Hello again everyone!
It was another good week this week. More success and some great news! But more on that later.
So in terms of the week, nothing terribly exciting. Really in terms of missionary work and stuff it was a normal normal week. Lots of riding busses everywhere and some cold and all that good stuff. Also, we're nearing the end of the change (this Sunday) so me and Elder Saenz are nervous cuz we have zero idea of what'll happen. No one knows really. There's like 12 people leaving though so we dunno how that will affect everyone else and stuff. But we're pretty stressed out, haha. We wanna stay together another change here in Pirque, because Pirque is one of the best sectors in the mission, and becausae if we stay together we both celebrate a year the same day and we wanna throw a huge party haha. But we'll see. You shall know next week.
A fun thing we did on Thursday was that we played soccer in the nighttime with the ward, young men vs the Elders quorum/old people. Our team of the Elders quorum was me, elder saenz, and three investigators haha and we ended up winning :) It was a ton of fun and we're gonna do it again on this Thursday.
But now for the good stuff and why we're so happy here in Pirque. Investigators. So, remember Mauricio and Mariela, who we found from a reference two weeks ago? They were a nice little present to us from God, because He really prepared them for the gospel. Because they're getting baptized this next Sunday!!! We are so happy here because this is what this work is all about. Helping peple to find the gospel. And they are really happy too. Mariela, the mom, always tells us that she has really seen a difference in her and her familys life since she first had contact with us. And Mauricio, the son, is incredibly smart and understands everything. They both came to church on Sunday and stayed the whole 3 hours and liked it a lot. Last night we finished teaching them all the lessons so they're all set to go! This week we're gonna review everything and make sure they're familiar with the baptismal interview questions. But they're ready and it really feels good. This is why I'm here. So next Sunday will be a very special Sunday for us here in Pirque. And the rest of the family should be following suit. We're also teaching in the family of Mariela and Mauricio, Kata, the daughter, Mauricio the dad, Maria the sister of Mariela, and Sonia, Marielas mom. So it's been really cool having lessons with like 7 people listening. But yup. Baptisms!
The rest of the investigators are doing alright. Nothing exciting and no major improvements.
But yeah. Thats about it for this week here in Pirque. I'm loving it here in this sector and I love this work. Church is true! Hope youre all having a great summer while we're over here freezing (not too bad) haha. Love you all! Talk to you next week!
Elder Aaron Mayberry
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
It's bike time!
This week was another good one! And the time flies here in Pirque, its really weird.
Yeah, so this week we started using the bikes and it's not as cold as we thought. But then again the weather isn't acting like its winter, it's weird. It was sunny out for most of the week, so we took advantage and went bike riding. But I am not used to riding bikes. It was pretty hard, but Elder Saenz says you just need to get used to it again. So I'm working on that. But I'm pretty sore haha. But it should be good. It's really fun riding bikes though.
So this week was a really good and interesting one. On Tuesday though it was really winter. We leave our district class at like 12, and we have to head to lunch right away, cuz it's like an hour bus ride. And when we left in the morning the weather was nice. And when we got on the bus it started raining. A lot. And we weren't prepared haha. So we ate lunch and while eating it became a torrential downpour haha. We didn't have jackets or umbrellas or anything. So we waited it out a little bit. And finally it stopped. So we said alright, we'll go and walk to this familys house, like 35mins away (thats how the distances are here). So we leave the house, walk 5 minutes, and the torrential downpour starts again haha. So we walked for like 20 minutes in pouring rain with no way to stop it, so we just got incredibly soaked. It was pretty interesting. But what else can you do? But it wasn't bad at all.
On Wednesday we had zone conference with president and that was really good. Got to catch up with alot of my freinds here in the mission. But at the same time it was kinda sad, two of my really good friends are going home in two weeks, Elder Evans and Elder Frost. It's crazy, it seems like so short ago I was comps with those guys. But that's how the mission is. People leave and people come.
And on Saturday we went and did service as a branch and went and helped a family that is going to move into the ward. We're building their house haha. So that was pretty fun. I've never built a house before...
The rest of the week was pretty normal though, lessons, bike riding, all that good stuff. Now, about our investigators. They're doing really good. Juan and Yasna are doing good. They still are a bit iffy on the whole marriage thing but they're really motivated about going to church and stuff. And the family we found last Sunday is doing really good. The son, Mauricio is really interested. On Wednesday we taught him solo and he had read and understood everything (something that normally doesn't happen after one lesson). So we're really excited to see progress with them. Him and his mom went to church on Sunday which was really really cool and they really liked it we think. Juan also went to church too. So it was a really good week for us in terms of investigators and stuff. So we're really happy here in Pirque.
But that was our week. It's been doing really well here in Pirque and we are really happy. I love this work and it truly brings happiness to bring the blessings of the gospel to other peoples' lives. The church is true! Love you all and we'll talk next week!
Elder Aaron Mayberry
P.S. PICTURES
1. Me and Elder Sáenz on the day when it rained
2. When we went to the temple with Juan and Yasna and little Sebastian last week.
Yeah, so this week we started using the bikes and it's not as cold as we thought. But then again the weather isn't acting like its winter, it's weird. It was sunny out for most of the week, so we took advantage and went bike riding. But I am not used to riding bikes. It was pretty hard, but Elder Saenz says you just need to get used to it again. So I'm working on that. But I'm pretty sore haha. But it should be good. It's really fun riding bikes though.
So this week was a really good and interesting one. On Tuesday though it was really winter. We leave our district class at like 12, and we have to head to lunch right away, cuz it's like an hour bus ride. And when we left in the morning the weather was nice. And when we got on the bus it started raining. A lot. And we weren't prepared haha. So we ate lunch and while eating it became a torrential downpour haha. We didn't have jackets or umbrellas or anything. So we waited it out a little bit. And finally it stopped. So we said alright, we'll go and walk to this familys house, like 35mins away (thats how the distances are here). So we leave the house, walk 5 minutes, and the torrential downpour starts again haha. So we walked for like 20 minutes in pouring rain with no way to stop it, so we just got incredibly soaked. It was pretty interesting. But what else can you do? But it wasn't bad at all.
On Wednesday we had zone conference with president and that was really good. Got to catch up with alot of my freinds here in the mission. But at the same time it was kinda sad, two of my really good friends are going home in two weeks, Elder Evans and Elder Frost. It's crazy, it seems like so short ago I was comps with those guys. But that's how the mission is. People leave and people come.
And on Saturday we went and did service as a branch and went and helped a family that is going to move into the ward. We're building their house haha. So that was pretty fun. I've never built a house before...
The rest of the week was pretty normal though, lessons, bike riding, all that good stuff. Now, about our investigators. They're doing really good. Juan and Yasna are doing good. They still are a bit iffy on the whole marriage thing but they're really motivated about going to church and stuff. And the family we found last Sunday is doing really good. The son, Mauricio is really interested. On Wednesday we taught him solo and he had read and understood everything (something that normally doesn't happen after one lesson). So we're really excited to see progress with them. Him and his mom went to church on Sunday which was really really cool and they really liked it we think. Juan also went to church too. So it was a really good week for us in terms of investigators and stuff. So we're really happy here in Pirque.
But that was our week. It's been doing really well here in Pirque and we are really happy. I love this work and it truly brings happiness to bring the blessings of the gospel to other peoples' lives. The church is true! Love you all and we'll talk next week!
Elder Aaron Mayberry
P.S. PICTURES
1. Me and Elder Sáenz on the day when it rained
2. When we went to the temple with Juan and Yasna and little Sebastian last week.
Monday, July 5, 2010
11 months old in the mission!
Hello everyone!
It was a good week this week, so I'll get started right away.
On Tuesday we went to the temple as a zone and that was really a special experience like always. What a blessing it is to have a temple in my mission and to be able to go. We saw some good stuff with our investigators this week though. With Juan and Yasna we went to the temple and did a tour of the grounds and they really really liked it. They were really happy that they went and they felt the Spirit for sure. Yasna even bore her testomniy to us which was really cool. They both have testimonies and are basically members, but they aren't married, which is the hardest part for sure. So at the temple we really emphasized eternal marriage and asked them to pray and think about marriage, so we shall see how that goes. But that was a really spiritual experience. We also taught Alex, who said off the bat that he was gonna go to church, but on Sunday morning he called us and told us his mom needed help in the hospital cuz his little sister is there. So we are waiting to see the progress that he makes. Also, with investigators called Jenny and Carlos we had a good lesson 2. I just said that as if you know what lesson 2 is haha. Lesson 2 is the plan of salvation. It went really well. And afterwards was the best part. They asked if another night we wanted to have "once" (like a snack in place of dinner) and we said sure. They asked what we don't eat and we said we don't drink tea or coffee, just ecco (cereal based coffee replacement) and herbal teas and they said oh great! that's all we drink! haha, it was just a little way to show us how God really does prepare people to receive this gospel. And yesterday we found a reference and it turned out to be a good one!, which doesn't usually happen. It was a nice family and we taught them about the restoration and talked to them about how the gospel can improve their family life. They really liked it. Funny story though, here in Pirque the numbering system for addresses isn't exactly ideal. So we were looking for the number 4999. So we go down the street toward the number and it's not there. So we start heading up to the 5200s and we look and there it is. Number 4999, right between numbers 5251 and 5279.......we both laughed a lot at that. But we're happy with the things that are going on here in Pirque at the moment.
Something cool about the sector, the stars are amazing here. There's like a bajillion. It's something I haven't seen in quite a while, especially not in Santiago haha. Little cool fact about Pirque.
A ver, what else. Ahh yes, two important dates this week. Happy independence day to the United States. I wore an honorary U.S. flag tie that Elder Saenz gave me yesterdy to commemmorate haha. And today I turned 11 months in the mission......holy cow. I'm basically on the downhill slope home. It's intimidating. But good at the same time. I love the mission and am glad I still have 13 months to enjoy.
Today for Pday we played basketball and soccer as a zone so that was good but I'm tired. And then immediately after, me and Elder Saenz went on the search for the aunthentic mexican food restaurant in the city. There's a place called Órale in the northern part of the city so we took the trek all the way up the entire metro and got there. And guess who accompanied us? The bishop from El Valle, my second (and favorite) sector. So it was really cool to catch up with him and hear about new stuff in that ward. But the food was also delicious. Elder Saenz says hes gonna become a regular over there now, even though its like a trip of an hour and 15 mins to get there- haha. You just gotta appreciate the finer things in life, o sea, mexican food.
So here we are, ready to start another week in pirque. It should be a good one. We also have conference with the President this week and that's always good.
Oh yeah, funny story time. So here in Santiago we use the busses quite a bit. And you never know what kind of surprise will be awaiting you when you get on. From people selling various pens, to CDs of all sorts, or nice wollen gloves (which I'm wearing at the moment :) or the entertainment people. And sometimes they're really good and it's cool when they are. Me and Elder Saenz have seen: a Colombian woman singing solo (not so good) a folk band using like flutes and a guitar and a big drum, they were really good, a clown who talked ridiculously fast and wasn't very funny, and even the most incredible accordian player I've ever seen. So it never gets dull here haha.
But yeah. I'm loving it here in Pirque and in the mission. I'm really happy and can't wait for what's to come. I love you all and hope you're having a great week. Until next week! Oh, and I forgot my camera cord so next week pictures for sure. Love you! Church is true.
Elder Mayberry
It was a good week this week, so I'll get started right away.
On Tuesday we went to the temple as a zone and that was really a special experience like always. What a blessing it is to have a temple in my mission and to be able to go. We saw some good stuff with our investigators this week though. With Juan and Yasna we went to the temple and did a tour of the grounds and they really really liked it. They were really happy that they went and they felt the Spirit for sure. Yasna even bore her testomniy to us which was really cool. They both have testimonies and are basically members, but they aren't married, which is the hardest part for sure. So at the temple we really emphasized eternal marriage and asked them to pray and think about marriage, so we shall see how that goes. But that was a really spiritual experience. We also taught Alex, who said off the bat that he was gonna go to church, but on Sunday morning he called us and told us his mom needed help in the hospital cuz his little sister is there. So we are waiting to see the progress that he makes. Also, with investigators called Jenny and Carlos we had a good lesson 2. I just said that as if you know what lesson 2 is haha. Lesson 2 is the plan of salvation. It went really well. And afterwards was the best part. They asked if another night we wanted to have "once" (like a snack in place of dinner) and we said sure. They asked what we don't eat and we said we don't drink tea or coffee, just ecco (cereal based coffee replacement) and herbal teas and they said oh great! that's all we drink! haha, it was just a little way to show us how God really does prepare people to receive this gospel. And yesterday we found a reference and it turned out to be a good one!, which doesn't usually happen. It was a nice family and we taught them about the restoration and talked to them about how the gospel can improve their family life. They really liked it. Funny story though, here in Pirque the numbering system for addresses isn't exactly ideal. So we were looking for the number 4999. So we go down the street toward the number and it's not there. So we start heading up to the 5200s and we look and there it is. Number 4999, right between numbers 5251 and 5279.......we both laughed a lot at that. But we're happy with the things that are going on here in Pirque at the moment.
Something cool about the sector, the stars are amazing here. There's like a bajillion. It's something I haven't seen in quite a while, especially not in Santiago haha. Little cool fact about Pirque.
A ver, what else. Ahh yes, two important dates this week. Happy independence day to the United States. I wore an honorary U.S. flag tie that Elder Saenz gave me yesterdy to commemmorate haha. And today I turned 11 months in the mission......holy cow. I'm basically on the downhill slope home. It's intimidating. But good at the same time. I love the mission and am glad I still have 13 months to enjoy.
Today for Pday we played basketball and soccer as a zone so that was good but I'm tired. And then immediately after, me and Elder Saenz went on the search for the aunthentic mexican food restaurant in the city. There's a place called Órale in the northern part of the city so we took the trek all the way up the entire metro and got there. And guess who accompanied us? The bishop from El Valle, my second (and favorite) sector. So it was really cool to catch up with him and hear about new stuff in that ward. But the food was also delicious. Elder Saenz says hes gonna become a regular over there now, even though its like a trip of an hour and 15 mins to get there- haha. You just gotta appreciate the finer things in life, o sea, mexican food.
So here we are, ready to start another week in pirque. It should be a good one. We also have conference with the President this week and that's always good.
Oh yeah, funny story time. So here in Santiago we use the busses quite a bit. And you never know what kind of surprise will be awaiting you when you get on. From people selling various pens, to CDs of all sorts, or nice wollen gloves (which I'm wearing at the moment :) or the entertainment people. And sometimes they're really good and it's cool when they are. Me and Elder Saenz have seen: a Colombian woman singing solo (not so good) a folk band using like flutes and a guitar and a big drum, they were really good, a clown who talked ridiculously fast and wasn't very funny, and even the most incredible accordian player I've ever seen. So it never gets dull here haha.
But yeah. I'm loving it here in Pirque and in the mission. I'm really happy and can't wait for what's to come. I love you all and hope you're having a great week. Until next week! Oh, and I forgot my camera cord so next week pictures for sure. Love you! Church is true.
Elder Mayberry
Monday, June 28, 2010
Pirque and the Andes!
So here we are after another week here in Pirque. To be honest, nothing really exciting happened this week which is kinda boring. World cup is happening though and its crazy. Everyone here goes nuts when Chile plays. Speaking of that, they just played and lost to Brazil 3-0 :( pobrecitos. But Chile played well, but Brazil played better. And before you think that I'm chueco and watched the game, we got permission from President to watch today haha :D So we enjoyed some nice soccer. But now Chile is out of the tournament, along with the USA. Oh well, life goes on I suppose. It was pretty funny though, we headed over here right after the game ended and the people we saw looked really really sad. They take their futbol seriously here.
Lets see, the rest of the week was pretty decent. We got disappointed on Saturday because we were supposed to do a temple tour with our investigators Juan and Yazna, but they cancelled on us because they had a friend that was leavig from Chile so they were gonna be with him. But we rescheduled and are gonna go with them on Wednesday now, so that's good.
In terms of other investigators, we don't have much. We don't have much time to do knocking but we need to dedicate more to doing it because we don't have many people to teach at the moment. We are teaching the neighbors of a family and they're good. There's a 15 year old named Alex and he is really interested. He's a really different kid. He isn't like the rest of the kids here in Chile because the majority at that age are doing things they definitely shouldn't be doing but Alex really likes the religous things. So we're going to be working with him a lot.
Me and Elder Sáenz are doing really good though. We're a good team and happy together and teach well together. He was kinda sad cuz mexico lost though, haha.
Today for p-day we went and played soccer for a little bit with some of the other Elders and then we came back to watch the game and eat asado! The family we live with made an asado (barbeque) and it was pretty delicious.
In terms of other things that happened this week there was really nothing. Haven't seen a ton of progress in our investigators, we need to find more, and at church no one showed up :( None of our investigators at least. But attendance was low too, but that was a combination of cold and three day weekend (I think here in Chile theres a holiday every month).
It has gotten cold here. And rainy. But in the nights its pretty cold. In the mornings when we wake up there's tons of frost on the floor. They say we might see some snow here in Pirque this winter. Now that would be exciting.
Well family I love you all and hope you're all doing good. I'm doing great here, I'm loving it and loving work. There's nothing more important I could be doing and there's nothing I'd rather be doing. This church is true and blesses lives! Love you all, til next week!
Elder Aaron Mayberry
Pirque!
Andes mountains (in background)
Lets see, the rest of the week was pretty decent. We got disappointed on Saturday because we were supposed to do a temple tour with our investigators Juan and Yazna, but they cancelled on us because they had a friend that was leavig from Chile so they were gonna be with him. But we rescheduled and are gonna go with them on Wednesday now, so that's good.
In terms of other investigators, we don't have much. We don't have much time to do knocking but we need to dedicate more to doing it because we don't have many people to teach at the moment. We are teaching the neighbors of a family and they're good. There's a 15 year old named Alex and he is really interested. He's a really different kid. He isn't like the rest of the kids here in Chile because the majority at that age are doing things they definitely shouldn't be doing but Alex really likes the religous things. So we're going to be working with him a lot.
Me and Elder Sáenz are doing really good though. We're a good team and happy together and teach well together. He was kinda sad cuz mexico lost though, haha.
Today for p-day we went and played soccer for a little bit with some of the other Elders and then we came back to watch the game and eat asado! The family we live with made an asado (barbeque) and it was pretty delicious.
In terms of other things that happened this week there was really nothing. Haven't seen a ton of progress in our investigators, we need to find more, and at church no one showed up :( None of our investigators at least. But attendance was low too, but that was a combination of cold and three day weekend (I think here in Chile theres a holiday every month).
It has gotten cold here. And rainy. But in the nights its pretty cold. In the mornings when we wake up there's tons of frost on the floor. They say we might see some snow here in Pirque this winter. Now that would be exciting.
Well family I love you all and hope you're all doing good. I'm doing great here, I'm loving it and loving work. There's nothing more important I could be doing and there's nothing I'd rather be doing. This church is true and blesses lives! Love you all, til next week!
Elder Aaron Mayberry
Pirque!
Andes mountains (in background)
Monday, June 21, 2010
Relax, You're in Pirque!
That is what it says on some of the signs here in good ole Pirque. Relax, you're in Pirque. And it's really true, it's so much different here than in the city. I am really enjoying it here. A lot of this letter will be talking about the sector and stuff that goes on and what has happeend and all that jazz. But first off....
Lakers won! Haha, that's pretty cool. Too bad I was here. But Chile won their game in the world cup today so that's cool. And the States isn't doing bad I've heard. Anyway,
So Pirque. I've completed my first week here and is pretty much flown by. I dunno where to get start. So Pirque is a comuna in Santiago, comuna being like an area, but it's kinda not Santiago because it's not really city, more like country area. And the whole comuna is our sector. Its gigantic. Elder Sáenz says on bike it would take a few hours to go end from end. But it's not too bad. We do a lot of bus riding and bike riding. We haven't got on the bikes yet though, because the whole week was terribly cold and it rained a lot, on Thursday or Friday it rained the entire day. Ah, we live in the house of a member of the church. Her son is currently attending BYU. We live in the addition to her house in the back. So it's pretty cool. She makes us lunch on Mondays, which is good for me because as you know I'm kinda lazy. They have two dogs, a rooster, and like 15 chickens. And the rooster wakes me up every morning! But Elder Saenz says you just get used to it. So like I said we have to take either busses or bikes to travel around the sector. Or of course, you got old fashioned feet. Here we don't get as many lessons because we do spend a lot of time travelling. Sometimes the busses take a while to get around or sometimes we don't wanna use the money and go on a super short bus ride so we just walk for like 45 mins haha. But it's really cool here. The people are completely different. Everyone says that the people here are like the people in the south of Chile, the people who live in the country. They're just friendlier, more open to listen to us, and all around nicer to us as missionaries. Also, in Santiago, it is illegal to burn firewood. But here in Pirque it isn't, so everyone has these stoves in their houses called salamandras and you just stick he firewood in there and it heats up the house amazingly. It's really really nice because it is a little colder here. Unfortunately, in out part of the house we don't have one, so we freeze. Just a joke, we don't freeze. Dad would love it here, because its like we're in the outdoors. There's a river, the Andes mountains are close and pretty looking with the recent snowfall(which could potentially get to Pirque), long roads with no cars or people, trees, all that good nature stuff. That's pretty much my sector. I'm loving it here. Its a great break from the craziness of the city life, with people everywhere, flaites, and regaeton blasting everywhere. So it should be a good time spent here. And don't worry I've already took a ton of pictures.
A couple of experiences to help you know what it's like here in the sector.
-We see huasos a lot here. Huasos are the cowboys of Chile. They're riding horses, with their hats and ponchos, it's pretty cool. I'll have to show you a picture of them.
-The other day we were walking down the street and I was looking to the side or something and Elder Saenz says oh man! and I look ahead and there's three bulls running down the street towards us! Some guy pops out of nowhere and says, don't worry, and then guides them off down a street to their corral.
- We were also walking down the street on Tuesday or Wednesday. We were looking for an old investigator that the missionaries were teaching a while back. The problem is in this sector is that their numbering and street naming system isn't good. Lots of times there aren't street names. So we were walking on the street and some guy in his car stops and tells us to get in, so we do and he says where you going? we tell him the address and he asks us the question, who are you trying to see? We tell him the name and he responds, "oh I don't know her. and I know everyone here in Pirque because I've lived here all my life. Let's go to this little store and ask the guy, he knows everyone" so we went there and he asked the guy but the guy wasn't sure, when in walk two random guys into the store and say, "oh yeah we know her, she lives right over there!" so then we got to the house.
But that's how it is here. Pretty different but I like it a lot.
In terms of other things. Our investigators are doing good. We are teaching a couple called Juan and Yazna who are really cool. They are really close to getting baptized, they already have their testimonies and everything, but they need to get married. We're doing a temple tour with them on Saturday and then we're gonna ask them what they think. But yeah, at the moment those are the only ones I remember really. There's others but we're working with them. No one went to church though so that was disappointing.
Other things that went on this week.....We had interviews with President this week and they went really good. Pres. gave me some really good advice. These next few changes should be interesting. Oh, my zone leader is Elder Evans, the one that was my second comp. Hes "dying" this change, or say, he's going home at the end of July. so that's cool, we got to catch up and we see each other once a week.
On friday we had a Priesthood activity in the house of one of the members. And Elder Saenz made authentic Mexican tacos and it was really delicious. He found a mexican restaurant that actually makes mexican tortillas and we made some tacos and quesadillas and guacamole for the men of the ward. It turned out really good.
Well that is basically it. I'll have a more descriptive letter next week, with more details on things. It's gonna take me years to figure this sector out though, its huge. We'll see. But I'm loving it here. This change is gonna be a really good one. Hope that you are all doing really good over there in the States! I'm doing really well here in the far distant land of chile. Hope your week goes well. Talk to you next week!
Elder Aaron Mayberry
Lakers won! Haha, that's pretty cool. Too bad I was here. But Chile won their game in the world cup today so that's cool. And the States isn't doing bad I've heard. Anyway,
So Pirque. I've completed my first week here and is pretty much flown by. I dunno where to get start. So Pirque is a comuna in Santiago, comuna being like an area, but it's kinda not Santiago because it's not really city, more like country area. And the whole comuna is our sector. Its gigantic. Elder Sáenz says on bike it would take a few hours to go end from end. But it's not too bad. We do a lot of bus riding and bike riding. We haven't got on the bikes yet though, because the whole week was terribly cold and it rained a lot, on Thursday or Friday it rained the entire day. Ah, we live in the house of a member of the church. Her son is currently attending BYU. We live in the addition to her house in the back. So it's pretty cool. She makes us lunch on Mondays, which is good for me because as you know I'm kinda lazy. They have two dogs, a rooster, and like 15 chickens. And the rooster wakes me up every morning! But Elder Saenz says you just get used to it. So like I said we have to take either busses or bikes to travel around the sector. Or of course, you got old fashioned feet. Here we don't get as many lessons because we do spend a lot of time travelling. Sometimes the busses take a while to get around or sometimes we don't wanna use the money and go on a super short bus ride so we just walk for like 45 mins haha. But it's really cool here. The people are completely different. Everyone says that the people here are like the people in the south of Chile, the people who live in the country. They're just friendlier, more open to listen to us, and all around nicer to us as missionaries. Also, in Santiago, it is illegal to burn firewood. But here in Pirque it isn't, so everyone has these stoves in their houses called salamandras and you just stick he firewood in there and it heats up the house amazingly. It's really really nice because it is a little colder here. Unfortunately, in out part of the house we don't have one, so we freeze. Just a joke, we don't freeze. Dad would love it here, because its like we're in the outdoors. There's a river, the Andes mountains are close and pretty looking with the recent snowfall(which could potentially get to Pirque), long roads with no cars or people, trees, all that good nature stuff. That's pretty much my sector. I'm loving it here. Its a great break from the craziness of the city life, with people everywhere, flaites, and regaeton blasting everywhere. So it should be a good time spent here. And don't worry I've already took a ton of pictures.
A couple of experiences to help you know what it's like here in the sector.
-We see huasos a lot here. Huasos are the cowboys of Chile. They're riding horses, with their hats and ponchos, it's pretty cool. I'll have to show you a picture of them.
-The other day we were walking down the street and I was looking to the side or something and Elder Saenz says oh man! and I look ahead and there's three bulls running down the street towards us! Some guy pops out of nowhere and says, don't worry, and then guides them off down a street to their corral.
- We were also walking down the street on Tuesday or Wednesday. We were looking for an old investigator that the missionaries were teaching a while back. The problem is in this sector is that their numbering and street naming system isn't good. Lots of times there aren't street names. So we were walking on the street and some guy in his car stops and tells us to get in, so we do and he says where you going? we tell him the address and he asks us the question, who are you trying to see? We tell him the name and he responds, "oh I don't know her. and I know everyone here in Pirque because I've lived here all my life. Let's go to this little store and ask the guy, he knows everyone" so we went there and he asked the guy but the guy wasn't sure, when in walk two random guys into the store and say, "oh yeah we know her, she lives right over there!" so then we got to the house.
But that's how it is here. Pretty different but I like it a lot.
In terms of other things. Our investigators are doing good. We are teaching a couple called Juan and Yazna who are really cool. They are really close to getting baptized, they already have their testimonies and everything, but they need to get married. We're doing a temple tour with them on Saturday and then we're gonna ask them what they think. But yeah, at the moment those are the only ones I remember really. There's others but we're working with them. No one went to church though so that was disappointing.
Other things that went on this week.....We had interviews with President this week and they went really good. Pres. gave me some really good advice. These next few changes should be interesting. Oh, my zone leader is Elder Evans, the one that was my second comp. Hes "dying" this change, or say, he's going home at the end of July. so that's cool, we got to catch up and we see each other once a week.
On friday we had a Priesthood activity in the house of one of the members. And Elder Saenz made authentic Mexican tacos and it was really delicious. He found a mexican restaurant that actually makes mexican tortillas and we made some tacos and quesadillas and guacamole for the men of the ward. It turned out really good.
Well that is basically it. I'll have a more descriptive letter next week, with more details on things. It's gonna take me years to figure this sector out though, its huge. We'll see. But I'm loving it here. This change is gonna be a really good one. Hope that you are all doing really good over there in the States! I'm doing really well here in the far distant land of chile. Hope your week goes well. Talk to you next week!
Elder Aaron Mayberry
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Blessings in disguise.
Well hello again from Santiago Chile. Things are doing great here! Well, the weather isnt too amazing but thats all good. Its been cloudy and cold and sometimes rainy. So not too much fun for missionary work. But other than that things are amazing.
This week was a pretty fome one. Not much was accomplished in terms of investigators and we can't find anyone to teach. It's so frustrating sometimes. Because we'd knock for hours a day the whole change and we found very very few people. So it was kinda rough. But it was a good change and I learned a ton and met some amazing people. Abraham and Carolina continue progressing. Abraham told us in the last visit that he believed that there was a prophet today so that was really cool. And, as changes were nearing, he told us that if we left that we didnt have to worry, because they were going to keep going in the gospel without fail. So that was basically amazingly reassuring and a very cool feeling. It has been amazing to see the changes they've been making and the happiness they've received because of it. They know this church is true and are gonna keep going. So they were definitely the highlight of the change and I hope that they keep going. But other than that, the week was lame haha. Except for..........changes. And this is what happened. So, we get home Sunday night to await the call. At about 10:30 or so the power went out cuz it was raining, and at like 10:45 we got the call about changes. They said Elder Laney, se va (you're going), which was expected because he was already there a long time. Then they said Elder Mayberry, tambien se va(you're also going). Yeah. Needless to say I was shocked and extremely disappointed. It is no fun being in a ward for only 6 weeks. And you have to pack ALL your stuff which is the worst part easily of changes. So yeah. The other two elders in that sector are staying and are gonna be the only ones working there now. So that was a relief because we just told them who all our investigators are and they're gonna go visit them now. I felt much better after that cuz its better than leaving a note with all the stuff and hoping the new guys get the job done. But that's how it was. I was in another ward for but 6 weeks. I'm happy though, I learned a lot and feel like I accomplished and learned what I needed to. But then I had to pack....in the dark (remember the power outage?) so well after my bed time I finally got to sleep.
We get there in the morning and they start announcing the changes and I am now in the stake Cordillera, in the branch Pirque. Remember where I went last week for p-day? That's now my sector haha. And my companion is Elder Sáenz from Mexico! I worked with him in El Valle for a while so we already know each other and stuff. So needless to say I am really really excited to be here. So, some info about my new sector. It's one of the two unique sectors in the mission. This is either the biggest or second biggest, we're nearer to the mountains, and we're the only sector in the mission that uses bikes! How fun is that? I'm quite excited. I've only heard good things about this sector and it should be a lot of fun. It's really beautiful down here too because we're kinda away from the city and its all campo, like big houses with open spaces and stuff. Mas encima I'm with Elder Sáenz. So this should be a really good change i think.
So yeah. Here I am in the sector now. I havent gotten to ride the bikes yet, but we do lots of bus riding to get from here to there also. But more in winter we use the buses my comp says cuz it gets really cold riding. I still wanna try it out though :)
So next weeks email should be a pretty good one. I'll have lots to say about this new sector and probably quite a few pictures. But here's two at the moment, one of me and Elder Saenz and one of Pirque. I love you all and hope youre having a good week! The world cup started here and its crazy. But not too bad cuz all the games are in the morning. So it doesn't affect us too much. But I'll talk to you next week and let you know how its going here in Pirque. Chao!
Elder Aaron Mayberry
Monday, June 7, 2010
10 months old on my Mission!
Well it was a really good week. I turned 10 months the other day in the mission and that's crazy! In two months the mission is half over.... wow.
But yeah, things are good here in Turquesa. We had a pretty successful week with some things and unsuccessful with others. I'll start with the investigators. So Abraham and Susanna are doing really good. We've been having really good lessons with them this week. They're learning a ton and progressing a lot. Susanna, in the beggining of the week randomly told us that she had stopoped smoking for 5 days and she hasn't since. So that's really amazing. On Saturday we went with them and gave their baby daugter a blessing in the hospital because she's been there since birth because of respiratory problems. That was a cool experience. Then afterwards we went and did a temple tour with them which was really cool! They liked it a lot. And on Sunday they came to church for the first time and they loved it! So tomorrow we're gonna have a good lesson with them and talk about baptism and marriage. The other investigators aren't really doing much at the moment, but we'll see. We might find some new ones and some miracles might've happened to us this past week, but I'll wait to call them that til they develop.
On Sunday at church the only two investigators we had were Abraham and Susanna. But I failed to tell you other exciting news. Remeber how we had taught that inactive Bishop a while back and he went to church? He's gone every Sunday since then, which is 4 straight. So we're quite happy about that improvement.
Today was a lot of fun because we went to a sector called Pirque. It's the only sector in the mission with bikes, because its all campo, like houses with lots of land and stuff, some have horses and all that jazz, I don't remember if that type of area has a name in English anymore. But we went there and found a soccer field and played soccer for a good while and boy am I dead at the moment. My legs are super sore already. And we had a tasty barbeque Chilean style. So that was good of course.
I'm trying to think if anything exciting happened in the week. It was actually hot this week, which is really weird. Cuz it's supposed to be winter. Also, everyone is about to go crazy because the world cup starts this week. It should be a lot of fun, even though we can't watch haha. But the people are really excited.
I also found out a strange (to me) tradition the Chileans have. You know how people always have things to remember of their babies? like videos and stuff, pictures, maybe some hair....turns out all Chileans save their kids' umbilical cords. Is that weird? Do we do that in the States? Inform me if we do haha.
But yeah, this should be another good week here in Santiago. Hopefully everything works out well with all the investigators and stuff. Also we have changes at the end of this week so we'll see what happens. I think imstaying but you can never know.
OH! I completely forgot to say that we went to the Temple! It was so cool! It was my first session in Spanish and it was really cool and spiritual. I really hope we get to go back more.
Sorry for all the typos, this keyboard is struggling to work correctly - haha.
Yeah. That's it for this letter. Hope you're all doing great! I'm gonna put some pictures so you can all be entertained, I know how you love those pictures : ) Love you all and hope you have a good week!
Elder Aaron Mayberry
1. Me, comp, Abraham, Susanna, and daughter in hospital.
2. Me, comp, Abraham, Susanna, and recent convert at the temple
3. The zone after the activity today.
But yeah, things are good here in Turquesa. We had a pretty successful week with some things and unsuccessful with others. I'll start with the investigators. So Abraham and Susanna are doing really good. We've been having really good lessons with them this week. They're learning a ton and progressing a lot. Susanna, in the beggining of the week randomly told us that she had stopoped smoking for 5 days and she hasn't since. So that's really amazing. On Saturday we went with them and gave their baby daugter a blessing in the hospital because she's been there since birth because of respiratory problems. That was a cool experience. Then afterwards we went and did a temple tour with them which was really cool! They liked it a lot. And on Sunday they came to church for the first time and they loved it! So tomorrow we're gonna have a good lesson with them and talk about baptism and marriage. The other investigators aren't really doing much at the moment, but we'll see. We might find some new ones and some miracles might've happened to us this past week, but I'll wait to call them that til they develop.
On Sunday at church the only two investigators we had were Abraham and Susanna. But I failed to tell you other exciting news. Remeber how we had taught that inactive Bishop a while back and he went to church? He's gone every Sunday since then, which is 4 straight. So we're quite happy about that improvement.
Today was a lot of fun because we went to a sector called Pirque. It's the only sector in the mission with bikes, because its all campo, like houses with lots of land and stuff, some have horses and all that jazz, I don't remember if that type of area has a name in English anymore. But we went there and found a soccer field and played soccer for a good while and boy am I dead at the moment. My legs are super sore already. And we had a tasty barbeque Chilean style. So that was good of course.
I'm trying to think if anything exciting happened in the week. It was actually hot this week, which is really weird. Cuz it's supposed to be winter. Also, everyone is about to go crazy because the world cup starts this week. It should be a lot of fun, even though we can't watch haha. But the people are really excited.
I also found out a strange (to me) tradition the Chileans have. You know how people always have things to remember of their babies? like videos and stuff, pictures, maybe some hair....turns out all Chileans save their kids' umbilical cords. Is that weird? Do we do that in the States? Inform me if we do haha.
But yeah, this should be another good week here in Santiago. Hopefully everything works out well with all the investigators and stuff. Also we have changes at the end of this week so we'll see what happens. I think imstaying but you can never know.
OH! I completely forgot to say that we went to the Temple! It was so cool! It was my first session in Spanish and it was really cool and spiritual. I really hope we get to go back more.
Sorry for all the typos, this keyboard is struggling to work correctly - haha.
Yeah. That's it for this letter. Hope you're all doing great! I'm gonna put some pictures so you can all be entertained, I know how you love those pictures : ) Love you all and hope you have a good week!
Elder Aaron Mayberry
1. Me, comp, Abraham, Susanna, and daughter in hospital.
2. Me, comp, Abraham, Susanna, and recent convert at the temple
3. The zone after the activity today.
4. Elder Johnston with the dog that decided to follow us on the bus to the activity. Bus driver said that he doesnt even care. No big deal!
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