Santa really is real!

In Chile, Christmas is really celebrated the 24th at midnight. That is when all the kids open up the presents, and honestly I like the tradition better. Less waiting. But anyway, we had our Christmas dinner with one of the members and counted down to midnight playing UNO. Santa is supposed to come by at midnight and drop all the gifts under the tree, when the kids all run to the windows to look for his sleigh, the gifts magically appear under the tree. No need to put out milk or cookies or anything, the viejito pascuero comes on his own will. 

Honestly I had some low expectations for Christmas, I thought it would just be a normal day. We headed to the office to work and well the majority of the day passed by until our Ward Mission Leader came by to bring us a gift. I was thinking yea some chocolate or something small, but the only thing he showed up with was a dang flash drive. I already have a flash drive, so I wasn't really getting too pumped up for anything special. He then opens up this video on the flash drive and we start watching some apostle talk about how they assign missionaries to missions around the world. Then all of a sudden there is a video of Elder Diaz´s family saying hi to him, and then Elder Medina, and then my own family pops up on that screen and I couldn't believe it! I had just gotten to this sector a week ago, the ward mission leader didn't even know my first name. I have to say this was one of the greatest surprises I have had, a Christmas miracle. To have a stranger contact my family and for them to record a Christmas greeting, truly was a great surprise. It seems so simple and so small, but truly that was the greatest gift I could have received, being able to see my family. 

Pictures to come! 

Love,

Elder Haddad

1,500 Miles Away

Well this week has probably been one of the most interesting weeks in a while. It has gone by so incredibly fast as well. It took about 8 hours to get up to Osorno from Punta Arenas with the 2 hour flight and the buses and everything. I arrived in Osorno at about 10:00pm, and I was shuttled down to the office where the Elders had been waiting for me.  

Honestly, I did´t know who my companions were until the following day. Turns out I have two companions, yes I´m in a trio, and they are both Latinos. Elder Medina from Argentina and Elder Diaz from Mexico. So much fun. Between all the laughs and language barriers, we are having a great time here. Unfortunately, Elder Medina fractured his leg, so it´s pretty difficult for him to work. 





This week was filled with activities! Along with the help of the stake choir, we sung and did some contacts for Christmas. I´m not actually sure how, but Christmas is in like a week. 

Saying goodbye in Punta Arenas 

View from the plane

View from our office

River that runs through Osorno

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Love, 
Elder Haddad

Elder Haddad

Elder Haddad: World´s greatest gift giver

This week we had a white elephant activity with the ward. We tried our best to explain the concept but people didn´t really understand the funny gifts. Some of the gifts included paper earrings, a funnel, a rolling pin, a salt shaker, and some other interesting items. We tried to explain that it was something fun, but kind of lame gifts. Having received makeup for the last couple years, I tried to give good examples of gifts the members could bring so that there would be some fun gifts...they didn´t really seem to get it. 

Attached is the gift that I made, very useful, the portable shower! Ohh that gift got snatched quick, haha the logo says "even if you wake up late, you can shower on the bus" 

In other news, I'm heading on up to Osorno for my new sector. I will be trained as the new Secretary of the Mission. My flight leaves Wednesday. 

Talk to you guys next week! 

Love,

Elder Haddad

The Answer

As a missionary, I have begun to collect a lot of spiritual experiences. I can say that I know that the message we teach is true, because of the way I have seen it change my own life. This week we got to see the change in one of our investigators. On Friday, we had a lesson with Sofia one of the few young adults we are teaching. Our ward mission leader was helping us with the lesson as well. We had talked a lot about preparing Sofia and her brother Thomas for baptism. We felt that they didn't have their own testimony that was pushing them forward, they were progressing without real intent. So we focused our lesson on how they could get the spirit; praying, reading the scriptures, and coming to church. At the end of the lesson we asked Sofia to pray, and she offered a nice prayer thanking the Lord for her health, for the peace she had felt, and for what she had learned. 

After her prayer we were sitting there on our knees and our ward mission leader glanced at me. We had talked about that Sofia needed to do a specific prayer. Though it was awkward, and a bit uncomfortable, I asked Sofia if she could pray one more time, and ask specifically if what we had taught was true and if the Book for Mormon was true. She agreed and offered a simple, and short prayer. She stuttered about halfway between. At the end of her second prayer, I was about to get up from my knees when my companion asked her how she had felt. She burst out into tears, exclaiming she had felt something so powerful, something so shockingly undeniable that had revealed to her the truth. Testimonies are born from the impressions we receive. 

I had received my answer the same way she had. A simple prayer asking God to tell me the truth. I know that God cannot lie, I cannot deny what I have felt, and I know that it was revealed to me by God and not by any other means. 

Have a great week guys, 

Love, Elder Haddad

Photos: 

This week I also got punished and sent to Austral, which is one of our neighboring sectors, for the day with Elder Alder. If you remember my photos from Torres del Paine, he was the one with the Aggies shirt. He is still struggling to come to terms that BYU is a greater school than Utah State. 

The other is Elder Weyand playing on the beach with a tire he found. 

Things to remember

I remember a year ago opening up my call, and not even remembering where Chile was located on a map

I remember arriving at airport at 5 AM and having my flight to the Mexico (Missionary Training Center) be canceled

I remember the night I met Elder Nielson, that goofball

I remember thinking that the MTC would be a lot like the mission

I remember my first day in Chile and not being able to understand anyone

I remember the day when we had more less actives and investigators in church than active members. 

I remember the days we walked around Frutillar and coming home exhausted

I remember the success we had because of our exact obedience 

I remember saying goodbye to Elder Ryan with tears in my eyes

I remember the fear I felt when I received my transfer to Punta Arenas in the middle of winter, when Frutillar was already too cold. 

I remember listening to the howling wind and fearing to go outside

I remember the days we just knocked doors

I remember the cold nights

I remember meeting and teaching so many people

I remember thinking it would all be so easy, like a walk in the park, that it would be 2 years of fun, that I was spiritually prepared, and that I was truly converted

I remember when I gave up all I had, and gave it to the Lord. 

With Love,

Elder Haddad

Painting the Ghost House

Things are going great here in Estrechito. The summer feels just like winter. 

Over the past couple weeks we have been pretty busy, and time just flies when you are busy. As I shared a couple weeks ago, we moved houses. We kind of ran into a hiccup, when the owner of the house came by to inspect the damages. Her name is Ema, she is a nice lady, also willing to offer us her TV to watch and cigarettes...even though we don´t watch TV or smoke. We ran into some problems as there were some items of the house that were missing...obviously over the years and the many missionaries things get damaged and stuff gets lost. Claiming the missionaries had damaged her perfect home, she basically wants the church to pay for the problems of her house. Thankfully there is this poor little missionary in the office that has to deal with problems like these, he had some fun talking to our landlord. Elder Weyand and I hadn´t broken or damaged anything, and it turns out that the previous missionaries hadn´t either. The house was rented with a host of problems, and Ema had just claimed that the missionaries had caused the damages. Sometimes even though it is unfair, or unjust, we can still help the situation. Elder Weyand and I offered to paint the house as part of cleaning it up. What I have realized is that when someone has a problem, it´s better to just take a step back and breathe. Though subtle, I hope this can leave a good impression on the landlord of the missionaries. 

Attached are some great photos, the first is Elder Weyand bringing the Book of Mormon to the Chilean people. The second one is me painting, if it looks like I know what I´m doing...you are mistaken. Elder Weyand paints, I supervise. 

Love, Elder Haddad

Inspiration

“I can live with some human imperfections, even among prophets of God—that is to be expected in mortal beings. I can live with some alleged scientific findings contrary to the Book of Mormon; time will correct those. And I can live with some seeming historical anomalies; they are minor in the total landscape of truth. But I cannot live without the doctrinal truths and ordinances restored by Joseph Smith, I cannot live without the priesthood of God to bless my family, and I cannot live without knowing my wife and children are sealed to me for eternity. That is the choice we face—a few unanswered questions on one hand versus a host of doctrinal certainties and the power of God on the other.” Tad R. Callister, Sunday School general president,

I don´t think I could add anything to this email, that wasn't already perfectly described by that quote. 

Love you all, 

Elder Haddad

The Miracle House

Last week I left a short message that we moved, we actually had a pretty interesting experience of how we found the house. The missionaries in Estrecho have been trying to move out of the old house for years. It got pretty cold in the house with the really poor construction. Now I don´t want to complain, but it was not enjoyable in that house. We looked and looked and looked, and found nothing. The sector seemed impossible to find anything that would fit our budget. Our sector is sandwiched between downtown and a university, we also are on the coast, so the houses can be a bit more expensive for the location. After touring about 2 houses and looking in the newspaper daily, we finally found a house one day doing contacts. 

We called the owner and he agreed to meet with us within the next couple of days. When we entered the house we saw a well constructed, spacious house with plenty of light, but best of all, heaters! We toured the whole house and because it was a little expensive, I was wary. Elder Weyand told me, "Elder Haddad this is our house, did you see the hint?" The hint? I had no idea what he was talking about. Only seconds later did I realize that the only remaining item from the previous owners was a little pass along card of Jesus Christ. A very old, sun damaged card from our church that had been wedged at the top of the door frame for years. Now I thought that was pretty dang cool, and somehow we were able to speed up the process in move into the new house in the following two weeks. 

Love to all,

Elder Haddad

We did a lip-syncing activity this week in the church. Big success!
Elder Weyand and I lip-synced and danced to Cotton-Eye Joe. 

Seminary teacher of Estrecho, Bishop, daughter of the Bishop,
and our ward mission leader performing YMCA. 

El Tío

You are now looking at the proud new owner of "El Tío" fastfood truck. I have decided that the Lord has called me to serve the people of Chile fried foods instead of the gospel.  (Just kidding!)

More to come next week, but quick updates: We are moving houses this week, Elder Weyand and I are together for another transfer here in Estrecho, and it snowed today in case you were wondering.

 

Love, your favorite missionary, Elder Haddad. 

I thought I would share part of his email to me:

Ughh mom, not going to lie I'm a bit frustrated I'm going to be here for another transfer. That's 6 months in a ward that has 30 members...and 3 of them are moving out. We have had investigators coming, but man this place is getting to me. Elder Weyand and I are staying another 6 weeks together, and I just hope it goes by fast.  I know there is a purpose for all of this and for why I'm still here, it's just hard to come to terms with. I feel like I want to move on, progress, and grow, and I feel like I can't in this sector...but the Lord never asks us to do easy things. I will be knocking every single door 4 times now, talking with the same people for the 4th time. I just hope it goes by fast...but besides that, we had a good week. We had a devotional, and we are also going to move houses within the next week. Hopefully life will be better at the new house.

Torres del Paine

This week we had a once in a lifetime opportunity to go to Torres del Paine. The views were amazing, photos for this email mainly! 

View from the stake center in Punta Arenas, it overlooks the entire city. 

I 

Ice Berg Lake

Cave Exploring

 These are wanaco or something like that, it's basically a chilean llama

El Diablo

This is the story of Juan, El Diablo. 

Once upon a time, two missionaries were looking for a store to make photo copies. They innocently stumbled upon a corner store, nestled in a neighborhood of suburban houses. Upon entering the store, the owner and worker announced himself as Juan, el Diablo. The missionaries were caught off guard, and laughing it off, politely asked the man if he was able to make a photo copy. To which the old man responded "sschol, losh kibish, slrews." Then the missionaries were really confused, and sensing something was wrong they laughed lightly. The man then commanded his dog not to eat the missionaries, but was interrupted by new customers entering the store. Upon the entry of more people into the store, Diablo, introduced the missionaries as servants of the devil. After all of the jokes, he gave the missionaries free photocopies and gave them some free candy. That´s how it all started with Juan, El Diablo, and now we get free photo copies whenever we want. Attached is a photo of this legendary man. 

This week I also got the chance to talk in church. Elder Weyand and I both, actually. I chose a theme of home teaching, and focused on the conversion story of my mom. Quoting a scripture in Lucas (Luke)15:4, that search for the one lost sheep was just as important as the other 99. We also had investigators at church today, two kids of a less active lady that we had found the week before. She had not come to church in 20 years, and she said that she had felt greatly touched by my talk. It doesn´t matter how far away you have fallen from the path, there is always a way back. 

With Love, 

Elder Haddad

El Diablo

Exorcism Avoided

About two months ago, week of August 17th, I wrote in my email that we met a club owner. This week we found him again and I could not believe what had happened. About two months ago, we found a bunch of really interesting people all in one week. One of them was a partner of a night club, that immediately let us into his house. He said, that he imagined we had been knocking doors for quite some time and that we would like to come in. This doesn't happen a lot, and to be honest, when it does, it's usually someone kind of out there. Big surprise that the missionaries always find the crazies. Anyway, we start getting to know this man, who is about 25 years old, and indeed he was a little out there. Along with his crazy night life, he has passed enough nights without remembering anything, that he has 3 kids with 3 different women. Not the greatest introduction I know, but we sat there listening, though it was painful. 

We shared a message about the gospel of Jesus Christ, we talked about faith, repentance, baptism, the holy ghost, and keeping the commandments. Though you might not think these principals and ordinances have little relation to this man, we were able to change his life. He confessed that he knew he was doing something wrong, and that he was hurting and ruining peoples lives by what he did. However, though it was wrong, but tried to justify that he had good intentions. He wanted to make enough money so that he could provide a good life for s 3 kids and fix his life, and he said in 2 more years he will be able to make enough. As someone who accepted all religions to come into his house and share there message, this man had of course shared with Evangelists, Jehovah's witnesses, and the other denominations. However, he said that we were the people who actually listened to him and still shared a message of love, the others thought the only way of helping this man was an exorcism. We taught him how to pray, and we convinced him to ask in his prayer, if God wanted him to change now, or to wait. In the end of the lesson, he didn't end up doing the question but he felt it. I knew he did. 

This was all two months ago, and on Tuesday we knocked his door again and he let us right in. He told Elder Weyand and I that he had changed his life because of what we had taught him. He had delegated his work to some other kids, given up his office, and even bought a house for his kids. He told us that he had taken 20 steps toward the right direction instead of just one or two. He cut his weekly hours in the night club, in half. We shared another message with him and in his ending prayer, he thanked us for the way we had helped him. It doesn't matter who you are, or what you have been through, your past does not measure your future potential in God's eyes, nor in mine. 

Have a great week everybody. 

Love-- 

Elder Haddad

General Conference

Finally an introduction to the great Elder Blake Weyand. Elder Weyand thinks its cold down here, even though we have had the nicest weather I have ever seen! I've been trying to convince him that it snowed a week before he got here, but hard to believe when there is sun out all day. Elder Weyand is a smooth guy, he has a little bit more time than me in the mission, and is quite a character. He is a powerful missionary, humble to every extent, and has a great attitude. He also talks Spanish 100% of the time, which is really admirable. This is going to be a really fun transfer, and it's hard to believe that two weeks have already gone by.  Attached is a photo of this kid.

This week we had a special church meeting, and we even had our Colombian investigator come. I imagine it was pretty interesting for this man to watch a bunch of old white men give talks and then a tremendous chorus sing in English...yea there's no Spanish translation for the Mormon tabernacle choir. Watching the conference in a different language is different, the translating is a good time. Sometimes the person translating gets really emotional and they quickly switch to someone else, and it's also really interesting when they use something that doesn't translate in Spanish. Like "walk the walk, and talk the talk." That leaves everyone in the audience really confused. 

The rest of the day we spent playing volleyball in the church, between sessions. There was even a little room set up for the Gringos and the Latinos who think they speak English. It was a great weekend, until next week,

Love,

Elder Haddad

Elder Blake Weyand

Watching Conference in English

Estrechito

Quick update, more to come next week. My new companion is Elder Weyand, he is from Tucson, Arizona. More pictures to come next week, but since we finally hit a streak of nice weather, we left to run in the morning. This is the sunrise off the estrecho, it is breath taking. Photos were taken by my companion. 

Love to all
Elder Haddad

September 18

 We had quite a fun week, especially because September 18th was Chile´s independence day. We had a big BBQ, played some soccer and ping pong , and ate a lot of delicious empanadas. I probably ate too much, but hey, we walk a lot in this sector haha. It´s been a crazy week here, not much happened in good old Estrecho, but we had a tsunami warning because of the earthquake in Santiago. Living 5 houses down from the coast did not become so desirable anymore. Thankfully nothing happened. 

In other news, the Falkland Islands are being added to our mission. Some missionaries here in Punta Arenas left to go check it out. Apparently it´s a Britannic country where they speak English, and it just so happens that there are like 10 members there. It´s kind of like Easter Island, from what I understood, but it´s to the left of Argentina. 

However in better news, I found a graffitied spongebob and took a picture with it, and also ate the most delicious sandwich in the world on an exchange with the zone leader Elder      

LLancoñanco (I don´t think you could pronounce his name correctly). 

Have a good week!

Love,

Elder Haddad

 What Punta Arenas looks like on a nice day. Picture from the Stake Center. 

 Dancing the national dance called the cueca

 Bobesponga (sounds way cooler in Spanish!)

You always have to pig out on exchanges, you can´t tell but that sandwich is about the size of your face. 

Club Andino

Yea well, we had a solid week here in the end of the world. The mission president came to our house, and wasn´t impressed with the living conditions. With the 4 layers of paint peeling off from the bathroom wall (why ceramic tile was not used in the construction of the bathroom is beyond me), and the collection of creepy Jesus paintings, we were advised to either move or redecorate (renovate) the house. 

The title of this email comes from the service we did this week. As some of you might know, it was worldwide service day on Saturday, and the stake of Punta Arenas formed together to go clean up a hill. I promise you it was cooler than it sounds, Club Andino is a ski resort just outside of the downtown part of Punta Arenas. We met up at a local school, and separated into cars to get up to the service location. Living in the windiest city (most windy city) in the world, the trash gets blown all over the place. We chose a field on the way up to the ski resort that was covered with years of trash. I mean computers, mattresses, rebar, drywall, cosmetics, groceries, bottles of all types, bones of all kinds, we even found a baby. A baby doll of course! We were met with some fierce weather as it rained sideways with 45 mph winds, I tested my flying abilities by doing some long jumps with the wind. We ended showing up late to the hill, because our driver got confused about the directions. We drove all the way up to the ski resort and past the site by several miles. Once we hit about 6 feet of snow I mentioned that I didn´t think there was any trash to pick up under all that snow. The little tinny car we were in, was incapable of climbing the snow covered hills, so we pretty much slid back down the hill. I had never slid so far back in a car in my life. I think we slid about a mile back with the car off, and finally we debated whether getting hot chocolate at the club house would be  better service for ourselves than cleaning a hill filled with old baby diapers. But we came to our senses, made a couple calls, and finally found all of the members quite a ways down the hill. It was a great experience, and though I forgot my camera, I have evidence that I went from the beautiful bruise I achieved on my elbow, from slipping and falling down the wet hill and colliding with a rock.  

With love always,

Elder Haddad 

Taking Pictures with Dead People

Over the past couple of weeks I have really been thinking about everything that I have learned on the mission. A talk that is given to every missionary in our zone has really made me think, its called the Fourth Missionary. It talks about the changes that missionaries experience, and considering that so far my mission has been everything that I didn't expect, I've definitely had to change a lot. It talks about two ways of changing, either deliberately or accidentally. You either decide who you want to become, or you just float through, becoming whatever life makes of you. But whatever you become accidentally, will never be a full measure of your potential. The only way to reach a full measure of your potential is giving your heart and your will to the Lord, for those are the only two things he doesn't already have. It's something hard that I've learned but something so rewarding. 

The title of the email is referring to our pass through the cemetery this week. Turns out it´s one of the nicest in the world, and it´s taking up a huge part of our little sector. But enjoy the photos! 

Love,

Elder Haddad

Cultivating the Spirit

This week's email is just a picture, Elder Salgado doing exercises. There's the classic pull the sheets over your face which gets your arms a good workout. If you want to work the core, you just do some turning over to the other side of the bed. Not to mention the strenuous eye nods, for getting some muscular focals. No just kidding, this is after a week of hard work. Thanks for all the email guys, running short on time to write a letter this week, but I'll make sure to write one for next week. Love you all!

-- 

Elder Haddad

"If you can't change it, just love it"

Short update this week. Elder Salgado shared a little saying that has really helped me turn my attitude around here. "If you can't change it, just love it." I know there is blessings found in patience, but sometimes it feels likes it's stretching us too far to be able to hold out. For me, I have found a lot of comfort in these words. 

This week we hit some nasty weather. It was raining sideways like blankets and it felt like needles in my eyes...if you can't change it just love it. We are spending a lot of time trying to find some new people to teach, which means 8 hours in the streets...if you can't change it, just love it. Honestly I have learned not to worry about the little things you can't control, I may not be able to control the weather, or the people's agency, but I can control my attitude to the situation. You end up learning quite a bit on the mission.

 

That's all for this week everyone, love you. Attached is a little photo of our district, people might wonder why I attach the photos of all the missionaries (how boring is that), it's because I actually don't take any real photos so that's all I got. 

-- 

Elder Haddad

Elder Haddad and the Mexican Cartel

Had an interesting experience this week, we were knocking doors, and knocked this house that didn't looked like it was occupied. It didn't look like anyone had lived there for some time, but as we approached the door, we saw some people inside. There was about 4 or so people moving around inside, and we knocked. The door was answered by this man with very tan skin and a turtleneck, we told him that we were offering home blessings and would like to teach him a little about prayer. He looked back to see if it was okay with the other members who were in the house, and they gladly let us in. There happened to be about 6 men in the house, all unpacking their suitcases; immediately we knew they were foreigners, based on their Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses.  They had just arrived from the airport, about 30 minutes before we had showed up, but to an almost empty house - excluding the dining room table which was filled with whiskey, scotch, and all types of alcohol. Foreigners are just so receptive, haha, we got to know them a little before we offered the prayer. Turns out, they are 6 brothers from Mexico, and they do a lot of traveling, they knew all different parts of the United States and a majority of the countries here in South America. Seemed a little fishy, especially one of the brothers who had a long leather jacket, shark tooth necklaces, and a deep deep v-neck shirt. They explained they were visiting for a few days to get to know the area, and that they were heading up to Torres del Paine - really famous national park here in southern Chile - for a couple days. The trip isn't cheap, it costs about $60 a person just to enter the park. Honestly I didn't know if they were just going to pull cocaine and firearms out of their bags or what, it was bizarre. I think what sealed the deal was when they told us they worked for an"Internet business"  Knowing they looked suspicious and everything, we decided to just offer the prayer and get out of there before anything happened. We also met a club owner this week, interesting people. 

-attached is a photo of our zone, pretty sweet. I'm not sure how, but this is the only photo that I got, but at this rate, I might as well start a collection. 

Love to you all,

Elder Haddad

Nobody Left Behind

First off I want to thank all those that have sent me e-mails. I truly wish I could respond to all of them, even thought I can't, I do read every single one. Thank you all for your support and love. We had a week of finding new people here, we met some very interesting people. A Colombian, a scientist, we even had a lesson with a cocaine addict. Interesting week, interesting people. 

The highlight was the baptism of Jorge's wife, Isabel. Though I didn't get a good picture, it was surely a special day. She even shared her testimony of how she came to know that all this is true. It has been such a pleasure getting to know this family and seeing them grow in the gospel. This week's email is short, but it's because I physically cannot accurately describe how amazing it is to be a missionary. Though it's hard, the work of salvation is rewarding. I am a witness that changes are possible in everyone, I've seen it in myself. Thank you for everyone that helped me get to where I am, this church is everything to me, and these last two years have been the greatest years in all of my life. 

I love you all, 

Elder Haddad

The Best Two Years

They say the best two years is the mission. However, today is a different accomplishment for me. Two years ago today, I was baptized. Never could I imagine how that day would change my life, but I can firmly say that it did.

I honestly would just like to share 3 scriptures from the bible that I have really found comfort in and that really explain this experience better than I could. 

Isaiah 48:10, 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10, and 2 Timothy 1: 11-12

10 Behold, I have refined thee...I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities..., in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

11 Where unto I am appointed a preacher...

 12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

I have given everything for my faith, because I know this is true. I have never felt greater happiness or joy, I love you all. 

The rest of this email is what happened this past week: 

Jorge´s baptism

Sunset: We had exchanges this week - requested by me so I could get out to the house for a night. The other sectors here are beautiful, this one is called Fitz Roy. It is just rolling hills of suburbs and has some breath taking views of the sunsets here. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Wooden Nun: Well I thought I was going to die this week, when we knocked on a door and a man shuffled us into his house. I had explained that the church had been restored and that we wanted to share our message with him. By some miracle, he let us in, opening his door and pushing us down a hallway. I then got glare of that thing, and I thought I was going to die. I thought that we had just walked into some sort of religious torture chamber, because the hallway we walked down was filled of pictures of Christ's suffering. Turns out no, he is an artist, and carves religious art out of wood. Super interesting experience, his name is Jose, and he's from Spain. haha. 

Wooden girl: Another one of Jose's creations, this one is less creepy. 

Elder Salgado: my companion ate a scorpion lollipop too... 

Our district leader got transferred earlier than expected, this is Elder Espinoza.