A Giant Chilean Rat!

We get to Skype for Mother's Day!

So, there are two investigators that are really strong right now: C. and E.

C is 23 and has a little girl who is almost a year old. She has some problems, and doesn´t have a religious background, so her progression is slow. BUT she loves coming to church and she´s had awesome experiences with feeling the Spirit when she prays at night.

E. is 40+ and has 4 children, two are married and gone. She and one of her daughters who lives in the south of Chile just found out this week that they´re both taking the lessons from the missionaries! They go to church together, with their other children too, and read and pray together whenever possible. She may move in with her daughter at the end of June, so that´ll be good. Her kids that live with her are 12 and 13, so she wants them to have a better environment and example.

Tell Cindy I aprove of that name (not that they need my approval haha) and wish Connie the best of luck for me! There´s a lot of Chilean families who have kids really close in age and their houses are always CRAZY! haha

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So, first I´ll talk about Thursday. THursday was a perfectly full, super close moon. My comp and I were looking at it and trying to think of what our families would be doing right then. It was about 6pm your time. So, on the 86th day of my mission, it finally hit me that I´m not coming back home for two years....but then I woke up on Friday and haven´t been homesick since, so no big deal :) Also on Friday, around 10pm my time, WE KILLED A GIANT CHILEAN RAT!! A member has the pictures, but she didn´t get them sent to us so I don´t have them to send to you right now. Maybe next week ;)

So, I have a crazy goal for my mission...read the Book of Mormon, in Spanish, every change (6 weeks). That´s 112 pages every week; 16 pages every day. It´s crazy tough because I don´t have that kind of time, but so far I´m on track :) Wish me luck!

When we go to the Temple on May 15th, I´m going through for Clark W McDearman, just if you wanted to know :) (That's a name from the Balluff family tree)

 

- Elder Daylon Crider

 

A Baptism Miracle

Our baptism went pretty well.......................................I PERFORMED THE BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not that I´m excited or anything. It was cool. We went to talk to her on inspiration three weeks ago and found out that she stood up to her boss and said she needs EVERY Sunday off for her religion (before she was "on call" for Sundays, but usually had to work during church time). So that was definitely a miracle :)

We have cambios (transfers) this week. I nor my comp are getting changed though :) But before cambios, we have a house inspection to make sure it´s clean. So mom, THANK YOU for teaching me how to clean a bathroom!!!!! I know it´s a small thing, but it definitely helped, so thanks :)

Next, we have a neighborhood dog that loves the missionaries and follws us for a few streets. His name is Papa Fritas :) For being a street dog, he isn´t actually all that dirty, nor does he have fleas. So that´s good :)

So besides my baptism and those two things, that´s about it for this week....

Also, all 6 of you have a letter coming, but in 3 envelopes. Mom, dad, and the kids. At least, I think I sent you one, mom...I don´t remember. If I did, I sent it last week, so it should be there by the end of the month haha

I can testify that by studying the scriptures during a fast, the Spirit will be more able to clearly tell you what you should do.

 

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 Vos amo (si tiene sentido...no sé la forma "tú" para nada haha) (translated, sort of: You love (if that makes sense ... I do not know how "you" at all haha)

- Elder Daylon Crider

A Few Questions Answered

In response to mom´s email:

 

(do you pay the sister who does your laundry?): No, we don´t pay her, but we do buy the detergent every 3 or 4 weeks when she runs out!

 

FYI, if I have a letter to send (I think I´m going to try to send two a month) then we always do it before emailing. Email is usually the last thing that gets done (but we do hit the store on our way home) before we start our work for the day, so any requests for photos or anything handwritten probably won´t get sent for another 2ish weeks. The place to send mail isn´t in our Sector, so we don´t go there every Monday. Also, in regards to packages, I´ve seen two packages come in that were in the "Large Flat Rate" USPS boxes, had "Ropa para los muertos" written on the side, and the cost to send was just under $30, and they didn´t have to pay anything to receive it, so I think as long as it fits in one of those boxes and is less than $30, you´re good :)

 

(Daylon's companion got a Dear John): In regards to my comp, he was definitely distracted for about a week, but, as you know, I´m very carefully with the words I use, and after much prayer in his behalf, the Lord was able to help him regain his focus through my words. Today he sent a letter to a girl he hasn´t talked to in about a year, but went on several dates with, so right now he´s "no estoy ni allí" ("I´m not here nor there"), which basically means he´s over her. President King told him that he had an unusually strong impression to put us together, and we both feel that this is the reason. He´s taught me 3 things: How to have fun, how to work, and how to have fun working. As a result, I definitely think he was the best trainer I could have asked for. We´ll probably be together for another transfer (changes are on the 23rd) because of the 12 weeks training program, but you never know!

 

(do you want Mom to send you some spices for your leftovers?): We don´t usually have leftovers nor do we eat in our pension (that´s what they call houses here) more than once a week, if that, so the spice packets won´t really help that much :/ But I´ve just stopped paying attention to what I´m eating and it´s getting a little easier to finish the GIANT HEAP of spaghetti that´s perpetually on my plate haha.

 

About the crazy people...they breastfeed in the park, wear see-through shirts, have 3 kids with 5 different fathers by 20 (yeah, go figure that one out!) and are straight up drunk at any given time between 10AM and 10PM (the earliest and latest we´ve been out in the streets). So yeah, there are quite a few problems here in Chile! But luckily we have the knowledge of how to help them overcome their challenges and return to Christ :)

 

I honestly have no idea why the schedule is the way it is, so I can´t tell you why we get up at 7:30 and go to bed at 11:30. Your guess is as good as mine right now haha!

 

MOMOMOMOMOMOMOMOMOMOMOMOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How do I print out a Temple name????? We´re going to the Temple in May and I need a name to do a session with. I know there are cards in my Temple bag, but I don´t think they´ll get here in time. Can you email me the process so I can reprint the card (if that´s even possible)??

 

Also, for grandma Crider, I have no idea what our physical address is so, unfortuantely, I can´t give it to you. Sorry!

 

So, our ward, this coming Sunday, is going to have a class on how to do Home/Visiting teaching, because they´ve never done it before! How crazy is that? We´re also having a "Noche de misioneros" (Missionary Night) with all the RMs from the ward (there are quite a few sisters who served when they were 21!) to get the youth excited to serve and to encourage the members to help us :)

 

Mom - I sent a letter today with the pictures I´ve been trying to send for three weeks, but it won´t get there for about another 15 days, sorry. But at least they´re coming :D

 

Bueno, umm...no sé. Todo está bien, me gusta Chile, la comida es un poco errado, pero no me hace mal. Todovía tengo mi salud, entonces todo está bien. Este Domingo, 21 de Abril, vamos a tener una bautismo de A, la esposa de V. Ella no quiere que él efectuar su bautismo y no sabemos por que, porque ella no ha decir su razón. Pero va a bautizarse todovía :) Entonces, ¡mis dos primer bautismos son de personas de Haiti! Bakan!! Google Translate: Well, umm ... I do not know. Everything is fine, I like Chile, the food is a bit wrong, but does not make me wrong. Todavia I have my health, then all is well. This Sunday, April 21, we will have a baptism of A., wife of V.. She did not want him to make his baptism and do not know why, because she has not said his reason. But to be baptized Todavia :) So, my two first baptisms are people of Haiti! Cool!

 

Espero que todo está bien con Ustedes y vos amo mucho, (Hope all is well with you and love you very much,)

- Elder Daylon Crider

El Peublo es Loco!

Yes, we got to watch Conference in English, and yes it was amazing! I will have to say the talks about marriage and fatherhood about killed all the missionaries I was with because we won´t get that for quite some time hahaha.

 

A few things before I address your email:

I got the DearElder you sent last week, the one that was a page and a half. It also had one from Nanci on it, so if you want to know how long it takes to get a DE, there you go. I don´t know when you sent it, so I have no idea how long it takes.

 

The Tide-to-go stick that I grabbed definitely came in handy the other day. If you could send some more of those that would be awesome :) I cut myself shaving on the underside of my chin (these Chilean razors are horrible!) and it got on my collar. Luckily I caught it before I left for the day and as of right now, there is no sign of blood on my collar. Because I´ll be using Chilean razors for the next two years, I´m definitely going to need more of those sticks please :)

 

Three things you can´t easily find in Chile: Reese´s PB Cups, Rootbeer, and Vitamin Water (the dragonfruit flavor is my favorite, but you can´t find any flavors here...), also, I have a tendancy to buy a lot of Double Stuf Oreos, so if someone wants to send a package, there´s a few ideas ;) (Don´t worry, I have a budget plan and I stick to it!)

 

Now for your email:

 

(Mom said, I was surprised to hear you say you love your neighborhood in your last email, considering it's so scary there). In all honesty, if I´m worried about my physical safety I´m not focused on the people. A selfish missionary can´t save souls. I do what I´m supposed to, pray for protection, and I go Preach His Gospel. Yeah, a lot of scary stuff goes down in some parts of my area at night, but we avoid those areas and trust in the Lord. He won´t let anything happen that will prevent me teaching His Doctrines unless it is His will. And I know that many things will come close to happening, but I have the promise in my Blessing of angels to guide and protect me at all times, so long as I am obedient. Nothing bad happens to obedient missionaries unless it is the will of God and I know that nothing will happen to me.

 

(Mom asked if he was seeing any of the challenges yet in his mission that his patriarchal blessing talks about). There are challenges every day, but with the attitude I just described they don´t bother me. The Lord will protect His own, and because I am a Representative of Him, as long as I obey with exactness the rules of the mission and the commandments, He HAS to protect me. He made me that promise on condition of my obedience and I intend to let Him follow through.

 

I´m glad the technology world hasn´t collapsed without me haha. You´ll be interested to know that there is a 20-something guy in my ward who wants to program. I don´t feel like I should spend much time with him though, because the Lord needs me elsewhere. However, we are going over this week so that I can help him a bit. Hopefully I know how to talk tech in Spanish! Hahahaha

Dad - Something I picked up from Conference that I think you could use: I didn´t write down when or from whom, but I have written down that you should have the youth teach as much as possible. For me, when you try to teach something, you learn even more about it than before. I truly believe the best way to learn is to teach. If you want, pray about how to do it and give it a try :)

 

Alyza - I think next week I´ll be somewhere where I can get you some candy from Chile. Would you like that? Also, I think you should marry Trevy instead. He loves rings ;) haha. (Mom wrote to Daylon that Alyza had a ring on and said she was married to Daylon).  I love you ´Lyza!

 

Allie - I have a special mission for you. For one WHOLE week, I want you to try and talk about the things you do at church to your friends who aren´t members. THink you can do that? It´ll be hard (I sometimes have a hard time, but maybe that´s cuz I´m in Chile...), but I know you can do it :)

 

Anna - Don´t worry, you get a special mission too! I want you to keep a journal of only the spiritual experiences you have. I´m keeping a journal too and I write in it every night. So far, I´ve only missed one day, but I´m not going to miss another! Think you can write one spiritual experience EVERY day until I get home?
 

Mom - You are freaking amazing. I look around at other missionaries and there are way too many who are super....well, not the type of person a missionary should be. And I can´t thank you enough for your influence!

 

Estoy aprendido muchas cosas aquí en Chile. Creo que y espero que mi Español está mejor ahora. Las personas dicen que esto está cierto. Hay muchas estilos de hablando aquí y la idioma no es español hahaha. Pero, todo está bien. Me encanta la misión, pero estoy agradecido que el tiempo está pasando muy rápido. ¡El pueblo es loco! (Google Translate): I learned many things here in Chile. I think and hope that my Spanish is better now. People say this is true. There are many styles of talking here and the Spanish language is not hahaha. But, all is well. I love the mission, but I am thankful that time is passing too fast.The people are crazy!  (haha, that made Mom laugh so hard, not sure what Daylon means by that!)


Mi amor y mis oraciones, (My love and prayers,)

Elder Daylon Crider

 

 

Will V. Show Up For His Baptism?

I'll start by addressing your (mom's) letter:

1) I attend a ward that is around 100 members large. My ward, El Llano, is the only ward that goes to our building. Here in Chile the wards are about the same size as our Stake, so only one ward needs to be in each building.

2) My comp has 3 friends in Chile, 1 in our mission and 2 in Rancagua.

3) I'm working on finding some Chilean candy. Most candy is from the States, but as soon as I find authentic Chilean candy, I'll send some home! (He's promised some to Alyza!)
4)(Mom wondered how he did for his first big holiday away from home) I didn't remember today was a holiday until Hna. C. gave us baskets with chocolate after church yesterday. We do the same thing 7 days a week here, so I never know if today has any significance haha. (Thank you, thank you, Sister C, for taking care of my son!)

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So, a little thing about mail: It takes 10 days for me to get a DearElder and between 14 and 21 for a handwritten letter. I definitely prefer handwritten letters! Because Chile doesn't have mailboxes, we only get mail at District Meetings on Wednesdays, so those times are approximate, but accurate for the DE at least. Please keep that in mind when sending me a letter, and please tell everyone else that too.

There is an Hermano in the ward who, just before I got here, watched The Other Side Of Heaven. Now, he always greets me as "Hola Elder Kolipoki" hahahaha, I thought you'd appreciate that, mom :) (That's Mom's favorite movie)

So, my comp and I were studying together the other day, and we were talking about good quotes we've heard. This one really stood out to me: "You can be the missionary your mom thinks you are, but she knows you make mistakes. Be the kind of missionary the Primary kids think you are." That just had such an impact on me. They aren't going to know if I got up on time or prayed last night, but they'll be able to see it in my countenance. I'm definitely going to apply that one daily!

I have some bad news.........the food all tastes EXACTLY THE SAME!!!!!!!!!! Every once in a while we get to eat with familia D. who are going to the States later this month and they want to get used to Gringo food, so they've been cooking some pretty normal food for us. But the rest of the time, it's one of 3 things: Spaghetti, mashed potatoes, or chicken. Obviously with other things, but one of those three is always in every meal we eat. Thankfully we have a store at the end of our block to buy Oreos and fruit and other foods that have a different taste haha.

So, our baptism. It all started when he, V., didn't show up to church. My comp was freaking out so bad because things like this always happen right before a baptism and he's held a Baptismal Service twice without anyone to baptize. So at 5 there was the ward baptisms of 3 of the 8 year olds and that went off without a hitch. But we still couldn't get ahold of V. on his phone or anything. So, 7:15 rolls around and V. calls us and says he'll be late because he had to pick his wife up from work so she could be at his baptism. They both showed up 30 minutes later and the service was great! President and Sister King were there and it was just awesome!!

(I'm sending another email or two in a second with pictures) (It didn't come through)

Mom - Wanna send me the pretzel recipie? Familia C. wants to try to make them :)

Alyza - You need to stop growing up so fast little lady!! You're the baby sister but you look so old! Stop growing!!

Entonces, ¡esta semana está el fin de mi primer mez aquí en Chile! ¡Bakan! Me encanta mi barrio y los otros missioneros. Todo está bien. La clima es un pocito frío en la manaña, pero la tarde está un poco más tranquilo. No sé...todo está bien.  Google Translate: So this week is the end of my first mix here in Chile!Bakan! I love my neighborhood and the other missionaries. All is well. The cold weather is a little well in the morning but the afternoon is a bit quieter. I do not know ... all is well.

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- Elder Daylon Crider