairly deserted here). We knocked a bunch of doors. Oh my goodness. This week, I got a ton of doors slammed in my face. Usually people are polite enough to end the conversation nicely. But here?? Nope. I will be talking and people scream "go away!!" and then they slam the door in our faces. Haha. I usually don’t really get upset by that. I just kind of laugh about it and say. "Otro dia será" (maybe another day) and then we just keep going. That is what you gotta do. You just got to keep going. Laugh. Keep a good attitude. I feel like that is the secret to life; Attitude and Effort.
Wanna hear one miracle that happened this week though? Okay, so we had a bunch of appointments set up for the day. Like four. ALL OF THEM fell. So we said, “pucha, what are we going to do now?" So then we decided to go out and to look for a reference that we had received. We didn’t really know how to get there. We were just told that the person lived a kilo metro outside of the city by some hotel thing and they had a white car. So we start walking. We didn’t know for sure how to get there. But we kept going and found a house by the little hotel and they had a white car. So we go and we knock the door. A lady holding a baby opened the door. We commented how cute her baby was. I said, “Hey, you are friends with Carolina!" She just looked at us and then told us to come in! That never happens! Usually the references here are a little chanta, but this one was good. We go in and we talk to her and her husband for a little while. We get to know them. And then we taught them the restoration. They paid attention and actually PARTICIPATED in the lesson. They made comments and asked questions and everything. That NEVER happens here in Chile; at least not in my mission. I have always had to work so hard just for the people to sit still in the lessons. Most people don’t pay much attention or participate at all. They just sit there while we talk and they usually don’t answer questions. But these people were different. They asked some awesome questions. They asked intelligent questions. I have a good feeling about them. We set up an appointment and we will visit them again this week. Okay, so what was the point of that story? This is the Lords work. Not ours. We had plans to do something, but that all fell through because God had something better for us to do. He had a family that we needed to go find and to teach. He is in charge. We are just working hard so we can be the instruments in His hands.
You asked what I meant when I said the members are disseminated. I think the big problem is that we are so far away from other church members. The branch is weak here because of it. We are a branch in the stake of Punta Arenas, and the stake leaders only travel out here when there is Branch Conference. So, the members feel abandoned out here. There is never any training from stake leaders for the members of the church here really. The Branch President here has been the Branch President for 17 years!! That is way too long! You usually are only in for like 5 years. But there simply isn’t anyone else here that can fill his spot. Also, materials never arrive. The new handbooks for Joseph Fielding Smith haven’t arrived still. So nobody prepares lessons or anything. It is just kind of sad. Church starts at 10:00 here. Yesterday, at 10:00 we were the only ones in the building with one old guy. The meeting started almost 20 minutes late. And that happens every single week. People just don’t come. And those that do don’t come on time. The people just seem worn down and not very happy. They actually don’t really like the missionaries either. They are just disseminated. But it is okay. It is teaching us a lot. We are working really hard to help the members. We are doing a program to read the Book of Mormon in 4 months! There are a couple of people that are sort of excited about that. I think it should help.
Well, that is all for me. I am happy. I am staying positive. This is good for me. I really have to put all of my effort into this place. I am doing what the Lord would have me do. I am gaining really good experience. This is good.
Be happy. Be safe. I love you and miss you.
Elder Warren
No Nos Pescan
February 3, 2014
Hey Mama,
This week was a little bit tough. We are working really hard; harder than I have probably ever worked on my mission. We are working to find new investigators to teach. And...We haven’t found a single one since I arrived here, which is a bummer. We are talking to as many people as possible. We are doing contacts. We ask for references. But people here just don’t want anything to do with us at all. But hey, I am not letting that really get me down. I am working hard and I feel good about that. I know that if we keep working and looking for the revelation from God, things will turn around here. I know that we just need to be patient and faithful always.
Hey, there were 17 at church here yesterday. We still haven’t broken twenty in church yet. It is a super weird thing. The members just... stopped coming to church like two months ago. And we don’t really know why. They are all super disseminated. We are working really hard to try and strengthen the members. We have started a Book of Mormon reading program where everyone in the branch is going to read the Book of Mormon in 4 months. They all had to sign contracts and everything. We will see how that goes. I have faith that if all the members start reading the Book of Mormon here.... this place will change. There will be excitement once again. We will start seeing real growth in the church. And actually, President Rappleye told me that if they start reading the Book of Mormon as a branch, the number of baptisms will go up. There is truth to that. There is a power that begins to flow into the life of an individual once they start a serious study of the Book of Mormon. I testify of that. It has happened in my own personal life here on the mission.
Hey, I heard about the Super bowl Sunday today! I had completely forgotten that it was going to happen yesterday. I actually didn’t even know which teams were in there. But Cool! It just made me think of your homemade wings for some reason. You are going to have to make those for me again sometime when I get home... in less than 10 months now! Crazy (with the cambios the way they are I will probably be home the 27th of November). I have been in Chile for like a whole year now! Time is passing too quickly.
I love you and hope everything is well. You are in my prayers and your letter is in the mail.
Elder Warren
Hey Mama,
This week was a little bit tough. We are working really hard; harder than I have probably ever worked on my mission. We are working to find new investigators to teach. And...We haven’t found a single one since I arrived here, which is a bummer. We are talking to as many people as possible. We are doing contacts. We ask for references. But people here just don’t want anything to do with us at all. But hey, I am not letting that really get me down. I am working hard and I feel good about that. I know that if we keep working and looking for the revelation from God, things will turn around here. I know that we just need to be patient and faithful always.
Hey, there were 17 at church here yesterday. We still haven’t broken twenty in church yet. It is a super weird thing. The members just... stopped coming to church like two months ago. And we don’t really know why. They are all super disseminated. We are working really hard to try and strengthen the members. We have started a Book of Mormon reading program where everyone in the branch is going to read the Book of Mormon in 4 months. They all had to sign contracts and everything. We will see how that goes. I have faith that if all the members start reading the Book of Mormon here.... this place will change. There will be excitement once again. We will start seeing real growth in the church. And actually, President Rappleye told me that if they start reading the Book of Mormon as a branch, the number of baptisms will go up. There is truth to that. There is a power that begins to flow into the life of an individual once they start a serious study of the Book of Mormon. I testify of that. It has happened in my own personal life here on the mission.
Hey, I heard about the Super bowl Sunday today! I had completely forgotten that it was going to happen yesterday. I actually didn’t even know which teams were in there. But Cool! It just made me think of your homemade wings for some reason. You are going to have to make those for me again sometime when I get home... in less than 10 months now! Crazy (with the cambios the way they are I will probably be home the 27th of November). I have been in Chile for like a whole year now! Time is passing too quickly.
I love you and hope everything is well. You are in my prayers and your letter is in the mail.
Elder Warren
Se Bautizo!!!
January 27, 2014
Mom!!!
Hey! I have good news! And you already know because I sent you the pictures first! But Cristian got baptized!!!! And Confirmed!! It was legit. Elder Keetch baptized him on Saturday and I confirmed him on Sunday in sacrament meeting. It was a really cool experience. I was really happy to see all of it. Haha. The only thing that is a little sad for me is that none of the members really came to support Cristian in his baptism. Elder Keetch and I worked super hard to plan everything. We even had programs made and printed. And guess what...? Nobody showed up; just the Branch President and a few other people. Oh boy... the Branch President was TICKED!!! He stood up on Sunday in sacrament meeting and threw some serious palos at the members. Holy cow! I have never seen anything like that in my life. The dude stands up after the sacrament and just starts ripping all of the members a new one for their lack of enthusiasm and commitment. It was awesome!!!! I don’t know if Branch Presidents are really allowed to stand up for 45 minutes in sacrament meeting and do that, but it was sweet.
In other news this week...I got a haircut. I buzzed my head again. The wind here is out of control. (Usually like 80 mph) super fuerte. So I got sick of my hair always getting messed up due to the wind. So it is nice and short. Haha. Nice and short. But I like it; although, I have the fear that I might go bald in a few years. Haha.
Mom, I want you to know that I am doing well. I don’t need anything. I am doing fine. We are getting up to play basketball every single morning. We eat a lot of cookies. We sometimes beat box and write funny rap songs at night, just to keep ourselves entertained. We make funny videos on my camera. I will show them to you someday.
I am glad that you had fun with the Borup’s. Cool son must equal cool parents. That is a fact. Hey, I got Adrienne’s Christmas card. Tell her thank you. Her kids are cute. We make pasta a lot with hot dogs in it. Also, we eat beans almost every single day here. I don’t like them at all because they make me sick to my stomach. But, it does serve me to lower my weight a little bit.
Sorry it is a little short this week. I had a lot to read and a couple emails to write. I had to write a long one to the Mission President this week. But hey, be good. Read your scriptures. Pray. Don’t miss me too much. I love you.
Much Love,
Elder Warren
 |
| Elder Keetch, Cristian, Elder Warren |
Hey! I have good news! And you already know because I sent you the pictures first! But Cristian got baptized!!!! And Confirmed!! It was legit. Elder Keetch baptized him on Saturday and I confirmed him on Sunday in sacrament meeting. It was a really cool experience. I was really happy to see all of it. Haha. The only thing that is a little sad for me is that none of the members really came to support Cristian in his baptism. Elder Keetch and I worked super hard to plan everything. We even had programs made and printed. And guess what...? Nobody showed up; just the Branch President and a few other people. Oh boy... the Branch President was TICKED!!! He stood up on Sunday in sacrament meeting and threw some serious palos at the members. Holy cow! I have never seen anything like that in my life. The dude stands up after the sacrament and just starts ripping all of the members a new one for their lack of enthusiasm and commitment. It was awesome!!!! I don’t know if Branch Presidents are really allowed to stand up for 45 minutes in sacrament meeting and do that, but it was sweet.
In other news this week...I got a haircut. I buzzed my head again. The wind here is out of control. (Usually like 80 mph) super fuerte. So I got sick of my hair always getting messed up due to the wind. So it is nice and short. Haha. Nice and short. But I like it; although, I have the fear that I might go bald in a few years. Haha.
Mom, I want you to know that I am doing well. I don’t need anything. I am doing fine. We are getting up to play basketball every single morning. We eat a lot of cookies. We sometimes beat box and write funny rap songs at night, just to keep ourselves entertained. We make funny videos on my camera. I will show them to you someday.
I am glad that you had fun with the Borup’s. Cool son must equal cool parents. That is a fact. Hey, I got Adrienne’s Christmas card. Tell her thank you. Her kids are cute. We make pasta a lot with hot dogs in it. Also, we eat beans almost every single day here. I don’t like them at all because they make me sick to my stomach. But, it does serve me to lower my weight a little bit.
Sorry it is a little short this week. I had a lot to read and a couple emails to write. I had to write a long one to the Mission President this week. But hey, be good. Read your scriptures. Pray. Don’t miss me too much. I love you.
Much Love,
Elder Warren
 |
| Elder Keetch, Cristian, Isabel, Antonela, Elder Warren |
Wedding!!
January 20, 2014
Mamita,
Hey, this week was a pretty good week. We spent like half of the week in Punta Arenas. We stayed in the Zone Leader’s house along with the Elders from Puerto Natales. Six Elders in a house that is built for 2!!! Haha. We were there for three nights. The interviews were fine. President just gave me advice about how to work with the branch here to be able to strengthen it. There is definitely some strengthening to be done here. There were like 15 Members at church, us, and one investigator. The asistencia is super low here. But, it is alright. We are working on that. But anyway, I didn't actually get to leave to work with Elder Borup. I left with his companion one day, and with Elder Monson another day. He is from Pleasant Grove. Oh, and to answer your question...President travels the whole mission once every six weeks. So he comes to Punta Arenas once every six weeks, but he never comes to Porvenir. I think he came here only once when he first got to the mission, so almost three years ago. He goes home in June, I think. They already called the new Mission President. UN Mexicano. I can’t remember his name.
We made it back in time for the wedding!!! That was sweet. I sent you a picture so that you could see. They are cool people and I was super happy to see them make the decision to get married. She is a member, and he is going to get baptized on Saturday. They already have the date to go to the temple in like a year! Super exciting! But during the wedding I couldn't really help but think to myself that I want to go about getting married in a different way. In the temple the first time before I have kids. Haha. But it was sweet. After the wedding we had an activity in the capilla to help them celebrate! It was sweet. We made brownies from scratch, and they actually turned out really well. They were really good.
Porvenireños.... are interesting people. Most people here are extremely unfriendly. In other sectores it is easy to talk to 30 or more new people in a day. Here.... we are lucky if we talk to 5 new people. If we knock 20 doors, 19 of them won’t even be opened. So... it is difficult. Almost every single person here has already heard all about the missionaries and wants nothing to do with us. Haha. But we still try and talk to them anyway. There ARE people here that need the gospel. There ARE people here that are ready to hear it, but we just have to be patient and keep looking for them. So that is what we will do.
Hey, that is fantastic news that you are reading the Book of Mormon again. Read it. Every single day. I do it. That is what keeps me going. I love the Book of Mormon. I read it... a lot. Haha. Whenever I have time I try to read it. So keep on that, and I guarantee that you will see the blessings.
Hey, have a good week! Hope you are doing well. Enjoy dinner with the Borup’s. Tell them I say hi. And... I haven’t really received my package yet. We don’t see mail too often down here. It is probably in the office in Osorno, though. No worries.
Elder Warren
Mamita,
Hey, this week was a pretty good week. We spent like half of the week in Punta Arenas. We stayed in the Zone Leader’s house along with the Elders from Puerto Natales. Six Elders in a house that is built for 2!!! Haha. We were there for three nights. The interviews were fine. President just gave me advice about how to work with the branch here to be able to strengthen it. There is definitely some strengthening to be done here. There were like 15 Members at church, us, and one investigator. The asistencia is super low here. But, it is alright. We are working on that. But anyway, I didn't actually get to leave to work with Elder Borup. I left with his companion one day, and with Elder Monson another day. He is from Pleasant Grove. Oh, and to answer your question...President travels the whole mission once every six weeks. So he comes to Punta Arenas once every six weeks, but he never comes to Porvenir. I think he came here only once when he first got to the mission, so almost three years ago. He goes home in June, I think. They already called the new Mission President. UN Mexicano. I can’t remember his name.
We made it back in time for the wedding!!! That was sweet. I sent you a picture so that you could see. They are cool people and I was super happy to see them make the decision to get married. She is a member, and he is going to get baptized on Saturday. They already have the date to go to the temple in like a year! Super exciting! But during the wedding I couldn't really help but think to myself that I want to go about getting married in a different way. In the temple the first time before I have kids. Haha. But it was sweet. After the wedding we had an activity in the capilla to help them celebrate! It was sweet. We made brownies from scratch, and they actually turned out really well. They were really good.
Porvenireños.... are interesting people. Most people here are extremely unfriendly. In other sectores it is easy to talk to 30 or more new people in a day. Here.... we are lucky if we talk to 5 new people. If we knock 20 doors, 19 of them won’t even be opened. So... it is difficult. Almost every single person here has already heard all about the missionaries and wants nothing to do with us. Haha. But we still try and talk to them anyway. There ARE people here that need the gospel. There ARE people here that are ready to hear it, but we just have to be patient and keep looking for them. So that is what we will do.
Hey, that is fantastic news that you are reading the Book of Mormon again. Read it. Every single day. I do it. That is what keeps me going. I love the Book of Mormon. I read it... a lot. Haha. Whenever I have time I try to read it. So keep on that, and I guarantee that you will see the blessings.
Hey, have a good week! Hope you are doing well. Enjoy dinner with the Borup’s. Tell them I say hi. And... I haven’t really received my package yet. We don’t see mail too often down here. It is probably in the office in Osorno, though. No worries.
Elder Warren
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Porvenireno
January 13, 2013
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.
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.
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| 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.
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| 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
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
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