Elder Blotter pics - April 11

The pictures are of Elder Blotter and his new comp Elder Juarez in the mission home.  Elder Juarez hails from Santiago Chile and just arrived in the mission.   In the bottom picture Elder Blotter says goodbye to Elder Camarena who is headed south to Punta Arenas.  The other missionary is Elder Camarena first trainer, Elder Sandford.

Elder Blotter pics - April 4th

The pictures are of me with my companion on a log with a waterfall

behind us. We went to a waterfall area in a sector of our zone Called

Lago Ranco. Other pictures with me and my companion with a waterfall

behind us. Me and one of my zone leaders named Elder Cornejo from

Santiago who is headed to Punta Arenas with my companion. Me with all

the waterfalls behind me. And one with me and my companion with Elder

Jones and Elder Riches our District leader who is finishing his

mission at the end of this transfer. 

Elder Blotter - April 4

Hola Famila,

I am glad to hear that Dad’s knee is feeling better and I will keep you in my prayers that it will continue to progress to get better.  Sounds like you loved conference a lot and I loved it so much!!! I learn so much every time I go and I feel like its Christmas when I go. I also loved the talks of the First Presidency because I really think its what the Branch needs here. 

I will be staying here another transfer and my companion will be leaving to Punta Arenas and I will be training another new missionary.  I don’t know if it’s a Latin or North American so I’ll tell you in my next letter Monday.  I got a call from the mission office telling me that I will be getting a little more in my account for travels. and then he told me congrats on becoming a trainer and I was surprised because President usually calls the missionaries when they will train but he has yet to call me so I do not know if I am still training but according to the office and my zone leaders I am training but we will see. 

But all is well here. I went to La Union because that is where the whole district of La Union goes to see Conference.  I was there living there with the zone leaders for the past two days in their house because it was less expensive to stay there for the two days and not travel everyday. It was fun being with the zone leaders, they’re great Elders and I learn a lot from them. I hope to have many investigators in church next week to help them understand the reason on why we go to church because that was one of the first talks of General conference in the Saturday morning session and that helped me a lot and I can´t wait to read it again. The winter season has taken a turn here in San Pablo with a little rain here and cold but all is well.

It was awesome but sadly we didn’t have any investigators come to conference but we hope to have investigators come to church next week.  I also feel sad in one way of conference because it went by soooo fast!! It was sad that the members only came to see and hear conference Sunday morning and the priesthood session.  Hardly anybody came to Saturday or Sunday afternoon because everybody thinks that its Sunday morning is the only important session. That makes me sad because I learned soooo much in the Saturday sessions from the leaders of the church and so many great talks that were so needed for certain members of the church in the branch in San Pablo.  Also investigators that we have that there were messages that I think would have been the key to their conversion or their answer to certain questions or doubts they were having.  I guess we’ll just have to wait for the minds of the Chilean people to understand the whole importance of these messages. 

I loved President Uchtdorf’s talk about the priesthood the night of priesthood meeting which was about men of the church taking for granted their callings or not living up to there callings.  It made me feel happy because some of the members aren’t living to the potential of their callings and I hope the message woke them up a little because, well I am not branch president nor am I a leader in the church and I can’t tell people what to do here because I am just a missionary but I try my hardest. 

As Elder Holland told us that the messages are created through inspiration of the Spirit and are not just chosen topics and its not that millions of people have all these huge problems or what not but through the spirit we receive these messages and every message will touch a certain person and they will know that that message was for them. I love the mission and I love Conference and I know that President Thomas S. Monson was called as a Prophet of God. I thank you for your great example to me in all things. I love you tons and miss you even more!!! I hope to share more experiences with you next week about conference because I do not have my notes with me but its all good

Love,

Elder Blotter

Elder Blotter pics - March 28

These were several more photos from Elder Blotter and his comp's p-day excursion with some of the young men from the San Pablo Branch to a local river spot for a cookout.  Looks like they were having fun.

This was a family from the San Pablo Branch that was moving to Osorno.  Elder Blotter and his comp were helping them load their moving truck.  He said they would be sorely missed in the Branch as a family of real strength.

Elder Blotter - Mar 28

Hola Familia,

To answer first about the rain pants situation, I have rain pants.  The mission gave me a raincoat and pants when I got here so I am fine don’t worry please ha-ha.  I am well this past week.  Our Branch president came back from Santiago at like 8:30 in the Morning and directed the church that same day me and my companion were surprised but its all good except that we had a low attendance this past week of 14 members.  The lowest I have ever seen it here in SanPablo. And also this past week it has been hard to get lessons with members’ because the schedules of all of our brothers in the branch are difficult to work with so were trying to work our hardest this last week of the Transfer until we have Cambios this next Wednesday.  So it’ll be interesting what will happen. But no it’ll be awesome to see what miracles happen in our last week cause almost every time in my last week of every transfer we see a miracle even if it’s a small one.  My companion and me are well here and it was awesome to teach the tour guide of Brother Stevens and I really hope she goes and looks for the missionaries in Puerto Montt. But all is well here and just like for you guys back home I think fall is having a hard time getting a hold of the weather too because our day was still really sunny and warm.   We went to La Union to pull out my companions Carnet to be legal here in Chile like I have mine too so we did that and got some groceries and then came back and kicked around a soccer ball for awhile and now we came here. I don’t know what will happen this next week because me and my companion both have two transfers together and when I was with my second trainer he left before I did when I started my mission so I am nervous and anxious to know what president will do. But I will keep focused in the work here in San Pablo and not focused on if I leave or not from here. But I love you all and miss you tons and I will try to send those pictures. I don’t exactly

remember which ones they were but I will look for them in my email folder.

Love,

Elder Blotter

P.S. Tell Ian Hola for me

and also le extraño =)

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.