Transfer to Tome 11/29

Hello What’s up?
Well Mom I will answer your question right off the bat.....I am about 100% sure I will be transferred before Christmas.....because well today is Cambios and I am leaving Talca and I am taking a long trip down south I am going to the inside of the mission....I am going to Tome......it is about 45 min north of Concepcion on the coast.....yes I will be on the beach and well I hope it doesn´t make me trunky....lol I am not trunky nor will I be. so that should answer your question i will have a hot Christmas at the beach....haha. The chapel is a block from the beach I hear....it just stinks I cannot go because it is summer and we don’t have permission during this time of the year. That my big news. So tomorrow I will have a 5 hour bus ride to Concepcion and then 45 min to Tome....fun right! I will miss Talca and the people a lot, but I feel like I have left this sector a little stronger than it was. The attendan went up to 114 at church so that is good it is a 60% increase.....cambios are always hard and today will be a long day of saying good-byes and stuff and then will be up late packing. Oh well.
Well yesterday was just like the last Sunday I had in Chillan.....I spoke in Sacrament Meeting and I baptized a girl in the ward and then the next day I left.....I can see a pattern haha. Well I found out yesterday morning that I was going to baptized Dyana Jesus Arias Muñoz, she is a cute little girl, her mom got baptized last year and so we go by to share and stuff still. Her mom is Amalia and she is so cool she speaks english and most times doesn’t speak it with us but it is cool because she understands and speaks really well. It was a nice experience and well it was a good last Sunday....I feel there will be a lot of tears today but it will pass and well that is the sucky part of the mission but that is how it is...people always say they wish it were different but like I always say it is to help us all progress so that we can become stronger and better. I am sad but I am here for the Lord and will do as he says.
This week went well and it was so hot though I was dying. We found some new people and had a good time with my kid haha. I think he is bummed that I am leaving but I know it is for the best and he is a great missionary and will have a lot of success here in Talca. I will be in another house of 4 Elders down in Tome and so I am looking forward to that. Elders Cockrell, Page and Teske are upset because they wont get there Christmas goodies you sent them but I am thinking I might send it to them idk.....I am in a hard situation....haha but its all good I figure there will be enough to go around ....oh yeah I might be asking for some addresses from you I want to make a Christmas card and send it out to people. I thought it might be nice. We will see. well this letter is a bit short but I got a lot to do today got to go get my visa stuff today also because I don’t want to have to travel back here to do it. I hope you have a great week and cannot wait to here about more winter adventures, talk to you all later love you all so much. Chau Love Eric

Working Hard, Sharing the Gospel and Packages from Home

hola familia, ¿cómo está? ¿qué cuentan? les quiero contar un chiste que es lo más chistoso en todos los chistes de ´´laffy taffy´´ ¿Porque cruzó la calle el captus?.......................... ¡Porque estába pegado en la espalda de la gallina! Jajajajajajajajajajajajaja

Bablefish Translation
hello family, how she is? what count? I want to tell a joke to them that is most humorous in all the jokes of ´´laffy taffy´´ Because captus crossed the street? .......................... Because estába beaten in the back of the hen! jajajajajajajajajajajajaja
I tell you if the whole engineering thing doesn’t work out for me I am going to be a bilingual comedian because everybody thinks I am hilarious.......or do they laugh because I am ridiculous.......hmmmmm I will stick with because I am funny it helps my head stay at normal size hahaha. Well how are you all doing this fine start of the week. What is new and exciting? and if you don’t got anything new and exciting.......well I don’t know what to tell you.......just tell a really bad joke like I did and I will laugh and thinks it is awesome anyway. Sometimes I feel like I am in a big Hollywood movie because when we are out working and stuff everybody just says mean things and swears at us....hahaha okay well if you didn’t think it was funny its because it wasn’t and that means you need to send me some good jokes to tell...I am running out of material....I have stolen all I could from other missionaries haha oh well that is life.

Thanks for the package and well to tell you the truth I shared with the other Elders.......I had to they held me up at knife point...I am just kidding.....I figured we could all use some bad jokes and sugar in our systems.....well that is enough of insignificant talk, lets get down to business......oh one last thought I think I have become hyperactive on the mission...I wasn’t like this before....one more thought What is black, white and red?.......a skunk in a blender....okay that was bad here is a better one Why did the sock cross the road? .................because it was on the chickens foot....lolAnyway

Elder Teske and I are getting along like 2 peas in a pod and he is a fun guy. We have a fun house it is good and we laugh a lot. Last night stayed up playing UNO and I tell you I stink, I lost every time....oh well every time I would change color it would come back to bite me....so I just said “well looks like I got the gift to read peoples thoughts....but it is not helping me.....” haha it was fun. E Teske is fun guy...we have good time together, I see a lot of the things I use to do when I was new....like the confused look of not understanding and the pain full lost look, but I am keeping him upbeat and he is a hard worker....got long legs too. I have to move my short stubby legs 3 times as fast...people laugh because I am the shortest.....oh well its like 3 skyscrapers and the lonely two story house across the street but its all good....they are jealous of my last name haha. Got up early and got ready to go do the visa stuff for Elder Teske and Page.......got to centro at 900........I forgot that Chile opens at 1000.....so walked around for a half hour oh well....haha. Got all the visa stuff done and now have to wait. My carnet, Chilean id, expired 22 weeks back.....I am illegal .... nooooooooooooooo, just kidding my papers were started a while back so I am all good haha.

Well this week was yet another tough grinder but I feel good I put a lot of effort and force into the week and I know the blessing will come and the Lord will bless us, Elder Teske is still a little timid to talk but I told him he is the “closer” (pitching terms) I may have more words and ability to talk “starter” but the closer makes the deal and makes the bigger impression. the spirit is felt strong when he teaches and the people have to pay more attention.....I tell you I feel so blessed to be with him and have the opportunity to serve with him. Well this week it was....HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just about died but then yesterday woke up to a cold raining winter looking day..... strange. So got soaked yesterday and man do I mean soaked...well thanks to the rain the attendance was 74......stupid rain...haha. Oh well. called investigators in the morning to get them up and were not answering but much to my surprise...after the sacrament was passed, Daniela walked in. she had worked from 11 am Saturday until 6am Sunday morning for a wedding....and got up and went to church I was so happy....we had talked about making sacrifices to the Lord and it hit her.... I sat down and I said “I did not think you would come because of work” she said “ I need to make sacrifices to receive the help from the Lord” I was so happy to hear those words....turned out to be a good day and then at night had a NDH with Daniela in the house of Familia Cristi, live across the street. It went great Hermana Cristi straight up asked “So when are you getting baptized?” and the convo opened up....we didn´t say a word the family did all the teaching....it was amazing, my testimony grew about work with members last night...the members felt the prompting and acted...they didn’t feel the need to wait for us to talk or give them the time....and I didn’t feel the prompting to talk and at the end I did and I expressed our love for her and bore testimony...it was awesome. The Spirit directed the lesson, and it was just amazing. This is the Lords Work....He directs it through the Spirit and if the Spirit tells us to talk we HAVE to do it and if He doesn’t, we WON´T do it. awesome right? I think so.Well going into week 2 of reading the Book of Mormon as a mission. We are in chapter 4 of 2 Nefi and read until 8 today, I think, I have to check, but it is awesome....I tell you I am getting so much out of it....the pages are full of the marks when it mentions Jesucristo, that is why it is a witness of Him. Well I don’t know what else to tell yal.....think I have bored you enough for one week haha. I am the old missionary here in the ward now and well I think I might be leaving this transfer on the 29 Nov, it is possible because I will have completed 6 months here...I don’t want to because I want one more cambio with Elder Teske,,,,,but we will see. it is a few weeks off. haha but oh well.

The youth are going to the temple Friday so I am going to send some money with a leader to pick me up some books and stuff for my converts....got to get Christmas ready too. haha.

Well I think that is all for this week. I love you all so much and hope you are doing well, I know God lives and loves us and sent His son Jesucristo to die for us. Through His redeeming sacrifice we can present ourselves before the Father and He will plead for us....but according to our works we will be judged, if we follow Him and come unto Him like little children, submissive and humble we will be saved and will live with our Father again. I know the Book of Mormon testifies of Him and His atoning sacrifice, He is our Lord, Savior and King. I love the gospel and have come to love studying it too. It fills me with joy and peace and with things that are not found in this world, things that money and houses and cars cannot give....it is the unconditional and eternal love of God and Christ. When I am out working no matter how bad the day might be, I feel whole, I feel happy....I am happy I love the work and I feel honored to be a part of the Army of the Lord...like the soldiers who fought under Captain Moroni.....they must have been honored to fight under such and strong and brave leader....not just strong physically but he was a man of spiritual power. The kind of power that as man cannot buy or fake.....I feel like one of his soldiers fighting for truth and liberty against the temptations and demons of the world to bring eternal life to Gods children, I wear the name of Christ on my chest and I know that this is His church and His work. I love you so much and hope you have a great week. Take care. I am studying in Alma too Love you take care.Love Eric
VAMOS CHILE! I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE FOTOS. By the way we had a huge ward talent show went great....lots of menos activos and inv were there went awesome we didn’t have time to do our cool scout skits we prepared but it went good....had to leave early...us 4 prince charmings had to be home at 10 haha love yal chau!

Hectic Monday

Hey everyone how is it going? Well this day has been a little hectic and shouldn’t have been, had troubles getting into myldsmail.net so now finally got in and so this will be a quick email of my week.

We had a great opportunity to have a conference with Pres Humphrey and with Elder Zeballos of the Seventy, and their wives. Eder Zeballos wanted to come and do conferences to excite us and give us a boost. It was an awesome conference and I learned a lot. He talked about how all the gringos need to keep up and not lose their Spanish and how the Latins need to take advantage and learn English, because English is the language of the Restoration he said.

It was such a great day and well the conference was great but the weather wasn’t, during the conference the skies opened and poured so hard and we were caught without rain stuff. We have gone from hot to cold to rain and today is hot again....what is going on here?

So that was Friday and well the week was tough but Elder Teske and I worked really hard and I know the blessings will come... Yesterday we were going to present our mission ward plan with the Bishop and ward mission leader but both got called into work and look who had to do it all the missionaries......it went good and the members enjoyed. A lot of the members complimented me on the way I handled it and I told them I don’tt have many talents but I can speak in public and I think I do well at it....haha.

Then we went to go play ball this morning and found all the new balls at the church to be broken so now we have to tell the Bishop before he finds out and blames it on us...the youth did it on Friday and told nobody....drama. Well, Halloween was dead and today is another holiday here so not much to do and well that is it....yesterday day was dead but had a noche de hogar and cooked the Halloween cake which was so good. I hope this week can be a good week because I feel bad for my kid because he was born into a struggling sector and I don’t think it is the sectors fault. I think I just carry bad luck with me or something idk. Oh well but my chin is up and I still love the work and I am happy to be here and that is the important thing.

I am happy but the heat is killing me. Today is the first day in the mission to start reading the Book of Mormon and we are going to read it in 60 days. All the mission is doing it and have a schedule to read everyday and I cannot wait. We have to mark every time it mentions Jesus Christ. It will be a great experience we have to read 4 chapters today and tomorrow too and just about 4 everyday.

I have got to go but I love you all so much and hope you enjoy the pictures of me and the puppies, a members dog had puppies and they are so cute...haha but I miss my puppy more...I love you all so much and hope you have great week, take care and read the Book of Mormon! Love you all so much and the gospel too, talk to you later, Love Eric