Goodbye to all the rain in
Mexico
Chile or Bust!!!!
Welcome to Chile!
Okay you know what I said about the first week of the CCM being hard? Yeah that was true, but I promise you this is times 10 in hardness of everything! Haha literally I don't know where to begin... You should see where I live, what I eat, what I see, the people I meet, the things I am doing, my parents are going to be so proud.
I'll start from when I last wrote you. I left last monday for Chile. The food on the plane was the best food I had eaten in 6 weeks. Trying to make it around the airport in Santiago to make the plane for Concepcion was such a stress haha bunch of missionaries running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Once we got to Concepcion we went to the Mission home which was some amazing building, which gave me the wrong idea of my mission. We ate one of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life, another false impression of my mission haha. We got some instruction for a couple of hours at the mission offices then it was time to sleep. We slept at a NICE hotel, best night sleep of my life. The bed was so comfortable haha.
That morning we awoke and got ready to travel to meet our new trainers and companeros. I was so nervous, you have no idea, I couldn't focus on anything. So we all gathered in a room, new missionaries and trainers, and waited to hear our name get called out to pair us up. Well we were the first companionship paired up but I was so out of it I didn't even hear them call my companions name first, I just remember hearing my name, looking up, and think HE'S AMERICAN! YES! Haha I needed someone who could speak English so bad. Elder Casperson from Provo Utah. Okay this is where things get good. We are so alike, it is insane. The kid plays sports, is such a homie, and we clicked instantly. Get this... HE PLAYS CoD WoW, and all the other video games I played haha. Honestly so sick I got the best trainer I could have. We are the same in so many different things, he has saved my life on this mish. Plus he likes to be obedient, knows the lanugauge perfectly, and knows how to work well as a missionary. He only has seven months in the mission, which is really young to be a trainer but really he is the best trainer for me.
We then traveled for 5 hours on a bus to the city of Temuco, where we are proselyting and serving the area of Catrihuala. It was a beautiful bus ride, CHILE is so beautiful! We got here around six and we got right to work. I didn't even unpack haha. He said "we are going to visit the bishop then the house of a girl who you are going to baptize". So yep I am performing my first baptism in six days to a girl with the name of Charlotte. She's amazing, she's 16, and a model, and so gringa. It's crazy I'm already doing a baptism as a missionary, and I have another one the week after that for a 17 year old boy named Diego. Its pretty sweet.
Now I'm going to talk about the language. So there are two type of talkers in Chile, 50 percent have zero teeth and the other 50 talk with only a slit of their mouth open, this along with them talking at a million miles per hour, slurring their words, and they just take off the end of some words when they feel like it. So yes I'm learning a completely new language than I learned at the CCM. I haven't been able to understand 80 percent of what's going on for the past week, it's very difficult and frustrating and I'm not gonna lie, I have broken down a couple times. It's very hard to have hope here for my language. Please pray that I might be able to understand and learn the language and I will continue to try my hardest. Elder Casperson has been amazing with helping and comforting me. I just have to get over the fact that the language will take time.
Okay done with hard stuff, now funny and crazy stuff. So there are dogs EVERYWHERE, just doing what they want. I live in like a cabin but it's hard how to explain, I'll attach some pictures. I almost had to take my first bucket shower, mixing freezing water with boiled water, I ate horse, I ride around everywhere on these mini buses called Micros and they just fly around doing whatever they want driving as fast as they want. I have seen some crazy people on those haha. People here just dont have a worry in the world. The culture is so different. We set our first baptismal date a couple days ago. That was so sweet, but to humble us we always get bailed on for appointments and contacting is so frustrating. The Lord knows how to lift, but also humble. The ward I'm in, oh geez, you should see them, they're some crazy Chileans. I went to my first ward activity, so different, so much weird food, singing, yelling, ugh haha crazy stuff.
The people I live with are mi and mi papa. Here they refer to the mission as a life, like I was born here in Temuco and I will die when I leave my mish. My trainer is my dad, stuff like that, but anyways then there's Elder Rivera and Elder Miller, an Argentinian, whom I live with, I love them. In total I am having the experience of a life time, literally living a life in Chile. It's crazy to think sometimes. It is very hard here but I know that the Lord is strengthening me through the trials. Actually teaching real people is amazing even though I can barely say anything or understand anything haha. I got to see my first baptism last Saturday and to see the joy that it brings was amazing. I can't wait to continue to bring the joy that this Gospel brings to as many people in CHILE as I can. Love and miss you all. Please include me in your prayers, I need it. You are in mine.
Me and Elder Casperson
Our casa (house)
Elder Clay
Our casa (house)
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