Monday, November 28, 2011

November 28, 2011

So as you know I’m still here in Renaico and I’m with Elder Castillo from Peru.
Just to start off I uploaded the pictures I was able to recover to the photo bucket, under the folder week 2 of photo bucket use pictures, I’m pretty sure. You can download, I think you know that by now so yah that’s all for you. Hopefully the video uploads as well because it’s really funny.

So yah, happy thanksgiving and all. We didn’t do anything special, we did make homemade popcorn at night but that was it, I heard you all had a fun and eventful day, that’s always great to hear. The assistants and the Elders in the office had a "chileano thanksgiving" they had 3 rotisserie chickens, jello, and salad WITH ACTUAL SALAD DRESSING not just oil and lemon juice. And a Dr. Pepper, lucky butts.

So yah, I was writing in my new planner and realized all the events that will pass during this cambio:
Thanksgiving
Christmas
New Years
1year in Chile

That’s a big list for just one planner, look what happens within 6 weeks, wow I’m slightly shocked / blown away by all that, ha-ha.

So I was thinking about the Christmas call and wanted to know, Andrew, do you think that the new Google thing you talked about a while ago works well for 3 way calling? What do you think that I should do? Oh and will my new sister in-law be there? She better be if she wants to be related to me. But yah Andrew can you be the tech man on this one and tell me what I should do and all? Thanks.

We found a lot of new investigators this week because the ones we had were not progressing in the ways that we have hoped, we aren’t leaving them, but we just aren’t focusing as much on them, following the advice of our leaders, I hate it but it’s what I have to do huh?

Its getting crazy hot here, I know I keep saying that but man it’s getting hot. The worst part, Lebu is the "windy city" and I’m no longer there, I’m in Renaico, Angol area where there is no wind and it’s an awful humid heat. No beach and I have to wear a tie. We have had to come home and shower after lunch because it gets so gross. Man I can only imagine the other Elders out there in the world that have this all the time, man that stinks!

I just realized that Elder Myer comes home in 5 weeks, that means there goes my Oregonian, that will be so very sad, but he promised he would come visit you all because I made him promise, maybe for my birthday! ha-ha I have no idea but yah, I will miss him so much

So I don’t think there is anything else new here, I still not have received any packages, so I’m planning on getting a few when we have another conference or something, know I love you all so so much, miss you so much, and I can’t wait for Christmas to call you all!

Elder Kyle Allen

November 21, 2011

Whelp, I have a new companion. Elder Montalban-Cares (my companion right now that is the chileano) is going to be a zone leader in Temuco so I get a new companion. I am getting someone from Peru named Elder Castillo. I actually know him and I lived with him in Lebu for one cambio. So we are both excited and all because we know each other and we fall well with each other. He is senior companion and district leader. I am also getting Elder Palmer from my MTC district in my zone, which is pretty cool. So it’s me Elder Lundgren and Elder Palmer in Angol, fun group. Oh and Elder Owens from my MTC district is training, that’s so awesome for him.

Today Elder Gibbs and Elder Elder go home, that’s so crazy, I already miss them.

This week we stressed about cambios all week. Seriously, because Elder Myer and President said to both of us that we were not going to stay together so we had no idea what would happen with us at all. he also said to me that there are special cambios in 3 weeks (I might leave the sector in 3 weeks, I have no idea!) and that he would be calling Elder Montalban in the week, which means he is either going up to zone leader or training, and he got ZL. So we were both saying goodbye because neither of us were sure what was happening. So I’m not sure if I will be making my Christmas call from Renaico or from a new place. All I am sure is I have 3 more weeks here and we will find out after that.

We found a new family because one of the daughters thought I was Justin Beiber and the dad invited us in. Elder Montalban can’t stop laughing about that, because it’s the same 2 jokes whenever I meet someone new, and as you know, that’s all we do is meet new people. but the two jokes are:
1) I look like Justin Beiber, which I obviously don’t I’m just a gringo
2) I’m "elder alien" because they don’t read the 2nd L or in Spanish the LL makes a Y sound and alien in Spanish is pronounced very close a-yen (at least for Chileans)

So yah that’s the jokes I hear every day, many times each day.

Oh but this week we had conference of zones, the north zones all met at one, the middle as one and the south as one. I obviously was in the middle and we met on Wednesday. That’s when we talked with President and Elder Myer about what was going on so we were stressed after that point. The conference was good, and they forgot the mail so I don’t know if there was anything waiting for me or not but yah didn’t get anything. I might be able to have someone from the office bring anything that I have tomorrow but I doubt it because everyone has a lot to bring and do and move, all that stuff

Front of Bible


Back of Bible

Front of Book of Mormon

Back of Book of Mormon
Spine of both Book of Mormon and Bible

I got my leather cases and they are great! Joseph Smith looks a little like Jay Leno on my Book of Mormon but oh well, that’s what happens, ha-ha. I tried to upload the pictures but that stinking beetle is back again, it might just be the computers here but yah, I’ll try one more time, but no promises.

Well I love you all, I’ll write you next week and tell you all how it’s been, I miss you all so much, especially this time of the year, can’t wait to call home!

Elder Kyle Allen

November 14, 2011

So to start off, 2 volcanoes erupted near us and the ash is sooo thick! It’s crazy, but it’s still crazy hot which I don’t get but whatever, because we can’t see the sun and all.

So Saturday we find out about cambios. We have no idea what will happen. I could train, because I have the time to train and all, my companion could, we could stay together, or I could just normally leave. We are very scared and confused what could happen.

So we have an Elder from Mexico here and he made some tacos for us and they were great, it was great. So yah that’s what we did today

About the conference, we were supposed to listen to Elder Cook but he switched last minute to the Concepcion mission, so we heard from the 2nd councilor to the presiding bishopric McMullin. He was very good, and it was really cool because they had a translator for the Latinos and we didn’t need it. I felt special.

Sunday we had stake conference in Angol and we had to leave at 9am for the branch bus so none of our investigators went because that is way too early for anyone in Chile. It was funny because only 2 families from the branch went. The bus was empty and so was the stake conference. But we were still bummed because we had to report 0 for the week.

So that was our week, sorry there isn’t more but it was a slow week, we have capacitations on Wednesday and I think that will be fun, and cambios next Tuesday so stay in tune!

Love you all
Elder Kyle Allen

November 7, 2011

So I’m still having problems with the whole photo situation, my memory card got a virus from the awful computers here and I lost all the data, I’m currently in the process of recovering the data but it’s not promising.

So this week our zone put a goal of 20 baptisms this month, that’s very very high considering we have 9 fechas for this month but we are trying. Our sector has been pulling its weight, 3 baptisms last month, 3 for this month, that’s more than the norm so we are good but the ZLs are pushing us to make up the difference because others arn’t doing so hot and that’s just hard and stressful. Whatever, I don’t feel bad at all for the work we have done.

So this week we are hearing an apostle this week, I'll obviously be more specific later (after we hear from him) I just don’t want to be too specific in the case that we don’t hear from him or just for plain old security reasons, but I’m excited!

We may be moving a fecha back a week from the 19th because we are having some permission problems.

Oh we received a call from Elders in Los Angeles and they gave us a reference of a girl named Evelyn and so we called her and she went to church without us even meeting her. Just goes to show you, references from members are a million times better then the contacting we do every day, so give a reference if you can, because at least it’s a place for the elders to attempt.

So I have a friend here in my sector that loves Paramore and he says they have 3 news songs?!? Please tell me if they are good. And I told him to look up Cartel and tell me what he thinks and he said they have a new EP. Andrew please please please tell me how they are. Another Elder from Mexico got an email from his dad saying the Cardinals won the World Series against the Rangers. Dad, what happened with that information? Ha-ha How did the Braves do?

So yes that font mishap became very funny for me and the branch president to talk about but then it turned bad because someone forgot to drain the font after the baptism and it instantly became my fault so that wasn’t very good. But still, I baptized a whole church! Andrew did you ever do that, nope didn’t think so! Ha-ha Yah that is one of those stories I’m going to love when I come home.

So Elder Gibbs (my 2nd companion) goes home on the 22nd, it’s crazy, all the people that have Miles´ Monson’s time are my best friends, man that’s weird how that worked out. I don’t want them to leave; they seem so much older than me. Man he must be excited, oh and Cory!!! When does he come home??? I miss him

So my companion gets huge packages from his mom in Santiago and they are just candy. We have been eating so much its ridiculous! And it’s like the box is never ending! He keeps saying in his old house (4 missionaries) it would be gone in like 5 days. ha-ha oh well guess I’m more polite, ha-ha

but yah that’s that, Mom I did that photo bucket so you can download the pics, Trevor can show you how, I love you all so so so much

Elder Kyle Allen

Saturday, November 26, 2011

November 1, 2011

Hey before I forget, I got both packages, thank you very much, there is much envy on the nice sweater from the states. And the candy box was perfect to get on Halloween so I loved that, thank you so so so much

OK so about the activity, it was great, I did a lot of running, and that acted up my ankle so it hurts a lot now again. But it was great seeing everyone again as you know, and we all have a year now so that is just crazy to think about. but I only saw half the activity because we had a miracle last minute baptism here and I went to fill the font (that last baptism took 5 hours to fill) and after an hour and a half I went back to check on it and I flooded the church, pretty bad... ha-ha.  I started the font at 12, checked at 130 and I flooded the church. Got to slip and slide down the halls though...
So from what I saw of the activity it started with a devotional from president, then we played sharks and minnows and that was crazy! Then we played a game with the zones where we had to make a human tunnel each person and the zone would run under us, then us under the zone, it’s hard to explain but easy to show. Then we played soccer, football, ultimate Frisbee, or volleyball until 1 when lunch was.
I missed the rest because of the flooded church but that’s what I have about the activity, it was really great from what I saw.


So, Saturday we baptized Mauricio and Victoria in Tijeras (the other really small town we work in) and that was amazing! Elder Pliler came down and baptized Mauricio and I baptized Victoria, it was such an awesome baptism and the branch was all there, all 27 members, and we had a huge party afterwards.

We also had a surprise baptism yesterday that was never in a million years going to happen but we had miracle after miracle happen and we moved his fecha from the 19th or November to the 31st of October. So many miracles this week, it was ridiculous.

It’s so weird, Elder Gibbs and Elder Elder go home in 3 weeks... that is so crazy.  I’m not going to have anyone after Elder Jackson goes home. And Elder Gibbs is getting married in April, that’s so weird.

So we are going to have an Apostle come and visit our mission next week, I don’t know if I am allowed to say when for security reasons, but I do know which one is coming, should be really cool to talk to one face to face and all. We aren’t allowed to get autographs or photos I don’t think so I’ll just have to tell you about it afterwards.

So the heat is really getting bad, I have been getting pretty sick from all the direct sunlight and it’s kind of annoying because I have no energy and I am like not burned because I use sunscreen but it’s just taking everything out of me.

Well that’s what I have for this week sorry that I couldn’t send anything to you all yesterday we just had no time with the baptism and the activity and everything but yes that’s why I’m here now. Miss you all so so so much! But hey, less than a year!!!

Elder Kyle Allen