Elder Blotter - Jan 9 (Only 2 weeks left on his Mission)

Dear Family,

I am well here in Puerto Montt this past week. Me and my companion are doing well. NELSON GOT BAPTIZED!!! It was so cool to see! Elder Urrutia baptize him. I took pictures of the baptism but I'll show you the pictures when I get home. But all is good here in Chile. It was raining here today for p day in the morning but its stopped and its been a better day but we didn´t do anything here today just go to the mall to print pictures and eat tacos with a member here. He´s an awesome member he´s only got like a year and something as a member but a great guy. He´s like 24 and has a very strong testimony in the Gospel. But more than that we bought groceries and everything paid the bills.  The day's been pretty relaxed but its been good. In church was my last testimony meeting and I gave my testimony for the last time on a

Sunday here in Chile. I still don´t feel like the time as a missionary for me is finishing for me. I still feel like the 25th of January I will be going to another sector and I will continue being a missionary and teaching people but I am sure it´ll hit me when I get to the mission home and I am there and I am not doing contacts or going to peoples home. But I am just going to keep working with Elder Yagual like normal.  The week has been hard but we have had success. The members are still not leaving with us like they could but were getting them to work little by little. Were not going to see baptisms this transfer but I know were going to see baptisms next transfers here in Libertad. Me and Elder Yagual are doing well here and he is just full of energy and excitement. I am just sprinting to the end here and just giving it my all. Nothing really new here this week. Just been a hard week but a successful week here in the sector. We found a lot of new people this past week here in the sector that are really good and we

are praying for them and I know they´ll progress if we do our part and the members do there part also and obviously also if they do their part because we know if we try, the Lord will do his part because we are following his commandments and doing the right thing. Thanks for telling me Dad that I have another talk to prepare for, yeah!! ha ha but I am sure I'll be fine.  It's not a talk that's very hard. That's really crazy that Josh and Carlos are already back and that Josh is already heading back. But Carlo's is staying home until like April. He´ll see one of my friends there that got accepted to BYU Provo that from here of Puerto Montt. Remember the family that I did my phone call with of skype well their daughter Paula got accepted there and will be going there in April so she´s really excited and her family is also excited for her. And it´ll be weird to see her there in the States. But she´ll do fine there because she speaks and understands English very well.  She´ll be there from April to like September and I think she´ll continue there also and start to study there. But that's crazy to hear that Sayward and Matt will be moving away from Utah one day soon and they already know that but it´ll be a good experience for them. So crazy that this transfer is almost over and I really don´t want it to be but its all good. But I better finish this up because I think I am just blabbering on but I am sure more things will happen next week so I'll have more things to write about. I love you all tons and miss you all more!!!

Love, Elder Blotter

Elder Blotter - Dec 31st

Dear Family,

Well it was a pleasure talking to you all and seeing your faces moving and what not but now back to work and let me tell ya its been an interesting 2 weeks of work. Very hard but that's just because of the holiday season. It was like this last year so I was expecting this.  Just about everyone that we contacted said in 2012 we can pass by because they are celebrating still with their families.  But at least they gave us their directions! ha ha and the doors we knocked everyone said "tengo gente lo siento no puedo atender hoy día" or what that means is I have guests I can´t talk today so it was like OK another day.  Will be then in a week ha ha but its all good. This past week with the mission work on finding people actually was better than last week so its really the great miracles of God working through us and we really found some new investigators that are way awesome that me and my companion think will progress a lot so its gonna be good.  I'll tell you now so I don´t forget. I GOT AMY'S PACKAGE SO THANK YOU AMY AND FAMILY. I still haven´t gotten your package mom sorry  But I am praying for it that it will get here soon and hasn´t gotten lost  Have you gone to the mail office to see what happened?? or did you go online and look up the box code?? But yeah I just hope it´ll get here in less than 3 weeks! ha ha.   No there was no baptism not till next week because the hermano didn´t come to church because he was sick and his wife Araseli wasn´t feeling good but that's OK because her baby boy was born this past Thursday!! I am going to go see them today and see the new baby.  It was so awesome to hear from Elder Urrutia and then talk to Hermana Araseli that it was born and now I think she´ll be able to be baptized before I head out so it´ll be way awesome!!  Everything went well, her husband Nelson told me and she is in the house now so yeah. But today for our pday we were going to play soccer against the Puerto Varas but it got canceled so we just played against one another here in Puerto Montt. Its sunny today and I put sun screen on Mom  I promise but I still got burnt a little bit on my face today but it's all good. At least I didn´t get as burnt as I could have. But I am going to miss Chile when i go and playing soccer.   I´m going to have to get involved in an indoor  club back home. OH YEAH!! Tell dad to not sweat it too much al be helping him when I get back so i can keep busy and paint the house and do whatever he needs me to do I can help and also with whatever Stake activity if he needs help I'll help him out until I get a job and what not. Hopefully I can go back to Jeff Ellis life guarding and see if i can get my license back and get my supervisor job back that would be super awesome so will see what happens. Or if that don´t work out if there is some brother in the ward that has a job or something that I can get into and work a little bit to start saving up money again for college and what not. Well that will be all happening AFTER my dentist and doctor appointments and what not ha ha!! But I am just going to to keep focusing myself here in the work here in Puerto Montt helping my investigators move themselves towards baptism!! I love you all and miss you all tons!!! From what I heard I don´t think al have pday until NEXT MONDAY so that would be the 9th of January so yeah just a heads up!

LOVE Y'ALL!!!

Love, Elder Blotter

 NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Elder Blotter - Dec 19

Dear Family,

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT HAS HAPPENED!!!! Ready for this??????

I AM STILL HERE IN PUERTO MONTT!!!! Can you believe it?? I know I can´t!! And you know where I am at??? I am back in LIBERTAD!! and not just in Libertad I am back in my old sector LIBERTAD 2!!! I am still in shock that i didn´t go to Rio Bueno. What happened was that I was supposed to go to Rio Bueno but a new Elder didn´t show up to the mission I have no idea why but he didn´t.  President had to do some last minute changes on where Elders were going to go and he apparently thought last minute on me because they were going to put a trio here in Libertad with an Elder who had one transfer in a sector, an Elder that was coming to the sector and my NEW COMPANION who is Elder Yagual from Ecuador who has two transfers in the mission.  They were going to do that but that would had shut a sector so they called me Monday night and said Elder your not going to Rio Bueno you're going to Libertad 2 because President needs you to go there and help Elder Yagual and the sector to keep living. I ALMOST FAINTED!!! I don´t know if the Lord heard my prayers or if he heard the prayers of my investigator ha ha!! But I am still here and I will finish my mission here in Puerto in a sector that I already know.  Also I don´t know if you guys still have the number I called you guys from for Christmas last year?? If not I'll get it again because I am going back to the same home again to call you guys from skype so I'll get the number if you guys need it.  I think dad was right he had a feeling I was getting transferred out but I was transferred somewhere else!!! ha ha and i am with a Latin.  Elder Yagual is 23 and he´s a ball of energy. He's a great Elder with a strong testimony of the Church. We get along fantastic here in the sector. Still doesn´t know the sector but I am helping him because I still have the sector down by heart ha ha its crazy to walk the same streets again.  They have had a lot of success here in the sector since I have been gone but now we need to find new investigators and help the old investigators keep progressing. Its difficult to see though a couple people I have taught that haven´t really progressed since I have been in the sector so its kind of sad to see them still where I left off. But its all good everything is good here. My skype account I have is under this email address and my name is Elder.Blotter48 so that you guys can find me in skype give me the final details on Saturday because that is when we have P-DAY for the holidays so WRITE ME SATURDAY THE FINAL WORD ON WHAT HOUR AND  EVERYTHING!! But everything is excelente here still can´t believe I am in Puerto Montt still and no mom I haven´t gotten the package yet. What did you guys send in it?? I hope you didn´t send any type of beef jerky in it because if you guys did it won't get here.  It's illegal to send beef jerky into this country and I or you guys would have to pay a fine. I don´t know how much and I don´t know if you did send jerky but I'll ask President or the Assistants if my package has arrived on Thursday because we have Zone Conference on Thursday so we'll see what happens. I LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU TONS!!! HOPE ALL IS WELL DON´T FORGET TO TELL ME WHAT TIME ON SATURDAY FOR SKYPE.  LOVE YAL!!!

Elder Blotter

Elder Blotter - Dec 12

Dear Family,

HEY Y'ALL!! Everything is good here in Puerto Montt!! I have an interesting announcement......I am leaving Puerto Montt and finishing my mission in.........Rio Bueno. HOLY FREAK!! ha ha I going back to a zone I was already in!! ha ha I am going to the Zone of La Union where I already was there when I was in San Pablo. I have been in 4 zones now in total and this will be my 7th Sector in the mission. I will be finishing my mission with an Elder from California named Elder Johnson. I don´t know from what part of California but I am sure I will be able to know that Wednesday when I travel to osorno. My companion Elder Urrutia....HES GOING TO TRAIN!!! I am so stoked for him he is going to be a great trainer. We are sad though that we are parting. Also Elder Oakden is also training and Elder Trejo from Mexico is going to Coyqhue to Puerto Cisnes so he´s stoked to go there but we're both very sad to leave the Ward. As you guys know I wanted to finish my mission here in Puerto Montt because I have grown close with the members here in Puerto and also we have two families that are going to be baptized the 7th or 14th of January and one of the families is very sad that I am leaving because they wanted me to baptize them with Elder Urrutia.  I am asking special permission to come back and baptize them because I love this family, they are like my second family here in Puerto we have grown so close with them here together and have seen miracles with them too. It´s the family Araseli and Nelson, I think I´ve talked to you guys about them a little bit, also I hope I get permission to come back so I will be skyping with you guys from Río Bueno then. And I was in the skype website last Monday investigating because we're allowed to because we have to make an account in skype and everything with our email of the mission. I found that you can do conference skypes with video so I can be talking and seeing you guys and the girls also where ever they are.   I think skype will work, you just gotta give me a date like you said next week and then when I make a skype account I think I will have to get your account name to call you guys so yeah that's the low down on that.  I am well here in Puerto. Araseli and Nelson came to church yesterday!!!! IT was so freaking awesome and then we passed by yesterday to their home to tell them the news that I was leaving and we asked them about the church and they said they didn´t just like it they LOVED IT!! WHATTTTT??????  That is so awesome, I love this family. ha ha.  But sí o sí they're going to get baptized because they talk about it all the time so its a deff that they are.  We had a good week this past week in the work. Not the greatest but a good week and I know the following week for Elder Urrutia will be the bomb also with his newbie. Elder Johnson as far as I know I think will be completing 6 months with me or will have six months when I get to be his companion so it´ll be pretty sweet and its funny that I am ending with an American.  Me and Elder Urrutia were sure that he was gonna kill me but we guessed wrong ha ha!!! But nothing really new here just shocked and freaking out that I only have 6 weeks left in the mission!!! I hate thinking about it because it doesn´t make me trunky, it makes me sad that my time as a missionary is almost over. If I could I´d ask President for an extension to be here 3 months more because I love the mission and you learn so much and you grow so much as a person and as a child of God. I will "sprint to the end" As President Rappleye likes to say and finish my mission strong and with honor and help our father in heavens children come unto him and feel his love that he has for each and everyone of us. I love you all and miss you all very much and I love that our Savior loves us all too 

Love, Elder Blotter

Elder Blotter - Dec 5

Dear Family,

Great to hear all is well back home and everyone is happy.  That really stinks that everyone won´t be home for Christmas to talk so maybe I was thinking even though I know mom is super excited to see me on skype I don´t know if there is a system where I can see more than one person at a time but if you guys want I can just call like I have done in the past so that I can talk to everyone but I'll leave that up to you guys because the dates are I believe the 24th, 25th, and 26th like it was last year so next week.  Just tell me what you guys think would be best if I should do skype or I should send you a phone number so I can talk to everyone.  Glad to hear that everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit. We're just barely getting into the

Christmas spirit here and like last year it really doesn´t feel like Christmas.  I guess that's just because here there is sun and heat but back home its cold and snow will soon be falling! Great thing to think about going home to ha ha! Nothing too new here just going into the last week of the transfer before transfers so we'll see if I get transferred or if I stay here and finish the mission in Puerto Montt. I'll be sad if I leave but if I leave its for the best that the Lord wants. We had two investigators of ours come to church which was super cool but neither of them have a date but one of them were going to put with a date this week and the other might be moving to Pucón.  We'll see what happens this coming week when we go visit them. We didn´t have too many people come to church this past week but we also did have a handful. Like mom and dad saw in the Ward back home, here in my ward there was a ton of Testimonies given by youth it was pretty cool. The youth in this ward are very powerful. Many of them will grow up to be great leaders in this church and be great missionaries. We're looking at a great week this coming week and hoping to put a lot of our investigators with date. One of our progressing investigators couldn´t come to church because her husband was in Villarica visiting his sick grandmother and the wife was in bed with back aches from being pregnant so it was kind of a bummer but she´s better now. The work was tough this week on finding new people to teach but we're going to work on that this coming week and keep working with the good investigators we have. We're scared though as the Christmas season comes closer that investigators are going to go on vacations because here summer vacations for kids and the adults is like right after Christmas. But we have faith and we're gonna show our faith by teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to them that they´ll feel the spirit and they won't want to leave on vacation and stay here with us and receive their salvation YES!! ha ha! The package hasn´t gotten here yet just so mom knows but I am sure it´ll come this week and if not this week the following week. But this week is gonna be killer and we are just going to rock here in the south of Chile!!  I love you all tons and miss you all more!!

Love, Elder Blotter

P.S.

Mom don´t get too trunky....ha ha!!!  Oh yeah and I read your talk mom and I liked I marked it up and yes I actually have had an experience of the Elder where I have come back to the same zone not the same sector but I have seen some of my converts and they have progressed so much it is an amazing experience and site to see!! 

Elder Blotter - Nov 28

Dear Family, Just to start off with asking questions and saying what the freak?? YOU BOUGHT GRANDMAS NISSAN??? What is she rolling in now?? What did you guys do with the Tahoe?? What the freak is going on back home?? ha ha I am not going to recognize anything when I get home am I ha ha Totally awesome that you guys went to to Ohio man I miss those trips all the time they were so fun ha ha with dad every spring going to shoot squirrels and clean up the yard and use the driving lawn mower ha ha it was fun times. But wow sounds like it was a pretty fun weekend of Thanksgiving and no they don´t celebrate it here but I heard on the radios in the taxis here about Black Friday so I am sure you guys went

out and bought stuff maybe not sure only heard about it like wow they time is just flying here. But that's awesome now that Britt and Boe have 4 years together. When am I going to be an uncle over there come on!! ha ha naw naw just messing.   Broma like they say here for Joke

ha ha. But I still can´t believe you guys bought Grandmas SUV ha ha pero bueno....Now I have something to tell you guys about MY LAST PHONE CALL!!! and all I have to say is I HOPE EVERYONE WILL BE IN CHICAGO WHEN I CALL BECAUSE........(Drum roll please prururururuum!!!) WE HAVE PERMISSION FOR JUST THIS ONE TIME TO USE SKYPE TO CALL OUR FAMILIES AND TALK TO YOU GUYS AND SEE AT THE SAME TIME!!!(Mom don´t get trunky) ha ha!! So this is just a heads up before Christmas come because I will be making a skype account through the mission email and we have guidelines and everything but WE GET TO USE SKYPE AND ITS MY LAST PHONE CALL SWEET!!! So make sure everyone is there or it´ll be penka like they say here in Chile for "it´ll stink" But the week

has been a pretty good week full of miralces. Especially yesterday as church. Well to start the story about a family that we have that are listening to us. There names are Araseli and Nelson. They are an amazing family! Her husband is a Policeman and she was a teacher but

she can´t teach because she´s pregnant with there 4th child. Anyways they love it when we come because they feel the spirit but there families are super catholic so its hard to change for them BUT they just had a huge problem happen in the middle of the week. WE get there

with a member I believe it was Wednesday and hermana Araseli is alone and then she just explodes. She tells us that everything has gone bad. there in debt and everything on there car and Nelson works far away and its just the Devil attacking this family. And they want to leave

and go back to Villarica to where there parents are and take the easy way out as I would call it to solve all there problems but we told them to meditate it out study your options and pray to God on what they should do and we read a part from D&C I can´t remember what section but they said they would do it and we told them we would be fasting for them from Saturday to Sunday as a special fast for them and we did it me and Elder Urrutia.....WE SAW MIRACLES!!! Araseli came to the stake conference with her little daughter and Nelson was

working in Calbuco and her twins were in Osorno but for the FIRST time she entered a LDS church and felt good and liked it!!! she felt the spirit!! then she told us after that something happen with nelson that she told her neighbor about that they were thinking about leaving

puerto montt and there neighbor is a policewoman and she was like no you guys are staying and she went and talked to her boss here in Puerto Montt and Nelson has an interview to work here in Puerto Montt as a policeman Tuesday and the policewoman said she was gonna do everything possible to help Araseli sell some boxes that she does and she´s already sold like 10 and they cost like 6 dollars a box well in American BUT MIRACLES!!! we taught them on Sunday right after church because Nelson got there and we were just like "you guys can´t tell me God just didn´t give you a miracle and an answer" well we didn´t say it like that but it was close and we went with a family of members and now they have awesome friends in church!!! Araseli and Nelson already told us they are preparing to come to church next Sunday as a family totally sweet!! The best miracle I have seen in a long time I love the

Gospel its so amazing what God can do with us when we are Obedient.  I love you all and miss you all so much!!! 

Love ,Elder Blotter

P.S: where is Ian going to school?? And has he sent the letters to

here by hand or by email?? Because I haven´t gotten anything ha ha

I'll make sure al tell you guys when I get the box and I'll be able to

open it with you guys through skype!! 

elder Blotter - Nov 21

Dear family,

Hey everyone!! Hope all is good back home. Hopefully I won´t get anyone trunky but I just got my flight plans today and I will be flying from Santiago to Miami and from Miami to Chicago OHare and I will be sending all the information to mom and dad so that they can confirm with me that it all works out fine for them on the plans and what not. I am well this past week and very wet today and it has rained so much this past week and also it started raining last night

and hasn´t stopped raining since it has rained allllll day ha ha but its all good.  This is the south of Chile and is normal and also I am in Puerto Montt so its also normal in that sense too. But all is good here we have had a successful week this past week with teaching and everything.  The only stinky part was that we didn´t have any investigators in Church but I believe we will be having some investigators in church next week because we have found some really awesome people this past week. A lot of our investigators are kind of falling so we're kind of not teaching them anymore because they are not progressing so we are finding other investigators now and they have ganas to progress. They are super awesome. We do this as missionaries sometimes I am sure Zach and Matt and Boe can relate on there own mission oh yea and of course dad too.  When investigators get to a point in progressing and they don´t want to go any farther or they don´t keep their commitments so you have to stop going by or not go by so much and start to find other people that want to come unto Christ and be baptized to receive the salvation. But we have other investigators that we are still with that are now finally progressing more and now want to keep progressing!!! It is super awesome. But nothing really new just working hard here with my companion Elder Urrutia, just destroying this sector but in a good way and we're gonna see a ton of baptisms at the end of this transfer. We found a sweet less active family that one of their kids is not member and he wants to get baptized and everything. We went by last night to teach and at the end we ate a huge pizza!!! It was super good!!! The less actives well you can´t really call them less actives now because they went to church yesterday and they own a bakery of bread and empañadas and he made a huge pizza they are so awesome!!! The hermano´s dad was one of the first Bishops of Chile when the Church came to Chile and his dad and mom live in Miami now so that's super sweet. But I just hope to see more success this coming week with my companion and see people in church because it kind of stinks to teach so many people during the week and then not see any investigators in church but I think we will see people in church this coming week I have the Faith that we will see people in church.  But I love you all and miss you all tons!!!  Hope all is well with y'all back home!!! 

Love, Elder Blotter