Elder Todd Hendrickson Chile Santiago North Mission

Dorsal 1 - Week #17 Last letter home

2011-08-22T14:10:00.000-05:00

Hola for the last time from Chile!!!

I can't believe that I'm currently sitting in Quilicura and I've got lunch with one of my two Chilean families in 2 hours!!! AHHH!!! It feels like yesterday that I was here, and I'm absolutely excited to see Victor & Sandra again!

Just a quick run-down of how everything is going to work on Monday... (we're going to get the "trunky" part out first thing)... We'll be in the mission home from about 11:00 AM until 4:00 PM, with interviews, lunch, testimony meeting, and all that jazz. From there we'll probably go straight to the airport for check-in and to say our last goodbyes to the Essig's. Then I'm be "leaving on a jet plane" towards Miami. I'll have a little bit of time in the airport to call if you want, but I figured I'd let the suspense build up a little bit and wait til I see ya'll in Dallas (besides, I've got to pass through customs, change terminals, check-in my luggage again, and eat breakfast at McDonalds!!!). To make a long story short, I'll be seeing you on Tuesday but you won't get an e-mail from me on Monday (and you probably won't get a phone call either since I don't have anybody's cell phone number)!

Just to let everyone know... I am a little bit jealous about the Mac Book! But just a little bit, I think I'd have to get used to a Mac to be really jealous because I've worked with PC's all my life!

This week didn't have quite the results that we were expecting. Our expectations exceeded our excitement to fulfill them. In the beginning of the week everything started failing, as we were trying to work in both of the sectors, and we finally decided that we should only be focusing on our side. When we made that decision everything picked back up a little bit, but it was too late to recover completely!

The Calderón family are still doing great for their baptism this weekend. We are actually going to hold the baptismal service Saturday night (I cheated)! Sunday morning they should be confirmed. I feel like they are my second Chilean family, but I feel a little more distant with them than with the Cerda Araya family.

We can now almost count the days on one hand! I'm telling all of the members that say that I'm trunky that I'm not counting, but that I can count the days with my fingers! I'm seriously going to miss this ward!

So, Mom, I'm thinking about extending my mission!!!... Actually, the Area here gives very, very few extensions. The visa for Chile is really easy to get, especially for the Church, but we've already got a ton of missionaries, we don't need more. There are 7 more of us leaving on Monday (4 went last week), and 23 Elders arrive on Tuesday... The mission is growing again!

Time is running short, but I'm super excited to see ya'll in a few short days! The feeling are definitely bitter-sweet, especially today!

Love ya'll lots and I almost don't have to miss ya'll!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #17

2011-08-15T12:41:00.000-05:00

It's the "Final Countdown"!!!

Time is flying by! We're going to start with the interesting news and then go into this last week's highlights... Last night at about 12:00 we got an unexpected phone call!... But this time it was Elder Garza instead of President... Turns out that our sector just doubled in size! With the exit of several missionaries from my group today there were several special changes that occurred, and one of them was that Dorsal 2 (the other sector in our ward) was closed. Now we have twice the area to cover in the same amount of time! My last couple of weeks ought to be really fun... I'm going to come home on a gurney because I won't be able to walk!

This morning we played soccer & basketball with several ward members and investigators. We had a good time and I actually didn't play basketball too horribly! Now we are headed to eat lunch (barbecue) with our converts and we have a family home evening tonight!

I can't believe several of the cousins have gotten married since I've been away, first Shelbey and now Jessi... What's goin' on? I've missed a lot of action on your side of the world in these last 2 years! Either way, good to hear that Jessi is now married and that the service turned out well... About the getting everybody together... I'm alright with the idea, since I haven't seen anybody from that side of the family in more that 2 years now! Let's make it happen!!!

In other news! Cristian, the other child of Ana (who was baptized recently), was baptized yesterday afternoon! The service was simple, but we had a ton of support from the ward. I was actually kind of surprised by how many people stayed to share that special moment with the newest member of the ward! Also, Friday I was able to attend the temple for the last time here in Chile (as a full-time missionary that is). Eight missionaries from our group and President & Sister Essig were able to attend! President told us "great job", as if we were already finished... LOL. Turns out that several of us from my group are having a lot of success in our sectors right now and it looks as if that might continue until we leave.

Something I've learned within the last couple of weeks is that after about 23 months in the mission field a missionary finally gets good at teaching and knows how to be a missionary... Then all too quickly the last month passes by! Missionary work isn't necessarily easy, so it takes a long while to get used to it and into the groove of things! Sooo... now that I'm in the groove my time is just about up! LOL...

We are working extremely hard here in our sector and hope to be able to keep up with the workload placed upon us by the closing of Dorsal 2... On the bright-side, we have more freedom to move around the ward now. We've got several baptisms planned for the 27th/28th of August, so hopefully everything turns out well there! Keep us in your prayers, we need them now more than ever (even more than last week)!

Love ya'll and I'll be seeing ya'll way too soon!

-- Élder Todd

P.S. You'll probably get a very quick note from me next week since I'll be visiting converts, but I'll do my best to get something substantially long off your way!

Dorsal 1 - Week #16

2011-08-15T12:40:00.000-05:00

Buenas Tardes Familia Mia!

Hope all is well in casa this week! Nothing too exiting has been happening here in my half of the world. I'm currently listening to one of the many strikes that is going to be happening in the next couple of weeks between the workers and the public education system here in Chile... (I'm not going to miss the chaos)...

I'm officially enjoying my time here in Dorsal 1! This week we worked our tails off to teach with the members and got to Friday with only 1 lesson with a member present! AHHHH!!! But this weekend we saw really how hard we can work when we aren't sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves... We ended the week having taught 13 lessons with members (and not just the easy ones). In the last weeks I've really been reflecting on the wards that I've been in and their involvement with our work as missionaries. Overall I've seen that Chile lacks alot of participation with the investigators and new members; but of all my wards, I think I've enjoyed Dorsal the most and gotten the most help in this ward!

Missionary work really is differente when the members are involved. We are trying our hardest to get a larger portion of the ward members involved in what we are doing, but it is taking alot more effort than it should! I feel really bad now that I didn't leave very much with the missionaries when I was at home... hopefully it is something I can do more when I get back (my schedule allowing).

I'm excited to hear that the ward is ready for me to be home. It is tough though to not hear from anybody much during these 2 years away. If ya'll want to plan something for when I get home then go for it (but get the ward to help you out if you do anything... you shouldn't be doing it alone)... it makes no difference to me!!! But, if you could do me a huge favor and see when I've got to speak in the ward that would be great! LOL...

Time is flying! We are already in the middle of the change and I'll be heading to the temple this week for the last time in Santiago (apparently they will be doing maintenance from the 15th to the 29th of August). My next P-day has already been planned by several members & investigators here in Dorsal and people are signing up to give me the last lunch with their family! AHHH!!! Everything is working against my staying focused in the mission! It feels like time has passed by so fast... I remember being in Payson and in the MTC like it was yesterday!

Hope the "warm weather" isn't killing ya'll too quickly! We are starting to warm up a little bit here and today is a great day, weatherwise. We are going to be headed to Cerro San Cristobal for my last time to take some killer photos of Santiago! It's going to be a pretty fun day!

Has Lufkin changed much since I've been away, or am I still going to be able to get around fairly easily? I can't imagine at all the changes that happen in 2 years. I don't feel that different because I've been with myself the whole time. As for everyone and everything at home, my mind can't fathom that it has continued progressing... I know everything is different, but my mind put Texas on pause when I left and now I've missed 2 years of the production (the movie)!!! LOL... Crazy analogy, but that's how I can best explain what I feel!

I love ya'll and I'm starting to get anxious to see everyone! I need lots of prayers these next 3 weeks!!!

Miss ya'll and I'll be seeing ya'll very, very soon! ¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #15

2011-08-02T15:51:00.000-05:00

Hey Fam!

This week we've done our best to avoid near-death experiences, and so far we are succeeding! Time is ticking quickly away here in Chile. I find it very hard to believe that we are already in week 3 of the change... my last change!!! However, there is still a lot of work to be done and we are going into overdrive here in Dorsal 1 to make sure we don't lose a single minute...

Our entire week here in Dorsal didn't turn out quite as we had planned. It still amazes me how one simple act can change the outcome of the entire week. Despite the number of people who had committed to come to church yesterday, only 3 showed up. On the upside, we had several excellent talks, heard the farewell testimony of a missionary headed to Mexico City, and had a confirmation. Even with these great events, we got a little disappointed and our entire day went down the drain!

Also, yesterday evening we had an activity for the recent converts and investigators in the ward. Hermano Miranda, the ward mission leader, taught about Lehi's dream and then we had cake. It was a pretty decent shin-dig and a good time was had by all. However, the turn out wasn't the greatest... oh well...

Dorsal 1 is looking more white everyday. This last week we have put 2 more investigators with baptismal dates and we are hoping that everything goes according to plan. Right now we have 6 baptisms in planning for August, with a couple more once I'm gone! Sometimes I wonder why we are having so much success here now and not before. The ward here is growing and we are striving to work more closely with the members, but I've got to tell you... IT'S TOUGH!!! Either way, we are looking forward to some changes here in the ward and a lot of success in the not too distant future.

I'm kinda worried that my world is going to be turned completely upside down here in about 4 weeks. It actually amazes me that I've become used to the lifestyle of the mission, to a certain degree at least. I'm going to miss the mission! There are lots of things about Santiago that I don't imagine I'm going to take the time to miss, but a lot of the people here have really affected me and I'm dearly going to miss some of them... a part of me will always be in Chile!

Thanks for the news about Carl's Jr... I remember eating there a couple of times, but mostly stopping in for a break after driving for a long time! Elder Garza was pretty excited to hear that they are putting one in Lufkin, apparently they have them in northern Mexico (Monterrey).

I'm excited to see ya'll this month! Yes, THIS MONTH!!! I can't believe we are already in August of 2011... boy how time flies (when you're having fun... or something)! Keep hanging on and don't get too trunky for me to be home!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches!

¡Besitos y abrazos!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #14

2011-08-02T15:50:00.000-05:00

Howdy All!

I think I'm getting to the point that it would be easier to put how many weeks I've got left as the subject of my weekly letter instead of trying to keep track of how many weeks I've got left in the sector! LOL. Such is life I guess...

So, this week turned out to be great! I don't think I've seen this much continual success in a sector in my mission, and I thought we were doing great in Quilicura. Yesterday was also one of the best sacrament meetings I've attended since I've been in Chile; we had 2 members who have never spoken in sacrament meeting who addressed the congregation and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The talks were simple, yet heartfelt, and they didn't pull out any stops to let us know what we need to do better. I loved it, and it looks like a few of our investigators felt the same way. Also, Ana María was confirmed a member of the Church yesterday and is now our newest recent convert (Francisca wasn't able to make it to church, but will be there next week).

I'm pretty excited about what we are achieving here in the ward. I'm starting to see really how everything comes together when you have good leadership who are willing to work (most of the time anyways). Honestly, I'd have to say that this is one of my best wards here in Chile! There are a ton of people here that I'm going to miss within a few short weeks, but I'll be moving on to different things...

Good to hear that things are going well at home! Enjoy your hot temperatures... LOL. I'm about frozen over down here, and today is going to be worse because it rained all night and now there are very few clouds in sight! It looks like we might be going to bowling again today, so we shouldn't have to suffer too much during the day.

I can't believe that the family was so spread out again yesterday! Seems like Gabe and Ryah need a little lesson about el Día de Reposo... LOL... just pulling your leg! Either way, it is good to hear that everyone was in church, no matter what part of the state (or what state...LOL) they were in!

Sounds like there isn't too much happening at home...

I almost died this week... LOL... It's a funny story actually! On Saturday we were teaching our English class and one of our investigators was talking with Elder Mendez and was showing him some sort of spray. So me, being nosy, went to see what was going on (I'm curious, what can I say...). The spray was some sort of spray for your throat and they told me to try it, so I did... Instantly I noticed something interestingly familiar about the flavor of the spray! LOL... I checked the label and it definitely had peppermint (in Spanish peppermint, spearmint, and any other mint is just labeled as "menta", so I have to be very careful). After about 5 minutes we had to leave the class with Elder Wilkes and Elder Garza and head to the house to find my Benadryl, that until Saturday I hadn't had to use in Chile! We made it with my throat and esophagus just slightly swollen and having just a few difficulties in breathing & swallowing (but mostly swallowing)! After about 30 minutes I was back to normal... Elder Mendez described the look on my face when I noticed the peppermint flavor as if I had just made a self-goal (autogol) in an important game! LOL... It was pretty comical after we were sure I wasn't going to die!!!

Well, I think that is about all of my excitement for this week! I guess we'll see what this week brings! Hope all is well at home and that everyone is doing great!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll! I'll see ya'll in 5 weeks (my agenda is counting... LOL)!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #13

2011-07-21T14:00:00.000-05:00

¡Buenas Tardes a Todos!

I'm feeling in a Spanishy sort of mood this afternoon... We had changes yesterday and received some unexpected news in the phone call at 1:30 this morning (Elder Sáenz had to call 3 times to wake me up). We had changes!!! I'm officially only a senior companion and I'm still here in Dorsal 1. My new companion is Elder Mendez, from Mexico, and I'm super excited to be here with him! ¡Vamos a sacar la mugre!

Yesterday we had 2 baptisms, as hoped for! Ana & Francisca were baptized after a 4 hour battle with the water heater in the chapel. From about 9:00 AM til about 1:00 PM, Hermano Miranda, the ward mission leader, and I waged war on the tankless water heater (nothing else exists in Chile) and kind of won. It turned out that the water at the top of the font was warmer than at the bottom... LOL. But overall everything turned out very well, and Elder Fuentes was able to perform/participate in his first baptism in the mission...

I'm excited to keep working here in Dorsal 1. We didn't quite expect changes, but the whole mission got mixed up pretty good... This ward is getting more on the ball everyday and we are hoping for lots of success this change. Actually, last week we were able to teach a part member family (the mom is a member) who has started to come back to church and we put the dad, Rodrigo, and 2 of the daughters, Constanza & Fernanda, with a baptismal date for the 14th of August. They are an amazing family!!!

It's wild to think that alot of my friends in the mission have finished as of today (they will be on a plane headed home tonight or tomorrow morning). I think I've got 4 former companions that finished today... Crazy!!!

I can't believe that time has passed by so fast! Ethan is already 3!!! That can't be possible!!! Hopefully all goes well with his next procedure.

Good to hear that Mom had a very happy birthday! Wish I could have been there to celebrate with ya'll... Looks like I'm only going to make it home in time for my birthday! Sorry Gabe! LOL...

Bummer that the ward changes so much... I think most places are like that though, or at least that is what it seems like here in the mission. I guess Lufkin didn't suit Ben quite like he expected. And the Reese's, any news yet?

Happy Pioneer Day to everyone! We might be doing a little activity on Sunday to "celebrate", but I'm not sure as of now... a little last minute, isn't it?

I love ya'll and miss ya'll everyday! I'll be home before you know it, but I'm not counting!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #12

2011-07-12T09:51:00.000-05:00

Howdy All!

Before I forget and since I won't be able to write later in the week I want to send a birthday shout-out to Mom!!! ¡Feliz Cumpleaños! I wish I could be there to celebrate with you, eventhough our family isn't very big into celebrations! LOL

This week wasn't too exciting apart from the interviews with President Essig on Tuesday. Everything went exactly according to plan, but I'm pretty sure that is the longest interview I've ever had with the mission president. President May was pretty good at keeping them short and sweet, but I'm still sure this interview didn't last more than 10 minutes... LOL. Sunday at church, however, had to have been the highlight of the week!

During this week we focused quite a bit on inviting and committing our investigators to come to church, and it looks like our efforts payed off. The attendance of our sacrament meeting was 131, more than I've ever seen in the ward (even for ward conference with 20 people from the stake present), and we had 11 investigators from our sector! The significance of that is that we only invited them, that their friends and/or family members (members of the Church) did all the work of getting them there, and that all of them live in the sector and can potentially be baptized in the not too distant future! Not too bad, right?!?!? We were super excited that we had to keep counting how many people were coming in to the chapel and watch attently amidst the mass of people for those who aren't members! It's going be a good couple of months for baptizing!!! The most important thing is that out of this experience I've learned something... working with the members really pays off, you've just got to know how to do it!

Great to hear that Aunt Katie's visit went off without a hitch, and that ya'll found something in Lufkin to keep everyone entertained! I wouldn't really have thought of the antique stores as something unique to East Texas, but when you think about it you don't see them much outside of the state... Wish I had been home to see the family!

This Sunday we will be having, not 1, but 2 baptisms! Ana María and her daughter, Francisca, will be baptized on Sunday! I completely forgot that the entire Hendrickson family was fasting when Mom was baptized, but now I've got another testimony of fasting... Hopefully this will only be the first of many baptisms in July & August! I've got to stay super busy so I don't get too trunky! LOL.

It sounds as if the lives of many will be taking a different direction in the coming weeks and months! Good to know that Gabe & Ryah are still working (even if it is at the same places as before)... We've got to see if we can't get Gabe out of a rut too and get him on a mission about the same time Dillon goes!

Just so you don't freak out about time restraints on getting my room ready, you've got 7 weeks! We're going to see exactly how many miracles we can work here in Dorsal in the next little while, there are lots of people here that are prepared to receive the Gospel, so I've got to take advantage of the workload! It feels great to be busy, busy!

Keep cool up there, I'm not having a problem with that here at all! I love ya'll and I'll be seein' ya'll real soon! Changes are Sunday & Monday, but it isn't likely that we are moved! That means I'll be in my last change!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

P.S. How are ya'll doing at sharing the Gospel?

Dorsal 1 - Week #11

2011-07-12T09:50:00.000-05:00

"It's Independence Day!!!"

Happy 4th of July everybody, here in Chile to celebrate they raised the Chilean flag at La Moneda, not... they are actually celebrating the anniversary of the creation of the Chilean congress today. So much for Chile letting somebody else have a holiday for a change!

So all I can really say is bummer about the ban on fires and fireworks, it just had to happen for the 4th didn't it! Either way, you can't use fireworks in the city limits of Lufkin regardless... Either way, hope that you can see enough of the lightshow from the house, I wouldn't be surprised if Ryah takes it upon herself to climb on the roof to see the whole show!

The celebrations here in Santiago look like they really aren't going to exist. Bummer! Apart from that today is going to be a really poor day to do proselyting as Chile & Mexico play tonight as part of La Copa America (futbol). Elder Garza, the missionary from Monterrey in our same ward, is bound and determined that Mexico is going to win, but I sure hope not... It's very difficult to not stay informed of the score when the whole world goes wild every time someone makes a goal!

Before I get to commenting too much on your e-mails I'm going to start with how our week went. Up until yesterday we were having some success but a few of the focuses that we had put weren't completing very well. We've had a hard time recently helping people make goals for baptism, but thanks to fast Sunday that all changed... Yesterday I woke up not entirely happy and really wanting to eat, but I withstood the hunger pangs and pushed forward. At the beginning of church one of our investigators, Ana, mentioned to us that she wanted to speak with us, but due to the time constraints we weren't able to speak at that moment. The entire block of meetings passed the same way without the opportunity to converse. Right before we left Ana again mentioned that she wanted to talk to us and I stepped off to the side to talk to her. The conversation kind of surprised me as she had a fairly serious look on her face. The first thing she mentioned to me was this, "I want to be baptized, and I want you to baptize me!" WooHoo!!! We then set a baptismal goal for her and her 10 year-old daughter, Francisca, for the 17th of this month.

After this encounter I was speaking with Elder Fuentes and mentioned what had occurred. Without having realized it, both Elder Fuentes and I had be fasting for Ana & her family (among other people), that they might be able to take the steps necessary and be baptized to show their willingness to follow our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Let's put it this way... I've now got a testimony of fasting!

Also this week we had the opportunity to meet President & Sister Essig and their 18 year-old son, Tom, who will begin his mission in August bound for the Chile Osorno Mission. There were several very noticeable differences between the May's and the Essig's, but I was particularly impressed with the immediate outpouring of love shown not only by Hermana Essig, but Presidente Essig as well. The contrast is instantly obvious between the 2 mission presidents that I've had. I'm excited to get to know President Essig better; we have interviews in our zone tomorrow so I don't think I'll have to wait too long.

I'm excited to hear that the Hendrickson family is officially moved to the "Hen House". That's been a long time in the making, but I'm glad it is finally considered official! I can believe that the "house pets" (how dare I call them that...) didn't adapt too well in the beginning, but I'm sure the long staircase will be a source of lots of fun and/or accidents later...

Sounds like lots of things are changing in the lives of some friends. Jared is still at BYU-I and after a semester is still single... LOL. Quentin gets home very, very soon (I was thinking of that the other day) and will be headed out not to long after; I'm sure Sister Boyer isn't super fond of that idea. And when are the Reese's moving? It's summer, so that shouldn't be too far away... Am I right?

Stay safe with the burn bans and everything back home! Mom, I'm anxiously awaiting the drawings from your Primary class, hope they come soon!

I love you all and miss you bunches, but there is only 1 more fast Sunday before I get home!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #10

2011-07-12T09:48:00.000-05:00

Howdy All!!!

This has been a fairly uneventful week here in Dorsal. Training is going fairly well still, I realized that I'm not having quite as much fun as I did the first time, but we're making it through. There's nothing that can keep you on your toes more than a new missionary! LOL... It really does help that Elder Fuentes in Latino and I don't have to try to help him learn Spanish in the midst of everything else.

From the sounds of it my week was way more peaceful than yours! We've been busy teaching and hurrying from on side of our sector to the other, but it sounds like ya'll have been all over the state! Saturday & Sunday sounded way more fun than usual, I kinda wish I had been there for all of the excitement & especially for the Jubilee, but at least there will be a video of the presentation!

I just had the realization this week that I can now count the number of weeks I have in the mission without using all of my fingers... oops! The feelings that are coming at this point are mixed. I'm getting really tired of all of the jokes that the members make about me being trunky, because a trunky missionary doesn't work and we are taking out the trash (sacando la mugre)! I'm kinda ready to be home to be able to see everybody, but I'm glad I've still got some time left in the mission... LOL

What's up with Gabe & Ryah skipping out on church to go to Warped Tour? And travelling with a bunch of people their age to San Antonio to do so? That's wack!!! LOL... I don't know that I really missed out on much as I imagine there weren't too many bands at the concert that I like...

Good to hear that the move is still progressing, hope that everything can get finished up this week for Aunt Katie's visit... or at least within the next 9 weeks for somebody else's "visit"! Good luck finding something exciting in Lufkin to show the family, after all they did want to see where we live. How long are they going to be in Lufkin?

Tomorrow is the day we've all been anticipating for a while... President Essig arrives at 7:30 tomorrow morning and officially takes over a mission president of the great Chile Santiago North Mission! President & Hermana May will be with the Essig's for a couple of hours and as far as I know will be travelling tomorrow night. We have zone conference on Friday with the Essig's to meet them and for them to get to know the mission, and next week we have interviews.

I almost forgot to mention that on Wednesday we had the opportunity to have specialized training with the May's. It was more of a farewell than a specialized training and they ended up speaking a lot on what happens when the "mission" is over here. There were several points in the meeting that I teared up pretty good, but I don't think this is the last that I'll be seeing them!

Time is flying and pretty soon I'll be headed to Miami in route to Texas! Be sure to have lots of people waiting for me at the airport... LOL! Actually just ya'll is fine by me.

Love ya'll and miss ya'll! Try to get some rest after this exciting weekend...

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #9

2011-06-21T11:31:00.001-05:00

Happy Father's Day!... and Juneteenth! (a little late)...

Howdy all! I can't believe that last week I forgot to mention happy father's day, I even had it written down, but my mind has been kind of a mess this last week. I've had a hard time remembering things this past week, and it caused us a little lost time and a couple people to be not too happy wit me... oh well!

Week 2 of training went off without much of a hitch, we had a training meeting (Fase 1) on Friday. When we entered the mission home Friday morning the fact that President & Hermana May are almost gone hit me pretty hard. Almost all of the family pictures and keepsakes were taken down and replaced with gospel art and there was a crew that was there working on repainting the whole place. It was, however, interesting to see how the oldest Church owned property here in Chile looks brand new on the inside... President & Hermana May leave on the 28th of this month with President & Hermana Essig arriving the same day, that means that these next 3 weeks are going to be very busy with training meetings, zone conferences, and interviews... Yuck!

I didn't know what Dad got for Father's Day, but I'm sure the GPS was really handy for the trip to So. Cal. Before I left the office I had the task of programming a GPS with all of the chapels in the mission for when the Essig's arrive... I can't say it was fun to program, but it was fun to test out; unfortunately the GPS in Chile are missing a few streets and don't normally take you in the easiest route to follow! But I'm glad to hear that the whole trip went down without much of a hitch!

It's exciting to hear that the house is well on its way to being completely moved! You've got a big task of having everything ready within 2 weeks for Aunt Katie's visit. Who is Destiny? Either way, I hope you can get some time off to spend with them and show them around the thriving metropolis of Lufkin! (If not I guess Ryah will have to do it). At least it will all be organized by the time I get home, except my room of course...

Sounds like Youth Conference is going to be a blast; you'll have to let me know how the performance goes! I wish we had done something like that while I was in the youth program, but at least Ryah is getting to participate. Best of luck to all who are participating!

I'm sure Mom is "patiently" counting the days until the end of August, but she's not the only one... There is a member in our ward who informed me on Saturday that I'll be home in 73 days, that means it is only 71 days from today! But who's counting?...

Hope that the firefighters can get the crazy wild fires under control before too much more damage is caused. The weather isn't conducive to helping things here in Chile or back home! We've had lots of rain over about 2/3 of the country and it has caused some pretty good damage along the coast!

I feel like I've taken a long time to write a little bit this week. We stayed pretty stable in the work and I've just been a little out of it, not sure why! I'm having a hard time focusing today too, but at least I'm in a Ciber (Internet place) that plays good music (right now "Sweet Child of Mine")!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll more everyday! Time is flying!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #8

2011-06-13T14:47:00.000-05:00

Hey, hey, hey!!!

Week 1 of the 12 week training period has come to an end and I still haven't pulled all of my hair out... that's progression! Right?

This last week was a rather interesting one, to tell the truth! Monday I was on exchanges with Elder Wilkes working in both of our sectors, since we share a ward, so that turned out to be kinda frustrating juggling our time. Monday feels like it was a year ago though... Tuesday we had to be in the mission home at 1:30 PM to meet our trainees. In our meeting with the other trainers I realized that only one of them, besides me, has over a year in the mission! I felt/feel really old! At around 4:00 PM we left the mission home with our new companions. My companion is Elder Fuentes from Lima, Peru. He was baptized the same day that I was set apart as a missionary!!!

It is interesting being with a brand new companion, but this week was great! I've really come to notice the advantage that the Latino missionaries have compared to the North Americans, they get here and they can still speak the language... isn't it great!!!

Sounds like the trip to California for Dad, Gabe, & Ryah has turned out fairly interesting up until now! I can't believe Ryah is driving Grandma's car back alone; if I could have gone on the trip that would probably be me... I'm sure Ryah would beg to differ. It is kinda hard for me right now to fathom 1 week of almost pure travelling! And with car troubles and everything... Wow! It is excellent that they found them when they did and not when they were in the middle of the next 23 hours worth of pure desert! And they got to spend a little bit of extra time with Aunt Kristen too.

This week has brought a lot of action on the homefront, from the sound of it. Truck repairs, car repairs, moving, cleaning, packing... I can't really say that I've missed it all too much, but then again I don't think that there is one of those that I haven't done in the mission! (We can thank the mission office for that one).

We are currently teaching about 21 people here in our sector. A few of them aren't progressing very well, but the rest have some real potential! This week we put the daughter & "son-in-law" of Marisol with a baptismal date. They've still got the challenge that they have to get married first, so they won't be baptized until November, but they will be baptized!!! (I'll still have converts after I've been out of the mission for more than 2 months)... LOL. A lot of the people we are teaching are family members of active members, and for many recent converts as well, so we are seeing a lot of progression with them. It's kinda sad that it took me until now to really recognize how much more efficient missionary work is when you are working almost completely with the members.

Yesterday was Ward Conference here in Dorsal, that marked the first time in a year that the stake president has participated in the entire block of meetings in our ward. The theme of the conference was based on the scripture in John 13:14-15, "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." The focus was towards those who are not currently serving in callings and those that are serving and are not "magnifying" they're callings at this time, that means that the entire conference applied to about 90-95% of the ward. We've all got things that we can improve, the upside is that I've seen a lot of changes in the last 7 weeks here in this ward... we are definitely on headed uphill! Slowly, but surely! I love it here in Dorsal, but lots of time it looks like this ward gets the short end of the stick when it comes to anything concerning the stake! I'm excited to see the changes here in the coming 11 weeks (yes, I said it) and even after I'm back home. There is still lots of work for me to do in the little time I've got left!

Time is winding down here in Chile, but the mission is still here... better make the best of it! Hope everything is alright with Grandpa and that Dad & the crew get home safely today!

Love ya'll!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #7

2011-06-07T08:16:00.001-05:00

Howdy All!!!

Last night brought around one of the most dreaded nights in the mission for many missionaries... CHANGE NIGHT!!! Fortunately I didn't have to wait until 1:30 AM for either of my 2 phone calls that I received. We were in a "family home evening" type thing whenever President May called... yep, I've got a new assignment! I'm still in Dorsal 1, and almost definitely will be until I finish my mission, and tomorrow I will be receiving my last companion in the mission home. I'm training!!! Tomorrow we are receiving 8 new missionaries, 6 Latino Elderes & 2 Hermanas "Gringas". The Missionary Department recently implemented a worldwide training program for new missionaries that encourages the mission presidents to keep the new missionary with their trainee for 2 changes; that means that my new companion is going to be sending me home in 2 changes!

From what I can tell the mission didn't get to awefully mixed up this change. We did have a few surprises, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Elder Brunt is in Lo Ovalle 1, where I was before, so I'm very excited for him. He's going to do great!

Sounds like this coming week is going to be action packed! I can't believe how quick the trip to Cali is going to be, but it is exciting that Ryah is going to be driving a lot of the way there and back. And we'll be adding another car to the Hendrickson auto collection... And shortly after the trip you'll be working on moving the house, that is very exciting! If you move too much of the kitchen you won't be able to cook... Mom, you should try to enlist the help of somebody, or that is going to be a lot of back and forth for you. It's also exciting that Dad is going to get to see Randy, we haven't heard from him in a while... and Uncle Matthew might be coming to Texas! Too bad I won't be home...

Bad to hear that Grandpa Gene had a wreck, good to hear that he is mostly okay! My prayers are with them.

Gabe finally wrote me and told me that the face of the ward is changing again. He couldn't remember the name of the new family, but oh well! I can't believe that the McCabe's and the Drake's are gone. I don't imagine that the Reese family is too far behind them, are they?

Mom, I've got excellent news!!! You've only got to worry about the Monday e-mail for 11 more weeks! LOL!!! Elder Moore, who is now is San Pablo and currently is sitting next to me, said the same thing... It is wild to think we'll both be heading home so soon!

Sounds like Dad had a pretty hairy weekend in the ER! I miss the daily stories, but before too long I'll have some of my own.

Yesterday we had several investigators in church, and Mario & Marisol were confirmed. Mario was also ordained to the office of priest in the Aaronic Priesthood, and Mario & Marisol were called to be the secretaries in Young Men and the Primary, respectively. Also their grandson, Martin, was presented. Church was pretty good and I'm super excited to be working with several of the family members of Mario & Marisol, they'll be baptized before long.

I'm currently the acting ward membership clerk (secretario de barrio) for the Barrio Dorsal. Both of our clerks are inactive, so I'm helping out when I can with the records and trying to get the whole me that previously existed cleaned up... so far so good, because the mess "previously existed". We are working very hard on turning into this ward into a very well-oiled machine! And so far the relationship that I've got with the bishop has played a pretty key role... simply put, he love us!

I miss ya'll and love ya'll! The clock is ticking, but I'm going to tell my new companion that I've only been in the mission for a little over a year... LOL

¡Muchos abrazos y besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #6

2011-05-31T16:32:00.000-05:00

Queridisima Familia!

Happy Memorial Day to everyone in the Good Ol' USA! We of course are not celebrating with a barbecue today, but we did have the opportunity to participate in a barbecue yesterday but it was celebrating a different occurrence.

This was a pretty fun filled weekend for us here in Dorsal. Saturday we were able to attend the wedding of 2 of our investigators, Mario & Marisol. The service was what I would classify as an "express wedding", but the ceremony itself seemed very impersonal. It looks like Chile has a tendency to turn events like this into legal encounters more than anything, I guess I'm still not used to that part of the country. However, the party following the ceremony here in Chile is a very big deal!

Sunday, yesterday, Mario & Marisol were also able to be baptized! YAY!!! They kinda freaked us out a little bit because they didn't show up to church... We gave them a call and they said they were definitely going to make it to the baptism and that the party hadn't ended until 4:00 AM, later he mentioned that they cut it off early because they were really tired. They did make it to the baptism on time. The bishop baptized Marisol and I had the opportunity to baptize Mario. All in all it was a wonderful experience... Mario was jumping up and down like a little kid from how excited he was. Mario and Marisol had both been waiting for this moment for a long time! The Church now has 2 excellent recent converts, they actually have interviews with the bishop on Wednesday to receive callings and for Mario to receive the Priesthood. I've also been cordially invited to the sealing in a year, and to travel down to Los Angeles (southern Chile) with them for the party they are going to have down there!

As a rebuttal to my comments about the "end of the world"... Almost all of the Evangelicals here in Chile were freaking out about the "end of the world", hence my comments...

Congratulations to all of the high school graduates out there, especially Ryah and Dillon!!! It's good to hear that Ryah did well on her speech, try to send me a copy if you can! I guess not everything about graduation week can be fun though, but totaling the car didn't have to be how it became interesting.

So Ryah is officially a nursery worker! That wouldn't exactly be my first choice, but maybe the bishopric of the Lufkin 1st Ward is trying to make sure that these young women don't decide they want to become mothers to fast... I guess it would work... right? (Se supone que es revelación... ¿ó no?).

Good to hear that everyone had a semi-decent week at least! By the lack of information about Gabe I'm guessing that he is still just hanging in there...

This week is changes, and the time feels like it is ticking by faster everyday. I can't believe that I've only got 2 more chances, including this next weekend, to be transfered!!! Time is flying!!!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll more everyday! I'll see you all very soon... I'm excited about that part, but there are parts of returning home that I'm not super excited about...

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #5

2011-05-23T12:29:00.001-05:00

Howdy Family!

This last week has been full of ups and downs! We had a tough time in several aspects of the obra but the week ended on a very high note.

Yesterday was a very, very tiring day... We started the day in the church at 8:30 AM with PEC and went through until church was over at 1:30 PM, then we went back from 5:00-7:00 PM for Ward Council. AHHH!!! Everything went way more smoothly than I expected with the meetings, Obispo Catricura has a pretty good grasp of what he is supposed to do and is really working on acting on that. We didn't have to worry about correcting too much apostasy (like in other wards) so that was a nice break. We have however been working extensively with MLS as far as the correction of membership records goes, so that has kept me pretty busy when I've got access to the secretaria (clerk's office). It is good to have the confidence of the bishop enough that he trusts us to do that.

I'm absolutely loving this ward! That isn't to say that it isn't tough sometimes, because it is, but we are trying to work hard at least. I've come to realize exactly how different I am from Elder Brunt, and sometimes that stresses our relationship a little bit... We've got very different points of view on a lot of aspects of missionary work. I've been having a really hard time this week with that. I'm trying to work diligently and be the example that I need to be, but it's very difficult. The change from the office to a normal sector has been very difficult for me, I love the new atmosphere, but I would almost describe my assignment now as having more responsibility. Before in the office I had the responsibility over a few things, but the only person I was really responsible for keeping focused and on track was me. Now I've got 6 of us! And better yet, almost all of the other 5 have less than a year in the mission (Elder Sáenz has 14 months in the mission). It's tough!

Sometimes I feel like I can't confide in those missionaries with whom I'm serving. I know that sounds bad, but that isn't the way I mean it... Before the mission I had a hard time opening up to people, but now I feel like a lot of that fear is gone. However, sometimes people make it hard for one to open up to them! This week I feel like I've been purely criticized by my companion. He keeps talking about how things were so different with his last companion and how he was such a great missionary, but I feel like it is directed at me... I've improved a lot on my patience and my tolerance in these last couple of weeks, it has been hard, but I can tell there is a drastic difference from who I was before. I don't wish I could be the missionary Elder Brunt wants me to be, I'm fine with what I'm doing to improve and I know it is only important to be the kind of missionary the Lord wants me to be. I don't know how I can help him to see that though!

On a much brighter note... Mario and Marisol, the couple formerly known as eternal investigators, are having their wedding on Saturday and will be baptized Sunday afternoon! I don't know that I've been vital in their conversion, but I'd like to think that maybe I helped in something. This is just one of those instances of being in the right place at the right time, and I've received that blessing. Now the responsability that comes with that is that there are 6 other people between their family and the family of their daughter's mother-in-law that need to be baptized! LOL. We are working on that already, as 9 of the 10 between the two families were at church yesterday, and will be for the next 2 weeks as well (at least).

About the other e-mail that I sent... If you want to put it on the blog you are more than welcome to. I was very much inspired by the words of President King about this missionary and the new mission to which he has been called. I can't imagine the pain that his family must be going through right now, but at least they have the peace that comes from the Plan of Salvation and that he was doing what he was supposed to be doing. The letter from President King brought a scripture to mind: "And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name’s sake, shall find it again, even life eternal." (D&C 98:13).

Congratulations to Ryah for the graduation this week! I got the announcement on Tuesday, I couldn't help but show it off (and recognize the Vans)! This ought to be a fun-filled week. What is CHS planning for Project Celebration this year? And what is Ryah's calling, since she didn't write me?... again!

I'm liking very much the goal of being in the house before Dad heads out to California! That does, however, mean that there is a lot of work within the next couple of weeks... and I bet Gabe and Ryah are super willing to help!!! Right?!?!?

Good news, the world didn't end on May 21st! Bad news, the world didn't end on May 21st! We got to searching for the scripture that everyone said corresponded with the prophesy of the loon that said we were all headed toward doomsday, and it has to do with Jonah! Apparently this guy is the same guy that predicted Christ was going to return for the Second Coming in 1994, missed that one too. It was pretty funny though because the whole spill was believed by all of the Evangelical Christians, in the USA there are a few, but about 1 in every 2 people here in Chile is in some way, shape, or form Evangelical. There is no Methodist, Pentecostal, Assembly of God, or Baptist church that doesn't have Evangelical somewhere in its name! I found the whole idea very comical. Keep holding on for the wild ride between now and when the world "really" ends!!!

I love ya'll and miss ya'll! Keep your prayers with the family of the late Elder Jennings!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

On a sad note.....

2011-05-23T12:10:00.001-05:00

This is a message that President and Sister King in the Chile Santiago West Mission sent out yesterday to all of the missionaries in their mission and President May was kind enough to forward on to us. It really puts things into perspective a little bit.

Love ya'll,

-- Élder Todd

Our dear missionaries,

It is with a heavy hearts, we inform you that on Saturday morning, May 21, 2011, Elder Benjamin Taylor Jennings passed away from this life. Elder Jennings was companions with Elder Ciccio in Las Industrias in the San Miguel zone. They were out jogging for their exercise early that morning, and upon their return, just before they arrived at their pension, Elder Jennings collapsed and all efforts to revive him failed. He passed away quickly and peacefully.

Elder Jennings was a wonderful missionary, full of love for the people of Chile, and happy to be serving his Father in Heaven on a mission. The Bishop from Las Industrias commented that he was always happy, and that his face always shone bright with light. Other missionaries have spoken of how he always took joy in serving others, especially other missionaries. We have only every heard positive comments and feedback about Elder Jennings.

We will miss him dearly. He is one of our beloved missionaries. We all feel saddened by this painful news. His family is suffering the most. He comes from a beautiful LDS family – mother father, two younger sisters and a younger brother. He was the oldest. Please pray for his family. They need our support through our prayers.

But let us rejoice in the Plan of Salvation of our God. Elder Jennings was called home because he was ready and needed to serve on the other side of the veil in the spirit world. He has entered into the rest of our Lord, and is in a far better place.

D&C 138: 57 I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead.

The Lord knows our time and if we are faithful, we will not be taken until we have completed our mission on this earth. Each has his duty to perform. For Elder Jennings, his death was sweet.
D&C 42: 45 Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not hope of a glorious resurrection.
46 And it shall come to pass that those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them;
48 And again, it shall come to pass that he that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed.
Elder Jennings certainly has a hope of a glorious resurrection, but having completed his mission here in mortality, he was appointed unto death. Oh that we can all pass from this life while serving faithfully in the work of the Lord, that we all might have that hope of a glorious resurrection and redemption through the infinite atonement of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ.

But our mission is not over, we have been called to save the souls of men here in Chile. “Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad.” Elders and Sisters, we have the “good news” – the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have the truth with will set men free from sin and suffering. We have the baptism that will open the gate to receive the blessings of the Holy Ghost in their lives and carry them unto life eternal. Elder Jennings has gone on before us. We hope that we all want to be where he is. He would have us continue faithful and diligent in this great saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hagámoslo!
With all of our love and prayers, may the Lord comfort you in this loss,

President and Sister King

Dorsal 1 - Week #4

2011-05-16T12:12:00.001-05:00

Howdy All!

Not much exciting going on in Chile this week. Yes, the weather here is starting to get rather chilly, but that's the way the cookie crumbles in the southern hemisphere...

This week, more than anything, I had the opportunity to work with my district a little bit. Friday afternoon and Saturday morning we were in exchanges with la Estrella Sur. I had the opportunity to be working with Elder Sáenz from La Plata, Argentina, while Elder Brunt was with Elder De la Cruz in our sector. All in all the exchanges went pretty well. They are having a few difficulties in their sector in that is has proved difficult recently to help their investigators progress, but they are working on fixing that problem and could very possibly be baptizing this month as well.

Elder Sáenz is currently training Elder De la Cruz so I could see in him a little bit of relief to be separated for the day. Friday night be had the opportunity to teach one of their investigators, Octaviano. I don't think I've every met someone who talks so much in my life, and he's only in his 40's! I feel sorry for his future grandchildren!!!

We finished the exchanges Saturday morning and returned to Dorsal for our English class only to leave after lunch for Los Mares. In Los Mares I was able to have an interview with Diego, one of their investigators, for his baptism that happened yesterday. I don't think I've ever met an 11 year-old who has got such a comprehension of the Gospel. Diego is the only member in his family and we spoke a lot about the example he has to be for the rest of his family. When we got around to the baptismal questions to see if he is prepared to make a baptismal covenant he knew the questions & the answers better than I did! Yesterday he was baptized, his mom attended the baptismal service, and from what the hermanas said it was a very spiritual experience.

I'm beginning to notice that the school year in the US is starting to wind down a little bit. I can't believe Ryah & Dillon are graduating! It feels like I've been out of school for sooo long and that I've been away from home for a very long time too! I can't really imagine getting back into the swing of things again, it's going to be very strange...

I heard that the Lufkin Ward is about to have another move in. It looks like Ben Glade is going to be moving down from Nac. to be closer to work, so that will be cool!

Mom, it is up to you to keep Sister Reese pushing that Dillon go on a mission, but try to convince her that a foreign mission isn't so bad. I've heard some pretty wishy-washy stories about the missions in the states too. Just mention that that the missionaries in Lufkin used to try to teach and tract pretty regular on "the Front"! LOL.

Keep your chins up with work and school and all! It will eventually all finish, for some sooner than others... Love ya'll bunches and miss ya'll too! Just look on the bright side, only 3 more fast Sundays!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #3

2011-05-16T12:11:00.001-05:00

Howdy All!

Yesterday was great! I'm so thankful for the opportunity that we had to use Skype to communicate with the family, it's amazing how that little bit of technology works so well! I echo what Dad said in that eventhough we were thousands of miles away that it felt like we were so close. I'm very much convinced that I'll be using Skype quite a bit after the mission to be able to stay in contact with some of the people from the mission, in Chile and in the USA.

Once again, for everyone who didn't talk to me, Happy Mother's Day!!! Hope that all of the mother's out there had a wonderful day!

It is wild to think that yesterday marked my last call home in the mission! AHHH!!! And since I probably won't be having a layover either when I get to the US, I'll be seeing you before I talk to you again! I can't believe that time is flying by so fast... I'll be home before we know it!

Yesterday we had the opportunity to participate in the baptism of Mattías Astorga. It was an amazing experience! Elder Brunt & Elder Foster had been teaching Mattías and his brother Lucas before I arrived, so I just kinda helped seal the deal. I don't know that I've ever seen a 15 year-old so excited about the Gospel, we are expecting great things from Mattías in this ward, and a missionary in 4 years!!! Woot!!! The actual baptism was a little bit commical, Mattías is a very big guy, and poor little Tonny was who baptized him. Needless to say, it was a little bit of a struggle, and it didn't help matters any that the water heater in the church has problems... the water wasn't super cold, but it wasn't as warm as it should have been and the tankless heater (like in all of Chile) randomly decided to shut off every once in a while and stop filling the font! So Mattías was baptized by someone half his size in water that only came up to his knees! The ordinance had to be performed twice, Mattías had to kneel, and Tonny had to shove him under the water at the same time Mattías stretched out his legs. It was great!!! I'm attaching a couple of pictures from before the baptism for ya'll to enjoy! (You can thank the Chilean with the camera for the black line across Elder Brunt!)

I forgot yesterday to tell you a funny story that happened to us this week! On Thursday, Jhonny, a young man preparing for the mission (just waiting for his call) accompanied us for a little while. As our luck worked out, every appointment that we had failed and we were trying to find out what we should do. After a little bit we decided to pass by the home of Claudia, a less active member/recent convert who has been trying to come back to church. We got to the house and hollered at the gate (that's how we roll in Chile) and nobody answered... After repeating this several times her 7-8 year-old son came running out of the house and towards to back to play. Francisco, her son, is "mentally challenged" and is quite a character (from what Elder Brunt has told me he apparently plays with a laser pointer in the same way a cat does...) Elder Brunt hollered at him a couple of times yelling "niño" and he didn't respond, after a couple tries he began hollering "loquito" which means crazy man! Francisco responded immediately and ran towards the gate, took off the chain, threw it open, and took off down the road! The three of us stood there for a second and looked at each other wondering what we were going to do, then Elder Brunt started freaking out. Turns out that Claudia wasn't home! Luckily after a couple of seconds, one of the neighbors that was walking by mentioned to us that the store that he had run into knew who he was and that he'd be alright there. Moral of the story... don't holler "loquito" at a crazy little kid, otherwise he might escape from his cage! LOL!

It's little experiences like that that I missed about the mission. When I was in the office we just saw all of the stupid things that missionaries did, and nothing of what happened to them! I love it!!! I'm constantly amazed by the contact that I have with the people here, sometimes it frustrates me so much, but other times I'm purely amused! I'm going to miss Chile!!!

I guess I'll be seeing you again in less than 4 months! I'm not quite to the point of keep track of every day yet, but it is very easy to figure out exactly how much time I've got left!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! See you again soon!

¡Todo mi amor! ¡Muchos besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #2

2011-05-02T13:33:00.001-05:00

¡Queridisimo Familia!

This has been the best week that I've had in a long time! It is amazing to arrive to a sector and within a week see the changes that it an make in one's outlook. This has got to be one of my best wards by far and I'm really looking forward to getting to know more of the members here. I've also got an excellent companion, a little Utah-ish, but not too bad!

First things first! I hope you got my other e-mail about the Mother's Day phone calls, an Skype. It would be great to get to see ya'll too, just put Gabe to work on it on your end and I'll see what we can figure out today on mine. It isn't something set in stone since it has been fairly difficult trying to figure out where we can talk to our families anyways, but we're going to see if we can't make this thing happen too. And besides, there are lots of adavantages to Skype anyways, for example video chat, FREE, via the Internet, etc. Hopefully we can make it happen, the only thing that you have to be sure of is that you are connected at 4:00 (Santiago time) on Sunday and that you've got a webcam and microphone (good investments anyways, since I'll buy them from you when I get back to talk to people in Chile via Skype as well).

I've got to admit that Dorsa 1 is very different than being in the office. I'm very much enjoying the availability that we have to work, but the walking is wearing me out a little bit. We are averaging about 8 miles (or more) a day, Elder Brunt has a pedometer, and our sector is small! LOL. I've already gotten to know a lot of amazing people here! We had a confirmation yesterday of an investigator who was baptized in December, her mom thinks that I look like Mark Anthony! Also on Saturday we had a great lesson with two investigators, Matías (16) & Lucas (13), and they committed to baptism. Matías decided that he wanted to be baptized this coming Sunday, so we're super excited about that, but we are going to be trying to figure out the schedule for that and the phone calls too! Our problem that we are baptizing! And Matías is only going to be the first of at least 3 this month!!! We've got a couple that we are teaching, Mario & Marisol, who are getting married on the 28th and are going to be baptized on the 29th. Mario has been investigating the Church for about 2 years & Marisol for 15! It is going to be great to be a part of their conversion.

We've also got several recent converts in our sector who are on fire!!! Christian Ballesteros is in his 40's or so, single, and has only been a member for about 8 months. Recently he received the Melchizedek Priesthood and is very soon going to recieve a calling. And he is only one of many! We've also got a non-compliant heart patient as a recent convert, I love him, but sometimes I just want to slap him around... He's convinced that he's going to die soon, and he's probably right (but it hurts for me to realize that).

The average attendance in our ward is about 120 members, but we could easily have 150 or more. Yesterday we had a chance, as the 4 missionaries in the ward, to speak with the bishop and plan a little bit of how we can help the ward to grow. In the next 5 weeks we hope to see some big changes and hopefully a lot of success comes along with those. It is tough to see a young bishop so worried about the ward and trying to pull all of the weight almost entirely solo. The organizations in this ward don't function really well, but a major restructuring will be happening very soon, and yesterday we had a sneak peek! We are all very excited!

The work is continuing very well! I'm loving to opportunity to be a missionary, and for the first time in about 12 months I'm really, really excited to be working where I am! I love this work and the blessings that it brings in my life!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll, but at least I get to talk to you this next weekend! It's hard to believe that this is going to be another last, the last phone call home during my mission!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd

Dorsal 1 - Week #1

2011-04-25T14:51:00.000-05:00

Howdy from a different frontier!

As I mentioned on Saturday, I definitely had changes!!! I'm now in Dorsal 1 in the zone San Pablo. My new companion, Elder Brunt, is from Highland, Utah (Salt Lake basically) and has been in the mission for about 8 months (or so). I'm excited to be working alongside him in this ward. From what Elder Gibson & Elder Skidmore have told me, there is a lot of success in this sector. Both of them started their missions in this same sector, so they were very excited for me. I will also be serving as district leader to not only 1 sector but 2! La Estrella Sur & Los Mares (hermanas) will be in my district, that means I've got to teach EDPEs in district meeting now... yuck! It will be fun though and I'm really looking forward to this change.

Easter felt like I was back in the Lufkin Ward (of several years ago)... Not one of our 3 speakers in church made reference to Easter, one spoke of the Atonement & repentance so I guess that was close, but it doesn't count. I don't even think that anybody in our ward even remembered it was Easter Sunday. This year there was absolutely nobody really talking about Easter, or Semana Santa (Holy Week), or anything of the sort, it kinda bummed me out. Elder Skidmore tried his hardest to introduce the American tradition of dying Easter eggs, but we failed miserably. He ended up dying them in the house yesterday afternoon, alone, we helped with a few in between packing our bags and everything.

The office is officially in chaos! They started moving the furniture this morning, so it looks like a cyclone hit the 3rd floor of our office building. The assistants to the president told me when we met up for changes that they thought the office might fall apart without me there... LOL. I've been a pretty stable figure there for almost the last year! And now we've got a new crew there (6 weeks all except Elder Gibson), and Elder Gibson is training and will be leaving in about 2-3 weeks for another sector. They'll be lost!

I finally got some pics of Ryah at Prom, she made it sound like she didn't have a very enjoyable time. And what is this I hear about her going to SFA? Did she get into BYU and just opt for something closer to home or what? Either way, it is good that the state still has the tuition program, most other places have way better deals than that! From what I've learned, Texas is pretty stingy with scholarship/grant money for academics!

Dad, I have been thinking quite a bit more about what type of physician I'd like to be. I'm seriously leaning toward Emergency Medicine, but without the sub-specialty in pediatrics. I think I might be limiting myself too much with the pedi but I still think I'd enjoy the fast pace and craziness of E-Med! You told me that you've got to be a little bit touched to enjoy the ED, and I think I'll admit that it seems to run in the family... that means I got some of it too! LOL

I'm super excited to be out working in proselyting again. We've got 4 people with baptismal dates already in the sector and have several other prospects, so we should be seeing some baptisms pretty soon! I'm excited for that since I haven't had any since December, and we are ending April of 2011.

The clock is ticking down until Mother's Day when I get to talk to you! President still hasn't said anything about Skype, but I've got a copy of the official letter from Salt Lake saying it is approved. I guess we'll see if he announces it to us or not, it would be nice because it is free and has video capability! Either way, I'm fine with at least talking to ya'll!

It is possible that I am entering my last area before I head home. I'm still in Santiago, so my luck hasn't taken me to the country yet, but I love it here in the city. You've got no idea how much I'd love to end my mission here, which makes it all the more possible that I don't receive that wish... we know how my mission has worked until now! (I'm pretty much a rag-doll!) LOL. The sector here is pretty small and we share the ward with 2 other missionaries, Elder Wilkes & Elder Hendricks (ought to be interesting for the members). I've heard nothing but good things about this sector and this stake, so we'll see how they hold up!

I love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! I can't wait to talk to you! And don't forget my P-day is on Mondays!!! LOL

¡Todo mi amor! ¡Abrazos!

-- Élder Todd

P.S. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Circunvalacion 1 - "The Final Countdown"

2011-04-24T20:59:00.000-05:00

Hey All!

It's Saturday, and that means one thing, that I'm not having changes until Monday!!! YAY!!! That means that you've got to write me again tomorrow so that I'm not completely sad when I get on to do Internet during my new P-day. I'll be struggling for things to tell you, but I've been through that before (how many missionaries can say that?)... LOL

This week has been rather interesting here in El Cortijo, but it has accomplished one of its purposes better than anything else... I'm completely and totally ready to be out of this office!!! I don't want to be here any more!!! Not even kidding. Monday is definitely going to bring a drastic change in scenery, but it will be a good thing. We've been working on moving several of our apartments this week, as the whole office, along with the assistants and the Taylor's, will be moving, so that has taken up a major amount of time & effort this week. Also we are almost completely done packing the office, which will be moved in the first part of the week. I'm excited I won't be here for that since the move will be happening right alongside changes!!! Yipee!

It's hard for me to recognize that I've been in the office, working as an office missionary, for longer than I've been in a normal sector. I've come to realize that a normal missionary schedule hasn't really been something feasible for me for most of my mission. The transition back to a normal sector is going to be a little tough, but I think I'm ready for it. I hate the feeling of being stuck in limbo though, with transfers, but at least this time I'm sure I'm going... just not sure where I'm going. LOL...

From what ya'll told me, it sounds like the house is coming along quite nicely! I'm excited for ya'll to be moved in, and especially excited I don't have to be a part of the actual move. The finishing touches seem to be coming along, which means it shouldn't be too awfully long before the change is made.

Texas weather sounds like it is giving everybody a fit right now. We are having cooler temperatures here, and they expect that next week the temperatures shouldn't get above about 3-4 °C (close to 40 °F). The wildfires sound pretty menacing, hopefully East Texas can stay stable enough to not get mixed up in any big problems like that. Anyways, forest fires would be a little different than the fires I'm sure they are having out west. I do find Governor Perry's declaration amazing. That is pretty cool that he'd publicly announce these couple of days as days to "pray for rain", I'm sure he is getting a little bit of backlash from that though!

Mom, I did get my Easter package, and I think everything inside is already gone... (it didn't make it to Easter)! For Easter we'll be working all day in the office and on packing up the rest of the things in the houses, so apart from Church we don't have anything too exciting. This will be the last Sunday that the office will be in this ward, and that is something amazing since we've been here for 6-8 years! I think we are going to try to dye Easter eggs with a couple of recent converts tonight, but I'm not positive.

It is important that we especially remember why the world is celebrating Easter this weekend. As members of the Church we remember the Atonement of Jesus Christ all year round, but this weekend the entire Christian world celebrates his resurrection. I want to encourage you to watch the Mormon Message on Easter that was given last year by Elder Holland, the way they put it together really helps to imagine it all and really gets the wheels turning!

I love ya'll and miss ya'll! As soon as I get details on the Mother's Day phone call I'll let you know. Don't forget to write me on Monday!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #15 (and winding down)

2011-04-17T17:49:00.000-05:00

Howdy All!

I can once again officially say that I am near the end of my term here in the office of the great Chile Santiago North Mission. This coming week is the last week of the change and will definitely mean a change of scenery (at least from the office) for myself and Elder Young. I've got to admit that I'm pretty excited to be out working in proselyting full-time again, but there are going to be certain advantages of the office that I'm again going to miss. This time I'm completely confident that my replacement is in complete control and ready to go! Elder Skidmore has completely caught on in the 5 weeks that I've been "training" him, and now he is already flying solo! I'm so proud!!! *TEAR*

This week has been rather frustrating for me on the administrative end of the mission. Monday we had to send a missionary home early, he was going to be ending a week from this coming Monday, but for circumstances of the which I don't know the details, he wasn't able to finish his mission. Apart from that dim bit of news, we have been working on getting everything ready for the move... As I think I've mentioned before, everything in Chile is a major production! So in this week we've been trying to coordinate between our office, President May, the construction department who is overseeing the remodel of the new office, and O&M who will be turning it over to us, as far as how and when the move is going to happen. The turn over was supposed to have happened yesterday, and before that on the 15th, and before that on the Monday after Conference, and before that on April 1st, and now... we might receive the building on Thursday OR Friday!!! AHHHHHHH!!! Next weekend, my last weekend in the office, might be spent moving an entire office and 3 apartments... Oh what fun!!! Such is life...

Monday morning brings about a special time for all the missionaries, it is the last day of interviews with the mission president. We, the office, have interviews Monday morning so that ought to be something to look forward to. This will be my next to last interview with President May before he ends his mission and President Essig shows up. It will probably be a little odd going home only 2 months after the new mission president arrives and barely having an opportunity to get to know him. By the way, I don't know if you've seen it yet but the Church News article featuring President & Sister Essig came out recently. Here is the link if you haven't seen it yet, so that you can see who will be taking care of me when I'm most trunky... LOL
(http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/60634/New-mission-presidents.html)
There isn't a whole lot of excitement happening here in the North Mission right now. For some reason our normal work load in the office has decreased by alot and lots of times I find myself struggling to find things to do. (But don't tell President that...) LOL!

I'm happy to hear that Ryah went to Prom and had fun. Did she go with a date, or just with a group? And I still haven't gotten pictures... what's up with that?! I'll be impatiently waiting for those... *Tapping of the foot begins*. But how did she manage to stay out so late on a Saturday night? I'm almost positive she slept through church the next morning... LOL. Speaking of waiting impatiently... I'm still waiting for pictures of the house! *Foot tapping continues*. I keep hearing about all of these advances, but I'm not seeing the progress. Or would it be better to keep it a surprise until I get home and you're already living in it? And when is the projected move in date anyways? I'm genuinely hoping that it is before I get home because I've moved enough houses in the last 10 months to last me a lifetime (as a matter of fact I've moved 2 in the last 2 days).

Congratulations to Miss Ryah for "officially" being the Valedictorian of the Central High School Class of whatever this year is (2011?)... LOL! I better be receiving a video and a written copy of the second most famous valedictorian speech ever given in Central High School history. Of course, we already know who gave the first (but I'm humble)... LOL. Just a tip, get Weathers to take a look at it and proof it for you, that saved me a couple of errors! Oh, and when should I be expecting that the graduation announcement arrive?

Missionary work continues here on the southern half of the world. We as a mission are baptizing consistently, but a lot of the zones are suffering pretty hard right now, but the work goes on. We are kind of in limbo as to whether or not the office will be moving or not this next week, so everything in our sector is in utter chaos! This week will be spent on buckling down on the move and getting everything packed, luckily we still have a little bit of extra man power for now so that ought to make the work a little more bearable.

I love you all and miss you bunches! I'll be talkin' to ya in just over 3 weeks!!! Yay! Just a rumor that I've heard, I'll know more within the next couple of weeks, is that we'll be able to use Skype to communicate with you this time. Right before Christmas the General Offices of the Church in Salt Lake sent an e-mail notifying that is was allowed, and encouraged, to use Skype with video capability to speak with the family for Christmas, but the notice wasn't sent to the whole mission (only the office and a few of the chums of Elder Driscoll, who he thought ought to know). So now we are waiting on the go-ahead from President May, but you might prepare for that anyways.

Hope all is well at home and I'll be waiting for those pictures (patiently). *Tap, tap, tap...*

¡Todo mi amor y muchos abrazos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #14

2011-04-09T11:32:00.000-05:00

Howdy All!

This week in the wonderful world of Elder Hendrickson was... General Conference!!! I just had my last General Conference as a full-time missionary (for a long while), so if I wasn't already on the downhill slide I definitely am now.

As I've mentioned before, General Conference is like Christmas, but better, for us missionaries... and this Conference definitely didn't disappoint! There were some really awesome talks given over the course of the 2 days. I was again impressed with the talks by Elder Andersen & President Uchtdorf; I get excited every time it is announced that they are going to speak.

I hope that each of you was able to take as much away from Conference as I did. Now comes the hard part... APPLY IT! I absolutely loved the talk by Elder Holland that spoke about just that, the importance of applying what we learn and listening for what we need to do. One phrase from his talk really jumped out to me, he said, "If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you." How true is that statement! Our leaders know our needs, we've just got to listen to recognize what was intended just for us.

The office work se pone pesado (is getting hard). We are working diligently against a clock that we can't see. The construction department got a little behind on turning over the building, but that will be happening on the 15th. On the other hand, we are also having to coordinate with Operations & Maintenance, which has got to be the least organized organization in Area Chile! They are giving us the run around with the move and keep projecting a date that is further away. At this point I'm not sure that I'll still be around for the actual move, or just the preparation (that we are working on now), and I'll almost definitely not be around to enjoy any time in the new office.

Much of this week as been spent working on the move. We are in the process of cleaning out and packing, and so far we've gotten through most just the paper files. We've thrown out about 2 years of financial records and about 8 of membership records. Who ever is working on shredding all of that has his work cut out for him (and it is looking like I'm going to be having a shift or two of it myself)... LOL

Despite efforts in the sector we haven't seen much success. That is the tough thing about the office, and it starts to take its toll on you after a while. When you are stuck behind a desk all day it is kind of hard to preach the Gospel. Yes, we leave to work, but the whole spirit of missionary work somewhere gets lost. I do my best when I've got the time, but there is very little of that when you're stuck here. I'm ready to get out of the office... AGAIN... (Not many people can say that part).

Not much news really for this week. It was pretty tranquil. We did send 2 missionaries home early, for studies, on Monday & Tuesday and we are sending another one on Monday morning. It is wild to see how quickly the time here in the mission is passing. I can definitely say that each of the missionaries who is now leaving the mission are people that I know, something very different from when I first arrived in the office.

And to answer your questions Mom... I have eaten all of the jam and I found it very, very good. And I still haven't gotten the package, it is probably sitting over in Correos Chile and we haven't gotten over there to pick it up yet. Unfortunately it isn't as easy to get mail now as it was before, since we have to travel over close to the new office to pick it all up... yuck! I should be getting it early this week.

Hope ya'll have an excellent week and that work isn't to drab. Wish you could save me a place on the road trip in June!!!

Lots of love!!!

-- Élder Todd

P.S. Good luck to Ryah in Prom, and don't forget to send me pictures!!!

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #13

2011-04-01T11:11:00.000-05:00

Howdy All!!!

It's Friday morning and we're sitting here in the mission office like any normal day... but it is actually P-day!!! I'm not entirely sure what we have planned for today, but I'm thinking it will probably be pretty chill. I think we are planning on heading into Santiago Centro to eat and maybe go to the big Catholic cathedral downtown, since I've been in Chile for 19 months and have never been!

This week has been kind of an interesting one. I'm trying to work on a few processes for our office instruction manual but I feel like more than anything I've been twiddling my thumbs... Elder Skidmore is 99.9% in control of his post as historiador and I've very much taken a back seat for the past couple days. It has been kind of nice to be able to run around the mission helping Elder Gibson out with the things he has to do outside of the office, but I'm not sure I could handle doing that for too much longer. I'm still hanging in there, which is a very good thing as it looks like I may be staying put in the office until the end of the change (or there abouts).

We should know today the projected date for the office move. The keys will be turned over from construction to the Operations & Maintenance Department on Monday, as far as we know, all-in-all the time for action should be coming up very soon!

I'm stoked for General Conference this weekend. Not only are we allowed to go to all of the sessions, but we are required to attend. The broadcasts here in Santiago are only shown in the stake centers, so we have to go to the ward next to us (oh so far...) to see the conference. I've got to admit that I'm guilty of not watching Conference in Spanish, it just doesn't have the same feel as it does in English, and since they make it available to us in English I can't help but take advantage of it!

I'm starting to get into several lasts in my mission already, and I've still got about 5 months in the field... This weekend will be my last General Conference as a missionary in Chile, I'll be home for the next one in October. It is kinda hard to believe, but the time is passing by very quickly... I'll be home before you know it.

I'm anxiously awaiting the package from ya'll! Yesterday, Elder Gibson and I headed over to the post office where our new PO box is located. We came back with a pretty big load of mail, and I hit the jackpot! The package from Sis. Whitworth was already there and boy was it filled with all sorts of goodies, and most of them are still there waiting for me... (just so everyone knows I didn't pound them all down within less than 24 hours)... LOL

All of this fresh fruit, jams, bread, etc. is getting me ready to be back to home cooking. I'm kinda tired of the way that we eat here in the office, and there is a place in my heart/stomach that Chilean food just can't fill either... I need some homemade fried chicken or something!!! LOL.

The work here in Circunvalación is going well also. We are striving to help several people accept the gospel. Carlos, from a long time ago, is still sharing with us but it looks like his ideas have been changed a little bit because of some recent sharing with another religion. Let's just put it that he seems to believe entirely too much in the fact that Satan is just as powerful as God (see if you can recognize what church that doctrine comes from). Either way, he's been more tough to help out this time, but we are still hoping that he can make it to Conference and can really get something worthwhile from the messages presented.

Melva, Sonia's mom, is still eager to learn. We had a great lesson with her during the week, but it was interupted by visits at the very end. She was feeling the Spirit very strong, as were we, but she had fallen out of that same rumbo when the time to commit her to baptism came. I'm confident that she will accept baptism though and that she too will become a strength to her family in this great and marvellous work.

I love the Gospel! This weekend is a great opportunity to learn and recommit, and there is alot of that that I've got to do. Take every opportunity you get to share the Gospel, that is how our testimonies really tend to grow the most.

How are Brad and his family doing? Keep me posted. And is there anybody new in the ward that I don't know, that you haven't mentioned before? Overall how is the ward doing? Attendance? I want to know all...

Love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! Don't start counting down the days yet! But just so you know, only 5 more fast Sundays! (I'll send more details in another e-mail so now everyone thinks that I'm getting trunky!!!) LOL

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week No Se Cuantito (#12, I think)

2011-03-26T15:24:00.001-05:00

¡Hola Familia Mia!

This has been a pretty laid back week here in the trenches (as Dad puts it). Elder Skidmore is catching on to the work of the Historian very, very quickly... that means that I could have more special changes any minute now! I'm half expecting that my phone rings as I sit here writing you right now... *RING* *RING*

Ok, so I didn't just get a phone call but I've definitely entered into the anxious/nervous mode about what change will happen next. On the bright side, after 2 weeks of training, I've we've now got a new office member who can survive without my help. There will be no sink or swim this time, I've made sure of it!

The work is progressing, slowly but surely, in the vineyard of Circunvalación. We've had quite a bit of extra time this week to work in the sector and we've had a little bit of success in finding. Last Wednesday the father of a young man in our ward died suddenly, Diego wasn't handling it very well at first, and his mother who is not a member of the Church was taking it harder. This tragedy has opened the door of her home again to receiving the missionaries, and we've now had 2 opportunities to share the Gospel with her. So keep Sylvia & Diego in your prayers, they need it and Sylvia needs this gospel.

This last week in our zone class we had a brainstorming session about what we want the mission as a whole to recognize about the office. When I arrived to the office nobody in the mission really had a clue about what we did or really even recognized much that we existed. Now I'm not sure there are many elders who wouldn't like to come to the office. The office as a whole has gained a reputation for being fun and a lot of nonsense, both of which are entirely not true. Yes, we try to have fun in what we do, but we work hard here! So now our goal is that the mission see what it is the office is really all about... we want to show them that we are here to serve the mission, but also to fulfill our purpose as missionaries "To invite others come unto Christ, by helping them receive the restored Gospel...". It's a tough task to fulfill and it puts even more pressure on us, on top of everything we do now... daily office tasks, processes (aka instruction manuals) we are writing, & moving. I'm excited to leave! LOL...

I'm a little envious of the whirlwind trip to So. Cal. I've recently become very used to driving and I could use a road trip... You sure you can't push the trip off until September or so? LOL... It would be great to be able to see some of the family out there, but I'll still be here when you make that little excursion! I'm sure Ryah would do alright driving through the desert if need be, and it also might give Gabe a chance to learn to drive... just make sure he has his license first (he wouldn't even need to know how to drive before that as 30 hours behind the wheel would give him plenty of experience)...

Mom, I'm officially disappointed that you did not get the Golden Retriever puppy "for Dad"! But then again with one dog that already doesn't know me, it might be best that we keep the numbers as low as possible to avoid possible dog bites/attacks when I get home...

Next weekend is General Conference. We'll be able to attend all 5 sessions over the 2 days, so I'm really excited for that! I'm still not entirely sure what will be happening with our P-day on Saturday (as it won't be happening) but I'll let you know as soon as we have some news, we should know something by Monday afternoon. Pay close attention to the theme that is expressed throughout the Conference, it is always interesting to me to be able to see how a lot of the talks tie together in a common pattern.

I think that is about all of the news for this week. Nothing too exciting still, and I'm kinda hoping it stays that way for a while. I'm still hanging in there, and the reminders of how much is left keep coming at every turn...

Love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! ¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #12

2011-03-19T15:33:00.000-05:00

Howdy All!

Just to let everyone know off of the bat, the seismic activity that apparently has been happening in Chile for the last week or two has barely affected Santiago. The other day we felt a little bit of shaking when we were in our 5th story apartment, but it only lasted 45 seconds or so...LOL

Affirmative... my tiny 3 word e-mail does mean that even after changes I am still in the office, but the end is in sight. We are currently 6 Elders plus the Taylors in the office! I am now training Elder Skidmore to be the new mission historian, and boy is he catching on fast. I've been able to relax just a little bit more this week (after Wednesday that is) and help him do all the work... that's the way I like it. But more on this week later...

Good to hear that everyone made it back from California alright and that everything went off without a hitch. I'm guessing that Dad's next trip out there will be by truck instead of by plane... Am I right? Out of the belongings acquired that you mentioned I think I might remember the green velvet couch, was it is the big living room where Gabe, Ryah, & I always stayed? And I definitely remember "Omar the Camel"!!! That's pretty great that Gabe got him. As for the family reunion proposal, I'm completely on board. Now let's just see if we can get me to be close to home when it happens and get the ideas flowing. I'm guessing it will be summer of 2013, right? I'll see what ideas I can come up with, since I mean East Texas really is a hoppin' place...

This week, as I already mentioned, were changes. Monday we sent 3 gringos home to Gringolandia and Tuesday we sent home 9 Latinos. Because of flight problems/conflicts we got the new missionaries in 2 groups, 6 Latinos from the CCM here on Tuesday & the 3 gringos on Wednesday morning. Our new office missionaries were real troopers through their first 48 hours with only about 3 hours of sleep. As for us vets we were running on about 6 hours out of 72+... Yuck! But I will almost definitely not be doing that again... Our new office personnel are great. We've got Elder Skidmore as the historian, Elder Roth (being trained by Elder Young) as the finance secretary, and Elder Sierra (de Honduras) as the executive secretary. We are having a blast and I feel like a lot more is getting done than was when we were only 3!

Sister Taylor is doing well. She got out of the hospital Sunday afternoon and was in the Hinckley Suite in the mission home until Tuesday so that she wasn't alone in her apartment, with all the changes and everything happening. Tuesday she came back to Conchalí and everything is going spectacular. From the point she had the surgery the doctors basically told her that she was ready to run a marathon (not in those words), so she is back to the normal routine with exactness... and with a lot more energy.

Dad's e-mails have been getting me to tear up recently... and today he did it yet again! That is pretty awesome incident, it really does bring the whole reality of the gospel back to home. These things are all truths we know, but sometimes you don't really recognize them until something as real as what Aunt Katie experienced happens. Tell her thanks for sharing!

I miss ya'll bunches! Be expecting to hear from me anytime within the next six weeks about special changes... I'm already on the look out and President has already warned me that I might only be training for part of the change. I'm kind of tired of getting thrown around, but apparently it is something that both myself and those waiting for me in other sectors need!

I love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! ¡Muchos abrazos a todos!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Wek #11

2011-03-17T12:05:00.000-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

I all of a sudden had the random urge to start writing in complete Spanish... but I caught myself before too much started coming out on the keyboard and I had to start translating my letter.

I've been thinking a lot about everybody this week. It is still kind of hard to realize that everybody is together in Southern California and that I'm so far away. I wish that I could have been there yesterday and be able to see everyone and participate as well, but everything happens for a reason.

Just to let everyone know, yesterday's earthquake & tsunami did not affect our mission at all. The Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) had a little bit of a scare for a while and were evacuated to higher ground, but all in all everything turned out ok. How was it getting the tsunami warning over in Cali?

This week has been pretty crazy as far as office work goes. We're preparing for changes tomorrow and are not entirely sure what will happen with the office, except that there will probably be at least 1 new assistant and a new secretary in training. I think that all of us will be here for at least this next change! The office move is progressing, slowly, but at least now we are seeing progress. We now have the new mailing address for the office, which we will start using immediately, for those who would like to send me something. Don't worry too much though as we will also be keeping the current PO Box open for a couple more weeks. Here goes the new address:

Misión Chile Santiago Norte
Sucursal Correo Patronato, Casilla #60
Santiago
Chile

This week we will be renting 2 very nice apartments that are about a block from the new office and working on getting a few more things lined out to project when the actual move will be. This last week the boss of O&M (basically Facilities Maintenance) came to the office to see how they'd be able to move everything and told us a couple things we didn't like too much. Later on Wednesday, Elder Taylor & I, along with Presidente & Hermana May, went for another tour of the new office building and were told that even though the contractors are going to turn it over at the end of March our move date was being pushed forward from April 9th to May 15th. We weren't too happy!!! Yesterday, we went to the area offices and talked to the same boss about that subject... he tended to be a little more hopeful and cooperating than he was with President May present, so we'll see how it actually goes down. We've got another meeting Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. to coordinate a little bit of the moving process.

The whole move situation is pretty complicated, but Elder Taylor has the mentality that is can all be done in a matter of hours. If we were in the US Military (as he was... 82nd Airborne Division) and not in Chile it might be entirely possible. I mean, how hard is it to move an office of 5 people in a matter of 1 day... not 1-2 weeks like O&M was projecting!!! It's ridiculous! I'm now adopting the saying of Sister Taylor in that "everything in Chile has to be a major production".

The work in our sector is progressing, slowly but surely, despite all of the action going on in the office/mission. We are beginning to teach the mother of a recent convert, Sonia, who recently arrived from Peru a couple of weeks ago. She seems to be pretty receptive, already reading the Book of Mormon and going to church, but just as Sonia & Susan were, she is devoutly Evangelical Christian. We haven't seen much of Jennifer this week, and our crazy/possessed investigators is now once again seeing a psychologist... still not a lot of change there though.

Also on the office front... This week we had specialized training as a mission, in 3 groups. Thursday our zone, El Cortijo, was assigned to attend with San Pablo & Quilicura. At the training Hermana Taylor began to speak with a couple of the sister missionaries who have been trying to invite her to work with them one night in their sector, in proselyting activities (couple missionaries are not normally assigned to pure proselyting). Hermana Taylor expressed to one of these sisters that she has not been feeling well recently and for that reason she hasn't been able to go with them... she had several times in the last couple weeks complained of shortness of breath but hadn't said much else about the matter. The sister told her she should call Elder Welch, the area doctor, and let him know what was going on. Once again at the end of the conference the same sister again asked her to call... so, even though she had heard the same suggestion several other times, Hermana Taylor listened and called.

In the phone conversation (I find that part completely amazing) Elder Welch diagnosed, without having seen her in person for any of the symptoms, with CHF and told her to make an appointment for that same day, at INDISA (the private clinic we use here in Chile), with a cardiologist... Long story short, Hermana Taylor saw the cardiologist Thursday evening and was admitted to the clinic to have a pace-maker placed. She is now recovering in the hospital and is expected to leave either tonight or tomorrow morning.

If that isn't enough action for this week I don't know what is!!! And you know me, I love it!!! Finally, an emergency in the mission that I'm interested in... LOL.

Lots of prayers are needed on behalf of Elder & Hermana Taylor in this moment. Be sure to send some their way!

Changes happen tomorrow through Tuesday (by changes I mean the whole entire process of changing, sending, and receiving missionaries), so my sleep window for the next couple days is going to be fairly small. We'll see how we fair and what kind of craziness will happen with me now! We know my transfers have never been normal, but it is looking like when I leave the office I will have served here for a minimum of at least 10 months... THAT'S ALMOST HALF MY MISSION!!!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! Send my love to all there in So. Cal.! ¡Diga a Tio Mark y Tia Connie gracias por haber prestado el computador!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #10

2011-03-05T18:55:00.001-06:00

¡Hola Familia!

I've got to start off admitting that my week did not start off quite the way I would have liked. The news of Sunday evening came pretty hard to me and I struggled with it Sunday night and ALL day on Monday. From Tuesday on I was a little closer to normal, every once in a while I feel the pangs from it but I'm at least functioning now!

How's everybody holding up at home? And the family in California? I wish so much that I could be with ya'll right now, but I'm where I've got to be... it makes it all that much harder that that's how it is!

Bummer that Ryah-Roo is sick! How did she manage to go off and do that?!?!? LOL.

Apart from all that, I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Dad! I'm sure that this is a hard time right now but maybe even amidst all this I hope you can find a little bit of happiness! You've got one up on Mom... I didn't forget your birthday!!!

I've got good news and bad news... Good news is that our ward building did not get vandalized like the other missionaries told us. The bad news is that our ward building did not get vandalized like the other missionaries told us, and that it would have made for a good story had it happened.

The work here in the office this week has made lots of progress towards our goal. Every day we realize that there is even more work to get done than we originally expected, but that we are still constantly, if not slowly, working towards the end... There is finally a light at the end of the tunnel! I'm extremely worn out, my patience (what little bit I have) is tried every day, and I can't wrap my mind around exactly what I should be learning or exactly why I'm here in the office again! I'm struggling!!!

I'll let everyone in on a little bit of an insight... As I'm sure you've all figured out, being an office missionary is not something easy. The "Mission President's Manual" says that the best missionaries should be assigned to the office, because even then they will still have the desire to work. I don't see myself as one of the best missionaries here, nor close to it. We see a different side of the mission than most missionaries do... a side that isn't as nicely painted. We see President when he is happy, sad, excited, mad, you name it! We are on the inside, and lots of missionaries don't really get how hard that is. Our relationship we have with President is different than that of most missionaries, and when something goes wrong you know it. It hurts to mess up!!! Lots of missionaries can make a mistake and it will often times go without recognition, but us... when something happens or we mess up it really REALLY hurts!!!

This last week was filled with wrapping alot of things up for the end of the change and the end of last month. We haven't had a whole lot of time in the sector, but that's the way the cookie has seemed to crumble recently! We are hoping to be able to teach our star investigator, Jennifer, today and hopefully she'll be able to go to church tomorrow too.

This coming week is going to be full of preparations for changes, happening next Sunday/Monday. We are sending 12 missionaries home and receiving 9 newbies, 6 Latin Elders, 2 American Elders, & 1 American Sister. Ought to be a blast! It is also entirely possible, if not probable, that someone in the office is going to have changes... we're leaning towards the fact that it will be that someone is training rather than receiving a transfer since we are still not ready to train anyone within a one-week time period.

Still not much news on the new mission president. His article either should have recently come out in Church News or should be coming out very soon, but I haven't gotten a chance to take a look. If it hasn't come out yet it should be out in the next week or two.

Hope that work and school is going well for everybody! Be safe in your travels this week, I was left in doubt the other day in whether the funeral was last week or this coming week... they did draw this process out quite a bit. Be sure to write me Friday night, and if you get another chance I'll at least be able to read the letters before I write again.

Love ya'll and send my love to the family!

¡Con todo el amor que poseo!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #9

2011-02-26T16:38:00.001-06:00

Oh Happy Day!!!

This week put in a nutshell could be put as "non-stop paperwork". Until today I think I've been away from my computer for about a total 4-5 hours in the time I've been working on office stuff. INSANE!!! ¡Estoy volviéndome loco!

An unannounced "mission business" trip was planned and finalized during this week without advising the office until Wednesday afternoon. President, Sister May, and the assistants are in a remote part of the mission and decided that they wanted to keep this little adventure top secret... the idea worked pretty well until they started asking us to prepare things for them to take with them (remind me to tell you next week where they went as I can't right now because they won't return until Tuesday). Needless to say, until more details were divulged, Elder Young and I were very confused as to what we were doing and why.

Today was a bit of a relaxing day, despite the fact that we are controlling the mission right now... the last in the line of authority for the weekend. We were able to go up towards Los Andes a little bit and look around up there, all in all it was pretty chill. I can officially tell Grandma D. that I have seen some pretty Chilean country. Unfortunately we are now in smoggy Santiago again and back to the daily grind. Tomorrow ought to be fun as we have to play shuttle to some of the mission technological equipment and run it between 2 different meetings here in Santiago, with 2 different zones/stakes... ahhh, fun times, fun times!

The office move is rolling right along, SLOWLY, but rolling right along nonetheless. We calculated up the other day how many processes we have left to write and we determined that we are about 1/3rd of the way done with the project... the only downside with that is the we are 2/3rds done with the amount of time that we have to complete the project!!! AHHHH!!! I'm getting into my stressed out mode again and I'm not handling it very well. I'm tired!!!

Our investigators are doing alright. Actually about 4 of the 5 don't have much interest anymore, but Jennifer is catching on to the Gospel real quick and loving every minute of it. She has had a pretty tough work schedule this week, but we've been able to share a few times, and even though she has to work tomorrow she is planning on going to Sacrament Meeting first!!! YAY!!! The 3 guys in the house have turned out to have a few problems with a couple of the commandments, problems that will keep them from progressing much at all...

Sounds like work is going well for everybody, even Gabe. He's surviving still so that is a very good thing! I'm excited to hear that all of the problems at the house "should" be fixed, and that ya'll should be moving in "soon". Is my room going to be set up how I wanted? Not sure I'll be using it for too long, but still... LOL

On Monday we had a mission sports activity (divided into 3 groups), where we celebrated having met our baptismal goal of 80 for the month of January. It was pretty fun! President & Sister May showed up early to ours and we played a little bit of broom hockey, we completely demolished the brooms, and President announced who the new mission president will be. It looks like Salt Lake gave specific instructions not to announce who the new mission president taking over at the end of June would be until it was published in Church News, apparently it was on Monday and we now know that President & Sister Essig, from Logan, UT, (surprise, surprise) will be joining us here in the Chile Santiago North Mission at the end of June to begin their 3 years of service. I believe that President Essig is a lawyer and is currently serving in a bishopric there in Logan.

Not much other news from the Southern Hemisphere. We heard yesterday from the other missionaries in the ward that somebody vandalized the church building, but we still haven't confirmed that, it would kinda suck though... We've got high hopes again for church tomorrow, and I'm currently trying to devise a plan that will allow that I don't have to lead the music, somehow I got out of it last week! Our ward leadership has been getting shifted over to the stake recently, so we've had quite a few changes on the ward level and are once again, after a lapse of about 3 weeks of the contrary, are without a ward mission leader again! The work WILL progress, if only we can find time more time to do it. Does anybody have a recipe to add more hours to the day?!?!?

I love ya'll bunches and miss you too! Tomorrow I complete a year and a half in the mission!!! Yay me!!!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1-Week #8

2011-02-21T12:25:00.000-06:00

Howdy Texas!!!

First off I wanted to start with a shout out to the birthday girl... RYAH!!! BIG 18!!! I'm feeling a little old now, my baby sister is all grown up... maybe...

This last week has been excellent. I was able to get a lot of my work caught up, and we were able to have quite a bit of time in the sector as well. The highlight of the week, hands down, was Wednesday night... but I'll start the story from the beginning.

Sunday at church there was a new young woman, 19 years-old, who came in and sat down at the back of the chapel. None of the three of us really payed a whole lot of attention, as there are a ton of unknown members here in Chile, said hello and kept on about our business. At the end of Sacrament Meeting, however, Genesis (the girl) came up to us and introduced herself as a member who had recently moved to the ward. Being missionaries we instantly asked when we could pass by and set an appointment for Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm.

Wednesday came around and we were super busy with work here in the office, but we decided that we would leave to go to the appointment that we had set. We are very glad we did! Upon arriving at the appointment we went in and started "trying" to share with Genesis. The conversation was one of those awkward ones that you ask a question and the person responds with a one word response and chao! AWKWARD! Luckily as we were about to sing, share a message, and leave (all 3 very quickly) one of her friends, Abraham, who also lives there, walked in and broke the ice. We taught him to sing and shared a quick scripture when 2 more friends showed up. Shortly thereafter Genesis' mom showed up and every was all ears to the message. So to make a long story short, Wednesday resulted in 4 new investigators, with lots of potential, a real desire to share, and a return visit yesterday.

We passed by last night again and shared with Jennifer & Mario, 2 of the friends, and with Genesis' drunk dad. The lesson was pretty comical, after all we did have your typical Chilean drunk, but we did make a lot of headway. Jennifer & Mario are planning on attending church on Sunday and are super excited about the gospel!

Missionary work just feels so freakin' good!!! I'm super excited to hear that Ryan is out in the field and starting to tear up the work in Missouri. Have we heard whereabouts he is serving yet?

Bummer to hear the opposite of all the good news. Lots of times one person's bad decisions can effect the lives of lots of people. Jake's life is going to be changed for a very, very long time!

Work sounds like it was pretty fun this week. Dad, I kinda wish I had been there on Wednesday... sounds fun but super crazy at the same time (at the moment I'm sure it was not at all enjoyable). The house sounds like it is taking a new shape, hopefully all of the damage due to "normal" East Texas weather has been fully repaired and the work can keep progressing. I still want to see more pictures! So when is the projected move in date? Is it close or will you be waiting for me on that one?

Hope everything went well with Ryah's birthday. I can't believe she's already 18 and getting ready to graduate pretty soon. She told me that she is still the top of her class! I don't want to miss her valedictorian speech so somebody better record it for me!!! And possibly heading off to BYU pretty soon...

Work here in the office is still going. According to our plan we are a couple of days behind, and President keeps throwing us curve balls that aren't letting us get caught up. As part of the office change we are writing instruction manuals for our jobs, to avoid what happened with Elder Smith. I've gotten one of about 30 processes written and I'm not progressing at all!!! I've been working for that past week or two helping out Elder Taylor with the secretary work, but now that we are getting that lined out I'm able to start working on my stuff. Good thing we've got 3 more weeks before changes and all of this jazz has to be finished... jajaja!

On Wednesday we also got to tour the new office building. It is fairly decent size, but the whole move process ought to be a blast... not! The set-up is definitely going to cause a couple of problems with the furniture that we have now, but we've been to handle it school!

Well, that's about all of the news I've got for now! I love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! Wish I could have been home for Ryah b-day!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #7

2011-02-12T16:21:00.001-06:00

"I feel the earth move under my feet!" (But this time I didn't!!!)

Apparently there was an earthquake in Concepción yesterday, a 7.0 on the Richter scale... I didn't know until about 30 minutes afterwards when we left the office to work to fix up a house that there had been any seismic activity! The joys of riding in a car during something like that, you are completely oblivious!

The weather here is starting to get a little bit nicer. We have been enjoying temperatures that are a little bit cooler and even a little bit of cloudy/rainy weather. I'm loving it! The nice thing about rainy weather in Santiago is that not too long after the rain shower the smog is gone... for a little while at least. When the city isn't so dirty it looks great!!! Despite all that, I'm still willing to trade for the cooler temperatures.

Sounds like Gabe and Ryah have recently run into a gold mine or something! Where are they all of a sudden getting all the money to do these fun things? What concert are they going to? With almost every e-mail that I get from ya'll I become more and more convinced that I'm the home-body of the family! How did Ryah's applying for BYU go? Is she still looking at going up there, or have ya'll convinced her otherwise?

The McProject seems to be moving along rather slowly because of the fun East Texas weather. That little excuse still doesn't liberate you from your responsibility of sending me more pictures of the progress (and the house in general) to share with people down here! Hopefully all of the factors will start coming together to be able to work on it a little bit more and make a little more headway.

The office is still rockin' and rollin' down here! We are working at double the strength we have to get this project done, and we are hardly advancing at all! This last week we had zone conferences which took a very large chunk of time out of our already very busy schedule. I'm not completely convinced that everything will be ready for the move within the next 4 weeks, but that is the goal... I'm starting to think that we are all insane for thinking it was possible in the first place. The gears are turning full speed here and the work in the office is taking a lot more time than I'm used to. Our sector is suffering pretty badly, but we've been to handle-it school and are hitting the sector hard in the little bit of time that we are there! It is very difficult at this point in time in office history to be able to do as President has counseled us many times, to put the sector first. We're in the middle of a move for goodness sakes!!! I'm going insane, or as they say in Spanish, "estoy volviendo loco"!!!

Just to clarify the doubt, I'm not training another historian at this point. As a matter of fact, nobody in the office is training at the present moment. In fact, the 2 of us veterans (Elder Young and I) are working alongside Elder Taylor as the executive secretary of the Chile Santiago North Mission! It's kind of fun, but a pretty big headache at the same time. I can't get my own work done because I'm trying to help Elder Taylor as well... I'll survive.

Stake Conference sounds like it was great, I haven't had one here for a while... For a couple of months I was getting almost every stake conference in Santiago, but now I've gone a couple of months without getting close to one... Oh well! I think Conchalí has one coming up right about the time that we move offices, so hopefully I'll get that one. I'm a pretty big fan of the regional broadcast format, it is good to hear from the General Authorities, but I also like the more personal feel of the having to travel to conference and get to see everybody from the stake.

To let everybody know a little something about what is going on with me right now... my line of thought more than anything... Elder Taylor, our new office secretary, is a former Army Lieutenant and served for several years in the 82nd Airborne division. Well, he is constantly talking about the military and the experiences he had. This has gotten Elder Young and I extremely excited and wanting to know more about the military, specifically the Air Force, as it is closest to civilian lifestyle and more friendly to family life. For a while the possibility of joining the military for my medical training has been in the back of my mind, and just to let everyone know... being around Elder Taylor everyday is convincing me more and more! Just a fun little side-note...

I miss ya'll and love ya'll! Time is flying by really really fast. Every day seems to be going by faster and faster! Before you know it I'll be home!!!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! ¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #6

2011-02-05T17:10:00.001-06:00

Saludos to the "Frozen Tundra"! I'm willing to trade...

Everybody pretty much guessed what happened with changes... I'm here in the mission office at least until the 13th of March!

It is kind of a relief to have been able to talk to President May ahead of time and find out a little bit about what might happen to me. As I mentioned the week after my "special changes", I was able to talk to President, what I couldn't mention until now (for the wide spectrum of readers) is what I was told in that little meeting. The whole change of offices and the end of year stuff kind of threw my non-trainee replacement for a loop and got everything pretty behind, so I was called in to clean it up and get things rolling into 2011. What I didn't understand until the meeting with President is what I was going to do after I got everything caught up... (that process took less than a week). Well, President told me that it was very possible (probable) that I would be staying in the office until the end of the change, and at least the following change to replace Elder Smith and train a new Historian. Well...

Changes took Elder Smith and Elder Driscoll out of the office along with Elder Andelin, one of the assistants to the president. Elder Smith is training one of the 3 new missionaries that arrived, and Elder Driscoll is far away in Los Andes. Also Elder Fischer is the new assistant along with Elder Romero (still here). The rest of the changes are like I told you last week, Elder Taylor the secretary & Sister Taylor the medic... Elder Taylor is also district leader of the office...

This change has started off pretty interestingly! I can't honestly say that I'm excited to see what other unfortunate events might come our way. Monday & Tuesday morning went off without much of a hitch, the normal changes and the reception of 3 new missionaries. Monday night, however, marked a pretty big event in my mission... Hermana McNeil, who arrived in Chile in my group, went home; that may not sound significant, but it now means that there are no sister missionaries in the Chile Santiago North Mission who have been here longer than I have. I FEEL OLD!!!

Tuesday afternoon brought about an emergency that was far from pleasant. Against the order of President several sister missionaries, last change, had become adoptive mothers to several kittens; with the changes on Monday a sister arrived who is highly allergic to cats, thus began the fun. We had to get rid of the cats and clean the apartment from head to toe all within the afternoon on Tuesday, Elder Gibson did most of the dirty work though. But the disfortune doesn't stop there... Elder Taylor & Elder Young left after a little while to pick up several additional cleaning supplies from Lider and we found an interesting surprise out front of the apartment complexes. Somebody had broken into the passenger side window of the van and stolen several things from inside, the stereo panel, my PIN drive, and a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses. Naturally we spent the next hour waiting on the carabineros (cops) and filling out a bunch of police reports that I don't have a clue about... Oh what fun!!! With the luck I've been having this year, I would be the responsible party for the car at that point and naturally got to deal with all of the "business". Now we're enjoying driving around in a little Toyota Yaris for a couple of days while the van is being repaired. (A Toyota Yaris that I almost wrecked this morning because somebody stopped in the middle of the highway in front of me without warning or reason... smoke was coming out of my rear tires because of how fast I had to stop). Fun times, fun times!!!

Sounds like the winter weather has been exciting during the last couple of days. The Taylors' family said that they've had snow-days for 4 days this week... and apparently the Super Bowl will be played on ice tomorrow at Cowboy Stadium, they might ought to pull out the ice skates to make it a little easier to move around! And it's great to know that the groundhog didn't see his shadow and thinks that Spring is right around the corner... I'm pretty sure he'll get the prediction wrong this year just like he has for the last 20!!! I can't even fathom a 4°F windchill... I'm sitting over here with 90-somethings and very little humidity, it's killing me!!! (Luckily I've got AC in the cars & the office). How's the wood-burning stove working for ya'll this year?

The assistants are completely convinced that fulfilling our assignments in the office is not part of the mission experience. I'm getting sick of hearing the phrase "you'll only be able to wear your missionary plack for 2 years (or "you'll only be able to share the gospel for 2 years..."), but you'll be able to work in an office for the rest of your life". What do they think we are doing here? The last I was informed we were doing missionary work while we were in here too, and it was a special assignment from President May and The Lord!!! I'm pretty much up to here with hearing it from them! Luckily, our district leader, due to the nature of this change and our trying to prepare everything for the new office, is now in charge of all proselyting efforts as well as our work in the office for this change.

I'm running on very little sleep right now! Elder Gibson and I were at the office until about one o'clock this morning working on putting together several notebooks for zone conferences next week, another last minute project that was just introduced yesterday morning and is taking forever. This morning we woke up early to take a missionary to the doctor and to open a new house up in San Felipe, for Elder Driscoll. Oh what fun!!! I slept maybe 5 hours and this week has not had a normal schedule at all. I'm currently working on quite a few big projects for my position and I'm doing my best to help Elder Taylor with his new position that he has assumed without training as the mission secretary... looks like my ability to learn by listening is finally paying off in the mission office setting (good thing I was around the secretary for about 7 months)!

I sincerely hope that my interesting week has come to an end and that I can get a little bit of R&R (I doubt highly that either of those will prove true). ¡Hasta la próxima! ¡Les quiero mucho y les extraño demasiado!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #5

2011-01-29T10:27:00.000-06:00

WORK, Work, work!

I'm officially convinced that missionaries need a vacation, at least office workers anyways! This week has brought around several big changes here in the mission office. Unfortunately, I can't spill the beans until after changes tomorrow night. After my interview on Monday I was a little more assured of my purpose in the office, but President tried to leave me hanging and planted a little bit of doubt in the back of my mind. Anyways, I've got a pretty good idea of what is going to happen to me tomorrow night, but we'll find out for sure then.

The Taylor's have now been assigned to work in the mission office for a time. Elder Taylor previously worked as a business consultant, helping corporations to improve and become more efficient... now he is here in the mission office doing exactly that. We are excited about all that is going on and the extra help that we have to do our jobs better and prepare for the big office move coming up at the beginning of April! Woot, woot! It is possible that this next little while will be pretty crazy (*wink, wink*).

This morning a few of us went out to Quilicura to play a little bit of Frisbee, the whole ordeal turned more into soccer & basketball, but we had a good time. A couple of the sisters in the zone got a little snippy and basically exiled us from the zone picture because we didn't have on the Quilicura shirts that they had made... Pardon Me!!! LOL. Also this afternoon we will be doing another office barbeque for our P-day to end the change off with a bang. It should be pretty chill and relaxing, and the food will definitely be good since our resident chef, Elder Driscoll, will be cooking.

Bummer that everyone's sick at home! That's not fun at all! I'll keep my fingers crossed that Mom & Dad don't get the same bug. You got my mouth watering when you mentioned Cooley soup... AHH!!!

Ryan sent me a letter on Wednesday, I think it was, and now he's 1/6th of the way done with his stay in the MTC... oh what fun! I'll see if I can get a letter off to him today (unfortunately it should probably be conventional mail...so I hope it makes it to him before he leave for the field). I was so excited to hear that he'd be leaving for the mission, and now we're serving together! Good to hear that his little get together was a success. It's kinda weird to me that he was set apart on Sunday but didn't leave until Wednesday morning, oh well, not my decision. And the whole being nervous thing kinda goes with the territory, I mean, this isn't a day trip after all.

Sounds like things in Gabe's little world are starting to kick into gear. He's got a job, practicing driving, setting goals, etc. etc. It's good that he thinks he wants to go on a mission, but he really needs to know that he wants to go on a mission. The mission isn't an easy place, you've got to be sure you want to be here or you won't stay... I've seen it too many times.

Work in our sector this week was kind of drowned out with office work. We are definitely working on refining the way we do things here and this next change will definitely be the refiner's fire for those who are still left (we'll see if I'm among those few). Carlos did not go to church last Sunday, but has plans to attend tomorrow. His addiction is currently stable, but he has definitely made improvement from a couple of weeks ago.

Good to hear that work is going pretty well with everybody for now. The whole family is finally working... we are getting older! LOL. Keep on keepin' on with everything, and send me some more pictures of the house! I want to see the progress. It's also cool to hear that something for the house came out of Chile, guess there are more exports from here than just copper!

Hope that everyone has an excellent week!!! I love ya'll bunches and miss ya too! Get to feeling better, we wouldn't want a whole bunch of sickos hanging around the house for too long!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #4

2011-01-22T13:05:00.001-06:00

¡Hola Familia!

Another whirlwind week has come to an end... finally. This last week was probably one of the longest weeks I've had in my mission; it felt like it would never it. It's not that this week was stressful or crazy busy or anything of the sort, it was just a very long, drawn-out week. Now we are starting week 6 of the change and a few of us are kind of up in the air as to what it going to happen the end of next week. We have interviews with President on Monday and there we will see if he would like to shed a little more light on the subject.

Last week we were able to start sharing with one of my former investigators from the first time I was here in the office. I'm sure everybody will remember Carlos from as much as I talked about him in my letters home. Well, we are once again sharing with him and he is currently once again preparing for a baptism, the 13th of February. The big obstacle is that he is trying to stop smoking, and sometimes succeeds better than others, so we are working closely on that goal with him and so far he seems to be making a little bit of progression.

The countdown to take-off is almost over for Ryan! I can't believe that he enters the MTC in less than a week, and he'll be out in the field in less than a month!!! AHHH! He and I won't see each other for about 3 & 1/2 years. That could happen with Gabe too! **HINT, HINT**. It's good to see the change that he has made and that his family has made in this time that I've been away from home. I always knew there was a lot of potential there, but I wasn't sure how that could be awakened.

So Gabe is working for RMC again? What's he going to be doing there? I hope it is a lot less Facebook than it was before. And planning to get a driver's license. Woot, woot! (the "Aggie Spirit" has gotten shoved back into me during the mission). It is good to see that 2011 has brought about a little bit of change so far... now we just need to shove the mission preparation into full gear and we won't be having any problems.

Since Dad will be speaking in Nacogdoches tomorrow that means I should be getting a copy of his talk in Spanish, right? Sounds like the house is doing pretty good too. You've dodged a couple of bullets with the cold temperatures in the last couple of weeks... I miss the cold! I'd trade my 90-something degrees for the 20 degree temperatures right about now! Oh, and in comment to last weeks letter, I'm kind of disappointed that Jared hasn't found his future wife yet... I mean he has been at BYU-I for a couple of weeks! LOL. I hope he is enjoying it up there. I'm not sure if I'd like BYU-I, they've got a lot of rules (specifically dress code) that are pretty extreme, but oh well.

I'm waiting patiently on the mission stories. I know how the time constraints are; been there, done that, still in the process!

Not much other news coming from the other side of the world! We are pretty boring people down here, but we're trying to change that.

Love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #3

2011-01-15T15:38:00.000-06:00

¡Hola Familia!

I'm still hanging in there just so everybody knows! This week has been pretty lax in the sector with a lot of work here in the office, as usual. On Monday in our weekly coordination meeting with President I had a breakthrough with my attitude towards the office, and now I'm actually kind of enjoying it here again. In everything there is a way to entertain yourself, and I'm finding it... finally. I've got to admit that I still get pretty frustrated with trying to train someone 8 weeks later than I should have in the first place, but what can you do?

These last couple of days have been fairly relaxed as to the work load that I personally have to take care of, so I've been able to run around Santiago quite a bit with Elder Gibson. I've got two of the best companions in the mission. We seem to get along pretty well, especially compared to several of the other relationships with office workers, so that is pretty good.

To help you understand a little bit about what I was going through last week, I'll explain a little bit about the office atmosphere as of late. Recently the whole face of the office has changed, Elder Driscoll is still the mission secretary having been trained my last change here & Elder Young is still the financiero, apart from them I'm the newest of the 3 new guys. Elder Andelin & Elder Romero (de Colombia) are the assistants right now, but I don't really feel the leadership from them that I'd like to... oh well... I've got to admit that quite a few of the aspects that are associated with the mission office run way more smoothly than when I was here the first time, but there are a lot of things that could do for some improvement. I'm basically here as a spectator, so nobody really takes my opinion on things very much... but I'm kinda alright with that.

I've been thinking a lot this week about my Patriarchal blessing since Ryah was planning to get hers last Sunday... and even with 2 inches of snow managed to! Good thing ya'll didn't let her drive up to Henderson alone, since that detail wasn't so expected. But anyways, I've been studying my blessing a little bit this week and it came to me exactly how important what it contains is & should be for me. Geesh! It is personal scripture after all! So what I previously considered a short Patriarchal blessing, has become MY Patriarchal blessing that is chock-full of promises and guides for ME!!! I've found quite a bit of help in this last week from what I've read and studied in my own personal scripture, it doesn't apply to anybody else, NOBODY, just me!

January 26th is getting really close for the Whitworth family. I'm sure Ryan is getting anxious/excited, lucky for him he only is going to be in the MTC for 3 weeks. Lots of missionaries enjoy the MTC experience, but I've got to honestly admit that I was not a big fan. Sure the devotionals with General Authorities are pretty cool, but the rest not my piece of cake. I've gotten to know lots of missionaries that enjoyed the MTC more than they enjoy the mission, it just doesn't seem right to me. Personally when I know how to do something and I'm not in training for it any more I find it way more enjoyable. The MTC is like training, you've always got someone looking over your shoulder and you are expected to do everything in the way they dictate instead of the way that you would like... just like training for a job! If there is one counsel I can give, however, it would be to enjoy your time there and to take in as much of the practice as you can get, it actually does pay off in the long run. (Just in case Ryan sees this.)

Our sector is suffering right now because of the work in the office and the dysfunctional relationships that surround us most of the time we are here. I guess I'll learn to survive. Elder Gibson and I were talking last night and we promised that next week would be better. I feel like these last 4 weeks I've only been a mediocre missionary, not necessarily giving it my all, and that has got to change... so the buck stops now! I love this work, but sometimes I feel like I'm getting stuck in the routine and it doesn't have the same feel that I need it to have.

Hope that everyone is having a better year than how 2011 started out. If it started out well it can always get better! I miss ya'll and love ya bunches!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #2 (Otra Vez)

2011-01-10T11:23:00.000-06:00

¡Hola Familia!

It's been one week back at what was the daily grind for 6 months, and I'm absolutely hating it! The office work isn't what is really bugging me right now, but there are a lot of other things happening in the office that I don't necessarily agree with. It is pretty stressful here again and I'm once again not handling the stress very well, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

Monday after our office coordination meeting with President & Hermana May, I pulled President to the side to talk to him for a few minutes. In that moment I came to realize exactly how much of a special assignment my returning to the office really is... I'm not excited but I can't really expound much on the nature of the situation, let's just put it that there are several aspects that he wants me to work on changing here.

Normal proselyting missionary work has been pretty scarce this week. Sonia & Kimberley, a few of my converts here, were pretty upset that Elder Moore left, but we got the chance to visit them a couple of times this week and they are excited that I'm back for a while. Also one of the recent converts/young men from the ward, David, who previously hated me now absolutely loves me and I've got no idea why... I don't mind too much though, even though he is quite strange.

I'm elated to hear that the Whitworth's were able to go to the temple on Thursday, bummer we couldn't have been there. I'm sure Ryan is anxious to hit the road! He doesn't have a whole lot more time to get ready either, it will come a lot sooner than he thinks.

The house sounds like it is getting closer almost everyday. I'll be waiting to hear when ya'll finally get in there! And I can imagine that those books that Mom bought might end up helpful... but I still can't believe that ya'll are so stuck on the idea that you're going to raise chickens! Also I'm excited that Ryah is going to get her Patriarchal Blessing. How are the rest of ya on that (Mom & Gabe)?

Office life has been fairly difficult to get used to again! I finally got a chance to buy groceries, so now I've got a little bit of food in the house. I haven't slept really well this week between the long hours in the office and the giant sleep-over that Elder Driscoll forced on us Thursday with the missionaries from Los Andes (2 hours away) that had to come down to work on their visas Friday morning. Needless to say, it has been a pretty eventful week here in the office... not something I like. The work is rewarding, but I wish that we had more of a chance to work in proselyting as that is what really helps to keep one happy while you're here.

I love the mission, sometimes I don't seem so happy to be here, but I still love the mission! It's not easy, but it is worth it!

Love ya'll and miss ya bunches! Hope that you have an excellent week!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

"Hurrah for Israel!"

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #1

2011-01-01T10:06:00.001-06:00

Feliz Año!

It is officially January 1, 2011, and I'm already starting off the new year with a few changes... (y un poquito de rabia)... As you can probably tell I've returned to the Dark Side of the Force!!! (aka "The Office). I thought I was safe as soon as we had changes the week of Christmas, but I'm back in my same position as before (kinda), training Elder Smith in everything that he couldn't learn without me. I can't really say that I missed it at all here, but what can you do?

My P-days for at least the next 2 weeks are Saturday, it looks like Elder Driscoll (mission secretary) still hasn't been well informed if I'll be here for 2 weeks, 4 weeks, or longer. So once again, I'm stuck in limbo waiting to see what happens next. With all of the changes and stuff I'm being forced to learn to be flexible! I can't plan for ANYTHING without something not going according to plan. Elder Moore is now in Los Conquistadores with Elder Diaz, so hopefully everything will go pretty well with them. I'm going to miss the sector!

Any-who... New Year's Eve was pretty cool. We had the chance to see the fireworks over Cerro Renca (my old sector) last night, the show was pretty long, about 20 minutes, and they ended it lighting a sign they put, similar to the Hollywood sign, that says "Renca La Lleva" (very, very flaite...[gangster]). But we got to see that at midnight and then we chilled for a little while before going to sleep.

I'm excited to hear that the Whitworth family will be going to receive their endowments and be sealed as a family, that will be great for all of them and especially for Ryan! His departure date is getting pretty close. WooHoo!!! Bummer that ya'll won't be able to go with them.

So I'm hoping that how my last 2 days have been, like Dad said, aren't an indication of how this year, 2011, will be!!! I'm REALLY hoping that!!! I'm starting out with pretty low excitement levels because of this change to the office, I'm feeling like a tool... but I'll live! We'll see if I can learn something else here in the office for the time that I'm here, or if I'm just here for another reason... guess we'll find out pretty soon.

Well I don't have a lot of news since I'm not still in Los Conquistadores and since I've only been in the office again for about 2 hours, so I think I'll end with this short little note.

Love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! Please pray for me!!! I'm alright but I still need the help.

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Los Conquistadores 1 - Week #2

2010-12-28T20:16:00.001-06:00

I had myself a merry little Christmas...

Hey family! It feels like it hasn't been very long since I last talked to ya'll, I'm not sure why that would be... LOL. These last few days haven't been real exciting so this letter might be kind of short.

Yesterday, as you know, was my first Sunday in my new ward. WOW! President Varas, the stake president of the Santiago Chile Huelen Stake, was present and spoke a little bit comparing the ward now to how it was when it was formed 9 years ago. It reminded me a little bit about what the Lufkin Ward was going through a few years ago. He shared that when the ward was formed in 2001 the attendance was around 137 and yesterday it was 67 (big drop). Also he said that in the 9 years the ward has existed they have never sent out a missionary! Sounds kinda like what Lufkin had for a while, right? Anyways the point is that there is A LOT of work to do in this ward!!! ¡Ahora le toca a "your's truly" para ayudar en esto!

One of our investigators, Loreto, went to church yesterday as well, even though she wasn't feeling very well. She seemed to like it pretty well; we are hoping that her dad can go next week too...

In other good news about the ward... We have a young man, 18 years-old & recent convert, named Luis who recently (a few months back) moved into our ward. He is currently preparing for the mission and, as part of his preparation, goes out with either us or the other companionship everyday! Crazy!!! He has also impressed me with his knowledge about the gospel, he knows a lot for only having been a member for 10 months.

We are currently preparing for New Year's! There isn't really anything to prepare for since it will be pretty much a normal day (except for the mission activity in the morning...I hope there's not food), but we are preparing nonetheless. The Chileans are pretty big about New Year's Eve, so the 48 hour span consisting of Friday & Saturday ought to be puro carrete (pure partying)... for them... Those two days are real efficient for working since everybody and their brother is drunk (curado), but we have been instructed that we will be working as normal those 2 days... Yay!!!

I'm excited to hear that the missionaries knocked into Grandma D's door! I've knocked into a few grandmothers with grandchildren in the mission, the conversation usually goes about the same every time...

Work ought to be fun for everybody this weekend. Sounds like Gabe will be hanging out by himself, again.

I kinda wish I could have been home for the trip to Grandma's. I'm sure the drive wasn't nearly as bad as Mom thinks it was, but then again driving in Santiago (not just Chile) has made me where I'm not really scared of anything. About 90% of the streets here are one way and it really throws off the groove of getting somewhere in a fairly easy and quick manner! LOL. Mom would say that my driving skills have gotten worse, but I think I've developed a little more talent from my driving experience here... LOL. I drive about like Dad does now! I think it will probably pay off since my job will put me living in a fairly large city.

It was good to talk to everyone again! Hope that ya'll are still doing alright and that you don't miss me TOO much! Love ya'll and miss ya'll! Have a good week...

-- Élder Todd

Los Conquistadores 1 - Week #1

2010-12-21T15:43:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas, you've been reassigned to serve in...!!!

As everyone knows Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas for Elder Hendrickson unless he had changes... Well, I've got good news... Christmas came again this year!!! I'm now in Los Conquistadores 1 in la zona Huelen, just south of Renca. My new companion is Elder Diaz from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. We were together in Quilicura for a couple of changes and we are excited to be together. When we were in Quilicura he said that one day we would be companions and I said no, I guess he knew better! LOL.

This past week was pretty crazy in Renca 1... We were preparing almost all week for a ward activity hosted by the obra misional on Saturday, a "talent night". We had practices several times during the week with the Young Men, who were helping with our skit. Until the last minute I was running in about a million different directions and I was very stressed. (That seems to happen a lot, you would think I'd be used to it by now!). All in all the activity came off pretty well! The bishop gave us a huge complement Sunday morning when he asked us how we thought the activity went, he then said that all left very satisfied with the activity and when 100% of those in attendence leave satisfied the activity fulfilled its purpose. I'll try to get some pictures or videos of the activity sent off pretty soon!

Also yesterday we had the opportunity to attend a stake activity in the which the stake presidency showed a recording of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert for this year, featuring Natalie Cole. They hooked up a pretty big sound system and it sounded great, you might want to look into finding it somewhere! It was a pretty big boost to the whole Christmas feeling!

Yesterday I was also able to speak in Sacrament Meeting. Bishop Contreras assigned me the topic of missionary work, but also the challenge of applying it to Christmas. He also told me to get my inspiration from the devotional talk by President Monson. I cheated!!! I spoke on the real reason for Christmas and what was the real Christmas Spirit and then I tied it back into the obra misional at the end. The high council member who was speaking told me that I took quite a bit of what he was planning on mentioning because he didn't think that I'd be speaking on Christmas... OBVIOUSLY he doesn't know the Hendrickson Family!!! It turned out fairly well and I was able to fill about 20 minutes of the 35-40 minute block (a very good thing since Renca 1 only assigns to speakers every week).

You kind of caught me off guard with the comment about Shelbey's wedding! That was something I didn't really see coming. I'm guessing she is attending Sam Houston? I feel way out of the loop with all of the goings on in the family... on both sides!

I'm really missing the "Christmas Spirit" that everybody in the USA gets around this time of year. The cooler temperatures, Christmas music on every corner, the lights and decorations on almost every house... AHHH! I've only got to push through another week and I'll be home free... The mission is going to have a Christmas activity in the mission home on Wednesday & Thursday (miti-miti), it ought to be fun. We don't know details but I think there is going to be a little program and dinner, and I don't know what else. Our zone will be there with the last 2 zones I've been a part of...

Unlike the missionaries at home our mission had a lot of changes this last weekend... It kinda sucks because we aren't with the members we have come to know and love, but we'll live! I feel like in my last ward I got to know the members better in 6 weeks than I got to know the members in Circunvalación, where I was for 6 months. I even found my other Chilean family!!!

I agree 100% with Dad when he said, "¡No necesitamos borrachos!". Unfortunately we get a lot more of them right around this time of year, because everyone gets the day off for the holidays and there are a lot more people on vacation right about now. Yuck!!! Los borrachos no nos ayudan mucho en la obra misional, para nada.

I think that is about all of the excitement that I can belt out today! All in all it was a pretty good week, and I'm looking forward to having another good change together with Elder Diaz. By the way, he is who basically taught me to play fútbol! LOL.

Well I look forward to talking to ya'll on Saturday! I think I've got a few minutes to write on Wednesday afternoon to verify the calls and everything, so try to have me a couple e-mails to read and see how everyone is doing!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll! Especially in this time of year!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Renca 1 - Week #6

2010-12-13T18:48:00.000-06:00

Howdy Family!

I'm feeling a little more country this morning... Elder Nàjera & I along with 4 other missionaries from the zone woke up before the crack of dawn to climb a killer hill, commonly known as Cerro Renca! I know I probably mentioned while I was in Quilicura that I would never climb Cerro Renca again during my mission, well... and better yet, I promised the same thing again today. It was shortly brought to my attention that I probably shouldn't make that promise because it will almost definitely be broken. But we'll just put it this way... I ALMOST DIED... (But not really)...

This last week was kind of a tough one here in la obra del Señor. Alvaro was confirmed a member of the Church on Sunday morning, so that is a great bit of news. He is now well on his way! Unfortunately it is looking like Christmas here isn't going to get any whitier than the 5th of December. We are however beginning to see a little more success in working with the members here in this ward, and that is always a good sign.

Also the Obra Misional will be hosting a ward activity this Saturday evening, una "Noche de Talentos" (Talent Night), so that ought to be a fun time. And it all gets topped off with a talk given by your's truly Sunday morning and changes Sunday night! LOL.

I did receive my Christmas package this week! Sorry I forgot to reply to that question until after I had aloready finished writing, and I hadn't gotten it yet either. As for the portable hard drive, I was able to find one that met my needs and almost met my price-range, I didn't go too far out... LOL. Thank you much for all the goodies too!

Last night was the retransmission of the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. We were able to attend and I absolutely loved it! It was my first one in 2 years, as our stake never announced it last Christmas. I particularly enjoyed the remarks of President Uchtdorf! He had a lot of great points, we do often have an attitude similar to that of the Grinch, something that we have to work to fix. The music was spectacular as usual, with Andrew Unsworth at the organ, and I always love it more when the orchestra at temple square is present!

The Ward Christmas Activity sounds like it was a success. I'm a little jealous that my part was played by Hunter McCabe... after all that is MY part, anybody who has been in the ward for any significant length of time (aka since before Christmas of 1998) knows that! I just realized exactly how many people that statement includes, or better yet excludes... It is pretty funny, however, that Amanda had to mark my name out of the script!!! LOL!!! Why was it I always liked to be the bad guy? I mean, out of everyone in the story there is one bad guy, and I always played the part... and I always wanted to play the part! (Maybe I'm a little flickted... ¿?). And who played Mary & Joseph?

I think Gabe and Ryah ruined the surprise part of Christmas by not knowing exactly what they are going to get! But then again, at least they'll get what they want... BUMS!

*NEWS FLASH* -- THIS JUST IN ----> We have phone calls on the 25th of December! And ya'll will be able to call me at the number I sent in the other e-mail at 4 o'clock my time! That means it will be (si no me equivoco) at 1 o'clock in the afternoon Texas time! You want to try the number like you've previously done, but I don't forsee any huge problems in that department! And I can't promise that I'll be able to speak completely in English. I'll do my best, but our conversation will probably be in Spanglish, just like my English classes! LOL.

We are fighting through some rather strange weather here lately! On Saturday we had really cool temperatures, clouds, and lots of wind all day long, something that doesn't happen in December in Santiago. We are up to temperatures that are a little warmer, but I'm not sure how long it will last.

I've finally got a little bit of the Christmas spirit. In our English class Thursday I taught "Jingle Bells" and I randomly left the class singing (and dancing to) "Jingle Bell Rock"! It's kinda fun. I miss set up all of the Christmas decorations and the Christmas tree, but we might get to help one of our converts with her tree this week! (*Fingers Crossed*)

I miss ya'll bunches, and am excited to talk to ya'll on Christmas! The countdown has begun!!! LOL.

Lots of hugs & kisses!

-- Élder Todd

Renca 1 - Week #5

2010-12-06T20:00:00.001-06:00

It's beginning to look absolutely nothing like Christmas!!!

This last week my crazy Mexican companion had the realization that it is now December and that we can sing Christmas songs now! It feels absolutely nothing like Christmas here, especially with the temperatures hovering close to 30ºC almost all day and dropping down to cooler nights. I'm very convinced that even when the 25th rolls around on my end of the world it won't really hit me that it is Christmas time. It is good to hear that everyone is enjoying this time of year up on the other end of the world (feels like the other end of the universe sometimes)!

During the week we had a breakthrough with our investigator, Alvaro. We taught him several times this week and we were able to talk one time about his baptism which was coming up on Sunday, December 5th. His response to whether or not he felt ready was different than almost any other that I have heard. He answered that he was sure he wanted to be baptized, but to not expect that he jump up and down out of his seat shouting it at the top of his lungs! ¡Casí murí de la risa! (I almost died laughing!) To make a long story short, he had his interview on Saturday with Elder Céspedes, and was baptized Sunday afternoon. His mother was able to attend church with him, and really enjoyed it from what we could tell, unfortunately she wasn't able to stay for the baptism because of a previous commitment. At the end of the baptismal service Alvaro bore his testimony and left a big impression on me. His testimony sounded almost as if he had known the truths of the Gospel his whole life. He bore a strong, complete testimony and shared a few of his feelings as well as his hopes for the future. The only bad thing about the whole experience is that the water heater in the chapel decided that it didn't want to work yesterday, so Élder Nàjera baptized Alvaro in very cold water (luckily it was hot outside).

Sounds like lots of things keep changing in the ward. Ya'll will be receiving a new counselor in the bishopric pretty soon then... Oooo! Lots of people are moving! I'm positive now that I won't know anybody when I get back. You've got to be sure to invite all of these people that are abandoning me for places that aren't too awfully far away to my homecoming! LOL. And Jared is heading up to BYU - "I Do"... LOL. I hope that goes well for him, his departure date isn't too far off at all.

We are anxious to see the First Presidency Christmas Devotional! They transmit it here in Chile a week late... it's kinda dumb, but oh well at least we get to see it this next Sunday. And I'll probably have to speak in sacrament meeting in 2 weeks, so wish me luck with that!

Bummer that the house won't be ready by Christmas... but it will be by Christmas of next year! I'm excited to get to help decorate it for the first time!!! YAY!!! I can't wait to see pictures of the finished project either, you gotta keep me posted.

And what is this nonsense about me not responding to Ryah's letters. There were no questions to respond to in the last two that I got! ¡¡Na'a que ver!! LOL...

I remembered this morning that it was Grandpa H's birthday too! It is interesting that I forgot Mom's this year and remembered Grandpa's. Either way... Happy Birthday Grandpa!!! I miss him...

I miss you alll! It is hard to be away for the holiday's. I can't really say right now that there is no other place that I'd rather be, but I do know that there is no other place that I should be right now... I love ya'll and will be talking to you very soon!

¡Que pasen bien los festivos! ¡Muchos besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Renca 1 - Week #4

2010-11-29T19:24:00.001-06:00

Hey Family!

This last week has flown by. When I finally stopped for a minute on Saturday and looked around I realized that I complete missed Thanksgiving Day! One of the recent converts here in the ward, Leonor, said she thought to mention it to me in the English class of Thursday but decided not to. Oh well! It doesn't mean that I'm not grateful, it just means that it slipped past me like a lot of things do now.

Once again we are here in Santiago Centro for our P-day... it doesn't make sense not to come for 2 reasons: 1) there is absolutely nothing to do in Renca & 2) the trip to get here takes about 15-20 minutes from our front door. I'm not sure exactly what the plan is, but we'll figure out something to do in this tremendous city. I've come to realize that Santiago is only tremendous for people who don't know big cities. What I mean is that for the capital of a country it is pretty small, and the Chilean people don't really want it to keep growing that much... kinda odd right?

Last week we were able to visit Cerro San Cristobal and see "Nuestra Madre de Santiago" or, in other words, the giant Virgin Mary statue set upon the crest of the hill. I'm going to try to attach photos! The whole ordeal was pretty fun, first it sounds kinda weird to say that we climbed (in cable car) an inactive volcano that the entire city is built around, and it kinda freaked us out that is was about 5 degrees (ºF) warmer on top of the hill than at the bottom.

I'm a little jealous about the huge Thanksgiving dinner! At least this was my last Thanksgiving to have away from family & friends, and this Christmas and New Year's will be my last ones as well. Thanks for the pictures Ryah! And what color did Mom dye her hair?

That's great to hear that Brad did get baptized. Many blessings are waiting he and his family through this decision that he has made. And Gabe & Dad stood in on his confirmation, good to see that Gabe at least is using his Sacerdocio [Priesthood]. What is this that I hear about Dad putting in a "plug for action in 2011"? No estoy seguro si yo cacho (entiendo).

Saturday night we had a Noche de Hogar [Family Home Evening] with 4 of the recent converts in our ward along with our investigator, Alvaro. It was a great opportunity to get to know everybody a little bit better and to create a little bit of friendship within the group of people that are new to the Church. In our lesson we taught a little bit about following Jesus Christ and the importance of keeping the commandments, the lesson took a little bit of a turn after a few minutes towards to importance of prayer in coming to know the truth. Our converts began to direct the lesson at that point and focused for a while on that directing every point at Alvaro. We had not said one word to any of the 4 beforehand at any moment that one of the biggest obstacles for Alvaro is that he hasn't prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true, testing the promise found in Moroni 10:3-5:
3 - Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 - And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 - And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
I've really come to realize the importance of this promise during my mission. Every time that we put this promise to the test we are entitled to receive the same blessing as we did the first time! How wonderful is that!!! We are currently working on that with Alvaro... and we are waiting to see how it goes. From what I've seen thus far he is focused on analyzing every little detail and is the type of person who decides based on logic rather than feelings. We've still got high hopes for his baptism in December!

I'm excited to hear how the house is coming along. It would be great to see it decorated for Christmas!!! *HINT HINT* LOL! Keep me posted on how it is coming along. Also, how are the two projects that are sitting in the front yard coming along?

Love ya'll and miss ya'll everyday! I'll be talking to ya sooner than ya think!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

P.S. Here are a few pictures from Cerro San Cristobal for everyone to enjoy! Better yet, I'll send them in a separate e-mail!

Renca 1 - Week #3

2010-11-22T21:55:00.001-06:00

¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias! [aka Happy Thanksgiving!]

Bummer that this week everyone will be enjoying a day off with lots of food, fun, and football (except Dad of course). Here the Chileans don't have even the slightest notion of what Thanksgiving is, and I've kind of learned that it is a holiday with an origin that is difficult to explain. LOL. But I hope that everyone does have a good Thanksgiving holiday, however short or long it may be.

This week was chock full of activities that took Elder Nàjera and I out of the sector for quite a bit of time. First off we had the normal zone class and weekly planning (2 days of 7) and on top of that we added in a little bit of training in the office & Zone Conference (another 2 out of 7). I'm not really complaining, but it made it look like we didn't have a very successful week. The Zone Conference, however, was a pretty big treat. Elder Corbridge from the Area Presidency was able to attend as part of his "Mission Tour", and we were definitely uplifted. He put a whole new perspective on the Gospel of Jesus Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, & endure to the end) and really focused on how not only we should make it part of our message as missionaries, but that it should be our ONLY messsage as missionaries. The whole conference was very spiritual and I didn't even fall asleep once during the whole 4 hours that he was talking! Yay me!!!

Congratulations to Brad! I don't know if you'll see this, but I promise you that this will be the best decision you've ever made... that is until you are sealed to your family, of course!

So Mom, Dad, & family... How does it feel to be so closely involved with someone's conversion? Now you know how I feel!

Saturday Elder Nàjera and I opted out of climbing Cerro Renca because for about the past 5 days it has been cloudy in the mornings and we decided that it wouldn't be worth it to get up at 5:00 in the morning to climb a hill and not be able to see the sunrise (el amanecer). So we put it off for a while as I think the zone leaders are planning on climbing for a zone activity one early Monday morning.

Real P-days are great! Today we are in the Centro again (we have a bus that passes in front of our house and leaves almost exactly in the center of the city). We are planning on hiking Cerro San Cristobal (a very easy hike) to the top where there is a giant statue of the Virgin Mary, it is even el Mes de María so we might run into alot of worshippers up there (I'll send pictures or a video next week). We will be going with the missionaries from Huechuraba (in my old ward), Elder Tello & Elder Jones... and at least 2 of us have never been before, so it ought to be fun. They say you can see all of Santiago from the top!

I'm happy to hear that SFA will have Chief Caddo for another year! I didn't know we had him last year, but oh well. And they won Conference play... wow!!! It is good to see that they are doing way better than when I was there!!!

Our investigator, Alvaro, is still progressing. He's got lots of exams this week so we haven't seen much of him outside of church for the past couple weeks, but I guess that's how it goes. He is on the right track to be baptized December 5th, so we'll keep working with him to make sure that gets done. I'm pretty sure there is nothing that would stop him, he showed up to church on his own before we started teaching him for goodness sakes! LOL.

Well, I think that is about all for the week. Hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving and that they eat lots for me (especially cranberry sauce)!

I miss ya'll and love ya too! ¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Renca 1 - Week #2

2010-11-16T09:40:00.001-06:00

Hey Family!

Sorry you caught me in such low spirits last week, it was kind of a
tough change and unfortunately all of the fun isn't over yet but we
should have a faint idea this afternoon of how we can get Elder Smith
trained at least a little bit. Last night I was on interchanges with
the office and I realized exactly how much I don't want to be back
there again. I think sometimes it takes a look from the outside to
realize what exactly you're not missing out on! Either way...

As for good news. I'm absolutely loving my new sector, Renca 1, and
I'm enjoying very much this time with Elder Nàjera. He is a convert of
about 3 years, 22 years-old, and is from Pachuca Hidalgo, México. The
only downside is that he says he is terible sonso [terribly dumb], but
it is fun for me. El tiene cabeza de pollo a veces pero ha hecho esta
semana algo fuera de la rutina que estoy acostumbrado. Sorry that was
in Spanish, but Dad can translate it for ya! I'm finally in a ward
again that functions like it should, our bishop comes to church as
well as most of the leaders, unfortunately there are A LOT of less
actives.

This weekend was full of all sorts of amazingness (lol). We had the
Primary presentation in our Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, it was a
treat but I really miss the organization and the enthusiasm of the
Primary programs in the US, that is something you don't get here in
Chile. Also after church we were able to participate in a baptism!!!
Jorge "Jorgito" Carrasco, the 9 year-old son of a family is recently
returning to activity in the church was baptized and we were able to
complete a family. The mom and dad were previously sealed in the
temple with the children being "born in the covenant" but fell away
for a good while, now they are active again and will soon have their
temple blessings restored. It is amazing that the change the Gospel
can make... but only if the people let it!

Today we are here in Santiago Centro enjoying a little bit of the
city, we didn't have a real clear plan on what we are going to do
today, but we decided that the micro that would take us from our
apartment buildings to the center wouldn't be such a bad move. I'm
excited to have a P-day that I don't really have to worry about
working on projects or meeting deadlines or stuff like that, so we'll
see how it turns out. Also just a quick fun fact, I now live next to
the big hill that I sent a picture of with myself, Elder Davenport,
and Elder Diaz on top... and I'm crazy enough that I committed to
climb it again this Saturday, and in time to see the sunrise! (That's
putting us leaving the house at about 5:00 AM).

Another tidbit! I'm now officially an English teacher. I teach an
English class to about 10-15 students every Thursday and Saturday in
the ward building. Elder Nàjera told me that normally about 3-4
students showed up, but I got there on Thursday and we ended the class
with about 15! AHHH!!! It is kind of stressful, but I'm enjoying it so
far. Also one of our investigators is studying to be an English
teacher. He has been studying for 4 years or so and yesterday offered
to help me with the classes when he could! The fun part about the
classes is that almost everyone in attendence is above the basic
English level, that complicates things for me a little bit.

This week looks like it should be pretty busy. We've got a Zone
Conference with Elder Corbridge from the Area Presidency on Wednesday
and Thursday (our zone on Wednesday). He will also be doing a mission
tour, which very few people know, but I'm not entirely sure what that
entails exactly... I guess we'll see!

So far the stress level has lowered tremendously, and I'm hoping it
stays that way for a while. I guess we'll see throughout the rest of
the change.

Thanks for the house pictures! I'm getting excited now too, it would
be great to have it all decorated for Christmas with all of those
shiny floors. It sounds like you're not lacking to much to finish, but
I know there are always little details that are important too. Keep
the pictures coming!!!

Also I was super excited to hear about Brad and his family, I'm sure
ya'll are getting really excited now as are they,and the missionaries
of course! I love how the work goes when the members are involved, it
is so much smoother. Also Ryan is going to Independence Missouri!!!
I'm super jealous!!! I'm guessing that he will be speaking English,
either way I've got several "conocidos" (missionaries that I met in
the MTC) that are there right now speaking Spanish. It ought to be
really cool to see all of the Church History and stuff around there!!!
I'm sure he is exstatic, but he's still got a little over 2 months til
he leaves... I know how the waiting goes!!! LOL.

I'm looking forward to being in this sector for Christmas, we've
already got lunch on Christmas day and the home where we will be
making/receiving phone calls lined out. If all goes well, President
May won't be doing too many changesw before Christmas, he just mixed
the mission up pretty well to be able to avoid that right there at the
holiday! It is tough to be away from home, but I'd have to say (from
experience) that it is more tough to be in a new place as well!

Well,I think that is about all I've got for this week! I love you all
and hope that you have a great week! Miss ya'll bunches!

¡Todo mi amor! ¡Muchos besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Renca 1 - Week #1

2010-11-10T10:59:00.000-06:00

It's P-day Again!!!

As you can tell by my opening comment and the subject of my e-mail, we had changes last night... and boy did things change!!! To start things off, we were working on receiving the key indicators from the zones for a while when Elder Marin's phone rang with President on the other end of the line. Of course that meant that changes would soon be ready and that Elder Marin would be leaving the sector, afterwards he asked to talk to me... President let me know that I would be leaving the office and headed here to Renca 1 with Elder Nàjera, from México, and that I would not be training a replacement in the office. He wouldn't tell me who my replacement was because he didn't know yet, but told me that I would only be answering questions (aka training) over the phone.

These whole changes put a pretty big sinking feeling in my gut, but I'm finally working through it. Throughout the day it has been getting less and less, and now is just kinda there. Turns out that Elder Smith will be my replacement so he won't be entering with absolutely ZERO training (only 3 days of last change...pfff). I'm kinda dreading this change though with working in a new sector and trying to train somebody over the phone (mostly the second part). I've had a million thoughts running through my head of possible scenarios that could be coming in the next weeks, but I don't think they will be happening. I feel very sorry for the circumstances of the which Elder Smith is entering the office and the work load he will be having. I did my best to get everything caught up last change, and succeeded fairly well, so at least he is starting with a clean slate.

Changes didn't really stop there, but all but 15 of 85 companionships had a change involved! Craziness!!! Also from the talk in the office there will be several big changes in procedure coming up for them real soon... can't wait to hear what. I'm kinda sad to have to leave my sector and all that, we had a record in Sacrament Meeting attendance this week with 158 attending. It was amazing, and we had a very spiritual fast & testimony meeting as well.

I'm excited to be away from all of the politics and stress that the office brings, yet at the same time it is kinda hard to leave that style of work behind. The change was a huge surprise since always previously the historian has trained a replacement, but I had no notice at all. With changes we were in the office very late trying to get things ready for the new missionaries that arrived this morning and I was trying to prepare things for Elder Smith. On top of all that our electronic system was not working on President's end and we had to do the changes by hand instead of them showing up in front of us all nice and neat. AAGGGHHH!!! Everything could have picked a different night to go wrong, one that I wasn't already unfocused... We finally left the office around 5:00 AM and Elder Moore and I slept for about an hour and a half while Elder Driscoll & Elder Young got ready to go to the airport at 6:00! It kinda sucked! Today has also be a long day with running all over the place with a few crazy changes and then trying to pack all of my stuff in less than 1 hour (luckily the office is bringing it to me tonight).

So now I sit in the middle of our sector on the Internet in another Ciber, paying to use a crappy computer! But I'm trying to do it with alot of excitement. I'm excited for our new district, which includes Elder Céspedes (one of my old district leaders) as our current district leader, and Huechuraba (one of the sectors in my old ward... the one I just came from)! It will be good to be out in the sector again full-time, unfortunately it is right as summer is starting up pretty good.

Not much new news from down here. And I had no idea that the McCabe family is moving! Where are they going? And that's a pretty big bummer too, I'm going to come home to a ward that I don't even know.

My e-mail sounds like a bunch of ranting, but I truly am excited to be here. A little frustrated too, but excited at the same time! I hope all goes well with Elder Smith and I'll keep ya'll posted with the craziness that happens this change!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! Now there are only a little over six weeks until I talk to you again. I'm not counting ().

Love you all and I'll talk to you next week, but not until Monday!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - week #24

2010-11-10T10:58:00.000-06:00

Good Morning, Good Morning!!!

Jumping right into it... We had an amazing baptism last Sunday afternoon for Margarita!!! The whole service came off without a hitch and the Spirit was felt very strongly, amazingly enough a few of the kids from our condominiums came with Margarita's 11 year-old son (and our next baptism), Fabián. Also Margarita's older daughter came as well and she really did feel the Spirit very strongly, we have hopes that she will soon begin to share with us. From what I've come to know of Margarita, she has a very deep desire to share the Gospel with her family, this is working out very much to our advantage.

Our converts here in Circunvalación have the testimonies that they need to be able to stay active in the Church 10... 20... 40 years from now! I feel great about having had the blessing to be involved in their conversion, even though many times it was only as a spectator. Margarita will be confirmed this Sunday in Sacrament Meeting in the which she will be armed with the Holy Ghost and ready to meet anything that comes in her path.

Last night brought some surprising news for us here in the office, Elder Johns received a call about 10:35 PM from President May announcing what has become routine for me... yes, special changes. Elder Johns is currently on his way to San Pablo to be with Elder Vega, whose old companion will be coming to the office for the weekend to wait for normal changes on Monday. We were kinda bummed to see him go, but we all knew it would be coming sooner or later. For now Elder Driscoll has a temporary companion and will probably be with one of the 3 of us come Monday morning. As everyone knows, we have changes tomorrow night and will be running in every direction possible for the next 2 days. Our new missionaries will be coming in on Monday instead of Tuesday, so that really complicates the whole schedule and everything for these next couple of days.

I did finally receive my Halloween package on Wednesday, it really brightened up my day!!! I'm currently sitting here at my desk enjoying a few of the fruits of it, as a matter of fact. Even the little things cane amaze a missionary or make a pretty big difference. It takes us out of the routine of things, which is good to do every once in a while!

That is great that you have been talking to Sandra!!! I saw that family right around my birthday and it was great to hear how they are doing. I'd have to honestly say that they are my adopted family here in Chile! Keep writing her and pushing that they prepare to go to the temple (before I leave!!!). We've got retention working on them from all sides... jajajaja!!! [Spanish hahahaha]. Also try to keep them posted on how I'm doing, it is kinda tough for us to keep in touch because everything is through the mission mail system, which relies on the missionaries, (which doesn't work real well).

It does not feel like deer season should be starting, or like we should be getting fairly close to Christmas either. We are constantly warming up here, it has been close to 30°C this week and doesn't look like it will be getting cool, yet we have Christmas songs playing in the cars!!! LOL! Closer to the end of this month we'll be decorating the office and all that jazz, ought to be fun. And we'll see tomorrow if I'm still in here for Christmas or if I get to a new sector just a few days before (just like last year).

I'm excited to hear how the project is coming along, and I'm excited to see it!!! [*HINT, HINT*]. I can't wait, as I'm sure ya'll can't either, until it is done and the family can move in. You don't have to be sad either about finishing the big project, because "there will always be another project".

Thanks Dad for sending me the cool news on Carthage, that would be amazing to see a branch of the Church started out there!!! I'm guessing that the High Council is very heavily involved in the planning and creation process of that possible branch. Is Brother Sanders still heading that up on the southern end of the stake? And what is you assignment in the High Council, I know you are assigned to the Spanish branch but does it go más allá que eso? It is very exciting to see the work that is going in behind the split of the stake, we'll see what happens in the coming months and years!

Also just to let everyone know, Halloween this last weekend was the biggest that it has ever been in Chile. On Sunday night we were on the way out from the Taylor's home and were basically attacked by a bunch of costumed midgets. Here is the story as Elder Moore tells it:

"Halloween is becoming something rather big down here. There were trick -or-treaters down here. Except their deal is, they carry eggs with them and if you don’t have candy or answer your door, they egg you. That’s right. They egg you. It looks like all the American traditions that they adapt down here, they learn from the movies and I guess that happens in the movies. I had an army of 15 angry, yet, lovely children threatening to open fire if I didn’t cough up the goods. My mind was called back to watching the Alamo as I saw the fury in their little eyes as the ring leader called out ¡FUEGO! I love those kids. It was the same group of kids who just love seeing us; I guess it is different on the candy battlefield."

Needless to say the experience brought our fairly boring evening back to life!!!

Bummer about the World Series, but I guess I'll live. Also TCU plays Utah today in Salt Lake, ought to be a good game for everyone to watch... I'm rooting for TCU!!!

Hope ya'll don't ever forget que les amo and that I miss you bunches! Can't wait to talk to ya'll again! Have a good week and try not to work too hard!

¡Todo mi amor y muchos besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #23

2010-10-31T18:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!!!

We are right around the corner from one of the big American holidays that is celebrated here in Chile, Halloween! Halloween here doesn't bring a whole lot of Trick-or-Treating but every once in a while you see a little ghoul or goblin on the next street over. The Evangelical Churches here don't appreciate the day much (and there are a lot of them) so they received approval from the government to have October 31st as a national holiday called Día de las Iglesias Evangelicas y Protestantes (Evangelical & Protestant Churches Day)... Seems like just another excuse to not work to me, and Monday will be again since it is "All Saints Day".

This week was like a roller coaster. I was reading the e-mails from home and noticed the drastic differences in Mom's and Dad's weeks. As far as the office and the missionary work goes I've had a pretty good week. Tomorrow morning we plan on having a baptism for Margarita, our investigator that we started teaching just over a week ago, and hopefully she will be confirmed in Sacrament Meeting tomorrow. (The baptism will probably be at about 9 o'clock in the morning). As for myself, my week has been kind of a bummer. I've become a total klutz this last week and for about 3 days straight I was running into EVERYTHING... It wasn't very fun...

It has been a whirlwind of a change! It is very possible that in 1 more week, with changes, that I will be training here in the office and preparing to be on my way out of here. There is part of me that is so ready to get back out to working in a normal assignment in the mission, but there is another part of me that enjoys it here in the office amidst all of the stress and problems that come up. (I admit it... I'm crazy!). Either way it happens I'm game! (But then again I'm not really left with much of a choice).

On November 8th we will be receiving 22 new missionaries from North America (18 elders & 4 sisters). We have been, and will be, running all over the mission in preparation for their arrival. Because of several other events happening that same week they will be arriving on change day... YAY!!! That means that none of us have any idea exactly how things will be running and will be hoping and praying that everything turns out alright.

P-day today is going to be pretty chill again. Recently by the time we get around to Saturday we are too tired to really do much, anything exciting or adventurous at least. This morning however we went to a big outlet mall a little north of the office and looked at soccer stuff, shoes/jerseys (that kind of stuff). Elder Marin (my favorite assistant... I was obligated to say that) has been creating a donation fund of "monedas de diez" (10 peso coins). It has been going on for a while and he is now up to over 40,000 pesos. The plan is to use these coins to buy new tennis shoes or soccer shoes, Nike being the brand specified at the birth of the fund, so we are now looking for shoes worthy enough to spend the money on. To kind of give you an idea of how worthless a 10 peso coin is and how much time this took I'll liken it unto American money. 10 pesos = 2 cents. Pretty worthless!!! (I'm attaching a photo). Also a 10 peso coin is about the same size as a nickel but weighs a little less. Either way the backpack we had full of 41,000 pesos in monedas de diez was pretty darn heavy!!! I'll keep you posted on the buy and probably will send a video when it finally happens.

Even with everything that has been going on this week I'm still surviving... That's normally a good sign, right? We did a lot of good for the mission this week, but our sector suffered a little bit. Everything is looking up still for tomorrow morning and then we'll be looking a little bit dry for most of November (unless we get another miracle... like Margarita). I love this work, it wears me out sometimes but even those days are good. I miss ya'll and love ya'll lots! Sorry my letter was kind of short!

¡Todo mi amor! ¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #22

2010-10-24T18:38:00.002-05:00

¡Hola Familia Mía!

Well, can't really say that the news at the beginning of the e-mail brightened up my day... But that is okay. It is kind of a bummer that you found out about about Aunt Mardria from Facebook!!! That sucks pretty bad actually, I'm not sure I like that that whole side of the family doesn't really let us know about anything (or talk to us, ó lo que sea).

The good news that followed was definitely good news, hopefully we hear more about that very, very soon!!! I'll throw a comment in another e-mail so that it doesn't give anything away. Also it is good that you might be able to see the Gilmore family pretty soon. It is kind of a bummer that I won't be there, but I guess that's how the cookie crumbles!

I got a Halloween package? If I did, it has not come in yet, but hopefully it will get here soon.

The weather here in Santiago can't figure out at all what it wants to do, a couple of days ago it was very hot outside and today it is cloudy and chilly. I'm thinking the climate here is more "bipolar" than the climate in East Texas, but I might have to have a memory refresher to know for sure! We are going into summer here so with the time change we gained an extra hour of sunlight which we are enjoying a little bit. It finally feels good to be able to work in our sector in a little bit of daylight.

This week has been another crazy busy week. We've been all over the place again this week and yesterday Elder Young and I got a little bit lost way over on the west side of Santiago! It was kinda fun... we knew, in a round about way, how to get home but we had no idea where we were going and our map did not lead us very well at all! But along the way we were able to run into a nice little surprise called A&W Root Beer & Dr. Pepper, both are tastes of home and are great even though I wasn't (nor am I) a huge fanatic of Dr. Pepper. This week we will be making root beer floats to celebrate this recent coming of events/stroke of luck that we've been having.

We are in full swing preparations for the 22 new missionaries coming into the mission on the 8th of November. Almost everyone in the office is running in about a million different directions and I'm always just sitting here peacefully at my computer watching the world pass by... it gets a little boring sometimes. Today, as unfortunate as it is, my letter is not receiving my full and undivided attention as I am preparing for 2 RPE meetings that President May has tomorrow. (Oh what fun!!!). ¡Pero así es a veces!

Also this week has had a couple of interesting turns of events in the sector. Wednesday we were able to teach one of our new investigators, Margarita, again. We taught about the plan of salvation and the importance of following the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a part of that plan. The Spirit was very strong and we felt like we should focus a lot on baptism near the beginning of the lesson... Let's put it this way, before we were done with "life on Earth" Margarita had a baptismal date for the 31st of October, just over a week away. She is well prepared for baptism; we will be having a family home evening with her tonight to work on gaining a little more confidence with her and we will be teaching the rest of the lessons that are necessary for baptism during this next week. It was great to see someone accept a baptismal commitment without any reservation at all, and especially a date so close...

I'm not sure I've ever really explained how our teaching and the missionary lessons work... I'll go ahead and give you a little feel for what we go through to help someone be baptized. When we find someone to teach we normally follow a basic outline of lessons to help prepare our investigators. The lessons are found in Preach My Gospel and are designed as 5 lessons with the basic doctrines of the Gospel as well as the commandments, ancient and modern. It is recommended that we teach all of these lessons, but there is no specific order as there is with the old "discussion" format previously used by the missionaries. The idea of this way of teaching is to help us follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost in the lesson and really focus on the needs of the investigators instead of just teaching the points listed in the manual. Other than the lessons, we focus on helping the people we teach to keep commitments to help them gain a testimony for themselves of this marvellous Gospel. In a nutshell that is what we do, and it is all topped off with a baptismal interview by one of the leaders of the mission (Elder Moore will be doing 2 tonight for the Conchalí 14 Ward), and last but not least the baptismal service itself. Pretty exciting isn't it?!?!?

I've got to admit that I was super excited to get updates on the house, but I'm still kind of disappointed that I haven't gotten new pictures of the house or the family for a while. I feel like that part of the e-mail never gets read or something... And I'm really hoping that y'all can be in the house by Christmas, that would be an awesome Christmas present. I'm also pretty excited that the Rangers are going to the World Series, the Taylors' and Elder Moore were pretty excited as well! And Lufkin!!! Woot!!! (If Elder Moore saw the "Woot" he would probably kill me...)

Well, I think that is about all I've got for this week. Sorry it is a little bit choppy, but I'm kinda having focusing problems today. Love y'all and hope all is well!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #21

2010-10-19T12:38:00.000-05:00

Fellow Citizens of the Planet Earth!

This has been a long 6 days!!! It feels like I haven't written you for over a month, but I know that it hasn't been nearly that long... But on to the better news: We had 3 baptisms on Sunday!!!

On Sunday following church meetings we were privileged to participate in the baptism of Sonia, Susan, & Kimberley. There were a few scary points on Sunday morning in the which we weren't sure if the baptisms were going to happen (mostly when they didn't show up to church on time). Elder Moore and I actually ended up leaving Sacrament Meeting to go get them (the second time). The service was simple but with a fairly decent turnout by the ward... even Presidente & Hermana May showed up! The Spirit was very strong in the baptism.

Also we had a special treat on Monday morning for our weekly office coordination meeting... Monday was a national holiday for Columbus Day so there was zero traffic in and out of the office, thus we were able to go to the mission home as a zone for breakfast with President and Hermana May. It was pretty good to get out a little bit and to see them in a little bit more of a relaxed atmosphere.

Sorry I didn't mention anything about the 33 trapped miners! For a while I honestly forgot that they were even trapped... Oops! That goes to show how far removed from the rest of the world we missionaries are. We did hear quite a bit about it during the whole extraction period. It was amazing what was done and from what I've heard was very well thought out.

Also this last week in Circunvalación 1, with Elder Moore, Elder Young, and I, we've had a lot of firsts. On Thursday we went the farthest south in the world that any of us have ever gone... we were able to go with the Taylors to the south side of Santiago to help them buy a car, it didn't work out on Thursday but they were able to go back on Friday and get the rest of it taken care of. Also Thursday night & Friday morning we were able to find a new house for a few of the hermanas in Quilicura, and we did it in record time! We were all over Santiago trying to get it done, running from one side to the other (better said... driving from one side to the other in the giant tank of a van we have). It was pretty fun but, needless to say, we are about dead now from being so tired!

Today is going to be pretty chill day, which is much needed after the whirlwind of a week that we've had. My work hasn't really suffered and yesterday I finished my big project for the week... come to find out about ten minutes afterward that the presentation wouldn't be needed and we would be rescheduling the meeting for a date in about 6-8 weeks when all of the information wouldn't be valid anymore and I'd have to start the whole thing over (I'm not bitter at all !!!).

Sounds like work sucks, and the house is coming along rather nicely. I almost figured that the floors downstairs would be a little more difficult because we are refinishing them instead of just painting, but I'm confident that Dad will get it to work out alright. Good news for you Mom... we'll get you playing soccer when I get back home... LOL.

This last week we've been able to find a few more people to teach, one of them is a referral from a member in our ward and the other is a former investigator that we couldn't find for a while because she had had back surgery. Both of them are pretty good, and it is currently looking like there are several other possible baptisms this month for our sector. The assistants are currently in the process of baptizing a family (as we speak), so that is pretty cool. I'm pretty sure we are the highest baptizing mission office that has come through the Chile Santiago North Mission for a while, and it feels good...

I love this work and all of the things that I've both learned and continue learning here! I hope that the spirit of missionary work is spreading to ya'll and especially that Gabe can catch the bug pretty soon.

I love ya'll and miss ya'll bunches! Hope that all is well at home!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

P.D. ¿La familia Whitworth son activos ahora?

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #20

2010-10-09T19:45:00.000-05:00

Happy P-Day!!!

When you really think about it, P-day is just as special for the missionaries family as it is for the missionary himself... so I repeat, Happy P-Day! I'm currently multi-tasking here in the office... I'm writing ya'll and we are doing a barbecue at the same time. A few people cheated and bought a barbecue chicken and are planning on doing churipan again, while Elder Driscoll and I went all out with a nice little steak! I'm pretty excited, but it's all good.

It sounds like this week was pretty exciting on the home front, but I can't say I missed that kind of excitement. Here in the mission we have been busy as usual, but not overly stressed out (for a change). I'm trying to get on top of everything again and stay on top of it for when my trainee comes in next change (in 4 more weeks). I do have some good news about the week to announce however... We will be having 3 baptisms this weekend!!!

Last weekend when planning as a companionship we felt that the Peruanas, Sonia, Susan, & Kimberly, were ready for baptism this weekend. After the nice touch added by Conference and the counsels that Sonia really took to heart we knew that there wasn't anything big keeping them from taking the step. On Tuesday night we had a great lesson with them in the home of the Taylors. The Spirit was so strong there as we reviewed our feelings about General Conference and the truths of the Gospel that we know and enjoy in our lives. We primarily reviewed the baptismal interview questions to clarify that there was no underlying doubt in their minds. Upon completion of the questions and arriving at question 6, speaking about whether the individual feels ready to make a covenant with God that they are willing to take upon them the name of Christ and keep the commandments that we have been given, after much testifying from all of the 4 of us missionaries, Elder Young proceeded to extend a baptismal invitation for this weekend. I noticed a look of discomfort and uncertainty on Sonia’s face and immediately responded with another question focused directly at her. I said “¿Qué les impide de recibir estas bendiciones [las bendiciones de un bautismo] ya?” (aka “What is stopping you from receiving the blessings of a baptism now?”. They responded that there was nothing stopping them. We then followed-up with the baptismal invitation again, being very specific. They all 3 accepted baptismal dates for this Sunday the 10th of October. The preparations are well underway and we are super excited to be baptizing three investigators this weekend!

It took a long time to get these hermanas to the point that they felt ready to be baptized, but I've got no doubt that they will be great members of the Church. There are many blessings that they need to receive and the doors are opening to them to be able to receive them now.

I think I might have forgotten to mention that the weekend before Conference I heard that Victor Cerda received the Aaronic Priesthood and was ordained to the office of Priest. He will now be able to attend the temple to participate in baptisms for the dead. The Taylors are starting a program where they will be carrying recent converts to the temple for their first time to do baptisms for the dead... needless to say, I've gotten a few converts' names to them so that they have a place to start (*wink*).

I'm sincerely glad that ya'll had the opportunity to enjoy Conference weekend... it truly was like an early Christmas for us!!! We had the Peruanas in 3 of the 4 general sessions. I gained such a profound testimony of going into Conference with specific questions and the spirit of looking for answers. I left with an increased testimony of the divine calling of each of the prophets and apostles, I know without a doubt that each one of them is called of God. Also it was great to hear from several people who are either directly or indirectly (by recent visits) connected to la gran Misión Chile Santiago Norte! (ie Elder Kevin Duncan, Elder Claudio Costa, Elder Zeballos, and Elder Corbridge... all gave either talks or prayers)...

Mom: That is pretty funny about your Primary class and their request for cookies! I can't imagine why would somebody want store-bought cookies over homemade cookies!!! I do have to admit that I got a pretty good laugh out of your class of "opinionated five year-olds"! LOL.

Life here in the Southern Hemisphere keeps on keepin' on!!! Not too much excitement as of late... Fútbol season for the missionaries has started back up and we actually got out this morning a played with one of the zones for a little while. I've got to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and really enjoy fútbol no matter how bad I am! We are in warmer weather now, so it is short-sleeves and no jackets almost 24/7, with shorts coming into play when we are just chillin'.

Side Note: This steak I'm eating right now... (my own handiwork by the way)... is pretty good!!!

I'm getting more and more excited for the McProject too... I need ya'll to keep sending me pictures so I'm not completely out of the loop!!! Hopefully all will go well to be in there by Christmas, I'd love to see it all decorated for the season!

Hope all is well with the family! I miss ya'll bunches and love you more! We're a little over 13 months down and about 2 & 1/2 months until our next phone conversation... once again I'll probably be in a new sector the week before Christmas!

Love ya'll and miss ya'll! ¡Besitos y abrazitos a todos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #19

2010-10-01T18:38:00.000-05:00

It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood!!!

This has to have been the most stressful nightmare of a change week that I've had in the mission... yes, worse than special changes when I came into the office. We have been all over the mission in these past couple of days along with the random changes we had here in the office that got everybody all mixed up! Sunday night had some pretty interesting announcements that came to us about our "new assignments", but those for the most part only lasted until about Wednesday. Elder Johns is training the new secretary, Elder Driscoll, and I was training the new historian, Elder Smith. (Notice I said "was".) These training assignments mixed up the sectors and the companionships pretty good and would have caused that I left the office after only 4 changes! But, alas, the office was once again the way to avoid doing a ton of special changes within the mission as Elder Smith was transferred out for what President May said would be "one more change". From what I've been told I will be training Elder Smith in the office next change... and if not, I'm sure it will happen eventually!

Enough of that craziness... Conference weekend bumped up our P-day to today (Friday) instead of Monday like we were expecting, so it is a nice little treat to get a break from the already overly hectic change week! We don't plan on doing much today. We had previously planned to do another barbecue but then we decided that we are all beat, so we will be doing that next weekend.

I enjoyed the birthday gifts from everyone!!! I have to admit that it didn't really feel like a birthday since I wasn't spending it with the family, also I don't really feel any older. We were in the office all day on Monday and then got to take a trip to the airport that night to send all of the gringos home. It was pretty chill, but I've got to admit that there was alot lacking to make it feel like a birthday. Sunday afternoon the Cerda family showed up at our chapel with a few little gifts for me, so that was an awesome surprise, and on Tuesday the Peruanas that we are teaching made me a cake... all in all everything had a good little culminating effect to make it a good birthday! Also I was able to see my birthday wishes a little earlier in the week than usual so that was nice to get!

Sorry I kinda let everyone know about the P-day change last minute. I haven't really been sitting at my computer much in the last few days, so I wasn't able to get a quick note out... not to mention we didn't find out that long ago.

Hope everyone has had a good week and that everything is going well. From the small notes (I completely understand) it sounds as if there is, as always, alot of stuff going on and that everyone is staying busy. Conference weekend ought to be great, I'm excited to see and hear what the prophets have to tell us!!! I've got to admit that Conference weekend for missionaries is almost as big of a deal as Christmas is for all of the little kids in the world. In fact it might almost be better!!!

I love you all and I hope that y'all get a chance to take advantage of Conference and can watch ALL OF THE SESSIONS!!! Hope you have a great weekend and a great week next week.

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #18

2010-09-26T20:14:00.001-05:00

I tried to think of a catchy intro... actually I focused on that for about half of the time I was writing this e-mail!

This last week has been pretty good here in the office. We've had alot of work, but one can't complain too much... after all it is work, and I knew that coming into the mission. As far as the sector goes, it looks like we're still going to be pretty dry for this weekend, but we've got high hopes and lots of faith in October!

The festivities of the 18 de Septiembre were pretty fun... We as a district were able to hit up Santiago Centro on P-day and we had a blast, it would have to be one of the most fun preparation days that I’ve had in a long time. When we first headed to the center we had absolutely no idea what we were going to do there, so we decided to see what was going on and grab a quick bite to eat. While we were eating at one of the completo stand things we saw, basically, a stampede of Chileans start running from the Plaza de Armas down one of the side streets. Elder Johns of course jumped right in there and was eager to run with them knowing nothing of why everyone was running. Elder Barrett and Elder Moore joined them as Elder Young and I finished eating and waited a minute to see what was going on. The excitement of it all pushed us to run as well and before we knew it everyone within sight was not only running, but jumping as high as possible to snatch what appeared to be bookmarks flying through the air. Turns out, it being the bicentennial celebration of Chile, the Chilean Air Force was dropping papelitos with quotes and statements about Chilean history from aircraft flying above Santiago. At the very same moment the same thing was happening over the other 14 regional capitals of Chile. It got pretty intense, but Elder Young and I decided to stay on the edge of the crowd to avoid getting trampled… turns out we got a pretty good haul with the bookmarks, bringing in about 30 each from running all over about 4 city blocks! We then decided to head to La Moneda, the Chilean Whitehouse one could say (the president doesn’t live there though), and check out the setup for the late night light show they were doing over the weekend. The setup was pretty sweet, but nothing was going on at mid-day. Also we were able to visit the museum located below La Moneda and see a little bit of the Chilean culture at its best. The day was wrapped up with heading back to the house, resting for about 10 minutes, studying, and heading out to work a little bit.

Unfortunately national holidays aren't too effective to do proselyting work, but Monday was a very mellow day here in the office with everyone still recovering from their long weekend. Also Tuesday was pretty chill as far as business as well, especially as far as missionaries go because there were enjoying their P-day.

So I'm pretty stoked about General Conference this next weekend... We will of course be attending all of the sessions which will take away from our P-day time. President May hasn't told us much about if our P-day schedule is going to change or not, but a few of the office elders that were here in April said that P-day was moved to Monday... so don't neccessarily expect a letter on Saturday, but y'all are more than welcome to write me any day of the week (every once in a while we have to check our personal mail accounts to make sure President hasn't sent us something important)!

I was able to do my second baptismal interview on Thursday night. It wasn't quite as rough as the first one because I knew exactly what to expect. So Circunvalación 2 will be baptizing Camila (10) this Sunday, it ought to be great.

I almost forgot to tell you about the activity that we had last night in our condominiums... Elder Moore and I, with a little help from the other office elders and the assistants, organized a movie night here in our condominiums. We kinda did it all a little last minute and ran into a few problems as we went, such as the sudden increase in wind, the sudden drop of temperature, and of course the lack of extension cords of a decent length here in Chile. If we had been in Texas we would have had two 100 foot extension cords within about 30 seconds, but here we had about three 4 foot long extension cords within about 40 minutes!!! (We are in Chile!!!) Finally one of the recent converts that just moved from Conchalí 14 to our ward saved the day with a 30 meter long extension cord that he borrowed from his uncle. All in all we had a decent turn out at the movie night, watching first "Finding Faith in Christ" and afterwards "The Testaments". We are hoping that a few new investigators come from this... I know there is at least one probable new investigators as I basically taught Lesson 1 to here during the movie!!! Hopefully we can do it again pretty soon with another movie and get a few more people involved.

Compared to my usually boring letters I'm pretty impressed with what I've gotten written today! Hopefully it will give you a little bit better light on how crazy the mission really is. I really do love it here! And the office is great, yes it is hard to not baptize sometimes, but we are working hard to do so!!! I was speaking with President May the other day and he was asking how the office experience was for me. I answered him that I really do enjoy it, perhaps I don't have as many baptisms here as I would in a normal sector, but I'm getting a little bit different type of experience working here.

I love this work and all of the blessings it has brought in my life. I'm excited to see Ryan getting ready to leave on the mission! Hopefully he gets his call pretty soon so it doesn't eat him up waiting to find out where the Lord would have him go. Keep me posted as far as that news goes.

The house seems to be coming along fairly nicely. I can't wait to see more pictures when you can get them to me (and OF THE FAMILY), and I can't wait to see the finished project. Also I did get my package!!! I opened the outer package and saw the wrapping on almost everything so I decided to wait until Monday to open all of that. The Skittles however did not make it through the end of the week, they weren't wrapped up so I figured they were fair game... LOL. The only thing about international shipping is that it has the dumb little customs label on it, so it gives the whole surprise away every time! But either way, I'm excited to see what's inside!!! I might even get to use it on Monday...

Say "HI" to everyone for me... especially Dillon since he told y'all to write it (he knows he can write me, right?). And send my love to the Stovall family!!!

Hope that y'all have a great week and that y'all enjoy General Conference from the comforts of home!!! (Blah!!!). Love y'all and talk to y'all next week!!!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #17

2010-09-21T09:32:00.000-05:00

¡Feliz 18 de Septiembre!

Today is the 200 year celebration of the independence of Chile... se llama la Fiesta Patria! We are all pretty excited to have our P-day today and see what kind of fun we can get into. Unfortunately tonight will be fairly limited as far as the amount of proselyting we can do, unless of course we want to talk to a lot of borachos. Yesterday we had a fairly lengthy activity to celebrate la Fiesta Patria in our ward. It started about 11:00 AM (with people getting there finally around 12:30 PM... you've got to take into account Mormon Standard Time thrown on top of Chilean Time), and ended about 6:00 PM... all in all it was fairly short compared to most of the ward/stake parties in the area.

My first and only 18 de Septiembre in Chile is currently underway... so far it doesn't look like there is a whole variety of activities available for us today, so I'm not sure what we'll be doing for P-day. Lots of times it kinda sucks to have P-day on a national holiday... everything is closed today so we can't even hit up the mall for food.

This week has been fairly laid back. Fortunately I haven't had any big deadlines and I've been able to get on top of almost all of my work, let's hope this next week proves to allow the same thing. Monday will be a pretty relaxed day in the office since all of Chile will still be on vacation for the holiday weekend, but Tuesday we'll kick back into full swing!

September 11th went well, we entered the house at 8:00 PM and just hung out with all of the missionaries in the condominiums for a couple hours. We were told the next day that it got a little crazy right around midnight with all of the jovenes hanging out in the street and building bonfires in front of the apartment buildings. All in all it was pretty chill though, and as far as I know there wasn't anything super crazy or exciting that went down. Also the cemetery was pretty cool, it is HUGE!!!... and a little bit creepy. I'll try to get some pictures out to y'all pretty soon, the architecture there is amazing. And you know how I am about architecture! If it didn't know that I was going to be a doctor or that I needed to be a doctor I might consider architecture or something similar.

Work and everything sounds pretty stressful... unfortunately it is about the same here in the mission too, with missionaries who can't really behave themselves. It is also good to hear that Lufkin won again, they are undefeated right now if I'm not mistaken, right?

So Gabe got a new calling? I was looking on the new LDS.org website and it has listed all of the leadership of the ward, I didn't see his name on the list of Elder's Quorum teachers and was wondering what was up. Mom, are you still working in the family history center too? And is Gabe taking over my work I was doing with the family geneology, or is he just there? Sounds like everybody elses callings are doing great, Dad with High Council, and Ryah with president of the Laurels.

I'm kinda tired of not hearing from Gabe and Ryah... even when I send letters they don't respond. If I didn't know better I'd think they were happy I was gone.

¡Felicitaciones a Scott y Amanda! This was the first I had heard of that, since Gabe never sends me news and stuff like that. I feel so out of the loop now, compared to how it was at the beginning of my mission when everyone was still letting me know every little tidbit of information. I'm going to run into a technology and a news overload when I get back and I'm able to get connected back to the outside world!!!

This last week was kinda tough in the Gospel sharing category. Fortunately for us last night went very well! We were in interchanges so I was not able to be in my sector, but Elder Moore and Elder Barrett were able to teach 3 lessons with members present and find a family of 3 new investigators who are all planning on going to church on Sunday (tomorrow). Also I was able to do my first baptismal interview as district leader (first ever) for an 11 year-old investigator in Circunvalación 2 who will be baptized this Sunday. His name is Alfonso and he is ready!!! I was kinda worried at first, but the whole process went very well. I was sweating bullets but we both came out of the interview and he still wanted to be baptized, so that worked out very well. I think I was more nervous about the interview than he was!!!

So like I said I'm going to work on sending out some pictures in the next little bit. Sorry my letter seems short, everytime I write it seems like I write less and less! I love y'all and miss y'all! You've just got to hang in there for a little over 11 months!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #16

2010-09-11T19:25:00.000-05:00

Buenos Días USA!

Today is September 11th, a day of significance for the USA and for Chile... it is interesting to me however the difference in the reasons that they are significant. In the US today there is a feeling of respect for the lives lost on the 11th of September, 2001. In Chile there is a sense of worry and preoccupation, this day marks the beginning of the political overthrow that came with Pinochet in the year 1970. It is hard for me to believe how one day can have such significance for so many people, but is such different ways.

Please don't worry about our safety here in Chile, everything is fine... the Area Presidency and President May have coordinated to keep all of the missionaries safe, especially here in the Santiago area, thus we have been instructed to avoid large public areas/government buildings (where there are possible problems) and we will be entering the house at 8:00 tonight (at the latest). The only thing that is likely to happen is that we will be without power for a while, because the "flaites" have a tendency to cut it to celebrate...

Enough of that... Last weeks Labor Day barbecue was alright. Even with 3 Eagle Scouts present we had to have the help of a Chilean to get the grill (charcoal) going well enough to cook the churipan. So our P-day last week was pretty chill. Today we have plans to go check out the National Cemetery here in Santiago, close to the location of the new mission office... the idea randomly came to Elder Moore and I last night, so hopefully that will be a pretty interesting event/learning experience. Turns out that this cemetery has rumors to be haunted (but we are going during the day) and is where all of the former presidents of Chile, except one, are buried. Ought to be cool!!!

Overall this week was pretty laid back, a few deadlines came up as usual but everything went of without a hitch. I was in training meetings for a lot of the week with the new information coming down from Salt Lake, so that took me out of the office for almost 2 whole days, but it's all good. The office is still alive and kicking! (For now...) I'm actually enjoying being here quite a bit. Even when it is hard I know that what I'm learning here will eventually pay off.

Thanks for the pictures and stuff, it was good to be able to see a little bit of the progress with the house. Those two things are pretty big steps. Are y'all planning on painting the stairs white or doing the clear-coat thing on them? I know the runner will be in the middle, but I'm trying to visualize it but I can't remember... Also I have broken out the plum jelly and it is almost gone. I wasn't sure what to think at first, cause it wasn't coming out of a package and it had a decent flavor, but I soon became accustomed to it and I'm loving it now!!! LOL.

Try your best to hold on to everything pretty tight with all of the hurricane/tropical storm activity. You know it isn't a good sign when you are in the second week of September and a storm beginnning with the letter "I" is already brewing out in the deep. Looks like it is going to be a pretty active season! Whatever you do, just hang tight!!!

As far as the work this week... We've been able to find 2 new investigators this last week (a mother and daughter), the mother has previously shared with missionaries and was almost baptized. She stated the other day that she knows that the Church is true but that she wasn't baptized, nor will she be, because she doesn't want to drive a wedge between her brothers and sisters. Two of her sisters are LDS already, but one of her brothers is a Catholic priest, unfortunately he wasn't to happy about her decision to be baptized and started a fight with one of the LDS sisters... turns out she wasn't baptized and says that she won't be, but we'll see what happens. You've gotta love the people who just don't understand how the Gospel works! Carlos is still just hanging in there, we are waiting for him to stop smoking and will be focusing on that a little more this week. The Peruvians don't feel like they are ready, but already have all of the teachings they need. Our focus this week with them will be to help them realize the blessings that they are postponing by not receiving this baptism. I know we can't push them, but it is our duty to help make sure that they really understand how important this is.

Not too much exciting happening down here. We're still hanging in there for now!!! So no worries in that department. Hope all is well at home and everyone is doing alright! Love you all and miss y'all bunches!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #15

2010-09-04T16:04:00.000-05:00

¡Buenos Días al Northern Hemisphere!

Happy almost Labor Day to everyone in the great nation of the USA!!! We here in the mission office are taking advantage of the US holiday today and are having our first annual (and possibly last) Labor Day barbecue! We're all pretty stoked about it!

The temperatures here are starting to get a little bit warmer, but we had a pretty good cold snap and some wet weather on Wednesday and Thursday. The weather here can't figure out what it wants to do either... I'm actually starting to feel like I'm in East Texas weather again. Hopefully all continues to go well in regards to the hurricane season. We don't want y'all gettin' too wet up there!!!

I'm super excited to see the house! Did Ryah's floors already get the checker-board print done or just the white? Either way, it sounds like a lot got done on this long weekend and that y'all should be in pretty soon. Right??? Hopefully... LOL.

The ward seems like it continues changing, with more move-outs and move-ins. I'm pretty certain that I'm going to come back to a lot of people that I have no idea who they are. Also, how are the couple of future missionaries doing with their preparation (especially Ryan Whitworth)?

I was able to get on the online banking website, and to answer the question about Subway... yes, I did make the same transaction twice (someone else didn't money for lunch). It will be pretty helpful for me to keep an eye on the account, but either way I don't want y'all to take your guard down about it either.

I feel like all of my statements up until this point have been little 1-2 line responses to a few questions or comments on something y'all have said... LOL. Oh well!

So I'm still not really used to writing on Saturdays. In any other part of the mission we get to write just after our week has finished and fill everyone in on what happened over the weekend (aka baptisms, people in church, etc.). We've got to wait almost a whole week and then have more news the next day!!! I'll live I guess... But, last weekend we had 5 investigators in church for the first time in a long time, As an office we had 12! Carlos went and has stopped smoking (for the most part) this week, hopefully he'll get his act completely together and stop all together so he can be baptized next weekend. Also a Peruvian family we are teaching went to church and absolutely loved it. Sonia, her daughter Kimberly, and her sister Susan all went and stayed for the first 2 hours of church, Sacrament Meeting and Gospel Principles. Kimberly was able to stay for all three hours and was super excited about the Primary (she's 8). When her mom and aunt left she begged them to be able to stay, it was so cute! They've got to be the best investigators, as far as commitment and preparedness goes, that I've had. Kimberly during the week has been working to fulfill an assignment from her Primary teachers to learn the 11th Article of Faith, we passed by yesterday and she already has it memorized... along with her mom and aunt... AND they all memorized the first 3 or 4 Ariticles of Faith as well. Last night I decided to put myself to the test against them with the Articles of Faith in Spanish and they all kicked my trash!!! It was pretty fun though to get beat out by a couple of investigators of just under a month!!!

Here in El Cortijo, the office zone (with 3 full-time proselyting companionships), we are going to have a month of white this month (September). We're looking fairly good so far with the probability of 4 baptisms this month and a few more possible baptisms (a lot depends on church tomorrow)! We are all super excited about the success we've been having and we look forward to more as the month goes on!

The office is still kicking as usual... I'm still fighting against a few upcoming deadlines with almost no time to finish everything, but it will work out alright!!! The life of an office missionary is not easy, but I'm pretty sure learning to balance everything now will work out to our advantage pretty well in life after the mission.

I love this work with all my heart... and I strive daily to put all my heart, might, mind, and strength into what I do. Sometimes I fall a little short, but that doesn't keep me from getting back up and trying again. I love you all and hope that y'all can find the same happiness in sharing the Gospel that I have in these 12 & 1/2 months!!!

Love y'all and hope all is well at home!!! Send me pictures!!! Please!!!

¡Todo mi amor! y ¡muchos besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #14

2010-08-28T20:05:00.001-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

I'm officially OLD!!! It is kinda hard to think that I just passed my "Hump Day". Thanks everyone for the Happy Hump Day letters/wishes! This week was a little more slow and tranquil, so that was a real blessing for my 1 year anniversary... not a lot of excitement, but I'm alright with that.

So Thursday came and went like any other day. I actually kinda forgot that I completed a year in the mission until a few other elders brought it up! It was work as usual, mostly just staying here in the office all day. Recently however we have been very blessed in our sectors, (the 3 office sectors), with many people to teach and a few baptisms coming up. September is going to be a month of white! Elder Moore and I are working hard here and are hoping to have at least 4 people in church tomorrow if all goes well, with the potential to have several more as well.

In this last week I've started to try to change a little bit how I do the work of the ministry. Recently we've had a lot of training meetings and we've been focused on several key points that the Church is suggesting/pushing that we incorporate in our work. Sometimes it is a little tough to change, but I know it is for the better and I know that there is no better time to change than now, at the end of my first year as a missionary. So far it looks as if we'll start this year off right with several baptisms and helping a few people "come unto Christ". Unfortunately focusing on these changes has pushed me back into the reserved mode that I had a little before and several people have noticed the change... I'm trying to figure out how I can balance the changes and be the missionary that I would like to be, but TODAY!!!

Sounds like fall in East Texas is getting underway pretty good! With football season starting back up (and Lufkin winning of course) and the weather starting to finally get a little cooler! We here in Santiago are finally starting to get a little bit warmer, there were actually a few days this week that we had short-sleeve shirt weather and we definitely took advantage of it! Also we are planning, as a district/zone/office (all the same) on having a Labor Day Barbecue this next weekend to celebrate. I think we are going to go as far as buy a small charcoal grill and cook out somewhere... LOL.

I WANT TO SEE THE HOUSE!!! When are y'all going to send me pictures? I keep hearing about all of these changes and I'm super excited about them, but unfortunately (yet fortunately at the same time) I'm thousands of miles away and can't see them. I'm getting my hopes up a lot about being in the house as soon as I get back, with my own room, bed, futon thing, and all the works... So now I just need to see what I'm coming back to, it may not be too different but I'd still like to see the progress.

More changes in the ward? I'm wasn't real clear on what they were but it sounds like a lot is changing up. Is McCabe still going to be teaching seminary this school year?

So Jared is planning on heading up to BYU Idaho? That is a little farther north than he was planning before the mission, but then again he knew he was going to find out what he was going to be doing for the rest of his life while he was on the mission. I really need to write that kid and see how he is doing... And working at good ol' Chick-fil-A again. Are Ryah and Dillon still working there? I haven't heard recently, nor have I heard from Ryah recently.

Sorry it seems like I don't comment much on what is in the letters, but I promise that I really do try pretty hard. Today I've been dealing with writers block, alot!!! And of course that means that I've got no idea what I'm saying, nor can I think of what to write... LOL. But I guess that is how it is sometimes!

Back to the missionary work this week. Yesterday was probably one of the most interesting days this week. We were in intercambios (divisions) and I was with Elder Young and Elder Barrett in their sector. Elder Barrett ended up leaving with Elder Taylor (since Hermana Taylor was sick) and working with him in the evening and Elder Young and I finally got to do some proselyting together. It was kinda funny because even when we were companions we didn't get a chance to work together! Also Elder Johns was in our sector with Elder Moore, leading it since he just left here weeks ago and knows more about it than Elder Moore does so far. They were able to pass by the home of a few investigators, Maritza and her 9 year-old son Benjamín. Maritza unfortunately wasn't home and they were planning on coming back later... BUT, Benjamín opened the door, let them in, and sat them down to have a lesson. Can you believe it?!?!? What 9 year-old kid would let two 20 year-old missionaries in his house with him alone and would start to talk about Jesus Christ, I think I've only met one!!! LOL. But he sat them down and offered to say the prayer, going on to thank God for the "Testigos de Jehova" [aka Jehovah's Witness] that were able to come talk about Christ with him (that was the semi-comical part). They went on teaching about baptism with him and had a full out lesson with a 9 YEAR-OLD!!! He even went as far as to invite them back for another lesson, so we will be passing by tonight at 7:30 to see how he and his mom are doing!!! LOL.

You've got to love the little tender mercies that randomly happen to us here in the work of the Lord. We find some of them comical but we really love them every time one comes around! I look forward to the experiences that this next year will bring in la gran Misión Chile Santiago Norte!!! (It still feels weird to say that I'm in my second year of the mission...).

I love this work, I'm not the same person I was before and I'm grateful for that! One of my greatest hopes is that Gabe can get in gear and start preparing for a mission, he could have left about 10 weeks ago (as long as you turn 19 while you are in the MTC) and it makes me sad that he doesn't even seem to be working towards it.

I love you all and miss y'all bunches! There isn't a day that passes by that I don't think about la casa (even for just a second) [not to the trunky point though].

Hope that all is well at home and we'll see you here in a year from Monday!!!

¡Besitos a todos!

-- Élder Todd Hendrickson

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #13

2010-08-23T19:33:00.001-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

WOW!!! Sorry I'm a little late at writing... but we had a devotional this morning with Elder Amado, the Area President of Area Chile, and Elder Costa, from the Presidency of the Seventy. It was amazing! The whole thing was one of those surprises that President May just randomly brings up in a training meeting on Wednesday and Thursday. Turns out Elder Costa is here in Chile visiting with Elder Scott, and the North and East Missions got to meet with Elder Costa, while the West Mission and Rancagua got to meet with Elder Scott. So we were richly fed this morning, spiritually speaking of course, and we now get to enjoy a little bit of P-day!

In the devotional Elder Costa spoke on several topics that were a little unusual. First off he talked about what a Seventy is and what he does, then about the mission president, and then about us as missionaries. It was kinda cool to get a look into the similarities in the three callings, but also their differences. I loved what he had to say about us as missionaries and the talk gave me a little more drive to change a few things about who I am, both personally and as a missionary!

As far as changes are concerned... the first part of the week was a literal NIGHTMARE! I don't know why but there were a few things that went wrong, finally all was resolved but it was still super crazy. Yesterday was the first and only day this week that we haven't had to get up early for something this week, and in the afternoon Elder Moore and I had to drive out to Curacavi (a sector about 1 hour outside the normal scope of the mission that is only included because it is part of one of our stakes) so that was a lot of fun. We are starting to get some pretty nice weather here, I mean sunshine and short-sleeved shirt weather! So that tan that everyone saw on Facebook that has long since disappeared should be on its way back in no time (if I get time to go outside while I'm working here in the mission office...)! LOL.

So I got my package, and everything was there and in tact. I was kinda hoping for a handwritten note, but I didn't find one... Also I've got a request, but I'll let you know that in a separate e-mail so it doesn't always seem to everybody like I'm ask, ask, ask.

Right now in the sector we are trying our hardest to work with these few people on their commitments and get them prepared for baptism. The finding efforts haven't been real successful this week but we are, in my opinion, doing a pretty good job at juggling 12 investigators with only 4 hours in the sector a day (not counting Monday in which we had 0 hours in the sector). Carlos is slowing progressing towards baptism. He has still got to stop smoking completely, but he is improving. We are hoping and praying that he can be baptized next weekend!

I forgot to let you know that I am no longer companions with Elder Johns. Along with changes we also had changes here in the office. Elder Barrett, the financiero, is now training Elder Young (my former companion of 6 hours) and they are companions of Elder Johns. I'm now companions with Elder Moore, the Texan, and I'm district leader. It looks like President is expecting great things from the Texans in the mission because we are now the second companionship of Texans. There was previously another one but they had changes where one of them is now currently with another Texan! So we Texans are here "sacando la mugre" (por decir)!!!

So it sounds like Gabe will probably be getting his license pretty soon! And I haven't heard from he or Ryah recently. What's up with that? Also it sounds like school starting up ought to be a blast again... and a SENIOR! (Unfortunately that status doesn't bring the discount at restaurants).

Seems like everything is going well for everyone at home, and that all are super busy with work and all that jazz! Good luck with the talks Dad!!! I've had a lot of people recently ask me if you can still speak Spanish well and I'm sure you can, so you'll do fine. How do they do the translating thing for Brother Vercher? Do they just hook someone else into the sounds system or what? Oh yeah, about the picture... I wasn't ring leader at the time, nor do I think I really am now... LOL. I do try to keep us all on the straight and narrow though.

I love y'all and hope that all is well at home! Hope that everything goes alright with work this week, especially with the change of work and all that for Mom!

¡Les amo mucho y les extraño! ¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #12

2010-08-15T19:20:00.001-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

Good news coming from down here on the other end of the world (aka Santiago Chile): The mail strike that was supposed to last 15 days finished after 1... Correos Chile went on strike last Friday and was open again for business as usual Monday morning. So my package should be well on the way here, arriving the early part of the week... now whether we get time to go down and get it soon or not is a different story.

So right now we are about to start CHANGE WEEK!!! We have so many things that we've got to do this Monday & Tuesday that it isn't even funny. You've got to love sending and receiving large groups of missionaries... We will be sending out 24 missionaries and receiving 17!!! So I'm actually looking forward to getting to know all of the new missionaries on Tuesday, it is always the highlight of my week.

As for this week in the work of the Lord. We have had a lot of success in our finding efforts during this past week. I'm about to start learning how to really balance work in the office and teaching in the sector. We are currently teaching upwards of 12 investigators in 6 or 7 different households! And it is getting crazy. So far there is nobody super close to baptism since we've found 10 of those people this last week. We had previously been hoping for a baptism tomorrow, but Carlos hasn't been progressing with quiting smoking as much as he should be. Also we've recently verified a few understanding problems with him and are having to start back close to square one... the pre-interview (practice) that we did the other night left Elder Johns and I more shocked and embarrassed than any other interview and/or practice interview we've ever had. But we are staying excited and willing to do whatever possible to help him keep/start progressing again!

Also within these 10 new investigators we have found 3 families. One of the families is a Peruvian family of 4 females, 3 of which have recently arrived from Peru within the last couple months... from what I've learned the Peruvian people are more responsive to our message. Also we found a mom and son who had previously shared a little bit with missionaries and another older couple who also had shared with missionaries. It is awesome to find families, even if they are your typical nuclear family (mom, dad, and kids)!!!

So Galveston sounds like it was lots of fun. It would be nice to have a beach house... until the next hurricane hits down there!!! LOL. I wouldn't mind it if for some reason I was close to down there with Med School and stuff like that. The more I really think about specializing, the more I'm set on Pediatric Emergency Medicine! I know... Dad has already reassured me that to work in the ER you've got to be crazy, but I'm embracing it now so it's all good!!!

Also it sounds like the Lufkin Ward has a lot of changing faces! Four new families if I counted correctly. And I imagine that you said Jenny Judkins because it is the Jenny Judkins that I know... Am I right??? Or was that just a major coincidence? And if so, I guess she isn't Jenny Judkins anymore...

Uh-oh!!! Sandra is asking about when my birthday is... When she did that with Elder Davenport they showed up in the ward where he is and took him something!!! LOL. That family is so crazy, but I love them... Y'all need to do your best to push them towards the temple (through Facebook), they really need the blessings of the temple in their family. And I want to be there to see them get sealed!!! (A little selfish, right?).

So I've just got to admit... These letters get more and more interesting every week. I love how you can not hear from somebody for almost a year and then all of a sudden the next thing you hear is that they are moving or something like that... LOL. I really do enjoy the way it feels as if everything at home has just stopped while you're away from a while! All of the changes that happen feel like they are overnight!!!

I can't really think of anything else to tell you! I think I'll send a picture or two and I'll be getting a few more out next weekend... I love y'all and miss y'all!!! Hope all is well at home. And I really look forward to getting that package of goodies this week!!!

¡Con todo el amor y cariño que puedo dar!

-- Élder Hendrickson

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #11

2010-08-09T19:00:00.001-05:00

What's Up Fam.???

I feel like I keep starting my letters out the same way, and I'm not really sure how to change them up... Y'all just saw my vain attempt at throwing in a little something different. Before I forget I just wanted to give a shout out to the Moore Family from San Antonio, Texas!!! I love your son and I'm really getting the opportunity to know Elder Moore a little bit while working here alongside him in the mission office!

While the family is relaxing a little bit on a short mini vacation I'm still slaving away. This week unfortunately was worse than the last couple of weeks in terms of the office work load and the amount of time we had in our sector! I can't really say that this week was so crazy because every week has turned into a crazy week since I got to the office. So what was before considered a crazy week is now considered a "normal" week. But I can't complain too much as I was only working super late 1 night this week. Thursday and Friday the mission had Zone Conference, with Elder Johns and I attending on Thursday. The Conference was great and a lot of the big changes that will soon be happening in the mission were finally announced. It seems as if there are quite a few changes in regards to the schedule that are coming down from Salt Lake City that will free up a lot of President May's time, and allow him to be out in the field with the individual missionaries a little more often.

Sounds like the ward is changing a lot, with people moving out and all. Are there any new families coming in? And has Bishop Adams read my letter to the ward yet? Hope all of the church assignments and callings are going well and that nothing to crazy is happening without me...

So I have not received a letter from Ryah in a long time... I think since right around the beginning of summer! What's up with that?!?!?

I feel like I've finally been updated with all of the goings on in the homestead... Dad's e-mail was very informative.

So this week President changed the rule on new investigators to go back to the definition of Preach My Gospel. Thursday night we found a new investigator by the new definition and it felt so much like we were cheating! But on the other hand we found another new investigator on Tuesday, her name is Margarita. She is great. I've only been able to share with her once, before she was nueva, but we have high hopes for her.

The office as a whole plans on baptizing 5 people this month, so we are working closely in hopes to complete our part and bring at least 2 souls unto Christ! I love this work! It is hard, but it is worth it. There are many days that we get to the house, plan, and we are completely worthless afterwards because of all of the energy that we had to put out during the day. I wouldn't trade it for anything! In fact it is kinda sad to see several of the missionaries having to leave a week from Monday, including Elder Lenhart, who was in my first sector and is now here in the office with me. But that is how it happens, we give 2 years now in the field, and the rest of our lives in other places helping to bring the Gospel that we are so blessed to have to others.

I love you all and miss you all!!! Hope all is well at home and that you had fun in Galveston!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño! ¡Besitos a todos, especialmente Belli y Beau!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #10

2010-07-31T19:58:00.000-05:00

¡Hola Al Mundo Afuera!

¿Cómo están todos? This week has been pretty crazy again for us. Monday morning they jumped another leadership training in on us for this past Thursday and Friday, so de nuevo we, the Office, have been running in circles. This last week has also been a big culminating point for all of my work in the office... it seems as if every project and/or deadline that I work on either came due this week or is due this next week. All sorts of fun!!! Don't get me wrong now, I love this work and I love the office... but sometimes we get hit pretty hard. I think I'm learning a little better in how to deal with all of the stress now.

So Gabe and Ryah went to a concert... and Chipotle!!! That part I'm a little jealous of... But either way it sounds like it was fun. It really does sound like everybody is getting a little more freedom ever since the oldest has left the house for a foreign country! I'm sure after one is gone it is a little easier for the mama hen to let the other chicks out a little bit... LOL.

Just a warning about the package... You might want to consider sending either really soon or not mind it not getting to me for about a month (slow boat suggested)!!! It looks like Correos Chile, the Chilean postal service, is about to go on strike the second week of August for about 15 days, from Arica a Punta Arenas (that's all of Chile). They haven't had a raise for 14 years and are about fed up with it... so that ought to be fun with all of the mail and stuff we do!!! Either way, FedEx will still be shipping in regularly for all of the stuff that comes from Church Headquarters and all that jazz... You've gotta love politics!

Mom: I assure you that we are not going hungry... quite the contrary!!! During the week we actually have to pay for our lunch, una hermana de la iglesia makes it for us (but it is a little expensive). Saturday, o sea P-day, we normally eat in the food court of the mall (American food normally), or cook or something of the sort. And Sundays we eat in a member's home. So needless to say we do not go hungry...

Sounds like everything is going pretty well at home. Hope that the little vacation that you get to take is fun and you can relax a bit!

So I forgot to tell y'all something interesting that I recently learned... the new senior couple here in the mission, the Taylor's from Frisco, TX, know the Holley's!!! Turns out that both Matt and David served missions, which I didn't know, and that the whole fam if doing fairly well.

Also just a shout out to Jared back in what everyone that hasn't ever gone on a mission considers the real world... it isn't the real world, but for all intents and purposes we'll humor the other people and go along with the idea!

So about the proselyting this week. We continue teaching Carlos and he is progressing very well (bastante bien). These last two days he has almost completely eliminated cigarettes from his daily routine [I almost said diet], and is excited to be baptized on the 15th of August. Also we found another investigator that we had previously been teaching, his name is Ricardo. Ricardo has got some pretty big problems with the Word of Wisdom, but we are working in helping him out... unfortunately he is very difficult to find and a little flaky with the visits that we set with him. So that is where we are right now, and we are expecting to baptize, sí o sí, this month!

I really want to see some house pics and family pics. I don't want to have to threaten it again, but... IF Y'ALL DON'T SEND ME PICTURES SOON I'M GONNA HAVE TO PUT UP THE PRE-PROM PICTURES RYAH SENT ME AT MY DESK... IN PUBLIC VIEW!!! (If you don't for some reason remember which ones those were just ask Ryah to show you... If she doesn't remember then she can e-mail me for a memory refresher).

I love you all and hope that all is well! Let me know if anything big changes. Also, how is the ward doing? I don't hear from anyone over there so I never know.

¡Todo mi amor y cariño! ¡Os extraño mucho! ¡Qué estéis súper bien! ¡Besitos a todos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #9

2010-07-26T10:38:00.001-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!!! I completely forgot about your birthday, Mom!!! We've been running all over the place and for some strange reason it didn't even cross my mind. My bad!!! But anyways, Happy Late Birthday!!! You know it is kinda funny that a lot of people don't want to be recognized as getting older yet they still like the recognition of others when they do... I think it is either an everybody needs to remember or everybody needs to forget mentality, right??? I'm not making excuses!!! LOL.

Sounds like East Texas has been a hopping fun place recently. Sometimes I miss it a lot, and some days not so much... but it is and will always be home. But it does sound like work is going to be a bunch of fun with the changes and all. Is it a pretty big company that is coming in, Mom?

Also, Happy Pioneer Day!!! If I wasn't in the office with two missionaries from Utah I wouldn't even have remembered it was Pioneer Day today. But either way I'm glad the ward is finally deciding to do an activity to celebrate, since I don't remember one since when I was in Primary.

So the mission has been pretty crazy this week. We had Capacitación de Liderazgo (Leadership Training), Thursday and Friday for all of the leaders in the mission so the office was running around all over the place this week picking up food and all that jazz. Either way we came out of it with Subway on Thursday and Pizza Hut on Friday... not too bad if you ask me!!! It was pretty fun, but it has caused us to be running all over the place for a few other things.

As for the Zoo last week... Saturday in the zoo in Santiago, Chile in the middle of a 3 day weekend in the winter isn't the best of ideas! It turned out pretty fun but we didn't have a whole lot of time there with all of the people all over the place. The penguins didn't do much, the camel was gross, the polar bear was asleep, but the monkeys we up and active as usual... and communicating the whole time with the not so distant relatives! The whole zoo here is set up on the biggest volcano in Santiago, el Cerro San Cristobal, so the whole thing is either uphill or downhill... but it is really nice scenery and the exhibits aren't half-bad.

Our investigator that we have right now, Carlos, continues to progress. Sunday morning we gave him a call to wake him up for church and when we got to his house about 10 minutes til 10:00 he was ready to go with his Book of Mormon and everything. Turns out he had gotten home from work about 7:00 AM and had only slept for a little while and still got up to go to church. There are a couple of obstacles in the way of his progression but we are working on getting all of the kinks out before his baptismal date, the 15th of August. We continue being excited for him and his decision to accept the Gospel and follow Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Lots of prayers are needed in his behalf as we work with him to help him overcome the obstacles in the way.

I'm thankful for every opportunity that I have to share this Gospel and to represent Jesus Christ! I love this work and the opportunity that we have to bring a few of our Heavenly Father's children back to him and to his presence. How great and marvellous it is! I hope all got to read and/or hear the letter I sent to the ward, sorry it was very similar to the one I sent to the family that would also be on the blog, but I felt like the points I made were a few things I wanted to share with everybody... I love this Church, I love the uniqueness that exists in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I know that this is the only place in the which this Gospel is found!!! Remember that, always remember that!!!

I love you all and miss you bunches, hope that everything keeps going great and that Ryah doesn't get too excited for school to start in just about a month!!! LOL.

¡Todo mi amor y cariño! ¡Abrazos y besitos a todos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #8

2010-07-17T20:23:00.000-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

So I just finished off week 8 in the mission office of the best mission in the whole wide world... la Misión Chile Santiago Norte!!! I'm starting to really like it here no matter how hectic it can get sometimes. Unfortunately however we are currently in the preparation phase for a big next change, with 17 missionaries arriving (that means 17 trainers) and 24 missionaries leaving... the funny thing is that both groups are all elders. Also we've heard recently that there are some pretty big changes coming to the mission from Salt Lake, we don't know what they are yet here in the office but I've got the slight inclination that we will pretty soon!

President May is in his last year as mission president and is really working on changing the focus of the mission. The normal schedule of things has really been up in the air this change with all of the changes happening and we are really having to stay on top of things here in the office to be sure to catch any new project that comes up on our already busy schedule. Luckily we still get a little time to have fun here in the office!

Today we have plans to go to the Santiago Metropolitan Zoo!!! Yay!!! One of the advantages of being in the office is that our P-day is Saturday, which means that all of the zoos, parks, and museums are open (busy, but open)... in Chile everything is closed on Mondays (P-day for everyone else) unless it is a national holiday, and then sometimes it is still closed. So we are going to say hello to a few of our not so distant relatives... (aka the monkeys... since we are all office monkeys)... and hang out with a little bit of the wildlife!!! LOL...

This week we've been really striving to meet a goal as a district and zone of completing with a promise given by Elder M. Russell Ballard a while back. He said that if each missionary will speak with 10 people everyday about the Gospel (people that don't already have it) that we will double our baptisms. As a zone we are striving to do so and are currently succeeding with no intentions to stop. We really like how the math works here in the mission, in that 0 baptisms doubled still comes out to at least 1 baptism. We believe that it is because of our efforts in completing with this promise that we were able to find Carlos this week, a new investigator with a baptismal date for the 15th of August. In the past several weeks we had found a few people, but recently all of them have ended with a lack of interest or a blatant disinterest in our message. But now we have high hopes that Carlos can continue to progress in this Gospel and eventually will be able to receive all of the blessings that Our Heavenly Father has available for His children.

I have a great testimony of this great and marvellous work!!! A few months ago I extended the invitation to share the Gospel with someone and I haven't heard from anyone about how it went. If anyone has a success story of when they shared the Gospel I want to know!!! Whether it turned out in success in the sense that the person with whom you shared accepted the invitation or in the sense that you learned something from you efforts I'd love to hear how it went.

Also I have another request for the package... Dad: Could you ask the Spanish missionaries from the Branch for un Libro de Mormón? Afterwards if you could please write your testimony inside, in Spanish and send it to me I'd love to have it to share with an investigator or convert!!! Please, please, please, please, please!!!

I love you all and wish you all the best. Sounds like work has and will continue to be crazy for a while, but I'll be praying that everything comes out alright!!!

Also Mom, Elder Moore really liked the inspiring words for the office! We Texans are really taking over and we are excited about it!!!

I love y'all and miss y'all bunches!!! Hope that everything continues to go well for everyone!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #7

2010-07-12T12:22:00.001-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

Change week is officially over!!! We only made 3 trips to the airport (1 with a two-fold purpose) and ran all over Santiago for a few days... but it was fun. I do, however, think that I'll be alright with not having changes for another 5 weeks or so!!!

Just to clarify the last e-mail... I did not get a new companion. I was actually in a trio before and my trainer here in the office left a little before changes, with a new AP coming in. Also on Monday we received another new AP, so now they are both new at this whole Assistant to the President thing. Also we received a new matrimonio in the mission, the Taylor's, from Frisco, TX (that makes 3 new missionaries from Texas this change). Además there is another new missionary in the office as pensionista, Elder Moore, from San Antonio, TX (I promise... we are finally taking over the mission).

So this week wasn't quite as crazy as I thought is would be, but either way it wasn't slow AT ALL. Unfortunately last Saturday "Ruby Tuesday's" was closed, so I ate Taco Bell instead... quite the trade-off, right?

Let me just say right now that I'm excited to see the house when it is finished! So if it gets finished before I get home you've got to put together a little video or slide show tour and send it to me, or if it is right before I get home I can wait to see it (I guess). But everything sounds like it will go great once it is all said and done...

Congratulations to Nicole and Amanda!!! I can't remember if I even knew that Amanda Pennington was pregnant... oops!!! Sorry... That's pretty funny that they don't have to get Elise a puppy now because of the new baby sister!!! LOL. (I think that is taking advantage of the system a little bit).

So this week has been a little bit slow in la obra misional, but we are working on finding more people to teach. Yesterday one of our investigators told us by phone that he and his grandmother (whom we were also teaching) would not be in town and available until AUGUST!!! Do you know how long away that is?!?!? I'm already 10 and 1/2 months done with the mission and in August I'll complete a year... even if it isn't that far away, it feels like it is a really long way away!!!

They say the mission is like a house (in structure)... the basic kind, not the whole two story Victorian kinda thing, but the kind we have here in Chile... you know the basic straight walls and a triangle roof kind! Back to the point... the mission is like a house. The first 6 months is the first wall ( | ) and feels like it takes forever... on a time scale, a vertical line straight up. The second 6 months is the first part of the roof ( / ) and goes a little bit faster. The third 6 months is the other roof piece ( \ ) and starts going a little faster, but on the downhill side. And the last 6 months is the other wall ( | ), but this time it is going in the opposite direction, going straight down. I'm about to start the transition to the other roof piece in another change or so, and I don't know what to expect! LOL.

So now that I've randomly detoured to the pointless analogy of a house I'm not sure where to go.

I love you all and miss you bunches! My prayers are always with you! And I'm thoroughly looking forward to receiving that package very soon...

Love y'all and miss y'all!!!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño! ¡BESITOS!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #6

2010-07-04T19:49:00.000-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

Sounds like this week has been filled of all sorts of fun, with the hurricane and all... as for us, we haven't gotten a drop of rain this week (which is rare as we are in winter here)! So I think all of the rain we would have gotten might have gotten transferred over to the Gulf Coast of Texas... YAY!!!

These past couple of days I have litterally been slaving away in the office!!! I mean here from 10:00 AM to about 10:00-10:30 PM, trying to get stuff ready for changes and all... So I'm starting to get stuff organized where that hopefully won't happen again next change. Thursday morning Elder Tolman got a call from President May which moved him out of the office and moved a new Assistant to President, Elder Swenson, in... so, needless to say, I've been working solo since Thursday and have inheritted all of the problems that already existed with my assignment (a few of which I didn't know existed)!

I'm still actually in the process of working a little bit while I'm writing to y'all, so I'm not 100% focused on what I'm typing (I hope it sounds alright).

Mom: It is good to hear that you are keeping contact with one of my families from Lo Ovalle. It is kinda hard for us to keep constant contact as we can only write on Saturdays, but I still try every once in a little while. And did you and Dad ever figure out if ADUANA was going to let you send the jam or not?

I can't believe it is the Fourth of July (almost)... to celebrate we are going to go into the Centro and go to Ruby Tuesday's as an office! We're going to celebrate the Birthday of America with some American food (a little expensive... but worth it)!!!

So as I said before we have changes tomorrow... that means that the office elders [somos nosotros] won't be sleeping for about 3 days straight with all of the running around the world, that we'll be doing!!! This is my first time to do changes from the office, so it will be interesting to see how it all goes down from this side of the system. I'm excited about being able to send off all of the old missionaries and get all of the new ones though! And they say that it isn't really as crazy as we think it is going to be...

Thanks Gabe for the World Cup updates... we are enjoying them here in the office!!! LOL. Especially now that we don't have the 2 missionaries that don't like fútbol here!!!

I don't have much news from the sector as I haven't been there much this week, so sorry... However, I am learning more and more the importance of planning and the advantages of having the organizing skills that I do. They are really paying off here in the office!!!

I love you all and hope that everything is alright at home. I hope everyone stays safe during this supposedly busy Hurricane Season coming up!!!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #5

2010-06-26T20:22:00.000-05:00

Hola Familia!

Sooo... this was my week of fun! We had Zone Conferences Tuesday and Wednesday, so I was working until the wee hours of the morning Tuesday (aka Monday night) to get everything ready. You've just got to love office life!!! I'm starting to learn just how crazy the office can get when not everything goes the way you have planned and you've got to wait on other people to be able to complete your deadlines.

So the change ends this weekend... we'll clearly be running all over the place with that! I have the great opportunity to be companions with the mission secretary, who is in charge of all of the flights... so I'll be in the airport 3-4 times the first week of the new change, between sending missionaries home and receiving new ones. They say in the office that if you are secretary or historian that when you go home it isn't anything new because you've already been to the airport a billion times (or more)!!! LOL. (While we are on that subject... it might be better if you don't come pick me up at the end of my mission, and we just visit más adelante).

Sounds like Dad had a good Father's Day... I didn't forget by the way! LOL. And sounds like y'all got a little bit accomplished at the house. I want to see more pictures when there are visible changes! And pictures of the family please!!! (Unless of course you want the pre-prom family ones in plain view at my often frequented desk! LOL).

So this week we've been really blessed here in this sector. For a while we've had trouble finding new investigators, but this week we've been able to find 4 within two days. The Lord really is preparing people here to recieve the Gospel!!! Also I forgot to tell you last week that we had started teaching a bum... yes Gabe, A BUM!!! He lives in a little plastic homemade tent thing behind one of the bus stops in our sector. He has also been attending church for a couple months now. Unfortunately after we committed him to baptism we've found out that he probably isn't in a mental state to progress in the Gospel. But anyways, his name is Jorge, and his devotion to going to church is amazing...

Thursday we had a mission activity, another sports day... but this time we actually played real Ultimate Frisbee for a little while. It was pretty fun, but we didn't have a really great Frisbee so I had a little trouble (that or I'm just really bad...). Either way we had a good time and there haven't been any real injuries reported to the mission medic, aka my companion Élder Johns, yet.

On to the World Cup... Chile and the USA classified, unfortunately Chile still lost to Spain (but that doesn't matter now). From what I've heard Chile is up with Brazil next (and in my opinion will probably loose) and the USA with Ghana (and will probably win)! Either way I'm rooting for both teams until the very slight chance that the USA and Chile both advance and play at some point, in which case I will be rooting for neither and either hiding for a couple weeks or find the next flight home!!! LOL. (Luckily I have a companion that has no problem booking flights...

Update on the driving experience... I'm still wreck free, and I'm still and forever will be designated driver!!! Yay!!! It is a little bit crazy...

¿No sé si alguien puede hacerme un favor? Si es posible, ¿alguien podría buscar la dirección del e-mail de Sean Gilmore y mandármelo? ¡Por favor!

It is strange... I'm sitting here in the Center today and in a Internet shop right now... there is a guy sitting next to me that is now speaking another language. I don't understand a word he is saying, and unfortunately 3 of the other 6 missionaries I'm with are laughing about it... that could turn out bad!

Bueno, I can't really think of anything else to include this week... Sorry! But I want y'all to know that I love y'all and miss y'all. Sometimes it is a temptation to just pick up the phone at my desk and call home or send you an e-mail from the computer that I'm almost constantly sitting at... but I resist (not sure how, but I do it)!

Love you all and miss you bunches!!!

¡Besitos!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #4

2010-06-19T13:21:00.000-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

So this next week is game time... one of them at least. I'm currently battling the deadlines of Tuesday for everything that has to do with Zone Conference. Normally I'd be done with that but the visit and soon to come release of Elder Gregory May had everything switched around to this next week... fun fun fun! But to really be honest I love being busy, unfortunately I don't handle the stress nearly as well as I used to. (I guess that could be a good thing, because now I really hate procrastinating!!! LOL).

Anyways, Mom requested rambling but I'm not sure I can pull that off again. So here goes nothing...

This week was another long drawn out week with several trips all over Santiago. It is amazing how you can learn your way around the city fairly well when you have a map that sucks and a companion that doesn't have a clue where he is going either. Somehow we figured out our way to Santiago Centro in auto and back over to the part of town where Presidente and Hermana May live. All of this in about 45 minutes isn't that bad in my opinion... The joys of office life.

Y'all would be amazed at the crazy kind of stuff that happens in the office... but I can't talk about it because I'm sworn to secrecy, but it isn't anything bad... I promise. Some of the comments and funny candid moments just make the day go by a little bit faster... and are natural occurrences when you work in an office with just 7 guys all day (finally an office without a bunch of women!!! LOL). It makes mission life a little bit easier when you are always laughing and having fun!

I can't believe that Sean and Jared are both going home this week!!! Maybe then Sean will start replying to my letters... he has gotten pretty bad about writing in the last few weeks/months from what his letters to his family say. Also Jared hasn't written me in a while, so you might want to bug him to keep in touch when he gets back! (I guess I probably should use their titles until my next e-mail, but I've never known them as Elder Gilmore and Elder Hardy... LOL). Either way it will be interesting to hear from them once they hit home soil again. This week I'll officially be the only missionary serving from the Lufkin, Texas Ward...

This transfer is starting to wind down a little bit and we will soon be starting to pick up the pace getting everything ready for changes and all that jazz. It feels like yesterday that I was still in Lo Ovalle but it has been almost a month... I guess time flies when you are having fun!!! We'll be all over the mission this week with conference and everything, so that will be another learning opportunity in driving in Santiago. So far so good though, I've been driving a couple weeks and haven't hit anything yet... even in the tank of a van that we have!!!

This next weekend our stake will be having Stake Conference, (random fact: our stake center is home to a branch...), Elder Amado, President of Área Chile, will be visiting us... that will mean I've heard from 2 members of the First Quorum of the Seventy within a little over a month!!! YAY!!!

The next time anyone sees Josh, Ashley, or Cory (or anybody else from that group of friends) TELL THEM TO WRITE ME!!! I've sent letters to a few of them and haven't heard anything back... I've about given up hope...

Sounds as if almost everything is going well at home!!! USA tied both of their World Cup games up until this point (we got jipped though)!!! And Chile won their first game (1-0) against Honduras, we'll be playing again on Monday at 10:00 AM (local time) [9:00 AM Texas time]... Keep your fingers crossed that we win!!!

Also, hope you get to feeling better Mom!!!

I'm going to send a picture of the baptism that we had a couple weeks ago... I forgot I hadn't sent one yet!

I love you all and I miss you bunches! Talk to you next week!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #3

2010-06-12T20:33:00.000-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

I'm beginning to echo Sean's feelings regarding the office in that we are basically a bunch of house elves working around here... It is amazing how secretive the work of the office is for the rest of the mission. It isn't that most of what we do here is confidential, because only a small portion is, but if you aren't in the exclusive club you don't have a clue! LOL. I love it!!!

First things first... I love the package, but I did not receive any jam. :( ... But I'll be waiting on that in the next package... LOL

As for the whole driving thing, I'm now one of the designated drivers in the mission... there are only 3 of us at this moment as a few of the office missionaries don't have their licenses. So I've been driving all over the mission this last week and will be doing it for a while, luckily a few will be taking their driving test again this week to get their licenses... It is super crazy driving in Santiago. The city itself isn't super huge, but it has a lot of people crammed into a pretty little area. It is smaller than Houston (so clearly smaller than Dallas) but I really don't like driving here much. Luckily if you are driving and you stick your arm out of the window and signal to the person beside you (with a smile of course too) they are basically obligated to let you go. In Chile there is a phrase called "permiso" or "permiso tío" [permission uncle... the translation doesn't work real well] that when you say it you basically get what you want. I LOVE CHILE!!! But, I'm still working on learning my way around too, so that doesn't help much.

Work here is crazy, I'm trying to get organized enough that I'm not completely lost, nor a complete basket case looking for stuff when deadlines are coming up. It has definitely been some work and it is still in progress. I've got a couple deadlines that I work towards but right now I somehow got ahead! We'll keep trying to stay that way too.

Sounds like everyone has had a pretty crazy week. I can definitely testify that this week wasn't as smooth as I wish it had been, but we survived and I don't have to work in the office today during my P-day time!!! YAY!!! Unfortunately that happens all too often as we have presentations that we have to have ready every week for meetings that President May has with the stake presidents, but I finished the one this week on Thursday (apparently faster than one has been finished in a long time). But it is all good...

Good to know the family isn't doing anything exciting for summer vacation without me... just keep saving up that money to come pick me up at the end of my mission! LOL. And have me a nice Blackberry waiting for me when I get home too...

I've got to admit, I kinda miss the humidity with the hot rather than with the cold. Right now it is a bright sunny day, which is really rare... We've been pretty cloudy here for the last couple weeks, but today there is SUN again.

Also, I almost forgot, that yesterday we went to the temple. There were about 30 elders in one session and then we had the great opportunity to have a little meeting with the temple president, President Lyon, and talk a little about the temple. All of the hermanas from the mission were there for the talk and then entered the session immediately afterwards. To get to go to the temple once in a while makes you really miss it. One goal I now have is to attend the temple at least once a month when I get back from the mission!

Sounds like a lot of things are changing in the ward with the future missionaries you've got... hopefully they'll get on the ball and get their papers sent off pretty soon. It seems like there is a thing that runs in a lot of families about brothers and sisters going to the same country, and at this time it seems to be hitting Chile for a while. So there are a lot of siblings serving in neighboring missions here... Gabe better get his papers in while the bug is still alive!!! LOL.

Well I think I've just been jabbering a lot this week... SORRY! Hopefully y'all can still make heads or tails of this letter.

Please send me pictures! My desk is looking pretty empty and lifeless right now, and it looks like I'll be here a while so I need something to liven it up a little. I think the family could do the trick!!!

Love y'all and talk at y'all again soon!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño! ¡Saludos de la oficina de la gran Misión Chile Santiago Norte!

-- Élder Hendrickson

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #2

2010-06-05T15:13:00.001-05:00

¡WOW!

¡Hola Familia!

This past week has been a whirlwind. I clearly wasn't able to check my e-mail until today, but it was still good to get 2 letters for the week!!! We got a little behind on writing today, so I'll have to do it fast... for some reason none of the Internet shops were open (we went to 5 or 6) and there aren't enough computers in the office for the 7 of us here (5 office elders and the assistants to President). This last week has been real down to the wire, with deadlines and trying to get a lot of projects finished up. Proselyting in the office really takes a hit with the kind of hours we've been pulling lately!!! I'm currently working on getting everything organized so that I know what is going on and I can stay on top of my work. If there is one thing I've learned here in these last 2 weeks, balancing work and proselyting (like work and family later), it is that planning is KEY... there is no other way to do it and make time for both. Currently I'm working on learning it all so it is a little bit difficult, but I'll survive.

I'm sure my e-mail caught everyone by as much surprise as the phone call caught me. It was kinda crazy how it all went down! Luckily I'm liking it... this last week was hectic enough however that we didn't see President May here much. Usually he and Hermana May are in the office every Monday morning for a coordination meeting, but this week was a little weird in that since...

I'm kinda learning that the office has a few perks to it... I do now have my driver's license and am legal to drive in Chile. The only downside is that I had to wait in line for about 5 hours to get it (and that was with connections), and that everyone in Chile drives like they bought their license at Wal-Mart. So I'm looking forward to being able to drive after I watch the video "Drive Safe" that the Church puts out and says you have to watch... YAY!!! Luckily I thought the test was fairly easy... I barely looked over the book, but I still got 33 out of 35 correct. I still don't get how some people can fail twice...

I DID GET MY PACKAGE!!! I actually got it yesterday afternoon, but I haven't had time to go through everything yet... THANK YOU!!! Other exciting news for this week is that WE GET TO GO TO THE TEMPLE!!! The mission as a whole is going in 6 sessions over the span of Wednesday through Friday, so we are all pretty stoked about that.

Mom: I'm so proud of you... You are learning to use your technology!!! And you've even got your e-mail forwarded to your phone... You never answered if you were going to get me hooked up with a nice Blackberry when I got back or not...

Dad: I'm finally coming to my senses... I think. I've always denied that I was a little bit "touched" like the rest of the family... but as I keep thinking about it, I get more convinced that I want to work in the ER... so I'm thinking I'm a little "touched" as well!

Sorry to be mean, but I think that that is pretty funny that Gabe, Ryah, and Dillon got caught sneaking out in the middle of the night! I don't think I ever even had the desire to do that... What possessed them??? And I even think I remember Ryah saying something a couple of weeks ago about doing the same thing... I guess it seems alright until you get caught! LOL.

To finish up, I thought I'd just let you know that we will be having a baptism this weekend (if all goes well). Our investigator is named Matías and is 14 years-old. This last week he had a little bit of a rough spot in that his mom, with whom he does not live, told him that if he was baptized she'd disown him (in a round about way). He was clearly a little broken up about that, and still is, but he still has the desires to be baptized and has not in any moment lost those desires. So be praying for him as we finish up this weekend!

My time has about run out, but I love you and miss you and will definitely be talking to you next weekend (it feels weird to say that... weekend). Send me more pictures and keep me posted on the goings on.

¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd

Circunvalacion 1 - Week #1

2010-05-29T17:16:00.000-05:00

Hola Familia!

Guess what!!! It is Saturday... and that isn't a very good sign if I've got time to write you!!! Yes, the exact thing that I said in my e-mail on Monday about not changing sectors HAS HAPPENED! And I'm not sitting at the desk of the Historiador for the Mission Chile Santiago North. For the next few weeks I'll be training under Elder Tolman and shortly I'll be on my own (we don't know if it is a full change or not). Also I'm currently in another trio, with Elder Tolman (Historiador, from Chicago) and Elder Johns (Secretario, from Washington). The work here is different... and now I can almost say that I have a "day off" as we USUALLY don't work in the office on Saturdays since it is our P-day.

So to start back at the beginning... Monday Elder Davenport and I went to the chapel where we change companions and everything went well. I was with Elder Young for a while and we had just finished buying groceries for the week in Lider (aka Wal-Mart) when something strange happened. The zone leaders gave us a call as we were leaving Lider, I assumed that it was to see how everyone was doing in the new companionships and all... NOT!!! Elder Caro verified to make sure it was me who had answered the phone and immediately notified me that there had been a few changes in the zone and that I would be going to the office as the new historiador... WHAT?!?!? I tried to pry for a few more details, but he didn't have anything except for what was going to happen with my companion. About 5:30 PM (a half-hour later) Elder Hoyos, one of the assistants to President May, called me and had a few more details. Turns out that Elder Young and Elder Angulo, who was going to be in a different ward in Quilicura, would be opening the sector (white-washing) and that the companion that Elder Angulo had for about 6 hours as well would be training a new missionary that we didn't know was coming... So in about 2 hours I had to pack everything as well as do all of the paperwork and stuff to get Lo Ovalle 1 ready to have two new missionaries... luckily Elder Young was there and wrote everything down as I packed and talked. It is an even better sign that I haven't received a phone call from him with any questions, so I think they are doing alright.

As I said before I now sit here in the 3rd floor of El Cortijo (the office building where the mission office is) on my P-day to write you all... All sorts of fun... Right???

It has been a little bit difficult to get used to working all day in an office and then go out and do missionary work in the evening. We have to depend a lot on the members here in this sector to make sure that the ward is thriving without seeing us much, other than Sundays. Luckily we have the 4 office missionaries (5 when one is training) and one other companionship, full-time proselyting missionaries, here in the ward, Circunvalación. The members here are great and seem to be used to the fact that we aren't out working in the field all of the time, but either way the work is getting done and we are having success here. We have an investigator, Matthias, who is preparing to be baptized this next Sunday, and we are super excited about that. It doesn't really matter where you go, the work is still the same... the only difference is that we stay on the phone almost the whole time we are working in the sector and aren't in a house.

So about the office... it is just another office. All of the missionaries talk like it is a big secret (because it kinda is), but other than that it is basically a lot, and I mean A LOT, of administrative stuff to keep the mission running. We work here from about 10:15 AM to about 4:30 PM Monday-Friday and Saturdays when it is necessary. Also Sunday nights we have to worry about taking numbers and all of that jazz. My assignment as historiador is everything that has to do with the information to see how the mission is running and everything that has to do with the computer side of the missionary work in the mission. I also get to play the role of "Mr. Creative" or "Elder Creative" (I guess...) and figure out the way to do any report or project that President May, Hermana May, or the assistants want. So my job gets to be a lot of fun and playing around on the computer!!! Yay!!! But the mission is a whole different ball game from where I'm sitting now... Up until now I didn't appreciate all that the office missionaries did, but now I see that it is a lot more than I thought.

Apart from this big change of scenery there isn't really a whole lot of news coming from my end of the world! We are constantly getting colder and rainier outside and just like East Texas the weather can't figure out what it wants to do. This next week I'll have to be worrying about taking the written test for my Chilean driver's license, since there are only 2 of the 5 of us that have it. Hopefully all goes well, because I've heard that the test is a little difficult because it asks some really dumb questions. Right now we are working on getting all of the reports from the changes done and a few other things that we have due this week. And every Monday we have a meeting with President May to throw around ideas about how to help the mission out, from the administrative side... so that ought to be interesting (and I'm not being sarcastic, just so everyone knows... really.).

Hope to hear from y'all soon!!! Everyone will have to change their writing schedule for the next few months (could be 10 or so like Elder Tolman has here in the office). Love you all and miss you all! I'll get your letter on Saturdays now. Hope that all is well at home!!!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd

Lo Ovalle 1 - Week #19

2010-05-24T20:07:00.000-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

Well, last night at about 12:30 A.M. we received the (semi-dreaded) phone call... and... Elder Davenport left Lo Ovalle 1 and I am now here with Elder Young from Idaho. Elder Young and Elder Davenport were companions in the MTC!!! So far I've heard nothing but good things about him. He has 10 months in the mission and this is his 4th sector and 4th zone. Please pray that he can put up with me as well as Elder Davenport did!!! LOL.

So, about this week... Yesterday we had the blessing to participate in a miracle here in Lo Ovalle! Victor Cerda, the husband of Sandra Araya, was baptized and the family took one more giant step towards the temple!!! We've seen tons of change in their family... Victor even showed up to church yesterday in white shirt and tie!!! WOW!!! (He didn't like it much, but he said he'll get used to it. LOL). It is wild to see the blessings that can come because of this gospel. A few months ago he insisted that he was Catholic, and devout Catholic at that, but now... he is Mormon (aka a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)!!! We are working very closely with them to help prepare him to receive the Aaronic Priesthood and to start preparing as a family to enter the temple in 1 year. This family (la familia Cerda Araya) has come to be, basically, the adoptive family of myself and Elder Davenport here in Lo Ovalle. It was really hard to see Elder Davenport say good-bye to them!

Apart from the excitement of yesterday with 2 baptisms for the sector Lo Ovalle 2 and one baptism of a child of record here in the ward there wasn't a whole lot that happened last week. We were able to make a little bit of progress with a few families that we are teaching and we are excited to continue seeing their progression in this next change.

Yesterday's changes left Quilicura in a new set of hands. Ten of the twenty missionaries who were here have been moved to different sectors, including the two best zone leaders ever... Elder Marin and Elder King. We now have two new zone leaders and I and in a new district. Lots of changes happened that surprised a lot of the mission, and a lot of things here went differently than what the zone leaders "had planned", but that just goes to show that the Lord sometimes has different plans for us than those that we have. I think the changes will be good for the mission... it looks as if all of the zones had a lot of changes with 7 new zone leaders starting out. We'll see what fruits come of this these next 6 weeks. I'm excited!!!

Good to hear that everything is going good at home... I can't believe that Dillon and Haley Barrett are dating!!! How cute!!! LOL. Good luck to Gabe and Ryah with the job hunts and everything like that, I hope all goes well. And me alegre [I'm happy... like in the joyful kinda way] to know that Mom is beginning to get in touch with technology a little bit more. (So Mom, what are the chances of me getting hooked up with a nice cell phone when I get back???) LOL.

So here I go again!!! We, Elder Young and I, are excited to be working here in Lo Ovalle and for the success that is waiting for us. There are a lot of changes happening here in the zone, in the sector, and in the ward, and I'm excited to see what effect they will have in the coming weeks and months. I just want to challenge everyone again to keep working to share the Gospel... I promise the blessings do come!!!

I love you all and miss you bunches! I'm anxiously awaiting the package, we'll see how long it takes to get to me (up to 10 days or so to get to Chile... plus whatever amount of time to get from the office to me... LOL)... Keep me posted on the goings on and SEND ME PICTURES, PLEASE!!!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño! ¡Besos!

-- Élder Todd

Lo Ovalle 1 - Week #19

2010-05-17T19:51:00.000-05:00

Hola! (From the Ends of the Earth)

This has been a really long, but great week!!! It already seems like it has been a while since I talked to y'all, but it has only been a little over a week... AHHH! These last 2 transfer have felt really long with all of the changes happening with Elder Davenport and I here in Lo Ovalle... but we have almost survived completely, just 1 week left. This next weekend (Sunday night) we have changes again... unfortunately I have the distinct feeling that I'll be moved to another sector. (My bags will be packed before the weekend, just in case... LOL).

This weekend we have the opportunity to bring about a big turning point in a project we've been working on for a couple of months... Victor, the dad of Javiera (a recent convert) and husband of Sandra (a long-time member, recently reactivated), has recently decided to be baptized. Last week we set a baptismal date with him for the 30th of May, but the next morning he called us and notified us that he wanted to be baptized the 23rd... Woot Woot!!! Up until recently he was Catholic in all of his beliefs, but didn't participate in the church much (Católico en su manera). Now he is taking the steps to become a member of the Church and start the process of he and his family receiving all of the blessings possible in the next year. Yay!!! Elder Davenport and I were ecstatic when he first accepted a baptismal date and when he called us we couldn't stay in our seats and were almost unable to focus on studying the rest of the morning! It is so good to see the changes that the Gospel has in the lives of others.

Last night we had another experience with another one of the fathers that we are teaching. Freddy is the dad of another recent convert, Ian, and has been very reserved with accepting that what we are teaching is true and can bless his family. He has seen the changes in his life and the life of his family, but hasn't been willing to commit. Yesterday we were with Brother and Sister Castro (ward mission leader and his wife) and visited them. We felt that we should finish watching the video "Special Witnesses of Christ" (I had forgotten how powerful it was). Upon finishing the movie we asked Freddy what he felt. He expressed a pure testimony (that he didn't recognize as such), he testified that he knew that the belief system in which he was raised was absolutely not the truth and that if there was a true church on the earth (and he believes that there is) it is the one that we represent, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Wow! It is amazing to hear a pure, heart-felt testimony from the mouth of a non-member. Freddy expressed that he would like to be baptized but that he feels he needs a little more time. We expressed the idea of a "goal" and he replied that he would think about it... I guess we'll see in our visit with his family tonight...

I got the pre-Prom pictures from Gabe and Ryah... Y'all are right, definitely her style... LOL. I'm glad they had fun though... (Wish I could see the shoes in the picture though.) Also I'm excited to hear that Gabe has an interview for a job today. Hope all goes well! I've heard mixed feelings about working at ETECH, but hopefull he likes it if he gets the job. The key there is to work hard, because lots of the sales representatives get paid a bonus on commission!

Sounds like all of the projecting at the house is lots of fun. I kinda miss it... but just a little bit, really! And Dad, if you get finished with everything before I get home it won't hurt my feelings one little bit. I think I've been included in enough of the projects to last me a while!

Time is flying by too fast. I can't believe that Sean and Jared are both getting ready to come home in a little over a month!!! And I'm almost at my 9 month mark!!! (That is a third of the way done...) It is weird when a lot of the missionaries that you know as leaders in the mission start disappearing! And worse when you realize that you have enough time in the mission to be put in pretty much whatever assignment... AHHH!!!

Anyways... All is well here! We are working hard and waiting to see what this next week brings us by way of surprises. Lots of love to all at home! And if possible can y'all track down the e-mail address to Bishop Adams to send him a letter for the ward? Talk to you in a week or so...

Love y'all and miss y'all!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Lo ovalle 1 - Week #18

2010-05-11T09:29:00.000-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

Sorry in advance that this letter is going to be pretty short... but I just got to talk to y'all yesterday! I echo the sentiments of Mom and would have to say it was my best Mother's Day ever too!!! LOL. Thanks to the phone call yesterday I'm recharged for the next "couple of months"...

To everyone I didn't get to talk to yesterday and that I don't have your e-mail addresses, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! (a little bit late no más).

It is wild to think I've been away from home long enough to get pregnant AND have the baby... LOL. Almost 9 months y todavia sacando la mugre!!!

As I said last week I'm in Lo Ovalle 1 again as junior companion to a district leader, Elder Davenport, and loving the mission again. We have had a lot of success in the recent months in this ward (with baptisms 3 weeks straight) and we are currently teaching parts of 5 families (the other parts have already been baptized). I love this ward and the work here... as with all wards it has its problems that could easily be fixed (and hopefully will be), but the members here are ready and willing to work with the obra misional to help the Church to grow in this area. I'm grateful for the friendships I've made here and all of the service and support that we get from the members and investigators here.

Sunday Ian was confirmed a member of the Church and hopefully his mom will take the steps to receive her own baptism, soon. It is great to see a young man or woman accept the Gospel and be the pioneer in the family that in time helps the whole family to find all of the blessings that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has for them. We have been blessed to help these families start in that process and hopefully will be in the mission to see them finish it. With this sector alone, there are 3 families that are well on their way to receiving these blessings within a little over a year.

I can't put into words the importance of member missionary work and the blessings that come from sharing this Gospel. As the face of the obra misional, the missionaries are a little bit intimidating... we are (as Sean Gilmore said) a bunch of teenage "religious freaks" walking around in suits and ties all day knocking on people's doors wanting to talk about Jesus Christ. We dedicate all of our time to this... but sometimes that isn't what the people need. They need examples like them, people like them... their neighbors and friends, to share the Gospel, to share the blessings they've seen in their lives. In 2 Nephi 2:6-8 we read about the importance of the Atonement of Christ and our commission to share the Gospel:

6 - Wherefore, aredemption cometh in and through the bHoly cMessiah; for he is full of dgrace and truth.
7 - Behold, he offereth himself a asacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto bnone else can the cends of the law be answered.
8 - Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, asave it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who blayeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

We've heard countless times, "Every member a missionary". Recently in General Conference, President Monson spoke to us about the importance of sharing the Gospel with our friends and neighbors. The missionaries (us) can do the work alone, but it is not the best way, it is not as effective, nor is it the WAY OF THE LORD. We are all, every one of us as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called to take this message "to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people." That is our commission... what are we doing about it???

I encourage each of every one of you to prayerfully select someone with whom you can share the Gospel (a friend, neighbor, family member, etc.) and to start the process of being a member missionary. Perhaps you could have a Family Home Evening with them and invite the full-time missionaries, or invite them to a ward activity... perhaps you could start a conversation about the Church, or give them a Church related movie... whichever way you decide... JUST DO IT!!! I promise you, you won't lose their friendship or their respect... if they reject you it will do nothing more than put a little bruise on your feelings for a few minutes until you realize that they will in fact grow in respect for you as you strive to share something that is important in your life with them.

The message of this great and marvellous latter-day work is for EVERYONE!!! We are to share it, regardless of what we think the reaction of our loved ones will be!

I love you all and am eternally grateful for this opportunity that I have to serve as a full-time representative of the Lord Jesus Christ for these two years and for the opportunity that I have every morning to wake up and put his name on my chest. We represent Him and we represent each and every one of you. As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said in the last General Conference, “You are HIS hands.” We are the hands of the Lord, without us as members of the Church he does not work here on this earth... we must remember that and take the calling that each of us has seriously!

I love you all and miss you all! Also I look forward to getting more pictures soon and the package that y'all are preparing (with a big bag of Starbursts in it... *wink, wink*).

¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd

Lo Ovalle 1 - Week #17 (ó Lo Ovalle 1 - Otra Vez)

2010-05-03T18:36:00.003-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

This has been a really fast week with a good ending... Yesterday we had the opportunity to baptize one investigator, named Ian (12 years-old), and help him take the next step in his Gospel journey. Unfortunately his mom was not able to be baptized because of some technical difficulties and we will be working with that either this next weekend or in 2 more weeks (depends on if we can reschedule lunches for this weekend with the phone calls and everything).

Currently I'm sitting in "limbo" between Lo Ovalle 3 & Lo Ovalle 1... we basically eliminated Lo Ovalle 3 last night, but it seems as far as the mission was concerned we didn't even exist in the first place... LOL! (I feel loved!!!). Elder Jensen and Elder Diaz leave for the office tonight and will be sleeping in the apartments there tonight. They will be flying to Concepción early tomorrow morning to join with the rest of their mission! This time with them has been fun, but tough at the same time... As we all know I'm one to clash heads and unfortunately there have been a few clashes in the past couple weeks, fortunately we've still been able to maintain a good relationship though and we look forward to hearing of their success en el Sur.

Like I said, yesterday [Sunday, May 2] we had a baptism of Ian Stumpf. The service was done with that of a 8 year-old from the ward. Almost every aspect of the service was a missionaries worst nightmare and somehow Jacqueline (Ian's mom, who was also going to be baptized) was able to feel the Spirit super strongly. All-in-all it turned out to be a good experience that will shortly be written in my journal of converts. The whole family of Ian is progressing and we are hoping to baptize his mom and dad, Freddy, soon.

Congratulations to Gabey and to Ryan Whitworth!!! Now that you are ordained to the office of Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood you've just got to do everything that you can to attach that little black and white name tag to your chest that says who you are!!! "We are not the ordinary... fearlessly extraordinary..." It feels so great to be able to show to the world who you are, and WHO you represent!

Life there sounds like it has sped up and is moving in more directions than when I was at home... I can't really say that I miss it! People here always ask us if we miss our country... my answer is almost always (if not always) NO. I don't really miss the United States en si... I really don't miss having to worry about all of the political stuff and all that mess, what I do miss is my family. Apart from the U.S.A. being where I grew up the only real connection that I have to it (apart from my loyalty... clearly) is that it is where y'all are!!! I feel blessed to be an American, but I can't say that I really miss being there (especially since wherever I go in the world I'll always be an American).

Sorry for my little patriotic spill that I threw in there... it kinda caught me off guard when I started typing it, but I figured I might as well finish. But sounds like work is busy... I haven't heard from Gabe and Ryah in a while and I'm not sure why!!! ¡Escribanme no más niños! Also if y'all can try to send me pictures of the family and what is going on right now! Please!!! Just as a side note... Did Ryah ever send that package with the souvenir from NYC??? (Cause if so I never got it... or por lo menos still haven't gotten it).

I love you all and miss you... look forward to talking to you on Sunday! Hope you've all brushed up on your Spanish or that you've talked Dad into translating because I only know how to write in English now and can barely speak it... LOL! (Mom, you just think I'm joking!!!).

¡Todo mi amor y cariño! ¡Mis oraciones siempre están consigo!

-- Élder Todd

Lo Ovalle 3 - Week #3

2010-04-26T13:30:00.001-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

It is my third and final week in Lo Ovalle 3 with Elder Jensen. Here in another week I'll be having special changes again, hoping to return to Lo Ovalle 1 with Elder Davenport (as of right now that is the plan of everyone I've talked to that has any information). Woot Woot!!!

This last week was a little bit better than the week before, until Friday or Saturday (I don't remember... the days are all one big blur). Now we are on the uphill climb in our companionship and working as hard as we can to baptize 2 people this next Sunday. The Stumpf Family that we've been teaching for the past little while are starting to have desires to be baptized... Jaquelin (the mom) and Ian (12) will be taking the jump this week and Freddy (the dad) has decided to wait and keep preparing. It feels great to find families and work with them to complete the goal together... but here it seems like the fathers are a little bit difficult, thus the last 3 families have had everyone baptized except the dads (including this one).

Mom: I knew the links were in Spanish... but I'm glad you found Google Translator, and I thought Dad might translate for you too. If not I'll translate them here in 16 months or so. And I'm still not counting the days to Mother's Day... but I do know when it is.

Sounds like life is moving pretty good at home, wish I could be there to see the changes with everything. And try to send me pictures as soon as you can... PLEASE!!! And Ryah is going to Prom? With a date or a group? And who?

Congratulations to Gabe for getting ready to be ordained as an Elder... it is kinda a lot of responsibility, but be sure to use the Priesthood when you can! Now you've only got to find a job and get in the driver's seat so you can get headed towards the mission field.

So even more than usual this week has been slow and full of absolutely no excitement... no earthquakes, no baptisms, no flaites [gangsters... más o menos] throwing rocks at us... LOL. The only thing interesting is that Elder Marin, one of the zone leaders, was in intercambios the other day with Elder Davenport and bugged me about half of the night telling me that he was going to send me to The Office (of the mission). Other than that there was absolutely nothing.

As I said last week I'm really learning a lot about myself and seeing changes that are happening with me. I'm not the same person I was, after some of what has happened in the mission I don't know how I could be. It scares me to see the kind of missionary that can go to the mission and not go home changed! After all this is the Lord's work, it is His time, and we are His servants...

I love this work with all my heart and the opportunity that I have to grow closer to my Heavenly Father through this great and marvellous work. I hope I can continue to see changes in myself and help others also to find out how great of a change that true conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ can truly make.

I love and miss y'all! Talk to you in a couple weeks. And sorry that the letter was short today!!!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño!

-- Élder Todd

Lo Ovalle 3 - Week #2

2010-04-19T19:26:00.000-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

I'm physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually drained (and whatever other type of draining there can be to make you not want to do much). This week was rough! And my training opportunity I've had hasn't been too fantastic... Élder Jensen is a great missionary and we get along, but it has been kinda tough for me to keep my spirits up this week as he is having a few difficulties. It is amazing to what magnitude the attitude of one companion can effect the companionship! This morning (until about 2:00 pm) was a really bad day, as my energy has been a lot lower than what I'm used to, but now we are on the uphill climb, together...

Enough of the sadness... We are trying to work as hard as possible in our new sector, Lo Ovalle3. I'm starting to remember why we stopped working in the sector in the first place, as there are very few people who have interest in even listening to us for more than 30 seconds. I think, however, that I'm finally starting to get the hang of opening sectors... they do say that the 3rd time is a charm... LOL

Sorry I'm writing a little bit later than usual today... but last week was cambios and today we had a few things we had to take care of with the zone leaders (who are awesome I might add), entonces aquí estoy ahora. Last week in cambios I didn't even have to change my bed... and I'm not sure training is something to enjoy, it is an assignment no más and I'm trying my best to do it right and have fun at the same time.

There is so much good stuff going on at home that I'm a little sad I'm missing out... between the Father/Son campout (even though I'm not a huge camping fan) and the home-made jams. But I think that a jar or two of jam would make me feel a whole lot better... *wink, wink*. Also I can't believe that Jared (Elder Hardy) already has a departure date... I wonder if he is starting to get a little bit trunky yet. It is also wild to think that Sean (Élder Gilmore) will be ending his mission pretty soon. Has anybody heard how Alex (Elder Datillo) is doing?

About the earthquake recovery efforts (request of Mom): I'm not kept real up to date on all of the goings on with the earthquake business and all that jazz. We are really limited on the amount of media information that we receive. (Although I'm very impressed by the size of the meteor that flew over Wisconsin... ¡Impresionante!). All I know is that there are 3 elders in our mission (2 that live with me and 1 other) that leave for Concepción on the 4th of May. I've heard also that there are a few sectors that are recently receiving water potable and light, and that there are still a lot of missionaries living in the chapels. The first new missionaries in the Chile Concepción Mission arrived there on Tuesday by bus from Santiago. (They were in the CCM here and the MTC in Provo). There are a lot of service projects and stuff like that happening. The Church is keeping pretty good track of it on the website for Área Chile www.lds.cl.

The weather here is finally starting to change. Thursday it actually started raining and did so for about 2 hours (light rain no más). It is starting to feel a lot like Texas weather and can't decide what it wants to do... today it is just a little cool out.

On the topic of the earthquake again... I heard about this story or quick account last week from one of the elders in the zone. The following is about what happened in the Isla Juan Fernández where one of my current zone leaders was during the earthquake and tsunami. Here is the link: http://lds.cl/s/index.php?moduloFrontend=fn_noticia&flujo=verNoticia&id=232.

So all in all not a whole lot of interesting things happening at this very moment in our sector. It is hard to start everything over from the beginning (de nuevo), but we are trying to keep moving forward. Currently we are teaching a family, la familia Stumpf, and are working with them to get them ready to accept a baptismal date... we've got a goal to have it in the next 2 weeks and the familia could easily meet the goal.

I've really had to learn a lot about myself recently. There are unfortunately a few things that I don't like about who I am, but I'm striving my hardest to change them. In our ward there is una hermana/returned missionary that says that I'm a lot like her (poco tolerante [a little intolerant]), but I'm starting to change... partly because I want to, partly because I need to... I can promise everyone at home that I'm not the person that I used to be, I'm starting to figure out who I am...

I love this work and the changes that it can make in people and in their lives... I wouldn't change a single experience I've had here or am having here for anything else in the world at this very moment. I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a full time servant of the Lord and help other people to change their lives also.

I love you all and miss you all! (And Mom, if I gained weight, good [kinda]... and I think I've gained a little bit). Look forward to talking to y'all in a couple weeks... I'm not really counting.

¡Todo mi amor y carino!

-- Élder Todd

Las Fotos!

2010-04-12T20:10:00.005-05:00

EL CHURRASCO (yum!!!)

Todd y los compañeros!

Elder Hendrickson, Elder Davenport, and Elder Diaz on a Chilean hill.

Lo Ovalle 3 - Week #1

2010-04-12T16:03:00.001-05:00

¡Hola Familia y Amigitos!

So, we had cambios yesterday and today and recieved a call at about 12:00 last night (when I was trying to sleep). As you can all probably see by the title of this e-mail (or blog post...later) I had a change. Fortunately I live in the same house as I did yesterday, but now our ward has 3 sectors and 6 missionaries... Wow!!! I'm with Élder Jensen from Sandy, Utah, who arrived in the mission 3 weeks ago and will be going to Concepción on the 4th of May. So, once again I'm training... but only finishing it up this time. In 3 weeks more I've got no idea where I'll be in the mission or who will be my companion. Fun times, fun times! It appears that I won't have a normal transfer in my mission... Also Élder Davenport is now one of the district leaders here in Quilicura and is still with Élder Diaz in Lo Ovalle 1.

Yesterday we had 2 more baptisms, Javiera (14) and Carmen (71) finally were baptized. Carmen is the mom of Patricio, that we baptized in Febrero, and have been working with her for a while trying to get her where she felt ready to make a commitment. Javiera is the daughter of a menos active sister that we found recently and who isn't in the ward roster. We are continuing to teach her family and are working on the conversion of her dad, who has changed a lot in the short time we've been teaching them. We are also preparing for a few more baptisms within the next couple of weeks, hopefully before Élder Jensen and Élder Diaz leave.

Dad: About the menos activo futuros élderes... You might try to adapt part of that message I sent you title Permaneced, I know it isn't written specifically for the members there, but it has a lot of very good and inspired points that could be used in the context you need. I've seen the miracles that can be wrought by the powerfulness and the sencillez of that message. If you haven't read it, I encourage you to do so. Also here is the link to the message por se acaso http://www.lds.cl/s/ (the link to the message is on the left hand side under the title Permaneced). Also there were a lot of the General Conference messages focused on rescatar. Tambien si lo puede encontrar habia algunos, o todos, los discursos de la Conferencia de Estaca por Chile recien (por satelite) que tuvieron el enfoque en el rescatar. Cualquier cosa que hace, ¡buena suerte!

So work sounds good and fun for everybody. And Gabe sounds like he had a really tough weekend, he should really try to rest more! LOL. Also shout out to all of the family!!! If you are reading this I'd love to get a letter or an e-mail from you!!! (And even if you aren't family!) It is always good to hear how everyone is from their own mouths. Also, congratulations to Jodi and Nicole on the new additions to the family that should be coming along shortly!

I love you all and miss hearing from you! I feel like my e-mails get more and more boring every week. Eventhough every day in the mission is a different experience I feel like piling it all into one letter doesn't have the same effect. Wish I knew how to share more of my experiences with y'all! Pero igual, know that I love you all and miss you! Look forward to talking to y'all for Mother's Day in a little less than 1 month.

¡Todo mi amor y carino! ¡Les amo muchisismo!

-- Élder Todd

Lo Ovalle 1 - Week #16

2010-04-05T14:58:00.002-05:00

¡Hola Familia y Feliz Pascua de la Resurrección!

What about Conference?!?!? Wow!!! I echo the sentiments of President May in his letter to us this week that this is one of the best conferences that I've had the opportunity to participate in. The messages were very direct to the problems that we have in the world today and the way the Adversary is working against us. As did Dad, I particularly enjoyed the talk given by Elder Ronald Rasband in the Priesthood Session of Conference in which he talked about the process of assigning missionaries to their field of labor. In the MTC we heard a few times about the process but never with such a profound testimony given. I'm now 100% more sure of the fact that I'm supposed to be here in the Chile Santiago North Mission... this is where the Lord wants me to be!

Conference for the missionaries is better than Christmas Morning! We get all of the gifts that we want and then some that we don't even expect. What a blessing it is to hear from the Lord's chosen servants here in the earth and the counsel that they have specifically for our times. We have been richly fed and have an abundance to share with others. In each session I was able to pick out something that our investigators needed (unfortunately not all of them where there to hear it) and that we can share with them now. I testify that the words of our leaders are inspired, and are designed to meet our individual needs.

It is great to hear that now Gabe has ganas (the urge -- for lack of a better translation) to serve a mission. Many of the talks in the Priesthood Session were pinpointed directly at the young men of the Church and the importance of preparing for a mission and the blessings of serving. The words were motivational and hit the needs of the Church on the head. We are in a time where every worthy young man should serve a mission, where every worthy young man should dedicate 2 years of his life to serve the Lord. It is hard to see from here in the mission field the unhappiness of those who have chosen not to serve and still have the opportunity. They have a hole in their lives, but they can't seem to figure out why... WE KNOW THE ANSWER!!! Nothing can replace the time that we have here in the mission field and the blessings that we and our families receive, along with the countless numbers of our Heavenly Father's children who have a chance to change! I know my Father lives and that this is where I need to be, nothing can change my mind. (And no, my conditions are not nearly as bad as the movie "The Other Side of Heaven". I basically live in the mini version of the United States.)

I'm glad all is well at home and that y'all were able to enjoy all of the sessions of General Conference as well. (I had the privilege to listen to 4 of the 5 in English... LOL). Good luck with all of the house problems that are still going on. Taking baby steps might work better than trying to take giant steps forward (I'm thinking the steps back might accidentally match). I encourage y'all to remember what you've learned in Conference and to apply it... It isn't worth anything if you only heard it, but if you were listening it will start to make a change.

In this special Easter season (even though I'm a little late) I want to leave my testimony of the Savior and His Atonement for each of us. I can't really express in words the scope of what he did for us or my feelings... but I can tell you as was said in the Conference. I know that He lives, He is no longer on the cross, but He has risen! Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ lives and loves us! He suffered for our sins so that we might not suffer if we would repent... How great a blessing that is.

Our Heavenly Father sent His Only Begotten Son to suffer, to hurt, and die for us for an outcome of greater happiness in the end. How great is this message! How important it is to be a witness of Christ in all times, and in all things, and in all places... this is our duty to God! We should stand ready to testify of Him, and of "the divinity of His great and marvellous latter-day work". I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve my Lord Jesus Christ among the people here in Santiago Chile. This is where I need to be!

Let us each go forth each day with our eyes open for opportunities to testify of Christ, by our words and most importantly by our examples. There is always somebody watching! I love you all and miss you. Hope all is well at home! Remember who you are and the importance of this great work.

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Su Hijito, Élder Todd

Lo Ovalle 1 - Week #15

2010-03-29T16:14:00.002-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

I'm kinda bummed right now because it looks like Mom's letter didn't go through for some reason... so if you read this and there is a chance that I'm still online (or even if I'm not) send it again please!

¡Bueno! This past week has been a whirlwind of fun... Tuesday Elder Davenport and I had to go to the mission home to pick-up/meet our new companion and "padawan" (he calls himself that), Elder Diaz. He is from Viña del Mar Chile and just had his 19th birthday on Tuesday as well. It is strange to work in a trio but it is fun at the same time, we are taking advantage of the opportunity to do divisions with the members of the barrio since it is easier now. Right now we aren't sure how long he will be with us here in the Santiago North Mission but it is looking like he'll be here for at least 2 months and afterwards go to Concepción where he was originally assigned, but it possible he'll be here for the entire 2 years (we don't know). He is super bueno, and really has the urge to work as much as possible. It is definitely a humbling experience to work with a new elder that already speaks Spanish better than myself and to be training with so little time in the mission. I'm glad that Elder Davenport and I are training together (along with 2 other companionships), but sometimes it still gives me a headache! LOL.

Everything here in my neck of the woods (that we don't have) is doing great! We are currently teaching 3 families that are going to be baptized, the only question is when exactly. We are setting (or have set) goals with them for April and are striving our hardest to achieve them. It feels great when we can meet the goals that we have set during the week and to strive harder the next week to meet goals that are a little more difficult. I'm excited to be a part of the conversion of the people here in this sector and in this mission and I hope that they can be able to find the same blessings from this Gospel as I've seen in my personal life. The upside is that here in about a year they will all be able to go to the temple and be sealed as a family for time and all eternity!!! How great will that be? (My keyboard just decided to mess up so my punctuation may not be too great from now on... I'll try my best!)

This time here is flying by so fast!!! I'm loving every minute of the work, good and not so good. But our zone activity this morning wasn't neccessarily one of my favorites. This morning as a zone we climbed el Cerro Renca (a really big hill), unfortunately my body wasn't a huge fan of the climb and I wasn't a huge fan of the descent! The activities at the top were fun, but didn't last that long. I'll send you a picture or two if I can get them uploaded (I'll try to avoid viruses if at all possible).

Sounds like the things at the house are coming along again from what y'all have told me and from the letters that I got in my package, which I finally received this past week (THANK YOU!!!). Lots of work still but it will be worth it when everything can be moved. I'm sure Gabe and Ryah are medio apathetic about the move and just don't want to work over at the new house (like before I left). But it is all good... it would be really nice if the old house could be well sold before it is time for me to start thinking about coming home.

This week we had zone conference... it was 9 straight hours of amazingness! But it made me really really sleepy. (As did climbing the hill this morning). General Conference is this week!!! I'm super excited! The hours here are all messed up because of the change of when they were going to have the time change. So Saturday we have sessions at 1:00, 5:00, and priesthood at 9:00. Sunday we have sessions at 12:00 and 4:00 (and will only be one hour different from the time in Texas... from what I've been told). Besides all that, it will be so great to here from our leaders about the things that we need right now in the world and the revelations specific to our day!

I love this work and I love you all! Miss y'all bunches and look forward to talking to you in a little over 1 month! Keep moving forward and doing all you can to share this gospel with others.

¡Todo mi amor y mejores deseos! ¡Les amo muchisimo!

--Élder Todd

P.S. Recently I've learned that a few of the people in our ward (here in Chile) found my blog and are reading it... soooo... shout out to them!!!

2010-03-22T13:35:00.001-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

Wow!!! This week has flown by...we had interviews with President May on Wednesday and I learned a lot of things from him and our other leaders about how I can personally improve in this work. I'm striving to apply the counsels that I've received in this work every day and we are starting to see the fruits of it.

Soooo... Elder Davenport and I received a call from the assistants to President May this morning advising us of a special change (you could say), but we aren't going anywhere. Tomorrow morning we have to be in the mission home to meet our new elder that we will be training together!!! It doesn't happen very often that missionaries train together, in a trio, nor does it happen very often that a missionary with 5 transfers in the mission, not to mention 4, are trainers. So needless to say we are nervous and excited at the same time!!! This missionary is not a permanent addition to the Chile Santiago North Mission, but rather would be going to Concepción had it not been the epicenter of a 8.8 earthquake. So when things start to normalize he will be sent to the Chile Concepción Mission having had 2 trainers in the Chile Santiago North Mission. Kinda cool huh (aka bakán)!!!

This week we also have Zone Conference followed by General Conference next week (that we may get to watch in English, if there aren't too many people in the stake center), so we are extremely excited for all of the spiritual food that we will be getting!

Mommy: I'm still completely and totally 100% Texan and always will be. I don't think I've let a single missionary in this mission forget that. There is a new sister in our zone who says she if from Texas still even though she hasn't lived there for a couple of years (moved to Montana), and she says also that she will always be Texan... that's the way it should be, isn't it? Also, I'm still waiting on the package... I'm pretty sure it has arrived, but I'm not 100% sure (one of the assistants was pretty sure the office just wasn't in a big hurry to deliver it). So it is now looking like the slow boat would be more practical for shipping to me, because the office definitely takes their time (and they are busy too).

Interesting to hear that Ward Conference was different than usual, but that is kind of a good thing, right? Either way they do it the spirit of the meeting still is there. Also good to hear that everyone had a good time in the temple and that the work is being done for those that I can't find. How is the family genealogy work going? Y'all gotten any more work done on the names that I got ready?

Chile finally seems to be settling down a little bit [in the sense that it isn't moving and not that the earth is settling]. We haven't had a temblor that we could feel for a couple of days or so, so that is good. We've been told to expect occasional movement, stronger than the norm, for a couple of months or so, so the level of alertness is still pretty high. It is good to hear that people are worried about me, even if I don't hear from them... LOL.

As I reflect on these almost 5 months I've had in Chile I'm starting to see success as more of a day to day thing. Even if we don't baptize every week like would be ideal, we are always teaching someone and helping others come unto Christ. I've come to look at many of the experiences I've had here as steps in my own personal conversion process. I love this work with all of my heart, there is nothing I'd rather be doing. It hurts me to see that not everyone who is able to serve in this way wants to take the opportunity to do so. We've been told that every worthy young man should serve a mission, how great is that call.

Recently we were asked to memorize a quote by Elder Bruce R. McConkie called "My Commission", that goes:

"I am called of God. My authority is above that of the kings of the earth. By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my Master and he has chosen me to represent him. To stand in his place, to say and do what he himself would say and do if he personally were ministering to the very people to whom he has sent me. My voice is his voice, and my acts are his acts; my words are his words and my doctrine is his doctrine. My commission is to do what he wants done. To say what he wants said. To be a living modern witness in word and deed of the divinity of his great and marvelous latter-day work."

How great is our call! We are literally called to be living witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Master, our Savior and Redeemer, and the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I'm grateful everyday for the opportunity that I have to testify of Him, in word and in deed.

I love the analogy that President Grisel gave in Ward Conference comparing angels to us as members of this great and marvelous latter-day work. We as members should be those angels for whom others are waiting, to testify of this restored Gospel and to share of the blessings that we have in our individual lives.

I stand as a living modern witness of Jesus Christ. I know that he lives and that he lived for us and died for us. Hermana May said shortly after the earthquake that "If we didn't die for Jesus Christ [during this crisis], then we should live for Him now." How true is that statement! We were chosen to live at this time to stand as witnesses in these last days of the divinity of God's Only Begotten Son, to do his work, until he should again come to the earth and say "the work is done". I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is His work and that we are here to complete his purposes. I love him and I know that he loves each of us. This is my witness.

I love you all and miss you all. I'll let you know how it goes being a young trainer!!! LOL

¡Todo mi amor y carino! ¡Suerte y éxito en todo lo que hacen!

Love ya, -- Élder Todd

Lo ovalle 1 - Week #13

2010-03-15T13:05:00.001-05:00

¡Hola Familia!

I feel "moved" once again to tell you that I am absolutely OK!!! We have had some decently strong seismic activity here over the last week or so, and were out working for some of it as we don't have toque de queda now (curfew), as of last Monday it was lifted. But all is good here, the big replica during el cambio de mando hopefully wasn't an omen, de hecho, as long as Presidente Piñera allows the Church to keep missionaries here in Chile and we can keep working I'm indifferent to the change. It was definitely interesting to see the replays of the former president speaking and it quaking at the same time.

Just to keep y'all informed, we are expecting strong-ish seismic activity here in Chile for about the next 1-2 months (but it shouldn't be anything near like what it was). So please don't be shocked or scared for me unless it is bigger than about an 8.0 (Richter) close to Santiago.

Qulicura has finally normalized with power, water, cell phone service, todo todo... But yesterday the IV Region to the X Region of Chile had a black-out of 2 hours in the which the government had no idea what had happened. ¡Bien divertido! We were looking to see if it was a local thing at first but then noticed it was all of Quilicura. Upon listening to the radio of the neighbors we realized it was more than 1/2 of the country that was in the dark. It's almost like someone got bored and wanted to see what Chile would do without electricity! LOL.

This week was a really good week here in our sector. It is true that the people here have now opened, or are opening, their hearts to the message of the Gospel because of what has happened. We have a few people preparing and progressing towards baptism and were able to stay busy teaching for the large part of this week. It feels good to be busy again. I think a lot of our motivation was to avoid feeling like we did last week when we had to be sitting in the house for a large part of our effective teaching hours (8:00-10:00 pm). It feels good to teach and to help; it definitely makes the time pass by faster (almost 7 months now).

SHOUT OUT!!! Just a quick shout out to everyone who has asked how I am. For all to know, I am at least still living!!!

I officially became Chilean this past week!!! LOL. Friday morning (early) we had to go to the center to register our visas to stay in Chile. At first we are on a tourist visa for 6 months (Elder Davenport's was going to expire on Saturday or Sunday) and afterwards we have temporary visas for 1 year. So Friday we had to run to a bunch of government offices, la extranjería, InterPol, and el registro civil, to get our visa and Chilean identification card called a carné. So when I receive the card after the 24th of this month I'll officially have my Chilean ID, since I'm already legal... LOL

I'm really missing Spring right now, especially since after the earthquake the weather got really hot again. We are occassionally getting a little cool blast, mostly at night, so we are hoping it will finish changing pretty soon. Also the time didn't change here like it should have the first weekend in March and won't do it until the first weekend in April (by order of the government). It is interesting that they would do that, or that they even have the ability to do so... luckily I think this is the first time that it has happened in the history of Chile, and it took the 5th strongest earthquake in modern history to do it (I think that is pretty good motive).

Just to let you know, Correos Chile (the postal service here) had their offices closed when the office normally picks up the packages last week, so I should know on Wednesday if it has arrived. If it has I will have it at this time, if not it would have been better off on the slow boat because the mail system here is really slow anyways! That is my only real problem with Chile so far, but I knew ahead of time that I'd have it.

I still need pictures from y'all... Ryah said she was going to send some of the family in their natural habitat (aka Texas). So please, please, please get them to me as soon as you can. Just e-mail them and when I have my flash drive I'll put them on there to print them here.

So good to hear that everyone in Good Ol' East Texas is doing good. Just a warning for everyone who lives close to the site of a future temple, beware of natural disasters... they seem to be the way the Lord has chosen to cleanse the earth in preparation for his Holy House. (I think Elder Davenport is sending a notice to his family [in Payson] and his brother [Guatemala] warning of the same thing, as both are preparing to construct temples close-by.)

I love you all and miss you bunches! Please write me a handwritten letter in reply to the one y'all got recently. I look forward to getting some mail!

¡Todo mi amor y cariño! ¡Mis oraciones siempre son para ustedes!

-- Élder Todd

P.S. - Mom, Gabe, and Ryah: How is the Spanish coming? ¿Pueden entender por lo menos ahora? Por qué yo creo que las llamadas por el Día de la Madre van a ser difícil para hablar inglés.

Lo Ovalle 1 - Week #12

2010-03-08T10:51:00.000-06:00

¡Hola Familia!

This week has been a very long/interesting week, to say the least. I feel moved to tell you all that we've been moving a lot lately... LOL. The temblores have slowed down a little bit but that are still fairly strong when they come.

Last night we had cambios, and as I'm sure you've already noticed I'm still in Lo Ovalle 1 and loving it. Both myself and Elder Davenport are still here and there are only 4 new missionaries in our zone (2 of which just entered the mission). Provo is sending 3 more missionaries to us and they should arrive in the morning. All of the missionaries in Chile are safe and sound after this huge disaster that we had, a few have more problems than others but all are safe. De hecho the only missionary that had a wound because of this earthquake was in Renca (a community in our mission that had relatively no problems).

The whole mission has been under toque de queda (curfew) at 8:00 every night this week with a few of the potential problems, and we have really been hurting to teach as most of our lessons occur at night when the whole family is home. We are hoping that the curfew gets lifted today, but so far we don't have any news as to that matter.

Our house is completely OK, we had one thing that fell and broke (the lid to the tank on the toilet) and nothing else. Our sector in general didn't have a lot of damage so the service opportunities were (and still are) limited, más que nada the concrete fences that almost everyone had didn't fair to well.

About the quake: I survived 3 minutes 8 seconds of an 8.3 earthquake that didn't let up at any point during that time! When Elder Boyce and I woke up (we were in divisions) because of the sound of the window next to my bed rattling very loudly the quake was becoming really strong and we didn't have time to go downstairs. So we rode it out in the door frames, holding on for our lives and still getting thrown in every direction. Needless to say I was "MOVED" by the experience!!! But I'm alive and well and tired of being couped up in the house for 3 and 1/2 hours every night... Let's just say that this is not an experience that I would care to repeat!!!

I remembered Thursday or Friday that amidst all of the excitement of last week I forgot to wish Dad a happy birthday... so... ¡FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS PAPÁ! I said it Saturday morning but I figured y'all probably didn't hear me. I'm glad your b-day turned out good! Wish I could have been there.

Good to hear that despite the fact that the whole world here has changed, including that the weather is back up close to 34 degree Celsius (way abnormal for this part of the year... especially when it was already cooling down before the terremoto), that Texas is still the same. The family motto "There is always another project!" seems to be holding strong... LOL.

The work here is slow right now, but we had the opportunity to have a stake conference broad casted from Salt Lake yesterday for Santiago hasta Arica. It was amazing, we heard from Elder Bradley D. Foster (of the Seventy), Sister Cheryl Lant (General Primary President), Elder David A. Bednar (Quorum of the Twelve), and President Thomas S. Monson. We were richly fed and it was great to hear their counsel during this time of crisis acá in Chile. The themes of their talks focused a lot on bettering ourselves to be able to conquer our own problems and lift others. They truly were inspired as to what the Chilean people need right now!

In this short time I've grown to love so much the people here! At times it is hard to adapt, todavia, but the people here (in general) are great. There are many that need the Gospel in their lives and I know that this tragedy will open many doors for them to accept the Gospel and have the ganas (urge) to do so.

I love this work and the opportunity that I have to provide the opportunity for others to accept our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and all of the blessings that he has waiting for them. I know this is His Church and that I am one of his chosen servants to do what he would do if he were here.

I love you all and miss you!!!
¡Todo mi amor y cariño!
-- Élder Todd

Lo Ovalle - Week #11

2010-03-01T12:23:00.000-06:00

¡Hola Familia!

"I feel the earth move under my feet"!!! But luckily right now it is only about every 8-12 hours and not super strong. Turns out that we had about 3 minutes of seismic activity in Santiago at about an 8.3, considering the epicenter was an 8.8 that is pretty strong. All of the missionaries in all of Chile are accounted for and well. Currently I feel like I'm reliving the hurricanes from the past couple of years as we in Quilicura (and the only community in Santiago in such a situation) are without electricity, water, and communication through cell phone, Internet, and telephone fijo (regular phone line). Yesterday we had some pretty big problems with several of the supermarkets getting robbed and the PDI (basically FBI) and caribineros (police) were running pretty good. Last night Chile brought in the military and put us under martial law until this morning, when we left for the center it looked as if they had cleared out for the most part.

Structurally in Quilicura there isn't a whole lot of damage like in several other sectors of Santiago, but we are expected to be without utilities until tomorrow, at least. So, I got a not so nice e-mail in my inbox today from someone who reads my blog and apparently doesn't like the way that I write my e-mails to my family. I sent it to you, hope you enjoy. It is amazing how dumb and childish some people can be.

I saw the letter from Hermana Lyon, that is amazing. If there is one thing I've learned in the mission so far (especially with all of this) it is that the Lord really does work miracles! Just goes to show that the work of the Lord doesn't slow down for anything, not even an 8.8 terremoto.

Sorry it took so long to get a letter out to you. We had permission to e-mail real quick yesterday if we could find Internet, but I'm sure you can imagine how that search went. Fun to hear that Ryah got stuck in something fun too, a blizzard. Bet you didn't imagine that 2 of your children would be away from home having their own sort of fun at the same time. And just for the record, I didn't jinx Chile... Elder Arave did when he wished for an earthquake the other day!!!

The only thing most of the missionaries here were worried about was whether or not our parents were freaking out, and when they started seeing the news. I've been hoping that international news hasn't been showing Quilicura to the world as there have been quite a few problems there with murders and stuff like that, but not it is mostly under control.

Good to know you got my letter in the mail and finally received some pictures, I've been trying for a while. Also there should be another letter in the mail pretty soon. Did my camera memory card get there safe, and have y'all been able to get it fixed (hopefully without loosing the pictures)??? Glad you think I look good, but for the record, I'm a little bit lighter than Patricio.

The State Department sent me an e-mail reporting that the death toll in Chile is over 700 right now, but that still isn't anything compared to Haiti (even though the quake was smaller). I'm sorry to report that even though my package may be coming fast than it would on the slow boat it is going to have a few roadblocks. Right now the only aircraft coming into the Santiago airport are military, so all of the aircraft are being rerouted to Northern Chile or Argentina. Also the office of the mission looks like it has some structural damage, so nobody is sure what is going to happen at this point with that. Luckily we can still travel, but several of the entrances and exits to our community are down, as they are all over-passes/bridges. Fun times, fun times!

In Santiago there aren't any really big relief efforts like there were in Haiti, but I think the Church probably has more help to the south. We are currently working in proselitismo and service until 8:00 PM every night until further notice. All of the relief efforts are local and involve mostly helping people finish destroying so they can start rebuilding when utilities and supplies come back. Needless to say we did not have cambios, and none of the missionaries (6) that were going to be leaving today get to, nor are we receiving more missionaries from Provo until further notice.

Apart from the earthquake, I'm not sure we have any exciting news here. We are only trying to keep working and keep steady while all of the temblors keep passing. They are saying they will be strong for about a week, with possible replica (aftershock), and still able to be felt for about a month. But Chile has temblors all of the time anyways, you just normally can't feel one except for about every couple months.

I think that's all I've got from Chile for now. Keep all of the people here in your prayers as the recovery efforts continue and we begin to rebuild.

I love you all and I love this added opportunity that we have to serve in a different way to help people come unto Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

¡Todo mi amor y cariño! Your prayers have been being felt!!!

Love y'all,

-- Elder Todd

I'M OK!!!

2010-03-01T10:45:00.000-06:00

I'm sure everyone is freaking out, but I'm ok...

I'll get another e-mail off in a little bit.

Love ya. -- Todd

New Year's Eve Mission Activity

2010-02-23T20:42:00.001-06:00

On the 31st of December from 9:00 am - Noon the mission had "Una Mañana de Deportes" ("A Sports Morning") as the answer to a birthday wish of Hermana May. Here is the picture of the group of missionaries that I was with (Zones Quilicura, Los Andes, y Colina).

Lo Ovalle 1 - Week #10

2010-02-23T20:40:00.000-06:00

¡Hola Familia!

So when did anyone plan on telling me that Ryah was planning on going to New York City? This is the first I've heard about it, and she leaves Thursday. And when someone figures out why the cooler kids that attended Central High School, graduating in 2008, didn't get to do anything as cool as that, let me know. (I'm calm now...)

So in the midst of everyone hitting the beach these past couple weeks, the Lo Ovalle Ward had someone hit the water again Sunday!!! Patricia Peña got his sins washed away yesterday at 2:00 PM. It was a wonderful experience to see the change that happened in him from before the baptismal service until he left the font. And it was even more wonderful to be right beside him the whole way. (I'll get pictures sent today so you can understand. You can really see the difference in the pictures before the baptism and when we were leaving the font). It feels so good to be able to complete your purpose as a missionary, "to baptize for the remission of sins, to save souls" ("para bautizar para la remisión de los pecados para salvar almas").

Always, however, among success there is also disappointment. We had plans to have anywhere from 9-13 investigators in church this Sunday and we did everything that we could to make it happen. We extended the invitation and the commitment, followed up on the commitment, and even passed by Sunday morning to take the investigators to church. Turns out that in Sacrament Meeting we only had 2, one of those being Patricio and one being someone who was visiting with a family in our sector (and she was crazy). But we will keep doing all we can to have success in la iglesia this coming Sunday.

Also Sunday I had the opportunity to stand in on the confirmation of Nadege. It was a good experience to see someone finish the path for the remission of sins and to come into full fellowship as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To see someone complete the steps to begin receiving the blessings of the Restored Gospel is something that we all want and something that can't be replaced.

Mommy: Just to clarify, it wasn't an earthquake. It only registered as a 4.0! If that was the strongest Chile ever got I'd be ecstatic, luckily they haven't had a big earthquake since 1986 (I think). The funny thing is that I didn't freak one little bit, unlike Elder Davenport who was practically all over the place wanting to know what was going on. I just stayed put in my kneeling position on the floor staring at him until it stopped, and then started praying again. =D

Sounds like Ryah's birthday went good, too bad you had Auntie Pasta's without me!!! I guess that's what I get for deciding to serve God for 2 years... LOL. Good luck with all of the snow again, I'm sure Ryah will hit a little bit in her trip. Hopefully y'all can avoid any damage at the house this time.

I love hearing how y'all are doing, even if you don't think you're telling me anything exciting. It is good to hear the things that seem everyday to y'all that are things that I haven't gotten to do in 6 months (and still have another 18 to go). ¡Pero no hay quejarse! I'm doing what the Lord wants and what I want to be doing too.

I love this gospel with all of my heart and the opportunity that I have to help others come unto our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to come to know Him and His Atonement for each of us. I love the knowledge that I have and the opportunity that I have to keep learning everyday and share that knowledge with others. I look forward to the continued change that I can make in the people here in the Chile Santiago North Mission and the opportunity that I have to serve them.

I love you all and miss you bunches. I look forward to hearing all of the experiences of this next week.

¡Les amo y les echo de menos muchisimo!

¡Todo mi amor!

-- Élder Todd

Lo Ovalle 2 - Week #9

2010-02-15T16:33:00.001-06:00

¡Hola Familia!

WE HAD A BAPTISM!!! Nadege finally decided to allow us to dunk her in the water, and I'm now aware at how much of a miracle that really is. A few weeks ago we were at the point of dropping her as an investigator and continuing to teach another Haitiano in the same house. She wasn't willing to pray to receive a testimony of whether or not the gospel is true. But finally she did it and we ended up dropping the other investigator instead because he wasn't progressing at all. Now she is the cleanest person I know, having an opportunity to start over. Also, it is a miracle that we baptized someone who doesn't speak very much Spanish (and no English) in a situation where almost nobody close speaks French!!! It was a headache at first (not nearly as much as this computer that the Internet is messed up and the space key on the keyboard sticks) but turned out really well in the end.

This gospel really does change lives, I've come to appreciate how much that is true within the last couple of weeks as we've grown closer to baptism with a few of the investigators that we've been teaching. To see these people grow to become strong, faithful members is a real blessing. I'll try to get a quick letter written today and it and a picture from before the baptism sent next Monday.

So I really can't believe that East Texas got 2-3 of snow in Lufkin (and that's the small amount). Everyone here keeps telling me that the noticias are saying that the United States is freezing over and having an unusual winter, but until this and the pictures I can't say that I believed anyone... LOL! We are starting to cool down here a little bit, like once every couple of days is below 30 grados, so it is starting to get a little nicer.

School is getting ready to start back on March 1st so we should start seeing more people to teach in a short little while as everyone has to return from vacations. (Typical Chileans leave for vacations for "1 week" and stay gone for about a month and a half). The numbers for the mission always jump up from February to March as almost everyone comes back and a lot of people start to listen.

Two things that I wrote myself a note so I absolutely didn't forget:

1) SHOUT OUT!!! to Ryah. If it were possible to sing in a letter (or e-mail) I would do it, but I'm pretty sure it won't work... so I'll just shout it as loud as I can. ¡¡¡FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS!!! Sorry I can't tell you Tuesday, but if it makes you feel better you can read this again on Tuesday... LOL. And I'll be thinking about you!

2) Friday morning I officially felt my first temblor (mini-earthquake). It was measured at a 4.0 here in Santiago with the epicenter in Mendoza, Argentina (just 2 hours or so away). It kinda freaked myself y Élder Davenport out a little bit. It is definitely an interesting experience when you are praying quietly and the floor under your knees (on the first floor...keep in mind that the floor is solid brick on a concrete foundation) starts rocking like a few small waves are passing under it. It felt alot like being on a boat that is crossing the wake of another. Definitely not this Texas boy's cup of tea!!! LOL.

So far it looks like we are still on schedule for the baptism with Patricio next Sunday, if all goes well I'll have a picture from his baptism in the letter too. He is definitely a character, pero buenisimo. The only downside with him is that he has a really big interest in deep doctrine and does a good job at dominating the conversation with his experiences with meditation and his questions. Ojalá his mamá will be baptized with him too, we've got to try to guide her to making the decision for herself though. We'll see what happens tonight when we have our Noche de Hogar ("Night of the Home", o sea, Family Home Evening) with them.

Congratulations to Brandon Garcia!!! That is a huge accomplishment! Is Casey still teaching there, I heard he was being transferred to Kansas but I never heard when.

¡¡¡Oye Mamá y Papá!!! Angela told me that you haven't RSVP-ed for the wedding yet. You might want to get on the ball so that she knows for sure. LOL!!! (And that was just a friendly reminder...nothing more).

Mamá: See if you can get Kathy to help you send the picture from your phone to the computer if you and the familia can't figure it our. I'm sure she knows how to do it.

So I think I've already accounted for all of my new experiences that I've had this week. We just finished an activity de zona where we watched the movie about Gordon B. Hinckley and "Mountain of the Lord", about the contruction of the Salt Lake Temple. Then we had churrascos afterwards, yummy!!!

I don't have much time left and I've got to e-mail Angela again. I don't know if Grandma D. got my letter a week or 2 ago but I'll do my best to get another one out next Monday too.

Love you lots and sorry I'm missing all of the fun weather going on in East Texas.

¡Todo mi amor y cariño! ¡Les extraño muchisimo!

-- Élder Todd

Lo ovalle 1 - Week #8

2010-02-09T11:10:00.001-06:00

¡Hola Familia!

Woo Hoo!!! I got to work a full week this week, as I've now gotten over my illness thanks to a Chilean drug rep.

So this week turned into a little bit of a disappointment on Wednesday when Nadege (our not so "golden" Haitiana) changed her baptismal date to the 14th of February. Although now I feel that she is more prepared than she was before it was kinda a bummer at the time. So, this Sunday Élder Davenport will be performing the first baptism that we've had in this sector!!! Woot!!!
This week has also strengthened my testimony in the importance of the members in missionary work. We've had the opportunity to work with the family of our líder misional del barrio (ward mission leader) a lot this week and seen them interact with the investigators that we are teaching. The testimony of a member in the lessons is essential, but when the testimony can relate directly to the experiences of the other person it is even better. Our investigator, Patricio, has been having trouble quitting smoking over the past couple of weeks, but since Saturday night he hasn't had a cigarette. Yesterday we took a member who previously smoked more than 2 cajas de cigarros cada día. Patricio is now on his path to receiving a baptism for the remission of sins on the 21st of February, with yours truly performing the ordinance. (I'll have pictures sent home as soon as I can).

If all goes well today there should be a letter headed your way, on the slow boat. Hopefully there will be a CD with pictures or my tarjeta (but please read the note/letter first). Right now we are in the center close to an attraction called the Plaza de Armas, where Correos Chile (main office), the Catholic cathedral, y a couple of other attractions are located.
Sounds like the ward hasn't changed a bit within the past many years. It is kinda funny when a few people have all of the callings, but at least they are being magnified. LOL. Primaria still sounds like a blast!!! LOL. ¡Suerte!

The houses seem to be coming along rather nicely from what you've all told me. It will be good when y'all can move into the Hen house. I almost got to watch the Super Bowl, but Élder Davenport and I decided that it would be better to not pass by the only Chilean that is a fan of fútbol Americana (who happens to live in our ward), and that working with investigators would be more important... LOL! What was I thinking?!?!?

I love this work and the change it has brought about in me in these short 5 months (más como 3... the MTC didn't change me much). Before the mission I didn't realize exactly how important missionary work was, especially member missionary work. I love my calling and the opportunity that I have to serve full time as a representative of Jesus Christ and as a special witness of Him. This is truly His work here on the earth, and He desires that all of His children receive it. It is our deber (duty) to help that come to pass! Like the contemporary Christian song says... "If we are the body?" (and we are) "Why aren't his hands healing?". I testify that they are, but how much more could they do if every single one of us shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ, THE TRUTH, with just one person. We'd go from 15 million members to over 30 million (if those with whom we shared it didn't share again) in a short time. We have the commandment to do so. The prophets have said, "Every member a missionary". This is our commission and this in the challenge I give to each of you who is reading this: Help build the Kingdom. Este es el Reino de Dios en la tierra. ¡Edifique lo!

My prayer is that each of us will take every opportunity possible to share what we have with others. I love this Gospel with all my heart. Y yo sé con ninguná duda que esta iglesia es la iglesia verdadera de Jesucristo en la tierra hoy en día. (And I know without a doubt that this church is the true church of Jesus Christ in the earth today.)

I love you all and miss you bunches! I look forward to hearing the success stories of each of you as you strive to share this Gospel with those you know and love.

¡Todo mi amor! ¡Suerte en nuestro mandato!

-- Élder Todd

"Hurrah for Israel!!!"