Baptism of Camila Isabel Gonzalez Ramirez

Hey Family and Friends!!!
Well, if you havent guessed yet, we had a baptism the other day!!! Camila Isabel Gonzalez Ramirez. She is the 19 year old with a huge crush on me. Well, lets just put her in the single adult program and let that take care of itself. She is really a great girl and I can definately see her getting married in the temple someday. The Baptism was exceptionally special. The funny thing was, right after I baptized her, I didnt really feel much. Mostly just "Oh its really cold! I cant see, Im wet, blah blah blah.." But afterwards throughout the program I had some of the strongest spiritual witnesses that what was going on, the step that this daughter of God was taking was the right way to go. I had a smile on my face for the rest of the baptismal service. It was truly a special event that I am never going to forget.
Of course, there are always kinks in the program. The font didnt start filling with water until 1 and a half before the baptism, there was a kid that threw push pins in the font, I didnt have a change of shirt, etc, etc. There was about a million things that went wrong that day. But once the program started, none of that mattered. Everything went falwlessly. Expecially the baptism. I am so grateful for this amazing work that is being done. That baptism was just one more testimony affirming that I am where I need to be and that these people are in desperate need of a savior in their lives. The earthquake has not made the people more humble or more teachable, contrary to what a lot of people might have thought. But it realigned my thought and what I viewed as important. These people need this saving ordinance. They just dont know it, and we have to be the ones to tell them of how it is necessary for their salvation. I am grateful everyday for the sacrifices I am making for these people, and the sacrifice that the Lord made for me so that I could be here.
I love you all and you are always in my prayers!
Elder Westover

Lots of Things in a Very Short Week

March 22, 2010

Hey Everyone!
This email is going to be a bit short, but Hopefully I can fit in everything as quickly as possible. Okay, here we go!
Last monday I got my hair cut by a drunk lady. She cut my ear and now my hair looks weird. Oh well, Im not trying to impress anyone. Or am I? Which brings me to point number 2:
I found out that our best investigator who is going to get baptized this next sunday likes me. More than she should. Her mom slipped me a not the other day basically saying that she really really likes me. Oh boy. Yeah, Its hard to be as dashingly handsome as I am, even with the drunk haricut. I might just have to gain a bunch of wieght to turn her off me and towards some RM. Which brings us to number 3!
We had a completo eating competition the other day with the hermanas in out sector. We lost. I ate 5, as well as another hermana. Wow. She eats a lot. which goes nicely into number 4!
People call me batman now. I dont know why, but Im kind of just that goofy kid in the pension that makes everyone laugh. Dont worry Im not letting it take away from my calling or anything like that, but the other elders in my pension do get quite a kick out of the voice.
Number 5! People are saying that there is going to be another earthquake by us. Is there any truth to this or not. I dont really have a whole lot of time to figure it out, so I was hoping one of you guys could shed some light on this.
I love you guys so much! The work is really progressing and we are seeing some great progress in the members and the investigators! I love this ward, I love my comp! I love Chile! What more could a twenty year old kid ask for?
Con Amor,
Elder Westover

Just Another Manic Monday

March 15, 2010

Hey Everybody!
I was really excited to read all your emails today! I havent gotten a lot of mail this change, and its driving me crazy! (hint hint) Alright, before I launch into the aftershocks and earthquake stuff, I got a request from alyssa to help her out in the Cuban Missle Crisis debate. Ashlee, if you´re reading this: ha ha! We won!
Alright Alyssa, I dont really remember a whole lot from the debate (exact point and all), I just remember drawing fidel castro and JFK while my partner wrote the power point on her laptop (sorry). However, I might remember enough to help out a little bit. First of all, the bay of pigs is irrelavent to the situation at hand. That operation failed not because of JFK lack of judgement, but the CIA´s failure to orchestrate a tactical and power attack on Cuban soil. Regardless, every president can lack in one area and do really well in another. Washington lost again and again until he suprised the British troops at Deleware. Second, when they try to discredit JFK personally, like say that Maralin Monroe and him had an affair (who would say that?! :) ), you can argue that a president can make be an amazing leader and make great executive decisions. His personal affairs dont really hold a lot of sway. You can use Bill Clinton as an example; that will really get those liberal hippies on your side. Other than that, I dont remember exact details. Sorry. Just remember that as long as you argue right, you are never wrong.
Alright, now back to the mission. I have heard "Terremotto" about 5000 times since it happened. Honestly, I wasnt thinking that I was going to die, or that I needed to shout out some death bed repentance. I just thought of my family and friends, and what an awesome story this was going to make. I guess I should have had more deep, last moment thoughts, but really, those are only planned out. When things like that happen, you dont really know that your going to die, so you think what is going to happen afterwards. It wierd, but I guess thats what happens.
Since my first harrowing experience, There have been quite a few aftershocks and some new earthquakes in the north and south. Those ones are fun though! Its like being on a roller coaster or something. The only scary ones are at night, like yesterday when I woke up at like 4 in the morning, with all the windows shaking. I kind of started to get that pit in my stomach, but it was over soon enough. Those are the only times when I am scared of them. I think people really overreact about the earthquake. What really is doing the damage is what happens after the earthquake. There are still parts of the country that dont have water, they are living on the streets, and there is something like 3500 people who dont have a place in the hospital that need it. That is really what the problem is right now. It sucks. But chile is really bonding together on this, and I think that soon it will be back to normal soon.
I have loved to see the people come together and strengthen each other, even if they still are just as hard to teach, if not even more, because now everyone is scared of going outside to church because the earthquake will get them. haha!!
I hope everyone is doing well! I look forward to hearing from you guys soon! If you have any other questions about the earthquake or anything like that, just ask me. Im pretty used to answering questions like that now. Love you guys!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover

PS- dad, these pictures are for you. Enjoy!

Lights and Death

March 8 2010

Hey Family! How is it goin back in the real world? Things in the mission couldnt be better!! We have people who are really progressing and there are so many people that are ready to hear the gospel in their lives!
Right now, we are working with a family called the Gonzalez family. They are awesome, but after the earthquake, it seemed that the family had lost their excitement over the gospel. Then after a few days I realized what it was: the light. They had not had light for a number of days after the earthquake and it made them depressed in a way. Thats when the connection came. It was a bit obvious, but powerful nonetheless. Everyone we are teaching is going without light, spiritually, and they are kind of depressed. They need the light in their lives.
After a few days, the Gonzalez family got their light back and they returned to their cheerful self. The gospel has that same power, to grant happiness with it or sadness without it. The distinction was, well, night and day.
On another little note, I still dont know how to speak spanish obviously. I was saying a prayer at a family´s house, and i wanted to say please bless this family that they can dwell in a home of peace and happiness. Instead, I said this: "Por Favor, bendice esta familia que pueden morir en un lugar de paz y tranquilidad." For those non spanish speakers out there, that means Please bless this family that they can die in a place of peace and happiness. Morar means live, or dwell. Morir means to die. Yeah... I have been on the mission for 8 months now and I am still making those mistakes.
haha, alright, I hope all is going well! I love you all!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover

I Survived an 8.8 Earthquake… What did you do this week?

March 1, 2010

Well, its kind of been just another boring week in Chile. But for anyone who has watched TV at all since Saturday knows that’s a dirty lie. First of all, here are the facts (that I know of)
- At 3:30 AM on Saturday, an 8.8 earthquake hit southern Chile near Concepcion.
- By the time it got to our pension, the earthquake registered at around an 8.0
- Shortly thereafter, a huge wave crashed into part of Chile and smashed up quite a few cities along the coast
- As far as I know, there have only been 300 confirmed dead (I obviously was not one of them)
- Lots of Concepcion is in ruins. A lot of Downtown Santiago is a mess as well.
- This was the 2nd worst earthquake in the past 20 years and the 5th worst ever.
- I am very highly reactive when I am woken up by an earthquake
- the rest of the elders in my pension are not

The video I attached hopefully should work. It was the reenactment of what I did that night. At that point in time we did not know the severity of the earthquake until later on that day. But to put it in words, I woke up to what I thought was my comp snoring really loudly. Then I realized that I had woken up because all the windows were shaking like crazy. I turned on the light and looked around. Everything was chaos. I ran into the hallway. It was shaking like nuts. I will never be able to describe exactly how it was, because it was something I will never be able to fully describe and something I will never forget. Being the good boy scout i was, I ripped off my mattress and hid underneath it, thinking that it would soften the blow of the ceiling falling on top of me. I had a lot of thoughts running through my head. Some of which I’m not gonna say here. But needless to say, I was scared. Scared that I would never see my family again, scared I would never be able to get married and have a family, scared I would never be able to attain my lifelong dream of owning a siberian huskie. Thanks to my quick thinking and surprisingly sturdy chilean architecture, we all survived with nothing but crazy adrenaline rushes and a sweet story to tell. The neighborhood we work in was not affected that much, but the people were. A lot of them had family in the south and were very shaken up. But it was at this time that I saw the love of God more than I had ever seen it before.
Shortly after the earthquake, our next door neighbor started yelling "Elders! Elders!". We came outside, and she asked if we were all okay. I felt a little sheepish that us as representatives of the Lord hadn’t thought of that first. Then later that night, we discovered that one of our investigator families was so nervous about us that they drove by our pension and then the church, calling out our names. "Paul! Blake!" (We made the mistake of telling them our first names and we havent been able to get them to stop) I almost couldnt believe it. I saw in that moment that these people really did care for us.
I am okay, no one we know got hurt, and we are recovering very quickly. The only downsides right now are that the water is a little questionable, there are lots of aftershocks, a lot of the lights in the streets and in people´s houses aren’t working, and there are robbers everywhere taking stuff. But I think all of that will go away very soon. I am very proud and a little surprised at how well Chile handled this catastrophe. I will never say a bad thing about chilean architecture ever again.
Thanks for your concern and your prayers. We will continue to pray for the families that have been affected. Love you all and hopefully I can finish my mission without too much more problems!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover

Debriefing My Situation

Feb 22, 2010

Hey all!! Thank you for all your emails and love! I dont know if you guys know, but going to check emails on P-day is one of the biggest deals in the mission. We even made sure that everything would be perfect when we went over this morning so we could enjoy reading all of your emails. Okay, so I guess I didnt describe everything as well as I thought I did due to the concerned emails about how my sector is, my comp, and the airplane ride over. Then I will describe our two Investigating families that we have thus far.
Okay, so my sector is called La Trinidad. and it is HUGE! It is like 3 of my old sectors put together. Luckily, it is a pretty nice area: not too ghetto and not too nice. Also fortunate is we have two other missionaries in our sector. actually, sisters. They are awesome and work the northern part of the sector for the most part. we usually see them once a week for lunch and of course at zone classes every week. and thats about it with the sector. The members are great and really focus on the missionary effort, which makes any missionary happy, im sure.
Alright, now for my companion, Elder Wassom. Elder Wassom is from Dallas, Texas. Elder Wassom is white, tall, and has dark hair. He is studying chemical engineering at BYU. He is a hard worker and more of a serious type, but we have found out that we work really well together becuase we compliment each other. He helps to keep lessons on task and is concerned with getting things done, and I help the people feel comfortable and get them to feel like we as missionaries are not mindless robots. That being said, Elder Wassom is not a mindless robot, and I am not a total goofball. Elder Wassom is a super nice guy, and loves the game I invented: "Would you Rather..." Dont tell him its already a game: he thinks im really brilliant for coming up with the idea. We knock a lot because our sector is very new and so sometimes our conversations tend to drift into: "Would you rather have iron fists or poison tipped fingers?" I know its not very missionary focused, but I cant be serious all the time..
Finally, the plane ride back. I guess I might have been exaggerating a little but to say it was the worst plane ride ever, but it was pretty bad. The trip to Miami was long, hot, and sweaty. I had no form of entertainment, and everytime I started to read my scriptures, I began to feel sick. Dang motion sickness! When I got to the Miami Int. Airport, I discovered that my flight had been delayed a little bit.. until 1:30 in the morning. Lots and lots of waiting, and a 10 dollar pizza later, and I was on the cheapest plane American Airlines could find. I was stuck in the baby crying area. I sat behind someone who apparently needed a lot of reclining space and in front of someone who used my seat as his personal ottoman. So I was stuck for 8 hours in a cramped uncomfortable position with no way to pass the time. I think I came a little closer to insanity on that flight. Everything else went fine. Just more waiting in lines. I just affirm now more than ever that planes are evil and I hate them.
My knee is doing a lot better, and I really think that I wont have too hard of a time adjusting here, even though this is a pretty big area. I am doing my exercises and I am trying to keep up with my comp.
We have two investigators, Isabel and the GOnzales family. I dont really have time to explain them right now, but I will be sure to include them in my next email! Love you all!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover

PS- Grandpa, yes, I am very impressed with your spanish prowess! Thanks for the emails!

How it Feels to be a Sister Missionary

Feb 15, 2010

Well Well Well... After 2 and a half months of surgery, recovery, and boredom, Im back!!! It feels good to be back here in Chile, even if it is hot as infierno down here. FIrst of all, I wanted to thank everyone for rooting me on, and telling me that I will be able to get back out there, even when it seemed much easier to just let go and decide not to go back. Now I know that it was worth it, even enduring the plane ride, which was a complete nightmare.
Right when I got back here, I realized it was going to be a challenge. I dont know the language again, and I am back to nodding politly at innappropriate times and laughing at jokes I didnt understand, even when they are at my expense. However, things are getting better and I am relearning very quickly. Hopefully by the end of this week, I will get back to my old Spanish prowess once more. The other new thing here is that it is HOT!!! So hot.... Mom and Dad, Im glad you packed that sunscreen... I might need more... I am really glad I missed most of it. I thought about it though and I realized: I only have one more Summer left! Holy Cow! things go by quick. I just have to get through this first one.
So when I got back I discovered that I would not be working in the office, (your always right, mom!), but in a place called La Trinidad, which is actually right by my old sector, El Parque! So things are pretty familiar to me for the most part. It is a lot of suburbia, except it is much bigger. Which brings me to the mom worrying portion of this email. My knee is a little sore right now because our pension is a half hour away from our sector and our sector in and of itself is very large. And whats even more, I have been whitewashed! Whitewashing is when you take two elders out of a sector and put two brand new ones in who have no idea where they should be. So we are basically knocking doors all day. Not fun. But Im pulling through okay. Wherever I need to be.
My new companion´s name is Elder Wassom. He is a pretty cool guy who really wants to get stuff done, but he definately is a different personality from mine. He is a lot more serious and I dont think he gets any of my jokes. It was an awkward experience wearing my wolf shirt the first night in the pension, and him just looking at me like i was the biggest redneck ever. and that was AFTER I explained why it was funny. I dont care. I have worn it every night since and ust recently wore it to our zone activity. I thought it was important to have a good first impression. :)
Well, I hope all is well at home. I miss you all and am praying for you guys constantly! Be good and be sure to drink your ovaltine
Con Amor,
Elder Westover

Paul's Back Home for Surgery

On Thanksgiving Day 2009, Paul returned home for surgery and rehab of his knee. He had to strengthen his leg muscle before the surgery and after. His surgery took place on Dec 30, 2009 (a day before he was taken off our insurance policy) and he was diligent in his rehabilitation. Paul returned to Chile Feb 11, 2010.