Hello Everyone!
Well to start off, it sure was great getting to talk to all of you on Christmas. Really was a great experience (and I'm not "trunky" about it either, so thats good haha). So now that Christmas is over now we get to celebrate new years! So to start off cambios (transfers in english) were today, and the good news is that none of us are moving! So that's pretty good.
So this week was pretty alright, had its ups and downs. So on Tuesday we had the activity we set up. It turned out not too shabby. A decent amount of people came and they enjoyed it I think.
So then on Wednesday we went to the local hospital and sang Christmas Carols to the people there for a couple hours. That was a neat experience, but unfortunately Elder Jorgensen felt pretty sick, so after that we went back to the house. We went to our neighbors house (recent converts) to get some ideas as to how he could feel better. So they gave him this drink, which had lemon juice, water, and bicarbonate in it. Not 20 seconds after he drank it he was throwing up in the bathroom. It was actually pretty funny. Then they put cut up potatoes with salt on them to make his temperature go down. Crazy chileans, haha.
So then on the 24th we went and sang to all of our investigators for 4 hours straight, then we had our Christmas dinner at a members house, a big asado (barbeque) which was delicious and a lot of fun. Then on the 25th we talked on the telephone!
Then Saturday and Sunday were pretty normal. Sunday we had the confirmations for the 2 people who were baptized, I got to give the comfirmation to 1. (I messed up a few times on the prayer, ugh). Anyways, so thats what happened. As far as our investigators are going...
So a lot of our investigators had gone out of town for christmas. We did get to teach Felipe once, and Carolina too. The lesson we taught with Carolina was really good, she talked to us about how before we came she couldn't forgive someone for what they had done, but she has forgiven him since. She said she never thought she would change, but she has. It really has been a blessing to see how the gospel can change peoples lives for the better. And we're still working on finding new people.
So thats about all I can think of at the moment. Have a fun New Years everyone! Love you all!
Elder Mayberry
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Elder Ryan's Christmas letter!
Happy Holidays Everyone!
So this week has been pretty spectacular. I shall tell you why…
So on Tuesday we did a division with the zone leaders, and I stayed in our sector and had to lead the sector. I was with Elder Bravo for the day, he dies (as they say here, or rather he's finishing his mission) in a week. So the day was alright, I like teaching with a latin. Elder Bravo teaches with pure power, he is a very good missionary. He also gave me a lot of good advice for the mission in general. So that was a lot of fun.
So the rest of the week was alright. We had a couple low points, one day we did contacts for 2 and a half hours straight and no one accepted a return appointment. So that was a bit depressing. But luckily we've been having a lot of the members come out with us, which is a great help. Members really do make all the difference in the world.
So.. Wednesday was the last day of English class til the next year. The people got little diplomas, it was cool.
So yeah, this week was rather uneventful until Sunday. So this Sunday we had 2 baptisms! One of Maria, and the other of the little girl named Nicole. Elder Jorgensen baptized both of them (Nicole was supposed to be baptized by her uncle but he never came), but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that these 2 people have now made this covenant with God, and are on the right path. And the other miracle, we had 11 investigators in church! This Sunday was the most stressful I've been in a long time. Between wrangling appointments with our investigators, getting everything ready for the baptism, setting up an activity for Tuesday, it was crazy, but worth it.
So the investigators are doing well, Felipe came to church, which was really good. We are going to challenge him to be baptized the next appointment. Also the lady Carolina came, and I think she really felt the spirit.
This week to come should be good, were gonna go caroling a couple times, one to a hospital and the other to our investigators. And Christmas! I feel like I'm forgetting a lot, but hopefully I remember if I am.
So I don’t have much else to say, other than enjoy the holiday season! But don’t keep the real reason why we celebrate too far in the back of your heads. Christ was born, born to go what every one of us would go through, and also to atone for the sins of everyone who has been, is, and will ever be. Remember the real Christmas message, that Jesus was born, in the humblest of circumstances, to give us a perfect example. Really, He was born so that every one of us would have life to come.
And with that, Merry Christmas and Happy holidays
¡Feliz Navidad!
Elder Ryan Mayberry
So this week has been pretty spectacular. I shall tell you why…
So on Tuesday we did a division with the zone leaders, and I stayed in our sector and had to lead the sector. I was with Elder Bravo for the day, he dies (as they say here, or rather he's finishing his mission) in a week. So the day was alright, I like teaching with a latin. Elder Bravo teaches with pure power, he is a very good missionary. He also gave me a lot of good advice for the mission in general. So that was a lot of fun.
So the rest of the week was alright. We had a couple low points, one day we did contacts for 2 and a half hours straight and no one accepted a return appointment. So that was a bit depressing. But luckily we've been having a lot of the members come out with us, which is a great help. Members really do make all the difference in the world.
So.. Wednesday was the last day of English class til the next year. The people got little diplomas, it was cool.
So yeah, this week was rather uneventful until Sunday. So this Sunday we had 2 baptisms! One of Maria, and the other of the little girl named Nicole. Elder Jorgensen baptized both of them (Nicole was supposed to be baptized by her uncle but he never came), but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that these 2 people have now made this covenant with God, and are on the right path. And the other miracle, we had 11 investigators in church! This Sunday was the most stressful I've been in a long time. Between wrangling appointments with our investigators, getting everything ready for the baptism, setting up an activity for Tuesday, it was crazy, but worth it.
So the investigators are doing well, Felipe came to church, which was really good. We are going to challenge him to be baptized the next appointment. Also the lady Carolina came, and I think she really felt the spirit.
This week to come should be good, were gonna go caroling a couple times, one to a hospital and the other to our investigators. And Christmas! I feel like I'm forgetting a lot, but hopefully I remember if I am.
So I don’t have much else to say, other than enjoy the holiday season! But don’t keep the real reason why we celebrate too far in the back of your heads. Christ was born, born to go what every one of us would go through, and also to atone for the sins of everyone who has been, is, and will ever be. Remember the real Christmas message, that Jesus was born, in the humblest of circumstances, to give us a perfect example. Really, He was born so that every one of us would have life to come.
And with that, Merry Christmas and Happy holidays
¡Feliz Navidad!
Elder Ryan Mayberry
Monday, December 14, 2009
Christmas bread everywhere!
Hello everyone!! Great to hear from you all. Things are going great here in Chile, the work is really moving forward, and we are recieving all kinds of blessings. So I'll start with the investigators...
So this week we've seen a lot of progress with our investigators. So Maria Alejandra had her baptismal interview this sunday, and she passed! So she's going to be baptized this coming Sunday, the 20th. Also, we received a blessing out of nowhere. So originally, this member came up to us and asked if we could teach his daughter. She is 8, and that means she should be his responsibility. But we just found out this week that she really isn't his daughter, but the daughter of the lady he lives with. So it turns out we are supposed to be teaching her. But the good news is that she too passed her interview, and she'll be baptized the 20th too! So were gonna have 2 more baptisms this Sunday. Exciting.
So other investigators. So we recently started teaching some ladies named Carolina, Margarita, and her son Sebastian. They received the teaching well, and they told us they really wanted to come to church. But in the end they didn't, so we'll find out why this coming week. Another of our investigators, Felipe (hes 15), we taught him and his family the restoration this week. He accepted it well, and he says he has been searching many churches, and this one is most in line with his beliefs. Anyways, we asked him to give the closing prayer, and halfway through he just started crying. We don't know exactly why, but we will find out this week. And more news on Amalia. We finally talked to Gerson, the guy she lives with, about moving out. And he is in a very difficult decision, very complicated. He said he would know what he was going to do this week, so we'll see how it goes. And our other investigator Erika came to church again! She has 0 support in her house, and this is a big roadblock for her. But thankfully she has confided in some of the members, and they are helping her a lot. Basically, we have a lot of investigators that are halfway progressing.
Elders; Mayberry, Jorgensen,Viana, Christensen
So in other news. just some random things. So there's a rascist dog that lives down a street, every time we walk by it basically follows us barking until we are super far away. But then a Chilean walks by and he does nothing, haha. Also the junebugs are out, which I thought to be pretty darn amusing. And another thing, potatos here are 190 pesos a kilogram. Thats about 40 cents for 2.2 pounds of potatos. Pretty good I think. Also here during Christmas time they have a thing called^Pan de Pascua. Here they call Christmas both Navidad and Pascua, even though Pascua really is Easter. Anyways, it's not very not good, but everyone has it and I'm getting sick of it, haha. So another cool thing, we went over to Alejandros house (the new convert) for his birthday and we ate some completos. That was good.
And today we went to a place called Vilches. Its basically like some mountains where you hike. It was cool and a lot of fun. Il be sending some pics with this email. Not in danger - Elder Mayberry
So that's about all I have for this week. I'm getting excited for Christmas to come, and the work is going very well here. But Elder Jorgensen is probably gonna leave at the end of this cambio. But we'll see. So I heard something funny, yet very true. Someone said, "You know it's the true church when they leave the entire integrity of the church to 19 year old boys" It is so true, where else do you see 50,000 plus 19 year old boys spreading the gospel for no reimbursement; only because they know it's true. Así es. This church is so true. The truest as a matter of fact. I know this without a doubt, and I'm so happy I can be a tool in the Lords hands, to bring people closer to him. Love you all a ton and look forward to hearing from you.
Elder Jorgensen and Mayberry
Until next time,
Elder Ryan Mayberry
So this week we've seen a lot of progress with our investigators. So Maria Alejandra had her baptismal interview this sunday, and she passed! So she's going to be baptized this coming Sunday, the 20th. Also, we received a blessing out of nowhere. So originally, this member came up to us and asked if we could teach his daughter. She is 8, and that means she should be his responsibility. But we just found out this week that she really isn't his daughter, but the daughter of the lady he lives with. So it turns out we are supposed to be teaching her. But the good news is that she too passed her interview, and she'll be baptized the 20th too! So were gonna have 2 more baptisms this Sunday. Exciting.
So other investigators. So we recently started teaching some ladies named Carolina, Margarita, and her son Sebastian. They received the teaching well, and they told us they really wanted to come to church. But in the end they didn't, so we'll find out why this coming week. Another of our investigators, Felipe (hes 15), we taught him and his family the restoration this week. He accepted it well, and he says he has been searching many churches, and this one is most in line with his beliefs. Anyways, we asked him to give the closing prayer, and halfway through he just started crying. We don't know exactly why, but we will find out this week. And more news on Amalia. We finally talked to Gerson, the guy she lives with, about moving out. And he is in a very difficult decision, very complicated. He said he would know what he was going to do this week, so we'll see how it goes. And our other investigator Erika came to church again! She has 0 support in her house, and this is a big roadblock for her. But thankfully she has confided in some of the members, and they are helping her a lot. Basically, we have a lot of investigators that are halfway progressing.
Elders; Mayberry, Jorgensen,Viana, Christensen
And today we went to a place called Vilches. Its basically like some mountains where you hike. It was cool and a lot of fun. Il be sending some pics with this email. Not in danger - Elder Mayberry
Elder Jorgensen and Mayberry
Elder Ryan Mayberry
Monday, December 7, 2009
Hello everyone!
Hope all is well back home. So... things are doing great here, we had a pretty good week. So first and foremost it's pretty hot here. Every day. I can't wait for winter when it rains every day, haha. So yeah, I've been in the mission for over 4 months if you can believe it.
So on Monday we woke up in the morning and cut all the grass in the backyard. It took a while, and the Ecuadorian in the house burned some of the grass off. He's hilarious. Pretty much all of the Latinos are very funny, but I think it might just be becuase it's amusing that I get their jokes in spanish. who knows. So one of the members here had to go up to Santiago to get some eye surgery done. She called the Missionaries for a blessing, and I guess she was in the sector Aaron was in last! Pretty funny, she barely missed him- kinda. And another funny story. We heard the word "luna de miel" on the TV. Literally translated this means Moon of Honey. About 2 minutes of thought later we figured out it was talking about a Honeymoon. Then I realized how weird a word honeymoon is.
So we have some new investigators, some of which are pretty good. We have one who's named Francisca, who is pretty receptive to what we teach. Another is named Erika. She too is receptive, and she went to church this last Sunday, and couldn't stop talking about how good she felt because of it : ) She had a very spiritual experience there. Another of our new investigators is named Maria Alejandra. She has already been to church a bunch of times with a friend to a different ward, but she too is progressing. So those 3 are the 3 big ones right now.
So another interesting fact. The firefighters here are all voluntary. And I quite frequently have trouble thinking of words in English now.
So the big funny story this week. So it was the morning and we were outside looking at the grass. And all of a sudden we saw a lizard, so we tried to catch it. Next thing I knew it was on my shoe, but we tried to get it but it disappeared. So fast forward an hour and a half later, and were sitting in a food place (we didn't have anyone to give us lunch), and all of a sudden I feel something in my pants, above my knee. Then it hit me that the lizard somehow managed to stay inside my pants for the whole time. So I calmly stood up, shook the leg of my pants, and out fell the lizard. The good news is that I dont think too many people saw, haha. So yeah, Chile's a blast.
So this Sunday we had 2 confirmations! And I'll tell you in a bit why it was only 2 and not 3. So Daniel and Alejandro got confirmed on Sunday. And Daniel chose me to do it! I was so nervous, but I'm pretty sure it went well. So... that was pretty cool, my first confirmation, in Spanish too. So Geremias didn't get confirmed this week. He has had a pretty tough life, it's very complicated with him. And this has affected him as a person. I guess he acts a lot differently when we the Missionaries aren't around. But he made a mistake on Saturday night, so we called the Bishop and he said it'd be best to wait till he's ready. So we've been doing a lot of praying for Geremias. Hopefully he is able to be confirmed soon, but it's the Bishops decision.
So last night we went over to San Clemente and spent the night. We played ping pong, and then this morning went to a lake close by. So that was cool as well.
Well that's about all I have for this week. We have really seen the Lords hand in our daily lives, we've been receiving blessings like no other. This really is the Lords work. The church is true. Love you all and I'll talk to you later!
Elder Ryan Mayberry.
Hope all is well back home. So... things are doing great here, we had a pretty good week. So first and foremost it's pretty hot here. Every day. I can't wait for winter when it rains every day, haha. So yeah, I've been in the mission for over 4 months if you can believe it.
So on Monday we woke up in the morning and cut all the grass in the backyard. It took a while, and the Ecuadorian in the house burned some of the grass off. He's hilarious. Pretty much all of the Latinos are very funny, but I think it might just be becuase it's amusing that I get their jokes in spanish. who knows. So one of the members here had to go up to Santiago to get some eye surgery done. She called the Missionaries for a blessing, and I guess she was in the sector Aaron was in last! Pretty funny, she barely missed him- kinda. And another funny story. We heard the word "luna de miel" on the TV. Literally translated this means Moon of Honey. About 2 minutes of thought later we figured out it was talking about a Honeymoon. Then I realized how weird a word honeymoon is.
So we have some new investigators, some of which are pretty good. We have one who's named Francisca, who is pretty receptive to what we teach. Another is named Erika. She too is receptive, and she went to church this last Sunday, and couldn't stop talking about how good she felt because of it : ) She had a very spiritual experience there. Another of our new investigators is named Maria Alejandra. She has already been to church a bunch of times with a friend to a different ward, but she too is progressing. So those 3 are the 3 big ones right now.
So another interesting fact. The firefighters here are all voluntary. And I quite frequently have trouble thinking of words in English now.
So the big funny story this week. So it was the morning and we were outside looking at the grass. And all of a sudden we saw a lizard, so we tried to catch it. Next thing I knew it was on my shoe, but we tried to get it but it disappeared. So fast forward an hour and a half later, and were sitting in a food place (we didn't have anyone to give us lunch), and all of a sudden I feel something in my pants, above my knee. Then it hit me that the lizard somehow managed to stay inside my pants for the whole time. So I calmly stood up, shook the leg of my pants, and out fell the lizard. The good news is that I dont think too many people saw, haha. So yeah, Chile's a blast.
So this Sunday we had 2 confirmations! And I'll tell you in a bit why it was only 2 and not 3. So Daniel and Alejandro got confirmed on Sunday. And Daniel chose me to do it! I was so nervous, but I'm pretty sure it went well. So... that was pretty cool, my first confirmation, in Spanish too. So Geremias didn't get confirmed this week. He has had a pretty tough life, it's very complicated with him. And this has affected him as a person. I guess he acts a lot differently when we the Missionaries aren't around. But he made a mistake on Saturday night, so we called the Bishop and he said it'd be best to wait till he's ready. So we've been doing a lot of praying for Geremias. Hopefully he is able to be confirmed soon, but it's the Bishops decision.
So last night we went over to San Clemente and spent the night. We played ping pong, and then this morning went to a lake close by. So that was cool as well.
Well that's about all I have for this week. We have really seen the Lords hand in our daily lives, we've been receiving blessings like no other. This really is the Lords work. The church is true. Love you all and I'll talk to you later!
Elder Ryan Mayberry.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thanksgiving !
Hey everyone!
Hope you all had nice Thanksgivings. I did too! I'll tell more about it in a bit. Overall, this weak was kind of slow, and a bit uneventful. But here's what happened...
So on Wednesday we had our zone conference. That's when all the zones of the more nothern part of the mission (about half of the mission) meet together and the Mission President talks to us. It was a good conference, I learned a lot. One problem the mission has at the moment is helping investigators come to church. So he advised us that we should put more emphasis on the Atonement. So we've been doing that now.
So the day after, we were basically Super Missionaries. We talked to a lot of people, focusing on the Atonement. And it really worked well, we had a lot of success.
So Thursday was Thanksgiving! Elder Jorgensen's mom sent him some potatos, microwave turkey dinners, etc. And we also went out and bought a chicken. So it was enjoyable. Elder Ryan Mayberry thumbs up!
Elders: Jorgensen, Viana,Christensen, Mayberry
Hope you all had nice Thanksgivings. I did too! I'll tell more about it in a bit. Overall, this weak was kind of slow, and a bit uneventful. But here's what happened...
So on Wednesday we had our zone conference. That's when all the zones of the more nothern part of the mission (about half of the mission) meet together and the Mission President talks to us. It was a good conference, I learned a lot. One problem the mission has at the moment is helping investigators come to church. So he advised us that we should put more emphasis on the Atonement. So we've been doing that now.
So the day after, we were basically Super Missionaries. We talked to a lot of people, focusing on the Atonement. And it really worked well, we had a lot of success.
So Thursday was Thanksgiving! Elder Jorgensen's mom sent him some potatos, microwave turkey dinners, etc. And we also went out and bought a chicken. So it was enjoyable. Elder Ryan Mayberry thumbs up!
Elders: Jorgensen, Viana,Christensen, Mayberry
And on Sunday we had Stake Conference, which was also good.
So yeah, this week wasn't too eventful. And concerning our investigators, we are basically working on finding new people. The 3 who were baptized are being confirmed next week. But yeah, so basically find, find, find, is what were doing.
Sorry this emails so short. But I really do love it here, I can't believe I've almost been out for 4 months! This really is the Lords work, and I'm so excited to be serving Him for 2 years. Til next week! ¡Chao!
Elder Ryan Mayberry
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