Times and Memories

Hey Everyone!
It seems like everyone is enjoying the summer break while I am freezing my little hiney off here in Chile. Alright, its not that bad, but its still really cold and hard to type. The mountains are constantly covered by snow, but it will refuse to snow down here. Just frost up in the morning and then poof! just cold. But thats okay. Around october november Ill get my revenge. Haha!
Im glad to hear that everyone is doing well and I was happy to hear from everyone this time! I love all you guys! I wanted to dedicate this email to the duality, or the effects that the mission creates on a missionary. Seeing things now, Im not surprised that a lot of missionaries come back really weird. I feel like I am being split in two. As I am out longer in the mission, I have a growing affection for the people hear. Thats kind of hard when you have all your family and loved ones back in the States. But as you go on, you get so you learn to love both. Right now we are teaching a seventy year old man named Luis (actually, he already got baptized). At first he had a hard time accepting baptism. "Im an old man! Im not sinning anymore; I dont need a baptism!" I tried to explain to him that although we may not be staining an old shirt, it still may be a good idea to wash it before you go to a nice dinner or party. We all need the love of Christ in our lives, no matter how old we may be. After he got baptized, I asked him if he could come to another baptism that we were going to have the next week. He said yes, without hesitation. "Of course I will see another lost sheep be brought back into the fold!" Even though he was seventy, I still felt like a proud parent at that moment. I realized the love you can have for some of these people, and the affinity you create with the country, even though at times it is difficult.
Also, since I past the year mark, I feel like everything is going downhill now, in the sense of time. Its slipping out of my hands so fast I dont know what to do with it. But at the same time, Im not really sure what my life was like before the mission either. as of right now, this is all I know. My life before is a distant abstraction that I hold on a golden pedestal, even though some of my memories are failing me. I dont know if Ive been here for a day or a year. Thats the other strange thing. I dreamed I was a butterfly, but when I woke up, I wasnt sure if I was a human dreaming I was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming I was a human. The Fluidity of reality on the mission scares me at times, but I know that if I just hold on tight and enjoy the ride, everything will work out how its supposed to.
Thanks everyone for everything! I Love you all!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover