Nov 24, 2009
hey i just sent the xrays and everything, let me know how you are feeling right now. For me, I kind of feel that the circumstances are very good right now and I feel that the Lord let this happen right now rather than sometime later when the consequences would be a lot worse. But that is just how I feel right now. When I prayed about it, I felt that I needed to read my patriarchal blessing again. When I did, I noticed that part where it says that my parents will never once give me bad advice. So I will rely on your imput very heavily, not to put any pressure on you or anything! haha! alright, let me know whats going on TODAY! im dying of anxiety down here! Call the president and let him know and make sure that I found out about it somehow. Okay, im excited to see you soon... or not. Ahhhh!!!!!! Im so anxious right now!!!!
Love you mom,
Elder Westover
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Blessing, Falling, and Changing
Nov 16, 2009
Alright family and friends, buckle your seatbelts and keep your hands and arms inside the ride at all times: There was a lot of things that happened this week.
There was a lot, but I think Im going to mention the 3 major things that happened, in chronological order, as it works out better that way. Alright, here we go!
1) Its 9:30 at night. Elder Stephenson and I are walking back to the pension after just getting rejected by a menos activo family that we really wanted to teach. We see two ladies walking up and I politely step out of the way so they can get through the side walk (The sidewalks in Chile are pretty small, and built for midgets because there are so many low hanging branches its ridiculous). They, however, just stand there. Not being one to miss a teaching opportunity smile and introduce myself. If someone in Chile stands in front of a few missionaries for longer than two seconds, they´re just asking to be baptized. As it turns out, the older woman was a member of the church, but went inactive almost immediatley. However, she somehow knew about priesthood blessings, and asked us if we could give one to her sick granddaughter, pointing to the other girl and a small infant in her arms. She was about 18 or 19, and the child was probably 1 or 2. Not that rare in Chile. As a matter of fact, I was pretty impressed. Elder Stephenson and I looked at each other for a moment to take in the randomness of the situation and then generous agreed and asked where they live so we could bless her. This is where it gets weird. They lived pretty far away and wanted us to do the blessing in the street right there. We politely explained the sacred nature of the blessing and offered to find a place nearby. We thought and realized the only place nearby was the less active family we had just passes by. So we go to ask the family that just rejected us if they would let us in to offer the blessing. Then it gets even weirder. The family accepted the invitation surprisingly, but when we started walking back to the family, the 19 year old mother was contently breastfeeding her child. Umm... yeah. Okay. We go to the family and thankfully by that time the kid had stopped breatfeeding. We pulled up a chair for the mother to sit down and she pops the kid back on again! Oh no! How am I going to do this? i thought. Elder Stephenson very very carefully placed a drop of oil on the baby´s head. Then it was my turn. I prayed to know what to say and do. I began the prayer, trying in Spanish, but it was pretty difficult a) not knowing the language very well b) with a name like Sadca Isidora Lindsey Sedevitch Idalgo, its hard to remember anything else, and c) I was a little worried about my hand placement as I was placing my hands on a breatfeeding child. I got the first part down, but midway through, the baby started to cry bloody murder. I couldnt do it. I quickly finished the rest in English. The sealing was equally difficult. The baby continued to cry as Elder Stephenson offered what he could of a beautiful blessing. I kept my eyes as tight as i could, knowing what I would see if I opened them (remember how the child was breastfeeding before she started crying) crying=no cover. We finsihed the prayer and I looked at everyone but the family. We got a cita with them for later in the week and discovered that our prayer worked: the baby was fine and healthy again. I was sweatin bullets on that one.
2) The day before changes. We are by the bishops house because we need to ask him a question. While we are waiting, we see a few of the kids from the ward were kicking the soccer ball around. We go join them for a bit and enjoy ourselves while we wait for the bishop. At some point, the ball goes astray, and I jog over to go get it. I dont know why it happened. I wasnt doing anything wrong, we had been knocking doors like crazy that day and were just waiting for the bishop. All I know is that the Lord for some reason wanted this because there is no other way this would have happened without there being some greater reason behind it. I walk up onto the sidewalk to get the ball and my foot falls weird and slips off the sidewalk. Then I hear it. Im brought back to scout camp, jumping on rocks. I land on one weird and I hear it. Im at track, running as fast as I can and while Im placing my foot down when I hear it. The same sickening sound I hear everytime I dislocate my kneecap. I heard it and thought "oh no" right before the world goes black and I fall to the ground. This weak knee problem has been with me for a while, and for the most part, I could get up and walk after. But this was different. Of course.I couldnt put pressure on it for the life of me. I get it wrapped up and put ice on it at one of the member´s house nearby, but I can already feel it start to swell up. This was not good. On a saturday afternoon after the doctor has gone home and wouldnt be there on sunday of course. The only perk was we got a free ride back to the pension. We sat there for a while and my knee just kept getting stiffer and stiffer. Soon it became the size of a grapefruit. What I think happened is that when I fell, I put too much pressure on my dislocated knee, which poked a hole in my synovial membrane, which exploded like a balloon, causing miniscus, bursa, or something like that to leak everywhere. Not too scientific, but hey, what do you expect? So now im in the mission office having just talked to the doctor. I have an MRI and an X-ray scheduled for 5:30 today, so we´ll see the extent of the damage. I hope that I can still walk around with my cool krutches that they gave me. Mom, dont worry, I´ll be okay. haha, I know what she is probably saying right now: "He needs to just take it easy and he shouldn´t have blah blah blah". Ashlee, you too.
3) Changes. Every six weeks, we have a chance of getting changed inot a new sector and place. Elder Stephenson has been in Parque for 5 changes now (7 months) and has told the President that he wanted to change, and got leaked information that he was leaving by the Assistants. So as we waited around the cell phone for the assistants to call on Sunday, Elder Stephenson packed. He wistled and grinned, excited to be leaving the sector that he has been in for way too long (almost half of his mission). Finally, it came. Most of us were upstiars, and I was already headed down as quickly as I could (via hopping on one foot). Everyone else soon overtook me and I was the last one down, hobbling in as Elder Stephenson answered the phone. "Alo? Hola Elder Rodriguez, como esta?" We all look at one another like kids waiting to get presents from santa. "yeah buena, entonces, cual son los cambios?" "Yeah, yeah, okay." "Elder Westover se va!?" It was all down hill after that. I was leaving and Elder Stephenson was staying in El Parque. Again. I packed my things the best I could with one leg. Elder Stephenson was too distraught to help me, but I dont think he would have helped me anyway. He definately needs to work on his bedside manner. The next day, we left to go to the conference where we would find out where we were going. I was super nervous, hoping I would be stuck with some stiff or a lazy missionary either. One by one, all the people from my pension left to go to their new companions. Then, right as I was spacing out, I heard my name and instinctly stood up. My new companion was a brown haired kid with a nice smile and a hopefully nice disposition. I got filled in later that I was assigned to the La Raiz mission: the northern most sector in the mission. It is up in the city Los Condes, the richest place in Chile. My comp, Elder Stagg, has been a stud so far. He is one of the zone leaders, so I know that we´ll be doing some good stuff up in La Raiz. This does not mean I am also a zone leader, it just means I am companions with one.
Alright, so that is about it. I am out of time, but I want you all to know that I love you guys all and will let you know how my first week in the rich part is. Im guessing it will be better than sleeping on a mattress on the tile floor!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover
Alright family and friends, buckle your seatbelts and keep your hands and arms inside the ride at all times: There was a lot of things that happened this week.
There was a lot, but I think Im going to mention the 3 major things that happened, in chronological order, as it works out better that way. Alright, here we go!
1) Its 9:30 at night. Elder Stephenson and I are walking back to the pension after just getting rejected by a menos activo family that we really wanted to teach. We see two ladies walking up and I politely step out of the way so they can get through the side walk (The sidewalks in Chile are pretty small, and built for midgets because there are so many low hanging branches its ridiculous). They, however, just stand there. Not being one to miss a teaching opportunity smile and introduce myself. If someone in Chile stands in front of a few missionaries for longer than two seconds, they´re just asking to be baptized. As it turns out, the older woman was a member of the church, but went inactive almost immediatley. However, she somehow knew about priesthood blessings, and asked us if we could give one to her sick granddaughter, pointing to the other girl and a small infant in her arms. She was about 18 or 19, and the child was probably 1 or 2. Not that rare in Chile. As a matter of fact, I was pretty impressed. Elder Stephenson and I looked at each other for a moment to take in the randomness of the situation and then generous agreed and asked where they live so we could bless her. This is where it gets weird. They lived pretty far away and wanted us to do the blessing in the street right there. We politely explained the sacred nature of the blessing and offered to find a place nearby. We thought and realized the only place nearby was the less active family we had just passes by. So we go to ask the family that just rejected us if they would let us in to offer the blessing. Then it gets even weirder. The family accepted the invitation surprisingly, but when we started walking back to the family, the 19 year old mother was contently breastfeeding her child. Umm... yeah. Okay. We go to the family and thankfully by that time the kid had stopped breatfeeding. We pulled up a chair for the mother to sit down and she pops the kid back on again! Oh no! How am I going to do this? i thought. Elder Stephenson very very carefully placed a drop of oil on the baby´s head. Then it was my turn. I prayed to know what to say and do. I began the prayer, trying in Spanish, but it was pretty difficult a) not knowing the language very well b) with a name like Sadca Isidora Lindsey Sedevitch Idalgo, its hard to remember anything else, and c) I was a little worried about my hand placement as I was placing my hands on a breatfeeding child. I got the first part down, but midway through, the baby started to cry bloody murder. I couldnt do it. I quickly finished the rest in English. The sealing was equally difficult. The baby continued to cry as Elder Stephenson offered what he could of a beautiful blessing. I kept my eyes as tight as i could, knowing what I would see if I opened them (remember how the child was breastfeeding before she started crying) crying=no cover. We finsihed the prayer and I looked at everyone but the family. We got a cita with them for later in the week and discovered that our prayer worked: the baby was fine and healthy again. I was sweatin bullets on that one.
2) The day before changes. We are by the bishops house because we need to ask him a question. While we are waiting, we see a few of the kids from the ward were kicking the soccer ball around. We go join them for a bit and enjoy ourselves while we wait for the bishop. At some point, the ball goes astray, and I jog over to go get it. I dont know why it happened. I wasnt doing anything wrong, we had been knocking doors like crazy that day and were just waiting for the bishop. All I know is that the Lord for some reason wanted this because there is no other way this would have happened without there being some greater reason behind it. I walk up onto the sidewalk to get the ball and my foot falls weird and slips off the sidewalk. Then I hear it. Im brought back to scout camp, jumping on rocks. I land on one weird and I hear it. Im at track, running as fast as I can and while Im placing my foot down when I hear it. The same sickening sound I hear everytime I dislocate my kneecap. I heard it and thought "oh no" right before the world goes black and I fall to the ground. This weak knee problem has been with me for a while, and for the most part, I could get up and walk after. But this was different. Of course.I couldnt put pressure on it for the life of me. I get it wrapped up and put ice on it at one of the member´s house nearby, but I can already feel it start to swell up. This was not good. On a saturday afternoon after the doctor has gone home and wouldnt be there on sunday of course. The only perk was we got a free ride back to the pension. We sat there for a while and my knee just kept getting stiffer and stiffer. Soon it became the size of a grapefruit. What I think happened is that when I fell, I put too much pressure on my dislocated knee, which poked a hole in my synovial membrane, which exploded like a balloon, causing miniscus, bursa, or something like that to leak everywhere. Not too scientific, but hey, what do you expect? So now im in the mission office having just talked to the doctor. I have an MRI and an X-ray scheduled for 5:30 today, so we´ll see the extent of the damage. I hope that I can still walk around with my cool krutches that they gave me. Mom, dont worry, I´ll be okay. haha, I know what she is probably saying right now: "He needs to just take it easy and he shouldn´t have blah blah blah". Ashlee, you too.
3) Changes. Every six weeks, we have a chance of getting changed inot a new sector and place. Elder Stephenson has been in Parque for 5 changes now (7 months) and has told the President that he wanted to change, and got leaked information that he was leaving by the Assistants. So as we waited around the cell phone for the assistants to call on Sunday, Elder Stephenson packed. He wistled and grinned, excited to be leaving the sector that he has been in for way too long (almost half of his mission). Finally, it came. Most of us were upstiars, and I was already headed down as quickly as I could (via hopping on one foot). Everyone else soon overtook me and I was the last one down, hobbling in as Elder Stephenson answered the phone. "Alo? Hola Elder Rodriguez, como esta?" We all look at one another like kids waiting to get presents from santa. "yeah buena, entonces, cual son los cambios?" "Yeah, yeah, okay." "Elder Westover se va!?" It was all down hill after that. I was leaving and Elder Stephenson was staying in El Parque. Again. I packed my things the best I could with one leg. Elder Stephenson was too distraught to help me, but I dont think he would have helped me anyway. He definately needs to work on his bedside manner. The next day, we left to go to the conference where we would find out where we were going. I was super nervous, hoping I would be stuck with some stiff or a lazy missionary either. One by one, all the people from my pension left to go to their new companions. Then, right as I was spacing out, I heard my name and instinctly stood up. My new companion was a brown haired kid with a nice smile and a hopefully nice disposition. I got filled in later that I was assigned to the La Raiz mission: the northern most sector in the mission. It is up in the city Los Condes, the richest place in Chile. My comp, Elder Stagg, has been a stud so far. He is one of the zone leaders, so I know that we´ll be doing some good stuff up in La Raiz. This does not mean I am also a zone leader, it just means I am companions with one.
Alright, so that is about it. I am out of time, but I want you all to know that I love you guys all and will let you know how my first week in the rich part is. Im guessing it will be better than sleeping on a mattress on the tile floor!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover
Monday, November 9, 2009
Times
Nov 9, 2009
Dear Family,
I had a sudden realization not too long ago: I have been on my mission for almost 5 months now. I know it doenst really seem like a long time, but it means that I have been in the service of the Lord for almost half a year. I dont really know whether to think that time has flown by or crawled. It probably will depend on what day you ask me. As for this moment looking back, it feels that I have only just said goodbye to all my friends and family from the MTC. Im sure it will feel even stranger when I am in Elder Robinson´s position and getting ready to go home. By the way, Elder Robinson (Ty). DONT GET TRUNKIE!!! I have an elder that is living in my pension that is basically dead. He listens to whatever music he wants (I have heard pretty much everything by now), sleeps in till 12 in the afternoon, and then goes to the internet for hours, watching South Park and the Simpsons before coming back home and ordering pizza. I hope that I never die like that. I dont know what I would do, honestly. Anyway, other than that, things are going very well. We have been teaching a lot and it seems like the weather is warming up finally. Yeah, things in Chile are a bit different. haha, Its been working out well with my new haircut that my companion gave me this past week. Yeah, its really short now and I dont think Im going to change it for the duration of my mission. All I have to do to fix my hair in the morning is get out of bed. Its fantastic! Also, I am proud to announce that I have gotten my first dog bite. My companion told me that everyone gets a dog bite at least once on their mission. I was lucky enough to be present when my comp got his first one as well. But mine was a bit different from his. (He only got bitten by a little dog). We were walking down the street one night, and a curious Rotweiler came up to us, sniffing our pants, as dogs usually do here. We didnt mind it, and just keep on walking to our appointment. Then, all of the sudden, I felt a VERY strong pressure on my ankle. "Ow" I thought in my mind. I looked back to see the dog running away, barking like crazy. I looked down at my leg. The dumb mutt had ripped a hole in my pants! Not a very large one, but I really liked those pants... It wasnt until I got home that I noticed the blood. I now have three nice bite marks around my ankle that I will be able to show off as battle scars! Mom, dont worry, Im not foaming at the mouth or anything.
The last thing I wanted to mention was about the language. I have discovered a few things about Spanish so far: you cannot directly translate things directly! You will be driven totally nuts! The other thing is that there are ome words in Spanish that are so awesome! They aren´t in english, but they should be. At times I have to search for the word in English so I can say what I want to. I just know that when I give my homecoming talk, Im going to say expiacion, como, and de repente like a million times.
Alright, thats all for me for now! Thank you for everything that you guys have been doing. Mom, just send the ipod with the connector and a charger. That would honestly be the best Christmas present I could get. Other than that, I have been craving American food. I dont know how you can send that, but thats what I really want. haha, Im so picky!
Love you guys!
Elder Westover
Dear Family,
I had a sudden realization not too long ago: I have been on my mission for almost 5 months now. I know it doenst really seem like a long time, but it means that I have been in the service of the Lord for almost half a year. I dont really know whether to think that time has flown by or crawled. It probably will depend on what day you ask me. As for this moment looking back, it feels that I have only just said goodbye to all my friends and family from the MTC. Im sure it will feel even stranger when I am in Elder Robinson´s position and getting ready to go home. By the way, Elder Robinson (Ty). DONT GET TRUNKIE!!! I have an elder that is living in my pension that is basically dead. He listens to whatever music he wants (I have heard pretty much everything by now), sleeps in till 12 in the afternoon, and then goes to the internet for hours, watching South Park and the Simpsons before coming back home and ordering pizza. I hope that I never die like that. I dont know what I would do, honestly. Anyway, other than that, things are going very well. We have been teaching a lot and it seems like the weather is warming up finally. Yeah, things in Chile are a bit different. haha, Its been working out well with my new haircut that my companion gave me this past week. Yeah, its really short now and I dont think Im going to change it for the duration of my mission. All I have to do to fix my hair in the morning is get out of bed. Its fantastic! Also, I am proud to announce that I have gotten my first dog bite. My companion told me that everyone gets a dog bite at least once on their mission. I was lucky enough to be present when my comp got his first one as well. But mine was a bit different from his. (He only got bitten by a little dog). We were walking down the street one night, and a curious Rotweiler came up to us, sniffing our pants, as dogs usually do here. We didnt mind it, and just keep on walking to our appointment. Then, all of the sudden, I felt a VERY strong pressure on my ankle. "Ow" I thought in my mind. I looked back to see the dog running away, barking like crazy. I looked down at my leg. The dumb mutt had ripped a hole in my pants! Not a very large one, but I really liked those pants... It wasnt until I got home that I noticed the blood. I now have three nice bite marks around my ankle that I will be able to show off as battle scars! Mom, dont worry, Im not foaming at the mouth or anything.
The last thing I wanted to mention was about the language. I have discovered a few things about Spanish so far: you cannot directly translate things directly! You will be driven totally nuts! The other thing is that there are ome words in Spanish that are so awesome! They aren´t in english, but they should be. At times I have to search for the word in English so I can say what I want to. I just know that when I give my homecoming talk, Im going to say expiacion, como, and de repente like a million times.
Alright, thats all for me for now! Thank you for everything that you guys have been doing. Mom, just send the ipod with the connector and a charger. That would honestly be the best Christmas present I could get. Other than that, I have been craving American food. I dont know how you can send that, but thats what I really want. haha, Im so picky!
Love you guys!
Elder Westover
Monday, November 2, 2009
A Walk to Church -- Chile Style
Nov 2, 2009
Well another week in Chile, another strange experience that any normal north american would cock their head and wonder, but eventaully, you just get used to it after a while. First off though, mom and dad, I still havent gotten the ipod yet. Just wondering when you sent it so i know when to start getting nervous that some chilean mailman confiscated it. I just want to have it by the time Christmas rolls around. I dont think I could survive a Christmas without Amy Grant and Nat King Kole. By the way, Halloween here is nothing like it is in the states. Its lame, and there isnt even a day of the dead. I was kind of disappointed. But I guess I wasnt going to go trick or treating anyway, so it´s not that big of a loss.
So my story this week is pretty normal. My companion and I were walking to church yesterday, but the chapel is 45 minutes away and to get to it, we need to cross a huge alfalfa field; not ideal when you are running late and need to pick up investiagtors. So we were crossing this field, when we heard a guy behind us yelling at us. "Crap, its the farmer with a shotgun," I thought to myself. But when I turned around, I saw a man in a giant sombrero on a horse riding up to us. "Okay, he is going to run us over with his horse then. great." As he got closer to us, I could tell he was NOT the farmer. He tilted and swayed on the horse as if he was on a bucking bronco. His eyes were half closed and he had an awkward smile pasted on his face. I now knoe all to well what that means: Someone has been sippin a little too much of grandpa´s cough medicine. The drunker tottled up to us on the horse and started trying to slur together words to form a sentence. After a little effort, we learned that he needs to call his wife so she can pick him up from a Halloween party that he was at last night. Where the horse came in, we didnt ask, but we figured just as well that we didnt know. We explained how we could try to help him find a taxi or something, but he insisted on using our cellphone. Unforatlely, it didnt work at the moment, so we had to leave the poor guy stranded in that field with his horse, which seemed as if it had been sneaking a few sips of liquor as well. I think I have leanred that things dont always happen in a normal order. You cant just walk to church and expect the only thing you leanred is the distance between your house and the chapel. We have experiences on the way that teach us and occasionally bewildre us, but it is those experiences that make up our life, so we might as well enjoy them. Also, yesterday, I was thrilled by the testimony of our convert, Luis, who is only 13 years old, but he mentioned that when he gets older, he wants to be just like us and go on a mission. I was touched by the faith of this boy, who knew only just enough to be baptized, have such fire and dedication to something. I might have said this before, but it is becoming more and more cemeted into my mind how much the Lord loves us and how I am beginning to experience a small taste of what it must be like to feel the love that he has. This experience, even if it is just a side step from the race of life for a while, will be one that I will treasure forever. I really cant imagine what I would do without it. Thanks to everyone for your letters! I love them so much. Mom and Dad, You will have to thank andy and amy for me. I got their letters and had to laugh at the rough crayon illustrations from the kids. I loved them!
Siempre, con Amor,
Elder Westover
Well another week in Chile, another strange experience that any normal north american would cock their head and wonder, but eventaully, you just get used to it after a while. First off though, mom and dad, I still havent gotten the ipod yet. Just wondering when you sent it so i know when to start getting nervous that some chilean mailman confiscated it. I just want to have it by the time Christmas rolls around. I dont think I could survive a Christmas without Amy Grant and Nat King Kole. By the way, Halloween here is nothing like it is in the states. Its lame, and there isnt even a day of the dead. I was kind of disappointed. But I guess I wasnt going to go trick or treating anyway, so it´s not that big of a loss.
So my story this week is pretty normal. My companion and I were walking to church yesterday, but the chapel is 45 minutes away and to get to it, we need to cross a huge alfalfa field; not ideal when you are running late and need to pick up investiagtors. So we were crossing this field, when we heard a guy behind us yelling at us. "Crap, its the farmer with a shotgun," I thought to myself. But when I turned around, I saw a man in a giant sombrero on a horse riding up to us. "Okay, he is going to run us over with his horse then. great." As he got closer to us, I could tell he was NOT the farmer. He tilted and swayed on the horse as if he was on a bucking bronco. His eyes were half closed and he had an awkward smile pasted on his face. I now knoe all to well what that means: Someone has been sippin a little too much of grandpa´s cough medicine. The drunker tottled up to us on the horse and started trying to slur together words to form a sentence. After a little effort, we learned that he needs to call his wife so she can pick him up from a Halloween party that he was at last night. Where the horse came in, we didnt ask, but we figured just as well that we didnt know. We explained how we could try to help him find a taxi or something, but he insisted on using our cellphone. Unforatlely, it didnt work at the moment, so we had to leave the poor guy stranded in that field with his horse, which seemed as if it had been sneaking a few sips of liquor as well. I think I have leanred that things dont always happen in a normal order. You cant just walk to church and expect the only thing you leanred is the distance between your house and the chapel. We have experiences on the way that teach us and occasionally bewildre us, but it is those experiences that make up our life, so we might as well enjoy them. Also, yesterday, I was thrilled by the testimony of our convert, Luis, who is only 13 years old, but he mentioned that when he gets older, he wants to be just like us and go on a mission. I was touched by the faith of this boy, who knew only just enough to be baptized, have such fire and dedication to something. I might have said this before, but it is becoming more and more cemeted into my mind how much the Lord loves us and how I am beginning to experience a small taste of what it must be like to feel the love that he has. This experience, even if it is just a side step from the race of life for a while, will be one that I will treasure forever. I really cant imagine what I would do without it. Thanks to everyone for your letters! I love them so much. Mom and Dad, You will have to thank andy and amy for me. I got their letters and had to laugh at the rough crayon illustrations from the kids. I loved them!
Siempre, con Amor,
Elder Westover
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)