Millahue a tough sector, A stove at last! Elder Cumlef

Mis chiquillos, I have to ask forgiveness again for not writing a group letter last week, not gonna lie I was just really lazy and procrastinated until the last minute and then didn’t end up doing it, but don’t worry I’ll inform you on all the big things that have happened these past 2 week. Haha and that’s the thing, not a lot of big things have happened these past weeks.

Elder Shapiro and I have almost literally contacted all day every day for these weeks.  It’s been pretty rough here, I’m to the point where I’ve contacted every house in my sector at least 2 times so they already know me and recognize my hair!  Millahue has always been known for being a pretty tough sector but we are keeping out attitudes up and trying to stay positive and have a good time through it all.  I know that after my time here I will be able to appreciate the hard work I have done here and will be able to look back with a smile. 

My time with Eder Shapiro has been a good time, we get along very well and he’s a homie.  When he arrived two weeks ago, making it back to our house with his suitcases was probably the easiest experience I’ve had traveling back to sectors with suitcases, so that was a tender mercy.  I now live with Elder Shapiro, (my comp), Elder Celesino, a Chicano who lived in Utah his entire life and speaks like 5 languages; and Elder Barco, a Mexican who just came from starting his mission in Coronel where I was previous to here.  It is cool to be able to talk to him about all the goings on in Coronel.  Our house is a pretty good time we all get along really well so that’s good.  FINALLY, after about waiting two months for it, we got a wood stove in our house so we’re not freezing 24/7 anymore.  It’s pretty fun to chop the wood and practice making fires as much as we do now. 

Lately with the members at lunch we have been asking about their conversion stories and how they came to know the Gospel.  It’s been really cool to hear the stories and all the experiences that people have had. It is a testimony builder for me and helps my faith to hear about everything that has happened in their conversion process.  It’s just the best when we ask the big strong hard dads and watch them getting all choked up when they tell us, so cool.  Also Elder Shapiro and I have been listening to a lot of Brad Wilcox talks, he is one of my favorite people who gives talks to the youth.  Everything he seems to say either makes me laugh or reflect about something so it helps me a lot.  Lately with the few people that we have been able to find to teach a lot of them have seemed to be Mapuche, the natives of Chile.  They have their own traditions and background in religion so it’s been really cool to learn about what they believe and how they practice religion.  Most of them don’t believe in a set figure of Jesus Christ or God, so it’s just like we are teaching as Ammon was teaching to King Lamoni in Alma 18 haha!

Oh a really funny , well I thought it was funny, experience that we had is we contacted a house and this big, old guy came strutting out of his house.  The thing is he had one of those while Catholic collars on and had a GIANT gold cross hanging from his neck and was puffing a cigarette. Haha it was quite the sight.  He actually turned out to be very respectful and we had a good conversation, Chile is the best. 

Last P-day we went up to a sector in our zone with about 10 missionaries and played  soccer with a bunch of teenage Chileans because they are on winter vacations.  We played full field and I hadn’t run in a long time and it killed me!  But it was a lot of fun to play soccer with a bunch of my friends on the mission.  I missed the physical contact of lacrosse!  Another thing that happened last week was I did an exchange with Elder Cumlef from Argentina!  The funny thing was that about a year ago we did an exchange together in my first sector.  We’ve always gotten along really well so we had a good time.  His English is good and is improving but Latinos accents when they speak English are so funny.  I can say that because they all say that about gringo’s accents when they talk in Spanish.  We had some crazy experiences together, ranging from thinking that he had gotten stolen in the house of these people to setting a baptismal date with a woman that we found that was a miracle.

Nothing happened here for the 24^th of July unfortunately.  I didn’t even realize it was that day until around 10:30pm that night.  Actually that day I stayed in the house with one of the other Elders who was really sick.  I watched all the Bible videos that our church has put out, they are so sweet.  Jesus was just the best ever.  Oh that reminds me of this little old lady that we taught.  Well mainly she was just teaching us about what she believes.  She told us all about aliens and how the USA knows all about them.  She was going off but she was a cute little old grandma type so I couldn’t help but smile and nod.  The people that we meet on the mission are incredible and the experiences are unlike any others.  Well I think that’s about all that has happened.  Hope that everything is going well back home for everyone!  Know that you all are in my prayers! Have a good week!

Elder Clay

Trying Times, New Companion Elder Shapiro

Family and friends, this week was another cold and hardworking week.  It was the last week of work for my companion so he made sure that he lived up to it.  I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a missionary go out as strong as he did, very impressive.  Right now he is chilling in our mission office just waiting for his last interview with our mission president and then he will be off for his house.  Crazy stuff. 

Well, at the start of this week I had an exchange with a missionary named Elder Loose!  He is from Argentina and has little time in the mission.  He is probably the shortest missionary in the mission and just has the most baby face ever haha everyone is surprised when he tells them how old he is.  But we had a really good time together and we actually ended up finding two really good new investigators…  a lot of fun.

The rest of the week has been pretty tough.  This entire transfer Elder Katschke and I have been working extremely hard and contacting just about everyone we can but even with as much work as we have been doing, Millahue is just a really rough sector and we haven’t been able to see as many of the fruits as we would have liked to.  We were able to prepare the sector a lot better for the next person to come, but it’s been a hard time. 

It’s been a learning experience for me, and I know that the Lord blessed us with success at the most difficult times.  But also we have been able to work a lot with less active members and recent converts which always is a good time for me.  We also were able to do some service for some of them so that was good.  At the end of the week my companion got all packed to go home and we said goodbye to some people and as fast as Elder Katschke had come, he was gone.  It was a little sad saying bye to him but I know that his time in the mission was used very well and it was his time to go. 

Something else that was very cool that happened was I was able to see my convert Charlotte this past week!  She was in Temuco  for a winter vacation and she stopped by to see me!  It was really cool to see and talk to her again and rough to have to say goodbye again. 

That was pretty much everything that happened this week but today is transfers!   My new companion is going to be Elder Shapiro!  He is going to be my second companion that is from Kaysville and went to Davis!  Also he is going to be the second person who I “kill” in the mission.  So yeah two companions in a row who are ending their missions haha.  But it should be a good time.  That’s all for this week, love and miss you all!

Elder Clay

Illness, Copa America, 1 Year Mark!

Hey guys, this week my letter is not going to be very long because I was sick in bed due to a pretty bad sickness.  Last Sunday in the night I started having really bad aches and pains in my neck and my back and also up and down my arms and legs.  It was horrible haha.  Monday and Tuesday I was in bed trying to get over it but it wouldn’t go away.  We thought it was the flu or a virus or something.  Wednesday I finally went to the doctor and he told me that he couldn’t hear my right lung very well and I had to have an x-ray.  My right lung didn’t show up very well so they came to the conclusion that I either have bronchitis or pneumonia and they gave me some pills to take.  I have another appointment with the doctor today I’m pretty much all cleared up from my pains but I’m still stuck with a bad cough.  The doctor’s office in Spanish is a lot more complicated and harder for me that the Gospel in Spanish.

Another huge thing that happened this week was the end of the Copa America, which was a tournament that has been going on down here in Chile.  On Saturday Chile played Argentina in the finals and Chile won it!  It’s the first time that Chile has ever won it so it was huge.  It was so cool to be here and experience it, the people we were with started crying and then they left the house and went running in the streets screaming. Haha, the people here are very emotional about soccer. This all happened on the fourth of July so it was kind of like we were celebrating the independence of the United States.   For lunch that day the people made us a disco which is pretty much a barbecue but the meat is cooked in liquid, it’s the best.  

Probably the last thing that is big that happened this week was I completed 1 year in the mission!  It was also the birthday of Elder Casmuz in our house so we celebrated both of them by buying pizza and lemon pie.  I also burned one of my shirts as a representation that I completed one year!  It was a lot of fun and it was a good night.  This past year in the mission has been amazing and I’m looking forward to this next year.  Chile has treated me well.  That’s it for this week, but next week is the last week in the mission for my companion so it should be a good one!  Hope that everyone has a good week!

Elder Clay

Volcano Llaima, Chile in Semifinals Soccer, Exchanges, Conference

Hey guys sorry I didn’t write last week.  I will try to fill you in on everything that has happened for the last two weeks.  Two weeks ago from today on P-day we had a really fun activity between the two zones here in Temuco.  (Pictures on my last blog entry) We all piled into a bus and headed up to a volcano named Llaima.  It was the first time that I had seen snow in a year and we had a fun time throwing snowballs and hiking up there.  Unfortunately it was pretty foggy so we weren’t able to see the volcano very well but it was still a really fun time.

 Later that night there was a Chile soccer game, which for the past couple of weeks there have been and Chile hasn’t lost yet in the world cup and they are playing against Peru tonight in the semifinals!  I LOVE watching soccer now, something I never thought I would say, and the Chile team is so sweet.

Also that week I did an exchange with and Elder named Elder Oxborrow.  This is his first transfer in the mission so it was really fun working with a newbie.  We were in a place called Carahue which is in the middle of nowhere but it was very beautiful there and it reminded me of the scenery from The Hobbit.  I  met a family there that was one of my most favorite families I have met.  We hit it off from the moment I got there and now the mom wants me to marry one of the daughters and take them back to the United States.  I had to reject the offer at the moment haha.   However, they made plans to come visit me after the mission.  It still shocks me how much I love meeting new people and how amazing some of the people I meet are.  I also did two more exchanges this week with the other Elders in our house.  Elder Hatch and Elder Casmuz, so that was a lot of fun.

For the past couple of weeks we have been finding and losing people to teach a lot but the one cousin of the member that came to church two weeks ago has been progressing well.  His name is Joaquin and I think we are going to be able to prepare him to get baptized on the 11^th of July, the last day my companion works in the mission!  It’s very cool to see how the Lord prepares people for us but how it’s our responsibility to find them.

Another big thing that happened this past week was that we had a conference with the Area Seventy, the President of the South America Area, President Gonzalez.  The conference was really good and I learned a lot from him and President Bluth.  I also was able to see Elder Haynes, my companion from the MTC and Elder Casperson and Elder Healey, my two old comps who are actually companions now! And Elder Katschke was comps with Elder Casperson once so it’s like we just did a swap haha. 

The last thing that was cool that happened was a ward activity on Saturday.  We had an “Argentina Night” so we pretty much just drank mate, which is kind of like a tea, and ate all sorts of typical foods from Argentina.  Also some members in our ward put on a show and danced Tango.  I wanted to participate and learn how to dance it but unfortunately we can’t dance as missionaries, as I have said before.  I’m am going to learn how to do it after the mission!  That’s pretty much all that has happened that was noteworthy for the past two weeks.  Hope everyone has a good week!

Obedience, Mapooche Market, Birthday, Blessings

*Moms Note:  Connor didn’t have a lot of time this week to answer all the wonderful birthday emails he got, he wants to thank everyone for writing to him, he said it was good to hear from you!  Because his time is so short, he writes his letter the night before and takes a picture of it to send, then I get to type it up :)

Hey guys! This past week was another hardworking, rainy miracle-full, and good experiencing week.  My relationship with Elder Katschke grows and gets better every day.  We are learning a lot together and trying to become better missionaries/people.  Being with him has been a pretty big change to my mission, we are planning a lot better, working a lot harder, and being 100% obedient.  We have been able to see the blessings and miracles that come from those things. I will tell you guys about this week from the beginning and going through the week.

Last P-day was a lot of fun!  We went to the Mapooche Market, which is way fun and entertaining to go to.  We met up with a bunch of other missionaries there.  Also while we were there, there was a man who was doing sketches of people and I had him do one of me!  It was kind of funny because a pretty big group of people circled around us to watch some really old Chilean sketch a young gringo from the United States.  Also I was able to tell him a little more about what we do as missionaries and our church.  After that, we all went to Jack’s which is a restaurant of a guy who is from the States and he makes real hamburgers!  It was a lot of fun, good first P-day with my companion. 

The next day was really cool too because we were able to find a family name the Family Sepulueda that the missionaries here use to contact a lot and it would be really cool to see them progress and help them. 

The next day was…  my BIRTHDAY. Haha not really anything happened, it was just another hard working day. In the morning I opened the package from my family which contained the softest blanket I’ve ever felt that has my name and mission sewed into it, also a poster that everyone from my extended family had signed and wished me a happy birthday, which was awesome as well.  But probably the funniest part about it and the most like my mom thing to do was, there was all the materials in it to bake a cake! I don’t know when I am going to have time or where I’m going to do it haha but it’s going to be a good time when I do.  There were however a couple things that happened on my birthday with our investigators and members that were cool as well.  But mainly just a chill day.  It was my first birthday away from home which made it a little hard because I missed all the birthday texts, and wishes and posts on social media but as well, it was cool to experience it here in Chile. 

From that day and on, temperatures in Chile dropped, it’s pretty cold here and at the moment we don’t have any sort of way to make heat, like no stoves or anything but we are working on that.  Thursday we found another really good investigator that the missionaries has been contacting named Maria.  She’s very good, really receptive and truly wants to find the true church.  Also that night the American Cup in soccer started.  Soccer is huge here so we weren’t able to work during this time and we actually were able to watch a little bit of it.  Chile won 2-0, so as you can imagine, all of the Chileans were going crazy. 

One of the last things I’m going to talk about in this is about the visits that we have been able to have with members this past week.  We talked with two returned missionaries who talk to us a lot about their missions and their lives now and how the mission has affected them.  I know that this mission has affected and changed my life.  I understand obedience a lot more now and especially why we do the things that we do.  And the best thing of all, I have grown to have and understand my testimony and know what I believe.  The mission changes lives.   It’s amazing.  It has changed mine for the better.

The last thing I am going to share with you guys a little bit is a little miracle that we saw in church on Sunday.  All this week me and Elder Katschke have been striving to find investigators and commit them to attend  church this week so that they can progress towards baptism because it’s Elder Katschke’s last transfer in the mission and we want to baptize together.  We had found and committed about 8 people to church by Saturday.  But Sunday came and one by one they all fell and didn’t come.  It was really hard to see because we had worked so hard and had prayed and fasted to be able to have someone come to church this week.  No one showed up until an hour into church, an hermano  in the ward came up and introduced us to his nephew… and invited us to come to his house this week because he is interested in our church!  Also an old investigator showed up to church as well! The Lord is blessing us.  Even if we aren’t able to baptize together, we promised that we would leave this sector better than it was and prepared for the next missionaries that come.  Well, that’s it for this week, sorry it was a little long! J  Hope everyone has a good week, love and miss you all!

Elder Clay