Tough Week

So you asked me what I had to spent the money on. I had to buy more clothes and garments and shipping about killed me. The mamacita keeps our clothes for like two weeks, so I had to have more garments and clothes to wear until she gets the laundry back. So this week was honestly one of the hardest weeks I have had. We did contacts all day, pretty much everyday and one of those days it was about ninety degrees. I thought I was going to die it was so hot. I swear yesterday I had no idea what Satan unleashed on us, but every contact we did it was bad. Like the hearts of the people were so hard. They are like I believe in God, but not Mormons and stuff like that. Then we had this girl who hates the United States, so that gave us no chance. She wouldn't even let me talk. We would have liked to explain ourselves, but she wouldn't listen. Then we had this one guy that we gave a card to follow the plan of God and he said, "You don't even do this" and gave us the card back and slammed the door. So this weekend was a little rough. However, we did have an investigator show up to church. It was funny because we were giving a blessing to another missionary, and we didn't see him go in to church. He called us and said, "Where are you guys?" We are like, Where are you?" He is like, "In the church." He is super funny and a character. He is kinda like a Beth in male form. He has a lot of faith and works a ton. So if we can get him to come to church, it would be so good. I did have the interview with the mission president. Nothing much, like fifteen minutes long.  We looked at some stuff had that he had me share a spiritual thought and that was about it. I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish last week, and I am almost in Second Nephi again. I can read a lot faster than speaking it, but it's good. I went on exchanges this week with a kid who has been three weeks in the mission. If we combine our time here, we have four months experience.  The day went good. I tried to help him out the best I could and the Spanish for me went pretty good. Then when i got back to my sector, it was different. I didn't have that understanding that I had when I was out on the exchanges. This area is a lot harder then the my other area. They have had three baptisms the whole year here. In Los Vilos they had that many baptisms in a month. It is hard, but it's good. And, oh yeah, I could see myself grow when I was with the other elder because our time isn't that different, but i could just see the change in me. 

That's way cool about the Utes and that you got to spend time with Boston and Trey. Other then that, nothing really happened this week. Have a good week.

Love,

Elder Gillies

One Investigator

Can you put some money on my card. I can't remember if i said that last week or not. I have some questions. How can I take a video with my camera?  And how can I take one big wide picture with my camera because Vina is so big and I can't get the view all in, so I was wondering if there was a way to do that. Also I was talking with the bishop yesterday and is there a symbol with the forty days things with the fast and resurrection of Christ and all that or is it just forty days? Ask the boys like when they were on their missions how did they teach? Did they have like trick scriptures that helped them be better missionaries or what did they do exactly?

Thanks for sending the package. I sent you one too. It's some stuff that takes up way too much room and I don't need it. The black binder on the top, well they are letters from everyone. The rest of the stuff can you just put in my room please. It should be there in a few weeks.

O.K. this area is kinda rough. Not very many people want a lot to do with the gospel. It is a lot bigger then my other area. The members are nice, a little different but nice. This apartment is way better then the other one. It's just there are these things for the shower and it runs on tanks for like what we use for a grill. It just doesn't get hot, and if you can get it hot, it doesn't have pressure. It just drips. But it's way hot here so its not as bad as the cold in Los Villos. 

Yesterday I talked in church. My first talk that I had to do in church. I prepared for ten minutes the night before because I didn't think i had to talk. They had three other speakers, but then one didn't want to do it, so i did. It went like ten minutes and I had to speed up at the end. The thing was after everyone told my companion good job which he did do a good job. Then they would just kinda look at me. I was like come on, at least throw me a pity compliment! But its all good. 

I guess we have a investigator. He doesn't have a job. He goes days without eating. We gave him some oranges and it was like worst then animal plant. We got him looking into the church and hopefully he will progress more now.  My new area is like twenty minutes to Vina on a bus.  I can see all of Vina when where I live, so we are like a little suburb. 

Dad what are you doing missing the bull elk?  Maybe you are waiting two years for me to get a bigger than you! Have a good week.

Love,

Elder Gillies

Transfer to Mira Flores - New Companion - Elder Montano

O.K. so you know how I said I had the baptism on Thursday. Well, I got transferred so I didn't get to see the baptism. So the elder who went to my old area got a baptism his first day there which was cool for him. I was pretty bummed out. I really like my new companion. We are doing good and now I have another foreign companion. He is from Columbia. I have a hard time relating with the foreign companions. Both American companions, I have really liked. My new companions name is Elder Montano. He is not bad, just it's not the same as having an American companion who you have a lot more in common with. In my new area, Elder Montano hasn't had a baptism for the three months he has been here. So I go from having a ton of investigators, to starting all over again. That is a little hard to take, but I guess I need to be humbled some more. I guess the language, well, I thought it was coming good, but here they speak a lot different and it's a lot harder to understand here. So it's a little set back. Now the good thing is, my apartment is a lot nicer here. The shower still sucks. All I want is a good warm shower, but not!  Having our laundry done is more expensive here. I feel sometimes I am being robbed a little bit with everything. I don't know why things are so expensive here.

I have an interview with the mission president this week. It's my first one, so we will see how thats goes. I don't have pictures of the other apartment, but here it's like spring. It's a huge difference. Los Vilos was cold, but here it is way hot and there are hills, big hills. So basically, Welcome to Chile! I had one of the few flat area for three months in Los Vilos and now I am dying with all the hills here. 

To answer your questions, the people we made dinner in my last area was for was an investigator, but it's not the family we were baptizing. I will have to send a picture another day. We made them tacos with all that at their house. It was one of the best meals I have had here. It actually had flavor and turned out really well. 

So my new area is Mira Flores. It's like ten minutes to Vina on a bus which are about the scarriest things ever, but they are kinda fun at the same time. Anyway, I can go to Vina for any meetings cause I am super close. But i can't just go see it or anything like that. I have to stay in my area which doesn't really have anything like Vina, that so that kinda stinks. It is just a lot to get used to. Now I have had change after change and I am guessing next transfer, I will have another new companion since Elder Montano has been here for 3 months. All is good. Have a great week.

Love,

Elder Gillies 

General Conference

I did get you package. Thanks a ton! It was way good to see the pictures and the first bag of peach rings didn't last long at all. I am trying to slow down on the other two bags. What did you think about conference with the speakers speaking in their own language. I thought that was really cool. I got to listen in English, but when Spanish people spoke, we would listen to them and I understood them, but they were from Mexico or had the Mexican Spanish so that's a whole different story from the Chilean Spanish. You asked what was my favorite talk. I loved it all. It was all so powerful.  Oh yeah, real quick I am pretty sure I did see Saylem for a brief second singing in the MTC choir.  We did have some investigators come at the last hour of the last session. We will have a baptism of a guy whose family is a member, but he is not . So now it's his turn I guess. The thing is, the baptism is on Thursday and transfers are Wednesday, so I don't know about that. I hope my companion and I stay together. if not, it's like starting all over on the investigators we do have. We have a ton of people who want to get baptized, but they won't come to church. So I guess we will have to say,
"Do you want heaven or hell?" or something like that because nothing is getting through to them.  However, the investigators did hear the conference talk by Elder Bednar which couldn't have been more perfect. They have to go to church minimum of three times. OK so back to conference. The priesthood session was a little weird not going with Dad. My favorite talk, they were all way good. I liked the Brazil guy a lot. I could see a lot of the same stuff he talked about in my life with the patriarchal blessing and what he said about his job or something like that and his wife supported him and all that and he would always refer to it and that's a lot of the same similarities that says in my patriarchal blessing. So that was cool. At the zone conference, we didn't have interviews withe our mission president. That's later in the month.  The zone conference was way cool. Yesterday we made dinner for an investigator that always makes food for us. It actually turned out way good. I will send you a picture. The summer I get back I will have to cook for you guys some. So I will learn more. Thanks for everything.

Love,

Elder Gillies

Service Project

One of my favorite sites.

I liked this quote.