You know that feeling of
relief when you are in the middle of a wrestling match and every muscle is on
fire? You are in a bad position and feel really crappy but then you make a good
move, end up on top, and then the glorious sound of the whistle and hand slapping
the mat brings a wave of indescribable relief. This is how it felt to see
Osorno for the first time.
The plane rides were very
long and I felt really sick for both. I described my experience with Maria
Adriana and our conversation on the plane last email and unfortunately she is
not in my area.
After we got to the tiny
one-portal airport here in Osorno, we were taken to the Mission Home where we
had interviews with President Obeso, ate lunch and dinner, and learned the ways
of the missionary. We slept in a small hotel that night and the next day we
woke up the next day then went to the government building and started working
on our paperwork to be legal here in Chile. Along the way I talked to a man and
got his address after he expressed interests in lessons.
After all the paperwork, we
went to a church and that is where I met Elder Holt. He is such a stud. He swam
and played water polo before his mission and is the epitome of a good teacher.
He is kind of a spaz sometimes but is also kind, patient and encouraging. We
had a get-to-know-you lunch at the church, then we were off to our sector of
Rio Negro in the district of Rahue.
About an hour later I was
sitting in my first lesson and I ended up teaching about Alma 17:11 to a less
active family. Elder Holt and I then went and taught the coolest people I have
ever met. Ricardo and Carla are a young couple with a little girl named Josefa
who is the most adorable thing I have EVER seen. They are super nice, humble
people and we had a little visit with them.
The next couple days were
all work. HARD WORK. We chop wood all the time and taught about 15 lessons in
all in those four days. I had the opportunity to invite a family to start on
the road to being sealed in the temple as they have been members for just long
enough to start that process and it was so awesome. The Spirit was tangible and
the effects of it were apparent. I wish I could describe each lesson in detail
but there just isn`t enough time.
I also got to participate in
my first baptism and marriage. Jacob del Carmen has been investigating the
church for ten years but because of dumb marriage and divorce laws here in
Chile hasn`t been able to be lawfully wedded to his wife and therefore couldn`t
be baptized. However, this week after about 10 years it was all figured out and
he had both his marriage and baptism on the same day. Super happy.
As far as what Chile is like
in general, it is beautiful. It is very green but very, very cold in the
mornings. The house are little wooden shacks with tin roofs that the
inhabitants built themselves. Elder Holt and I, with about four other members,
helped take on apart that had been damaged in a fire and also flooding. It was
service day (where we do service all day) and it took about 6 hours. We were
given big, heavy crowbars then just went wild. It was hard, dirty work filled
with near death experiences, spiders, and good food as a reward.
There are also dogs
EVERYWHERE. The area we are in is very poor and when they can`t afford/ don`t
want a dog they put it on the streets. Usually if you bend down and pretend to
pick up a rock they will scatter and stop barking or chasing you but yesterday
we were running trying to make an appointment and these huge german shepards
started chasing us. I bent down to scare them but Elder Holt kept running and
screamed, `they are too big! Not scared of rocks!` So we ran for our lives and
pretty soon we had about ten dogs behind us. I ended up turning and kicking one
in the head and after that they scattered. We laughed so hard about that.
Not much else to report. I
miss you all and love you all so much. Keep in touch. Iove this area. It is so
beautiful and there is so much work to be done. Oh and the 18th of September is
their independence day so the people are going crazy. They know how to
celebrate.
Once again I love you
all.
Love,
Elder Rich
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