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| Elders West & Ryan |
Hey guys. I’m in Chile. Woot
woot.
In the CCM they spoon-fed us Spanglish.
Here they firehose me with Spanish. This is nuts. It doesn’t even sound like Spanish.
I cried this morning haha.
I had a headache at lunch the
other day because my brain couldn’t take the Spanish. I’m a chump haha.
Things about Chile-
I just saw a 3 legged dog
I just talked to two homeless
guys with yellow fingers and rotted teeth
It always smells like smoke
For lunch I’ve had pizza with a
layer of fish and tomatoes on top, tomatoes stuffed with rice
A lot of people here don’t have
all of their teeth
Pan con chicharrones are amazing
They have black taxis with yellow
roofs,
People’s door handles are in the
middle of their doors like hobbit doors
Every house has a black fence
around it
It’s cold and windy like Utah
winters, but we are in it for multiple hours
Light switches are outside of
rooms.
There’s this less active lady we
are working with named Pamela. She is super funny and immediately associated me
with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.
I flew from Puerto Montt to Coyhaique,
but my flight was delayed like five times no joke, so I made a friend named Carlos.
He is 46 years old, and a devout catholic. We shared our beliefs, and I taught
him about the restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon. He said he would read
it. I felt the Spirit strong.
On the plane I made a friend with
Raul, he is 18, and he lives in Coyhaique. I got his info and he lives in the
area right next to mine so the missionaries will work with him. It is beautiful
here. We are surrounded by mountains just like in Utah valley so that is a tender
mercy. It is freezing, and every building is just as cold on the inside as it
is outside.
My testimony of the Savior is
growing. I love him. Anything I experience or have to go through doesn’t even
come close to what He did. He loves me. Through his atonement I can do things I
couldn’t do on my own. I love my Savior. I need him. Oh how I need him, and you
need him, and we need him.
Right now, it’s weird. I’ve never
felt happier, more overwhelmed, more loved, more confused, and more everything
than I have ever felt in my life.
My trainer is Elder Ryan. He is a
saint. I love him. He is perfect. Coyhaique is dead, and we are resurrecting
this area. We have a lot of hope and faith and willingness to grind in and
work. And I love it.
Moses chapter 6 verses 31-34 describes
my mission, feelings, and hope all in three verses. I love this scripture.
I live in a house with another
companionship. Elder Peterson is funny, totally reminds me of Tommy Johnson,
and is from Orem. His comp Elder Bustamonte is from Columbia, and gave up his
profession as a professional guitarist for his mission. I love them both.
Do you want to feel God’s love
for you more in your life? Then read and apply John chapter 14 verses 15 and
21.
I love you all.
Elder West
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| View of Coyhaique and surrounding area |
The following is an excerpt from a letter of the missionary, Elder
Davis, who spent last Wednesday with Jacob in Osorno before he flew to Coyhaique
on Thursday. The sister of Elder Davis works
with Jacob’s dad. She shared the part of
Elder Davis’ letter with his dad.
"This week 18 new elders and sisters came
in from the MTC! And we got to have dinner and lunch with them, I taught them
about the credit cards and rules of the money here on the mission. But I LOVE
helping the new elders on their first two days in Chile. They are super
excited, and ready to get out there and baptize the world haha. So one elder
had a plane flight the next day to meet his companion. So he was my companion for
a day. He randomly asked me “Is your sisters name Kira?” hahah. Just so happens
that his dad works at Tahitian Noni/Morinda… the place Kira works at and his
dad knows Kira. Elder West. We went out and I was showing him his first
experience of Chile. Of course we contacted a crazy guy who told us to feel his
muscles and saying he’s super muscular but really he’s scrawny so we bought him
some food cause he doesn’t have a home. Then we knocked doors for like an hour
or longer without a single person letting us in. I felt bad cause it’s his
first day and everyone is slamming doors on us. So I prayed in my heart as I
was walking that we could teach someone and I could show this new elder what we
do as missionaries. Then God provided and this guy let us in his house saying, “I
only have 2 minutes”. We ended up staying 45 minutes and taught the restoration.
This new elder, full of excitement, invited the guy to get baptized right away haha.
It was awesome! Sometimes as missionaries we can kind of lose the sight of our
purpose and focus on other things. But really we are here to BAPTIZE and bring
people to Christ. I’m thankful for the lessons I learned from this elder on his
first day. The guy said he will come to church this Sunday."
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| Elders Davis & West with Pres. & Sister Obeso |
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| View of two volcanoes (Osorno and Calbuco) from the Puerto Montt airport A couple previous farewell photos of Jacob's district (4C) in the Mexico Missionary Training Center (CCM) |
