Road Trip

13 Oct 2014

Ok ill start by apologizing for the lame letters... i really just don't have time sometimes. 

Well this has been one of the craziest weeks of the mission for me.  This Tuesday we had to go to puerto Montt in order to do my visa on Wednesday.  we went and we stayed the night in the house of the zone leaders there.  In the morning we went to the extranjeria and met up with the mission Secretary.  We go into the office and the first thing they ask me is where do i live. I said that i was living in Dalcahue.  Then right away they say that i can't do my visa here, that i have to go and do it in Castro.  The thing is that we aren't aloud to do our visas in Castro because the guy in charge in Chloe is out to get all missionaries exported.  So anyways they end up sending me to Osorno.  In osorno we couldn't do anything else for the visa because the office was already closed by the time we got there.  So we had to spend the night there.  I  called the Zone leaders here and asked if they could hook us up with some beds in Ovejeria!  We got to stay the night there.  You want to know what's really crazy though?  Elder Warren is training in Ovejeria.  They split the sector and put him there, training a new elder.  

So we get to Ovejeria at about 6 and we have the rest of the night to go out and make some visits.  It was so awesome.  I got to pass by and visit Orlando and Silvina, and Maria and Constanza.  It was way cool to see everyone.  I loved it.  They are all still investigating but Maria is getting really close to baptism.  I think it will happen soon.

So after we make all of the visits we go back to the house and order a pizza.  In the morning we have to go super early to the office to go and get the visa stuff done.  We head over there meet up with the Secretary again and go to the visa office.  They were closed.  Ridiculous.  But we got to spend another night with Elder Warren in Ovejeria,  So not too bad.  We went to a big grocery store in centro to buy something to eat for lunch and guess who we ran into?  Victoria!!! It was so crazy she was in Osorno visiting her mom and was out buying a gift when we found her.   It was so awesome to talk to her.  talking to her made me realize how little i really knew about Spanish when i was with her.  She said that she is sending her papers in at the end of this month.  She put her availability date for February. Way too cool.  She is going to go on her mission before i even make it home.   

So we stay the night in Ovejeria again and then we wake up early again to meet up with the Secretary and go to the office.  When we got there they were open but when we tried to get it they said that it was way too early to try and start my visa.  so it ended up being a whole waste.  But it was the best waste ever.

We ended up getting a ride back to Chiloé with President Obeso who was headed down there to do our interview.  That  was one of the most memorable rides of my life.  President got pulled over.  That was funny.  he used to race cars in the Baja 500 and is a really fast driver.

A new investigator came to church this week.  She has lots of potential.  

I love you guys bunches.  Have a good week and don't get run over by anymore cars.

Elder Borup  

Someone actually could pronounce it this week.

Surprise, surprise, i got no time

6 Oct 2014

Well we just got back from this crazy island (I´ll send pics next week), But i don't have any time to write today.  This island was awesome though, super spooky.  Its an island that is about a 4th of a mile away from the shore and its connected to by this huge peer thing.  THe only thing on the island was a church and a cemetery, and a ton of really creepy looking old trees.  

This week we got to watch general conference and it was amazing.  We got to watch 2 sessions in english and the rest in spanish.  We got to listen to the spanish speakers in their actual voice which was way awesome.  Spanish is the coolest.  I like it alot.  

Sorry this letter is so short. And sorry i didn't get to write any of you, but ill try harder next week.

Love you lots though,

Elder Borus

(our mission leader)

Dalcahuino for life

29 Sep 2014

I love Dalcahue so much! 

Its been a really good week.  We are coming up out of a slump that we have been in ever since the 18 de septiembre.  But now we are really starting to go  to town.  

What happened this week......   Something funny that happened this week is that our group mission leader, Hno. Yuseff,  says that he wants to retire from being our leader, he says that now that there is a mission leader in Castro that we don't need him.  He got really emotional and said that this might be the last time that we come to his house.  As he is tearing up he goes into his kitchen and comes out with this bag of powdered milk, specially designed for old people.  He hands me the bag and says that its for us.  he then proceeds to give us detailed instructions on how to make it.  This was a sad experience, that is until Sunday when hno Yuseff comes back up to us and says that we will still be going to his house every week for correlation.  He said he wants the milk back.

We taught this guy through a window this week.  He said that the door didn't open, so we just starting shouting about the restoration so that he could hear.  He was an interesting guy,  we have a cita for Thursday.

We went out to go teach someone with Hector and all of the citas we had planned fell in the first 15 min.  So then hector and elder K really had to go to the bathroom.  We went looking for a bathroom.  Elder K did not make it to one.  He ended up peeing his pants a little.  Reminds me a lot of Mad-eye.  He has to go to the bathroom every hour on the hour.  So funny.

Well we have found a lot of really good people this week.  We are working with them so that they can become real progressing investigators.  I would say that that is the hardest part.  Every one the world will listen to us here, but very few will act on what we teach them.  

I love you guys a ton.  This has been a great week,  being is a missionary is the best.  I know that this message is true, i can see the change it has on the people who have accepted it.  

Love you a whole lot,

Elder Burup

(classic)

PS remember Victoria from the beginning of my mission?  she is working on her mission papers now!  

I got 15 min. again

22 Sep 2014

Well this was a terrible week.  I'm going to be very honest.  Absolutely terrible.  I found out so many terrible things and we were stuck in our house almost the whole week because of the 18 of September.  

I gave a talk in sacrament meeting.  first time here in Dalcahue.  I talked about why scripture study is so important and how it can really guide our life.

I love being here in dalcahue, i love meeting in our tiny little house, and i love the members here.  We found out this week that it may be my last week in the house.  Next week we go to Castro because we have branch conference, then we have general conference, and then we go to Castro every other fast Sunday and this next month we have to go in.   I have been having crazy fantasies in my head about me just flipping my little study table through the window and throwing my chair after it.  I really don't want that to have been my last Sunday there.  Only about half of the members were there.  Its the worst. 

Well some weeks are lame other weeks are great.  I guess it was just my turn for a bad one.  

Today we did a deep clean of the house.  President Obeso said that he is going to lift the ban on soccer once all of the houses in the whole mission are clean.  I don´t have very much faith in that, but i don't want to be the missionary who prevents it from happening.  

I guess that's it from me.  I love you guys lots.  I am going to send a better letter next week.  Be patient with me.

Love,

Elder Bolun

(5 year old child took a whack at it) 

Puerto Montt

15 Sep 2014

So I realized that last weeks letter was really lame.  This week will most likely be lammer.... Sorry.  

So I am in Puerto Montt right now. We left this morning at 8, and we have been eating american food in the huge mall here.  Im talking Bigmac combo, with a bbq  We are going to have a special conference with Elder Viñas.  Cant wait, it starts tomorrow at 9 and ends at 4.  All of the things that we had no idea that we were doing wrong will soon be made clear to me.  I am way excited.......

(a little later)

Gosh dang it!!!!! i did it again.

Anyways it will be good.  I hope that tomorrow i will be able to see Elder Watson, that would be awesome!  

Viviana came to church again this week!!!  She loved it again too.  During the week we have found the time where we can visit her.  She invites us to lunch with her every week now.  We bring the salad, we light the BBQ, she provides the meat.  We are really trying to get her boyfriend in church though.  This is the week. They said that they were going to close the shop and everything so that they could both come.  The baptismal font will need to be filled this coming October.

So I just decided that i am going to try and start sending home something that i have learned throughout the week. This week i learned two things.  1.  When your away from the US  for more than a year you start to day dream about McDonald's, then when you finally get it you realize that it is still just a regular bigmac, there is no difference.  I thought it would be something so much better.  If anything it was worse than in the US.  You can apply that to all of the things in the world.  Your mind can make anything look so good, but when you actually get it, you find out that it is just a small, fake cheese covered, pre-made burger.  2.  I learned that i want to live in Chiloé.  I could live here so easily.  I would buy a motorcycle and just go to town on all of the coastal roads that they have here.  The people are the greatest, almost every house we go to, we get offered some sort of food.  That is a requirement here.  if you have guests, feed them.  It really is a miracle that i haven't gotten fat. Its probably too early to tell  but I actually think that i will be able to still fit into my purple plaid jacket when i get back.  

Thats about t for the week.  I am going to really try hard the next week and write you all a great personal letter.  We will see.

Love all bunches,

Elder Brown

(it says it on my ticket)

Dang!

8 Sep 2014

What a week. A really good week.... but i am so dang pooped.   This might just be another really lame letter.  I guess we´ll see what comes out.....

Somehow i accidentally just sent that... my bad.....

Dang! Computers are the worst. ANYWAYS....  This week we have really been focussing on Viviana, the lady that came to church this last week.  This week she was unable to attend... Daylights savings killed it for everyone.  But we have had some really good lessons with her and her family.  We finnaly got to teach her the restoration.  She loves the church!!!  Last week when she came she said that she felt an amazing spirit come over her and that it made her want to cry.  She said, when we invited her to be baptized and she said that she and her boyfriend have been looking for a religion for the past 3 years and that they made a deal that they would both do it together.  So she didn't want to make the decision to be baptized until he came to church for the first time.  Its alright though because her boyfriend is also reading in the book of mormon, that he downloaded from the internet on his own, and has also promised that he will be in church this next week.  He is also progressing lots.

This week we had intercambios with the zoneleaders.  It was a whole lot better than the last ones we had.  I got to go with Elder Jauragui again, but this time in my sector.  Dalcahue is the best.

The lame thing that is starting to happen here is that the members are starting to get animated about the fact that we still aren't a branch.  Yesterday in Priesthood we basically just had a huge disagreement on who is in charge of what and how we aren't allowed to have our own activities yet because we have to have them in Castro.  I am a little tired of it.  We need to Be a branch already. 

We found a place big enough for the new church... but its the second floor of the Casino.  We´ll keep looking.

Thats basically it.  

Love you guys,

Elder Burup

15 Min

1 Sep 2014

We have been running around like crazy people to try and find a computer in this dinky town. There are 3 places where you can go and all of them are having problems.  So now we finally found a place and i only have 15 minutes to write.   

Well.....  I don't really remember what i did this week now.  This Sunday a new investigator came to Church and loved it.  She stayed all 3 hours!  that is a total miracle.  We played it smart.  Sunday we didn't have sacramental cups so we ended up finishing with sacrament meeting while a member drove to Castro to get some.  So during the investigators class, we talked all about the sacrament and got her really excited to try it out.  It worked.  I love it when investigators come to church.  It builds them up so quick.  

So the Mad-Eye mad it home safely.  That is good news.  The picture was really weird to look at.  You guys all look so different.  Whitney looks like the skinniest person i have ever seen.  Jessica´s hair looks good. And McKenzie's nose looks really straight.   

Well that's about all i have time for.  Thanks for the emails.

Love lots,

Elder SteamBoatWhillie

I dicided to send pictures early in the day and print off all of my emails so that i can have more time to write in the afternoon.  Smart, right?

pics

1. Pan con Chicharon and avacado

2. Chicken Burger with lots and lots of avacado

3. The sign that took me 2 hours to make.