Called to Serve - Osorno, Chile

Elder Keenan Robertson is serving in the Osorno Chile Mission as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Elder Robertson left on July 16, 2013 and will return sometime around July of 2015. Missionaries have a limited time to respond to all the E-mails and letters they receive so we will include here some of his letters home so that friends and family can keep up to date on how things are going for him and his ministry among the wonderful people of Chile.

Monday, April 27, 2015

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.

No comments:

Post a Comment