January 2, 2012

I loved our Christmas call.  It was so great to talk with you. 

The big news -- whelp it’s that time to leave Renaico, so I am off to Lota, yes the city I’ve already been in. I will be in the same branch as I was and able to see all my old converts but I am in a different sector, Lota alto not Lota medina, and will live in a different house.
I don’t have huge amounts of time because I need to say good bye to lots of people and still finish packing but it was really great to hear that I’m off to Lota, I love that city so much, it was my favorite sector and I’m close enough to Concepcion we are allowed to go on p-days.

Goodbye Renaico

All by myself on New Year's Eve

Well I’m sorry I don’t have much to say but yah, enjoy your week!We had interviews with the President this past week and that was great, I’ve grown a lot closer with him lately, not like the instant connection with the Swenson’s but it’s getting there for sure.
I got your package with the card, thank you so much, it’s very needed and helpful.
I had to say goodbye to Elder Myer which was really really hard. He said he wants to visit for my birthday and has our home address, I’ll try to give the home number as well.
Elder Jackson leaves at the end of this new cambio so that will be really hard as well, but hey luckily all my very close friends are from the states so I can visit them again. Mom, if Elder Myer calls you need to make a pie for him, I talked up your pies because I miss them so so so much, and I can’t be a liar, ha-ha
I have to do my 2nd visa and carnet this coming p-day I think, so I don’t know when ill be on the internet but if I’m not on like normal that is why. 
Packing is so hard, I hate doing it as well, it’s so annoying because you don’t think you gained a lot of stuff over the few months in the sector, then you realize that packing gets harder and harder and you have gotten a lot more stuff. It’s crazy and annoying at the same time if you get what I’m saying.

Love Elder Kyle Allen

December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas -- Love Elder Kyle Allen

December 19, 2011

I am having problems with my email today.  Don’t know what is  going on.  I have written the family letter twice only to have an error while I was writing. 

Hey mom – just in case you are wondering, here are some people I wouldn’t mind if they accidently joined Christmas call: Erik Hayden Cory Kevin

This week I’m going to Temuco, huge city, has a "Mapúche market" which is where I would get Christmas presents and gifts for people, things awesome from Chile sort of thing, not sure if I’ll ever go there again,  I am going to buy things, at least Christmas stuff, I think.

I’m not buying any Mate’ till I leave because I don’t want it to go bad. I want to look for hand carved things, and satchel bags, and a giant metal picture of horses running for grandpa. – ha ha just kidding. 

I’ve never been to this Mapuche market before so I have no idea what they have or what they don’t have, I just know it’s the biggest in Chile.  Can’t wait to see what is will be like. 

I have to go, love you talk to you on Sunday!!!

Love Elder Kyle Allen

December 12, 2011

Well there is still no word on the cambios so I think I’m safe until after New Years, don’t quote me on that because President is crazy with cambios but I think I’m staying here for at least until New Years.

This week the assistants came down to our zone and brought some of our packages, I only received 2 of them though, one with the rain jacket (which I’m very happy to have thank you so very much) and the package with all the sun stuff and the sticker of Trevor’s watch, thanks for that one Trevor, ha-ha. I hear there is another package, I didn’t receive it, at least yet, but I will receive it before Christmas because we have a mission conference on the 21st of December, when I hit a year in Chile, crazy huh?

So I heard from Elder Elder and Elder Gibbs, and they both have made out and are loving it, hate them! Ha-ha no just joking, they miss Chile and want to come back, with some of the liberties that they have now, ha-ha.

I made a DVD with all the Mormon messages. All 48 I could find in Spanish. Oh my gosh that is the most amazing thing in the world, I’m serious. Those messages are like 2-3minutes and are crazy powerful, we always use one in a lesson and they work amazingly! It’s taken me a very long time to do it all and all that but its finally done and I’m soooo happy.

So we are working out something with our branch president to try to get the Christmas call in the church because we hear the internet in the church is better and we can actually have some peace if you know what I mean. The only problem is that there is only one computer in the church and there is only one password to connect to the church internet. The branch president said that we could use his laptop if we could get a hold of another password. That’s very hard to do, so we are talking to all the people in charge and all that stuff. We actually might have a mutual friend from Lebu that can get us a password so we hope that all that works out. One person can be in the bishop’s office and the other in the secretary room and we can have our talk in peace without other people nagging us. Plus we don’t have to worry about when people open on Christmas or anything like that. It’s still a rough draft but we are working.

Now questions from mom

1. What is your house like?
well its one of the nicest houses in the mission, we have a big room a kitchen, all that jazz
2. What type of appliances are in your apartment?
We have a microwave!!! That’s pretty awesome, and a stove and an oven
3. How many bedrooms? 1 bedroom 1 Bathroom a Fridge? With dead flowers in the yard.

4.  Have you still been picking cherries?  Eating lots of cherries.  Do you still have cherry stains on your shirts?  Yes I have, ha-ha, I have eaten a lot as well. They are very very tasty right off the tree, and hey, a reason to climb a tree is always worth it. I have a lot of stains on a lot of shirts, so yah, that’s my problem now, ha-ha

5. Do you still have someone to wash your clothes? Yes every week we have someone wash our clothes, this is only my second sector that I have had that ability just so you know

6. What do you eat? Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Breakfast we don’t normally eat, lunch in Renaico is a lot more of rice and chicken which I’m thrilled with. Dinner, there is no such thing as dinner in Chile. There is (once) which is like a thing of bread and a hot drink like echo at night

7. How is the clothing holding up?  Do you need me to send you more shirts?  Socks?  Ties?  

I have little socks and my shirts are all pretty much stained but I think I’m ok, I don’t know if you really want to send any clothing to me.
So Erik comes home tomorrow? dang that is so crazy to think about, I remember being in my college dorm room when he opened his call, man that was really 2 years ago... dang

So we are planning on where we will be spending our Christmas and New Year’s already, I don’t want those days to feel sad for me, so we are trying to plan it all now so that we don’t have to have any down time to think about anything else, and we are planning on spending time with a great family after our call so we can ease back into the work, last year was very hard for me and I don’t want a repeat if possible.

Well I love you all so so so much, stay safe!
Elder Kyle Allen

December 5, 2011

We had no idea that the Christmas devotional was this last weekend! So we didn’t watch it, it was so sad when I got on the email and saw that it was on, so we are trying to download it to listen to during our studies this week. I’m really upset I missed that, because that’s my favorite! It’s just an hour, the music is awesome and the 3 talks are so powerful. Sad moment.

So the people in Tijeral sell cherries this time of the season in Angol, because Tijeral is "campo" and there are a million cherry trees there and Angol has nothing. So we have been going to Tijeral a lot to help them pick cherries to sell. I have gotten a lot of cherry spots on my white shirts which is very very upsetting for me for sure, but it’s so much fun to be way up there in the trees. I can see cities far away from up there and its relaxing, wish I could just go there alone sometimes.

We also found a new family in Tijeral and they want to be baptized, there are 4 in the family so we are very happy. We helped them pick cherries and that’s how we got in, so it was worth all the marks on my shirts. The mom is not currently with the husband, they are fighting so we will find out what happens, but its 3 kids. The moms name is Nieves (snow in Spanish) and we put a fecha for the 24th of December, so with any luck I will have the most white Christmas possible, a baptism with snow, in the summer of Chile.

I’m still not sure about the special transfers this cambio, I think that they are next week, but I can’t remember. but I’m really torn, President pretty much told me if I wanted to go I totally can, so he has had ideas about moving me, but I’ve never said anything to him, because I want to stay here for a family that lives here in Renaico. I baptized the daughter Nicole, and the mom and father want to be baptized, but the father isn’t the true father, and needs to get divorced so that they can marry and be baptized. And I want to be here for that because I have done more (missionary wise) for them than anyone else has. All the elders that pass through here put a fecha with Nicole but I finally got her baptized, so I have a confidence with the family that no one else has had. And everyone has tried to get them divorced and married and I actually am super close to doing that so I want to stay here until they are separated and married. plus I love the branch president here, he is my favorite, but on the other hand,  I’m also kind of done being here because I’ve contacted every house here, so I’m kind of, well I bet you can imagine.

The saddest thing is when your converts stop going to church, I know that dad and Andrew can relate to that feeling on the mission, but it feels even worse if they stop going while you are still in the sector, and then everyone looks at you weird like it’s your fault and that you aren’t doing your job correctly. It gets really hard and stressful and really emotionally draining because you’re looked at differently.

So we are planning on doing more family home evening activities here like I had in Lota because the branch was a lot more together there and I think that is what this branch lacks. It's hard though because no one can decide on a date and hour and we are not in Renaico every day, we are in Tijeral Tuesday and Friday so it’s hard for us to plan it because people get mad at us for not always being, ha-ha oh the drama.

My companion is going to a district leader meeting in Los Angeles this Tuesday so I will be with another district leader’s companion; he is a new guy and only has a few weeks in the mission. So I will get to know what it feels like to train someone it looks like because he is from the states as well, so I’ll be the Spanish guy for the first time in my mission.

Its really nice having Elder Palmer and Elder Lundgren in my zone, the zone meeting are so much more fun and I like just talking to them like the MTC. The people from the MTC were amazing but the actual experience stunk, ha-ha. So I know exactly what Keegan feels like.

So I hear that grandpa and grandma are taking a tour of the book of Mormon sites? I thought they were all unknown? Huh well all I know is that I’m here in Chile if they feel like swinging down a little more south, and they can experience summer here and get away from the Oregon winter and all.

Well I love and miss you all so much, I can’t wait to talk to you all on Christmas and finally see you all again. I honestly can’t wait until then

Elder Kyle Allen