We thank everyone for their love and prayers over the last seven months as Aidan prepared to return to Chile. He boarded a plane September 22 for Osorno to finish the remaining 18 months of his mission. He will be a better missionary and man as a result of the process he has gone through and we can't wait for him to set the world on fire with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So these past few days have been a little crazy. I started
out by leaving the St. George Airport Tuesday morning and somehow ended up in
Osorno 30 hours later. I was so tired by the time I got to Santiago (before my
last flight to Osorno) the gate agent had to wake me up to board the plane
because I had fallen asleep in the waiting area.
CHILE. IS. COLD. Whoever told me it would be nice because it
is spring lied. It rains all day every day and the wind blows like its trying
to prove a point. And I can’t get enough of it. I LOVE being here. I doubted
whether or not I would be able to speak Spanish like I had before I left, but I
got right back into it with no problems. I made my first contact two minutes
after arriving in my area and it went very smooth.
So I am in a trio with Elder Arp from Idaho and Elder
Frausto (Frow-sto) from Tijuana, Mexico. I love them both so much. Together we
are serving in Ovejeria, but Elder Arp is leaving for a different area in a
week or two. Ovejeria is GIGANTIC. It used to be shared by three companionships
but due to the fact that we are a little "low on staff", we have the whole
thing. SO MUCH WORK TO BE DONE.
When I got to my area, the Elders leaving told me it was a
dead area. Elder Frausto heard them say that and just went off in Spanish,
telling them that they better get out their notepads because work was about to
be done and lessons were about to be taught. He is a big kid, like BIG, and
even bigger when you add his faith. I know I am going to learn so much from
him.
Okay funny story of the week. So I did what I usually do
when I arrive in an area, which is tear the house apart and clean it. The next
day we were in a big meeting for the entire zone and before the meeting started
and we got to know everyone, Elder Frausto was telling a group the story of how
I cleaned and made everybody laugh. A sister laughed and looked at me and said,
"So you pulled and Elder Rich, huh?" I looked at her and asked her what the
heck she was talking about. She then explained how there used to be an elder in
the mission who would always clean houses and how he was apparently pretty
funny. I just smiled and showed her my name tag, which caused her to turn
bright red and she immediately apologized, and said it was just a story people
told in the mission. So apparently I am the notorious American clean freak.
haha.
I love you all so much.
Elder Rich (That sounds so nice doesn't it??)
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Our final farewell from the St. George Airport. See you in 18 months, kido! |
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The trio - Elder Rich, Elder Frausto, Elder Arp |
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English lessons with his companion. |
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Pulling an "Elder Rich" going OCD on the house. |
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Ovejeria is a suburb of Osorno. Just outside on the north side. It is the biggest suburb of the whole zone and we have it all to ourselves. Needless to say we walk a freaking lot. |
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It is a very interesting area because it used to be very industrious but a depression hit and now there are tons of big abandoned factories and buildings and trains. |
