12/13/2010- Hot Weather and Christmas Phone call!

Hi dee ho! Im doing just fine. surviving the heat, its hot but it seems like it went a few nothces down from insanity recently, not sure what happened. earthquakes throwing the world into all kinds of crazy weather. i can not believe that shaun is leaving on a mission, that seriously makes no sense in my brain. i happy for him though. him and his dad will have fun chattin. thats cool taylors almost back. as for the christmas call, we can do it anywhere between the 25th and 27th, we are still trying to figure out where we are going to do it, but i will see if we can do it christmas morning at that time, because that would already be the afternoon here. i should have the details next week. and our christmas eve party is going to be awesome, me and elder mathews and another elder have a part with our guitars, there is going to be a big devotional in the afternoon with a bunch of musical parts and stuff. so we need to practice, pretty neat eh. should have some good pictures and video. thats cool you got to meet sister hugo. even though i dont know her. they do have a pretty crazy story with her mission and all. we heard it here alot. work is going good. we are kicking but, talking to everyone here in san francisco. there are some really great people and here. im truly trying to cherish each day but time just flies like crazy, i havent been able to keep up with my journal for a month now. its a big bummer, but seriously it feels like there is no time. but excited for this time, lots of miracles happen, when everyone is focused on christ. i hope you all have a great week.
love
Elder roosendaal

12/6/2010- Starting to look like Christmas!

Hey guys, all is well. elder mathews is doing better. im doing good. all the new people are great. Elder layer is the new guy in our house. from arizona he is very chill. Reminds me a lot of steve. Im not district leader this change. we are starting to get back on the upswing on the work side. we have really great investigadors but with many many challenges. We are slowly working with them all and it is well. and what a blessing that you were able to keep your job, i know that the lord has blessed us all abundantly in this time. and i know that there is much more to come. are house is slowly getting christmased out. we have a little tree. a big christmas banner with photos of christ , my stocking from last year and my ornaments of my friends and family are on the tree. even though its 90 degrees outside. its starting to look a bit like christmas. all is well, the work of the lord can never be frustrated, only that of men. Love you all take care!

Thanksgiving 11/29/2010

wow sis, sounds awesome, happy thanksgivin to you. man you guys are getting hooked up with the goods. man im starting to show why am i not gettin hooked up, ha. jk. but seriously, new years resolution, get ripped for the return. ha. im so happy for you guys it sounds like you are having a lot of fun. especially that the u owned byu , great news. it was a very diferent thanks giving here on the mish, in chile, all the holidays kind of blend together here. but we do what we can to enjoy them, but this christmas is going to be great, rented out soccer stadium with tennis courts basket ball, everything, bbq. yeah. its actually on christmas eve i believe. i really hope you get to go to new york. it is an awesome place, i loved it, and would love to return, i dont know why it has such an affect on me but it always has. but i hope all goes well for you guys as christmas sneaks on in. have a great week.

11/15/2010 Christmas coming up?

Hey no worries, its a bummer there sick, its crazy to imagine a snow packed yard right now. thanks for searching the priesthood line, its wierd how fast christmas is coming up. should be a pretty sweet one here. elder Carlos Amado from the area presidency is coming the 16 17 and 18 to tour our mission. and for the 25th, the mission is renting out a soccer stadium to play games and get everyone together (i think that is). so should be interesting as we get more details. sadly this week has been very little in progression. We had to go to santiago to check on the numb part on elder mathews leg, then he ended up having a very bad panic attack on our way back. and he has been going through waves of them all week, so we have been in santiago and our house, everyday. but luckily i got to do some splits with the other elders in our house to get out and work and check on our investigadors, but very little. So continue praying for him as he fights his way through this. Elder Wade and Davis had 3 baptisms this week end. a teenage girl named katy, and this awesome couple named juan and patricia. they are amazing people. their baptisms went really well. and next week is changes, i imagine i will be with elder mathews a change longer till he stables out a bit, but normally it would be my time to go. i got the package! thank you , everything i wanted it to be! the microfiber towell is awesome, so missionary friendly. the photos were neat, moms hair looks really good. plenty of red vines to keep us happy. but thats pretty much all that has really happened, we got zone conference tommorow. always fun, and yeah doing very well. i hope you all get better and have a good week.

con cariño

elder roosendaal

chao

11/1/2010 Buin Zoo

Hey guys! thanks. im doing great. and sounds like summer is officially wound down. it is soooo warm here. thats awesome you got to take a spin in "elenore" dad. as for our entertainment. we just went to buin zoo today. a pretty much once in a lifetime experience for missionaries, it was pretty cool, i only sent you guys a few pics. it was nice to see some crazy wildlife up close. we had a pretty interesting week. cool halloween yesterday, a surpising amount of people out and about, lots of funny little kids, and always some punks. my poor comp Elder Mathews got bit by a Dog, it got him pretty good, we are going to have to go in soon and get a rabis shot just to be safe. we were just walking in ths street and it came out of nowhere. poor kid. but he is doing well. still waiting for the meds to take full affect. that would be way cool mom if you became a temple worker. but it does sound like dad is having a great time in the bishopric. the work here is going well, with great advances, we had an awesome lesson with the young couple jose y barbara and they decided that they wanted to pray and ask god and that same moment, so we all kneeled down and jose offered the prayer, it was amazing, we all just sat there after he finished. then barbara looked over at jose and just stared. the spìrit was incredible strong. they said they felt it, but jose is having a hard time excepting that his whole life in the evangelical church, wasnt the true church. which obviously is a hard pill to swallow. but we explained from alma 32 about faith and continuing to see if these things are true. it was truly amazing. seriously mission work is so crucial. if every member in the church had been a missionary at one point the church would grow at an unbelieveble rate. because you understand how it works , what role each person plays, and how every member truly is a missionary. i just cant believe i never left with the missionaries to help them in a lesson, except with grammy at our house. members are the most important part of the convertion, they are the key to missionary work success. sadly her in our ward we have about 20 active members. so we really have to work them. so really, keep your eyes open always,. always be ready to give a reference to the missionaries, after getting to know the missionaries ofcourse. but remember that your friendship with the people is a huge part. that is so true about service, thanks mom for sharing that. we are encouraged to have a least one service project a week, we can have up to three, but obviously we can do little things here and there, but the big stuff usually always falls to the members, because random people arent always down for random help, especially from missionaries, cause they know its a double edged sword. ha. one of my favorite examples of service is in alma 17 and 18. when ammon offers his service to king lamoni, even as a missionary, ammon never began teaching until lamoni had the desire to know why he was so great, why he was such a wonderful servant. i hope that one day i too will have the oppurtunity to do that. but thank you for everything, im stoked on the next package. i hope all is well. take care

Elder Roosendaal

10/25/2010 One year burning of the shirt!

hey guys,

great week. im glad to hear all is well. blown away by the news from kara. sooo cool. we have been seeing lots of progression in the work, throughout the whole mission. lots of little changes here and there. this week i believe i will be burning one of my shirts. its crazy its almost been a year, im having lots of memories with the heat that has returned to this beautiful country. its cooks, foreal. and its just spring. . its been pretty fun working with my district , in the short time, i have learned quite a bit. sounds like you guys too are learning some cool stuff too. We are working with lots of investigadors, im really being able to tell the difference between the people who are truly prepared by Lord and who are not, even in the first moments of the contacts. thanks to the spirit. we are teaching some really great people. we are teaching this one guy who used to be a famous singer here in chile, you can look him up on youtube. him and his twin brother. Los Gemelos. pretty dope, really great guy. We are having a great time, getting to know the new elder more. oh and i forgot to tell you, there is this guy and my sector who is an amazing painter, he does photo realism paintings and they are really impressive, he said he would sell one to you guys for 2000 dollars, even though its worth far more. i told him, id let you know. so here it is, now you know. ha. doing well in health and all. talk to you guys nex week.

Elder roooosendale

10/11/2010 I'm a District Leader!

Hey guys, crazy week. sounds like a great trip to yellowstone. (microfiber bath towel size would be cool) the weather really is starting to warm up, i forgot how hot it gets here. lots of allergies cause everything is in bloom. yeah and about steve, i got a letter from him the other day about all thats been going on, im going to write him today if i can. we have been keeping really busy, the change is over, Sadly, Ramirez had to go, he got whitewashed again (sent to a sector with another elder who doesnt know the sector) just like how he started here, crazy, we are all pretty bummed. but all is well. now elder wade is here, from idaho, he has a little more time then me on the mission. im starting off this change as District Leader. pretty nifty, we had awesome meeting with the zone leaders and district leaders with the president the other day, we saw the dats of the missionl, goals we have and what they want us to focus on and change. im excited for the oppurtunity. the work is going along well, we have still been struggling staying in good contact with our investigadors, but we continue to find new people. we work with quite a few inactives, there are over 500 here in san francisco alone. crazy right. but we are still having great progress with people even though its just a little slow. Elder Mathews is doing well, slowly getting better, unfortunately he had a gnarly anxiety attack the other day, just like me, but im pretty sure his was worse, we went to the doctor again and he gave him some new meds to prevent it from happening again, just like me. its so crazy. it is so amazing how the lord molds us and prepares us for things. thats funny dad is on facebook, i figured he would have a long time ago, is he still playing xbox like a fiend? hope so, ha. someones got to keep that thing in shape. i have to admit i was happy about the news from steve too. he pretty much stopped a huge train wreck. do all you can to get that boy back on track. thats crazy kara is already starting to show. im excited to see if i will have a nephew or a niece, sobrino o sobrina.

i have been having a great time. i just want you guys to know that this work truly is of God, and there is absolutely no way that i could do it with the holy ghost. Please strive for his guidance every single day in every detail. The surprising thing is , is that we dont recieve a lot of revelation becuase we dont ask for it. as long as we are worthy for it. im so glad to be here and participate in the miracles of everyday mission life. i hope you all can truly count your blessings and see the miracles of each day, however small they may be.

Much love

take care

Elder Roosendaal

9/20/2010 Chilean Independence Day!

yeah, well. First off, it has been an awesome week, training is sooo much fun and not nearly as stressful as i thought it would be (like everyone says) Elder Mathews is a great utah boy. we are having a great time, except for the fact that his knee has been giving him some trouble lately, so if you could pray for him that would be great. we went to the doctor and he just told to take it a little easier and gave him some meds. but other then that , quite an interesting 18. lots of people, drunk cowboys on horses, way too many. cool music, dancing the cueka ( sorry no photos) but we had a sweet activity with 3 zones on saturday, lots of sports , lots of meat, and a movie, thomas s. monson. helicopters throwing confetti all over, because its the bicentenial. big deal, ha. empanadas, choripan, mote con huesillo, ahh yeah. chile. its made for the work to be a bit slow, but we stilll had a lot of success and great experiences. elder matthews speaks really well and is learning alot fast, he is confident and ready to jump out fro the start. un like me in the beginning. and today is my birthday. luckily im in an awesome house with some seriuosly awesome elder, picture included. we have way too much fun. almost everything is still closed, a miracle we found this internet place. but next week will be back to normal. our awesome neighbors bought me a birthday cake. pretty sweet, and delicous. its winding down but it has been good. thanks fpr the package! i got it a little bit early, he he. i loved the pictures! you all look so different, like mom and dad lost some weight for real, ryan looks different, crayzy awesome. but that is all i have time for this week. love you guys.

9/23/2010 New Companion from Logan, UT

Hey, im doing good, great week. My kid is awesome. HIs name is Elder Mathews from logan utah. it has been a very interesting work filled week. we have had some pretty cool experiences. we have a bunch of really good investigadors that we are working hard with, but we are having a hard time finding them. the weather started warming up really good, but it just got way cold again all of the sudden and rained yesterday for the first time in a month. we got pretty wet. ha. sounds like all of you guys had a pretty sweet weekend. we had a little party too here in the house. we had to go in early on the 11th becuase here people go do crazy rebeling stuff like shooting guns and riots in memory of one of the dictators of chile. so we hung out played some phase ten and baked some chocolate chip cookies, it was pretty sweet. all of the elders really get along and they each have some thing to offer, which makes for a pretty fun living environment. it has been great to see how much the lord has molded me, since i have put everything into his hands. we are all having a great time. the 18th , chilean independence day, is coming up and it should be pretty sweet, because its also the bicetennial. we are probably going to a members house to party. which reminds me, our p day is changing to this saturday instead of monday for the holiday. so if your going to write, write friday. becuase we most likely will do internet in the morning. so we can party. but we are having a conference the 21st so i should get my package then, i hope. i love you guys, i will let you know whats up saturday. ha

9/6/2010 Training a Greenie soon!

Hi dee ho! Well, ive got some news, im not going anywhere for now, but, im going to have son. yeah, in the mission. Im training a newbie, as of tomorrow, when he gets to chile. i told you i knew something was up! Dont know who he is yet but there are 15 other trainers. We are all stoked. 2 elders got here this morning, so there will be four in the house now. we are splitting the sector in 2. Elder Davis and Elder Ramirez, both from the states, cool guys, this will be a very interesting change lots of stuff going on. So your prayers are always welcome. Im still doing great, we have found a ton of great people, we just need to make some miracles happen. Elder Arrua left to Rancagua this morning. We had a great last week and a solid change. There really is a ton of potential here, especially with some greeny fire. im glad you guys are taking advantage of the bikes and the good weather, sounds like all is well. Im glad to here grammy is still progressing well except for the whole balance thing. Thank you for everything, more updates next week, this month is going to fly and so will the next, 1 year. yah. well have a good week stay well.

Love,

Elder Roosendaal

8/30/2010- Sorry guys not much to post lately!

Hello. I did get the package you sent. it was awesome. still have some cereal left. thank you and grammy for it all. as you can see from one of my photos, the cholula was put to good work this past saturday during our porrotada (where lots of beans are eaten) ha. the picture is of our branch president here in san fran. the other picture is of me and elder torres (from concepcion) we had divisions this week and it was awesome, the horse is in rancagua. and then there is the video of elder arrua, working out in the morning (yes, this is what missionarys do every morning) ha , but we are going to start running outside because its warming up and there is a sweet trail along the river by our house. but yeah, everything continues to go great.

my sector is quiet but its not pure country as it may seem, it has a little bit of everything, but i love it. we have found some awesome people this week and my view on doing contacts has changed completely. i seriously love it, i feel like i can really express my self with the people, teaching, and learning. its great. sadly as we have found really great people, really prepared people, we have an awesome lesson , but then after that, we can find them again. but its only been a few days but thats a long time when satan is doing everything to work against us, you really wouldnt believe the stuff that happens sometimes with the investigators that we teach. but the work continues well.

kara told me about the trip to powell, and how she was the only girl. thats a bummer that you took a ski to the face. you just need to take care of yourselves for a year longer. just so you know i already reached 10 months, this past saturday. 11 months sept 28 1 year october 28. yeah its crazy. and this change is already over here. next monday begins the new one. we should continue the same, but some thing tells me some weird stuff is on the horizon. not sure.

mom dad, family, once again thank you for everything, your prayers have been heard and answered, thank you.

time is flying everything is changing. and im so grateful to be here and to have you guys as my family.

much love

chase

7/26/2010 New Companion

Okay, good week, we had our first interviews with the president and they were great. He is way awesome. Im am officially out of los carolinos. and yes i was ready for the change. I am writing you this in Rancagua but my new sector is in San Francisco. its in the south, out of santiago. Theres alot of country but still a bit urban. Our house is the nicest in the whole mission, i will make a video next week i think. its pretty crazy how fast this all happens. my new comp is elder arrua. he seems like an awesome guy and i have heard a lot of good things. hes 25 years old. from paraguay and he is the only member in his family of 12.

I believe this will be an awesome change. and since we are in rancagua we passed by the mission office and found the package you sent me, apparently its been there for some time they just missed it. lame, ha but all is well. im going to need it because it is a lot colder down here. i have it today. its crazy how much more spaced out the sectors are down here, we have to travel 45 minutes every wednesday to go to district meeting. a lot different then in santiago.

i got to say good bye to some sweet families in los carolinos. Familia Valenzuela with the mom in red. The familia zamorano photo with the 3 vases. and isabel and carolina. it was a great sunday. me and elder hernandez gave talks. i talked on geneology and hernandez on prayer. it went well, being that we were advised 2 days before.. no i just have to get used to the work down here, find the groove. i believe were going to do a lot of good. that is all for now. thanks for the news and the support. i look forward to hearing from you and to tell you a bit more about this sector. love you guys.

Elder Roosendaal

president is from orem. all of his kids have sirved mission (like 10) except one of his daughters who got married just before going. ha. i dont need vitamins yet. not sick, something is weird with my leg though. and they are going to start teaching us the new form of teaching during work shops every few weeks.as for a next package. reeses puffs the cereal. sourpatch kids. 1 bottle of chalula. and thats all i can think of for now. i know there was something else

7/5/2010 New Misson President

Heylo,

Things have calmed down a lot, so no worries. We had the conference with the new Prez and it was pretty sweet, all the north was there again. no package. yet. and the bummer is the president is changing the zone conferences to quarterly instead of ever six weeks. so i could not recieve the warm sweaters until winter is almost over. sweet huh? ha. i hope not, it just depends. The president is a good guy, really goofy. He reminded me alot of dad, but more goofy. yeah. it was kind of strange because Resek had such a unique style, but we all love him and we know he is going to be great. He´s also changing our way of teaching, literally the week before he arrived he met with some of the apostles in a meeting for newly called mission presidents. They taught about the new way of teaching and how they want to put it into affect, now. its interesting, and it will be good, because its inspired.

That is so awesome that you go the temple each week. it just allows you to arm yourself with the power of god each week, to give the Angels charge over you. Your lucky. No, i havent been able to go to the temple since the mtc. i have walked outside of it, ha. but we cant go unless we have permission, and only when and investigador invites us to participate in a sealing or endowment. i hope that towards the end of my mission one of my converts reaches that point. its rained here a bit but not as much as usual people are telling me, but that is good, its not fun to work in the rain. but when it does rain the streets are rivers, the draining systems here are very poor.

yes im using the thermals, but not much because it takes a long time to wash and DRy them, mainly dry. good to hear REal is killing it. i cant believe the 3rd twilight movie is already out, they will all be done before i get back. the work is slowly progressing, we have to kill it this week. i have 3 weeks left here, according to the standard, cant say for sure. but take care mom! family and friends

6/14/2010 "Changes.. there are none!"

CHANGES! ...... there are none! ha. Me and Elder Hernandez have another 6 weeks together. apparently we havent had our "success story" yet so the lord has given us some more time to make it happen, so stay posted! it really is good. because i know we both still have a lot to learn from eachother, i really couldnt imagine us leaving at the point we are at. We still have our struggles, and ofcourse, the moments of awesomeness. moments, ha. i dont know why you look forward to my emails, i write basically nothing in them, im trying to get better at that but the time seems so fast and i dont remember everything that happened in the week, but thankfully i have my journal to recount everything one day. This week has been pretty slow, we found this sweet old guy named Ricardo, not too old, 60 something. he was way receptive and already understood the importance of the restauracion before we taught it, it was sweet. we still continue with sara, ivon and aileen. but its been hard to find them not busy. me and elder hernandez are really starting to notice the importance of obedience. its amazing how much the lord has everything planned out perfectly, if we just follow the plan, he is a god of order.

its crazy the people we run into, members investigadors, appointments, and the appointments we miss because we are behind. everything depends of time, and exactness. and its that exactness that opens up a whole new world of oppurtinities, i know that if we continue as we are we are going to have a lot of success. gracias for buying me the hoodies, i anxiously await them. i will like them if they are warm. ha. it seems like the weather is weird in the all parts. normally here it should be raining more but we have had it good. just cold.

El Fin se acerca ya. and just so you know the people here go crazy for soccer. With the world cup and everything. nuts. the schools are basically focusing on it so the kids can get some patriotism going for Chile. and the game with honduras this wednesday starts at 7 in the morning. ha. lots of skip worked, schools watching the game, and riot if chile loses. so pray for there success. but sounds like a sweet trip to powell, and those powell updates will get pretty old as it gets colder here. that is nuts that you guys celebrated you 30th anniversary. thats so cool. good to hear landon shipped out, off to enjoy the fruits of the mtc. great time. and wow 8 months is close. believe me im trying to treasure it, but its so fast. its maddening. but yeah thats it for now, i love you all. thank you for everything, your prayers are not in vain, believe me.

chaito
Elder Van Roosendaal
para que sepa
(my next plaque with have the "Van")

6/7/2010 "shoot first and ask questions later"

Thats a bummer that the water wasnt too good in powell. good to hear landon is getting ready to ship out. its crazy to think a year ago at this time i was getting my papers ready to go. crazy how time flys. and im so glad to hear that Canaan passed by. I was wondering what was taking him so long, he has a lot to catch up on. im glad you guys enjoyed that copper picture. i thought it was pretty cool and i knew that it was where you were sealed. I knew you guys would like canaan, hes a solid dude. its so wierd to imagine him back home talking with you guys in the living room. im also glad he was able to talk me up to you guys. ha. we really had an awesome time together.

as for me and elder hernandez, its been slow, but we are growing closer everyday. and YES, i have been leading this change. ive really learned how to "shoot first and ask questions later" like dad would say. but obviously with the guidance of the spirit. ha. its been interesting, extremely challenging, frustrating. but i have learned a lot. he has really helped me change my view on the work. how to really let all of you desires, decisions be swallowed up by the will of the Lord. its hard. but im learning. and its been great.

this week we found a pretty cool family. a little over a month ago the dad past away in the family. the mom is in her 40´s and her name is Ivon. we had a great lesson about the plan of salvacion, but unfortunatly not all her family was there. i will keep you posted on there progress. but we shall continue here, finishing off the change strong. dont stress on sending me so many packages, i dont want to get accustomed to recieving so many then the second year getting none. it happens a lot i hear. ha. but the only thing i would ask is for a thick non zipper hoody, to sleep in and do service. i have been looking for one here but there all thin. i need something with some beef. but if its too expensive to send, i can still search here, those types of hoodies should be going on sell by now back home. but i doubt the Sale and Shipping cost balances out, ha. but thats all for this week, thank you for your prayers and for your love, i will be talking to you next week, starting a new change! am i going? am i staying? elder hernandez? we both had the feeling the other day that he is going to train a noob. he would be an awesome trainer. but anyways until then. Love, elder roosendaal.

5/27/2010- luxury of fast food!

Hey, Im doing good. Things are fine with my companion. He is super obedient and it has helped us a lot, but the problem we have is lack of unity and friendship. We just work together. but actually this week it has gotten alot better. We are really turning around how we are working with the members and everything. and YES i got the package, and it is awesome! thank you. the candy, random toys, and the ties were sweet. ties really are a treasure in the mission. im wearing one of the ones you sent right now. the photos were way awesome, looked like you guys had it way good. thank you for printing those talks too. it really was awesome. this week, we had an awesome zone conference, the last one with president resek before his good bye conference. crazy. we watch a movie called "the butterfly circus" its amazing (amazing-from the point of view of a missionary), you can find it on youtube. its a little bizaare but it teaches a lot of really good principles.

i also got to see elder abbot for the first time since we got here, it was soo cool. we got to catch up a bit on everything that has happened in our time here. he is doing really good. Also this week i got to go to santiago because i need to get registered to get my carnett. it was crazy, the metro is so packed downtown that you have to squeeze you way onto the train and the doors barely close behind you, i was going to take a picture but i couldnt move, ha, nuts. we got to pass by the temple, and we ate at burger king, ohh the luxury of fast food. ha. we werent able to finish because the international police was closed, so we have to go back another day. it reminded me alot of new york, a lot of the buildiings and architecture is old school and really neat.

We have been slowly finding more people. We are teaching this catholic lady right now who is way cool. Her name is Sara and she is around 40 years old. She really likes reading the book of mormon. one thing i have learned from elder hernandez is how to really focus on the spirit in every moment throughout the day. focus on our thoughts and what we think we should do whether it is or isnt written in our planner, and its been amazing. we keep finding oppurtunities to teach and find people. it has been getting quite cold, the humidity is what sucks. you can be wearing lots of warm clothes but the cold still penetrates, we have been enjoying a little rain now and then. oh lake powell, i dont even want to talk about that. that is so sick uncle john bought a camaro, he cant go too long without having some new kind of powertoy. but crap, running out of time, its been a good week, in both parts of the world it seems. I love you all, stay well and pray always, love
EldeR

May 10, 2010

Hey, yeah that was pretty sweet yesterday. I knew it was going to be so fast and there were so many things i wanted to tell you but i just couldnt think straight, it was alot to take in. I am so happy that grammy got baptized, its fine you didnt tell me before, but crap, that was a lot for one moment. I cant believe how fast she progressed, but the whole deal is amazing. I cant believe that i will be going to the temple with her when i get back, NUTS! ha. it has definantly been a gnarly weekend for you guys. that will be awesome to have a copy of your talks. yeah my companion is a good guy. Its been a stressful week though becuase its my first time really having to lead the sector and my comp is not a very confident, jump to it guy, so ive been forced to do a lot, but its exactly what i need. here are some pictures of the baptism. Once again with freezing water and hectic preparation. But it always ends amazing.. I dont know if i told you, but rodolfo is going to be confirmed next sunday, recieve the priesthood, and later in the month he will go with the young men to do baptisms for the dead. So awesome. All of this within 2 months. Miracles everywhere. Enjoy!

5/4//2010

Hello! im doing great. we just got back from hiking the huge hill next to san bernardo, its called Cerro Chena, it was way awesome to get up there and a different view point. another interesting week.yesterday, we went back to el sembrador to see Cristopher and Alvaro get baptized, and when we got there i found out i was baptizing alvaro, nobody told me. so i had no extra clothes, but luckily they had an extra pair of paints. But the whole experience was amazing. Me and Elder Canaan sang a song together with the guitar and the spirit was so strong. The water in the font was freezing cause the gas wasnt working and it was like 40 degrees outside, ha. but it was awesome. my first time baptizing. the work here is still coming along slowly, and the cold is making things more dificult because everyone goes to bed early and they usually dont like to share outside there house. but we are still working hard, we have been organizing some big changes with working with the members with the bishop.

i have been learning a ton. we are still working with rodolfo and he is set to get baptized on the 9th, which is mothers day by the way, we will have to figure out how we will do that. but thats way cool you are working a lot more with family history, thats something i wish i did before the mission, i dont think i have ever done it once. you are so lucky you get to hear from president eyring, he is the man. thats good the missionaries are doing well and that grammy is still going. she just needs to be continually sorrounded by these things so she can get more comfortable. As for me and my teaching, its going well, i can understand 99% of what everyone says, i can say basically what i want, but speaking is still coming along. i can speak fine teaching the gospel, but when it goes to other topics i have a harder time. we have had much teaching experiences lately because we are not really teaching, contacts, and more contacts, visiting members and less actives. as for the package, im excited, surprise me, remember its getting cold here, ha. but pictures are always awesome, seriously the best part. and tell nic that i did get his emails and he must not of got my letter, but im sending him one next week. im glad you answered jordans questions, i really wanted to , i love questions, but i got her letter the day her project was due, so it was kind of late, but im still going through them when i have time. im glad mandy had a good birthday, im sure you guys went all out. its good to hear everyone is doing awesome. thanks for the heads up on the lineage, people are always asking where my name comes from. keep up on the good work.

we are having a great time out here. Seek for the spirit in all that you do, it sanctifies us and edifies us. I have been learning a lot about striving for the spirit lately in all things, you can have it all the time if you want it, it comes by reverence, love and respect, and it does not always depend on your environment, remember that even in the loud hectic world we live in, you can always have the spirit if you are focused. I love you all, keep it real and keep having fun.

4/26/2010

Hello! im doing great. we just got back from hiking the huge hill next to san bernardo, its called Cerro Chena, it was way awesome to get up there and a different view point. another interesting week.yesterday, we went back to el sembrador to see Cristopher and Alvaro get baptized, and when we got there i found out i was baptizing alvaro, nobody told me. so i had no extra clothes, but luckily they had an extra pair of paints. But the whole experience was amazing. Me and Elder Canaan sang a song together with the guitar and the spirit was so strong. The water in the font was freezing cause the gas wasnt working and it was like 40 degrees outside, ha. but it was awesome. my first time baptizing. the work here is still coming along slowly, and the cold is making things more dificult because everyone goes to bed early and they usually dont like to share outside there house. but we are still working hard, we have been organizing some big changes with working with the members with the bishop. i have been learning a ton. we are still working with rodolfo and he is set to get baptized on the 9th, which is mothers day by the way, we will have to figure out how we will do that. but thats way cool you are working a lot more with family history, thats something i wish i did before the mission, i dont think i have ever done it once. you are so lucky you get to hear from president eyring, he is the man. thats good the missionaries are doing well and that grammy is still going. she just needs to be continually sorrounded by these things so she can get more comfortable. As for me and my teaching, its going well, i can understand 99% of what everyone says, i can say basically what i want, but speaking is still coming along. i can speak fine teaching the gospel, but when it goes to other topics i have a harder time. we have had much teaching experiences lately because we are not really teaching, contacts, and more contacts, visiting members and less actives. as for the package, im excited, surprise me, remember its getting cold here, ha. but pictures are always awesome, seriously the best part. and tell nic that i did get his emails and he must not of got my letter, but im sending him one next week. im glad you answered jordans questions, i really wanted to , i love questions, but i got her letter the day her project was due, so it was kind of late, but im still going through them when i have time. im glad mandy had a good birthday, im sure you guys went all out. its good to hear everyone is doing awesome. thanks for the heads up on the lineage, people are always asking where my name comes from. keep up on the good work. we are having a great time out here. Seek for the spirit in all that you do, it sanctifies us and edifies us. I have been learning a lot about striving for the spirit lately in all things, you can have it all the time if you want it, it comes by reverence, love and respect, and it does not always depend on your environment, remember that even in the loud hectic world we live in, you can always have the spirit if you are focused. I love you all, keep it real and keep having fun.

hasta luego Chase

4/19/2010

Hello hello, Im doing goooood. We had a very sweet and eventfull week. Zone conference, interviews with the president, stake conference with one of the seventys and a sweet service project. We helped clean up the rubble from a house that got way messed up from the quake. and we found two mummified cats in the walls, it was nuts. We have been finding a lot more people this week even with our busy schedule. We are teaching a kid named rodolfo. Hes 14 and is way smart. His mom is less active and has never taught him anything about the church. But he is learning way fast and it all makes sense to him. He has prayed and he knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet, but his mom still wants him to learn more before we set a baptism date. They are all doing really great.

Im glad to hear grammy is still learning. I know exactly what she is going through, many people have the same problem. Its one of the biggest steps of being baptized. The step of Faith. You can know all these things to be true in your heart, but you still need to take that step to be baptized. Thats cool what happened with President laycock, its so true, the holy ghost is crucial. Our two biggest goals in this life are to obtain the holy ghost and then, maintain it. If you can do those two things you will always be learning and you will always know what to do to progress. It is the key to santifying us to return to live with God again. and your back at yard work again. ha. its starting to get pretty cold down here. I havent been keeping track of the temperature but we had our first rain friday and thunderstorm, it was crazy, i havent seen rain since the mtc and it was more snow.

that is crazy alex is leaving! if you could send me his address that would be awesome. the thing you should send is more sour patch kids, there is nothing sour down here, the people cant stand it, ha. i love you all, stay strong, pray always. until next week. Elder Roosendaal

4/12/2010

Fam,
Everything is going well. Things are continuing to pick up here. We have changed our focus to a completely different part of the sector and we are finding some more promising contacts. I have been learning a ton about patience, ha. We have done so many contacts these past few weeks its crazy. But we are keeping our heads up because we know we are doing the best we can. There really is no formula for success in the mission, we can only do the best we can and pray that the lord will bless us with the opportunity to have it. We are still having a good time though. That is nuts that nic got his appendix out. Im so glad that it all went okay. I really am next in line huh? oh well, we will see. its good to know that everyone is doing better or on the mend. Im so glad that the lesson went well with grammy and that she is progressing. The only advice i have to give is Love, which you are already doing. But make sure that she knows that base of all that she is doing is because of love, the love that our family can be together forever. but the missionaries know what to do, they are the ones who can recieve revelation to know what to do for her. Tell grammy that I Love her, and i am so happy that she is learning more about the gospel an how it can bless her life. Tell her that i wish i was there to help her along the path, and that this is the most important thing she could ever do in her life. This is the plan that God has prepared for us, and i know it with all my heart. I hope you can pray grammy and listen to your heart and i know you will feel an incredible feeling. That what the missionaries have shared is true.

I know it may be a bit scary but you have the support of everyone around you who loves you. Even me all the way down here in chile. i hope she knows that. but thats pretty much it for this week. just so you know i took some money out of my debit account, becuase i need to buy a sweater, and i tried to use my credit card but the pin that i thought it was didnt work, im not sure if i have it on that paper you sent me with it in the house, but i will check and if not i will need you to send it to me. I love you all, pray always!

Elder chase

3/29/2010

Hello, Ha i knew Mom and Dad would stay longer, they always have such a hard time leaving. It sounds like it was super awesome, whales, snorkeling, everything good in Maui. it has been an interesting week in the sector, our first lunch was awesome, ha, the family we were supposed to go to was not home, so we went to this restaurant close to our house. Which turns out to be an amazing steakhouse. i seriously thought i wouldnt have an amazing steak for 2 years, but we have a steak house litrally down the street from our house. Spoiled, ha, but we obviously will never eat there basically. But Elder Morgan is sweet, really nice. Really smart and he speaks really well. He is really going to help me with my accent and everything. I am a lot more involved in teaching and everything now since i am no longer in training, and its been great. Its really pushed me to use everything i have learned. The people are cool in this ward, but there is one family that is totally awesome. Familia Valenzuela, the mom is the coolest, she is super nice and very witty, not your usual chilean. ha. But we started off this week with zero investigadors because they baptized two last change and they dropped the other ones they had. So we spent this whole week knocking doors like crazy. We have had some good success though, We have enough appointments to keep us busy and to root out the real investigadors. as far as earthquakes? not sure, there is always something going on with the earth here, doesnt really matter anymore. ha. but this past sunday, i got to go back to El Sembrador and see Krishna Droguett get baptized, i gave a talk and me and Elder Canaan sang and played again. it was absolutely amazing. She was my first real investigador to get baptized and it was seriously so awesome. it was just what i needed to lift my spirits up and get me back to working hard. Alvaro told me he was going to get baptized soon, along with edwin. I know the parents will come around soon too. they just need to get married. hopefully they do it in the next few months because next year i could go to the temple with them and see them get sealed. but yeah, thats pretty much it for this week, im glad you are all having a good time, especially grammy. I love you all! more to come next week, i should take more fotos this week. (the picture of my new chapel, look closely at the steeple for aftermath of the quake, ha)

Chao!

3/15/2010 "Aftershocks"

Hola hola, All these aftershocks are nothing. the 7.2 was interesting, i was in the second floor of a very sketchy house. ha, but no problem. When it began, the lady we were with told us to save her tv and lay it on her bed. crazy right? im telling you, these people will die for their tvs. but were still back to work. We had a awesome family home evening with the droguetts this week, i included some pictures. we reviewed the basics, watched part of the apostles movie, and played some games. they are doing great and progressing solidly. its crazy to think this is our last week together. We actually had an interesting event the other night. we got a call from the assistants and they told us that elder canaan was going to the south, in the heart of the problems to be a Branch President. he was supposed to leave the next day. But since we have 5 baptisms for this sunday, he felt that he should stay a little longer to prepare them. the assistents talked to the president and it worked out. we still have till the end of the change together, but one of us is leaving. most likely me, but were not sure. its crazy to think about leaving all these people, im so accustomed here, but that usually means its time to move on and grow. we will see. There also was a complete blackout in santiago last night, we were out knocking doors when it happened, and we booked it back to ouir house. it was crazy to watch it go out grid by grid, but it was back on in an hour.

and holy crap your in hawaii, i mean, maui, as you are reading this. ah you lucky kids. leave your boy to slave in the streets of chile while your on some beach in maui. ha thats awesome though. i hope you guys have a great time. that really is good for grammy, she needs more of that stuff these days. thanks for all of you prayers and goodies you sent me. i got the power adapter, everything works perfect that you sent me. and thank you in advance for my retainer, and for telling my friends about my email. i love you all have a great trip.!
Elder Rosey

3/8/2010 Back to Normal!

Hello hello,
Everything is back to normal. We are back into our regular schedule, and we are still having a great time. We haven't done a single service project if you can believe it. We have gone around to tons of houses asking, but no one needs it. I have not really felt any of the aftershocks in a while, not sure if its because i am used to them or not. I really dont know if you understand how unaffected we were in our sector. There basically no damage. We still have access to food and water, our water was never cut from our house. and we have had power since the day after the quake, even though many didnt, we have been blessed incredibly. This really hasnt been the life changing crazy experience for me as you would imagine. It has definantly been way sad to hear about the people in the south, talking with the families here that have family and friends down there that they still have not been able to contact. Its a horrible situation. But we have been able to help out a lot. the people are not treating us any differently here, basically the same as always. I cant believe there is people that believe the U.S, started the quake? we havent heard anything about that. but all is still well, building up our steam again.

We have 5 baptisms set for the 21st. Cristopher finally got back from the south safe and sound, but we had to push his date forward obviously. Also, alvaro and krishna from the Droguett family will be on the 21st, we are way stoked, their whole family is still doing awesome and we know they will all come around. Gizelle is 14, she has been taught for over 4 months now, way before i got here, but she is solid now in her testimony, we have just been helping her stay pumped and reading in the book of mormon with her. Also, Angie, who is the daughter of a less active member. she is 18 and super nice, she has been an investigador for over a year now, we have been working with her for a while, but we are confident that she will be ready by the twenty first, its really been great, we have been bouncing back and forth between those i just mentioned, and less actives. The effects of the bishopric change are really starting to show, it has helped us out a ton. i finished the book of mormon this week and officially started reading it in spanish, and to not read it in english again until after the mission. it is way cool. i can understand 98% of it, but i am learning tons of great words each day. its crazy to see my progression.

we played baseball and went to san bernardo today. it was nice, we had Mcdonalds (of course) and took care of alot of errands, also i got my first haircut in Chile. it went well. Elder Canaan wasnt so stoked to get his hair cut by a gay guy, because he also payed to get his hair washed, not expecting it ot be a dude. funny stuff. on another note, i have sent letters to some of my friends and im not sure if they got them, it would be sweet if they could send me an email to let me know, like Scott, jordan and smitty. also in the next package you send, if you could put my retainer in there it would be sweet, there is no rush!, but just whenever the next package you make that would be sweet. so i dont come home as a hill billy. im glad to hear grandpa is still doing well, i hope i can see him when i get back. and i hope you all continue to stay strong and well. Dont worry about me, im in good hands, and the situation here is nothing crazy. i love ou all. have sweet week!

your Elder

Pictures!!

Earthquake aftermath! Got to love their sense of Humor!!

Chase and his companion eating pizza at there last Zone Conference

3/1/2010 "I'm totally fine!"

Hello Everyone! Im totally fine. Neither me or my companion got hurt. Our house took no damage that we could find and the only thing that fell over in our house was a cereal box and a photo. im not even joking. Me and Elder Canaan both woke up to the quake and immediatly began praying, than we ran out of the house. we only were awake for the last minute of it, we slept through the build up, ha. but we checked on the neighbors, everyone was fine. It was loud and quite intense, but our area suffered little to no damage. if you could be here right now you wouldnt have any idea we just went through an 8.8 earthquake.

i imagine the news is showing the worst of it in concepcion and santiago, and thats not where we are, thankfully. a few elders from my district are there though. we have been praying alot these past few days. we dont really know much more then you guys, we are kind of cut off from the world as you know. we have been told to remain in our house for the past few days, we had a short sacrament meeting sunday, the ward is really coming together to help, we got permission to check on a few of our investigadors, they were fine. but just today we had permision to go buy food and water. it was nuts all the markets are packed, but we have everything we need now. all the missionaries in our zone were not hurt. it was seriously a miracle. the chileans are doing fine, at least the ones we have talked to. as for me mentally, im fine, it was definantly intense and the aftershocks are a little unsettling, but im totally fine. we cleaned up the house really well yesterday, made some good food and played chess and guitar. not too mention i have almost read the whole book of mormon over., im in Either, ha. we have maintained our regular schedule but we are just in the house. we should be going back to work on wednesday.

plus i got both packages that you sent, they are totally awesome and perfect for a time like this. they had everything i did not even realize i was craving. the tape was awesome and the card reader is perfect. we had another great conference and week. we have another baptism date, Gizelle for the 21 of march. Familia droguett is still doing awesome, we havent heard from Cristpeher yet, his family was still on vacation when the quake hit. so it has slowed the work a bit, but we will pick it right back up. so no worries, we are in good hands. thank you all, much love!.

2/22/2010 Chase's last letter before the earthqake

Hello Everyone. Everything is going great, im in good health and still having a great time. We had a nice sabbath day too. We picked up familia Droguett again. They still dont really like going to the classes after the main meeting, but we still have a few tricks up our sleave. We just taught them the 10 commandments yesterday, it was great, and we ended with a round of foosball, which me and Elder Canaan dominated in. ha. They are a way chill family. We going to plan a family home evening with them for next week and get them going on with it regulurly. Its still been hot, but today was the nicest so far. Absolutely perfect all day. We are finally on the down slope i believe. Sounds like the ward is doing great with the changes. I imagine Brother williams is not too stoked, ha. Primary? God works in mysterious ways. We have had a great change here in our ward too. They are turning alot around for the better. We have a lot of great members. No baptisms yet, the 7th of March will be the big day. we hope all goes well. Your prayers are always welcome. We make a lot of contacts each week at least 120. But i will let you know about the ones that progress. There are a lot of crazy people here, ha. My spanish has been improving signicantly in the past two weeks. I can understand basically everyone now, and understand 90% of what they are saying. ha. Speaking is still coming, but i have gotten a lot more comfortable. My personality is starting to shine through a bit, which is nice, finally. Im glad my room is sitll in good use. it was such a sweet little sanctuary. i cant believe jordan swan is just getting back, it seems like he has been gone forever. And Landons call to England, ha that is so perfect for him, i would have loved to go there, but Chile is dope. and my sector has really started to grow on me. Time is flying for me. Me and elder Canaan cant believe it , it seriously seems like every day is sunday then pday. Especially for him because he has so little time left. but really, we are having too good of a time and working a lot. we have the balance, they call it "the chill" in the mission. and it is gooood. next change is in 3 more weeks. it will be interesting to see what happens, i shouildnt be changing sectors but Elder canaan might, they usually send the ones that leave to a different sector to die in their last change.

zone conference tommorow, its going to be awesome. and i will get the first package you sent. that is good work is going well and everyone is staying happy and healthy. Dad, im glad that kara and nic have been pushing you in the video games, keep it up and you might be able to beat me in two years. ha. im sure you are keeping my xbox in business, take care of her for me. that is awesome you guys went to canyons. i have always wanted to go there. ah man does snowboarding sound so amazing right now. keep it up! thanks for the sunday note. the cool thing is there are a bunch of talks on joseph smith on the ipod you sent me, its basically full of them, but they are way neat. There are so many things i never knew about his life. but yeah thats it for this week, having fun and working hard, trying to grow and soak it all in every second. all of the crazy ratty dogs, people yelling horrible english, it is all so great. my stomach is finally fully accustomed to the eating schedule and the food. they really do make some great stuff here. thank you for all of your support and love. The Church is True everyone, Jesus is the Christ and we can never forget what that really means. I love you all! keep it real.

So far all Missionaries are safe and accounted!

Hey everyone I found this in the Deseret News. All 9 mission presidents have checked in and said that all missionaires are safe and accounted for. Will keep you updated with any other news.


Here is the News Story:

SALT LAKE CITY — In the hours after a magnitude-8.8 earthquake rocked Chile early Saturday, killing more than 140 people and triggering tsunami warnings for the entire Pacific basin, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say all nine of the church's Chilean mission presidents have checked in and are reporting that all missionaries are safe and accounted for.

LDS missionaries in Mendoza and Salta, Argentina, also are safe and accounted for.

"We, along with the rest of the world, are watching with concern as reports from the massive earthquake in Chile continue to unfold," said LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter. "As with any disaster, immediate details are difficult to confirm."

Local LDS Church leaders in the Concepcion area have reported considerable damage to the city, but they are unaware of any deaths to Latter-day Saints and indicate that all chapels appear to be just fine.

No significant damage was reported to the Santiago Chile Temple, however the trumpet on the angel Moroni statue fell off, according to the report.

LDS priesthood leaders are continuing to try to assess the status of LDS Church missionaries, members and meetinghouses.

In addition, church officials is assessing an appropriate humanitarian response to the disaster. Relief efforts would include coordinating with government and other disaster relief organizations.

The LDS Missionary Training Center in Santiago was not damaged in the earthquake, Trotter added.

Earthquake

Hi Everyone,

We have just learned that at 3 a.m. last night in Chile an 8.8 earthquake hit outside of Conceipion. The worst in definitily in Conceipion but Santiago is not too far away. We have not heard from Chase but we will let everyone know as soon as he is allowed to call home. Please keep Chase in your prayers.

Thank you.

2/1/2010- "McDonalds was amazing!"

Hello! its been a great week. I have not been taking a lot of pictures because im scared to take my camera around, it really is not the safest area to do it. but i will find a balance. but yea i have to use elder canaans card reader to send the pictures. so if you could send me a sd usb card reader, that would be awesome, i did not get the package yet, i will have to wait till next zone conference to get it. but i did get some letters from some friends, we had an awesome zone conference. learned cool stuff, got a great welcome, we each got a whole pizza to ourselves, it was a great time. according to what i read about dad finding our location sounds right, there is a huge field north of our house. we do have a fridge in our house, and the barrel thing is mainly for our garments, its interesting but it works well. we just hang up the clothes to dry. we went to san bernardo today and sent some mail, it was nice to see a different side of santiago, it was a lot more alive and had some cool sights. also we went to the mcdonalds, it was absolutely amazing, haha. i will never forget it.

we wont change companions at least till the next two changes i think. we have one person committed to baptism, a family that is close, and some other people who are really close. its been awesome, we have been teaching a lot. weve been getting behind on contacts because we are constantly teaching. we had 12 investigators in sacrament meeting this past sunday, it was incredible. i also gave my first talk also, on Faith, it went really well. it is getting crazy hot here, i am actually baking in the sun as i type this. i am getting a lot more comfortable here, spanish is still coming well. im not too worried about it. we are working hard and i am learning so much about teaching, people, life. it is a lot different then i thought it would be out here. it always good to hear everyone is doing well.

i will let you know more about our investigators next week, we should be putting a lot more dates this week. stay well, and do all you can to keep the family strong. That is the biggest thing i have seen down here. We need to constantly strive to do all we can to build up eachother in the family, there are a lot of things that distract us from doing so. i love you all. have a good week.

1/18/2010 Latest Letter and pictures/videos!

Hello family! Im doing good. We have quite a few new investigators, i will tell you next week the ones who are progressing. Its been pretty rough work lately. a lot of people go on vacation this time of the year, mainly to the beach here. but it makes for long days of knocking doors (screaming Älo!) but its all good, we always have one good lesson a day which lifts us up. spanish is still coming. i can understand a lot better though. im starting to speak a bit more. but still a long way to go. ha. we have had an interesting week, lots of crazy people, and then some really great people. it is really great to see the contrast of the spirit, and attitude. its easy to get down after a long day of dead ends, but when we get into that one house and teach, it feels amazing, and makes it all worth it. still learning how to be more reliant of our savior. when our focus is not on him, everything only gets harder. its been great.

Living off cereal, bread and manjar. delicious. i had my first fried empenada today. had some other ones this week. they are awesome. thanks for sending a package, im excited for it. Please wish ryan a happy birthday for me. im glad it went well. oh man tacos would be so good. that is awesome grammy is doing better. that is crazy that dustin is back. dont worry about sending me physical letters, it really doesnt make sense. but possibly some point in my mission i will be near the rancagua post office and i can check it whenever. right now we cant even send mail without driving a ways let alone recieve it. we have a post office but its right across the street from out of our mission bounderies, ha, no permission to go. the best way to do physical letters is towards the end of each change, every 6 weeks, i will always send physical letters home like 18 days before a change, it takes about 8 days to get there and 8 days back. so if you send one towards the end of every change it works out. the problem is our zone conference changes each change, so confusing. i will try to let you know when we have them. next wednesday is zone conference. for this change. here is my adress by the way. Elder Chase Kyle Roosendaal - Misión Chile Rancagua - German Riesco 230 Ste. 703 - Clasificador 2-C Rancagua - Chile. The city im in is La pintana, just south of santiago, el sembrador.

thank you for the encouragement and testimony and prayers! they are always needed. i will continue to pray for all of you. I love you all very much. talk to you later. (crappy comp, i will try to send some pictures and a short vid in another email

1/4/2010 New Years in Chile!

Hello everybody. all is well. Weve been working hard this week. it has felt like a month, but its good. had the two baptisms this sunday. they were awesome. Maritza and macarana. maritza is 35 and lives alone, she has a son but social services took him away, she has been through a lot of trauma in her life. but she was glad to be baptized. macarana is 16 and she is way cool. she and her brother christopher are close, we hope he is on his way also. she was so happy to be baptized. both of their testimonies were amazing. its funny how i only knew them for a few days, but it was still cool to teach them and see how happy they were. i got a nice taste of the fruits of the labor. now i need to see how to get there. everything went well, had a few issues with the font but it worked out. it is crazy how much harder it is to solve problems down here. there are limited resources and time to boot. We need to be creative. ha.

new years was awesome, we had 2 elders from the sector next to us come spend the night. we had a way good time. we bought a bunch of food and made some sweet shiska bobs. roasted some crappy chilean marshmallows and played and sang with guitar, pots and pans. We played some card games and then watched the restauration, in spanish. it was fun to bring in the new year here, very interesting. i have got to teach quite a few times, we have met a lot of new investigators. our sector is packed with people. we have appointments all the time.

Elder canaan is awesome. we are really getting along. we have a lot in common. he loves the same music and movies, plays guitar. it is fun. he has taught me a lot about teaching and contacting the people here, and of course spanish. it is so awesome to teach people, becuase its the only time i can really converse with them. Spanish is still well, people can understand me, i can understand part of what they are saying. they really speak so fast and broken up with the vos. its hard to seperate. im slowly building my ears up for it. it gets pretty hot but its not unbarable. the bebida expresses are life savers. so good. so is the bread. they eat so many tomatos! guacamole is fine. the chorizo is really good. all the lunches we have had so far have been really good, very simple, but very good. monday is our p day by the way. We finally bought some food for our house today. its a beautiful thing. raggae tone is everywhere and totally ridiculous. concrete/dirt soccer fields are everywhere, its painful, it would be fun to play. i believe we will for our next zone activity. our zone is really great. they are all way nice and good missionaries. we are keeping it real and working hard. i love you all, i miss you, its alot different being halfway across the world from you instead of an hours drive. ha. well. we shall continue working, dealing with drunk people, trying to stay safe. i could use a transformer or whatever to plug in american plugs, they are hard to find here. and any american food is welcome ha.

im taping some things and taking pictures. i will try to send some today. i dont know my mailing address right now, but we only get letters every 6 weeks anyways. yeah lame. so email is sweet. thank you for taking care of everything, im glad everyone is doing good. thats it for this week. the usb ports on this comp dont work. i might be able to send pictures on another one. well okay, talk to you next week. cuidase, chao

12/30/2009 Estoy en Chile!!!

cannot even explain how crazy this is. The flight was decent, got some sleep. it is much more overwhelming then i thought, but all is WEll! my companions name is Elder Canaan. he is great, been here 20 months. he is from draper. small world as always. the mission has finally hit me. the mtc has nothing on this. quick note, my facebook needs to be closed down, our mission president demanded it. kara should know what to do, yeah even though that im not using, he still does not want us to have one. but yeah. we have a house to ourselve. pretty small. i live in one of the ghettoist parts of santiago for my first area Sembrador.

We met at the presidents house today, had chilean lunch chorizos avocado tomatos, got a nap, had interviews, took it easy, and found out our trainers. WE had to go to rancagua to get to his house, then we had to travel back up to santiago to get to our area. i love you all, im doing fine, just need to wake up and get settled. i cant believe im really here. dogs everywhere. i understand little spanish. we met with one of Elder Canaans investigators tonight, she is planning to be baptized on sunday. Should be neat, the chapel is one of the nicest buildings around here. still small. but yeah, i dont even know what to say right now, my district got split up all over rancagua. im just stoked to get going on the work. its going to be weird getting used to eating one big meal a day at lunch. it was huge at the prez house. i will send pictures next time, i forgot to bring my cable. it is beautiful here. i seriously cant even think right now. but i love you all, all is well, no worries, i will talk to you next week, when im not freaking out ha. love you, bye