Hello's from Chillan!

Hello everyone!
Thanks for all the wishes and stuff, its crazy to think that on Wednesday I'll be turning 20 years old! So this week has been good. I'll start from the beginning I suppose.

  So on Monday we basically said bye to everyone, members, converts, investigators, etc. So then on Tuesday morning we had to report to the bus terminal at 8:30 in the morning. So then it was like a 3ish hour bus ride to reach Chillán. So I arrived and met my new comp. His names Elder Grant. He has like a year and a couple months in the mission. So we get along really well, no problems here. He's a cool guy. From Utah (obvious, haha). So that day we met a couple members, bought food, and did that kind of stuff.
  So then on Wednesday morning we had our district class, where I met the rest of the zone. They're cool. So after that we had to take a 45 minute bus ride to a different sector to do some baptism interviews (Elder Grant was just made district leader). And we were there most of the day, but we got home and had a family home evening which went well.
  So Thursday was the first full day I had in the sector. So the sector I'm in, El Libertador, is pretty big, I think its a tad bit smaller than my last sector. So I'm getting used to it, but with time I'll learn the sector. Friday was cool, we had a Noche de Capilla, a family home evening in the church. That was good, lots of people came. This wards pretty good, it seems like the missionaries have a lot of support from the members. So yeah, Sunday was good too. You know whats really wierd? So we share the chapel with another ward, it's the stake center. But what's weird is that first is priesthood/relief society, then sunday school, then sacrament last! How strange right? But yeah, sunday was good. We had 3 investigators in church.
  So thats about all I have for you. The next week I'll talk more about the sector and stuff. So this weeks gonnabe pretty good. One, the birthday, we don't really have anything planned but we'll see what happens. Also general conference is this weekend. It's basically Christmas for us missionaries, and it's 2 days long. And the way it works here is we get to watch it, and in English too! So I'm super excited to hear the prophet and the Apostles of the Lord speak to us. Should be a good one.
  So hope you all have a good week! The next time I write you guys I'll be 20! Boy I'm getting old. So, the church is true, I love the mission, it really is the Lords work. So I'll talk to you all next week!
Elder Mayberry.

Elder Mayberry is leaving Talca!

Hello everyone!
  Hope everyone has had a stupendous week, ahha. So as the title says, we got the trasfers and I'm leaving! but more on that in a bit, more exciting, the things that happened this week.

   So this week was another full week. Basically, we have a lot of investigators that are progressing. So we keep going to them, we don't really have time to do contacts, knock doors etc. But yeah, we've been full with them. So tuesday, Ricardo had his baptism interview, and passed! The only thing he wasn't sure about was getting persmission from his parents. So the next day we passed by and his mom had given him permission, but he was shy to ask his dad, he thought he'd say no. But then on Friday night we talked with Ricardo and his dad, and he too gave him permission!
   Going back a bit Wednesday was truly crazy. That day we had 4 baptism interviews. So first was Carolina and Felipe. Both passed with flying colors. Then Antonella had her interview, and also passed! But she wants to be baptized the same day as her cousin (Katalina, who were also teaching, more on hr in a bit), the 28th. So that's good. Then we took a bus to Pencahue, 20 minutes away, to have the interview for Natalia. She also passed, but we weren't sure when the baptism would be. Saturday night we found out the dad had to work Sunday, so she'll be getting baptized the 28th as well. So if you have been keeping tally, thats 3 baptisms for the 21st and 2 for the 28th, with everyone passing their interviews! All of this leads up to Sunday.
   So on sunday we had 3 baptisms! Of Carolina, Felipe, and Ricardo. I was especially glad to be there for the baptism of Carolina, she really has changed so much, and all for the better. So the baptisms went really well. I'll attach some pictures. Oh and during church we had the interview for Katalina, the cousin of Antonella, and she passed. But the only thing she needs is the permission from her mom. Later that day, we had the baptism interview for Sebastian, the brother of Felipe who got baptized. He too passed with flying colors. So then we had a Family home evening, with a bunch of new converts and Katalina at her house. There we talked to the mom about her baptism. And she said if Katalina wants to, she'd be willing to support her in her decision. So Katalina, Antonella, Sebastian, and Natalia are all getting baptized the 28th! But wait! Big news from this morning, I'm getting moved!
   Yup, so this morning we were anxiously awaiting the call of the transfers. Sure enough, I'm getting transfered! So I won't get to see the baptisms on the 28th, but oh well, that's how the Lord's work is. So I'm getting moved south, closer to Concepcion, to a fairly big city named Chillan (pronounced chiyan).So I'm excited for the move, and for the things to come. And the only thing I know about my comp is his name is Elder Grant. So yeah, that's the news from here in Talca. The rest of today will be spent saying goodbye to members, converts, investigators,etc. It'll be tough, but the Lord doesn't need me here anymore. And I'm ready for the change. So that's it for this letter. I love you all a ton, have a nice week, the church is true, and I'll talk to you next week from my new sector!

Elder Mayberry

Pic 1)Elder Sarmiento, Carolina, Felipe, Ricardo, and Me

Pic 2)Me after the baptism of Felipe

Pic 3) A cool picture of the sign at the hospital of Talca. I like it, cuz its Talca and its got the crack from the earthquake.

Another good week. 9 investigators at church!

Hello everyone!
  Hope everyone is doing well this week. So things have been going good this week, we've seen a lot of progress here.So I didn't take too many notes of what happened, and we've been feeling really busy this week.

  So basically we've got a lot of good investigators at this moment. And so were basically going from appointment to appointment like madmen. Basically we've got a lot of people close to baptism all at the same time. So we've got Carolina (lady we taught for a while, then she went to Constitucion then recently got back after the earthquake) Margarita (her aunt), Felipe and Sebastian (sons of Margarita). We can tell that the earthquake affected them, becasue they are all progressing very well now. Carolina and Felipe have baptism dates for the 21st, and Margarita and Sebastian have dates for the 28th. So they're all progressing very well.
  We also have Ricardo. He's the 13 year old kid we found a couple weeks ago. He too is progressing well with a baptism date is for the 21st.
  Also we have Antonella and her cousin Katalina. Antonella is the girl that's been an investigator for a long time, but she seems to be progressing towards baptism. Her cousin is really good too.
  Apart from them we have other investigators that are also progressing. So all this work came to Sunday and we had 9 investigators in church. Not too shabby. So yeah, things are going pretty good at the moment. We are gonna have 5 baptism interviews during this week, and I'm pretty sure we'll finish this month with like 7 or so baptisms if all goes well. But the thing is that changes are coming up and I'm pretty sure I'm gone. I will have been here for 6 months. So we'll see what happens with that.
  So other things that happened this week. There was a pretty big aftershock, like a 7 or something. But it was pretty short. like 6 seconds of big shaking. No joke with the big one the strong shaking lasted at least a minute-minute and a half. So yeah, things are still shaking here quite often.
  Also on friday we met with 2 area Presidencies in the stake center-general authorites (leaders of the church). So that was cool, they gave us some good talks and helped boost our drive to work.
  And last night there was some electricity failure in some part in Chile and all of Chile was left without lights for a bit. So that was cool. We could see sooooo many stars during the night, it was nuts.
  And so yeah, that's about it. If all goes well I'll write you next week after 5 baptisms on Sunday. But I'll let you know how it all goes. Love you all lots, thanks for all your support. The church is true! Talk to you next week.

Life in Talca

Hello everyone!
Things are finally getting back to normal here in Talca. But this week has been very interesting, a week different than any other week in the mission, including lots of service opportunites, and having to run for my life (more on that in a bit) So I'll go ahead and try my best to explain everything that's happened this past week...
   So Monday afternon we headed to the stake center. There we went and we were gonna go help a member who's house got destroyed, but we weren't allowed to go in, it would be too dangerous. Then the leaders there told us to get there early in the morning to help unload trucks with food and stuff. So Tuesday morning we went over there and helped unload the trucks, then helped put all the food and stuff into bags to distribute. So that took a while, then we went back to the sector to help out around there. Then later that day we got the call from the zone leaders to meet at our chapel at 7 in the morning, that we were going to Constitucion. So I got pretty exctited, I really wanted to go help over there. For those of you who don't know, that is the city on the beach that got most affected by the earthquake and tsunami that occured after.
  So Wednesday morning we got up bright and early and got to our chapel. All of the missionaries from Talca got in a bus and headed over to Constitucion. So first things first, over there it was a lot worse. We didn't even go to the worse parts, we went to the places not effected by the tsunami, but still it was a lot worse than Talca. So we arrived at the chapel there, and helped to clean up the wreckage there. The chapel itself was fine, but the walls around it all fell over So we did that for a couple hours, then we went over to the municipality ( is that a word?) Anyways, we went over to like the city. We went to the high school where they were collecting all of the clothes, food, water, all that stuff. There was literally a ton of stuff there. So that's where we worked, collecting together the stuff, moving it, getting it from incoming trucks, etc, until about 4ish. Then quite the experience happened.
  So there we were, moving a ton of milk. And all of a sudden everyone starts screaming "Get out!" "Run" So all of a sudden we were all running to the hills. There was a tsunami warning. So there I was, running from the city to the hills. But seriously, it was nuts. Everyone just took off, the whole city was fleeing to the hills. So we got there, waited a bit, then found out that it was a false alarm (turns out a policman gave the false info...) Then we went to the designated meet up point, waited for all the missionaries and leaders to get there, then we headed back home to talca. So yeah, quite the experience in Constitucion. First time I've had to run for my life from a tsunami, and something I doubt I'll forget.
  Then the next day was the first day we got back into our church clothes (for the first time in almost a week) to get back to real missionary work. Which was a good thing, I had been itching to get back to doing the normal missionary work. So we visitied our investigators, and all that jazz. And since then its been back to the regular missionary stuff.
  So I would tell about all of our investigators and stuff, but I'm running out of time. However, they are doing really well. Weve got a couple investigators that are for sure getting baptized this month. I'll keep you posted.
  So yeah, thats my report for this week. Hope you enjoyed hearing about my crazy adventures here in Chile. Things aren't exactly normal still, but they are normalizing. Thanks for all your worries, concerns, etc. But don't worry, everything is fine here with me. The church is true, this is the Lords work. Love you all and hope to hear from you soon!

Elder Ryan Mayberry

OH and some pictures. I didn't take my camera to Constitucion, but I'm sure you've seen more of it than I have. But heres some pictures of Talca.

I survived the 8.8 Quake!

3-1-2010. 4:00am
  Hello everyone. so sorry I couldn't get a hold of you earlier. it's Monday morning, and we just got power back last night. but I'm fine, no problems here. so don't worry. In a bit I'll be writing the big letter with more details, but for now, just know that I'm fine! Love you all!
Elder Ryan Mayberry

3-1-2010. 8:30am
  Hello everyone! Thanks for all your concern and emails and worries and prayers. They are very much appreciated. But as you know, I am fine here in Talca. So I assume I'll be spending the majority of this message writing the events of the earthquake. SO if you haven't heard, but I'm sure you have, an 8.8 earthquake hit Chile, close to where I am. Yeah, so I guess I'll start from the beginning.

  So, Friday night. So we went to bed at 11 like normal. So at 3:28am, I was awaken by the earthquake. So I was basically just startled and ran outside, without shoes and all. A couple seconds after me came Elder Viana. But the other 2 were slower, so we yelled at them to get out. SO there we were, us 4 standing outside of the house. SO the strong, violent shaking lasted for at least a minute and a half or 2 minutes, no joke. So looking back, I now realize how strong the earthquake really was (I think I was still a bit sleepy). Super strong, seriously. It's hard to explain how it was, but it was a lot stronger than anything I've felt before. The noise was so loud, I had to yell to communicate with the other Elders. Not too much happened to our house, other than things fell and got moved around. And from then started the time without electricity and water. So yeah, it finally stopped, we put on some shoes and went to a members house closeby. Then we were outside until about 6 in the morning, then we decided to head back to the house to sleep for a bit. Then like good missionaries we woke up at 7. Soon after that was a strong aftershock, I heard it was like 6.9. But it wasn't very long, but still it was strong. So all the houses and stuff by our house were very slightly damaged. So we really didn't know the extent of how bad it was until later. So then we headed to the church to go see where help was needed.
  On the way to the church is when we realized that a lot more damage was done than we originally thought. Because then we were getting closer to the part where it's downtown, where a lot of buildings are hundreds of years old and made of adobe. Then we started to see the damage. There were houses and buildings here and there completely destroyed. So we arrived at the church, and not too much help was needed there. The church nothing happned to it. So then we went back to the house, got a couple things and then headed off to see the members and investigators to see how they were. SO that's what we did for that whole day. One members wall fell over, we helped with that. Another the 2nd floor wall fell over and crushed their car, but they're all fine. So that's what we did yesterday.
  So then we headed to the house and met with the other missionaries. We then headed over to a new converts house to spend the night in tents over there. A lot of the people here have been sleeping in tents in open areas, because we don't know exactly if there will be another quake that does a lot of damage. So that was an experience. Oh yeah, something that happened there. So one of the people offered us some what they thought was red soda. I was pretty thristy and took like 2 quick drinks before realizing it wasn't actually  soda. SO elder Christenson and I just looked at each other wondering what it was (he also drank some). They then informed us that we shoudn't drink it, it was actually some red floor cleaner they had put in a soda bottle. So yeah, soon after I was throwing it up. But other than that, I slept alright, I only woke up a couple times because of tremors. So the tremors, up until this point, still haven't stopped. Every so often there's a tremor. It still makes me nervous when it happens.
  Anyways, so we wake up, and head home. Oh by the way it was Elder Vianas birthday that Sunday. What a birthday present, am I right? Anyways, then we changed into shirts and ties and headed to the chapel, where a small sacrament meeting was held. Only like 40 people came. So after that we did more of the same, checked to see if people needed help, taught a couple lessons, then headed home for the night. That day they put a curfew for the city, we had to be in the house at 9. I guess there's been a lot of robbing going on. During the day we were continually hearing about what was going on, and the severity of it all. The only source of info we had was by radio, so we only learned when we were close to a radio. So I assume most of you know more about the sevrity of it all. I'm just seeing it today. Yeah, so then we were in the house at 9. And we finally got electricity and water back on. During the past days the members have been very kind, giving us water, food when we needed it. But then we finally had electricity and water. (and we finally got to bathe). The bishop came over and brought us some food, that was really kind. So then we went to bed. I slept ok, I woke up a few times in the night because of tremors.
  Then this morning basically we came to a members house to see how everythings going. So we finally got to see on the TV how things are. And I finally got to talk to you guys. So we still haven't been to the downtown part of Talca where it's all destroyed. But lots of the coast are gone because of the earthquake and tsunamis. We had visited Constitucion in like December, and now I can't imagine how it is. So were basically finding out how things are.
  So yeah, thats my account of the earthquake and what we've done since. I've left out lots of small details, but the main thing is that were fine. So I can offically say I've experienced a natural disaster, and I wouldn't reccommend it to anyone. I really didn't like the feeling of not knowing what the heck was going on for 2 days. But now things are better, we've got light and water, the telephones are working better but not fully. Now we just gotta wait for the super markets to open up again. So yeah, our zone leaders just called us, and were meeting up in the stake center at 2. I think we're gonna go help all the people in the downtown area, or we're going to Constitucion to help there.
   So I love you all, I'm fine, don't worry too much about me. If I forgot anything, or want to know anything else just write me. Thank you for all your concerns, and I'll be writing you next week!

Lots of love,
Elder Ryan Mayberry