Hello dearest everybody, greetings from the end of the world.  I will have you know, the directors of Pirates of the Carribean - End of the World took great creative liberties... in all aspects of that movie.  Anywho, I have officially been transferred to Punta Arenas - the absolute tip of South America and the southern-most spit of land in the world - besides Antarctica, which is, in fact, a two hour flight away.  In our mission, all but 2 of the areas are in the North part of the mission, and then there´s a whole lot of nobody, then there´s a city called Chiloe, and then there´s a whole lot more of nobody, and then there´s us.  So that´s where I am in case anyone wanted to send me some hot, homemade bread or something.

Anyway, I found out I would be transferred here last Friday so that I could send one of my suitcases by bus because we could only bring one suitcase on board the airplane that we took.  But I was told that I would be leaving Wednesday morning.  HOWEVER, our leaders called me Monday night and told me that I would be leaving Tuesday, so I did a frantic pack of my suitcases and didn´t get any time to say goodbye to anyone. I called Emma to say goodbye and when she heard that I was already on the bus to the bus terminal in Osorno, she left right away and took a bus there too - about an hour away from La Union, and met me there.  I told her to tell everyone back in my beautiful La Union goodbye for me.  

From there, I took a bus to Puerto Montt - about two hours away - to spend the night so that I could wake up early the next morning to catch a bus to the airport.  Anyway, I woke up early and all that jazz, and the hermana that was with me told me she would call a taxi to take us to the airport.  So we called the taxi and then waited on the curb for about twenty minutes until we realized the taxi probably wasn´t coming.  At this point we started getting stressed because we had to be at the bus terminal in about thirty more minutes to catch my bus to the airport.  We called the taxi again and they told us it had gotten lost.  Anyway, long story short, it didn´t show up until five minutes before my bus was about to leave, and the terminal was still fifteen minutes away.  I had said quite a few prayers before that I would get to my bus on time, but when the taxi finally got there, I felt that it was impossible.  But then I remembered a talk I had read by Elder Jean R. Cook that was talking about how we can increase our faith.  He said that when it looks impossible that your prayers are going to be answered, thats when you have to double your faith, not cut it in half.  So I was praying the whole way that I would still make my bus, then the zone leaders that had been waiting for us and all the other missionaries who had to take this bus called and said the bus had left.  At this point, it seemed impossible, but I kept praying.  When the taxi finally left us at the terminal, one of the zone leaders rushed over, grabbed my suitcase and rushed off without saying a word.  So I rushed after him.  We ran and ran and ran through traffic and people and I had no idea where he was going, but he finally stopped at some random intersection, and about two seconds after we got there, the bus that I was supposed to take stopped there too.  They opened the doors, the elder handed them my suitcase, and I got on.  As I sat down with all the other missionaries who were all applauding my victorious entry onto our bus, I thought to myself, I made it.  I really made the bus.  And that´s how I made it to the end of the world. Faith and prayers.  And an elder who knew where he was going.

My companion´s name is Hermana Lethco and she was actually in my district in La Union, so I knew her before.  She´s great and I love working with her.  

Now.  Punta Arenas.  Example: as I am writing this, a piece of roof just flew off someones house and flew past the window.  I had heard before that Punta Arenas is absolutely beautiful and I was looking at pictures of Torres del Paine, which is the famous national park here, so I had an image of myself preaching the gospel next to cascading waterfalls, and apparently there are sectors like that, but my sector looks a bit more like the suburbs of downtown LA or a zombie wasteland (there is not a single tree in the whole sector)... mostly because we are the only ones in the street.  The first day was quite hard, I was missing beautiful La Union with all the fields and flowers and all the people, and I said some very fervent prayers that night.  The next day, I realized NOBODY leaves their house which is absolutely FANTASTIC for missionary work and all the houses are close together and this week my companion and I taught 21 lessons which is INCREDIBLE and the people are GREAT and I was just so happy.  I´ll visit all the beautiful places on P-days, but I´m very happy to be right where I am.  Happiness is the destination but it is also the path - Elder Uchtdorf.

I love you all, I´ll write so much more next time HOW IS THERE NEVER ENOUGH TIME

CAMBIOS

Well dearest everybody, it´s been a lovely almost-five-months here in Caupolican, La Union.  But transfers have arrived once again, and for the first time in my mission, I´ll be changing sectors.  I´ve come to love so many members and people here, and it was especially hard when I told Emma (who is still here by the way and is about to receive a calling), and she began crying and told me that she feels so completely different and so much happier and thanked me about ten times for serving a mission and having patience with her and teaching her about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That´s a happìness you just can´t find anywhere else.

HOWEVER, I will now be going to a new sector a little bit more South.  IN fact, if you looked at a map and found the absolute very tip of South America, and I mean the very last piece of land attached to this continent, that´s where I´ll be going.  It´s called Punta Arenas and it´s where the penguins are.  Thankfully, it´s almost summer and I´ve heard it´s not as bonechillingingly cold right now.  I´ve also heard it´s light until about midnight or one in the morning and that it´s absolutely beautiful.  My sector is called Patagonia, so you know it´ll be bakan.  

My last Sunday here, the woman in our branch who usually directs the choir of teenagers, for which I play piano, was sick, so she gave me all the music, and I, very expertly, directed the choir.  Mostly I dashed about singing the parts with those who didn´t know their parts or trying to direct while also playing the piano.    One of the members got a picture of it, but of course these computers are not functioning well with my camera.  HOpefully next week in Punta Arenas.  But all I have to say is, thank you mom for making me practice piano.  There, 20 years into my life and I told her over and over and over again that I would never ever say that.  But I can´t tell you the blessings I´ve received through that talent.  All the blood sweat and tears were worth it.  I was the only one who could play the accompaniment to all of the songs for the choir, and I would never have had that experience without all those years of practicing and stress and tears and all that jazz.  So thank you mother dearest for making me practice piano.  There, I said it.

Anyway, I was also able to play piano for stake conference and our mission president talked in stake conference and played the video from the missionary broadcast.  My beautiful shining, singing face appears in that video for about three seconds, and our president pointed me out while I was sitting up front with the piano.  I´m trying to make sure the fame doesn´t go to my head.

Anyway, the gospel is true and I love you all and I wish there was time to write all the amazing experiences that happen here in the mission, but there never is, so I´ll just leave you all with my testimony that the Savior lives.  I love you all!! Ciao!

Pasto, which is Spanish for WEEDS

Well it is warming up quite nicely here, although some days it randomly decides to be a torrential rainstorm, which, if I´ve planned for a nice day of sun and have left the house in the appropriate clothing, is a bit problematic, but no matter! Because we are teaching wonderful people and finding more everyday.

This week we did quite a bit of service for older sisters in the branch.  Every week we help three specific sisters.  One of them, half her house burned down, and so now we´re helping with the repairs.  Another one has a hurt arm and so we go and chop wood every week.  Behind her house she has a chicken coop and quite a few geese, who are very curious about the swinging ax.  So far I have not chopped off a head, which I count as a victory.  Another woman we helped her hoe and plow the land she has to start planting for the summer.  I felt like I had gone back in time.  It was possibly the most picturesque thing I´ve ever done in my life.  I feel like I´m practically ready to have my own farm in the backwoods of wisconsin by now.

This week we fasted with Alejandra and her family (she´s the one who has been reading the Book of Mormon with her family) and she is just so wonderful, as are all her girls.  They draw pictures for me every time we go and write hermana Nielsen on them and always ask to see my tag so they can know how to spell it.

Also, this week my companion and I were offered a ride on the back of a motorcyle of two hooligans.  All I have to say is that Chilean men are more flirty than any other People I´ve met in my life.

Anyway the gospel is true, I love you all and will try to send pictures next time!

¡chi chi chi! ¡le le le! ¡vive chile! That´s a thing here

Hello dearest everyone, I hope you all had a lovely Halloween.  Halloween isn´t as big here in Chile, but the kids still go out knocking doors and ask for dulces o basura.  Treats or trash. We told ourselves we were NOT going to be knocking doors that night.

This week we taught one of my favorite families,  they´re the family that has started reading the book of mormon together and I wish I could explain how incredibly different their home is now.  Everyone is so much happier, both of the parents, Alejandra y Nelsón, have changed so much and are now working towards going to the temple and being sealed as a family there.  I really wish I could describe the lesson that we had, I felt so good about the tiny little part that I played in helping their family progress.  They are so so different, I can´t even explain.  It´s amazing to see the difference in someone when they start to feel good about the person that they are.

We´re also teaching a very young couple, Diego and Edith, and we found out that Diego has a member colleague and in between our first two lessons, he talked with his friend, and by the second lesson, he was telling US what we were going to teach and how, when he goes to church, we have to go with him so that he doesn´t have to sit alone.  We assured him we would.  After we got out of the lesson, it was pretty late, so we started sprinting down the deserted streets with our books in our hands and just laughing and laughing.  

Emma is also doing wonderfully, we had a lesson with her and she said that before, she felt like she constantly had a sword in her heart, but now it´s gone and she feels hopeful and happy, without the terrible depression she had before.  I felt a suddent feeling of gratitude that I had been allowed to be a small part of this change.  

Anyway, I love you all, and I wish I had time to write more, it´s my goal every week to write the masterpiece that is the week in a life of a missionary, but I feel like Moroni every week when he asked the Lord why He had made him so awkward in writing.  Also the part when he said that not a hundredth part could be written.  Anywho, I love you all!