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
Monday, October 26, 2009
Concerning Rain and Paraguas
October 26, 2009
Alright folks, things in Chile are wet and cold right now. We thought that the weather was supposed to warm up, but apparently, it decided to take a different turn. Im sure you can find some sort of hidden meaning or pearl of great price in that, but its too wet and cold right now for me to try and look for it right now.
First, I would like to make a shout out to Alyssa, who just turned 17 two days ago! Alyssa, I'm writing you a letter that will hopefully reach you sometime soon, but we aren't allowed to write any day but on Pday, so yeah. That stinks. Anyway, I hope everything went well for you and you had a good birthday. I wish I could have been there!
Second, I want to thank Elder Ponce, who helped get my friend across the mountains through his first change. I hope he picked up a little bit of a chilean accent!
Okay, now my spiritual/exciting experience of the week:
A couple days ago, the weather outside looked pretty cloudy. One of the memebers in the ward told us yesterday that it was supposed to rain a little bit, but being the big men that we were, decided that we would be able to handle a little bit of rain. We left the pension with only our jackets, thinking nothing of our paraguas (umbrellas). Things went alright for a while and we were able to teach a few lessons before lunch. As we ate an awesome egg drop soup, the clouds churned and darkened. Just as a side note, I have now become a conosiuer of soups now. Chileans have decided to take it upon themselves to be the soup capital of the world. I have eaten all kinds of soup. Egg. chicken. beans. cilantro. muscles (seafood). You name it, Ive probably tried it. My comp even told me that he had a chicken heart one time in his soup. But that is besides the point. The sky turned into a muddy clay when we walked out the Sister´s house with warm soup rolling around in our stomachs. It wasn't long before I started to feel it. Little wet drops began to slap the top of my head and face. Once I had made sure that it wasn't my companion´s spit, I looked up and thought; "Uh oh. I should have brought my umbrella". Within the next 30 seconds, the light drops of rain turned into a torrent of water coming down from the heavens. We walked through the streets of chile, soaked from head to toe as the storm continued to worsen. It felt like God was stockpiling buckets of water for a couple of days and was just waiting for a couple of missionaries who were´nt obedient enough to bring their umbrellas. The streets filled up quickly, as the sewer system here is not exactly what it is in the states. Soon, we were trudging in inch and a half deep water, our shoes, socks, and anything else we had on covered with water. We tried to get into a few houses, but when they answered their door and saw two soaking boys, they looked like they were thinking "they are going to get my tile so wet!" instead of "Wow, they look like they don't want to be outside in the rain!". Finally, we went to a member´s house to wait out the storm. I learned a very valuable lesson that day. Its one that I will never forget and something that I will take with me throughout all my mission. That is that wet suits smell really bad. They really do, and you cant really get rid of it. I think im doomed to wear a smelly suit for the rest of my mission. haha! im just kidding. I was able to learn how little acts of obedience can really change whether you stay dry or wet. Every day we make little decisions. Little actions that at the time seem very insignificant. But in the end that's who we are. We are the result of all the little decisions that we make in life. Its these little choice that seem very insignificant that lead to the most significant consequences. I am going to try to become the kind of person who is concsious of these decisions and try to be a better person, one action at a time. But my suit really does smell.
Love you all!
Elder Westover
P.S- mom and dad, don't worry, my suit is okay, you don't have to try and buy me another one. I just hope you aren't banking on me using it with any regularity when I get back home.
P.S.S- Grandma and Grandpa, I love hearing all these experiences that you have had. It really helps me to have a better perspective on this work and hopefully I will be able to carry on the tradition of handing out lots of book of Mormons!
Alright folks, things in Chile are wet and cold right now. We thought that the weather was supposed to warm up, but apparently, it decided to take a different turn. Im sure you can find some sort of hidden meaning or pearl of great price in that, but its too wet and cold right now for me to try and look for it right now.
First, I would like to make a shout out to Alyssa, who just turned 17 two days ago! Alyssa, I'm writing you a letter that will hopefully reach you sometime soon, but we aren't allowed to write any day but on Pday, so yeah. That stinks. Anyway, I hope everything went well for you and you had a good birthday. I wish I could have been there!
Second, I want to thank Elder Ponce, who helped get my friend across the mountains through his first change. I hope he picked up a little bit of a chilean accent!
Okay, now my spiritual/exciting experience of the week:
A couple days ago, the weather outside looked pretty cloudy. One of the memebers in the ward told us yesterday that it was supposed to rain a little bit, but being the big men that we were, decided that we would be able to handle a little bit of rain. We left the pension with only our jackets, thinking nothing of our paraguas (umbrellas). Things went alright for a while and we were able to teach a few lessons before lunch. As we ate an awesome egg drop soup, the clouds churned and darkened. Just as a side note, I have now become a conosiuer of soups now. Chileans have decided to take it upon themselves to be the soup capital of the world. I have eaten all kinds of soup. Egg. chicken. beans. cilantro. muscles (seafood). You name it, Ive probably tried it. My comp even told me that he had a chicken heart one time in his soup. But that is besides the point. The sky turned into a muddy clay when we walked out the Sister´s house with warm soup rolling around in our stomachs. It wasn't long before I started to feel it. Little wet drops began to slap the top of my head and face. Once I had made sure that it wasn't my companion´s spit, I looked up and thought; "Uh oh. I should have brought my umbrella". Within the next 30 seconds, the light drops of rain turned into a torrent of water coming down from the heavens. We walked through the streets of chile, soaked from head to toe as the storm continued to worsen. It felt like God was stockpiling buckets of water for a couple of days and was just waiting for a couple of missionaries who were´nt obedient enough to bring their umbrellas. The streets filled up quickly, as the sewer system here is not exactly what it is in the states. Soon, we were trudging in inch and a half deep water, our shoes, socks, and anything else we had on covered with water. We tried to get into a few houses, but when they answered their door and saw two soaking boys, they looked like they were thinking "they are going to get my tile so wet!" instead of "Wow, they look like they don't want to be outside in the rain!". Finally, we went to a member´s house to wait out the storm. I learned a very valuable lesson that day. Its one that I will never forget and something that I will take with me throughout all my mission. That is that wet suits smell really bad. They really do, and you cant really get rid of it. I think im doomed to wear a smelly suit for the rest of my mission. haha! im just kidding. I was able to learn how little acts of obedience can really change whether you stay dry or wet. Every day we make little decisions. Little actions that at the time seem very insignificant. But in the end that's who we are. We are the result of all the little decisions that we make in life. Its these little choice that seem very insignificant that lead to the most significant consequences. I am going to try to become the kind of person who is concsious of these decisions and try to be a better person, one action at a time. But my suit really does smell.
Love you all!
Elder Westover
P.S- mom and dad, don't worry, my suit is okay, you don't have to try and buy me another one. I just hope you aren't banking on me using it with any regularity when I get back home.
P.S.S- Grandma and Grandpa, I love hearing all these experiences that you have had. It really helps me to have a better perspective on this work and hopefully I will be able to carry on the tradition of handing out lots of book of Mormons!
Monday, October 19, 2009
About Lazy Chileans and Coke
October 19, 2009
So this email is going to have to be a little short, but to answer questions for right now: I´ll put things on Walgreens, Mom, sure, send me Alyssa´s Ipod if its okay with her. I dont know if there is anything else.
I also wanted to thank everybody for your letters. Grandma and Grandpa, I always enjoy hearing from you and hearing all these stories about Grandpa´s mission that he somehow has dismissed telling me until now. I love hearing them. Mom, thank you for your letters of concern and love. It really makes a big impact in my day. Dad, thanks as always for giving me advice and counsel, and enjoy taking all those pictures that you love taking. Sometimes I wish you were here to take cool pictures with your camera while I was going around and doing work, but I think we wouldnt get very far in a day. Tracy, I love hearing how your doing as always and Troy´s preparation for a mission. Cross your fingers that he doesnt go to Mexico (which he probably will). Aunt Polly, I really like hearing how your doing and you as well as Tracy might want to tune in to this email, as it kind of pertains to both of you. Mom and Dad, tell brother and sister Foote thank you for their letters and that I will try to write a response as soon as I can.
So I guess the really only big thing I found out this week is the wedding list is starting. One of my friends just informed me that after three weeks of dating, she is getting married. No its not ashlee. Jane Smith. Mom and Dad, you know who that is. Yeah, I laughed really hard when I found out. I guess I should get used to it, as most of the girls I know are going to be married by the time I get back.
But really there is only two things that I began to notice. This is where Tracy and Aunt Polly pay attention.
The first is something that I will have to apologize to my parents for, because this is just feeding the fire of ignorance and recism, but I cant lie: Chileans are so LAZY!!!!!! hahaha, sorry. But it really is true. They will find any excuse not to do something. Shops here open up whenever the owner gets up, which can be like 10 or 11. Everyone does things at their own pace and if they dont want to do it, they wont do it, such as reading 2 pages in the book of mormon. It is ridiculous how busy they say they are, but it is only because they are putting off doing anything until never, pretty much. I know Mom and Dad, I recognize the irony here, but I have determined to not be like these people. I know everyone says that the thing they love the most about their mission is the people, but right now, I am having a hard time with that. Not that I dont love SOME of the people, but as a whole, they frusterate me to no end sometimes. If soemthing starts at 5, to me it means to be there at 5. But to a chilean, that means remember what they have to do and start getting ready to leave at 5. I do paint with a pretty broad brush here, as there are some people that are extremly punctual and not lazy at all, but if 99 people are lazy, and 1 of them are not, you cannot really say that they are all lazy, but you can say that as a rule of thumb, you can be 99 percent sure that a random person in that group is lazy. Alright Tracy, there is your firewood. Just remember, I said nothing about Latins in General or mexicans. Just chileans.
Now before you proclaim me as the best nephew ever, I have to make another confession. I am becoming addicted to Coco Cola. We have it almost every day here and we always have about 5 liters worth stocked in our fridge. Man, I dont know why it is, but everyone here drinks coke by the bucketfull. I want to do a study, because Im pretty sure they induce more coke into their bloodstream than water at this point. I havent had good water in a while now and I kind of miss it. But Aunt Polly, Im right there with you. Coke all the way!
Alright, thats pretty much everything. There isnt a whole lot going on. Our sector is moving slowly and not a lot is happening right now. Its kind of a bummer, but hopefully things will pick up.
Alright, love you all! Thanks for all your support!
Love,
Elder Westover
So this email is going to have to be a little short, but to answer questions for right now: I´ll put things on Walgreens, Mom, sure, send me Alyssa´s Ipod if its okay with her. I dont know if there is anything else.
I also wanted to thank everybody for your letters. Grandma and Grandpa, I always enjoy hearing from you and hearing all these stories about Grandpa´s mission that he somehow has dismissed telling me until now. I love hearing them. Mom, thank you for your letters of concern and love. It really makes a big impact in my day. Dad, thanks as always for giving me advice and counsel, and enjoy taking all those pictures that you love taking. Sometimes I wish you were here to take cool pictures with your camera while I was going around and doing work, but I think we wouldnt get very far in a day. Tracy, I love hearing how your doing as always and Troy´s preparation for a mission. Cross your fingers that he doesnt go to Mexico (which he probably will). Aunt Polly, I really like hearing how your doing and you as well as Tracy might want to tune in to this email, as it kind of pertains to both of you. Mom and Dad, tell brother and sister Foote thank you for their letters and that I will try to write a response as soon as I can.
So I guess the really only big thing I found out this week is the wedding list is starting. One of my friends just informed me that after three weeks of dating, she is getting married. No its not ashlee. Jane Smith. Mom and Dad, you know who that is. Yeah, I laughed really hard when I found out. I guess I should get used to it, as most of the girls I know are going to be married by the time I get back.
But really there is only two things that I began to notice. This is where Tracy and Aunt Polly pay attention.
The first is something that I will have to apologize to my parents for, because this is just feeding the fire of ignorance and recism, but I cant lie: Chileans are so LAZY!!!!!! hahaha, sorry. But it really is true. They will find any excuse not to do something. Shops here open up whenever the owner gets up, which can be like 10 or 11. Everyone does things at their own pace and if they dont want to do it, they wont do it, such as reading 2 pages in the book of mormon. It is ridiculous how busy they say they are, but it is only because they are putting off doing anything until never, pretty much. I know Mom and Dad, I recognize the irony here, but I have determined to not be like these people. I know everyone says that the thing they love the most about their mission is the people, but right now, I am having a hard time with that. Not that I dont love SOME of the people, but as a whole, they frusterate me to no end sometimes. If soemthing starts at 5, to me it means to be there at 5. But to a chilean, that means remember what they have to do and start getting ready to leave at 5. I do paint with a pretty broad brush here, as there are some people that are extremly punctual and not lazy at all, but if 99 people are lazy, and 1 of them are not, you cannot really say that they are all lazy, but you can say that as a rule of thumb, you can be 99 percent sure that a random person in that group is lazy. Alright Tracy, there is your firewood. Just remember, I said nothing about Latins in General or mexicans. Just chileans.
Now before you proclaim me as the best nephew ever, I have to make another confession. I am becoming addicted to Coco Cola. We have it almost every day here and we always have about 5 liters worth stocked in our fridge. Man, I dont know why it is, but everyone here drinks coke by the bucketfull. I want to do a study, because Im pretty sure they induce more coke into their bloodstream than water at this point. I havent had good water in a while now and I kind of miss it. But Aunt Polly, Im right there with you. Coke all the way!
Alright, thats pretty much everything. There isnt a whole lot going on. Our sector is moving slowly and not a lot is happening right now. Its kind of a bummer, but hopefully things will pick up.
Alright, love you all! Thanks for all your support!
Love,
Elder Westover
Monday, October 12, 2009
A Day in The Life of Elder Paul
October 12, 2009
So Last week I had some requests to detail a full day in my life as a missionary, so I will graciously respond as best as I can, adding my own little expereinces that I have had this week.
So my day...
I wake up at 7:30. Yes, 7:30. Everything here is an hour later. Which is awesome for me and something I feel was divinely inspired for not morning people. So I get up out of bed and start the half hour of workout that we are supposed to do. My companion usually takes this opportunity to sleep longer or eat breakfast. I usually roll out of bed and lazily do my 200 situps and 100 pushups. I am NOT going to get fat on my mission. So far i think I have lost 5 pounds of MTC fat, and I am pretty good shapr from walking and constistancy in doing the early morning workout.
Afterwards, I usually sit and think about what I have dreamed about for a few minutes. Usually they are very strange and involve someone talking to me in Spanish that I dont understand. Last night I was a spider. Weird, but not really too random becasue since I have been in my new pension with 4 other missionaries, my companion and I have been sleeping on cheap mattresses on the ground which harbors more than half the population of earwigs. I find at least 10 every night and constantly have to check my covers for stowaways. But why I dream of spiders is because the only danger here in Chile is the brown Recluse spider, and giant leggy spider that is more deadly than a black widow. I wouldnt be as afraid if my comp didnt kill one the other night that crawled out from under my mattress. Hopefully I will be okay... hopefully.
So at 8, we have breakfast which consists of a bowl of Zucosos, or cheap Frosted Flakes. I really have gotten used to em by now, so its all good. We usually get to talk with everyone else and mess around, such as the case with 2 days ago, when one of the guys in our pension started throwing matches, in which you hold a match to the lighting strip and then flick the match. The match lights and flies somewhere around the room. Some vestigal part of my pyrotechnic scouting days resurfaced and Elder Stephenson, Elder Whiting, and I spent the morning throwing 2 boxes of matches at each other. Eventually I went in the kitchen to make myself a tortilla with butter, my favorite concocion of the mission. Five minutes later, I heard yelling from upstairs; "Im on fire!!" Apparantly Elder Stephenson had thrown a match onto an unsuspecting Elder Georgianna, another elder in our pension, who at that moment was sleeping. Elder Stephenson checked to make sure that it was out, but I guess he didnt check well enough. The fire ignited the sleeping elder´s blankets and when he woke up to the smell of smoke and a strange smell, he felt something warm on his butt. When He touched it, he realized that indeed, he was on fire. It all spiraled out of control and he ended up with only a couple burnt fingers and some holes in his mattress.
At 9, we start companion study and at 10 we have companion study. Then at 11 we have language study until 12, at which hour we pray for success and leave for the day. Then Elder Stephenson and I begin the long trek to our sector, which is a half hour away from our pension. We have to cut through a big field just to get to our area, which is usually covered with mud, and has substantially worn my shoes down. (see pictures) We then begin our work until 1:30, when we have lunch with the members. We have lunch, the biggest meal of the day, with the members usually, and eat pretty normal food. They like empanadas, eggs, and rice and chicken. We sometimes get insteresting meals, like yesterday, when we got mashed potatoes and steak. Excited for gringo food, I dug in. It was on the first bite that I realized that this wasnt steak. It wasnt very chewy, and had an almost fishy taste. Needless to say, I did not like it. But in Chile, I have learned to down whatever is given to me. When we would ask what it was, the couple would just laugh, and keep eating. Finally, after it was all through and we were eating an awesome dessert which is uaually just fruit, They informed us that in Chile they really like to eat heart... of cows... So yeah, I´ve eaten cow heart now. One of those mission foods that you have to have once, I guess. I just hope its not more.
After lunch we run from house house, trying to get people to let us in. Mostly we run by references, but we do about 2 hours of tracting as well, which is pretty funny becasue people here lie so much and so horribly that its almost funny. We have resorted to singing songs on doorstops just so that we can get in. Fortunatly, most of Chile is tone deaf, so they dont mind our broken voices.
Occasionally we get some people who stop us in the streets, most of which are wither the Jehovas Witness or the wine bibbers. The J dubs are our arch enemies and they hate us. Its kind of funny. The drunks are our best friends and it is also kind of funny. They do the funniest things and always seem very sincere. They always shake our hands about 5 or 6 times and love to kiss us on the heads. I dont know why... But they do. The other day i convinced one of the barachos that I could read minds, so he held his palm out for me to read. I told him that he was good with women and he needed to hear a message a bout Jesus Christ. It might not have been the most orthodox method, but whatever works. We occasionally get other weird people come talk to us, and occasionally it turns out really cool, like the lady who stopped us and asked us to give her grandmother a blessing. My companion asked me if I would like to give it, and I stared at him as if he had just gone insane. But I did it anyways, of course. The woman was catholic, but I felt so much love that Heavenly Father had for her when I placed my hands on her head. I dont remember much of the prayer, but after, my companion jut looked at me with his head cocked. "I´ve never heard so speak Spanish so well. That was a better accent than I have." Im just glad that I have help :)
We usually get to teach 3 or 4 people, on a normal day, and we get to drink a LOT of Coco Cola. I think I have downed more Coke here than in my entire life... Sorry Tracy, Im hooked now. We always have 4 gallons of it stocked in our fridge.
At 9:30, we begin to make the trek back through the field, this time in pitch black. There are always obstacles to overcome. Some days its a marshy part of the field, other days its the dogs that we have to throw rocks at. Its always different, and always exciting.
We hopefully get back by 10 and plan until 10:30. Then I shower, get ready, and we go to bed by 11:30.
So thats my day. Its awesome and I love it. I am loving this work and I will hopefully be abl to live up to the name that is going around now. Thank you for all of your love and support. I can feel your prayers with me every day.
I love you guys!
Elder Westover
So Last week I had some requests to detail a full day in my life as a missionary, so I will graciously respond as best as I can, adding my own little expereinces that I have had this week.
So my day...
I wake up at 7:30. Yes, 7:30. Everything here is an hour later. Which is awesome for me and something I feel was divinely inspired for not morning people. So I get up out of bed and start the half hour of workout that we are supposed to do. My companion usually takes this opportunity to sleep longer or eat breakfast. I usually roll out of bed and lazily do my 200 situps and 100 pushups. I am NOT going to get fat on my mission. So far i think I have lost 5 pounds of MTC fat, and I am pretty good shapr from walking and constistancy in doing the early morning workout.
Afterwards, I usually sit and think about what I have dreamed about for a few minutes. Usually they are very strange and involve someone talking to me in Spanish that I dont understand. Last night I was a spider. Weird, but not really too random becasue since I have been in my new pension with 4 other missionaries, my companion and I have been sleeping on cheap mattresses on the ground which harbors more than half the population of earwigs. I find at least 10 every night and constantly have to check my covers for stowaways. But why I dream of spiders is because the only danger here in Chile is the brown Recluse spider, and giant leggy spider that is more deadly than a black widow. I wouldnt be as afraid if my comp didnt kill one the other night that crawled out from under my mattress. Hopefully I will be okay... hopefully.
So at 8, we have breakfast which consists of a bowl of Zucosos, or cheap Frosted Flakes. I really have gotten used to em by now, so its all good. We usually get to talk with everyone else and mess around, such as the case with 2 days ago, when one of the guys in our pension started throwing matches, in which you hold a match to the lighting strip and then flick the match. The match lights and flies somewhere around the room. Some vestigal part of my pyrotechnic scouting days resurfaced and Elder Stephenson, Elder Whiting, and I spent the morning throwing 2 boxes of matches at each other. Eventually I went in the kitchen to make myself a tortilla with butter, my favorite concocion of the mission. Five minutes later, I heard yelling from upstairs; "Im on fire!!" Apparantly Elder Stephenson had thrown a match onto an unsuspecting Elder Georgianna, another elder in our pension, who at that moment was sleeping. Elder Stephenson checked to make sure that it was out, but I guess he didnt check well enough. The fire ignited the sleeping elder´s blankets and when he woke up to the smell of smoke and a strange smell, he felt something warm on his butt. When He touched it, he realized that indeed, he was on fire. It all spiraled out of control and he ended up with only a couple burnt fingers and some holes in his mattress.
At 9, we start companion study and at 10 we have companion study. Then at 11 we have language study until 12, at which hour we pray for success and leave for the day. Then Elder Stephenson and I begin the long trek to our sector, which is a half hour away from our pension. We have to cut through a big field just to get to our area, which is usually covered with mud, and has substantially worn my shoes down. (see pictures) We then begin our work until 1:30, when we have lunch with the members. We have lunch, the biggest meal of the day, with the members usually, and eat pretty normal food. They like empanadas, eggs, and rice and chicken. We sometimes get insteresting meals, like yesterday, when we got mashed potatoes and steak. Excited for gringo food, I dug in. It was on the first bite that I realized that this wasnt steak. It wasnt very chewy, and had an almost fishy taste. Needless to say, I did not like it. But in Chile, I have learned to down whatever is given to me. When we would ask what it was, the couple would just laugh, and keep eating. Finally, after it was all through and we were eating an awesome dessert which is uaually just fruit, They informed us that in Chile they really like to eat heart... of cows... So yeah, I´ve eaten cow heart now. One of those mission foods that you have to have once, I guess. I just hope its not more.
After lunch we run from house house, trying to get people to let us in. Mostly we run by references, but we do about 2 hours of tracting as well, which is pretty funny becasue people here lie so much and so horribly that its almost funny. We have resorted to singing songs on doorstops just so that we can get in. Fortunatly, most of Chile is tone deaf, so they dont mind our broken voices.
Occasionally we get some people who stop us in the streets, most of which are wither the Jehovas Witness or the wine bibbers. The J dubs are our arch enemies and they hate us. Its kind of funny. The drunks are our best friends and it is also kind of funny. They do the funniest things and always seem very sincere. They always shake our hands about 5 or 6 times and love to kiss us on the heads. I dont know why... But they do. The other day i convinced one of the barachos that I could read minds, so he held his palm out for me to read. I told him that he was good with women and he needed to hear a message a bout Jesus Christ. It might not have been the most orthodox method, but whatever works. We occasionally get other weird people come talk to us, and occasionally it turns out really cool, like the lady who stopped us and asked us to give her grandmother a blessing. My companion asked me if I would like to give it, and I stared at him as if he had just gone insane. But I did it anyways, of course. The woman was catholic, but I felt so much love that Heavenly Father had for her when I placed my hands on her head. I dont remember much of the prayer, but after, my companion jut looked at me with his head cocked. "I´ve never heard so speak Spanish so well. That was a better accent than I have." Im just glad that I have help :)
We usually get to teach 3 or 4 people, on a normal day, and we get to drink a LOT of Coco Cola. I think I have downed more Coke here than in my entire life... Sorry Tracy, Im hooked now. We always have 4 gallons of it stocked in our fridge.
At 9:30, we begin to make the trek back through the field, this time in pitch black. There are always obstacles to overcome. Some days its a marshy part of the field, other days its the dogs that we have to throw rocks at. Its always different, and always exciting.
We hopefully get back by 10 and plan until 10:30. Then I shower, get ready, and we go to bed by 11:30.
So thats my day. Its awesome and I love it. I am loving this work and I will hopefully be abl to live up to the name that is going around now. Thank you for all of your love and support. I can feel your prayers with me every day.
I love you guys!
Elder Westover
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