Christmas Week

I am so excited by this news! We can actually see him! Far far away but still close enough to see. Yay!

Are you ready for the best news ever? This year, and probably forever, we are going to be permitted to use Skype. Not only audio - video. All the cibers (intenet cafes) including the one I´m in have cameras... so yeah. Skype. It´s happening. I´ll have to show you how big my pants are.

Therefore, you will need my name. elder.crist. That´s it. Just type that in and it will find me. Furthermore, it will be free, besides the money to use the computer, which will be about 1.60. Win. We don´t really get to decide when to do it, as it will be next week. I´m really sorry about this, but I´m going to talk to my companion and we´re going to decide when and you´ll have to figure it out. Sorry. Use my computer probably, skype works best on it.

The thing you´ll find with Chilean food is anything made for an occasion is good. Desserts are amazing. Party stuff, like empanadas, completos, pizzas, all very good. Normal food is pretty much a choice between three things : Chicken leg with rice, porrotos, which is a kind of bean soup that is really bland, and pana, which is like "meat surprise", essentially. It could be pancreas, heart, kidney, or liver. Occasionaly they give you queso de cabeza, cheese of head, which is ground-up tongue and brain together. It is the worst thing they have here, bar none. They always have salad drenched in oil and lemon juice, which is not terribly good either. The only things you can depend upon are the drink, which is either soda or juice, and the bread, which is always good here. Always. Certain ward members make their own professionally - needless to say, I stopped buying it at the market. And tomatoes. They love tomatoes pure and raw. You can always find those too. Juice is a strong point of the stuff we get. I went to the completo place in the mall and got some pineapple juice they make with a grinder in front of the store. They add nothing to it, and it totally has awesome pulp, but it´s just good.

There are actually ads for Tron on the buses we take. It does look pretty cool. (I do remember the original) It sounds like one of those movies that Jake and I would like. I´ve already started a "trunky list" at the back of my journal, so I´ll be sure to add it.

I will probably get the stuff you sent on Wednesday at meeting. The stuff goes to the mission HQ and it gets to us over a week or so. I´m sure I´ll be getting it, in fact. Exciting. Hope it didn´t cost too much... oh, what do I care- it´s a package!

The doctors said the thing I got was probably from stick deodorant... so I am now using cool Chilean spray deodorant. It works just fine, actually. The stick kind gives certain people ingrown hairs, especially if you put it on and then put a shirt on right after without letting it sink in or something... whatever.

(my companion just said we´re going to call at 1530 Chilean time. I belive that´s 1130 there. Just be ready. elder.crist, okay? We kind of got screwed with the announcement coming out so late. If it fails, I´ll just call, but I imagine you´ll be able to do that.)

Cambios (changes) was Sunday, and we are... doing nothing. Usually you stay with your dad (trainer) for two cambios, then you leave, and he probably stays, maybe not. That´s how they call it here. Your brothers had the same trainer, your son is the Elder you trained, and so forth. Therefore, it´s very rare to meet your grandpa, but it happens from time to time. The only time I saw the MTC guys was at the "greenie meeting" a month ago, and one Elder who ended up in my zone, who I see every week. It´s way fun to meet them and talk about their areas. My companion from the MTC (the sane one) is in the most flaite area of the mission. They have a crack corner, a weed corner, etc. They get threatened all the time but nothing happens. They actually can´t go into half their area without a local. That reminds me of a story... just a second.

We were walking home one night along the highway (imagine this - it´s very loud) under an overpass. We contact this guy who is walking next to us. He was a member, but he went inactive because he didn´t believe in the Word of Wisdom. We asked him why, and he said because when Noah got off the ark, God said to him he could eat anything he could see. We tried to get his address but he didn´t let us. We started walking away, me having heard nothing, and Elder Mann says "Yeah, I´m Noah. The first thing I thought of when I got off the boat : I´m gonna go make a bong." I had no idea why he said that, so it made me laugh so hard I tripped on a rock.

But other than that, we actually do have investigators. Our best right now is a lady who lives out in the boonies of our sector. She lives in this house with a half-metal roof with her kids and husband. She has this tiny little garden of carrots in her front yard, which is mostly cement other wise. There are really only three rooms: the front with the tv, the bedroom for everyone, and the laundry/dump room. The kids sleep outside when it´s hot to save space, to give you an idea. We got in the first time, and it went really well. She had a lot of faith already in God - she said that she´s gone hungry before, but since she´s had her kids, she can feel God´s love because she never lacks food for them.

Another investigator we have you may want to hear about as well. I think I may have met one of the people most similar to Granny in the entire world. She accepts the Gospel readily, even to the point that it seems she knows it already. She hasn´t been able to set a date for baptism yet. You´d suspect the classic problems : fear, inabilty to commit to coming to church, etc. She can´t because she is too busy organizing a community-wide Christmas program for kids who don´t have enough money to do Christmas, complete with a meal and presents. She lives day-to-day almost failing at times, for she can only work on donations - she has no money to speak of. People are touched by her just enough to contribute, and the program looks to be coming off resoundingly well. What´s more, she has a bent coccyx that gives her serious pain, and a compressed siadic nerve, and diagnosed fibromyalgia, but she doesn´t stop for a moment.

When you see a person who is not a member of the Church, you need to realize something. Or a member. There´s a lot of judgment along with missionaries who don´t complete the mission. The thing is, though, all people are doing the best they can with what they´ve been given. I´d like you to reread John 9 if you find yourself thinking otherwise. They are just trying to utilize the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

The time really gets away from me on these things. Peace.

Love,
Elder AC Crist

week #5

I will not say much and just let you get to the letter. Pray for him to get over the infections that plague his life. I know they make him miserable and not very effective as a missionary. It brings him down because he can't seem to do much. Darn it! So here you go...


I did a mail to dad about the details, but it sufficeth me to say that they certainly did, and I saw the doctor. I could probably use some of that wash stuff. As for not working, it could be a few days before I can go at all. Fetch. I would work inside in a second, and the President said that could very well happen because I know computer stuff, but I have to be good enough at Spanish first.

The call can be 24, 25, or 26th. Whenever. It's an hour long. I don't know how to do google voice with it. Maybe look into it? I could maybe have you call from voice to a member's phone. I don't know. Is there a way to call collect on google voice? I don't know. I can always get a phone card, but that's rather expensive. And the coin phones are hard core shank. Basically you just do it however you want. Some crooked "chueco" missionaries will call every day or for like 3 hours, and no one ever finds out. In conclusion, a lot of freedom there. Whenever is better. Remember the time difference.

I still haven't been homesick except for when they were working on my infections. I just thought about mountain dews and doing stuff that's fun that you don't have to do.

Turns out the reason I couldn't do pull ups was that I had too much weight. I don't know what I've lost, but I can do double the exercises now. From walking very briskly all day, I actually am pretty conditioned. We play soccer and I run around the whole time and never get sideaches or out of breath. It's really suprising because it doesn't seem like I've done that much exercise, but I have. We truly walk ten miles a day very easily. Every part of our area is a mile apart or more, so if we have a different appointment, we do a mile. This could happen hourly. You do the math.

We did actually have a baptismal date the other day. But then the lady, an older community organizer, bailed. She is putting together an enormous Christmas program for kids who don't have Christmas, with food and presents and all. It's a pretty good excuse, since she did say she wanted to start up again after. But losing a date is awful. We've really been having a lot of disappointments this change - Elder Mann says it's the worst he's ever seen in terms of people suddenly turning us down or stopping the discussions. We've just now found a couple of people that are refered to here as "los escogidos" - the chosen. You know it when you see it. People who have questions that fit the Church perfectly, like "Why are there so many chuches?" or "Why do priests get paid/never get married?" You show them the Book of Mormon and they often accept it before you ever enter their house. We have two right now. One's an older lady with a daughter who converted recently (having any family whatsoever in the Church is fantastic) who had the first question. The other is a single man with an autistic son with the second. He didn't believe the Catholic Church had authority because people vote on the Pope and stuff like that. Elder Mann and I just waited for him to look away to do a fist bump.

I may be shorter than Jake, but you should see the people here. On the metro today I could see the eye-level exit ("salida") signs at the very back of the train 100 feet away; not a single person was tall enough to block my view. I have seen probably 20 people up close who where heavier or taller than me. I am a very large person here. I don't fit in most seats. It's really kind of funny. I routinely accidentaly move couches when I stand up and my knees usually sick out in the air because of the lowness of them.

They do have a metro here. It's a lot like the DC one, except with people pushing into the car to let the door close. It's kind of dark and it smells like cave. Even so, people sell ice cream bars and play saxophones on the trains for money. You'd think it'd become annoying - and it does at first, but you actually wish there was one when there isn't. We actually heard a really cool tribalish singer/drum player on the bendy-bus (Oh, did I mention there are bendy-buses here?). They actually have a deal with the bus company to not pay every time they get on the bus, but rather pay a commission or something. You really think it's going to be annoying, but sometimes you actually do want a cold pear or a ice cream bar, and it's not at all expensive. They sell creamies (different in name only)(called "Como Mono" [which is wordplay, because como can mean "like" or "I eat". It's banana flavor, so it's "I eat like a monkey" ie, a banana. You get it, I think.])

The first picture is one of the four of us in our pension. I don't remember if I've told you about them before. Elder Silva is the native. He's a firefighter, actually. He is learning english, which is huge in Chile. Speaking English is a guaranteed good job anywhere. You can translate instuction manuals and other such things, teach in school, be a live translator for tv shows or conferences, or whatever. Elder Smith is a very white guy from Texas. I think he did a bunch of school in history already. I belive he likes history in the proximity of Joseph Smith and the Civil War, which means he's a good authority on anything about the beginning of the Church. They work immediately around the pension, and we work 15 minutes away.

That baked good is an empanada. I finally got one, and that was it. It was a nepolitano, which means it had pizza ingredients in it. Fantastic. Like nothing the states has. It's like the best bread you can imagine for an empanada, with legit, thick slices of meat in it. They cook them in broiling oven things while you wait and give them to you hot enough to melt plastic. I mentioned the good chocolate milk, but that is it. Soprole. It has no sugar really, but it's dark and just awesome. It's utterly fantastic also. That's the trend in Chile. The normal people food is pretty so-so. I ate freaking pancreas the other day! It actually wasn't any worse than the meat-meat, but the meat-meat was pretty bad anyway. They just boil it usually, no seasoning or anything. When you see them get out the barbeque though, that is an exciting thing. Things made for occassions are very, very good. Restaurants are extremely good and rather cheap. Desserts almost of all kinds are also just better than the States. They sell layered ice cream in sleeves, much like those dairy queen cakes, but they have twenty kinds. Of course, this ice cream follows the "more cream, less sugar" philosophy. It's so creamed out that it doesn't ever get hard in the freezer. It will always be scoopable. People here have discovered how great cold stuff is recently, and now most people have a legit cold fridge. It's always great to see people come out of the kitchen with a condensing Coke bottle for lunch. It's often the best part of the meal, unfortunately. They operate on a bottle-exchange system, and when you get them, they are already cold enough. The only reason we don't buy them is there's no room in the fridge.

I'm trying to be more focused with these things. I need to read some of Randy's letters again. He had it figured out. What did he do?

Also, I have confirmed that Grandma can email me. Or any family. Just saying.

Elder AC Crist

busy week

Sorry I didn't get this posted sooner but we can blame the flu! I hate being sick especially this close to Christmas. The highlight of my week is obviously the letters that I get from my skinny son. I think I will have to send him some money for new clothes...already. I was under the impression that most missionaries gain weight on their missions, not lose it. We'll see if he finds some delicious treat to fill him back out.

That´s interesting that you talk about Jesus is the Americas, firstly, because that´s where I am, and secondly, because that is more often than not what we give to investigators to read the first time we leave them a Book of Mormon. The answer is always the same when we ask them how they felt when they read it - "Me sentí... paz. Tranquilidad." (I felt... peace, tranquility.) They have the same feelings you do. Jesus becomes a real, real person for them, and knowing he surely exists is what leads them to listen to us again.

I don´t know if you´ve ever read Jesus the Christ, but I´d consider it once you feel like you get the scriptures more or less. It´s not that hard of a book, or, at least, isn´t as hard as people say it is. I´ve read to about page 500 since I arrived, and I know every whit why we can read it and we cannot even read the Gospel Principles manual (true). It´s a fantastic way to get to know the Lord.

You don´t have sunshine. You should take some of mine. It´s about 90 degrees right now. There´s also an ozone hole over Chile, which means you burn in about thirty minutes of direct sun. Needless to say I´m tanner, and I use a lot of sunscreen. We are out in it about 8 hours a day, occasionally less, usually walking outdoors, which explains why I´ve made a new hole in my belt and in three weeks I now will need a new one today or tomorrow. My pants are vaguely looking wierd now because I have to pull the slack around to make it not bunch up in the front. Fetch.

I´m happy to hear that you´re doing the music stuff. Of all the stuff I did, it was the most memorable and fun. The choir trips I went on were the most fun things I did all year. I did caroling with some friends independenly of school yearly until we actually developed a reputation and received requests to go to certain places, like the hospital and such. People crying, especially around this time of year is not too uncommon when music is involved.

Here are some pictures to make you understand a little more. THAT is the shower. Scary, isn´t it? It is two feet wide, ie, you couldn´t step any more than your two feet already in the shower. The paint comes off the ceiling randomly and it routinely will stop being hot. Did I tell you about the way we get the heater to work? We have to turn on all the sinks until it turns the heater on. Whatever. Then it will go out. Why? No reason.

I´m finding those really good foods now. I had a completo, finally, that had bacon and barbeque sauce. Fantastic. It´s not exactly a fransc hot dog, but still. Also, they have a little pudding cup (of which there is a picture) called Manjarate which is a mousse with solid chocolate in it... also fantastic. I think I sent it. Hang on.

Guess it didn´t. Here they are. They gay out a lot and I have to do stuff.

But yeah. I don´t have much to say. Have any questions about stuff? There´s so much stuff here I don´t even know where to begin. We kind of got screwed on time today, as you may have noticed. I got some candy bars. I´m not hungry that much anymore. Not dead. Not injured. I have like three infections though. Pray and stuff. I need to go.

Que le vaya bien
Elder AC Crist