Merry Christmas from the Elders

Our attempt at a manger scene
Merry Christmas everyone

pictures from the 1st 2 weeks in Chile

The Completo-  a giant hot dog in Chile

At the bus station saying goodbye to my companion who is going home to Guatemala

At church in Temuco

2nd Week in Chile

Elder Rabanales leaving to go home to Guatemala and Elder Voyles

1st week in Chile

This is a picture of a man named Ivan.  He contacted us on facebook and said that Elder Noel lived in his area.  He told us that he would take care of him while he was there.

Hey Family,

  It’s me. This week has been hard for me. I don’t know what I’m doing. I feel alone and helpless at times. 

 I have two comps. They are good guys.    One goes home next monday. He is from Guatemala.  We live with the zone leaders. They are good guys. We live in sort of a two-story apartment. Its okay I guess. One of the Z Leaders leaves in feb and the other has 17 months like my comp.

 Spanish is hard. Everyone here speaks so fast its insane! I can only pick up certain words and phrases. When we teach my comps will say something and then just look at me. All I do basically is say what I know. I testify and try to relate everything back to the Atonement and Book of Mormon. 

 When we contact people I just say we have a message about your brother Jesus Christ. This message can help you with your life and your family. We would like to share it with you. Then they say they are catholic or evangelist or something like that. Then my comps just try to convince them to let us in. About 95 percent of the time they don’t. It’s hard.

 I think about you guys and home and things like that. Dad your journal helps. I read some of your past journal entries and you explain how I feel some of the time. The other night I was laughing cause what you had said I felt exactly. It was funny.

 Anyway Chile is a different country than America. Its funny cause everybody’s house is usually just small! But then when you go inside some of the houses, they have nice furniture and like a plasma screen tv. The Elders here were telling me that they buy a plasma screen tv before they would by life insurance.

 I was reading an article about adjusting to missionary life. It’s probably that you will feel stressed out at first, but they said it will pass.  Anyways I love you! And I miss you like crazy!

           -Con Mucho Amor -Elder Noel

I will pray hard! and by the way I’m in a place called Temuco. My area is Catrihuala.

Traveling to Chile

Hayden left the MTC on Monday, December 2 around 1 pm to head to the airport to fly to Chile.  He flew with a group of 15, 7 of them were going to a mission in the south and 7 were headed to the Concepcion South mission.  His plane left Mexico at 7:30 pm and he had a 8 hr flight to Santiago, Chile.  Once there they had a 6 hr layover.  We were able to talk to Hayden at about 6 am our time.  It was great to hear his voice.  He was nervous and excited.  He bore his testimony about Jesus Christ and what he was about to do.  He then boarded a plane to Concepcion and had a 1hr 20 minute flight there.  This is the email we received later that day.

Hey Family!
 I made it to Chile! Im in the mission president's home and we just had lunch! The flights were good and I am glad that I was able to call and talk to you!! The mission president and all the elders and hermanas are very nice! Well I have to go! I love you!! -Elder Noel 

Week 5 and Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at the Mexico City CCM

Sending pictures to the family on Thanksgiving Day

Hey mom!

 This week has gone pretty good! 5 days until I head out for Chile! Its crazy to think I have been here almost 6 weeks! I bet time is flying by for everyone except for you and the fam haha... I wish I had more time to learn more! I don’t feel 100 percent ready but you can never be 100 percent ready anyways! Today we had turkey and mashed potatoes for lunch! It was really nice of the cooks to do that for us! No packages yet!  I’m glad USU won! Sounds like we are doing okay! I miss you guys alot too! I miss having Thanksgiving with all you guys! But you are right! I KNOW that I am supposed to be here. Not in the US. Not at Thanksgiving. Not at the football games....well maybe there. Haha kidding. I am where I need to be. And it’s really hard at times to see that, it’s hard to finally face that fact. But the Lord needs me now then ever. And even though it’s hard, I know I am here for a reason! I pray for you guys every time I pray... which is literally at least ten times a day! Keep up the prayers!

Just want everyone to know how much I love them! I miss them alot! Tell them I always think about them and they are always in my prayers! If you ever need help in your life the Lord is waiting with open arms! Hey mom and dad and Cole and Gabe and Abby, I love you guys! Stay strong and have a good Thanksgiving okay!? I love you! I’ll talk to you soon!

Love, Elder Noel

Week 4 Mexico MTC

                        Me emailing my family and friends!  I just got my haircut!

                 Hermana Lambs parents sent her a box of doughnuts so we had a party!
 From left to right, Elder Sherman, Elder Clarke (DL), Elder Barlow (my comp), ME! Hermana Lamb, Hermana Davidson, Elder Wallace, Elder Richins, Elder Farnsworth a.k.a. Farns$, Elder Peaua, and one of the funniest kids ever Elder Jarvis (Under Wallace's Legs)                    Thats the crew!!

               Writing in my journal while my comp plays with his camera!

This week has gone by fast! I can’t believe I have been out for one month now, that’s crazy! The days go by like weeks but the weeks go by like days! It’s a weird feeling to explain but it’s true.  I can’t believe Christmas is in a month! I feel like I need more time but I don’t want to stay here, I want to get out! It’s rough and frustrating at times but that is how it is for everyone, plus if you start comparing your self to other people you will never be good enough because there will always be someone who is better than you. So the language will be a struggle and the spirit will be a struggle and teaching and adjusting to the culture and getting along with my comp and all that stuff will be a struggle, but I know the Lord will help me get through it. I’m hanging in there.  I’m anxious to get in the field! I’m glad Gabe writes me, I didn’t know how much I would miss them! I love my district and my comp is way cool to!

Here is a funny thing that happened, so Elder Jarvis and his comps found a riddle under their bed in their casa. The riddle leads to a place in the forest behind our dorm.  We found a fly swatter that had the “Sword of Laban”, and the “Sling of David”, written on it, also a volleyball signed by the people who wrote the riddle. Now me and my comp and Elder Jarvis and his comp are making the ¨gold plates¨ .   We are writing scripture like passages of our days in the MTC and then we are going to put it with the rest of the stuff so other people can find it and enjoy I am writing the first book in the gold plates entitled ,”The Book of Noel”!

Overall I think I can honestly say I’m happy, its not like I’m doing kart wheels in my jail cell of an apartment but I generally find myself smiling and having fun!

I love and miss you all!

Love your son,

            Elder Noel

Week 3 Mexico MTC

Me at the Mexico city temple

My district

A group of us outside the temple

Will Barlow, Parker Dixon, and me.  Weber buddies!
Hey Family! My week has been good! I feel like the language is coming along better this week! Still really hard to speak but I have just decided that I can’t control how fast I learn the language I can only control how much I study and speak!  We have mock investigators right now.  Both of them are our teachers, so they make it hard.  We had a lesson with ¨Adan´´.  He has problems at work and there is a lady that keeps flirting with him and won’t leave him alone. He said his wife is getting angry with him, what we told him is that “we may not know how you feel but God and Christ do”. Also I asked if he wanted a blessing, so I gave him a blessing. We asked him to be baptized and he said YES. Fake investigator but still haha. Next time we will show him the story of Joseph and Potiphers wife. That should help! Today we went to the temple and as we were driving there one could have thought we were driving through a sewer. That city is insane! I have never seen so many cars and people in my life. Shacks and stands everywhere! The temple was cool! 

This is my daily routine... Wake up at 6:30, Arrive at the class at 7, study for an hour then eat breakfast at 8. Then we have class from 830-1130. We do language stuff and things like that with Hermana Sauceto! Then we have gym for an hour and eat lunch at 1! Then we have TALL which is a computer program for learning the language put out by the church. We have that for an hour. Then at 3 we have more class with Hermano Silva and Hermano Soto! They are awesome! Then at 6:30 we have dinner until 7:15 then back to the class for more personal and companionship study until 9:30. Then we go back to our dorms, get ready for bed and lights out at 1030! The days are starting to go by faster! I can’t believe I have been here three weeks! But it’s crazy to think I still have 3 more!

Love you guys! -Elder Noel