April 27th, 2015

Hola Family,

This week has been good.  Not too much has happened here in Villarrica with the volcan in Calbuco but still, it's weird how much ash and smoke it puts into the air.  We will probably wear masks today.  I haven`t heard too much about missionaries further south but I know there are quite a few cities under military curfew.  In some places where lots of people have left it's gotten really violent and there is lots of looting.  So the military came in. The closest missionaries to the volcan are in a city called Alerce.  One of the elders I live with in the house here was just there two weeks ago. 

The work has been going very well here in Villarrica.  The people are awesome and very friendly.  But the thing I like most is that there are so many families here!  Everywhere else I've been nobody is married and there are hardly any families but here it is awesome.  We have been having lots of success. 

We have been sharing with some really awesome people.

First is Maria Jose.  She was a contact we had last week and we started sharing with her.  She has gone to lots of churches and always says she wants to pay back God for all the blessings she has in her life.  She is married but we still don't know her husband.  He is a bus driver and works Monday to Monday without any breaks so that is lame.  But she talks with him about all that we share so that is really cool.  She is definitely prepared by God.

We found a kid named Damian.  He is 18 and lives alone.  His parents live in the Campo so he lives in their house here.  He is super receptive and has been looking for a church as well.  He studied the Jehovah Witnesses but didn't like it so he is still looking.  I'm excited to share with him more because he could serve a mission in a year!

There is another kid named Matias.  He is 15.  The first lesson we had with him he prayed that he could keep learning and get baptized!  His mom is really friendly but doesn't really want to share.  It's awesome because in the rama there is a kid named Diego who is the only member of his family and was baptized when he was 12 and now he is 15 so him and Matias could be good friends!.

We have lots of other contacts and investigators that we are trying to follow up with to see if there is real interest or not.

There are lots of members here, just like all the other places.  I think, in the list, there are 2 or 3 hundred and the average attendance is 30 or 40-ish.

Elder Meneses and I get along really well.  He lifted weights almost professionally before the mission!  Haha, so he really likes exercises.  I have been trying really hard to put on weight but I just can`t! Haha.  I still think I will be able to take Dallin though! ;) haha.....maybe.

That's pretty crazy with Nepal!  Lots of big things going on in the world.  I think it's kinda funny in Chile.  You have big earthquakes all the time and on one side of the country is the ocean so that means Tsunami!  Haha, and on the other side you have Volcanos! 

I have heard that there are a couple other Volcanos here close by that are starting to act up.  Are Volcanos connected?

Well, I think that is everybody.  Time is going by very fast but I'm going to work even harder the closer it gets to going home!  Love you guys tons! 

Elder Robertson 

These pics were after the service activity we did.  The first one is normal and the second one we were all trying to flex and the timer went off right as I was making a noise haha.  My companion is the second one.

I can't really remember what day but it think it was Friday in the morning when we got up it was almost pitch black from the ash cloud.  It's been pretty crazy but I'm glad I'm not closer to the volcano.  I've heard there are places that are really bad, especially in Argentina.

This is about how much ash fell during the night after the first eruption.  No more ash has fallen here but it's all in the air.

So before today the ash wasn't bad at all here in Villarrica but it's really bad in Pucon.  So the missionaries in Pucon have to wear masks.  We all have them but we don't really need them.  There hasn't been too much ash that has fallen.  But today there is so much in the air!!  Last night the volcano in Calbuco must have erupted again because it's really bad today.

So a family just moved into the Branch from Santiago and they have a Rabbit!  It's really friendly and it's pretty smart!  I just happened to scare it when it was in my hands so it scratched my arm up!

These were Saturday during the day.  Lots of ash in the air but not too bad here in Villarrica.  But today you can't even see the volcano.  It's almost like its foggy but grayish brown.

Update

The most recent eruption of Calbuco is in Elder Robertson's mission but he is about 140 miles north of it.  He is getting some ash where he lives though.

April 20th, 2015

This week was good.  Everything went good with the conference.  It was a lot of planning!  It was pretty funny because the day before, Hna. Obeso called and said she wanted a cake to celebrate the birthdays that have happened.  So we had to run all over the place looking for a cake but finally we found one so it all worked out good.  Yes, I'm still a zone leader.  I probably will be until the end.  It's a lot of work but I don't mind it.  I like it here in Villarica because it is a lot less traveling than in Lanco. 

The weather has been pretty dang nice for the most part.  Usually it has just rained at night.  It's not very cold either so that's a plus.  Saturday it rained all day, haha!  By the end of the day I was soaked.  Originally all my stuff was waterproof but now it's only waterproof for an hour or so!  Haha.  But I should be fine for a couple more months. 

I just talked to Elder Warburton and his parents got his itinerary too! 

I gave a talk in sacrament meeting about repentance so that was good.  I'm almost done reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish again!  I'm also reading the Old Testament in English.. it's a lot harder.  Well, I will try and not be trunkie.  But I just realized I only have ten p-days left!  Haha :) Love you guys!

Elder Robertson

The sector I have here in Villarrica is pretty big!  It's really long and it's pure houses.  This picture is from the end of my sector; it's a newer neighborhood. 

I  found my new sun glasses in the house of a member family. :)

April 13th, 2015

Hey Fam.
Villarrica is awesome!  The Last three months of my mission are going to be a vacation!  Haha.  It's so pretty here.  The actual city is really big and touristy so it has everything!  It's right by a huge pretty lake and the Volcano is pretty dang close.  I`ve heard that the volcano has picked up in activity so they think it might erupt again!  I hope my camera is ready!  I'm far enough away that i'd be fine but there are 4 missionaries in a city called Pucon.  It's at the bottom of the Volcano. Haha.  They have been here in Villarica ever since it erupted and just barely went back to Pucon this week.  But we always have to be ready to pull them out again.  The Volcano is pretty dang cool. Smoke is always coming out of it but we will see if anything happens.

My Companion's name is Elder Maneses.  He is from Chile; a city called "La Serena."  He is cool.  We get along great so it will be good.  I'm sure I will be with him until I go home.  The sector where I'm at is awesome!  I'm in a Rama(branch) called Volcán... haha.  It has about the same attendance as Lanco.  Yesterday we had 48 people in church.  I'm excited to be here.  It's going to be awesome!  Our ward mission leader's name is Max.  He got baptized a year ago and just a couple weeks ago his mom got baptized.  I think his dad is going to get baptized here soon as well.

Max's mom's name is Marienela.  She is our mamita now.  So we go over everyday to eat lunch.  She makes really good food. 

The house we live in is really cool.  It's the first house I've lived in with 4 elders.  It's fun, we live with an Elder Perkins de Las Vegas y un Elder Coulson de Bear River, Utah.  They are cool, we get along great.  It's also the first time I've shared a ward or Rama with Sister missionaries.  They work hard. 

This week was cambios and then we had our zone leader meeting in Osorno so we haven't had much time in the sector.  But I'm excited, it's going to be good. 

This week we have our Zone conference with president.  We found a stone oven pizza place today and so for the conference we are going to eat delicious Pizza!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm bummed I'm not in Osorno anymore because when we were there for the meeting I found out they have a Subway!!!!! 

This picture is from Lanco, a member had a flag and so we took tons of pictures! Haha

Love you guys! 

Elder Robertson

 This is a picture that a member gave my companion from the eruption in March.

This is a picture my companion took right before I got here.

April 6th, 2015

Hey Fam!

Still haven't heard anything about cambios but I'm sure the A.P.s will call while I'm writing.  I think I will stay here with Warburton for another cambio and then I will go somewhere else my last cambio. 

Things have been good.  This week we helped the Hermanas Balboa and Andrade change houses.  It was good but it was the first day in four months it decided to rain!!!!  Haha.  So it was pouring rain the whole time we moved.  The weather has been pretty cloudy and rainy but it still hasn't been too bad. 

Conference was amazing!  I loved all the talks!!!  One of my favorite talks was by Ballard!  I got a personal interview with him!!!!!!  Haha.  Elder Holland's talk was also nice, it was a great story!  We watched the conference in Spanish so it was cool because we got to see the two talks in Spanish without a translator.  Elder Zeballos from Chile was good... All Chileans talk like that though, super-super fast :) 

I'm finishing up reading the Book of Mormon.  I'm starting Ether today so I think I will finish it by next week.  

Tomorrow I will be going to Panguipulli and so I hope the weather will be nice and I will be able to see the Volcano!  All your pictures were really good.  The Lunar eclipse looked cool!  And Dallin's cyst was big!!!  That's gnarly.

For UVU I'm thinking about Criminal Justice.  I might try and go federal.  Work for the Secret Service or the FBI but we will see.  For now you can put Criminal Justice down.  Thanks for doing all that paperwork. 

I don't know if you remember but I trained an Elder Marshall.  He had to go home a couple of weeks ago.  He had two stress fractures in his foot!  But he has plans to come back, he is a really cool missionary. 

Well, I think that's it, when I hear about cambios I'll tell you! :)

Love,

Elder Robertson 

We received this email a few minutes later:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I'm totally going to Villarrica!  Haha.  My zone has the Volcano!  I'm taking so many pictures!!

So this will be the view of the volcano from Elder Robertson's new area.

Here is a link to the live webcam on the volcano: http://www.sernageomin.cl/villarrica.php