Woo!

Finally, a week were something went just as we wanted. well, not exactly, but I am very happy after this week. So this weeks focus, like last week, was Elisa. Passing by every day, helping her to get baptized. And after many weeks of very hard, stressful working with her, she finally got baptized!!! But more on that in a bit.
  So this week we've been working like normal, nothing too out of the ordinary happened this week.  We've been working with the same people, Jocelyn, Sandra, and Elisa basically. So in that order...
  Jocelyn was doing fine- We organized her to be baptized in the morning on Sunday so that Miguel would be there and everything, then she found out she had to go to a work thing on Sunday :( So she's either gonna be baptized this upcoming Wednesday (Miguel doesn't work) or Sunday in the morning.
  Sandra is also doing good. She still wants to get baptized for the 26th and everything. But this week we found out that she smokes. She doesn't smoke a ton, but she still smokes. But she is willing to quit, and wants to do it. So if all goes well with her, she'll also get baptzed this Sunday.
  And the big news is with Elisa! She got baptized!! It was such a long struggle but it finally happened. She was nice and animated the whole week, and we even went over Sunday morning and made breakfast for her. The baptism service was really good. She wanted it to be private, so there was only us 2, the bishop, and the relief society president. But it was still really good. Oh, and I got to do the baptism. : ) We were both so happy to see her finally take that step in her life. You never can really express how good it feels.
  So that's basically what happened this week, and what will happen next week. There was also a devotional held by the missionaries last week. They made a choir of like 20 missionaries and sang christmas songs in the stake center. It was really good, and a ton of people came!
  Like I said, that's what happened. Now next week. I seriously can't believe its christmas! It's snuck up on me this year, it still hasn't really hit me yet. So it should be a pretty eventful week, a nice dinner, and a nice phone call. Well I'll see you all then (in a very literal sense!!!)! The church is true! By the way, a couple pics. One of Us and Elisa at her baptism, and the other is me with the capsule (yes, its the actual capsule used to rescue the miners. cool huh)

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Wow!

  This week was soo nice for us. A lot of good stuff happened ( I took good notes throughout the week), and a couple unexpected things also happened. So I'm just gonna start it off right away.
  Alright, so Monday = normal day.  Tuesday was good for us. There's a neighborhood waaaay up on a hill in our sector (it's where Jocelyn and Elisa live) called the Huaska. Now, I've contacted it here and there, but on Tuesday we started what I call "Project Knock the Huaska" We're gonna contact every door, and if no one comes out the first time were gonna go back. Now we've already seen some success in finding new people who have let us in, I'm excited to do it. So also on Tuesday, me and Elder Strong went to the church so he could practice the piano. So I was downstairs while he was upstairs practicing. so I decided to quietly sneak upstairs, crawl underneath the benches, and I popped up right in front of the piano, and scared the living daylights out of Elder Strong. It was pretty funny.
  Ok, so also on Tuesday. So I think I told you we had a mouse in the house, right? Well it's been there for like over a month and we had tried everything to get it, poison, etc. So one night I made a trap. I led a ramp up to a bucket of water, and put a see-saw on it with food at the end, so if the mouse stepped on it he would fall in. So the trap was there for like a week in the middle of the kitchen, and on Tuesday, it finally worked! I'll put on some pics.
  So on Wednesday was the Teletón, the national wide telethon they have each year. And everyone watches it. SO that was interesting. Also, this week was the national day of the virgin Mary, so they had a massive procession here in Lirquen. Also on Wednesday we went to the chapel with Jocelyn to help set up for her wedding.
  So on Thursday morning was the wedding! We had permission to go to it and the reception. And it was really cool. So for the marriage it's necessary that theres 2 official witnesses to sign the marriage document, Elder Strong and me were the witnesses! It was way cool. So then we went to the reception and had a good time.
  On Friday we had the Mission Conference, which would have been really good, except that I was sick the whole time. It started with a massive headache, then I threw up right before lunch, so I didn't get to eat the delicious lunch :( But it was still a good conference. Then after we had the baptism interviews of Jocelyn and Elisa. Jocelyn passed, but Elisa still didn't feel like she was ready.
  Then on Saturday we got the info that Jocelyn was really sick. And that also led into Sunday, so she didn't get baptized :( But she's good for this next week. Also we've been talking to Elisa a lot, and helping her with her testimony, especially of Joseph Smith. She lacks only a very little. SO she after watching the restoration with us said that she thinks she'll be baptized this Sunday. So we're pumped for that, Jocelyn and Elisa should both be baptized this Sunday.
  So that's how the week went in Lirquen. SO we're very excited for this next week. Today we went to Telepizza for lunch, and after this, we're gonna go take pictures of us with the capsule fenix 2! Yes, THE capsule that brought up the miners, it's here in conce for a bit so next week you'll have some cool pictures of me. Also, here's a couple pics (two of the trap, one from the weeding) from this week (Elder strong has all the good wedding pics, and he left his camera at home :( )But thanks for everthing! Have a great week!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Tis the Season!

  Well this week was alright for us here in Lirquen. Not too much special happened this week. So let's just talk about what happened with our investigators.  
  So Jocelyn has been doing good. She's getting ready for her wedding, (this Thursday!) and we're excited for that.  She then will be baptized this Sunday! So were very excited to see it happen, after a long time of waiting.   We also talked to Sandra this week, and she's doing good. She's gonna be able to come to church 3 weeks in a row starting this upcoming Sunday, and be baptized the 26th. Again, we're very excited for that.
  So Elisa: has been a rollercoaster ride this past week. So she had another interview to see if she was ready to be baptized this Sunday, and she came out of the interview feeling worse. She felt like she wasn't exactly ready, and was kind of frustrated with herself that she wasn't ready. So we've been working with her and alls good now. She feels ready and excited to be baptized this Sunday the 12th. So if all goes well this Sunday Jocelyn and Elisa will be getting baptized.
  Apart from that not much happened. SO we've got big hopes for this month, and this week. Me and Elder Strong are having a good time and working hard. Time is going by really quick (hit my 16 month mark), but lots of time left to do a lot of work. 
  So here's some pictures of the zone and of thanksgiving to make up for the smallness of this letter. Love you all!
Elder Ryan Mayberry

Crazy week!

This week has truly been crazy, its had so many ups and downs, it's been all over the place. 
  So lets start with the good of this week. The main cool thing that happened this week is that we found a couple really cool families, that I have a lot of hope for. One ladys names Mariela, and she is seriously sooo nice. She was a reference from a member in Penco, so she's really good. When went and did service for her one morning too. I'm really excited for her. And another family we found, named Odila, Ranulfo, and Varinia (all super weird names), but they're also really cool, are related to members, know people who recently got baptized, etc. Basically they're in a perfect position to be taught the gospel. So I'm really excited to be working with those 2 families.  What else was good?  Elisa was doing excellent for her baptism on Sunday. But I'll tell you more about her in the bad news :( And we also had a ward talent show which also went really good.
  So for the bad news. Basically, all the bad news is focused on Elisa. So everything was good with her throughout the week. So we couldn't meet with her on Friday, but then we went over Saturday night. Then she broke the news to us that she was having a ton of doubts now, and was super confused again. So me and Elder Strong were doing all we could, trying to help her, there was still hope that she could get baptized the next day. Then she dropped the bomb on us that she had smoked once. When she said that a part of me honestly died inside, I felt so sad for her, cuz then she for sure couldn't do it tomorrow. So we left her the invitation to pray and verify what she had felt the first time was true.
  So then Sunday came around. Elisa came to church, so did Jocelyn and Monica! So that was really cool, to have 3 good people in church. Monicas doing good again, her life has kinda gotten bad, so she really needs the church in this part of her life. There's a lot of hope for her in December. Jocelyn, still doing perfect.  So then after church we went back to Elisa. She said that she felt a lot better again, a lot more at peace with being baptized. She accepted being baptized this upcoming sunday, the 5th. We just gotta help her keep the commandments and she'll be good.
  So then cambios...I had been throughout the week going back and forth in my mind that I was staying, then the next moment that I was going. Then after Sunday I really wanted to stay. I didnt want to leave so many things just like left undone. SO I was super nervous for the cambios. Then Monday morning comes around, and we get the call...................and I'm staying!!! I was soo happy to hear it. There are so many things I'm excited for this upcoming cambio: Elisas baptism, Miguel and Jocelyns wedding, Jocelyns baptism, it's very possible that Sandra and Monica are baptized this month, Christmas with Karinas family and Elder Strong. It's gonna be good. I'm so excited to be here.
  So that's basically this week! So this week we hope to see a lot of good, and not only this week rather this whole cambio. SO heres to another fun filled 6 weeks in Lirquen. I love you all, thanks for everything! The church is true!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Buenas!

Hey everyone!
  This week proved to be a good one for us here in Lirquen. So I'm gonna start off by rewinding a bit to last week. So I forgot to write about it, but last Sunday we had an awesome noche de hoga (family home evening) with Karinas family about the temple. It was super spiritual, and we made them a cool picture for them, with the temple, their family and stuff. It was really cool. They're such a cool family, I love them a ton. So that was last Sunday. So now for this week.
  So on Tuesday we got to teach Coni and Scarlet, one was at the family home evening we did last week. Both are really cool and receptive, and want to keep listening. So we'll see what happens there. On both Wednesday and Thursday, Elder Strong had a training in the mission home, with the other new missionaries from the last 2 cambios. So he got to go there, and I was with Elder Wilhelm from Penco centro. On Wednesday we went to his sector and worked there. It was a good day. So Elder Strongs training got out at 5 o'clock. But what happened was, well seeing as how it was 7 new missionaries trying to get home alone, they got lost on the way, and they ended up getting home at about 8 oclock, haha. So that was pretty funny. Then on Thursday they went back to they're training and me and Elder Wilhelm worked here in Lirquen.  That also went good, and the noobs got back here without difficulties that day. 
  Friday was a good day as well. We had a super busy day planned here in Lirquen, but I had to go to the Zone leaders sector on a minicambio to do some interviews. So another day out of my sector, but it went well nonetheless. I got to do one interview for the Zls, the 2nd one fell through.  Saturday was pretty busy. In the morning we went and taught Karina, and there we found out that Evelyn, her mom, smokes :( But she wants to stop so were gonna help her out there. Then in the afternoon, Elisa had her baptismal interview. A brief pause to talk a little more about Elisa. So she has been progressing very well. She has not been sure on her receiving an answer that the church is true though. She has a hard time recognizing it. For example, she has felt considerably more comfortable about the religion through the past 3 weeks, and now reads and prays everyday. Another thing: she started halfway keeping the word of wisdom, not drinking tea or coffee. then she told us during the week about how she had drank a bit and smoked, but felt really bad. So then she stopped doing those things, and a day later, she found work shes been looking for for a long time. She recognizes that it could be God answering her prayers, but just isn't sure. So she had her interview; she passed, but was still not sure about doing it.  Then Sunday came around.
  On sunday our only investigator in church was Elisa. A side note, Elder Strong and I sang a special number in sacrament (I even sang a it alone, can you believe it?) and we gave talks. Well, I didn't give mine, because we ran out of time. But then after, we went to Elisas house. She then told us that Saturday after the interview, a little bit later in the day, she felt a very strong feeling in her heart and in her mind, and she knew she had to be baptized, and she told us she decided she is going to do it this Sunday the 28th!! I was sooo happy when I heard her say that, and Elder strong was smiling so big when she did. It's so amazing hearing that someones prayer was answered. So were very excited for that.
  Today has been a relaxing day. In the morning we went and played some futbol, and were just taking the day off here in Lirquen. Now this upcoming week are changes, and I have no idea if I'm staying or going. Well see what happens. I kind of feel like my time is winding down here in Lirquen, but we'll see next week. Thanks for everything, I love the work, the church is obviously true. I'll talk to you next week!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Mediocre week.

  Well, as you can read the title, the week we had was just ahi no mas. So let me run down the events for the week.
  So on Monday after doing internet we went and had lunch, and went to a restaurant named Mamut, the closest thing to an American restaurant there is. And there I got...chicken fingers with ranch, haha. 1st time in 15 months having chicken strips, delicious. Then Pday ended and we had a family home evening with a member, and there were 7 new people there! So that was really good for us to get some new people. Then Miguel Carrillo called us and we talked to him for a bit. So that was Monday. Then after that the week was just pretty average. We've been teaching our investigators, and each is progressing,  kind of. For example Elisa has committed to keeping the work of wisdom and has stopped drinking tea. So that was really good, I feel like she is our best hope for November. We also taught the sister of Moises, so that was good. Miguel and Jocelyn are still doing amazing. Paula Canales hadn't talked to her husband but said she would when we taught her again last week, and Monica said she was gonna try to do the stuff she needs to do, but slowly.
  The roughest part of this week was that on Sunday we had 0 people in church. That's always hard while being a missionary, cuz then the whole time in church your just feeling down. But I still have a lot of hope for what's to come. I learned a cool little lesson about counting my blessings on Sunday, so that helped boost my animo.
  So that was basically all that happened this week. I'm pretty sure this upcoming week will be better.  Sorry this weeks email is so short, next week I'll try to make a better email. Thanks for everything, the church is true, and until next week, chaíto!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Enchiladas, Capacitations and not your average size bugs!

  Well this week was a pretty cool one, we've seen some good things happening here in Lirquen.  So on Wednesday I had a leadership training meeting in the mission home. So I dropped off Elder Strong in Penco with the elders there and went with the zone leaders to the mission home. There the President and the assistants talked to us, and I really enjoyed the conference. It really helped boost my animo (?) and keep me ready to work. Not to mention we also ate chicken enchiladas (1st time in 15 months) and some amazing ranch dressing. It truly was delicious. 

   So then we were ready to get working really hard throughout the rest of the week. In doing so we saw good progress with Paula Canales, who is going to talk to her husband frankly about her getting baptized, but didn't come to church, Elisa; who is now feeling less confused about everything, and has now agreed to keep the word of wisdom, but also didn't come to church, Moises; we've got to talk to his mom, but he does want to get baptized, and he came to church, and Jocelyn; who is still as good as ever and her and Miguel came to church again.  Monica unfortunately had to stay at work all weekend. So that's basically what happened this week in terms of progress of the investigators, each one we have has a distinct problem, but none of them are impossible. And we found a cool lady-Sandra, who came to church last week. She is the wife of a member, and knows a whole lot of the church and wants to be baptized, but works every Sunday. So we'll see what happens there as well.

   So lets see if anything funny happened this week. Well, today on the bus to "Conce" we were sitting in back and a guy 2 feet away from me threw up all over the bus.  That was pretty....gross. Luckily we were basically in "Conce" when it happened.  Another funny thing. So it was like Thursday morning and I was in the kitchen, and all of a sudden I hear a scream and elder Strong saying Elder Mayberry get in here! My parental instincts told me elder Strong had been gravely injured. So I ran in there and he was like "there's a huge bug in here!" So we checked it out, caught it, froze it and added it to the collection. Now the bug really was huge, I'll send the picture, just imagine it flying around our house. I don't know how it got in either. But a funny story.

   So we this upcoming week are going to work on finding more new people, we've been kind of slacking in that aspect. But we will this week. I can't believe how fast this time is going by, we're already on the 4th week of the cambio, and I turned 15 months old. Ok, so now were gonna go eat at a restaurant called Mamut. I hear its the closest thing to an American restaurant, so I think I'm gonna enjoy it (it has free refils, that's unheard of in Chile). Hope you all have great weeks, I know I will!

 

Elder Ryan Mayberry

 The pictures:

1)¡Oh, Lirquen!

2)The bug

3)Again

4) I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else.

 

Halloween!

Hello all.
This week was pretty decent here in Lirquén.  So not too much exciting happened apart from the normal missionary stuff. One day I had to do a baptism interview, another day another one, and on Saturday we started up an English class, which was pretty good, we had a lot of people go.  And on Thursday we had special conference with Elder Zeballos of the Area Presidency, which was also good. I love hearing from general authorities. He talked mostly about diligence. And on Friday morning we had to go to Concepcion to do my 2nd visa. And the other day was Halloween, which still isn't too big here. Barely saw any trick or treaters. Now, apart from these things, not too much happened. We're still working with the same people.

Karina got confirmed this week! I did the confirmation, and her whole family was at the church to support her. That made us really happy. I love that family a whole lot, and I really hope to see the day when they get to go to the temple.  Elisa is still doing the same, struggling to get a testimony, struggling with confusion. Yesterday we went and taught her with Miguel Carrillo, (whose not even a member), which went good. But she's pretty much the same, she did come to church though for the 3rd week in a row. Monica was good, but she had to go out of town for the weekend :( Moises too:( Jocelyn and Miguel are also doing well, they both came to church again.

So right now, our focus is keep working with the people we got, but also focus a lot on getting new people this week, because the last couple weeks we havent been able to find many new people. So we'll see how that goes this week. Oh, and today we had a zone activity and made some choripan (sausage) and played some...you guessed it, futbol. Well I'm very sorry for how lousy this weeks email is, I'll try to write some stuff down this week as a reference to try to spice up these emails. Even though the emails may be boring, I am not bored here. I love it, and am so happy to be serving the Lord right now. The church is true! Have a great week.

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Wow!

  This week went very, very well for us. I feel really great after what's happened this week, and so I'm gonna try to get in every little detail of what happened. Well I just realized I forgot the planner that had all my notes about the week in it, so we'll see how this goes.  
  So last Monday we went to Karina, had a good lesson with her there, to pump her up for her baptism. Then I felt we should go to Miguel Carrillos house. We got to his house and I noticed a definite difference in him. So then we started talking and he just started telling us about all the doubts he has, how he still isn't sure about the church and how he would be better staying the way he was. I think I forgot to tell you last week, but the week before this happened he bore his testimony in Sacrament meeting about how sure he was the church is true and that he would eventually get baptized. So hearing this was really rough, and we had probably one of the most intense lessons I've had in my mission, actually I would say it was the most intense.  So I felt really guided by the spirit the whole time, it was really strong in there, trying to answer all of his doubts. So at the end of the lesson we just kind of ended it, no clear answer as to how he felt. And let me tell you, after the lesson, I was physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. Totally drained! We got back to the house and I just went straight to bed. So that had me really worried the whole week. Because really, he does know its true, and I would feel I have failed in my mission if he doesn't get baptized. More developments on the story a little bit later.
  So that was Monday. Tuesday was the cambio day, so for us was a normal day. Wednesday I gave the district class, which was alright. Throughout the whole week we've been focussing on getting our investigators to church, so we've been passing by a lot for our better investigators, Karina, Monica, Jocelyn, Elisa, etc. So I'll tell you a little bit about their progress in a bit.
  Thursday was really cool. Why? Because in the morning we went to the registro civil (like the government building) in Penco, with Miguel and Jocelyn, and went and got them a marriage date!!!! Sadly it's a little far away, Decmeber 9th, but oh well, they're getting married! We've seen a lot of progress in them, and I'm really glad I've been here to see it. 
  Friday was normal. Saturday we did a lot of service in the morning, and then had a normal day. And then Sunday...
  Sunday was like the crown on top of this whole week. Why? For many reasons.
1) Karina got baptized!
2) Monica came to church for the first time!
3) Elisa, Jocelyn and Miguel, and Moises came!
4)And some developments on the Miguel Carrillo story. Good ones.

Ok, so Karinas baptism! It went really well. We did it at 4 o'clock so that all the family could do it. And Elder Strong did the baptism, so that was really cool. A little side note, at the district class we formulated the idea to do a 3 compship baptism at the beach, but we didn't get permission. I really want to baptize in the beach, it'd be soooo cool. But it didn't happen. But for a future one.
  Monica coming to church really made me happy. We should start seeing a lot of progress with her now. The same with the other investigators.
  And later in the day we went over to Miguel Carrillo, and he apologized for what happened, told us about how he really is sure that he will be baptized, told us how he'd like to probably serve a mission, and all this music to our ears! So that was like the good news icing on the cake of a beautiful week.
  And then today we played some soccer, I did good at first then got a little worse. But I think I'm getting better overall. And so here I am now! I'm really excited for the future of Lirquen, we're gonna see un montón(a lot) of success here. Just hope I don't get changed the next cambio (Nov 30). We'll see what happens. And we're seeing a lot of success as a district, which also makes me feel good. I love being here and serving, time is going by faster and faster, I can't believe Octobers almost gone. But I just gotta work even harder. I love you all, have a great week!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

A good week!

Hello everyone!
This week was pretty good for us here in Lirquen, I'm pleased with the things that have happened. So first I'll do a summary of the events that happened, then a summary of the progress of the investigators. Ok, so starting at the beginning...
  Well on Tuesday we did a minicambio with Penco Centro, I had to do an interview for them over there. So that went well, the girl passed the interview and will be baptized the 24th. On Wednesday we found out that a members mom died, so we went to the funeral and Elder Strong sang at the funeral.  On Thursday morning we had to go to Concepcion to do Elder Strong's visa and id card, fun. We waited in line for 2 hours to do it.  And as you guys also know, the miners were all rescued! That was a really cool experience,and that's basically all they're showing on TV nowadays. 
  Now on Monday we recieved an email from the Presidents wife telling us we had to do a deep cleaning of the house on Saturday morning, until lunch time. Now, we had an appointment then, so we did ours on Friday. Let me tell you, I don't think our house had been cleaned before. So we spent all morning Friday doing it, and we got only halfway done! Then our Saturday morning appointment fell, and we finished the cleaning on Saturday morning.  It was a lot of work but the house looks a lot better now. But we did leave the vines in the house there as a recuerdo (rememberance?) of how it used to be, haha. 
  Ok, now its time for the investigators.
  Karina-doing excellent. We taught her almost every day this week, and she had her baptism interview and passed! She will be baptized this next sunday, the 24th! I've really grown to love that whole family. Her mom came with her to church this week too! So things are going excellently with her.
  Elisa- Kind of a roller coaster has happened with her. So we've been trying to help her get a testimony, she's really confused about which religion is correct. So we were teaching her one day and the doorbell rang, and she went out to answer it. It turns out it was her friend, who is a Jehovahs Witness, and she was out with her for 10 mins. I could her that the whole time she was just bashing our church. So they stopped talkiung and Elisa came back and just started crying. It really made me sad seeing how confused she was. So we left her the invite to pray. And then she came to church on Sunday! And we've got a cita with her soon so well see how things go.
  Monica - We had a frank lesson with her telling her she had to ponerse las pilas (put in the batteries, you now, like get things going and start doing stuff.) It was a really nice lesson and she understood it well, and she was all excited, but she was going out of town for the weekend :( So well see with her.
  Jocelyn - Things are going well there.  We actually went with Miguel (her boyfriend) to go arrange a time when the judge could marry them, but Jocelyn had to be there as well. So were gonna go back again this week to do that. Then theyll get married and shell get baptized!
  Paula Canalles - We managaed to teach her a lot this week but she didnt come to church.
  Well, and thats about it! So today we found out the cambios, and nothing happened here in Lirquen! Im staying here with Elder Strong, and were gonna do work here. Itll be good. Thanks for all the support, i love the work! Have a great week everyone!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Aqui Estamos

  Well, here we are another semana gone.  I typed that out exactly as I thought it, that's how my thoughts come nowadays, mixed in english and spanish. Anyways, this week was pretty good for us. Again, like a lot of weeks, it had its ups and downs.  
  Well for the work, were working with the same people. We've got some people who we were focussing on more, progress less, and others progressing more, so were gonna do a little bit of switching around our priorites here. But this week was pretty good. one cool thing me and elder Strong are doing now is that now we only speak Spanish in the street. And whoever speaks English the most has to buy the other something at the end of the day. It's good practice for elder Strong, me too.
  So a little about the investigators.  Karina is doing very well, she came to church again this week and liked it a lot. She could very well be baptized this Sunday, which would be excellent. On Saturday night we were worried because it appeared that Jocelyn and Miguel had a fight, but they both showed up to church on Sunday as well. And we're trying to teach another kid thats come to church a few times.  Monica once again didn't come, ugh. Elisa was also set on coming, but couldn't. But I'm still very optimistic for the future, we're on the verge of a breakthrough here in Lirquen. 
  So today we were invited by Miguel and Jocelyn to go to his birthday barbeque at his parents house. He turned 29. That was really cool, fun to just hang out with some cool people. Ate a ton though. And so here I am!
  This week I turned 14 months in the mission, 1 year in Chile. That was crazy. I took out my 1st agenda from being in Chile, and looking through it, I could remember the people I talked to, clearly, from the first few days in Chile. It's crazy.
  And so here comes the next week, the last of the cambio.  I doubt I'm going, pretty sure I'll be here in Lirquen with Elder Strong for a while longer. It'll be great. I love the work, I love being here, and the church is true. Next week I promise some pictures!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Una Semana buena!

Hey everyone!
  This week was pretty good, in many aspects.  I do feel that this email might be a little short though. So this week we have been working with our investigators, like last week, to get them to go to church.  So we focused on that this week a lot with Monica, Karina, Jocelyn, Paula Canales, and the rest.      
  On Tuesday I went to the sector of Penco Centro to do a minicambio, and that went good. Elder Strong had to lead the sector in Lirquen, and did really well from what I hear! Then on Thursday we did what was called an invasion. All the missionaries from our district, plus the zone leaders, went to the sector of Valle Hermoso and worked there for a couple hours. That was pretty cool to do.
  So like I said we had to work really hard to get people to go to church, especially cuz we wouldn't work on Saturday (for General Conference). So that's what we did, and we saw fruit! We had 4 of our investigators go to church this week! Paula Canales, Karina, Jocelyn and Miguel, and a members friend. So that made us happy to finally see some people go to church. Although it was disappointing that some people didn't go, Monica for example, we were still happy that some did. 
  And speaking of General conference, it was really good! I've come to love conference now. I felt how special of an experience it is as I taught what conference was to our investigators. How blessed we are to listen to the Prophet of God, and his 12 apostles. Conference was really good, a lot of people spoke on the basics, which was good. We as missionaries go to all 5 sessions, so it's cool to hear all the talks. 
  So we're gonna have a lot of success in October. Me and Elder Strong are excited to work hard and see some fruits this month. It's gonna be a good one. And today we had a lot of fun as well. We went to a big field, right on the beach and played soccer zone vs zone, against the zone of Chiuguayante. It was fun playing on a big field, and we also owned the other zone!  
  And as mom has already told me, tomorrow I turn 14 months old in the mission, and on the 6th I turn 1 year in chile. That will be crazy, knowing that a year ago I was in Chile. I'm not trunky, don't worry about it. I can't believe how fast the mission is going, it's scary. But I'm here to work and will do it til the day I die (in the mission). I love being here and being a missionary, and I'm excited for the future.  I love you all!, and sorry for how small this email is!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Howdy!

Hey Everyone!
  This week was pretty all over the place, had a lot of ups, downs, blessings, troubles, a lot. The week was pretty normal event wise, with the exception of having a mission conference on Friday, which was really good. But apart from that, basically we saw stuff happen with investigators. So I think I'll dedicate this email to that, describing the investigators.
  So we taught Alejandro on Monday this week, and he said he would go to church. Then we didn't see him the whole rest of the week. :( So he didn't go to church. He's so receptive, he just kind of disappeared off the map for the week. The same thing happened with Monica. We haven't seen her since before the 18th of September. So that has me a little worried.
  We did find a couple new people this week through contacts, so we'll see if they progress. Really, we've got a lot of good investigators, they just need to go to church. And when they do I know they'll progress and eventually be baptized. 
  One of the best things was that Paula Canales came to church! She couldn't stay the whole time, but at least she came, so that was good to see progress in her.
  The biggest thing that happened this week was with Jocelyn. I think I told you before that she is living with an inactive member (not married with her). Well this week we had the opportunity to teach both at the same time. He, (Miguel's his name), still has his testimony of the church, and knows he has to go back, but it's just hard for him to go back. But this week, he made up his mind and said for sure he was gonna come back to the church, starting with this Sunday! Jocelyn also said the same! So that was a big miracle we were praying for. I don't think I explained it well enough, but oh well. Anyway, it just so happened that the whole family got sick like the day after. And I don't think it was coincidence, I've come to notice very much on the mission that there is always an opposition, especially after a big decision like that. So they weren't able to come to church this week either.
  And Elder Strong is also doing well, he's still wide eyed at every new thing he sees, but the spanish is coming. We're gonna start speaking a lot more in the streets to help him out.
  For this following week my hopes are still high, we're working with the same old people, and a couple new people that I'm pretty sure will progress. Well this email was just ahí no más, but es lo que hay. I love being here on the mission, Aaron already did a nice little spanish section of the email, I'll maybe do one in a few weeks. And I of course understood the Chilean, even though I don't think you guys did, haha.  I love it. The church is true, I love this work.  I'm really excited, because it's time for General Conference again! I'm way excited to hear the talks. It should be really good, and I'm pretty sure we can get some investigators there too.
  One more tidbit. This next week I turn one year old in Chile. That, is insane. I can't believe how fast time is going.  It's true how they say the time in the mission is like a whirlpool, the closer I get to the end the faster it goes. It scares me a bit to think that my time is just dwindling down, that's why I gotta work as hard as I can now. Love you all!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Crazy Week!

  So like the title says, this week was in fact crazy. Lots happened, which I'll try to tell you about. But the bad part is that the not much in terms of mission work happened. 
  So me and Elder Strong are doing well together. His spanish is slowly getting better and better, he's able to understand a lot more than when he got here. So as you guys know (or maybe not) Chile turned 200 years old this last week, on the 18th of September. Instead of just having 2 days of vacations, they had 4.  4 days where basically the country stops functioning, to party. But anyways, we didn't see many problems in the beginning of the week. We found out Monica was gonna go out of town for the weekend, but we still had a lot of other investigators here. It was all fine through Tuesday, Wednesday (we did a minicambio, I had to go do an interview in another sector), and Thursday. but then Friday the vacations started, and that's when we saw it affect the work. All of a sudden all our good investigators just left for the weekend. So Friday was kinda rough. Then we got the call from the Zone leaders that on Saturday, we weren't really even supposed to work. We had permission from the President to just go to the Church's activites and whatnot. So that's what we did.
  The day of the dieciocho (18) in the morning all the guys from the church went and played some soccer and a barbeque, which we joined. It was a lot of fun, I love playing now. Then we went and had some lunch. For the past few days we've been eating nothing but traditional Chilean food. Empanadas, (cheese and meat ones), barbeques, choripan (sausage and bread), pajaritos and alfajores (both deserts). All of those are good, and I like them. But they have here whats called mote con huesillo.  It's some watery juice, some wheat like stuff, and a dehydrated and the rehydrated peach. It's gross, but chileans love it. So thats basically what we had for the lunch the past week.
  After that we went to the ward party, which was pretty good. It was rather fome (lame) at the beginning because no one was there, but then people came and it was good. We ate more food, watched some people dance the Cueca (the Chilean traditional dance) and talked.
  Then Sunday was a normal Sunday. I had to give a talk (ugh, still don't like speaking in front of people, but I do it a lot better now), and we only had one investigator in church. Miguel, who's been an investigator for a long time. he's a really cool guy (hes 17), and he told us that night that he sí o sí (for sure) will get baptized when he turns 18 (he doesnt have his parents permission) (and he turns 18 on march 31st :))So we'll see what happens there.
  Today for Pday we had a zone activity. we went to a private type beach, had a barbeque, and played some futbol in the sand.  And there was a huge old tunnel, where in the middle it was pitch black! It was a lot of fun, and luckily I didnt get too trunky, haha.  So here I am now, writing you guys!
  This week is gonna be a lot better for us I think. We got a lot of people who I feel are gonna come to church this week.  And it'll be better cuz the festivites are all over now (techincally not til tomorrow). And this week we have a zone conference (where half the mission gets together), which should be good, we haven't had one in like 3 months. So I'm excited for that.
  Well thats about all I can think of. I love the work, I'm not trunky, and I'm so happy to be here. Hope you all have a great week! And here's some pictures you can enjoy!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

1) The tunnel

2) The cueca.

3) The beach we went to for p-day.

4) Me!

An interesting week!

  Well hello there!
  So this last week I became a dad! That's what they say to people who train new missionaries who come in. Well this week was definitely very different from the other weeks of the mission. I'll tell you about everything that happened.

  So on Monday we basically were just saying bye to the people in the sector. Then bright and early Tuesday morning we went to the bus terminal in Concepcion to send him off. So there I had to wait for a couple hours to go to the mission home. That's where all the trainers have to go to pick up the new missionaries. So we got there, and the first thing we did was eat a delicious lunch. Then they taught us a bit as a group, trainers and "news". Then right before we were about to leave was the big time to get the new comps. The way it works is the President just says for example, 'Elder ___, you're with Elder ___'. So I was just waiting there anxiously for my new comp. I was the last for President to call, so I already knew who was gonna be my comp before he said it. But now my new comp is Elder Strong, from Centerville Utah! So then we just got a few final words from the President, then we were taken to our sectors. The assisstants drove us to Lirquen. So then we got there, and the work began just like before. But with one big change, my comp doesn't know too much spanish.
  So it's really quite different being with a a brand new missionary. One, he's getting a massive culture shock, but I'm on the end of having to help with everything. It's quite different, and I wonder if I was like that when I was new. But things are going good, I've already seen an improvement in Elder Strongs spanish since he got here. But things are going good. Well, let me continue with the week.
  On Tuesday I had to give my first district class, which went alright. Then the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday were just normal missionary days. On Thursday I was supposed to go give my first baptism interview. It was to a guy I had taught before, who was really cool. Well we went to go do it at 9:00 on Thursday, and we got there and it turns out we had to postpone it a day. Then the missionaries treated us to completos for making us come out. And Elder Strong didn't like his first completo. So then Friday was pretty cool.
  So on Friday we went to go do the baptismal interview. I was a bit nervous to do it, but it went really well. Like Aaron said, I really felt guided by the spirit. And it was soo cool, the guy I interviewed (his name is Jorge) has such a strong testimony, and such great faith. He passed the interview with flying colors and gave the closing prayer, I a really haven't heard someone pray with such great faith before. It was a really edifying experience for me.
   So I'm gonna talk a bit about investigators and their progress now. So this week was pretty good in terms of teaching them. We taught our better investigators a lot this week trying to get them to church. 5 of them committed to going to church this Sunday. And none came. A very sad moment. A couple had legitimate excuses, but the others we're gonna figure out why. And this week we found a couple new people who seem to be prepared by the Lord to receive the gospel, but more will come on them next week. This upcoming week is gonna be mainly helping our investigators get to church.
  And this upcoming week is the Chilean independance day (a lot bigger than in the States), September 18th. We're gonna be eating a lot of traditional Chilean food this week. And mas encima (moreover) it's the 200th anniversary, so they went ahead and turned it into 4 days of vacation and no working. Should be pretty interesting to see how it affects the work.
  So that's basically how this week went! Today we played some soccer with other missionaries and went to Concepcion. I'll attatch some pictures to the email, and more news will come during the next week. This church is very true, I see it more and more as time goes by. I love this work and am very happy to be here. I love you all, and have great weeks!
Elder Ryan Mayberry

1) The Funny School:

2) Me and Elder Pulver before he left:

3) Me and my son (Elder Strong):

Cambios Grandes!

Hey everyone!
  So this week was alright for us here in Lirquén. So I'll just start off with a summary of the week then about the big changes that are happening. This week we worked hard on trying to get Monica and Jocelyn to try to come to church this Sunday. We met with them a couple times each during the week and it went pretty good. We also had a family home evening that went pretty good on Wednesday. But then later in the week, from like Thursday and on we couldn't find Monica or Jocelyn. So that was kind of tough, but we still kept trying to go by to help them go to church on Sunday.

  On Saturday and Sunday was stake conference. It was really cool because the Elder Amado, the Area President of Chile had to come because they were calling a new stake president. When he speaks it's with such power and authority, and it's really evident that he is a man called of God. Unfortunately however, no investigators of ours came to church, which really saddened me, especially seeing how badly they need the blessings that come with the Gospel and going to church. So that was basically how the week was for us. Then this morning we anxiously awaited the phone call about the cambios (the changes). President Humphrey, who was also at the stake conference, also kind of alluded that there would be changes in our sector. So we were kind of expecting it. But when we got the call I wasn't expecting what I heard about me. Well first off Elder Pulver is leaving, he's going to Talca to be a district leader. I was also informed that I would become the district leader here, and that I would be training! I wasn't expecting both things. Aaron explained what the district leader does already, (gives the classes, does the baptism interviews, etc). Now training means that my comp is gonna be fresh from the MTC, fresh from the states, or in other words, not knowing anything of spanish, haha. It should be an interesting time.
  Well that's what happened! So tomorrow I've gotta drop Elder Pulver off at the bus terminal and then go to the mission home to find my new comp! This next week should be pretty interesting, and I'll be sure to take a lot of notes as to how it goes. And I'm gonna attach a few pictures for you to enjoy.love you! The church is true!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Hola !

Hi everyone!
So this week was pretty interesting. It had a couple tough moments too, which I'll tell you about. But also ups too. So I'll actually start with a couple things I forgot to write last week.

  So last week when we had the training with the President, I got to translate for his wife when she talked! So that was pretty cool, wasn't too tough either. Another thing is about the miners, it's crazy that they're alive! (I guess you guys have been hearing about them too, I wasn't sure) And they're gonna take about 3 months to get them out of there. Another thing, in this sector everyone is telling me I'm Latino. My spanish has been getting better, and people kind of second guess me when I tell them I'm from the States., So that's pretty cool I guess.
  Alright, so for this week. Well to start off we wanted to work on finding new people this week. So that's what we did. Monday started off good, we got into a house, and had another lesson with Monica, who I'll tell you about in a bit. Tuesday was just ahí no más. Well on Tuesday we did a minicambio, I stayed in Lirquén and Elder Oñate, the district leader came here, to do a baptism interview for Paula Tapia (she was supposed to get baptized this sunday). So we show up to her house and the first thing she says I'm 'Sorry, but I don't think I can continue meeting with you guys'.... It's basically the opposite of what a missionary wants to hear the day of someones baptismal interview. She said she could start back up in October, and that she's really busy with work. So that really stunk. Especially cuz it's not gonna be that easy for her to come back, it never is.
  So the rest of the week was spent finding new people and trying to teach our other investigators. What was bad was we couldnt teach any of our good investigators for the 2nd half of the week. So no one came to church :( Thats never fun. But now were gonna work hard with the new people we found this week and help the other too to come to church.
  One of our better investigators is Monica. We randomly found her in the street one day (she was taught by Elder Pulver a while back), and she said we could come by. Then while we taught her we really felt guided by the spirit, and we found out she already has a testimony! All she has to do is come to church now. She also told me I couldn't look her in the eyes cuz my eyes are to brilliant and beatiful (no joke, that's what she said !).
  And then today we had your average old P-day. Today I heard from Elder Findlay that Karla (Sonias sister) got baptized! And that random guy I contacted one of the last weeks I was there is also gonna get baptized! That's always great to hear.
  Well I think that's about it. This church is true, I love being here. And I can't believe how fast time is going by (13 months pretty soon here). This next week is cambios and we might be seeing some big changes. We're thinking that Elder Pulver is gone, and I might train (a brand new missionary). So I'll have news for you next Monday! Love you!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Hello There!

Hey everyone! This week was a good one, lots of unexpected things happened this week.

  So Monday was a pretty normal day. We did have a family home evening, which turned out alright. On Tuesday at the district class we were told that on Thursday and Friday we would be going to the mission home to recieve instruction from the President. So I was pretty excited when I heard that for 2 reasons: 1) I would get to go to the mission home ( I didn't get to go when I got here to Chile), and 2) because I knew we would be given excellent food. So the rest of the week was good, then we went on Thursday to Concepcion to the mission home.
  My goodness, it is a pretty nice house. I felt like I wasn't in Chile, haha. The President and his wife live in a really nice apartment complex. So we were there both Thursday and Friday until like 6:00 pm both days. First I'll talk about what we learned there. So the president gave us training on what they will start teaching in the MTC in May. It's basically like the first presidency took preach my gospel and simplified it, and so he taught us 8 points from that. And its objective is to help us be better teachers, more self sufficient, and rely more on the Spirit. It felt really cool. I got a lot of help and I know how I can be a much better teacher now. We did a practice (I had to do it in English) and it felt amazing! I think it's really gonna help the mission work. I'm really excited to put these things into practice. And the lunches were amazing! The first one we got a half a chicken each and a ton of potatoes. And the second day, they bought us all telepizza! Telepizza is like the closest thing they have here to like Pizza Hut, and we each got a whole large pizza. I was sooo full. And there was also a massive aftershock while we were there. It felt like someone punched the building we were in.
  So then the rest of the week was normal. Unfortunately we didn't really find any of our better investigators during the week, so no one really came to church. But Bryan got confirmed, so that was good. A lady named Paula may possibly be baptized on Sunday, we'll see what happens. So that was what happened this week. Again, a shorter email. But this will be made up by all the pictures I put on! The church is true!

Elder Ryan Mayberry
The pics

1)From the celebration of 1 year

2)These signs are all over

3)Chilean trash day aka buffet for dogs

4)View of the sector

5)Bryans baptism

6)Bryans baptism again

7)The inside of the mission home

8)Me and Elder Pulver on the balcony of the mission home

9)A video of my sector, hope it works. Sorry, didn't work.. haha

Good Job!

  I couldn't think of a nice title for this weeks email. But anyways, here I am again, another week flown by. Now this cambio's half over! One of my comps once told me that time goes by faster and faster in each sector your in, and this has proven to be true. Well this week was pretty good. But unfortunately not that much to write in this email. But there are still a couple things. So here goes...

  Well this week has been pretty normal. But on Tuesday we did a minicambio, and I went to the sector Penco Centro. There we had a cool experience with one of their investigators. He told us about how right when he was at the hardest point in his life he was praying to have some help. And that's right when the missionaries showed up, and he told us about how he recognized it as an answer to his prayers. It's always so cool seeing how the Lord works in this work.
  Well apart from that this week was a pretty normal one. But Sunday was a good day, because Bryan got baptized! It was really cool, especially because his brother got to do the baptism! Other than that this week we're trying to work with people going to church. That's where we're at right now. Lots of our investigators work every other weekend, and most of them worked this weekend. So next week should be good for having people in church.
  And today I had to work on some of my Chilean ID card stuff here in Concepcion. I think my emails are getting smaller and smaller, something I'll work on. But like I said I'm gonna send a bunch of pictures. Well, bad news. My camera battery died, but I did manage to get 2 pictures off. They're of the sector no mas.
  Well this next week I'll write a better letter. I love you all! This is the Lords work, and his church.
Until next week,

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Thing are looking up! I year old in the mission.

  Well things are indeed looking up here in Lirquén. We've been seeing a lot of success here, and we're doing good work. This week was a good one. Well here's the rundown of the week.

  So on Monday we went to an all you can eat chinese buffet! It was good, and I ate way too much, but it was definitely worth it. Well I actually realized that not too much happened this week apart form the norm. But I'll talk about the people we're teaching and whatnot, and a couple of random stuff. For example, every Thursday we get to eat at a fancy restaurant for free! The owner's a member, and he just gives us the lunch there, so thats cool. I like it. Pff, I completely forgot about something that did happen this week, I lost my wallet! I was on my way home from the district class on Tuesday, and after I got off the bus I realized my wallet wasn't there. And the ticket stubs we have don't say much, so we're assuming it's gone. It had a couple cards in there, my Chilean id, and luckily no money. The day before I pulled out all the pesos I need for the month. So that obviously stinks. So today I'm gonna do some stuff to fix the situation.
  Oh yeah, on Thursday I became 1 year old on the mission! How crazy! I now have less time left than time I've been on the mission. But we celebrated good, because we both turned a year old. We bought some non alcoholic champagne kids stuff and made completos. Overall it was good. And the tradition is burning a shirt at the year mark, so I just said what the heck and did it, haha.
  Alright, well now about the investigators.Well Bryan I think I told you a little about last week. He is 9, and the rest of his family are members. Well he passed his baptism interview and is gonna get baptized this next Sunday! Also we're teaching a lady named Paula Tapia. She came to church on Sunday, and is gonna have a baptism interview this Tuesday, hopefully that goes well. Here in Lirquen there's a lot of older investigators (ones who have shared with missionaries for a long time), that just lack a few things to be able to be baptized. For example, theres a lady who's shared for years, who wants to be super ready to be baptized. Another kid whose parents won't give him permission, etc. Stuff like that. But this week was good, we found some new people who will hopefully be able to progress.
  Things are going good with Elder Pulver and I. We get along great. And because we both have the same time in the mission the senior comp responsibilites are just shared between us. But I'm loving it here in Lirquen, I'll send you some more pictures today as well. The church is true, I love the work.
  Well I lied about the pictures. I'm on a silly computer where I can't figure out how to shrink the pictures. But until next time, love you all!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

I love my new Sector

  Well that's what I thought when I got here in my sector. Well I'll give you the run down of everything...I love my new sector.

  So Monday we got the cambios, and I packed (hated it), and did some saying bye. It stunk cuz Sonia wasn't there, but saying bye is tough anyways. So then on Tuesday bright and early I went to the bus terminal. From there I went to Concepcion on bus alone! It was definitely wierd. But then I got there, waited a bit and met my comp, Elder Pulver. He has the same time as me in the mission, and has been in the sector for 3 cambios already, and he's from Utah. But then we took a bus from Concepcion to Lirquen. We had to walk 15 minutes in the pouring rain to take a bus, that wasn't fun. Didn't have my umbrella out or my rain jacket on. But then we finally got there. So the city I'm in now is called Lirquén. It's a little city outside of Penco. Penco is like 20 minutes outside of Concepcion, and Lirquén is like 10 minutes outside of Penco. So it has a small town feel. Oh, and it's such a cool sector. Why?, it's literally on the beach. It's like in the middle of 2 massive hills, which are also parts of our sector. So it's been pretty tiring scaling hills all day. And we have a 3 story chapel, so that's cool.
  So that day we had an English class, but no one came. A side note, the buses here by Concepcion are nuts. They drive like maniacs, haha. It's crazy. So then the rest of the week was spent getting to know investigators, members and stuff. And here they've been having a lot of success. The members are real good at working with the missionaries. And we have some pretty good investigators here. But I'll let you know more about them in next weeks email. But this coming week we might have a baptism! But I'll let you know.
  So now I'm in Concepcion doing internet. I feel pretty lost though, its big. And I think after this we're gonna go eat at a chinese buffet, should be delicious. So I've attached some cool photos and a video to helo you see how my sector is. But more will be coming in the future. I love being on the mission. And oh yeah, I can't believe I'm gonna turn a year old in the mission this week! It's nuts. But I love being here, love the work, the church is true. Til next time!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

Chao, Chillan!

Hello everyone!
Well as you can see in the title, cambios were today, and I'm getting changed! More on that in a bit. But first I'll relate about what happened this week. Which once again, I'm sorry to say is not much. But here goes nothing.

  Well this week not too much happened. We have been seeing some progress with our investigators though, which is good. So we've been seeing a lot of progress with Sonias sister, Karla. She's really understanding a lot better, and she's came to church the past 3 weeks. I'm pretty sure she'll be baptized on the 8th. Another person were teaching is john, who we found kind of recently, but he also is doing really good. He understands really well. We're also teaching Ruth and Jorge, who are doing pretty good, but it's costing them to go to church. They just need to commit to going.
  But apart from that nothing exciting happened this week. But we did have a ward talent show, which turned out pretty good. We even did a little number, which we recorded and I'll show you when I get home.
  But yeah, so today I learned I'm getting changed! I'm going to the zone Penco, which is like 20 minutes away from Concepcion. I hear its pretty cool there, it's located by the beach. But I'm becoming the senior comp. My comp actually came in the mission with me, and I've heard he's cool. So it should be good. I actually didn't really want to go, nor was I expecting it. especially cuz we're teaching a lot of good people right now, that I know are gonna get baptized. Karla for example. But the worst part is that Sonias out of town in Santiago, so I won't get to say bye to her. But the Lord just has diffferent plans for me. So I'll let you know how everything goes next week! I've got a day of saying bye and packing, and tomorrow I travel.
  Well I'm gonna make up for this short email by putting on some pictures.
  So there's one of the Tsunami in Dichato taken from my comps camera. In the pic you can see 2 houses, and in between theres some orange and yellow tile on the wall. thats where his house was.
  Theres another in the snows, one of the zone, and another of the snow.
So there you have it! Have a great week, the church is true, love you all!
Elder Ryan Mayberry