2 additional roomates!

  Once again, hello everyone!

  I sure do love being on a mission. I love it here. How are things back home? All good I hope. So this week has been very good. And we had 3 baptisms this week! But I shall start at the beginning of the week…
  The new elders are here! One's named Elder Viana and the other is Elder Christensen. Both are really cool guys. Elder Viana is especially funny. Elder Christensen is brand new, so he's still a little out of it, haha. But he is a rubio (meaning he has blonde hair and blue eyes). Needless to say he is a spectacle here. Everyone just stares at him, haha. The norm here is having dark hair and dark eyes, so whenever someone is different they get a ton of attention. So yeah, they're both super cool and are wokring very hard. So to continue…
  So to start I'll talk about some of the food. On Monday was the first time I had herbal tea. And I'm not gonna lie, I like it alot! It's really good. Who would have thought! Another interesting thing we had on Monday is whats called a zapallo Italiano. It is a zucchini with all the stuff in the middle taken out, and rice put it. Needless to say it looked pretty formidable, but it really wasn't that bad.
  So another interesting note. The past few weeks have been blistering hot. Then out of nowhere last week it got colder, then rained for 2 days. It was very weird.
  So this week we did our best to visit Geremias, Alejandro, and Daniel every day, (they're the ones who were planned to be baptized on Sunday). We were at Geremias and Alejandros house, and Geremias gave the prayer. He prayed and said he was thankful for the opportunity he has to be baptized by me. That really touched me, it is so great seeing how big of an influence I have the chance to be in peoples lives.
  So on Tuesday and Wednesday we had to go to lunch 20 minutes away by bus, in a town called Maule. We were sitting on the bus and a young boy walked on (probably like 15). He said he was a missionary of some church, then just said a thing he had memorized and tried to sell the people on the bus a pamphlet. This got me thinking about how different we as missionaries are. I do respect him for what he does, but he just didn't seem to care, you know? He didn't talk to us, preach or anything, just said a script. So yeah, something interesting. The family who lives out in Maule is called the Yañez family. To sum them up, they're old. Super old. Sr. Yañez is so old he has hair growing out the topo of his nose, haha. Anyways, when we got there, I saw that each plate had a huge artichoke on it. I was very worried, but it turned out fine. It wasn't too bad, but it is a lot of work to eat an artichoke.
  Alright, so we were at Geremias and Alejandros house a different day, and his mom was talking about why Alejandro had never been baptized in the catholic church. She wanted him to have the decisión and pick which church he liked best. Then Alejandro said, but mom, its not only cuz I like the church, it's because it's the only true church. Elder Jorgensen and I were grinning from ear to ear when he said that. I felt so happy for him.
  And another interesting guy we talked to. He knew the Bible backwards and forwards, and had all these equations and whatnot about the significance of numbers in the Bible and whatnot. Something I realized is that he had faith through these numbers and equations, and I have faith through God and prayer. It was just a strong testimony to how strong my faith is.
  Alright, the big day Sunday. So Daniel, Geremias and Alejandro were being baptized. We went over to Geremias and Alejandros house in the morning and had breakfast with them. Then we headed to church and I was so nervous during the whole church. We started to fill the font early, but it was going to slow, so we turned up the cold water and let it go. So 30 minutes before the service we discovered the water was up to the middle of our torsos! So we had to leave it like that. The baptism service went off without a hitch, and I got to baptize Geremias 3rd. It was easily one of the best experiences of my life. The apiñes (feelings) I felt for him was something I've never felt before. So spiritual. So then came time to drain the font. And unfortunately (I'm using that loosely) the water was up super high, so I had to go completely Under to pull out the drain. Not gonna lie, that felt really good too. Then I said, hey - why not do a little bit of eggbeatering? Haha, just kidding. Didn't really do that.
  So yeah that about sums up the weeks activites. It was an amazing week, definitely one of the best here thus far. I love you all, and please continue to write. Miss you a bunch, and talk to you next week!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

¡Hola a todos! (¡Hello Everyone!)

¡Hola a todos! (Hello Everyone!)

I love being able to write every week to you guys. So this week overall has been fantastic. One of the best thus far. Lots of things happened this week.
   So Tuesday was a big day. We had our usual zone meeting thing, and then we did a mini-cambio. Which in english I believe is called an exchange or something. I honestly don't know or remember. But anyways, it's when you switch comps for a day. Elder Jorgensen is the district leader, so he had to go over to San Clemente, which is about 20 minutes away, and I stayed here. And one of the missionaries from over there came here. So I had to lead the sector for the day! I was really quite nervous to do it, I had to start all the lessons, lead to all the appointments, etc. Lots of responsibility. But I did it, and it went off without a hitch. So that made me feel real good, I feel a lot more confident in knowing my sector, etc. The missionary who came was Elder Echeverria, he's from Santiago. So that was cool too, speaking Spanish with a native Chilean all day. So after the night we took a bus back to San clemente, and helped them cut their grass. Here most people don't use a lawn mower, they just cut it with some big scissors. So it takes a while, but what can you do.
  So on Thursday we did some service at a members house. And what do you know, we cut some more grass. I wish I had the pictures(they're on e. Jorgensens camera and he doesn't have it at the moment), we cut a montón (a ton) of grass and weeds. Some of the weeds were taller than me! But yeah, I'll send you a picture next week. it took about 2 hours to do.
  Ok, so now a little tidbit about the members. We have such great members here. There's a family who lives rght next to us and theyre so kind. Their recent converts, as of August I believe. The Cristi family. So yeah, they're awesome. The other night we were at their house after they came out to a lesson with us, and gave us some bread. The son, Matías, ran out and bought ham for me so I wouldn't have to eat the bread plain. They're just so kind to us it's incredible. The father, Rodrigo, got the priesthood this Sunday! That was super cool. More about sunday...
  So this week we had 4 baptismal interviews set up for this sunday after church. We went to go pick up Marcelo, who has a strong testimony, all he lacks is going to church, and he wasn't there. He was one of the people who was supposed to be interviewed. I can't describe how sad I felt. Even though we had 3 more interviews lined up,  I was still very distraught that he couldn't come. Which reminds me of a scripture in Mosiah. It talks about how the sons of Mosiah preached the gospel so powerfully, and they had so much love for the people they taught, that they would be devastated when someone didn't accept their message. I feel like slowly I'm becoming like them, amazing Missionaries. But hopefully he can have the chance soon. Anyways, so we had 3 more baptismal interviews, for Daniel, Alejandro, and Geremias. And the amazing news, all 3 of them passed and will be baptized this coming Sunday!! More about them incoming…
  So Daniel is super ADD. The Lord has blessed me with so much patience, I can't believe it. Anyways, he is the son of a lady named Amalia. She isn't a member, but you would think otherwise if you hadn't known. She has such a strong testimony, but she can't be baptized because she is living with a guy (who happens to be a excommunicated member who is wanting to come ack to the church as soon as he can). He is the one who referred her to the Missionaries. So it would be a little weird telling him he's got to move out in order for her to be baptized. So yeah, it's pretty complicated. Anyways, back to Daniel. He passed his interview with flying colors. So I'm pumped.
  The other 2 are Geremias and Alejandro. They're cousins, Geremias is 12 and Alejandro is 16. Geremias too passed with flying colors. We were pretty unsure about Alejandro though. We weren't to sure if he had sincere desires to be baptized. After a 45 minute interview, he too came out and passed! I can't tell tell you how happy I was when I heard he passed. I was grinning from ear to ear. So yeah, 3 baptisms next week! I'm super excited, and I'll get to baptize Geremias! I can't wait.
  Also , Marta was confirmed in our Ward. That was very special too. Afterwards in class we walked in and she said I'm finally a member now! How cool it is to see the gospel change peoples lives.
  So cambios are today. Cambios are every 6 weeks, when you can possible be switched to a different zone. Elder Jorgensen and I were afraid we would get Split up. But the zone leaders called and were both staying and we're staying together. 2 more missionaries are coming to live in our house and be in our sector. That should be super exciting and fun. It's only been a house of 2 up until the new elders come tomorrow. One's from Ecuador, and the other is a brand new Elder. Should be fun and interesting.
  Well I think that's about it. I love the work. I love being here in Chile, spreading the Word of God. The Church is so true, my testimony of this grows on a daily basis. I love you all, please continue to write and encourage others to write too. ¡Chao, que les vayan bien!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

1 Month in Chile !!

¡Buenas Tardes a Todos!  (Good Afternoon Everyone!)
  Once again, I apologize for such a short email last week. But I will definitely be making up for it this week. But the big news; baptism! But more on that later. So about the goings on from the 27th to the 1st…
  On Tuesday the 21st I did a minicambio with one of the zone leaders. It's when one of us goes over to their sector, and one comes here. I can't think of what it's called in English at the moment. Lo siento (sorry). Anyways, I went over to the sector of the zone leaders. I was with elder Glissmeyer, he's the guy that’s 6 foot 7. What happens usually is that we exchange in the afternoon, then we change back the next morning. It was a cool experience, Elder Glissmeyer is a super good teacher.

  Then on Friday we had interviews with the Mission President. We meet at our chapel then he talks to our whole district, interviews us individually, and we do some teaching practices. That went well too. Nothing too exciting, but it was good.

  Also, it was Halloween. Like Aaron said, it's not too big here, and its mainly for little kids. There was an activity in the church for the youth, but it started at 10:00pm so we couldn’t go. A funny story, completely unrelated to Halloween: we went to a new converts house, whose son is also a new convert, but is becoming inactive. We went to invite him to church, and he said he couldn’t come because his finger hurt, haha. Just a random, funny excuse to not go to church.

  Ok, so on Sunday we had a good day. At first when we got to church we were disappointed, not many of our investigators were in church, but then a bunch came and we had 8 investigators in church. That was good, it made me happy to see them there, making the right decision. Also on Sunday I gave my first blessing in Spanish, needless to say I felt like it was pretty bad. But oh well, what I say doesn’t really matter, it’s the action that matters. Ok, so that about sums up the activities from the week of the 27th to the 1st.

              So now time for what happened this past week. On Monday we went to Constitución. It’s a smaller city about 2 hours away from Talca, right on the beach. So to start the festivities, all 10 elders in the district stayed in our house on Sunday night. That was pretty crazy, and a lot of fun. We woke up at 5:30 or something,I don’t even remember it was too early. Then we headed to the train station to take the train there. The train ride was super bumpy, the train was uber old, but it was a very pretty ride. So we got there and the beach was really fun. I'll send home some pictures. We played Frisbee, walked on the rocks, and had an asado (a barbeque) on the beach with hot dogs. One of the elders made a joke that we were going to baptize some fish (go swimming, haha). A quick note, they don’t have cheddar cheese here.  So what I like on my hot dogs here is ají (a type of hot sauce is basically what it is), and a little bit of mayonnaise (which im pretty sure is a bit different than the mayonnaise back home). Then we took a bus home, and got home at about 5:50pm . Since P-day ends at 6, I had to write a super short email. Once again, sorry.

  So some more stuff from this past week. We had English class again on Wednesday, and some people actually came back! It was surprising. We had 8 people in class, and like half weren’t members. So that was neat. Also something else that was funny. There was a dog we saw who was chasing his tail and had caught it! He kept going in circles though, at least for 2 minutes. The next day we saw him doing the same thing! Super funny. Ok, so an experience. We were talking to this lady at the door, and she was talking to us, and told us she was giving us a warning, that she wouldn’t get baptized. We talked to her some more, and she even told us she didn’t think her church was true, but she wouldn’t change due to tradition. Kind of got me frustrated.
  So on Friday, we had a noche de hogar (Family home evening) at a members house. We had a couple investigators there, and it was fun. We made rice crispy treats, which are completely new to everyone here. They all love them, but they're super expensive to make, the marshmallows are expensive.

  So let me tell you a little bit about the baptism! Her name is Marta, she's pretty old. Her son is a member, and so we baptized her in the sons ward, called Jardín de Valle. It was a little bit different, it didn’t really feel like a baptism of ours. One because it was in another ward, so we didn’t really prepare for it, and another because we still weren’t sure if it would be counted as our baptism. I know that’s not what matters, definitely not. What matters is that she is now baptized, she is clean of her sins. Anyways, it was a super cool experience, the spirit was very strong. Today we learned that she would be counted as our baptism, so there it is my first baptism! Such a cool experience.
  SO a couple other things. I gave another blessing on Sunday, which felt like I did a lot better this time around (it feels like we give blessings of health out like candy). The "primary" program was in church too, so that was amusing. Also on Sunday we went and taught the wife, (an inactive member), of a member. I'm not gonna lie, talking to her was one of the first times I've been mad here in chile. What made me mad was the reasons she gave for leaving the church: 1) the chapel is cold. 2) she felt she was wronged by the members (she told us that when people are in the church, they should be perfect….[is anyone perfect?]). Yeah, and she was trying to tell us how she knows more about the church then us. Whose been active all their life and is there every Sunday? Ugh, it's frustrating sometimes, she was willing to sacrifice her salvation because the church is cold and people are imperfect. What can you do?
  Alright, so know a bit about our investigators. So we haven’t been able to meet with Marcelo for about 2 weeks. We make appointments, but he's never able to make it. We saw him yesterday, and the first thing he told us is that he didn’t want to share with us anymore. He felt bad that he was letting us down. We assured him he wasn’t, and he was making the correct choices in life. He still has a testimony of the gospel, and he still has desires to be baptized, all he lacks is assistance (the word for "to attend" in Spanish is asistir, hence most of the elders here refer to attendance in church as assistance, haha) in church. So that was good, he may be baptized the 22nd. Also we have Geremías and his brother Alejandro, who are progressing very well. They also have dates for the 22nd. Another for the 22nd is a young boy named Daniel. He is super ADD, thus very hard to teach. His situation is rather complicated, which I won't go into at this time, maybe later. But he too is progressing. Antonella, is a young 10 year old girl. She is at the brink of being baptized, but doesn’t have the desire to. Well she does but she doesn’t know where. So were trying hard with her too. Ok that’s about it for the progressing investigators and what-not.
  So time for some random stuff. Well I'm now down to 74.3 kilos, which is about 163 pounds. Thank goodness. I left the MTC at 179. Please don’t fret, I'm not being starved, not at all. I'm just not overeating anymore. Which is good. Please don’t worry, haha, but I think you might anyways. Another thing interesting, I already have the tanline from the white shirt. Ugh. It's like super high on the neck and looks funny, what can you do. So a little bit about some interesting food experiences. One thing we had at a lunch was some corn, mixed with a lot of mayonnaise, wrapped in a piece of lunch meat ham. Needless to say it was gross. Also, here on their salads they don’t use salad dressing, what they put on it is like lemon juice and vinegar or something. I'm pretty sure that’s what makes it gross. But I definitely am getting better at eating it. Also the other day im 90% sure we had like liver or something. Also gross. But the other days lunches are usually pretty good.
  Spanish is getting better and better. They speak pretty uniquely here. But I am getting better and more confident, which is good.
  So that’s about it for this week, sorry I had so little to write, haha. Love you all, please write, I love looking forward to hearing from you.

Elder Mayberry

Short note this week

   This is going to be a very short letter this week. I don't have much time, we went to the beach in constitucion today! Its was a ton of fun, but it's late and p-day is about over. SO I don't have much time, but I'll fill you in on some details now, and write a much longer letter about this week next week.

   SO we have an investigator named Marta whos being baptized the 8th! But in a different ward, but it doesn't really matter. We have a couple who may or may not be baptized the 8th or 15th. There's a young boy named Geremías who is super cool, and he's progressing really well. His whole family is. It's amazing how the gospel really can change peoples lives. I love it here. Well I've got to go. I'm very sorry about such a short letter. I'll make up for it next week. I'll also answer all your questions next week.
Love yopu all!!!