February 20, 2012

10 Weeks in Chile....

I can't believe I'm already done with another week here.  I really lose track of time.  I realized that the days are often really long but the weeks are really short.  Like sometimes it seems like forever since we talked to someone and it was only a few days ago.  At the same time, I can't believe that I've already been here for 10 weeks!  It's pretty crazy.

Something pretty awesome today.  I saw wild parrots!  Yes they do exist here in Chile.  They aren't the really big ones that talk but they are still parrots.  Most of them are green and blend in pretty well with the trees here.  But I didn't think I would ever see a flock of parrots.  It's a pretty neat sight.  We were playing soccer this morning at the church building with the other missionaries in our zone and there was a whole flock of them in a group of trees on the church property.

So we should have a baptism this week!!!  His name is Carlos, and he is awesome.  He is kind of a little gangster kid who's really changed a lot.  He is so excited and is counting down the days to his baptism... we are too lol.  But it was pretty neat.  He usually comes to church wearing pretty normal street clothes.  However, yesterday he came to church dressed in a full suit that an awesome family in our ward gave him as a gift.  Like everything- shirt, tie, suit coat and all.  It was really nice to see him dressed like that.  He is awesome and will probably help a lot in helping other investigators progress and get baptized.  He is so excited to be a member of the church.  And he is only 12-years-old!

There is also another 12-year-old who has really impressed me this week.  His family is less-active, but he has been coming to church the last few weeks alone, without his family.  It is really neat to see a kid want to be at church so much that he's willing to go alone just so that he can fulfill his priesthood responsibilities and pass the sacrament.  

Otherwise, there is not too much new here.  As far as preparation days go, we play soccer a decent amount (we played it today and like 3 weeks ago as well).  I'm not horrible but not awesome either.  I actually really like it a lot more than basketball though haha.  Otherwise we have done things from broom-hockey to water balloon fights to a slip-and-slide.  We find ways to enjoy ourselves here :).

 Things are pretty regular here.  I still don't really feel like I'm thousands of miles from home.  It just so happens that there's not anyone who speaks much English here, so it's a good thing I'm getting pretty comfortable with Spanish.

Well I hope everything is going well back home.  I'll talk to you later.

Elder Stollenwerk