Elder McMullan bearing his testimony in Spanish.

Late Night Visitor and Awkward family photo's...Chilean style!

Another great week in Chile!  I can't believe Pierce has been out for 9 MONTHS!!!  Mother's Day is Sunday.., so we get to SKYPE!!  LOVE LOVE LOVE, that I'll be able to talk to him and see that beautiful mug all at the same time!!
He told us last week that he was going to buy a camera that day.  Well..., that day came and went.  He said there is a LONG story as to why he still doesn't have one, but didn't have time to share it.  :(

I'm just happy that he's happy again!

Here are some excerpts from today's email:

" K (an investigator)  has not had the baby yet.  (It's a girl)  All the hermanas are going to throw her a surprise baby shower on Thursday.  That’ll be really good for her."

"This past week we woke up in the middle of the night.  It sounded like someone was in our house.  So we got up, (probably around 2 am) and then it sounded like something was just crawling on the floor.  After looking for a long time, we realized that it was in the roof!  Something was crawling around up there. So we starting hitting the roof, trying to get it to fall through the panels, and then it ran over the skylight.  We could see white, so a mouse we thought?  It seemed small.  Then we trapped it up there and it almost fell through the ceiling.  It was a huge rat!   A really big one!  We thought it was someone’s pet.  Then it went up through the roof and started moving around to other rooms, and then it escaped.  On further discussion with other Chileans, we found out it was some type of rat that is dangerous and actually fights cats and goes after people."

"Also this week, a lady showed us her family photos.  Her pregnancy was the worst and most awkward part for us both, but for them it was completely normal.  The first awkward picture was the hermana super pregnant wearing pants and a bikini top.  (Not that bad of a picture, just a tad awkward)  We moved on. Then their baby naked…, a little worse. Then her breastfeeding and her husband was like pointing at it and telling us some random story or something.  Then the kicker…., Just a picture of a topless woman breastfeeding 2 babies at the same time. Elder O tries to turn the page really fast, and then the mom of the hermana turns it back, points to the picture and says “that’s my sister breastfeeding Sofia(the baby) and some other kid."  We Almost started to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation because we both aren't used to stuff like that, but I guess for them it’s totally normal."  


 

The Elders are becoming quite the Chefs.....

Things are going really well for Elder McMullan.  He seems MUCH happier!  Here are some excerpts from today's email:  (Still no pictures, but he promised me he'd buy one today!)

"We are going to start to cook a lot with families,  (like desserts, etc) because it’s fun to do and they really like it.  (Pierce used to work/cook at Carrabbas) We also had a ward family night last week.  Basically to get to know each other better.  That went really well.   A lot of people showed up.  (Including the investigators)" 

"Elder O and I get along really well. I guess I didn't really notice how bad it was before until this past week.  A lot of members were like "Wow you do talk and aren't quiet!"  "

"It's amazing how some missionaries don't get that you CAN have fun AND be obedient!"

"Elder O and I have been doing a lot of experiments with food.  We do that for lunch basically.  (They don't have a mamita that cooks for them)  but we don’t have an oven, so we have to use other peoples.  We made tortilla chips the other day.  Don't know if you have a recipe for salsa? We’re going to make them with C and K tonight.  (An investigator family) Then after, we’ll probably make pizza pockets. (make dough, put stuff in it and then deep fry it)   So it should be good. Hopefully O and I are companions for awhile!"

"We have set a goal for/with K.  She’s married to someone else, so we have to see a DIVORCE!  It’s weird to be excited about, but it has to happen. Other than that, she's progressing really well."

"My Spanish is ok I guess.  I understand everything. But Chileans always like to throw around new words!"

"We started to paint our house.  We’re going to do some more improvements tomorrow.  The kitchen is horrible!  Still no oven either. "

"It’s getting colder and colder every week, but I guess July is the coldest/worst."

"All we eat here is chicken, bread and rice.  The bread destroys a person!   It’s actually really good.    It’s really dense and filling. Some people lose a lot of weight here and others gain a lot.  The  water isn't safe to drink really, so everyone drinks soda.  It’s  not as bad here as it was in Arica though."

"The guy who tried to commit suicide is doing good.  His mom is doing better too." 

"There are only 2 sisters in our zone, and both are from from Mesa.  But I have to go. Love you guys."

 

Missionary life is awesome!

Pierce is finally progressing again and loving missionary life again with his new companion.  He is doing GREAT with Elder O.  That's all I'm going to say about that......

Here are a few excerpts from today's email:  Still no camera....  :(

"We went to Huasco with Claudio y Karen today, like a little family trip with them. He wants to stop smoking now, so we are working with him with that. " 

"Also had interviews with President and that was good... He even came to our branch on Sunday because our branch is growing so fast.   We showed him again that we now have 94 people at church VS the 50 that we had when I first got here.  Things are going well!"

"Elder O and I get along really really well, so that's always good.  We think alike and don't get over-stressed about dumb things, it's good.  We sang last Thursday in English at a talent show.  We sang A Tarzan song, “You'll b e in my heart” or something like that."  

"Nothing too crazy has happened, except  the dogs have been trying to attack us lately.   I've almost  been bit a few times.  

" I basically came to Chile, loving the people, but man is it so much easier to have fun with them too, when your comp is cool.  I've missed that comradery these last couple months.  It makes everything better, and we can help the people so much more."

"For Easter we made pancakes and that’s about the extent of it. "


 

New Comp, remodeling and an Albino!

It was great hearing from Pierce today.  All good things!  (Well.., almost)  He's really enjoying serving with his new companion.  It seems that they are a great team!

Here are the excerpts form his emails:

" My new Comp, "O" is really cool.  He says "eh" and stuff just like a Canadian.  He’s a worker, which is great.  He looks sort of like Bruno Mars, but reminds me a lot of Chris L actually, so we get along really well.   Not to mention speaking English has been cool for the first time in a long time!"

"Our lessons with  Danisa are going really good!  Here’s the back story on her:  So Danisa has a son named Diego (now 16) who wanted to hear the missionaries.  Her husband wouldn't let them in the house, so they taught him down the street on a flight of stairs.  After a year or so , the parents let him get baptized, and his younger brother too. Both were really active.  Then his aunt asked him about it and she and her whole family got baptized.  Then his grandma, great grandma and all his cousins that could. Now his mom and Dad are the only ones left. His dad is cool with us now, and Danisa knows the church is true but she wants to get baptized with her husband, so it's complicated.  He works in Antofagasta in a mine and works 14 days, 7 off and is 12 hours away."

"We went to a party at a member’s house.  (The house we built)  They invited everyone over who helped build it.  We ate food and stuff and a lot of the ward was there."

 "I actually met an albino guy yesterday, whiter than me!   Didn't think it was possible, but it happened!"

"We have been working with some less actives that haven’t been to church in years.  They are making goals to come back, so that's good!"

 

"We are in the process of painting our house and other stuff.  The roof is good now.  We need to replace the window though.  Surprisingly, no spiders recently."

"The people here  never think I'm American.  They usually think I’m German, Irish (He is!)  or Canadian.  And now it's funny because the brown guy is the Canadian." 

" We went to a less active ladies house and she was crying and stuff.   Turns out her drug addict son tried to commit suicide, and she walked in on him. He had basically sliced his wrist, stomach, and shoulder and had jammed the knife directly into his chest.  She ripped it out!  He's in the hospital and still alive but that family is not doing very good right now."

"In other news, Elder "P" called me and it was so weird.  I tried to be friends with him, but he kept it all business like.  But with others, he was really cool and had a lot of friends.  I really think he had an issue with me being a gringo.  We didn't really understand each other either.  He made things so much more complex, and I didn't stress out like he did.  He always said weird stuff,  like one time, we were walking and some girls yelled at me.  They said something like “we want the blond to come over here”, and “I want gringo babies” and crazy stuff like that.   I just waved and we went down the other street.  Then he was like "I want to go back, this is such a temptation!" And I was like, “Dude, what are you talking about?!”   

Elder McMullan and his new Companion,.  MIB

The house they helped build!

Elder McMullan with his new Albino friend.  Together at last!!

Conference, a New Comp and a Twin!!!

A few excerpts from Elder McMullan's email today:

"I'm getting ANOTHER new companion today! My new comp comes tonight. His name is Elder "O".   His parents are both from El Salvador, but he was born and raised in Canada, so basically a gringo.  Everyone that knows him, says he's really cool."

"The Conference was awesome!  Yea, they did talk a lot about being steadfast and paying attention to the basics, but they hit a lot of controversial subjects too.   Abortion, Gay Marriage and  Porn.  Heck, a girl speaker spoke on porn!  I did not see that coming,  But yea, conference was sweet!   Hung out with all the gringos for 2 days, nothing better than a little break from Spanish.  

During conference, a lot of things stuck out to me. Like Elder Bednar’s comparison to the load and how it keeps us going....,. Or just focusing on the basics of the gospel, not all the distractions.  (something I do alot)  ALL the talks were pretty powerful!  No new temples though.  I saw the video of the Gilbert temple dedication and that looked really cool. "

"My Camera broke the other day.  (NOOOOO!!!!!)   Some sand or something got stuck in the lens.  There aren't any places here to fix it.  Only in Santiago.  I think I'll send the camera home, maybe there’s a warranty?"  (He's looking for a new one..., so no worries!)  

"I don’t think I've really told you guys about a less active we found. His name is "CM".  Very interesting character.   He’s been inactive for a long time.   He’s 27 and has 2 kids, with one on the way.   When we found him, he had a lot of money.  He really wanted to start coming back to church.  Then he lost his job.  It’s been over a month now, maybe more.  One day we got there and he opened the fridge and cupboards and showed us that there was no food.  He cried.  Then his girlfriend came in.  The first time we met her, she told us that she basically feels deceived by her church, because everything costs money.  Then (This is exactly how he is...) "CM" stopped her and said "You guys know what!!? The " " Church is a business, the " " is a bank, and if I didn't know the Mormon Church was true, I'd change my house into a church too, and rip off all the idiot followers!  I was trying very hard to not say anything, because he was right.  Here in South America, One day it's a house, the next day it’s a church!  This experience over the past month or so has basically ground his pride into pulp.  He can be a little crazy at times, but he's right....,the church is true. It makes sense!  He came to conference too, which was awesome." 

Pierce also went on to talk about the power of prayer.  "You always get what you want and need through prayer!"  He gave MULTIPLE personal examples of instances that he's prayed for things, and he's gotten EXACTLY what he prayed for.  I'm so impressed with the growth already in him!  I love that he prays for growth even though he knows it won't always be pleasant.  

Just for fun......, Since I have no pics this week, I'm inserting a picture that Pierce's friend, Naomi sent.  It's of a guy she saw at Conference this past weekend.  No one can believe the resemblance!  He has a twin for sure!   Even Pierce freaked out when he saw it.  :)   

   

8 months in the Mission, Huasco and pics!

Sorry this post is late.  I've been in Texas visiting family for the past week.  

Elder McMullan is doing great.  Here are some excerpts and pics from this weeks email:  

"Things are improving with "P".  (His comp) 

"It's been 5 weeks here in my new area already!   8.8 months in the mission total! "P" might leave in a week, but I doubt it."

"This week we went to our Ward Mission Leaders house, because I basically ran out of ideas.  Turns out no missionary has gone by his home and visited he and his family for years.  He's been a member for 30 years and was district president at 23 years old.   (Basically stake president)  When I first got here, the branch had 60 people.  In 4 weeks, we have 80 active.  He said the same thing has happened over and over again. The branches begin to exponentially grow, then pride sets in or something, and not little by little,…but almost immediately,  (in about one month) nobody is active. He has seen our branch have 150 people then go to 6 active members (plus the missionaries) in less than 8 weeks.  He says it’s because of people turning against each other.  Compare it to the Nephites.   He says it’s happened countless times in the past 30 years.   He told us to brace ourselves, because there has been growth.  He said the the fall is coming…. Hopefully it doesn't! "

"General Conference !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I love General Conference!!!  Something is going to change I can feel it.  Maybe China is going to open?? " 

8.8 Months in the mission!

"I got fancy when I discovered Dr. Pepper here."  (No, he doesn't wear that tie normally and yes, soda is all they have there)    Oh, how I miss this goof!!!

"The Mist"  (right outside his house) 

They went to Huasco for P-day.  (It's about an hour from where he is) 

A random river by the ocean

Huasco.  (And apparently his favorite pose)

Huasco from afar

Awesome Shark BBall court