Happy 21st Birthday Elder Kuykendall 3/28/2011

Hey Hey Familia,

Muchisimas gracias por los saludos para mi cumpleaños, me fue bien!

I woke up with the usual birthday aches and pains that remind you time and your youth is slipping away haha, no just kidding I am not that old, I am still a kid haha. I told the Elders to not tell anybody because I didn’t want to make it a big deal and they kept it on the DL if you know what I mean, thanks for the gifts and the card game is fun. I like it haha it is like a multi person speed.

The 25th was an okay day that turned out to be a day of drama in the ward because we had a ward activity and we were in charge of the games. It was poorly assisted and well the blame came upon us but oh well, we did our best visiting and inviting menos activos and miembros and investigatos, and well I feel like we did the best we could. This ward has just lost its heartbeat and well Elder Call and I are trying to spark it with the paddles but the is a flat line, so in times of need and difficulty man must fall to his knees and pray to the Almighty, How could I help boost up the excitement and love of the members, how can I help them work harder? Any thoughts?

All in all it was a bit of a tough week and well Elder Call and I kept the old chin up and continued! Lots of doors knocked and few doors opened, but hope is not lost every door that closes mean we are 1 door closer to a chosen and prepared Child of God! This week we are going to get it done and blow this place away! We have got to finish on a great note, it is the last game that is always remembered. We cannot be defeated haha!

Well anyway I am doing good a little sore because we played football on the beach this morning for like 2 hours and I am wiped out. All the people walking by stopped to cheer on the gringos on the beach I felt like i was playing in a pro game they we cheering and stuff haha, its not everyday you get to see a bunch of foreigners play a game you have never seen haha. I am out of shape!!!!!!!! Well that is about all the fun news I have for the week. Yesterday we had lunch at Jose Cisterna´s house our lider misional, because his b-day was yesterday, it was fun and got to share some time with his family and it was a great lunch. Ward conference was yesterday and very disorganized but the words of the Stake President were short but good. What he said was what the ward needed. Clara is doing great and is completing 100% and I am a little worried because she has all the excitement in the world and she is seeing members that carry years in the church and don’t do anything so she is starting to notice the bad examples......but we keep telling her to do what she is doing, she will lead and the rest will follow.

Oh about the donkey Elder Call says he was feeding it but I think he was just abusing the pour thing.....apparently there aren’t animal abuse laws in the south haha. I am, just kidding he was trying to feed it....haha.

I cannot wait for conference this weekend it will be great!!!!!! I know this church is true and my testimony grows everyday more and more as I strive to share my testimony. God has restored His church in these last day and we receive the blessings. I love you all so much take care nos vemos!!!!! Eric

PS my package is in Concepcion!

PSS cambios are next week the 4th, I should be home on the 29 June CHAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Power of Study and Prayer 3/21/2011

Hola Familia,

How are yall doing this fine day? What’s new? Thank you for the birthday wishes and for the letters this week I love to hear about what is going on with you all. Well 2 weeks left in this cambios and found out in interviews this week that I will be getting a new companion this coming cambio, the 4 April are cambios so it will be a good weekend and have a baptism planned for the 3rd, Byron 15. Clara is doing good. She was confirmed yesterday, she was super happy and I was able to do the confirmation. She will be called to the Primary presidency I think this next week, most new converts don’t receive callings like they should which is sad but not much I can do, just insist and hint towards it but she is doing good and is happy to have received the Holy Ghost. Also this past Saturday we had a stake training meet by Pres Humphrey and talked about the new focus of the missionary work in the mission and everybody loved it. Now we have to make sure it gets done which is the hardest thing here the doing part and stepping up to the plate. But I know with the support of the leaders and the work on our part it will work out and we will see miracles here. There are good leaders and great members but all they need is a boost of energy and a bit of a push and we will get this bus moving again. We can do it. This week was good and most of our efforts this week went towards finding people. We did it through contacts and visiting in-actives and of course asking for references haha, I know the Lord is preparing the people and with our diligent work we will find them and they will accept, we have a lot of great people and prospects but the hard thing is now with school and work at full pace it is hard to find people in their house with time to share. It is disappointing but nothing is impossible if the Lord is with us. Patience is a quality of Christ, not of the natural man haha. I have a lot of work to do. Pres and the assistants gave us a boost of energy and it helped because we had been a little down but I know we will strike gold this week and the fruits of our labors will be many. I was able to gain a stronger testimony of the study of the scriptures and prayer this week, talked with a Baptist preacher this week. As we testified of profetas and apostles, he told us it doesn’t say that in the bible....I thought how does it not? I am not good for remembering scriptures but three came to my mind in this instance that spoke about the profetas and apostoles. many people read the Bible or Book of Mormon and don’t understand it, like me, but if we pray and study and look for the answer we will find it, most people are okay with the explanation of their Pastors or Preachers but in the true Church of Christ we teach that every man should search and ask himself, we should always look for the personal conviction of the truth, that is why so many people are lost because they take other people’s word for it. The Church of Jesus Christ teaches us how to be self sufficient and find the answers for ourselves and feel the spirit ourselves, I love the true church! We had a good adventure yesterday hiking up to Alegre from Bella Vista, we found two oxen in the path and couldn’t get around them so we went bush-wacking.......it didn’t work we came out with thorns and scrapes and Elder Call fell off a 3 meter cliff. I had to bust out the scout skills to save him and then a rock came out from under my foot and I rolled my ankle but all is well I have great videos. It was fun haha good old camping days but was even better in shirt and tie. All is good it was funny another mission story. I caught some more pulgas this week haha they like my blood. We have a bug bomb coming this week. I love you all enjoy the pics and the sunset looking out to the bay from Cerro Alegre. I know the church is true and God does love us, we are His children! I love you all take care. Love Eric

Clara is Baptized, Tsunami Warning/Evacuations and Wild Donkeys? 3/14/2011

Hello family,

Well this week was a bit of a strange one with all that has gone on and the worst thing is that as a missionary you never get the correct info so I am more lost than ever haha. I am good and safe no need to worry or anything like that nothing happened here and well that is it. Nothing much to tell. lol no but it was a good week and well the biggest news was that Clara was baptized yesterday!!!!!!!!!! We are so happy for her and she was super happy too, it was a day much waited for and the miracle happened.

Her pareja got paid last Monday and he left that very same night, the next day Tuesday had a mini cambio with the zone leaders and did a follow up interview with her and all is good for her baptism, she was nervous and very excited the whole week she told us it felt like time was passing very slow and she thought Sunday would never get there. During the week we planned out the baptism to do it in the river like she wanted to and told everyone about it, she was so happy and invited all her neighbors and her friends to come and to participate in her baptism, her son Wladimir (6) kept asking when she would be getting baptized because wanted to see it too, well Friday we woke up to a lot of rain and a taste of the winter to come in the next couple months, it rained all day and then talking about the cold weather and stuff on Saturday we decided with Clara, El Obispo and us that it would be better to do the baptism in the pila at the church because of all the mud at the river it would be hard to get to, Clara was a little down but it was the best also didn’t want her and her kids to get sick and to take them out in cold weather would be worst, she was still stoked though and it was a wonderful baptism. I felt honored to be able to baptize her. I had to hold back the tears because it was something she had worked so hard for and Elder call and me too. We found her my first week her in Tomé almost 4 months ago, she and was ready and willing to live and obey the commandments she attended church for 4 months straight, it was the little thing about her pareja that was the problem, but it was fixed with much fasting and prayer.

Clara’s dad came to support her in her baptism and the member stayed too, the sprit was strong and her dad told me he had felt good and could tell the difference. When we first started to share with Clara he hated us and didn’t let us in the house and as he saw the changes in her life he softened his heart and we have formed a good relationship with him. He is a good man who loves his family and it might take year for him to join the church but I know he will. It was a great day. I know the Lord is preparing people and they are waiting for missionaries or a church member to invite them to share and receive blessings. It doesn’t hurt to invite, nobody can get offended by an invitation! We as members or better said missionaries need to invite and that is it.

On Friday we were informed by members and the mission about the terremoto and that night we had to go up to the house of the missionaries in 18 de sept, to sleep. They gave us 2 mattresses and 2 blankets for the 4 of us, it ticked me off because we didn’t sleep all night and froze to death. The next morning found blankets extra in the house....it was worse than snow camping! oh well we woke up to everything normal and went home to shower and to rest a very little and out to work and we were dead that day because we hadn’t slept all night. There was a stake missionary work training Saturday afternoon and got cancelled but we did have 5 of the 15 in English class. Next week will be better because there won’t be a tsunami jaja,

Well I got the start of the trunky emails from the mission asking airport and other info and it is just the start oh well asi es but I am not trunky I wish I could extend but it would be impossible, I love missionary work I am not the best missionary but I sure do love it, it is the best. Time seems to be flying by but I am not trunky I am just focused on one day at a time and that is all that matters.

Oh my gosh so I have to tell you this well I am a fleas bestfriend, I guess my blood is really sweet because pulgas love to suck my blood, anyway in the other missionaries house where we slept Friday night, there was a pulga that was chewing me up all night on my legs an have about 10 bites or more. It must have came home with me and after many hours of trying to catch it, he made a bad jump onto my desk and I caught it and I glued it into my journal I sent you all a pic!!!! I hate pulgas but they love me but I will have to suffer a little more. I use that stuff I brought from the states but it doesn’t help it just make me smell weird. The thing is that in houses and in the street they get in our clothes and we cannot control it. I have tried everything, and it doesn’t work but I will tough it out and continue killing them and saving there bodies as evidence haha, oh well don’t worry I just wanted to tell you my cool story of pulga hunting they are huge here!

I sent pics of me and Elder Call feeding wild donkeys out by the river. They were so cute but he wouldn’t let me mount one and have a John Wayne moment...oh well it was cute but I know it had caulquier desaease I fed it nicely but if you look at Elder Call’s pic he was abusing the poor thing he was beating a defenseless animal with a stick, poor donkey it was just looking for food. If the horses had been closer....maybe I would have ridden one no just kidding haha I wouldn’t do it haha. It was a good week and look forward to another good on this week, have entrevistas this Wed and hope they turn out good haha. I love you all so much and I hope you are all good and hope you have a good week. I love you all and know I am doing the right thing preaching the true gospel of Christ, take care love you all. Love Eric

Japan Earthquake Tsunami Warnings in Chile March 11 &13, 2011

Sunday, March 13, 2011 11:13 Dear Parents, In the end, Chile was not affected much by the Japan's terrible tsunami. It was very interesting that in Easter Island--owned by Chile, which is closer to Japan than Chile,the effects were imperceptible. HOwever, in Dichato, a community that received wide-spread destruction last year, got an almost 6 foot wave wash into town for 2 km. There was not any damage. THere isn't much left to wash away. Ssome boats were tipped over. . THe fact is. THe owner of them, a large one, has been repairing it since last year. By the end of the day, it was arrighted. THere was a lot of mud. The other costal cities in our mission were fine. Elder Fullmer and Elder Wall live in a house way up the hill and 3 km from the sea. They reported hearing an alarm go off at 3AM. Afterwards they were able to go back to sleep. We are grateful. Hermana Fischbeck ************************************************************************************ Friday March 11, 2011 12:15 pm Dear Parents, As a precaution, we are telling our missionaries located in costal cities to be on higher ground until after the wave hits us in Chile and we see what strength it will have. Effective at 5pm Chile time. por Pdte. Humphrey *********************************************************************************** Friday, March 11 2011 7:36 am Dear Parents All is well on the coast of Chile after the big earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Our hearts and prayers go for them in Japon. Hna. Fischbeck

A Week of Ups and Downs 3/7/2011

hola Queridos Fanaticos, how are yall doing? whats new? welll thank you for your letters and thank you for your prayers, DON´T GET TRUNKY! yes i still wear my tie every fast sunday haha hay que hacerlo! it is still looking youngthough i think the tie wants to stay for two sundays more..........it wouldnt be bad......haha i guess we wil find out wont we hhaha, no extentions dont exist anymore, that sucks oh well. think in the present. haha What we do now is important. haha. Well to start of i am good living! Well there was a bit of bad news this week, Called Clara on friday to make sure her pareja got paid andwas ready to leave and well there was nothing but bad news, he didnt get paed and so she wasn´t able to get baptized, he issuposed to leave today and need to call her, she was down about it and i was devestated....it sucked but we are planning for this coming sunday and it willhappen she has come to far to lose it now the lord will provide. to add to the drama she got sick and wasnt able to go to church and we couldnt get ahold of her.....it was panic for us in the church, and to put a car on the already bad week we didnt have any inv in church.....but i know it will get better, it depends de mi and my work and faith. you know i always remember in moments when i want to point a finger something a person of age taught,´´ when we point with one finger, there are 3 that are pointing back at us´´ -(i think you know who i am talking about and if not ASK THE MAN WITH MARBLES IN HIS MOUTH shssssss) yep the only person we can blame is ourselves! What did i do wrong? and , What willi do to change and not do it again¨? thank you you can cal me WISEMAN KUY! haha but in all seriousness its true we are so goodat blame and i nknowi am bad too, but i am a man and i can change....change is part of the plan of salvation!!!!! It was a tough week but elder call and i realized it was bc we had not focused on teaching by the sprit and were teaching to ´´convince´´ not ´´convert´´, we were wrong. but we made so gret metas to help us teach by the spirit and to help convert ppl not convince. that is what makes a difference, the best tachers arent those who know awesome facts and recite scriptures from memory but are those whos have the spirit, teach by it, listen to it, and help others feel it too. the spirit teahcces the truth and testifys of it too. i tell you my misssion was to teach me...haha. we saw the difference in our teaching also i read this week about how every doubt and question about the chruch depends one 2 things, Is joseph Smith a prorhet and is the Book of Mormon true? We Were taeching Elena this week and she had a question about the pope, if we though he was a prophet, i told her that we respect him as a religous leader but that we believe that a man should be called by profecia and by the laying on of hands, we explaineed that the only way to know is by reading and praying about the book of mormon, we shared our testimony and invited her to start reading again and to pray and ask if the book was true, she accepted she said she wasnt just going to read but was going to study the book, i felt the spirit guide me to say that, it took pacience and a quick prayer but he lead me there and it had better results than a different answer i could have given. i hope i can continue in this to be able to help ppl find the true and help them have the desires to know, i know God loves us bc he sends his spirit to testify to us the truth of all things. What better thing could we want, there isn´t anything! Yesterday afternoon did a mini cambio con E Bordolli and did some visits and went to visit Jacqueline , bff of Clara, and i asked ifshe had questions about her reading we left, 2 nefi 31, she said yes and i asked first what did youunderstand.? she said it was about baptism and recieving the spirit, i then told her ask her question and she said ´´What do i need to do to get baptized?´´ good question huh? i thought so too. it was great i asked whyandshe said she wanted to erase her pst and start over again and that she wanted to follow christ, we talked about baptism and the pblessing and i invited her to be baptized on the 27 march she was excitied. it wont be easy bc she has alot to change but she wants to do it and that is the important thing. sooo maybe the numbers werenttoo great this week but i feel that it was a good week and this week will be even better!!!! i donthave any fotos for yall this week but sorry, oh yay had conference on wed in conce and went great i loved it and leraned abunch, i love conference, the hns that got here after me are all going home haha time flies when you re in the mission.i got my bday package.....illtry not to peak......haha i think i can be patient haha. thanks forthe ric of the medlingers good to see them. i love youall so much and love getting your letters. i hope you are all good in ework and keep trecking forward. Hope the baby is good and that everybody is happy!!!!!!!!!!! i love you so much! thanks for the ensign of conference i am about halfway done with it...haha i love readingt the talks bc i can here there voices in my head soo cool......Everything has to do with planes!!!!!! haha I know the gospel is true and that our Heavenly father loves us and sent Jesucristo to save us, i know that this is the only true church on the face of the earth that has the`power of God to bless his children, and i know because i doubted, so i read the Book of Mormon, and i prayed to know if it was true and i felt it in my heart, i felt it and i can never deny what i felt. Jesus Christ lives and has calls prophets in thses days like those of old, He directs His church.It is so simple, ASK AND YE SHALL KNOW. I love the gospel and am thankful for the very same missionaries that sacrificed there lives to brings this marvolous gospel to our family and there is nothing more important in my life than to sacrifice so others can feel the same. Ilove you so much and wish you a greta week take care and READ AND PRAY, it works love you ttyl love Eric I got back an hour on saturday night, I am not looking forward to darker nights I like the sun!!!!!!

Terremoto 1 Year Anniversary February 28, 2011

Hola querida Familia, ¿Que cuetan de la tierra del norte? ¿Cómo están los gentiles por allí? ¿Cómo Se comportan? jaja ¿Cómo están ustedes? Espero que hayan tenido una semana super buena y que tenga una buena esta semana tambien jaja. les quiero tanto! Well this week flew by so fast with the cambios and all at the beginning of the week and them the usual work made the week seem short and here I am again writing you haha. I don’t have much to tell but I will tell it anyway...I tell you my memory is getting really bad have to write everything down and I have gotten lazy about writing in the journal I am a week behind no sé but I am just so dead without deseos to write but need to do it. This week we worked super hard with Clara to get her ready for here baptism date on the 6 March this coming week and she had her entrevista and everything and she is good to go!!!!!!!!!! Wooooooohoooooo! I am so stoked and she wants to get baptized in the river and call to get permission and got it so Sunday afternoon we are going to the river it will be so cool and a lot of members should come to we are tell everybody. I don’t know who will baptize her but it isn’t important what is important is that she will be baptized, they are already talking abut a calling for her. So awesome she is so ready and she is so happy. She is inviting all her friends and family to come too. I cannot wait to tell you all about the baptism this week. Tonight we are having a NDH at the family Alarcon, where I did my phone call, if you remember Kelliee....the little girl that came in during the call haha at their house haha, Clara and her kids are going and also her friend Jacqueline and her kids and also a neighbor Byron so it will be super fun and we are making some goodies to eat, it will be so fun. We received an awesome reference from the office on last Monday made the contact. It is so good, se llama Mirta, she had been praying to find the true church and her work partner sent in the referral she has a lot of deseos to learn but her work schedule is hard but it is a detail no mas haha. We found some good new people to teach and also were able to see some of the menos activa famlies we teach progress also. We met a menos activo, Carlos, he is a man who lived the american dream, he went to the USA at age 17 and studied and worked and became a doctor, joined the church young and worked in a hospital for 30 years and he moved back to Chile but he has problems with the culture he hates it and he said he wants to go back to Mexico or the USA to his old ward. He speaks perfect English and Spanish he is a cool guy and are helping him go back to the ward here because we need members like him here. He has a great life story and told us a little but I would love to hear more he is a cool guy. The new elder that got here is Elder Demann he is a cool guy from Murray Utah, Elder Thomas my MTC companion is from there also. We have had good times in the house and did a deep cleaing this week in the house and the spirit is so strong now haha “cleanliness is next to Godliness” haha, this morning we went and made pan amasado with Hermano Domingo and made it with chicharones! It is fried fat and carnes oh the pan is soooooooooo good and with queso mejor haha I love it. I am going to teach him how to made cinnamon rolls next time haha so good haha. It is chill and hope to have a chill p-day and rest up a bit. Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of the terremoto here and well there have been some small ones but nothing to worry about. They did a memorial program here and n Dichato, but time has gone and stuff is better no need to worry if you repent and live the commandments! Well it was a great week and I look forward to another good one this week with a lot of exito!!!! Thanks for sending the package and hope I don’t get fatter........I am up to 96.2 kilos.......not good my clothes fit the save but my stomach is a little bigger and my legs look like tree stumps from climbing the hills here everyday but my companion said he would sacrifice and run with me in the morning three days a week to try to lose weight and I have cut out all snacking because I cannot gain weight, oh well that is the life! I love this work and I feel so blessed everyday to think that the Lord chose me to do it. I am not capable to do it but I know if I seek the Lord and the spirit He will bless me with the strength and knowledge so I can do it. I know this is the true church and I know because I have felt it and I ask frequently to know if I am doing what is right and He always answers yes. The gospel is easy the commandments are too but we make them hard we complicate things and we are the ones who bring the consequences upon ourselves not God we do it. I love the gospel and I love to teach it too. I love this work and love to help others understand it too. I love you so much and hope you have a great week Love Eric

"When you are in the service of your fellow man you are the service of your God" 2/21/2011

Hola ¿Cómo Están?,
¡despertaos! y ¡escuchaos a mis palabras! nojust kidding, well I was so glad to be able to hear a little from everyone of you and I know you all are busy but I sure do love to receive save it be a sentence from you all . Thank You. This week was a good one but it went by fast and slow you could say, time is weird now because Elder Call and I were talking about the cambio and we realized that Eliana was baptized this cambio and it felt like such a long time ago so weird time flies by and for me it goes by too fast to keep track of it all. Thanks to my agenda I at least know what day it is.
Today is the start of a new cambio and I am still here in Tomé and Elder Call and I will be together for at least one more cambio. He is the 3rd companion that I have been with for 3 cambios....weird huh I guess it means I still have a lot to learn from him 6 weeks worth of stuff haha. Elder Huerta is going north to Talca and those are the changes in the house and Elder Deman is coming down from Talca, but I will stay here for 6 weeks more. More time to find the chosen ones here in Tome. So, today will be a chill day and tomorrow is a mission wide cleaning day but is cambios too so it means that Elder Call and I will have to clean solo oh well that is how it goes. I think I will go backwards telling you about my week because yesterday is most fresh in my head I think.....
Yesterday was stake conference and we had a transmission from Salt Lake City; Elder Maynes, Hermana Dalton, Elder Christofferson, and Elder Packer spoke. Elder Christofferson served his mission with Pres Humphrey and speaks Spanish very well and also Elder Maynes spoke in Spanish, Hermana Dalton was translated and Elder packer started his talk in Spanish and ended too....he tried his best, if was a good conference and talked abut missionary work a lot. They broadcasted to about 40 stakes and districts in Chile and told all youth under the age of 25 to prepare to go on a mission because the % of missionaries Chilenos is super low to all those who have the age to go on the mission. It was great and Clara came and she loved it she was in awwww, she said “I cannot believe I just heard 2 apostles talk” it was cool. The other Elders had a baptism last night and Clara came and we were able to share a message with her. She told us that the conference did her good and was what she needed. She set her fecha for the 5 of marzo, she said she was going to do all it took to get baptized that day. She is so awesome and is so ready. I am so thankful for the gospel because it has saved Clara from the pit where she was and even though she hasn’t gotten baptized yet, but will, that she is in a safer place now with friends and help from the members. The members have done their part and more, I have seen them make sacrifices that most others wouldn’t do and why? Because they love our Savior and they love their brother and sisters. Love is the first and greatest commandment because if we love -God we will follow His Son JesuCristo and live his commandments and we will help others to do the same. I have noticed lately and it has humbled me too.
I know that the Lord called me to serve a mission, not to teach, but to be taught! I have learned so much and as I told Elder Call yesterday, “Now that we have learned and know these things and how to be good leaders and how to teach and live the gospel we cannot NOT do it, because we would be liars” and I know that is true the Lord is our master and teacher and He changes us it is part of the plan of happiness, if we don’t leave this earth better than we came we have failed.....I have been applying this in my teaching and my life. If I am not willing to change or think I cannot do it I am saying that the plan of salvation cannot be done...change is the plan, change from bad to perfect and it can be done because JesuCristo did it and He came to show us the way.
Friday night we had another noche de hogar at the church building, Clara and her friend Jackie came and there were a couple members. It went good and was fun, just need to get more members to come because we need there help. That is the point of the noche de hogar but it was fun and well that is all that matters. Thursday was a day of a lot of walking and it was a
good day igual.
Taught Jose and Filomena early in the week and they are very confused with the apostasy and resurrection but the thing they need to do it pray. They are good people but need to pray, I know they will be baptized. They are a great family.
That is all the big news from the week, I forgot all the other stuff. My mind is so horrible I cannot remember what I ate yesterday .
Well I have got to go and cannot wait to hear from you all next week and hope there is big news again good news. I love you so much and I know the church is true and that the Lord loves us. Stay strong and don’t let go. I love you all so much and hope you have a great week.!!!!! Love you Chau Love Eric