He's Alive!

Okay, so I promise this blog won't become a shrine to my brother's missionary service in Chile. But he survived his first week in-country and I'm so proud of him!! Posting his FIRST email from Santiago, well, pieces. The parts that remind me of my mission :) Say some prayers he will be protected and led to speak with those who are ready to hear his simple but TRUE message! Thanks.

Hola Familia!

Well, I´m not as stressed out as I was at first but it´s totally crazy! Because I can´t understand what people are saying! Oh, and interesting fact for you all...I´m not learning Spanish!!! I´m learning something called Castallano (I think that´s how it´s spelled), which is a dialect of Spanish!!!

It is SO different here!!! Apparently Santiago is the second greatest civilized city in South America...they even have a McDonald´s and a KFC!!!

There´s more dogs than smokers - and in a week I can´t count how many smokers I´ve seen. I´ll probably come back to the States addicted to secondhand smoking! (Hopefully not)

They drive really crazy here. The one thing I continuously pray in my heart for besides people who want to hear the gospel, is for all the cars that are here to have their breaks working.

P-day was good today! Happy 4th of July! We played soccer and had churipans! Oh and the mayo here is top of the line! Churipans are slightly thicker mini hot dogs wrapped in bread with any condiment of choice. It´s pretty good!

The main meal here is lunch - in fact, it´s such a big meal that there have been a few days here where I have had only lunch and I have been COMPLETELY fine. It´s weird sometimes having only one meal a day but I´m getting accustomed to it.

Most schools here are on strike! Chairs are backed up to the gates with students patrolling with metal pipes and bats. Something about wanting better education.

(Something else I forgot to mention): Every place...EVERY PLACE...has a gate or fence of some sort here! I can´t think of a place I´ve seen here without one! So that´s pretty weird.

And it´s COLD here in the mornings! No snow, not really any wind...it´s just cold!!! It´s like the air itself is the essence of cold! But that is just the mornings. Once it gets about to 9am it´s not so bad and it doesn´t get cold until the next morning when I wake up...so it´s not Too bad - it´s just freakin cold in the mornings!

Church was really good! There was a baby blessing and the Primary kids made me short little welcome cards! They are all so wonderful!!! When I introduced myself, I was blessed not to forget all my Spanish and was even able to get a laugh out of them! So it´s not too bad. I just can´t understand what they say back to me. So that part is bad. But other than that life is pretty good!

President and Sister Laycock are just about the greatest people I could have for mission presidents!!! It was so cool! We each had a short interview with the President and Wow! Every time I learn more and keeping the commandments I realize again and again, with more surety that this Church is the True Church! There is NO way it´s NOT true! And all the members are just one big family! Sacrament meeting and the other meetings don´t change...except they´re in spanish!!!

We had a Public Presentation two days ago (where we go do something in the plaza) and we shined people´s shoes while we talked of the gospel...it was the coolest thing ever!! It was pretty funny too!! Me and Elder Gordon were trying to talk to this one man and after we left, Elder Gordon told me a few of the things he said...1 - How come you don´t ever have any African American (what he said was nigger) missionaries? 2 - You are all spies sent to check on the situation in Chile 3 - A few other things that aren´t very nice that Elder Gordon refused to share with me.

To all those types of people with crazy ideas...I just want to tell them...PICK ANY OF OUR CHURCH HOUSES - IN THE WORLD, Then go to any other of our church houses (in the world) and tell me if it´s really all that different!!!! Because it´s NOT! The church is the same all over and it´s true. And you will realize - huh they don´t seem like spies to me...if nothing else they´ll know that what we are teaching is what really happens!!!! It´s just frustrating to have to think that there are even people in the world that exist with such strange ideas!!!! You can´t battle craziness!!!! You just have to share your testimony and walk on by!!!! I just want to tell them that I chose to come on a mission and no one like the government sent me because I like being warm in the mornings!!!! Yep, you can´t battle craziness!!!

But the Gospel is still true! All things done under God´s power can´t be undone without it being His will! Just because someone goes apostate doesn´t make the church which God restored (through a prophet) it doesn´t make the church untrue! And that´s that!

Well...I think that´s that (at least until next week). I´m trying to think of more to write -OH...We had two baptisms this last sunday...an elderly couple Jacob y Luisa. They are great...(almost everyone here calls us some relation) and they call me their nieto or grandson.

Oh, and Chileans say PO like Canadians say EH. It´s pretty funny...I´ll have to try to get that down.

Surprisingly - they play a lot of popular american songs in english here (in fact I´m listening right now to We are the Champions)! Being american, or being able to go to america or other stuff like that makes you pretty cool for some reason around here...something like that.

I´ve also found that it sucks when appointments for teaching fall through! You just want to yell to the world...WHAT WE ARE TEACHING IS GOING TO MAKE YOU THE HAPPIEST YOU HAVE EVER BEEN... PLEASE DON´T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF PASSING THIS UP! But...it happens.

Wow...it got dark soon.

Chau!

LOVE

Elder Kimball