Snow = cold

Well This week it decided to snow.  As I speak it is overcast and the temperature feels well below 30.  There is a ski resort just above our sector and you can see the slopes covered in a gorgeous white blanket. It makes me feel really sad.  Snow without snow boarding, is no fun at all.  Just cold.  My companion loves it though, he has never seen snow before and every time it starts falling he pulls out his camera and starts recording.  So that's exciting.   The morning Tai Kwan DO classes have transformed into just pure running.  

This week..... well we had an awesome lesson with Nelson, we brought a member with us and everything.  And we talked about the plan of salvation, Nelson´s brother died last week and he has taken it really hard.  during the lesson we asked what he felt, he said he felt peace, and how he hasn't had peace in his life for a while.  It was the spirit and we explained what it was and how he could have that peace for the rest of his life.  We invited him to be baptized the 31 of May.  The only thing is that Nelson has had lots of baptismal dates but he is addicted to cigarettes.  The longest he has gone without smoking is about 15 days.  He wants to be baptized, he knows everything we can teach him, he just can't stop smoking.  Me and my companion are going to start visiting him everyday to see how it is going.  We also are going to do a fast with him to give him some extra spiritual strength.

Thats about it.  We are going to know our transfers this week so that is nerve wracking.  I feel like i am going. I have been in Fitz Roy for 4.5 months now, but there is always hope.  I really want to stay here.  All of the members are awesome and we have some awesome investigators.  But I'll go where ever I'm needed.

I love all you guys.

Love,

Elder Burup

 Whitney Good luck in exams, don't stress, you're really smart. I always tell people that my sister is going to be a DR.  I am very proud of my sister.

 Max?!?!  Thats nutty.  I read something in an Ensign about Liberia. Sounds awesome!!!

 Kelly, Mexico! ¿Que parte? give me the deets.  

Good luck in the race. to mom and dad and Mak daddy.  

New Week

Well this week has been good.  I think my way of writing makes me sound like the biggest pessimist in the world, and maybe that is a little true, but i promise that i am still loving the missionary life.  Being a missionary is so much fun!  Sharing the gospel is fun, but even more fun is seeing the changes that this gospel makes in the life of those that except it.  Finding people to except it was the challenge of the week.

This week being semana santa, was not that great for finding new people.  So we decided to focus on the less actives of the ward.  Our ward has 700 members.  The highest number i have seen at church is 80.  We have lots of work to do.  This week we did have success, we had 1 member who hadn't been in the church for 7 years and yesterday she came back.  We had an awesome lesson with her in the week and she said that she didn't have time to go to church, so we read about the apostles when they were waiting for the savior in the garden of Gethsemane, and how when Jesus comes back and finds them all sleeping he basically says "You couldn't sacrifice one hour for me".  It was really intense.  But she committed to go to church for the rest of her life, so we were really happy.  5 other less active members attended church as well.

We did service on Saturday.  Way out in the country, where, after we were done moving trash around, ate a ton of fried lamb and sausage.  It was excellent!.

I am learning tai kwan do.  We run to 2 miles to the capilla every morning to learn from an elder.  Its fun.  I laugh a lot.  Some of the kicks look really silly.  And the teacher does all of the funny shouts.  Ha.  

Saturday night there was a huge party in the apartment above us.  I couldn't sleep so i spent my time throwing a flat soccer ball at the ceiling for a bout an hour. I was upset.

Well i think thats about it.  I love all of you guys a ton.  Thanks for all of the uplifting letters, they help.  Keep up the good missionary work, or if you haven't started yet, get going.  Jaja.

Chau chau,

Elder Paco Borup

PS tell Max i said "sup"

Pichanga

I don't know if i have written about a magical thing called pichanga before, but this week we found an awesome place that makes them.  Absolutely delicious.  What it is, is a huge platter of french fries, chopped stake, sausage, hot dog, avocado, tomato, and lots of cheese.  basically a platter of heaven.  Me and elder Aedo have been chowing down on that almost every night this week

.  

Well this week Chile has had a ton of natural disasters.  There is a wild fire in the north that is burning a ton of houses and getting really close to the center of the city.  There have been massive earth quakes in Antofagasta and Tsunami warnings in all of Chile.  The other week we had to evacuate.  We weren't really in risk, but the Zone leaders wanted to be sure we were safe.  So we spent the night in the house of some other elders.  In total there were 8 elders in 1 house.  Not enjoyable.  I didn't get to sleep until 2 in the morning.  It has been really exciting though.  Poor Chile though.

So, the other week we found a family that i think i already told you about.  The parents are members but they have two sons that are not.  We had a lesson with them this week, and it was awesome! We saw the restoration movie with them.  the one that last 20 min..  Then after that we invited them to be baptized.  They accepted to make the10th of may their goal.  I think they are going to take a little more time than that, but that is not why we extend the baptismal date.  We do it so that they can try and work for that date.  It helps them progress faster.  But, they both really want to get baptized, their parents are a little hesitant though.  We are going to  reactivate the whole family before we continue with the sons.  

well i got to go.  I love all of you guys.  take care.  

Love,

Elder Burup

I caught him on line and asked a couple of questions.

Questions:

Are you still there?

 How's your spanish doing?

It looks like it's cold agin today. does your new coat keep you warm?

What is the address of you apartment? 

Are you able to email some of your friends that are on missions?

Answers:

Im here for two more minutes,

My spanish is 90% better.  The past 4 months with a latino has helped a ton.

My jacket is awesome!  iM super warm.  

My address is 135 Santa Juana.  A huge appartment block.

Sometimes i have time to email friends. this week no though.

Thank you for being an awesome example to me dad.  I love the Preach my Gosple challange.  It will help a ton.

Love,

Elder Steamer

Good Conference

Thanks everyone for the letters.  I think thats my real favorite part about pday, getting letters.  My least favorite is probably writing letters.  I will never work in an office.  I hate computers.  Especially evil chilean computers that try and plant viruses in your memory cards.  ahhhhh.

But this has been an awesome week.  Me and my new companion elder Aedo are really trying to work our hardest.  We had an awesome general conference weekend.  None of our investigators came, even though we committed almost all of them to come, but that didn't stop me to enjoy the enlightenment.  It did make me frustrated though.  I feel we are at a point where we need to start dropping investigators, I never thought i would say that.....   But in a talk given by elder Ballard in our mission, he said our job is to look for the people who have been prepared, by the lord, to receive this message.  The other week, when elder delgado left a family of 8 dropped us.  They were investigators of elder delgado and elder sosa, the elder before me.  The thing that they kept saying to me was"no offense, but it wont be the same with you and a new companion, it was really hard for us to get used to you, I don't think we can accept someone else."  They were a family who we thought were prepared.  But i think they just really liked getting visits and having us talk about pretty things.     What me and Elder aedo are going to try and do this week is identify the people who are willing to change, and take the steps to change.  

Well i didn't really want to talk about that in this letter, but i spent all that time typing it, sooooooo..... But we did find some sweet people this week.  One family that we found is the Fam. Muñoz.  We got a call one night from the other elders in our ward, and they said that there was a less active hermana that needed our help with some sort of service.  So in the morning we went to their house and spent like two hours mixing cement.  Oh and im not sure that cement mixers exist in chile.  All cement in mixed in the street with shovels and lots of work.  My whole body hurt after that.  But anyways while we were mixing cement we got to know the husband of this hermana.  He is way cool, he is a member since he was 14 but we got to know his two sons as well, neither of them are baptized and we set up a cita to teach them at the end of the week.  We went there the other day and had an awesome lesson with them. Both of the boys want to get baptized, we just need to activate the parents and they will be set.  It was an another awesome example of how service is the best way to find people to teach.  It is a good way to demonstrate your love, and that you really care about that person.

but anyways.  An overall good week.  I really hope you all enjoyed general conference.  The messages were inspired.  I dont remember who gave the talk about hope, but i will re analyze my notes when i get home.  That was my favorite talk, i felt like it was directed at me.  It said that the message that we share with the people is a message of hope.  Hope that Jesus is the Christ and that we can be with our family's forever.  I love that.  Hope is key to gaining a testimony, we always have to have hope.

I love you guys lots.

Chau chau,

Elder Borak

(for some reason, that is what blind people hear when i tell them my name.)

Good Days

Thanks everyone for the Birthday wishes.  I am really really happy to have such a bomb family and awesome friends.  I had an awesome birthday. A crazy red headed elder from New Mexico, named elder Marsden, made pancakes for me.  Everyone in church wished me happy birthday.  And the Bishop and Mamita invited me to their house. I just realized that i have never told you guys about them..... Well their awesome, and are about as old as Whitney. We ate Kuchen, which is like a mix between a cobbler and a pie. Besides that we didn't have any appointments,  so we did a ton of contacts.  We found a couple of really awesome people.

So Elder Delgado has left me, he left for Coyhaique as a zone leader.  I have a new companion now.  Sorry i didn't tell you last week but with Torres and all that there wasn't really time.  But my new companion, Elder Aedo, is Chileno and super cool.  Today we had some fun and went to ice skating.  It made me miss my roller blades, but i loved it.  

I have been a little discouraged with the lack of baptisms.  I really liked Dads letter, it got me amped to just work harder and try to be more and more obedient.  I know that someday i will get someone in the water.  Its just a matter of time.

This section of the letter is dedicated to my mother:

Dearest Mother,

I would like you to know that I am plenty warm now.  Our apartment has gas heating,  My jacket is excellent.  I enjoy being outside now, I feel like i am conquering nature.  I do use my sleeping bag every day.  Since the beginning of my mission actually.  I think I'll have to throw it away by the end of two years.  Oh! i got the package too.  It is awesome!!!!!!!!   I love the music! love the shirt! and I really love the package of instant pudding!  The ginger candies are also something that i have been savoring.  Thank you so much.  

I love you tons.

But over all this has been a good week.  Torres del paine was spectacular.  Better than i ever could have ever dreamed of.  When i looked up southern chile when i got my mission call, pictures of torres del paine came up.  So basically a dream come true to actually go there.  

That's about it.  

Elder The noise a frog makes.