June 25, 2012 Los Angeles

My new companion is a good guy. I am trying to help him in any way that I can. He works good and we are working with his teaching. It’s very different to have a Latin as a comp. I can’t express myself completely but it’s really good too.

In my district I only have sisters. So when I came to the mission field in my first district, my trainer was the district leader and we only had two sisters in our district. Well now it’s the same for me and one of the sisters in my district is the same one that was in my first one when I came. So we think that is pretty funny. We are finding a lot of people to teach but they are slowly progressing. 

We had one miracle on Sunday though that was really cool. So here we teach the gospel principles class and so we went there and the only two people that were there were one recent convert who is like 17 years old and her friend who is not a member. Well no one else showed up which is very weird. We usually have like 8. So I was like well let’s teach this girl about the restoration. So we taught her and she had very specific questions about religion and they all applied to the lesson. So at the end we began to tell her how she could know for herself that Joseph Smith was a prophet and she interrupted me and said actually I think I know.. I feel like he was a prophet and that this is true. And I said well let’s find out and we all kneeled - me and my comp, the girls, and our ward mission leader and she asked if he was a prophet. Well after the prayer she was beaming and she has found what she has been looking for.  So we are hopefully going to baptize her really fast. And hopefully we can teach her family or at least they can give her permission to do it. But my comp has six months in the mission and no baptisms so I hope we find someone. I think she will get baptized. So that was the miracle of the week. 

I am doing pretty good. Sometimes I really miss home but I can make it… I love you all. Have a good week.

June 18, 2012 Los Angeles

Hello dad. Happy Father’s day!!  I hope it was a good one!! I am grateful to you and your good example to me over the years!! I now know how to treat my future family and be a good husband and father. Thank you for working so hard for our family!!!

Well this transfer will be interesting. I am staying here in Los Angeles and Elder Craven is leaving which is pretty sad cause we are really good friends. But I am getting my first Latin companion from Guatemala!!!! Where Luke served his mission!!! And I have also been called as a district leader which was very out of the blue and shocking. So that was some crazy news.

  

 

And Mom we are changing houses so we don’t get shot or anything. But the cool thing is that right after we prayed together in the house they left and we have not seen them since.

So right now I am trying to teach and get people ready. We have one family that could get baptized this cambio I will tell you more about that if anything happens. But I am pretty good just nervous about this next cambio and everything but it will be great. I hope everything is good down there. Sorry there is not much to report!

Mom,  Thank you for the shoes they are a miracle!!!!

Saving a girl from a knife attack! June 11, 2012

Los Angeles is a cool city with a mall. So we eat there sometimes and we play soccer a lot, and watch movies sometimes. So it is fun.

I am doing pretty good this week. But it was crazy. One cool thing is that me and my comp have been contacting this really rich sector with mansions and we found an exchange student from Philly. So we taught her in English and she is really excited. We have another lesson with her tonight. And the house that she is living in is sooooo huge. It’s legit.

We are teaching a lot of new families now and it’s really cool. We got a reference from member with a family of five that all seem interested and could get baptized really soon. So hopefully something awesome happens with that!!

Also not to freak anyone out but on Saturday night me and my comp went to get something to eat and when we left the little market we saw this girl standing by herself and we walked past her and then we both turned around at the same time and four men surrounded her with knives and she was trying to get away. So I yelled at them to keep going and to leave her alone. So they looked at me and she ran off and then one asked us what did you say to me and attacked us with his knife he almost cut mebut I got away and then he chased my companion down the street and the three after me. Well we got away and met up back at the house and they were outside yelling at us to come out. And a neighbor told us that one of them had a gun too. So we are moving houses to a different part where there are cops patrolling all the time. Nothing happened but woo it was intense!! I am glad nothing happened.

So that was my week. I hope all is well there. I am just trying to do better and work hard.

May 23, 2012 Los Angeles

This last week has been great as well. When I got to this sector there was not anybody to teach but we have found some families and are teaching them. One man named Richard lives with his two daughters Gabriella and Carla. His wife and child died in a car accident five years ago and so he is a little mad with God. We taught a powerful lesson and at the end we all kneeled down and prayed and he offered the prayer. He asked that he could have a relationship with God again and we are going to teach them tomorrow. His daughter is interested also. We are really feeling that they will be baptized. Richard could be a very strong leader in the church.

My comp is great.  We work well together and he has one transfer more than me so we work well together and he is a really great guy. That is about all for this week. The members here are really amazing. 

I have made some very close friends already so I am loving life here in Los Angeles. I hope all is well and I love you all!!!!

Mother's Day 2012

These are notes from our call with Elder Butterfield on Mother's Day.

He looked really good - looked happy and has lost a lot of weight.  He said he looks really funny because his pants and suit are really big now.  We suggested that he find a sister in the ward who can alter clothing and pay her to do it.  He said that he thought that he knew a missionary who could do it.  We didn't think that was a great idea... :)

When we were first trying to get the skype to work, he could see and hear us but we could only see him (not hear him).  Savannah waved the Chilean flag and he smiled really big and sent us an im "Chile!!!!" She knew that I had the flag in my van.  It was her idea to show it to him.  When Allie was telling her that she would get to see him on the computer, she said,  "I will say hi Bruhzer and he will say hi Savannah."

 We did have technical difficulties, but finally he was able to see and hear us and we could hear him (but not see him).  It was still really cool though because we could all be in the conversation with him at the same time.

He said, "My personality is still the same.  But, I've changed a lot."

Weirdest thing he has eaten:  chicken feet in soup; he said he asked his companion what it was and he said he would tell him after he ate it

 

 

Most shocking thing that has happened:  when he was teaching a lesson to a lady she started breast feeding right there without a blanket over or anything; he was in the middle of bearing his testimony...  And the same thing happened in sacrament meeting - the Elders were sitting right next to a lady when she did that.

They don't knock on doors.  They call out "hallo" and people come to the door.  At night sometimes people throw rocks at the house to get your attention.  That happened to them earlier in the week.  They didn't know why they were doing that at first. He said they thought the gangsters were mad at them or something.  Then he said, "Actually, we're friends with the gangsters."

They buy their milk in pouches.  You have to cut the top corner off and pour it out that way.  A lot of other things come in pouches too like yogurt.  He said that they gas their milk (carbonated milk...) They like lots of things carbonated.  He said he has to drink the water with the blue cap - not the red cap - because he got sick when he drank the ones with the red caps.

They have a really big lunch and no dinner or just a small snack like bread or something.  In Lebu they ate at members houses about twice a week.  In Los Angeles they eat at members’ houses almost every day.

They have a sister in the ward who does their laundry for them.

In Lebu his nickname was Superman because they think he looks like Clark Kent with his glasses.

Alejandro - started going to church with his aunt and uncle who are the YM and YW president and also went to seminary; He got baptized and is still really active.

Gloria - when they first talked to her she told them that she had been looking for religion and had attended several other churches and didn't feel they were right.  She told them that she knew the Church was true on their first visit.

He said that he is way happier in Los Angeles than he was in Lebu.  He really likes the area.

Most of the roads in Los Angeles are paved.  Lots of the roads in Lebu were cobblestone.

They don't have cars or bikes and don't ride buses except to go to the mission office.  They walk everywhere.  His shoes are getting worn out.

They lived in a big house in Lebu.  There were two bathrooms - one in their bedroom.

They live in a house in Los Angeles.  Two other missionaries live with them.  Three of them are from the states and one is from Columbia.

Lots of people he meets think he is from Argentina.

The ward he is in now in Los Angeles has lots of really supportive members.  It's a big ward - like at home.  The Lebu ward was quite small.

The people in big cities have more money.  A lot of them have computers in their houses.  In Lebu not as many people did.

There is a volcano near Los Angeles.  He can see it from Los Angeles.  He hopes he can go visit it sometime.

 

During his first week in Los Angeles they had five people commit to baptism and they expect to have a total of ten by the end of this week.

His new companion (Elder Craven) told us that Elder Butterfield is amazing and told us how great he is doing and that he is a great missionary and was really excited about their baptismal commitments.

Nate said that the next time he gets a new companion he might be a trainer.  He is kind of scared about that. (But he'll do great if he is.)

He told us that he was really lucky to have Elder Corliss as a trainer.  Sometimes the trainers are not very good.  But, Elder Corliss was great.

Elder Corliss and Elder Moss (his companion from the MTC) are now companions.

They are allowed to have instruments in their mission.  His companion gave him a guitar. He can play it on p-days and at the end of the day before bed.

Jessie asked if his companion is cute (that's always the first question when he gets a new companion).  He said that he is.

It is almost winter now.  But he said the weather is nice - kind of like fall in Utah.  But, the houses don't have good heating.  He said that they have a wood stove for heating the house.  They probably get cold at night.

He said that he was sorry for not sending pictures and that soon he will spend a p-day sending a whole bunch.  I told him I have to google pictures of where he is... I even found pictures of food that he might be eating...

They were at a member's house using their computer.  Jessie showed him her prom dress.  One of the girls in the family said she really liked the dress.

In Concepcion he has seen a Burger King.  In Los Angeles they have McDonalds.

He gave his Perry the Platypus away to a boy in the ward.  He said that the boy was really happy about it.  

Leaving Lebu, May 7, 2012

We had the baptism of Gloria and the week before of one youth named Alejandro. It was really sad saying goodbye to them yesterday because I am being transferred to a city called Los Angeles. It is a pretty big city and I will be working right in the middle of it. My companion’s name is Elder Craven. I don’t know him but he is another North American comp!! I have heard that the sector that I am going to has a lot of awesome things going on so I am pretty excited. I am excited but really scared. It’s like changing my home for the second time. But all is well. I am leaving tonight and will be in a new place tomorrow.

I am sad to leave my friends in Lebu but oh well more people to meet. I met one of my best friends in the world named Elder Clark. You guys will meet him someday. He is awesome. He only has four months left in the mission.

April 30, 2012 Lebu

This last week has been better. We worked hard and the baptism of Gloria is Saturday and then she will be getting married the next week and then sealed in the temple after the year is up and I will still be in the mission. It is cool how the Lord guides us to the people that are actually ready to receive us. We are really excited about that baptism and she is as well.

Other news is well lets see.. I got attacked by three dogs. That was fun. I kind of kicked them. Actually there is a power here in Chile. A rock. A rock here in Chile has all power over dogs. When a dog sees a human with a rock it just runs like heck out of there haha its actually kind of amusing.. 

What else, uh, we watched Tangled and Pirates today cause it’s rainy outside. That was fun! And also it’s my sixth month mark on Wednesday and this transfer ends after this week and it is very likely that I leave Lebu and go to another part of Chile. Nobody knows yet but that is what could happen so I will let you know.  But there is not much other news just working and trying to be better. I love you all!!