Elder Blotter Photos - May 31

Elder Blotter's Zone celebrated his 20th birthday with him this week.  The other pictures we're not sure about but assume one is a Zone activity.  Not sure about the sweater modeling.

Elder Blotter - May 31st

Hola Familia!!! Thanks for the birthday letter and the package last week.  As you saw I received the first one and love it very much!!! I am still waiting for the second so will just see when it comes. My Zone here in Valdivia actually surprised me this past Friday with a Chile made brownie cake with a Spongebob card with a little note from all of them with candles! It was really nice of them to do that for me I have photos of it that all send in my family letter home. That's way cool to hear that the guys back home are preparing to graduate soon! We´ve had more success this week with finding new people and challenging them to baptism and also coming to church. Sadly none of our investigators came to church and we even called some of them and they said they´d come!! It frustrated me a little but it really frustrated my companion. We just gotta keep working hard and find what they need in order to feel comfortable to go to church. I´m glad to hear Heidi is actually enjoying her Singles Ward and people are being nice to her and that she feels happy!  I hope her job is going well and everything. Its gotten really really cold here lately and isn´t the funnest when rain comes but that's just life here in the winter time in Chile. One crazy experience from this week's teaching I´d say is when we found 2 new boys one who is 14 and another who is 23 and they live together with their dad. We taught them the 1st lesson and at first the 14 year old Jorge tried to challenge us with question like who is God to us and we answered perfectly right back at him.  It was so awesome because after that he humbled himself and really got interested and we gave him a Book of Mormon and he said he´d read what we gave him and he´d pray, it was way cool!! The work is well here in Chile, just hard sometimes because people don´t humble themselves but then when they do they really feel the spirit. I love it out here I wouldn't change places with anybody.  I love you and miss you very much!!
Love, Elder Blotter

Latest Photos from Elder Blotter

We sent Rob a package for his birthday which included this Easter tie and some  of his favorite snack foods, as he is demonstrating.  This was the first package we sent him and we were nervous it might not arrive safely without being opened, but it arrived okay.

Elder Blotter - May 25th

HOLA FAMILIA!!!
Sorry for the small letter of last week I know it stunk but I was rushed cause we were going bowling but I have a whole lot more to tell this week!!! I will start from Tuesday! I received my first package from you.  Thank you very much, I love it!!!! I have used a lot of the cocoa packages lately cause its really cold in our house because we have no wood, quank!!! And I love the tie, that was my favorite thing out of all of it!!! We also had conference that day and it was super awesome!! My mission president and the APs really focused on the Vision of Baptism in the very first lesson to the last lesson and it was way awesome!! Me and my comp have really focused on the Vision and we have 6 people preparing for baptism!!! Way, freaking, awesome is this!! The work has been really strong lately this week and people want to hear us so its been a really good teaching week!! Later that day me and my comp were tracking in the street and we got stopped by a drunk guy and he told us both that we were beautiful people, ha ha!!! It cracked us up so bad! and then later that night we contacted a woman and her daughter and they both looked at me and the mom said I had really beautiful eyes, so a compliment to mom and dad for having a son with beautiful eyes, ha ha!! On Wednesday I made friends with some dogs in a part of our sector and they followed us for a while but my comp tried to scare them away but when he tried they just came right back so my comp lost that battle! ha ha! Later in the day we got cat called by "Snakes" Blah! Very disgusting I tell you what because if you don´t know what snakes are, these girls that are like 12 to 20 or so in age and they cat call on missionaries like us and say things I´m not even going to repeat ha ha!!! Thursday I watched a fire hydrant explode and then a guy who drove a taxi take his car through it and wash his car that way!! Freaking crazy Chileans ha ha!!! Later that night when we were walking home we said Hola to a man and he said "and here I find two great saints" What a great way to end the day!! ha ha! Friday I helped clean a combustion for my mamita with her husband and it was way dirty but it was a good learning experience. Later that night we went on divisions with our mamitas husband and another member of the ward where I go with one member and my comp goes with the other to visit investigators and less actives and what not.  We were not allowed to knock doors with members or do street contacts so it´s quite a bit different.I learned quite a bit from it and learned a bit more about the members. On Saturday it was a random holiday in Chile because I guess they just have like these random holidays, like every month. So we ate really good at our mamita's house that day and we ate Artichokes which was way cool I never knew they knew what those were!! and then also I introduced peanut butter to my mamita with apples but she really liked it. And Sunday when we were walking to church my companion almost got hit by some drunk Chileans who didn´t know how to drive and he wanted to throw a rock but I stopped him which was good so yea ha ha and then later that night me and my comp got called pretty which again BLAH!! no thank you ha ha!! and then randomly my mamitas husband and another member started to talk to me at church about the show Lost and what was happening it was really funny!! So yea that's my crazy week!! Today I´m going to get my hair cut and get some food!! I love you all and miss you very much!!! I´m sending some photos of me with my box and my new tie. I love you all!!
Love, Elder Blotter

Latest Photos from Elder Blotter

Elder Blotter's latest pictures; the horse that almost kicked him, enjoying the Chilean version of KFC and his companion on a street in Valdiva while tracting.

Elder Blotter - May 17th

Not much news from Elder Blotter this week.  Just working at being a missionary.


HOLA FAMILIA!!!
I was glad to hear everyone is doing well. My week has been really good. We´ve done a lot of work together me and my companion. Finding a lot of new people to teach. My foot from stepping on a nail is doing a whole lot better but I almost got kicked by a horse one night which was scary, but its all good. For p day we went bowling again and I had KFC for lunch!! It was way way cool cause it was a little different food. We had intercambios with the zone leaders and that was way fun with Elder Campozano. We´ve just been really busy this week and I don't really have anything new here in Chile. I LOVE YOU ALL MISS YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!!
Love, Elder Blotter

Elder Blotter Photo - May 10

Not many photos from Elder Blotter this week.  This was the best of the group and shows a street scene from Valdiva where he is serving.  Can't get too cold if there are palm trees.  He also sent a picture of the horses he saw walking down the street that he thought was pretty funny.

Elder Blotter Status Update - May 10, 2010scompanion

We got to talk with Elder Blotter on Saturday for his allotted Mother's Day call.   He is doing great except for an accidental encounter with a nail in his foot earlier in the day.  Luckily he had his tetanus shots before he left.  We were able to ask him all sorts of question about his mission experiences and the area where he is serving.  Unfortunately the hour passed way too quickly.  He said the Chilean people are very friendly and outgoing and treat the Elders very well.  He also has a new companion after transfers this week.  His companion is one of triplets who are all serving in different Chilean missions. They were written up in a recent article in a Church News article.
Here's a link to the article. His companion is the one in the middle of the picture with the article 


http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/57626/Oregon-triplets-receive-mission-calls-to-Chile-on-same-day.html


Hola Familia!!
I hope everyone is doing well this week!!! I was so happy to hear all of your guys’ voices!! It was way weird to hear them all again but still way way awesome! I’m sure it was a great mothers day gift for mom and I was glad I was able to give that to her. My week has been really crazy lately! Tuesday I found out I get a new companion and that Elder Simons was leaving for another sector called San Jose and its only about 30 minutes from Valdivia so he didn’t get put that far away so all see him at Zone Conference in about a week from tomorrow. I have a new companion his name is Elder Welling he is from Oregon and he’s been out for about a little over 9 months so he’s got Spanish down pretty well and understands real good too. He is part of a set of triplets here in Chile! His two other brothers are serving in Santiago East and the other Rancaqua! That is way cool to hear that I’m working with an Elder like him. He really has a strong testimony and is a very hard worker when it comes to contacting people he is way better than me but then again he’s been here way longer than me so will see when I get there in about 4 more cambios I think ha-ha!! I’ve had to lead the sector the whole week and for another week I lead to make sure he knows the area very well. He’s already getting to know the sector very well and we’ve done A TON of WALKING EVERYWHERE!!! Our sector is one of the largest in the Zone so it’s pretty crazy! Some of the crazy experiences I’ve had this week is I saw some horses just chilling, walking down the street together! I don’t think anybody owned them cause nobody was coming after them it was really weird and way funny!! ha-ha!! This past Saturday while I was cutting wood I accidentally stepped back and a nail went through my shoe and into my foot and it hurt pretty bad! I was attached to a little piece of wood and I grabbed it and pulled it out of my foot! Thankfully I had a shot for this kind of stuff before I left for the mission so I’m pretty protected. I just got to keep it medicated and I couldn’t really walk on it for the past 3 days so its really hurt but today it’s doing a whole lot better. I need to do laundry soon because I haven’t in a while so yeah I’ll get on that ha-ha! The water lately in our shower hasn’t been very warm which stinks so I kind of don’t want to take showers sometimes but I know I should so I do it anyways ha-ha! I have interviews with President this Wednesday to see how I’m doing with everything and how everything is going so that’ll be good to talk to him since I only talk to him every transfer which is a month and a half long so yeah that’ll be nice. The rest of this week has been great and I’ve met all of the new missionaries in our Zone they seem like all good hard workers and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from them. I love you all and miss you allot!! I hope everyone is well and mom has a fun Mothers day trip to Utah/Idaho to visit Amy and Sayward and Brittany and the boys!!! I pray for you all and for your safety!!
Love, Elder Blotter

More Lake Pictures from Elder Blotter

The Elders certainly enjoy showing the Chilean flag, they are obviously proud of their newly adopted country.

Latest Photos from Elder Blotter

Elder Blotter send these photos for the week of May 3rd.  His Zone went on a P-day outing to their Branch President's home near a beautiful lake.  He also sent some group shots of his missionary zone.  We have published some of them here.  As always, he is smiling, which is a good sign that he doing well.  

Elder Blotter's News From Chile - Week of May 3rd

¡Hola familia! ¿Cómo están todos? Espero que todos estén bien y estaba muy feliz de tener todos los correos electrónicos que he recibido esta semana.
This week has been a long a tough and stressful but exciting week!! In the beginning of the week we have had 2 more people decide that they want to be baptized holy cow!! I am way excited for them and me and Elder Simons are just preparing them to feel more prepared to be baptized! We have also had a lot of rain this week but also a little bit of warm weather with sun which was nice but that was only one day the rest of the week has just been flat out rain!!! haha At the end of the week we had an intercambio with the zone leaders one last time for the end of the transfer which is this wednesday and I am very sad for it cause my companion gave his testimony in Sacrament on Sunday and basically gave his farewell speech and he told me he´s more likely getting moved out of the sector cause he´s been here for 3 transfers so if he goes it´s going to be really sad cause I love Elder Simons very much he´s such a great Missionary and a great companion to me. I look up to him with his great spanish speaking and such strong testimony and knowledge of the gospel. I hope I can become just as great as him!! We find out tomorrow in Zone meeting tomorrow who stays and who goes from our Zone so it will be a very sad day tomorrow to see who stays and who goes so lots of pictures will happen tomorrow thats for sure! Today for our last p-day of the transfer to Futrono which is that sector that me and my companion visited earlier this transfer. We went there with the Valdivia Zone which was awesome cause we had two zones up there ours which is Calle Calle and the Valdivia Zone so it was way fun cause we went to the missonaries branch presidents home which was way way nice it was right next to a massive lake thats up there and there were massive homes all around it!! Its a really rich area one of the missionaries told me and from all the nice boats and massive houses with nice cars I´d say thats a YES haha!! but it was way fun we played soccer and took pictures down by the lake but we didn´t go in the water cause were not suppose to but I´d love to come back to that sector after my mission and go boating in there or Kayaking in that lake cause it has islands in it and it way reminded me of the boundry waters trip I took with dad when I was 12 up in Wisconsion!! Otherwise its just been a normal week just serving the lord with all obedience to him and to my mission president. I am so happy and grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission for the Lord and so happy I did. I know I am being blessed for my service and that the lord has a great work for me here in Chile.

Sé que esta iglesia es verdadera. Sé que soy un hijo de Dios y que ama a todos sus hijos. Yo sé que José Smith es un profeta de Dios y que lo hizo restaurar la plenitud del Evangelio de Jesucristo y su iglesia trajo de vuelta a la tierra una vez más. Sé que el Libro de Mormón es verdadero y que lo que realmente es otro testamento de Jesucristo. Sé que el Presidente Thomas S. Monson es un verdadero profeta de Dios ya través de él que guía y dirige la iglesia de Cristo a través de la revelación. Sé que he nacido de buenos padres que son obedientes a las enseñanzas del Señor. Estoy tan agradecida de tener el evangelio en mi vida y estoy feliz que he hecho las elecciones correctas en mi vida para que yo pudiera servir en una misión para él. Digo estas cosas en el nombre de Jesucristo, Amén.