Sunday, March 27, 2011

Elder Blotter - Mar 21


Hola Famila, 
Glad to hear all is well with you and that your work is going well.
This past week in Church was a little small on attendance with only 22
people in church and with only one investigator. We lost a family of 5
this past week that has moved to Osorno to live and they were a really
awesome family and were really helping out the branch alot. I sent
a picture of me and my companion helping them put there stuff in the
truck to move but I hope to see them before I head off to the USA
cause that would be cool to see em.   My companion and me are
excited to continue working here in San Pablo and helping our
investigators progress.  The reason why our best investigator
couldn´t come to church was that she got sick but we went by her home
later that day and taught her with Brother Vargas our Branch ward
leader. We hope she’ll be able to come to church next week because
she’s off to the country near Rio Bueno to visit her brother who lives
out there. We had an awesome p-day today with my companion and me
and 3 other guys from our branch.  Two are preparing to serve
missions and we went to a river and cooked Hot dogs over a fire we
made out there by the river side it was awesome, it made me miss
camping a lot and boy scouts a little not going to lie but it was awesome.  Then we  went to an area where there are caves and we explored them and then also went to a bridge area and checked it out. We really enjoyed it and we hope we can all do it again sometime soon but the schedule of one of the guys is difficult for us cause he has time Saturdays and not always Mondays but we hope he´ll have another Monday before the end of the transfer.   I am well here seeing Brother Stevens was weird but it was awesome cause we ended up teaching his tour guide cause she had never heard of the Mormons or had the missionaries in her home but she liked our message that we taught her the first lesson of the Restoration and we invited her to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it so we hope she does and finds the missionaries at her home in Puerto Montt. But I hope to work really hard this coming week and change a lot of lives too. We have a Noche de Hogar with our Presidente de Rama tonight with his family so
we hope it´ll be a success. I love you and miss you tons!!!
Love, Elder Blotter

Elder Blotter pics - Mar 14

Rob Stevens from our Ward in Geneva who also served a mission in Osorno  over 20 years ago, traveled to Chile on business last week and made a trip south to visit some of the cities where he served and dropped in to visit Elder Blotter and his comp.  They enjoyed lunch together a Church member's little restaurant there in San Pablo.  Rob was also Elder Blotter's Deacons adviser and Scout leader when he was younger so this was a great example of the fruits of his labors as a youth leader
Elder Blotter and his comp enjoyed a P-day outing to a local river spot with some of the young men from the San Pablo Branch.  Several of them are preparing to serve missions as well which is very exciting.  He reported that they had a great time cooking hot dogs on an open fire and felt like a Boy Scout again.




Elder Blotter - Mar 14


Hola Familia,
I am super awesome this past week. We had a great week in Church yesterday with 5 investigators it was awesome I am totally stoked to work this coming week to help my investigators progress to come to church the following week and continue in the Lords progress. One of our investigators that came to church has been listening to the missionaries for a long time but he acts like a member but now he has a baptismal date and came to church yesterday so it is just awesome!!  I have been well this past week besides it starting to rain yesterday and today and a couple other days during this past week so the climate is really starting to change so here comes winter!! Ha-ha but nothing really new here just that we had a great day in Church yesterday with some good talks and everything. I think I could say in my mission I have had one of the better attendances from Investigators than I have ever had in my mission so I am really happy and I know the lord is very happy with my companion and me. My companion and I are well but he does not like this change of climate too much because he is from a tropical area but he’s trying to enjoy it but gets sick sometimes cause the weather changes rapidly for him not like me where I already have a year here in Chile and I am accustomed to the rain and the cold here.  But I am sure I will be like him when I go home where it’ll be a huge climate shock to me.

But all is well. I am just really happy right now to be here in San Pablo and to be a missionary working here in the white fields of the Lord. I heard what has happened in Japan through the members and it sounds really bad but I heard that Chile really is focusing on what is
happening there in Japan because they say there should be another Earthquake here that will be really big they just don’t know where it will happen or how big it will be but they know one day it’ll come.  I am sorry to hear Dad's leg is a little messed up. I just hope I don’t have problems when I am old with my legs but then again I can’t predict the future and it is better that I can’t.  But I love you and miss you tons. Just keep moving forward in the Lords work and he will bless you in everyday that we live. Mosiah 2:41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
Love,
Elder Blotter

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Elder Blotter - Mar 7

Dear Family,
Glad to hear all is well with you guys and that you enjoyed Stake Conference. It sounds like there were some good talks and many things learned and now time to apply in the Stake and in the Wards. I am well here in San Pablo working hard here in the sun. Me and my companion this past week have been working hard to get references from the members here and have the work more progress through them because we always see more fruits through them than us walking in the hot sun all day. We didn’t have any investigators come to church and all of our investigators baptismal dates fell through so it kind of stunk a little bit but I won’t give up. . It was a great fast Sunday.  Almost past my mind that it was fast Sunday. Sometimes days here just blend together and before you know it its the end of the week and it is Sunday. I guess it’s true what they say, first it’s days turn into hours then weeks turn into days and months turn into weeks. The time is flying so fast that we’re already in the middle of this transfer and before we know it it’ll be the end of the transfer. But I guess that just goes to show that when you really get into the work life just passes by here like the wind.  We are going to put 5 new investigators with dates (baptismal) this week and help them start fresh this week including coming to church this Sunday. Our assignment from our district leader today and the rest of the week is to teach the Sabbath day and why it is important to go to church and then share with them the blessings that we receive from going to church and then challenge them to come to church this coming Sunday.  That is our push at this moment. My companion is finishing his papers to get his Carnet to show that he is a legal here in the Country of Chile so that’s what we’ve been doing basically all day and then were going to go kick a soccer ball around at the Gym they have here in San Pablo.  It’s really the only thing we can do and it’s free because our Papito is the owner of the Gym so it’s really fun because sometimes he kicks around with us. We celebrated my companion’s birthday a little last Monday and he put cake on his face as you can see. Apparently it’s a tradition he has on his birthday so he wanted to continue with the tradition.
I hope to see much success this week and find our investigators that we had dates with and help them continue to progress in the Lords work. We passed by a member yesterday and spoke with him about sharing the gospel with his friends and family and at the end he spoke of a friend that he wants to share the gospel with and he just cried cause he felt so bad for his friend and the place where his friend is at right now and that he needs this gospel in his life. I am so excited to hear back from our member to see when we will do a family home evening with him and his friend. I love the work here and wouldn’t give it for anything in the world right now. The scripture that always comes to my mind when I
see people with difficulties in the life or when the work is tough I think of my scripture 1Nephi 3:7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.  I love this scripture and I apply it everyday and hope we all can apply it everyday in our lives here on this earth before we go back to the presence of our heavenly father. I love you and thank you for everything. Tell Shayla thank you for FINALLY writing me back ha-ha I love you all and I will keep Sayward and Matt in my prayers. 
Love, 
Elder Blotter

P.S. Yes the weather is changing but the heat is just sticking it
won’t leave but will see in a little while if it’ll still be here at
the end of the month. LOVE Y'ALL!!!

Elder Blotter pics - Mar 7

This is Valentina a daughter of a sister in the branch and we always do little activities with their family
We celebrated my companions birthday  last Monday and he put cake on his face as you can see. Apparently its a tradition he has.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Elder Blotter - Feb 26


Dear Family,
Glad to hear all is well with you right now and with all the girls. I will keep Sayward in my prayers and everything. This past week there was a lot of sun but now in the mornings it’s a lot colder so that’s a show that the climate is starting to change. Probably by the end of this transfer in April it’ll start raining daily I am sure but we’ll see.  I am well here in San Pablo, we had great assistance in the church this past week with a lot of members that were less active attending and some other people that are family members but not members who came to church with them. We hope to see a lot of success with these people that came to church. Me and my companion are well this past week and hope to see lots of success this coming week with the members like we did a couple of weeks ago. Not much of new news this week because my companion and me are still together for another transfer. The AP that got bumped down is now our district leader in Rio Bueno Elder Riches and he finishes at the end of this transfer so it’ll be fun to be with him for one transfer more cause he was my Zone leader in ValdivĂ­a and I got real close with Elder Riches so it’ll be pretty sweet.
Today in the Noche De Hogar that the members are holding they want to do something small for my companion because he turned 20 yesterday so it’ll be interesting.  I know it won’t be something huge because I remember my 20th birthday here and it was nothing big but neither will my 21st birthday ha-ha.   That’s sweet that Elder Blotter comes home real soon from Korea but I am sure he doing really well there and loving it and is going to miss it just like I am going to miss Chile when I head home.
I am glad to hear that Braden is excited to leave on a mission.  It makes me sad to hear that there are young men not leaving on missions from our stake. I wish and hope that I will have the opportunity to speak to them and maybe Elder Louk and other Elders and sisters that have left on missions, we can speak about our missions and show pictures of our mission and explain the blessings that we receive from serving missions to the young men and young women cause I can already see in my whole mission the many wonderful blessings I have received and also to see the lives of others change because they have received the Gospel in their lives. I am so grateful to be a missionary in these days when Satan is trying to destroy the church with all his might.  But as Elder Boyd K Packer has said we will win this war.
I miss you tons and will all be in my prayers.


Love Rob

Elder Blotter pics - Feb 26

Elder Blotter said these pictures were from them cutting the grass in their yard because it had gotten long.   Seems like a lawn mower would have been easier but you use what tools you have.