I'm dying of heat!!

Hello friends and family:

Well it sounds like you guys are getting the opposite of what we are getting. It has been about 95 to 100 degrees here. We are dying from the heat. It has been so hot this week we literally haven´t wanted to move from in front of a fan. None of the houses have AC down here and all the houses are freaking hot. The other day we literally took our shirts off, soaked them and walked out of the house. My comp thought I was nuts but sure enough 10 minutes later he was doing it. 

I had my first interview this week. But... I went into the other sector to do it and right before I did it we found out the guy was already baptized. Don´t worry it gets worse. They had been teaching him for 3 months. He had told them he was a twin brother of a member and had never been baptized. All the members had told the missionaries and they didn´t tell me. So we found out he was really the brother... and that he was gay. It was quite the experience. I was pretty ticked off. They wasted time and now they don´t have anyone to teach.

 

This week we had interviews with the MP and he told me he knows that I have been working basically alone. He said he knows that it has been me doing everything. He said I will most likely be staying in Coihueco and my comp will go. He said he is going to get me a comp that I can hand off the sector to and then get me out into another sector to train a newby. He said prepare yourself to take the next step up. By that he basically means I will either get a bigger district or I will be a Zone leader. I´m a little nervous. It was good to hear that he can trust me and that I´m doing great. It was also good to know that he knows I´m doing everything. He said I might not be able to see it but my comp really looks up to me. He said he has had a really rough time and is just happy to be having success. He said I haven´t taken him out because I know you can help him out, and have already helped him out. He said even though I am really kinda struggling... I´m learning and I´m helping him out and he´s enjoying the journey. I felt a little better after I had heard that. He also said that the Stake President here in CHILLAN absolutely loves me. I thought it was kind of funny. 

I finally got our Christmas packages. They were really funny this year. They had a lot of good treats in them also. I was excited to get some of the weird gifts from you guys. I have decided I was going to give away a couple of the things to a couple kids. Hope you guys don´t mind...

We were supposed to play paintball today but MP said everyone has to say yes... guess who was the only one to say no... MY COMP. Yes I am still ticked off. The whole Zone is mad because we couldn´t play because he was a girl about it. But we decided to have a water fight. We bought water guns and water balloons and had a war with 16 elders and 4 sisters. It was really kind of funny. I did get to throw the football around though.

Funny story...  on the bus coming back into Coihueco I fell asleep. The people in front of me had a little kid that was crying, I didn´t think much about it and fell asleep. I wake up with the little kids face in front of me. He was probably 3 or 4. I looked at him for a second, and... stuck my tongue out and made a weird face... He looks at me and busts up laughing. For the next 15 minutes he would hide behind the seat and poke his head out. Each time I would make a different face. We seriously busting up laughing by the time we got off the bus. His mom couldn´t figure out what I was doing because he had settle down in her lap but kept looking over the seat. I didn´t have anything to give him but I was tempted to give him my name tag that has a magnet on it. They are really cheap and I don´t use it much. He was the funniest little kid. I´m really hoping we can find them again. I know that he lives in Coihueco and close to where we live. 

We are still trying to get on TV. We are going to do it this week. 

The neighbor we haven´t been able to talk to her yet...

In church Sunday we had 8 out of the 9 converts there. Two blessed the sacrament and one passed it. First week I haven´t had to do it. The branch is really happy with the new converts. They are awesome. I know that the young guy we just baptized is talking to our BP about a mission. And Juan the 17 year old wants to start working with us so we can help him prepare. I´m really pleased with them. It is so cool to see the change they have had. 

BIG NEWS... oh my gosh I almost forgot... WE GOT RID OF THE DOG! I was so sick of it that we walked out into the country and I killed it... NO JUST KIDDING. haha the assistants came out with the van and we threw it in and drove out of coihueco and dropped it off in a field by a couple houses. NO way he´s coming back. Don´t worry he´s got a horse and a cow as a friend. He was really happy when we got him out. He took off running. 

Well not much else this week. We do have another baptism this Saturday. We are baptizing two kids of a less active. They are really cool. Well love you all and miss you tons.

Elder Torgersen

Hello Friends and Family!

This week has been pretty good. Nothing much happening. We are in the process of finding new people to teach. We received news this week that we are now not allowed to baptized kids younger than 18 years old. I´m a little frustrated about this so i´m not sure what to do. Supposedly MP said that we are not allowed to baptized kids that we are now focusing on families. It is good that we are focusing on families but we are now rejecting the chance for kids to be baptized. They used the statistic that 85% of kids baptized under 18 years old are inactive.... But we have 5 missionaries from other countries that were baptized younger than 18 that are now serving missions. I feel like we don´t have the right to judge them like that. We could reject a kid from being baptized and that kid could go inactive but then comeback to be the next Branch Prez. we´ve got interviews on Thursday so I think I will be talking to pres.

I had my first mini cambio as a DL. It went really slow the first day because it was new years and everyone was wasted, getting wasted, passed out, or the had visitors. We really didn´t find any news. We are really struggling to find good news. I have had a hard time keeping the faith that we will find good news. But we have been doing really good with our obedience. We weren´t out with girls or anything serious we were just leaving the house late or getting home late. We are getting a lot better with it.

So the other day we were playing soccer with a bunch of members and INV´s behind the church in the soccer court when all of a sudden two drunk guys come stumbling by. All of a sudden we look up and one guy is squatted down next to a tree... WE could NOT believe it!! He was going to the bathroom. One of the Recent converts yells, Hey you need some toilet paper, he looks at us and keeps doing his business. Everyone that was there was busting up laughing. It was pretty messed up.

We were really happy Sunday in church. We had 4 inv´s in church and two of our RC blessed and passed the sacrament. Another one got up and shared their testimony. It was awesome.

We found out yesterday there is a inactive RM that lives right in front of our house. She served a mission two years before I was born and now is inactive. It was really funny because we were trying to find her and her husband said that she was working in Santiago. As we were walking into the house 2 hours later she was outside watering her plants. We laughed walked over to her and started talking to her. She said when her husband starts drinking he tells everyone she is in Santiago. She has the biggest house and three full fields of raspberries. We ate a ton of raspberries while we taught her. The coolest less active and she lives right in front of us.

We found out a member has connections with the TV here in Coihueco and also with the radio. WE ARE GOING TO BE ON TV AND ON THE RADIO! yes, we are in a little town but it´s gonna be funny. We are announcing our Activity and when our church is open. One thing that really bugs me is that all the churches in The states and in other countries it says the name of the church and visitors welcome. None of the churches have that here.

Well I have my first Interview tomorrow and I´m a little nervous. I´m really kind of excited though! It should be really good.

Well still no packages. We have interviews on Thursday so I´m sure I will get them then.

As far as my tooth it doesn´t hurt but it is sensitive.

Well not much else has happened. Love you all and miss you tons.

Elder Torgersen

Feliz año Nuevo

Hello Friends and Family!

¡Feliz Navidad y feliz año Nuevo! or Merry Christmas and a Happy new year!

This week has been pretty good. Last week was my second week as DL. I have had to teach our district class and check on the other sector in my district. It has been kind of a pain having to worry about them. I have a mini cambio with them tomorrow.

Saturday, we had the Baptism for Richy. We have now had 9 baptisms in 4 months. We are pushing ZL numbers. They are beating us by one baptism. President is extremely happy with us and what we are doing.

It has really bugged me but one out of the 9 baptisms that we have had is a little iffy. She changes her mind a lot and is just a little weird sometimes. We had a sister in our ward tell us that we shouldn´t have baptized her. She passed the interview and was ready to be baptized. It really drives me nuts and really ticks me off when people judge MY CONVERTS when they don´t know anything. She told us that we shouldn´t have ever baptized her because she is going to go inactive. I´m sorry but it isn´t our job to judge if they are going to stay active or not. Our job is to get them to the gate of baptism. and then hand them off to the branch. It really bugs me when people judge our converts. I´m sure no one ever thought that the ex president would ever go inactive but right now he doesn´t want anything to do with the church. No one ever knows what will happen.

PRAYERS HAVE FINALLY BEEN ANSWERED!!! WE HAVE A NEW MISSION LEADER!! He is the RM that his family moved from Los Volcanes where I was before. He is still motivated to work and is really excited to help us. He told us I´m going to make it so that you guys will never have to knock a single door again. We are really excited! We have some good activities planned and are really excited to work with him.

We are working with a 13 year old kid named Felipe. He is the son of a member but hasn´t wanted anything to do with the missionaries or the church. We have started inviting him to play soccer and he actually came to church this last Sunday. We are going to keep working with him. The Missionaries before kept pushing and pushing to get baptized and he got scared and wouldn´t do it. We are going to work really slow with him and see what we can do.

Yes while trying to cook sausages, Charcoal and cement exploded sending hot ashes and chunks of cement into my face and eyes. Couldn´t have happened 5 seconds before, had to happen right as I got there. Luckily nothing got in my eyes and I didn´t get hurt. I did have a pretty crazy burn close to my eye. But I´m all good. I will not be cooking those again...

I had a mini Cambio with my ZL so that he could show me all the things I have to do as a DL. During the mini cambio we were walking in front of a house that I had felt we needed to pass by for awhile but could never find the time. We were walking in front of the house and all of a sudden He walks up to the house and knocks on the door. A young mom, Sandra, opened the door, We didn´t even have time to say anything and she tells us to come in. We took a look at each other, shrugged and walked in. We sat down on her couch and she says that she has seen us pass by multiple times and that we are always happy with huge smiles on our faces. She said that she had seen us passing by playing with the kids for a couple minutes in the street in front of her house and she said that she noticed something different about us. She said she knew we were from a church but didn´t know which but we always seemed to have a light about us. She said We just looked different, Happier and brighter than anyone she has ever seen. Then walks in the two daughters. Camila, 15 years old and Katherine, 13. We started teaching them and the older daughter tells us she has been going to the adventista church. I have never seen someone so young know the bible like she did. Luckily I had just put a Scripture guide in my bible backing up our doctrine. We shared with her the Restoration and about baptism. She had a baptismal date with the adventistas and we came walking in and put her with a new one. My ZL asked her if we have the authority to baptize, would it do any good getting baptized in the other church, after a second she said No and accepted a date to get baptized. It was one of the coolest lessons I have ever had. The next day they were actually in the plaza doing some paperwork and they came to the church to do a tour. I have no idea how but the doors to the font were opened and we were able to show them the font. They were really fascinated with it. they said they had never seen anything like it. We are excited to help this family. The mom has had a rough time. The dad just left her and she had just separated from him. We are hoping they continue progressing.

I found out that Chile is supposedly a 3rd world country. Not sure if it is true or not. I have really started to think about the different classes here. It is really kind of sad. One neighbor has a four door jeep with a huge house and the next is sleeping on dirt floors with barely enough money to buy bread. I feel really bad for a couple of the people I have been teaching. We have been teaching in a sector that the government has given people houses because they are too poor to buy one or because their house was destroyed in the Earthquake. There are really humble people and also really kind of trashy people that are doing drugs, smoking, drinking or whatever completely wasted inside the house while the kids are running around outside half dressed and without food. From what we have heard the new sector in Coihueco has brought a whole new group of people into Coihueco. We have heard there are a lot more drunks, drugs, and robberies. It is really kind of sad.

I just got another email from President and he said, ¨You are doing great and will be a very good leader. I can't believe the progress you have made just being in this sector. Don't worry about the dog. It isn't' yours and tell the lady to call so they can come and pick it up. That would solve the problem Congrats with all you are doing and keep working hard. You have been a great example to your companion. He will be eternally grateful to you.¨ I guess when he did the cambios he decided to keep us together because he said he wasn´t going to put me with another great missionary because he wanted me to stay with him and help him get better. I guess there is something more I have to learn from him.

Today we did something that I have never done before... We straight up killed a lamb, skinned it, cleaned it, and we are going to cook it later on today with a family. for lunch we ate lamb liver, heart, and lungs. I didn´t really like the lungs but the liver and heart weren´t too bad. I also braided intestine, cooked it and ate it. I also tried tongue. definitely the weirdest, grossest thing I have ever done.

By the way I do not have an accent!! I will find out tomorrow if I have more packages. Pants are a 32 x 29. If you can find Grey and light weight it would be great.

Well not much else happening. Love you all and miss you tons.

Elder Torgersen

Staying in Coihuico

Hello Friends and Family!

 

 This week was really stressful but really successful. We were really stressed and worried but everything turned out fine. Got some big news today....

 

First I´m staying in COIHUECO.... so is my comp. We have been together for 3 cambios and I was praying for a long time he would get changed out. For some reason Pres has decided to keep us together. I guess after 3 hours full of praying and thinking what he should do with us he decided to keep us together. I´m a little frustrated because he doesn´t really help with anything. This cambio is going to be a bit difficult. BUT...

 

I just took the next step on the ladder of leadership... Say Hola to the next DISTRICT LEADER!! Yeah that's right... I`m a little nervous about it but Elder Bracken my ZL is going to help me out. He is probably one of the best elders in the mission. I told him we are chillin after the mission. His dad was the guy that wrote ¨My orange Dufflebag¨ book. Anyway I have to now teach our District class and I´m a little nervous. Should be a good learning experience.

 

This last Tuesday I had 3 interviews in my sector. I ended up going into another sector and my DL came to do the interviews. I called at about 9 to see if they passed and they told me they couldn´t find one lady and the other girl failed her interview. Luckily they were lying. The three passed.

 

We had our Christmas conference this last Wed and I got a Christmas package with decorations and candy in it. We had an hermana lend us a Christmas tree and we set it up and put the presents under it.

 

Well, during lunch this week the hermana had the TV on with the news. I can`t remember which day it was but it was right during the shooting in Connecticut. It makes me sick to think someone would shoot a bunch of 1st graders. There is a special place for sick people like that. I can´t even imagine the heartache the families have right now. I felt like crying. One thing I really don´t miss is seeing news and all the violence and stuff that happens. I guess almost a year and a half without seeing stuff like that it kind of hits you harder when you see it. I will be praying for the families.

 

I am going to send a package home this week so hopefully it gets there. I have bought a couple things for everyone and I´m going to send them this next week.

 

At the Conference everyone kept coming over to me and asking if I was the Elder in Coihueco. I don´t know how but every one knows about the success we are having. One elder said he had heard there were a couple bombs in Coihueco and wanted to know who they were. I thought it was pretty funny....

 

This weekend we had another three baptisms. Juan, Claudia and finally Evelyn. We were really stressed but everything turned out alright. I actually had to perform another baptism this last week end. I have learned I don´t like doing it. I´d rather have a member do it. I was a little nervous about this one because Claudia is a little hefty. I wasn´t sure I was going to be able to do it. But everything went great.

 

We just found a new family of about 6 and none of them are baptized. We had a really good lesson with the mom. She has had a rough time lately. Her mom just passed away, her brother just passed away and her neighbor just passed away. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and she was crying by the end of the lesson. She ended up giving us both besos... haha

 

We just got a whole new branch presidency and are really excited to work with them.

 

Well not much else is happening. Not sure if i´m excited to talk to you all or not... Just means one step closer to finishing my mission. I am hoping that we can go into Chillan to call you guys. If not the Internet here in Coihueco is really slow.

 

Well love you all and miss you tons.

 

Elder Torgersen

Hello friends and family!

 

Well this week has been good. We are really excited for this next week. We should have another 3 baptisms. We have a mini cambio tomorrow and our DL will do the interviews.

 

This last week we had a mini cambio for 2 days. I was just about done after the two days. The sector I was in was really boring. I didn`t like it at all. Their Investigators were really weird and my DL is really awkward.

 

We are really excited because Juan and Claudia are going to have their interview tomorrow and they are really excited. We are also hoping to baptize Evelyn this week end. We found out she is not a member and will need to be baptized.

 

This week We had a family night with Juan and Claudia and their mom. You will all be surprised but I actually played the ukulele and we all sang I am a Child of God in Spanish. It was pretty cool. We had a fun time with them playing a weird game my comp taught us and eating potato chips and Cheetos.

 

Yesterday we were sitting in church and the Stake president came in. Next thing we know our president is released and we have a new Branch Pres. Our New BP is a missionary that has been home for 2 months. We were really excited because he has still got a little motivation to help with missionary work. Yesterday him and the other RM did divisions with us and we were able to visit INV´S and MA´s. We are really excited.

 

We had a mini Conference this last week and MP is changing the way we teach. I guess there is a new way to teach the youth... More like Christ would... We are now starting to teach more like Christ would. I think It will be great. We are still having to memorize over 50 scriptures word for word. It is kind of ridiculous.

 

This week we were able to help out 2 families with service. We cleaned up garbage and pulled weeds for Evelyn. There was a tree with a couple rose bushes... and a lot of big rocks. I ended up cleaning the garbage out, pulling out the weeds and lining up the rocks in a design and she just about died when she saw it. She was really happy with the work we did. We also helped a MA, Mauricio, clean up the outside of his house. He is a younger guy and recently married with a 3 year old little girl. His little girl has got to be the cutest little girl I have ever seen. We are really trying to get the wife, Pamela, to church with the husband. She isn´t a member and hasn´t really given time to the missionaries. We were there at the house on Monday and asked her to share with us for 5 minutes, after a couple seconds she finally walked in. They have been having trouble in there relationship. We told here that we were there to help. The sister of Mauricio is a member and came to me crying the other day asking if We could go pass by there house. She went with us to the lesson and she said that it was the first time she has sat down and actually listened. She said she always says she´s busy and walks out. We are hoping we can help them out.

 

The Relief Soc. had an activity this Saturday giving away clothes in front of the church. We were able to contact lots of people and give away pamphlets and pass alongs. It didn´t really help us out but it was something new to try.

 

I got an awesome letter from Aunt Kay along with a box of caramel popcorn. She sent a box of 4 big ziploc bags of it. It cost her $60 to send! Tell her and her family I love them all and thank you for the treat and the awesome letter. The letter really helped me out this week.

 

Still have been a little sick, Cough is about to kill me, Nose bleeds have stopped though.

 

We had a total of 62 people in church with 3 INV´s and 6 RC.

 

We don´t have plans for Christmas.... we will be going to Talca for a Conference on WED.

 

Well not much else happened this week. We didn`t have much time this week. We ended up having to go into Chillan and didn`t get back till late. Love you all and miss you tons. Tell Colten I will write him next week.

 

Con Amor,

Elder Torgersen

December 1, 2012

Hello Friends and Family!

Well this week was really slow, not just for us but for the whole Zone. This week was full of lots of stuff.

This week started off with a Zone Class. Every Tuesday we go to the Church in Chillan and we meet as a district. Sometimes we meet as a Zone. This last week we had a Zone Class. We had a couple announcements about Conferences and then the ZL´s told us they wanted to talk to us about something serious and a little depressing. They told us that with the announcement of the prophet and with so many missionaries entering into the MTC... They will be changing our transfer dates to meet with the MTC or something like that. They weren`t 100% sure why but we are all getting screwed over by a month in our missions. The room went completely silent. After a minute or so people started asking questions. There is nothing we can do... We are finishing a month earlier than planned due to the changes in ages of missionaries. I´m a little ticked... even though its only a month and I will be able to see you all earlier I´m still mad. 

This week has been really slow for us. I have been getting over my cold and it hasn´t been fun. Every morning when I wake up, I have a headache, sore throat, and congestion. I had this for a few days and to make it worse... just about every hour I was getting nose bleeds. It was really annoying. We were leaving the house one day and right as I was leaving my nose started bleeding and wouldn`t stop. Finally, after about 20 minutes lying down, pinching my nose it stopped. But just about every other hour it would come back. In church Sunday we ended up having to walk out during the closing prayer because it started again.

I did get the package from Halloween. My comp was really excited and said to tell you all MUCHAS GRACIAS! 

We did hear back on SLC if Evelin is a member or not. She is not a member so we will hopefully baptize her here soon. We have also received just about a million blessings. We visited a less active and tried a thing we have learned to get references. She ended up giving us two and she invited them to church this last Sunday. They came and we have talked to them and got them with a baptismal date for the 22 of December. They are progressing daily and are really excited to be baptized. 

The Assistants were traveling assistants they go around the mission looking for future leaders and helping build sectors. They came out looking for future leaders. 

The fruit has been amazing. It is getting to be really cheap and we are about to get into summer and have all the fruit. So far we have had bananas and strawberries. We have also been buying palta or avocado. It has been really good.

Ignacio my recent convert has been working with us. He even wears a shirt and tie. He bore his testimony the other day during a lesson and it was awesome. He was like,¨before my baptism I had this really heavy feeling and then I entered the water and was baptized and the heavy feeling went away.¨ It was so cool.

We have a mini Conference this week with the MP and the Asistontos. I´m not sure what we are going to do... but we should see if I have mail. 

We also have the Christmas conference this next week. Should be pretty fun. We usually eat something really good and learn from president and everyone.

Well really not much is happening. I have no idea if I will stay here.We are not sure what will happen. We still have a lot of people preparing for Baptism. We should continue to have success here. 

Well I love you all and miss you tons. 

Elder Torgersen