I guess it feels like it's all over, lots of meetings this week and then I come home!

July 27, 2016



Mom and Dad,  
           

 Well today we had an activity as a group, like everyone that goes home with me, and we all were talking about home and stuff like that so I guess now it kind of feels like it's all over. The past week has been pretty normal. Just normal missionary work. This week is the weird week though, with all the final meetings and what not. Friday we go to the temple with the mission president and then it's pretty much over. Yeah that sounds fine, I don't know where to go for lunch though. I'll think about it. Well definitely that first day we are going to have to go buy the Xbox and iPhone. That's a necessity haha. Other than that I don't care what we go do.

From what I've heard I'll still have this email for about two weeks. I'm going to have to go through everything because there are several emails and other stuff that I am going to want to save.  Oh Bryson Walker (Elder Walker) has his homecoming on the 21st of August, so I definitely have to go to it!

 I've been trying to think about some of the foods that I haven't eaten in two years and I really can't think of anything. I think that being home will help me remember a lot of things that I've forgotten haha.

The teaching is going well, we've been having a lot of success lately. We're not going to have a baptism this week but we are going to have one the week after. So I'm not going to be here for it. That's okay though, the important thing is that she is baptized.

Haha yeah the card worked. Yesterday I took out about $60-70. I don't really know how much money it is in dollars so it's approximate.

I think it would be fun to go backpacking. Where would we go?

Well there isn't really much to say this week. I've got a bunch of meetings these next few days, tomorrow I have a self sufficiency thing and Friday we are going to the temple.   Saturday we have several activities as a ward, Sunday is ward conference and Monday is the day I leave. So that's my schedule the next few days. I'll see you guys on Tuesday though! Have a great week!  Love you!

Love,
Elder Stam

We better come back here to Chile

July 13, 2016

                                     
                                          

Things are good. I've only visited one person until now but when I'm done writing I'm going to be visiting people all day. Haha I'm pretty sure that I am Facebook friends with most of the people here already, so we will stay in contact. We better come back here, it's a necessity. Haha we're meeting with him Pres Hutchison that late? That's okay haha, more time to be a missionary. So yeah, it looks like I'm going to be home pretty early in the morning. The teaching is going well, it's been pretty normal.

Jeez it really takes that long to recover?? It sounds like they cut you in half and sowed you back together haha. Everything will be fine though.


It's very true though that you never know when you are going to find someone. We kind of had a similar experience. In the morning the other day we were doing contacts and where we were contacting there was nobody that would open the door. It was time to go to lunch so we both kind of wanted to go but we finished the street and the very last house on the street a woman opened the door and told us to come back another day at the same time. So we went back and we are teaching her and she is progressing a lot, I doubt she will be baptized before I go home but you never know.

I remember learning how to make crepes in cooking class. That was a great class haha, it wasn't hard at all. Haha yeah so dad told me that all you have been doing the last few weeks is search for a place for Oma. It sounds like a great area. And when that missionary comes back from Holland Oma can practice her Dutch. And I know that you'll be happy because she will live so close.

Well I'm just happy that I will be there for this niece or nephew haha. Jackson sounds like a typical baby haha, that's awesome that he already has his first tooth. Did it hurt him when it came in?

Wow, lots of money. I get to spend all of that when I come home right? ;) I still need to get a TV to go along with my Xbox. Oh, Saint George would be fun, I love it down there. I've got a few Chilean stuff already, but I think that I'll get a little more. Well I hope that you have a great week! Talk to you next week.

Love,
Elder Stam

God is still a God of miracles.

July 6, 2016

Mom,                     

Elder Stam likes Noni fruit

                 
I'm doing well. Susan is a less active that we have been working with a little bit. They were already working with her a lot before I came to the sector. They closed a sector here and now Elder Brown and I have the whole sector. They were teaching her before. So I haven't really worked with her a whole lot but she's really cool. We took her to the temple last Saturday because this guy in our ward was getting sealed. She was a little sad that she couldn't go inside to see it and so she wants to go back to the church so that she could go in the temple. She's pretty young, I would say 35, but I'm not exactly sure. We have our own bikes now so we can use them whenever we want. President Gwilliams is a great guy. We had a little getting to know him conference on Saturday and I had a little interview with him. And today for P Day we went to his house and spent the day with him. He's super awesome. He's still learning a lot though, a little lost with a few things but he's really excited to be here. He's really humble and I think that he is going to have a lot of success. So I've gotten mad at the office elder, don't worry, I'm friends with him and he send he would send the flight plans as soon as possible. He forgot to send them to me and you. I'll be getting home the 2nd of August, around 10:30 A.M. Haha I don't know what I want to do mom, that's for you to decide. I don't really care about lunch, somewhere that's good. Maybe Cafe Rio. And yes I still want Papa Murphys for dinner.

Good, keep reading. I'm almost positive that cancer is one of the plagues that God said he would send in the last days. Well God is still a God of miracles, Mormon 9 is one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon, so just keep having faith and everything is possible to him.

Does IHOP still have the Nutella crepes?? So when exactly is Oma going to be all moved in? Haha you two are great moral support for each other then. Well from what Dad has told me, you are spending a lot of time looking for a place for her to stay. And knowing you, you always are really dedicated to stuff like this so I know that you are going to find a place here in no time. The 4th of July for us was pretty lame, absolutely nothing different happened. I did wear an American flag tie though.

Mom, you worry too much. The people here would never shoot at missionaries. They respect us a ton. They just shoot in the air. It really doesn't make sense, I think that they just think that they're the coolest for having a gun.

Yes I'll keep working hard. It makes absolutely no sense at all to slow down now. But thanks for the email, I hope that you have a great week. Oh by the way, the next two weeks I have to go around to my old sectors to say goodbye to the people so I might not have a whole lot of time to write, just so you know. Also, you're gonna need to set up a dentist appointment because I am sure that I have a couple of cavities. At least one for sure. They eat straight junk here, I've honestly been doing a good job at keeping my teeth clean.

Love,
Elder Stam

The key to a lot of success on a mission is to just love the people

June 29, 2016

Mom,                       

Elder Smith and Elder Stam

                               
It's okay. My illness was pretty miserable while it lasted, but it's pretty much passed now. I was running around a lot today playing soccer and I was still feeling it a little bit, but it's pretty much gone now. Other than that, things have been going pretty well. We get bicicles today, which is pretty awesome. Maybe I'll lose a little bit more fat before I come home haha. My companion has been out on his mission about a year. It's been good with him, we have a ton of people to teach now, we have all of his investigators and now all of ours. So things have been great this last week. Yeah, Pres and Sis Cook left. They should be home by now. I met the new president for about 5 seconds, so not really. We do have a zone conference with him Saturday, and I am going to need a temple recommend interview here soon, so there I will get to know him a little bit more. Yes I do have the flight plans. I should be landing in Utah at 10:30 AM, pretty early. I am also going to Atlanta though so we never know. But as of now, that's the plan. Speaking of that, a lot of people have asked me and I am a little curious of what we are going to do that day. So if you want to send me the schedule of the day that would be great haha.

Make sure you keep reading the scriptures haha. I am now reading in the book of Leviticus and it's not the funnest. It has some great symbolism though. I'm understanding a lot more of what I'm reading now. Haha mom you've always been hot anyways. You're always fanning yourself with some paper or whatever you have. So it's probably just normal. But you're completely right, trial brings blessing. I think the key to a lot of success on a mission is to just love the people, and show them that you love them. Heather will be fine also, we've all been sick recently it sounds like.

        
The weather here has been pretty bipolar. It's been pretty warm during the day. Yesterday it was like 83 degrees or somewhere near that. But when the sun goes down, it gets really cold. And today it is cold. So it's strange. You've already hit 100 though huh? That's crazy hot. Speaking of food, is there a kind of squash there that is called zapallo, or something similar to that? The use is a lot here in the food, and I kind of want to learn how to make Chilean food. 

It was pretty crazy that Chile won again. It was pretty much a repeat of last year. President didn't give us permission to watch it this year, but an investigator showed us the penalty shots. It was pretty crazy. The country did go crazy again, they think they're the coolest people in the world now haha. There were several gunshots right in front of our house, just a lot of dumb things the people do. Yes, I'm excited for the olympics. I thought they started before I came home so I'm glad I won't be missing any of it. I'm sure it's been pretty stressful for Oma but we all know that she is going to love it there in Utah. She might not like the snow, but that's okay haha. What kind of things am I going to need for college? I tried to use the debit card but I think that the pin number is different. Is it the four digit number that was on the letter? If not you'll have to email it to me. I think that if I try it again and it's wrong, then they'll block the card. I've been thinking about a few souvenirs but I'm still not sure haha. At least we'll be coming back here, so if there's anything I miss we can get it next year. Are we still planning on coming back in May? I need to take more photos, I've been lacking in that lately, I'll see if I have anything that I could send.

Dude, the mission dog

Well thanks for the email, if there's anything you need from me just let me know. I love you and thanks for all the support and love. I hope that you keep getting better and that everything goes well.

Love,
Elder Stam

Just go and do!

June 15, 2016



Mom,                    

Well you're unconscious right now, but I'll still write you haha. Hah, that sounds like a weird injection you had. Well if you are feeling just peace like that then you are receiving it from the Holy Ghost. I'm almost positive that everything is going to go well. Dad already gave me a little update that everything has gone perfect up to now.

That's the challenging part of the gospel, knowing or finding out what God wants you go do. I think that way too many people struggle with it. But in the end, we always make good choices if it is the same choice God would make. Something that I have learned here in the mission is how the Spirit works. I still don't know very well, but I have a little bit of an idea. From what I have been able to tell, you obviously have to pray for guidance, then you just need to go and do what you're supposed to do. And then the Spirit will tell you in the very moment what to do, where to go, what to say, etc. I always thought that if you just pray and pray and pray that he would tell you when you finish praying, but it's not really like that. Like the scriptures say, open your mouth and it will be filled. If you dedicate your life to Christ, you'll be much happier than you could ever think.

You'll have drains in you? What is that going to do? And how knows? Maybe you could have some crazy vision or something like that in your surgery haha ;) Well don't ever forget that, that's obviously a testimony to you that the church is true when you have visitors from the other side to comfort you.  So pretty much according to your faith I can tell that everything is going to be just fine.

Yeah my birthday was pretty good, nothing to complain about. My week was good though, the sector is becoming really hard for some reason, but good, maybe I need a test of my faith. Her name is Cecilia Perez. It took her a while for her to get baptized but finally she did, so that makes me happy and she wanted me to baptize her. Yesterday we had like a little goodbye for President Cook and it was amazing, definitely one of the most spiritual moments I've had. He's just such an amazing guy. I'm extremely grateful for everything that I've learned from him. Hopefully this new president will be just as good.   It's also a pretty hard time of year because everyone complains about the cold and never wants to leave their houses to answer the door. It's amazing how lazy the people are. You guys would love a mission. At least in this mission the couple missionaries are super happy with the work they have. And you would get to choose what place you could go to. You could go back to Holland if you wanted.

So funny story, on my birthday we were eating at these members houses and he was talking about his mission. It turns out that him and Cody served in the same mission and at the same time. They knew each other a little bit, I don't know how much, but here's a picture of him and a note that Cody wrote him. Hopefully Cody remembers him.

So hopefully everything goes well in your surgery, I'll keep a prayer in my heart for you. Have a great week getting better!

Love, Elder Stam

Trust in the Lord and He will deliver us from all trial and affliction.

June 1, 2016


Mom and Dad,   
             

Well mom, you don't have anything to worry about. Everything that is happening is the will of the Lord. It's understandable to be a scared, but please don't doubt. I think that one thing that I have learned most in my mission is what faith really is. It's a pretty complicated subject, but the best way that we can show our faith in the Lord is being obedient to His commandments. Like Christ and the other prophets have said several times in the scriptures, If ye love me, keep my commandments. It also reminds me of what Elder Jeffrey R Holland taught. Our first big commandment is to love God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength, but the first big truth of the gospel is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. One of my favorite scriptures that has really impacted me recently is in 1 John 4:7-10. I was also reading in Doctrine and Covenants yesterday morning and I came across a scripture in section 63, I don't remember what verse exactly, but it was talking about the last days when God will send plagues, sicknesses, there will be wars and rumors of wars and all of that stuff. The scriptures said that the saints of God would barely escape all of that stuff. Then I read a quote from Joseph Smith that talked about that scripture. He said that there will be sicknesses and plagues and all of that stuff that will also affect the saints. But then he said that they have to reason to worry, because God will deliver them and exalt them. So all that you can do mom and the rest of the family is trust in the Lord, sacrifice our lives to His cause, and then without doubt he will deliver us from all trial and affliction that we have. God loves us, that is the first simple truth, and the absolute best way that we can show our love to God is to obey Him, and keep the covenants that we have made with Him in the temple. I am currently reading in Genesis, and I also really liked the story about where God commanded him to sacrifice his son. Imagine that. God had already promised Abraham that through his son Isaac, he would have a posterity as numberless and the grains of sand, that every family of the earth would be blessed through him, and several other blessings through him. Then he command Abraham to sacrifice him, nulling and voiding the covenant that God made with him. And not to mention that he is his son. Imagine the feelings that he had as he had to go up the mountain to sacrifice his son, his beating heart as his son asked him where the lamb was that they were going to sacrifice, and the tears going down his face as he tied down his son and most likely kissed him for the last time. He raised the knife and then the angel came down and stopped him. Abraham proved himself to the Lord with a faith so big, that he would be obedient in all things, and the blessings that Abraham were practically infinite. And now he's been exalted and is living with God. So I think that we all need to try and find the same faith that Abraham had, and there's no room to doubt that everything will be fine.

So just trust in the Lord. It's in His hands. There's practically nothing we can do about it except pray and show our faith to the Lord. You'll learn some great story from all this though, we all know that. If there is anything that you need to me know, just send an email to President Cook and I know that he will let me know.

Things are going pretty good in this area. We've been doing a few contacts and looking for a bunch of references, because there was just recently an open house at the church here and we received a lot of references, and we've found quite a few new people that are interested. That's one thing that we're focusing a lot on, finding the inactive members, if they still live in the sector or if they have moved away. It's a pretty important thing to take care of the Lord's fold, because if we can't take care of what we have, he will never add to it. I'm assuming that the package will be here in another week or two. It usually takes almost a month to get here. Haha, I couldn't have said that better myself. It is a pretty stupid quest for the possessions of the world. I have a few ideas about my homecoming talk, so don't worry about that :) I'm looking forward to that jam.

I also want to plan to eat healthy after the mission. I think that I might take like a month and eat pretty bad but after I want to try and eat nice and try and get my swimmer body back haha. I was talking about the Church using technology yesterday with my companion a little. I said that I think the church should start doing things a little big differently for general conference, it gets pretty hard to just sit there and watch a guy speak for 10 hours. I think that they should start using more videos or other stuff like that and really take advantage of the technology that the world has now. I think that it would be a pretty big possibility to come home every other weekend or something like that. I guess we will see how things are when I'm actually there, I don't know what it will be like yet. The best thing might have been my studies. I'm really trying to take advantage of the gospel studies from now until the end of my mission because I realize that after the mission I'm probably never going to have the same amount of time to study the gospel. I've been reading a lot out of D.&C. and the Old Testament.

I'm not really too worried about anything. God has a purpose behind everything and it is most likely that he won't tell us what it is in this life. Cancer is something that you can't really do anything about. All you can do is have a lot of faith in God and lots of prayers. The rest is in his hands. My patriarchal blessing also says that I need to take care of you guys when you are old, so for that to happen you'll have to live to be pretty old if you need my help. President Cook just told me that it's another reason to give 100% dedication until the end. With sacrifice comes blessing. I don't really have any questions though. If there's anything that you guys think that I should know, just send an email to President Cook and I know that he will let me know. But thanks for all the love, I'll obviously be praying for mom and for the rest of the family. Just stay positive :) When there's doubt, there's no faith. Well I hope that everything goes well with you mom. Just keep your head up. If there's anything you need from me, just let me know. I love you!

Love,
Elder Stam

Ton of work to do

May 26, 2016

Mom,  
                       

                
Things are going well here, I don't have any complaints. Things are going well with my comp also, we get along pretty well. Like I said, a 10:1 ratio actually isn't that bad here. I mean obviously there is still a ton of work to do, that's 630 people that aren't going to church, but there are still a whole bunch that don't live here anymore, but their records are still here. Our mission has focused a lot on finding the people and trying to bring them back, as well as baptising converts. Yeah there are a few people that are progressing, it's been a hard few weeks though, for a big majority of the mission it looks like. People have just like given up. But it's okay, we should never stop working. We're still in the city, the entire mission is in the city, but it's not like city city, with big building and everything. There's no big main roads in our sector so it's pretty tranquil here. The weather has been cooler, it's so much better. I literally don't have to run from shade to shade to protect myself, now I can just walk normally down the street haha. We live in a house now, right next to a small park. I'll send a photo when I have one, I've been bad taking photos lately. It's fun being in a gringo house but we never speak Spanish so it's not the best thing in the whole world. I'll finish strong, don't worry.  I'm going to like this sector for sure, but I don't think that I'm going to learn it very well either. I'm almost positive that me and my companion are going to go home together, or kill each other as we say, so I'm not very motivated to memorize all the street names because my companion already knows all of them haha. I'll be here for just under three months.

Lots of mission stories? haha okay. I don't even know what is usually said in a homecoming talk so you will have to give me a few ideas. I can explain a little more when I'm home, but what they do here is they work to save enough money to go on vacations in the summer, and then they go, quit their jobs, blow all of their money, come back, and find another job and repeat. It's kind of strange. They are more of a live in the moment people. Not like it's a bad thing or anything, it seems to work for them.

The more I think about it the more sense it makes to me to study computers. I'm a fast typer, I'm good with math and science, computers are going to be even more used in the future, and it's such a broad subject that I'm not limited to one option. So we will see. And you're right, I could definitely get the technology for a discount, that would be a blessing haha.

What part of Chile is she from, and does she have any kids? It's funny because I know of some other Chileans that live in Utah. How long has she been there? Ohh you're definitely going to have to same some of the strawberry jam for me. I think that I definitely get to take the most of them ;) haha.

So Oma will probably be moved in a few weeks. I'm positive she will like Utah, it has just a different feeling there. Still no teeth for Jackson, huh? Haha how long does he have to wear that helmet thing?

I hope that you have a great week as well, thanks again for the email.

Love,
Elder Stam

Last call to home!

May 4, 2016

Mom,   
                                                    

                       
Well the P Day activity went long again so I'm going to make it short, we're going to talk this Sunday anyways.

Yup it's the last call, a little strange to think about, I also feel like I just barely called you. I don't complain though. Yes mom, I'll keep working until I'm released haha.

They're doing well, Elias has been really hard to teach lately, he's been really busy. Yeah, I'm pretty much all better. I don't know if it was from being sick or from the change or weather but my lips have been super chapped and terrible, I hate that. Haha yeah we have a gringo house. Cameron comes home before me?? That's weird, I left before him. It'll be strange to see how much he has changed. Me too, and Nate and everyone else that went on a mission.

 Sorry you're going to have to spend so much on me haha. I thought you could vote for neither, right? Or no? Like you could put the name of someone else. The good thing about Trump is he says the things how they really are, Clinton is just sorta the same as Obama, but in girl form haha. And white. But I don't know, they would both be pretty bad presidents, personally. No I don't remember if we went to Draper Temple or not.

I don't want a big package. Save money because you're going to have to spend a lot on me. Just send little things that I can give to the people with I leave Chile. And maybe a few candies haha. I've been thinking about souvenirs but I really have no idea what to bring home haha. I don't think that I will need a whole bunch, it will just be little things that I buy.

The church works really well in Utah, there's very few problems. It struggles out of the United States though, there are too many different influences here that make things a lot more difficult, but one day everything will be tranquil everywhere. Have a great week and I will talk to you on Sunday.

Love,
Elder Stam

Let's have faith that they accept it now

April 13, 2016 
                                             

Mom,           

Right, I forgot last week to tell Heather Happy Birthday, so wish her a happy late birthday from me please :D Haha so people are learning to paint now huh? There are some weird trends in the world. So how do you think they turned out? They look pretty good to me. That's definitely one of the first things that I am going to want when I come home, eat burgers. They have burgers here but it's still different.

This last week was good, there were some hard days. It's always hard when you have appointments with people and then they aren't home and they don't tell you anything. That always happens. It happened a lot this last week, but it's fine because we also found a few new people to teach. Our ward has been very blessed lately with four new families moving into the ward. Haha yeah I can share with you guys my favorite LDS videos. It'll be a little weird watching them in English, I think that they will be better. We've been looking mainly for less active members to teach, but it's been strange and looking for them we've actually found more investigators. Haha, I had no idea what Oma's conversion story is. I actually didn't know who were the first converts in the family. And what about dad's side?

I think that the biggest problem that I have when I read the scriptures is it's hard for me to focus enough to understand them fully. Right now I'm reading in the New Testament and there are parts that have been really hard for me to understand. It might also be that I am reading them in Spanish. Elder Utchdorf uses a lot of like parables or similes when he speaks, it's pretty cool.

Well hopefully everything goes well with the move, I know for sure that Oma will like Utah. Ah you guys never played in the water, you just always wanted to sort of float there. Swimming isn't just laps, swimming laps is exercise. You can swim to have fun. That just sounds like a normal papa thing almost haha. He'll be fine though, it's rough for everyone when they're old, but I don't know of anyone that's stopped existing because it was too hard for them and the next life will be wonderful for him.

It's crazy to think that what I decide to major in could really make an influence on my whole life. I guess with a lot of prayer and faith everything will turn out fine.

Oh no, another Josh. Haha not like it's a bad thing but Josh is a character. I think that it will be funny to see a little Josh running around everywhere. I think also that he will be a lot like Josh. The weather here has also been nice. It's been cold, I'm wearing a sweater right now. I love it. Hmm we had a really awesome lesson with this kid names Elias. He's 21 years old, and kind of like a punk kid. He was a really strong and faithful member of the Evangelic church, but he stopped going for a while. We made really good friends with him and then we taught him the Restoration. He accepted it really well and said that it makes more sense than all of the other churches haha. We have another lesson with him today and we are going to teach him about the Book of Mormon. Yesterday we also brought a Book of Mormon in French to the Haitians, and finally they understood better. They actually had a few doubts, which is a good thing because if they don't have doubts, they don't learn. But they had doubts about the Book of Mormon being "the most correct of any other book on the earth". So now that they are finally understanding, let's have faith that they accept it now. Anyways, thanks for the email again, have a great week!

Love,
Elder Stam

Busy missionary

March 30, 2016

 Mom,                             

                                       Things went well with transfers. We actually had them on Monday because yesterday was one of the crazy days in Chile where we have to stay home all day. It was really nice having a day off, definitely needed. It was probably my last one, unless my comp or I are really sick and can't work. My new companion is Elder Keck, from California. I knew him a little bit before, so it'll be fun being with him. My companion has 14 months in the mission, he's a great guy, always trying to be a better person. He is really tall, like 6'7". I am still district leader.  We've been working with a few new people, the problem is we usually teach them like once, and then they either disappear or don't answer the door, they're stubborn. I guess that it's supposed to be a fight though right, looking for new people that will progress? The best thing was definitely the day off, got a lot of studying done. I've really been enjoying my studies recently. I've been reading in Romans in the new testament. Last Wednesday was a pretty cool day. We had a family home evening as a ward, and Elder Baker and I gave the class and we talked about Christ and his Atonement, then we talked about what the members need to do to invite people to come to church. We had a pretty good turnout at church, lots of people came for Easter. I love when members do some work, it makes everything go so much smoother.  I feel like the time that I was with Elder Baker just absolutely flew by. It's also a little strange to think that he's home now, I know he's happy.  He did talk a lot about home, what he was going to do when he was home. I don't think that it helped that every house we went to they asked him if he was trunkey and when he was going to do. I think that he just rode the wave. I know that the first week of the last transfer the president has a meeting the all the missionaries going home and he gives them motivation to keep working to the end.

It wasn't like a special sacrament meeting, but it was still good. Elder Baker gave his going away talk, and also a sister missionary. And finally a kid here that is preparing to go on a mission. They all gave great talks. Yeah I read it, I try to read President's messages every week. He sent out part 2 to that today. President definitely gives out those messages by inspiration.You should try to read them every week, they're pretty much like scripture I swear haha. Aw that's sad, I didn't know Lucky died. Well we all know that he's still happy. I'm sure Oma was sad, he was the perfect dog for her. She'll love Tootsie too. Haha Tootsie was insane when I left. I'm sure that she still loves chasing the light. Is her hair still getting lighter?

I wouldn't mind starting classes at like 8ish. I'm going to wake up early to study the scriptures and exercise, so I think that would be like the perfect time. I just don't want to be studying any later than like four. That's the limit for me. I'm going to be going to bed early, and I'll get mad if they make a lot of noise. One thing that I've learned on my mission is how to put fire behind my words haha, by not yelling. How much money do you think that I am going to need to help pay a year for schooling?

Haha I honestly don't know anything with babies. Has he mumbled his first word yet? And I'm assuming that he has a few teeth now. I think that I will learn a lot about babies with him. 

Ben is already going on a mission? Jeez everyone is so old. Vegas huh? A little close, he'll like it though, he's going there for a reason. I'll send photos for sure next week, I forgot my camera again. Sorry. Well thanks for always writing me, I hope that you and the family have a spectacular week!

Love,
Elder Stam

The teaching is going well

March 16, 2016


                                          

Mom,


Alright so we are writing a little later this week because Elder Baker had to go to his old sectors to say goodbye and it took most of the day. I'm doing good though, a little tired. The week also was pretty good. The teaching is going well and the members do help us pretty well. This is a good ward, the ward council does their work well. The focus isn't really changing in the mission, but we have a new way of taking dats. There isn't a big change at all though. I don't know when the new president comes, I just know that President Cook is going home like the 28th of July or somewhere near that time. The Haitians know Spanish pretty well now. We just speak in Spanish, really slow and simple words and if there is a word that they don't know, we explain it to them.  I think that every area has it's own problems. Like for example the people here also believe that it's true, but they don't understand the importance of it at all, so they don't apply it. They ask for help and we tell them what to do, and they don't do it, then get mad for us not helping them. It's a little frustrating sometimes but there will always be problems. You just have to learn how to deal with the problems.

I think that I'll have to send photos when I get a new comp, we won't have a lot of time next week either. You guys would definitely have a great time serving a mission, here everyone loves the couple missionaries. There was actually a couple missionary here that went home yesterday, so we should be getting a new couple soon.

Well, coming home August 2 would still give me three weeks so I think that it would be fine. It won't be any later, that's for sure. I think that it would just be a waste of time to wait until January for school, so I think it would be best to go straight to study. It's not that I want to go straight to college, but it's what's best and what I feel I should do. Yeah, I liked the apartments, I don't think that the apartments are going to matter too much for me, I've been living in houses and apartments much smaller than the ones I would have there, so I'm used to it. A piano would be nice to have, gotta keep developing my talent, or the Lord will take it away from me hah. I'm okay rooming with anyone, I'm also used to rooming with strangers haha. So we would be six in one apartment? Okay in a few weeks try to be on your email when I'm on mine and we can talk. Next week will be a bad week for it though because it's Elder Baker's last p day and he is going to be saying goodbye again. Computer engineering sounds really fun, but I'm going to want a list of all possible choices.

Oma would definitely like Utah, I hope she knows that.

Yes I want you to see if there is a pool in Ephraim and tell me please. Yeah being a district leader is fun, you get to know the missionaries a little bit better. Haha it's different in so many ways. I think that is a question for home though because I could write a book on that. Yes mom, the government of the USA is going to crap, we all know that it would happen. The church is in a time of acceleration, they are obviously speeding up all the church work for a reason. It's almost time for the angels to come and to separate the wheat from the snares. Thanks for the email, talk to you next week!

Love,
Elder Stam

We need to prepare ourselves

February 24, 2016
                                   

                                    

Girls from a far lol

The last week was pretty good, with lots of heat haha. The teaching is also going well, it was a little better last week then the others. We aren't really teaching a large amount of lessons but still teaching obviously. We are mostly busy with contacts, or references, or working with the member list in the ward. Well apparently everyone has said that it is going to be pretty hot even through fall here so it'll probably be hot for a little while longer. I hope that you guys have an amazing time there at Cancun. Isn't that where we went forever ago when we went on that cruise? I play the piano at the church and usually on like Wednesdays or whenever we have an activity there, I sit down and play.

Funny you mention that movie, The 33. Our zone actually got permission (at least the zone leaders said they got it) to watch that movie, and we watched it, today haha. It was a pretty good movie. I actually remember when that happened. It was a good movie, but I feel like it wasn't very Chilean. It missed a lot of things, but it was still good.

They have good ice cream here but they don't have the best flavor, cookie dough. They have a few other flavors that we don't have though. They have this one dessert which is milk with sémola. Sorry I don't know how to say sémola in English. I like it a lot though. It's really easy to make too. College? Weird thought. Didn't think I'd ever go to college. Dates are expensive mom. I think I'm just going to abstain from all girls for a year or two more. They have cooties.

Today we had a special conference with Elder Bednar and if I get to choose my homecoming topic I think that I will talk about a few of the things he talked about. He talked a lot about doing things with faith and faith leads to action. Prayer is really good but it doesn't mean anything if we don't act afterwards.  He's actually a really funny guy, but I really learned a ton today and he didn't give us a talk, but he taught us in a totally different way.

Holy crap Brock is a junior?? Wow. Everyone is so old now. Tell me how polo goes though, I think that it is going to absolutely kill me to get home and try to swim again.  How many wards are in our stake? Yeah what you said is pretty much what our president told us. That's also what we have been teaching to the people, that the Sacrament is like getting baptized all over again and we need to prepare ourselves every week for it. A lot of the other churches here have also been saying that all of the disasters are going to happen this year. I don't think so though. There are still quite a few signs that need to happen before the Second Coming. I read Doctrine and Covenants 45 today and it talked a lot about some of the things that we are going to see before he comes. For all that we know maybe something will happen this year.

Ah 6 AM that's nothing. Well just keep working hard, the Lord blesses for hard work! Something little that I have learned here in the mission haha. I think I will probably keep waking up super early like I did before, It makes the day seem longer and better. Well one of the things that Elder Bednar said today is that you guys are being more blessed with me away than you would be if I was with you, so you're welcome haha. Have a great time there at Cancun!

Love,
Elder Stam

Stay strong and faithful

Feb 10, 2016

Mom,         

A little goodbye party that they threw for me and Elder Palacios

The last week was pretty well, still hot and most people are still on vacations, so not much has changed haha. We had changes yesterday but nothing got changed, I'm still with Elder Baker so it looks like I'm going to kill him, as we say haha. This next transfer is the 29th of March. Yeah Dad told me that you guys were feeling sick, so hopefully you start feeling better soon. Haha Tootsie is a pretty awesome dog.

The work is going well. It seems to me that the people here are really starting to not believe in God and Christ. It's sad to see but the scriptures definitely say that it was going to happen. We have been contacting a lot of Haitains, they are really strong believers. It's actually encourages me to start learning a little bit of French haha. It's a hard language, sorta. The pronunciation is definitely the hardest part. We've been looking for new people, it's been hard. You're totally right about the world though, it's declining really fast. I think that the Second Coming is a lot closer than the people think. I definitely feel like I never dream, I don't know why. At least I wake up in the morning without the memory of a dream. The activity was fun. A member gave a class and then we played a few games and had some food. They do it every couple of weeks here in this ward.

We were talking about ice cream this week and I totally remember that Cold Stone exists, so Papa Murphy's and Cold Stone sounds like the best thing ever haha. Health problems seem to be growing a lot also. There are a lot of people here also that are getting sick. In this ward there have been a few people that have gotten some pretty bad diseases or sicknesses. The good thing is that they are staying strong and faithful in the church, and that's the important thing. A lot of people get mad at God for giving them sicknesses, but it's definitely necessary, like you said if you're never sick, you don't appreciate being healthy.

Our mission is very small, the smallest in South America. It has a few cool areas. I think that Portezuelo is one of the prettiest areas, the second ward that I was in. Right now we live on the street called Blas Vial, with American Vespucio, but tonight we are actually moving houses, so we won't be living there anymore.  Well thanks for the email. I hope that you guys have a wonderful week and that you get better. Talk to you next week!

Love,
Elder Stam

Trust in the Lord and everything is Okay.

February 3, 2016
                                     

Having fun with the O'Higgins Zone

Yup, about six months left now. My week was good. My comp has been a little sick so it was a little slower and easier week. The teaching is going alright, despite it being the hard time of the year. The Haitians are good also. We went and saw them yesterday, and apparently there are a few new Haitians living with them, that just got here to Chile about a week ago. The first thing they asked when we saw them was if we were Christians haha. They also don't speak Spanish though. The ones that we were teaching earlier are cousins and we do teach them together. We will see what happens with the new ones that got here. It's pretty hard to find people at this time, but we are definitely trying. I feel like recently there has just been a lot more people against us. People that say we aren't even Christians and that we're here wasting our time and should go home. It's getting annoying. I'm losing my patience with them. But there's not much we can do. They don't even listen to us, they just say we are wrong and if we try to say something, they cut us off and say we're wrong then tell us to leave. I guess it makes us feel even more like Christ, and more understanding of what he went through. We have an activity tonight, a family home evening with the ward, it should be really good.

Oh that food sounds amazing. I think that one of the first things I want to eat when I'm home is a Papa Murphy's pizza. I don't know if the oil dressing is healthier than ranch, they use a ton of oil haha. Haha Jackson sounds like a funny baby. Maybe he will be a swimmer also, that would be amazing. I'm glad you liked you trip, it sounds really fun.

 From what I have understood, he has problems with his kidneys, and they aren't working correctly. His potassium level is too high and it is making him weak and dizzy all the time and his feel are always really swollen. So it's kind of a lame disease thing but just trust in the Lord and everything is okay. The other Elders are good, they're obedient. I have divisions with them tomorrow, so I will know more tomorrow. 300 people? Wow that's a lot, that's awesome.

Haha he has also been talking to me about it. It doesn't sound like a bad idea, I think it would be a fun project to build a cabin. Good scriptures? Hmm, there's not a specific one that comes to mind, but I recently read the sermon that King Benjamin gave to the people before he died in Mosiah 2-4 that I really liked, you could read that if you want. Thanks for the letter mom, I hope that you and the family have a great week, we will talk more the next one.




Love, Elder Stam

Apostles really know what they're doing.

January 20, 2016     

Clams and he liked them?!

Things are good with me, the same I guess haha. The broadcast was good it was a conference for all of the missionaries in the world, different than I thought but awesome. I learned a lot, the apostles really know what they're doing, which is to be expected. Yeah, I'll write a little bit about every picture when I send them. Haha yeah I liked the clams! I think that when we went to Seattle for choir tour is when I decided that I like sea food. Even the clams were really good. I don't know, but we eat less here haha. That's okay, because I don't want to come home with a belly, I'm gonna be skinny and in shape, sort of. I'm definitely swimming a lot when I get back to get back in swimming shape. I don't know what religion they are(Haitians), but they definitely are strong believers. Their names are Odesán and Toussaint. (pronounced Oadley and Tusant) It's been good with them. We went to them with and Elder in the mission that speaks French, and they're doing really well. The communication is a hard thing though.

I totally didn't have an accent and I don't accept that haha. It probaby won't be that much stronger if I'm not with another latino. My next companion might be my last. Well you've heard the exact opposite. Chilean spanish is unlike all other kinds of Spanish.

I also feel like I have more energy when I eat better, so that's why I'm eating better haha. I can pet the cats and all, I just can't touch my eyes after petting them or else they itch really bad. I think my allergy has gotten a little better, because my eyes used to swell up if I did that. And I mean the people, it's not just here in Chile, but the whole world. In just ten years everything has gotten way worse.

I will most definitely need some new clothes. Honestly I'm thinking about only taking two or three white shirts home, the rest are going to be pretty yellow and kinda gross. It will be good to have shoes though. The most interesting thing? I don´t know, I met a Chilean from Easter Island on Tuesday, the first one that I've met from there. We also had that devotional thing which was pretty cool, gotta love devotionals with the apostles. Well I hope that you have a wonderful week as well.

Love,
Elder Stam     

More Clams

The Lord knows the way to be happy

January 13, 2016
              

Dear Mom and Dad,       

Christmas dinner with Chilean Family

The week was good, a little long but still good. The sector is good as well. We are in the hardest time of the year right now, because there are a ton of people that go on vacations, and you can definitely tell. We try doing house contacts but it seems that there is hardly anyone at their house. I think that I will be skinnier because they give us less food haha. I weighed myself yesterday and I weighed 66 kilos, which is like 153 pounds or something like that, so I think that I have lost a little weight. I weighed 70 kilos in the MTC. We are walking a lot, almost too much. It's been killing me, especially in the sun. The sun here is so much stronger. Haha, I can't wait for that day that I swim again, it's going to be incredible. I'll try to send a picture next week of my comp and me, I don't have my camera at the moment. Elder Baker is going to school at BYU Idaho so he won't bee too far away either. Not much has been happening here, just the work of the Lord I guess haha. Our most progressing investigators are two Haitans, they're really cool. The Haitans believe a lot in God from what I can tell. They ask us a ton of questions about the Bible and I definitely leave their house every time knowing more and more about the Bible.

I do not have a Spanish accent. :P Mom, it sounds like you don't know much about the Spanish that they speak here in Chile. It's probably the hardest Spanish in the world. There are a few latinos that don't understand the Spanish when they get here. Imagine that, it's like going to a place that speaks English and not being able to understand them. I guess that you will know better when we come back here.

I have been eating mostly fruits and vegetables. Lots of strawberries, yogurt, bananas, peaches, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, just things like that. I've learned to like a few different things here. We definitely have to make homemade salsa when I'm home, especially since I kind of like tomatoes now. They aren't my favorite things in the whole world, but I don't really find them that bad anymore. I'll have to figure out how to make the chilean spicy salsa stuff that they have here, it's really good. What could I do to be less allergic to cats? You have to expose yourself to them more right? I'm not going to go rub my eyes after petting them, that would be one of the dumbest things I could do. I think that cats are super cute though haha. I have been thinking about Uncle David,  I don't know what it's like to be in his shoes, but I'm sure that it's hard.

The people say that Chile was a ton different only 10 years ago. It's really crazy how fast that it's changing. The Lord always knows the way to be happy, and the world doesn't. That's okay, just do what's right and we'll be more blessed. That's about it.  It's good being a district leader. It's not a ton different, we´re just in charge of a few things. I think that it will be pretty fun doing an interview, it will be interesting to talk to the people. I'm sure that I will get the opportunity. It will be cool to see the change in the people. The fruits of your labors are not always seen, but the important thing is that you are planting the seeds. That's pretty much what the whole mission is about. Planting the seeds are harvesting the plants that are ready to be harvested. God talks a lot about that in Doctrine and Covenants. Thanks for the email! I hope that you are well and without problems and that you have a wonderful week.

Love,
Elder Stam

Surprised I was transferred, but life is good.

December 30, 2015


Mom,          

Transfer day, Elder Stam was sad to leave this area. 

So President Cook told us yesterday that we would be writing today. So the letter is going to be a little shorter because I don't have anything to respond to. But it was nice talking to you guys and seeing you all last week! I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas, and that you have an amazing new year. It's crazy that we are already starting 2016. I come home this year!!!

So the big news of this week is that I was transferred again. :( sad, I really liked that sector. I think that it was the hardest area for me to say goodbye to. I had a lot of friends there. I didn't think that I was going to leave either, Presidente told me in our interview that I would most likely be there another change. But it looks like God wanted something else. Now I'm in the area El Parrón. It's in the zone la cisterna sur. My companions name is Elder Baker, he's from New Mexico, and we are serving as district leaders. So that's that. He has been out on his mission about 21 months, so it looks like I am going to be his last companion. I'm thinking that this might be my last area, but I really have no idea. When he goes home, I'll have about 4 months left. I hope that this is my last area, because it's my sixth and I think that if I get changed it would be like a month before I came home, and I wouldn't be too happy about having to learn a new area right before going home. But we will just see what God's will is.

Well there isn't much more to tell you, life's good, it's still really hot outside, probably will be for a few more months. I just hope that you guys have a fun new years, and that you send me pictures!!

Love,
Elder Stam

Jan 1, 2016

Dear Mom,

Alright, so I don't have a lot of time, but I'll answer your questions. I thought Jackson was a little cutie pie, it's gonna be crazy to meet him in person when he almost has a year, but that's okay, I should have more nephews and nieces to come. I am pretty sure the members were sad. They were a little shocked because it was really unexpected. Another Elder and I were both transferred and we both thought that we were going to stay one more change there. I don't know a ton about the new area, but so far it seems pretty awesome. It's a ton different than my last sector or than any other sector I've really had. It's limits are Gran Avenida, Vispucio, El Parrón, and la Granja. I live with just my companion, and we live in a little shack I'm going to say behind the house of a member. It's not a bad house though, it's pretty big for just two people. My new companion is pretty cool, he's really funny, I am sure that we will get along really well. From what they have told me, there are about 50 people at church every week, but to me it seems that there are a lot of members, so we will see on Sunday. I wouldn't say that it is upper class, but the people here are more economically stable here. It's normal for a missionary to be in an area for 6 months. And if you really want me to come home like two weeks early, I'm sure I could talk to president and he would let me stay here until I go home. We don't do much, we need to be an example for the other missionaries, we pass numbers to the zone leaders, and we give the district meeting classes. The teaching here is good, but you always need to be finding new people. Well that's all that I have time for, have a wonderful day and happy new year also!

Love,
Elder Stam

The work is progressing!

December 9, 2015

                    

Mom,

Don't open it til Christmas? Mom I don't think you realize how hard that it. You get home and you just have a package of stuff there staring at you, tempting you. But I'll try to not open it. I feel like I just talked to you all, it's strange that it's already time to call again. I am pretty sure that we are going to be with the Inostroza family, so that you guys can meet them. Things have been going good this last week, it's been really hot. I got really burnt today because we went and played soccer outside for a few hours. Yes we have found a few new people. The are mostly less actives, and they're all really nice, they just have a few problems and doubts, the usual. There are always a few that progress. We have an investigator that came to church for the first time this week, and she really liked it.

Wow how incredible, a clean room. My Spanish is pretty good, the only problem is pronunciation. They all say that I talk gringo. I just don't understand how to not speak with an accent. I've tried so hard to fix it but this gringo accent is a curse. Yes he got baptized, it was really awesome! We have our own house, we live with four missionaries. It's two floors but it's still pretty small. We do have members next door, they were recently reactivated by the Elders in the other sector. Yeah, yeah, photos. It's just that I haven't really taken that many photos.

College will be weird, but we will see. I think that the allergies are getting better, but I don't really know. They aren't going to go away permanently, but I think that they are better. My eyes don't really itch that much anymore. I want to go to the South of Chile also, it looks awesome down there. I don't think that Elder is going to have the money, and I don't really care, I've just gotta rub it in his face a little bit ;) haha.

President Cook is really awesome. He is pretty relaxed, he's not super strict, but he does expect us to keep all of the rules. He does it in a good way. Recently for P Day we went to Buin Zoo again. It's cool down there, it's just like any other zoo though, so it's not super special. They do have some awesome animals though. This P Day all we did was play soccer, and now I'm red as a tomato. It's usually just wake up and go do something, the activity or whatever, then go to the feria and buy fruit and food and whatever we need, then relax for a couple hours, and come and write, then go work. That's the typical schedule. Our mission was big before with about 250 missionaries, but it has dropped and we only have about 200 now. The interview went really well. He read that I wanted peanut butter on the blog that you do for me and he went out and bought me peanut butter. It was pretty funny. He's a great man though, I always learn a lot from him. He just asks about everything and I just tell him the truth about it all, I feel comfortable with him.  Haha Pres Hutchison is a pretty inspired man, I think that he is doing a great job as stake president. I don't really know much of what he has done but I could tell that he would be a good one.

Ohhh Cafe Rio, I miss that place. No there is nothing specific that I would like to know.  Also it would be awesome if you only bought me one more videogame. Call of Duty Black Ops 3. After that I would like you to buy other things. I have heard recently of a book series that is called the Joseph Smith Papers. I looked at the books and they are pretty expensive and there are a lot of them, but it would be cool if you could buy me one or two of them, I would really appreciate it. Love you mom!

Love,
Elder Stam             

Trying my best always

December 2, 2015

                                    

Elders Stam and Rivera

Yay for packages haha. Dad told me that you cleaned out my room. How messy was it? It was pretty disastrous when I left. But that's okay, it's your problem, not mine. ;) I'm sure that anything that you guys did it would still feel like home.

Things were good this last week. It was pretty hot this week, and I could swear that there were more drunk people than normal. We have been trying to find new people to teach. We are going through all of the old people in our area book, looking for them to see if they are now interested in listening. We teach quite a few people, it would take quite a while to write about all of them. But it was just a normal dinner appointment with the Inostroza. They didn't even know that it was Thanksgiving. Nobody knew haha. But that's okay. We sacrifice some holidays to have a few new Chilean holidays here. That's good that you went with Mike and his family, they are good friends of us. I'm sure that he will stay in Utah also, it's pretty hard to leave that place.

Yes both of Elder Rivera's parents speak Spanish. He couldn't speak very much when he got here. The advantage that he has is that he could understand it, and he already knew a lot of vocabulary, which is the thing that is hardest for me. I have had 7 companions now, not including Elder Walker and Elder Johnson from the MTC. If we count them, then I have had 9. The number of investigators that go to church changes, they don't really go every week, but if everyone were to go, we would have like 10 or so in church. The baptism should happen this week, he is going to have his interview tomorrow and if it all goes well he will get baptized. I think that is how most kids are. We are all just stubborn, and don't like to be told what to do. But we all just need to humble ourselves a little bit and listen to other people. I really don't like school studies though. I like to learn, but I think that schools just need to teach in a completely different way. It's really boring listening to a lecture. That's a pretty neat story though that you told me about how you were helped in college to have your mind opened.  The Lord blesses.  Visiting teaching is a pretty big problem here too, no one really wants to do it. It's really bad sometimes how lazy the people are, but I know that it's a little bit the same everywhere.

 I would never cook for Thanksgiving. That's one thing that my future wife has to have, cooking skills. If not, we are eating macaroni and cheese and cereal for the rest of our lives. So it's your fault that I have these allergies. Thanks mom. Haha we need to go to a place hidden from everything if you buy property. I wonder what it will be like right before He comes.

I like having emails though, it's a pretty lame p day when you don't have very many emails.   Haha I have a bet with another elder what I won't get married for at least a year after coming home for $1000. So I'm gonna be $1000 richer. It's just what missionaries talk about haha. If we were to go anywhere else in Chile, it would be to the South. The South is much better here, from what I have heard.

Handsome guy, no not the dog!

 Well, just take the little push with him in sharing the gospel. You never know unless you try. I am trying my best to keep all of the mission rules. Everyone in the zone has interviews with President Cook tomorrow. We always have an interview with him every 3 months. We meet with him every once in a while, when he wants to teach us something, for zone conference, for interviews, things like that. My district leader is Elder Kamoe. My zone leaders are Elder Thompson and Elder Alfaro. Our district is 8 missionaries and our zone is like 24 or so missionaries. Nope, they don't really put up lights here, a few people, but not a lot.

We went to a zoo today for P day, so we saw a lot of animals. But it's still different in a zoo. They are always sleeping and not doing anything, and there's glass in the way. I would like to see animals out in the wild. They don't sleep that much when they are in the wild it seems.  Thanks for the email, I hope that you have a wonderful week with the cold weather!

Love,
Elder Stam

Hard work has made the difference

November 25, 2015
                                   

Alonso and Elder Caleb Stam

Things are good! We're (Caleb and his companion) both from Utah, so we get along pretty well haha. Nope, we're not doing anything for Thanksgiving. It's just a normal day here in Chile, but we are going to the Inostroza's house so maybe they will do something for us, who knows? You need to eat pie for me. So what is little Jackson's personality? What can you see in him? Elder Rivera has been out about 6 months. He speaks Spanish incredibly well though. He has listened to Spanish his whole life, so he can understand it perfectly, but he is learning to speak it here. He struggles a little when he reads, but he's learning really quickly. He was only 18 when he was baptized! A girl introduced him to the Church hahah. Haha I haven't been taking a lot of pictures lately, but I'll take one of us! I don't know, hard work has made the difference in this area? The Lord just leads us to the people that are prepared. We have more investigators attending church than less actives, but I would say that it is pretty equally balanced.  I feel like people here are afraid of giving referrals. We hardly receive any referrals at all. I think that people are afraid of what the person would think of them, it's kind of stupid. I hope that I stay here for six months, and then my last area for six months. That would be the rest of my mission. I'm already in my fifth area, I don't want to have too many. I think six would be okay. I am pretty sure that member references are the most successful. The Inastroza family was a referral. I'm been having fun though, that's the important thing.

We all just need to learn how to listen to the Spirit and discern what it tells us, which is the hard part. The Church has three little videos about it, called Patterns of Light. Check them out, they're pretty good! They are by Elder Bednar. Yeah, we talked with Alonso and with his mom. We have a baptismal date though, December 6th. I am 90% sure that it will happen. His mom just said that he has a bad attitude with her and with his brothers and sisters. She could probably be a little bit more understanding at his age, but it's okay, it's good to teach your kids good values when they're young. I am sure that she will go to his baptism for sure, and most likely his confirmation.

Snow College is where I want to go but I don't want to study mom haha. But I know that I have to. One thing that I like about the mission is that there are no tests. It's all like a big test of your own personal conversion, but there's not like As and Bs and stuff like that. I study a whole lot more here than I did before though. I like the studies here though. I didn't like the studies before haha. Christmas gifts.  There isn't much that a missionary needs, just food haha.

Haha, just tell Oma to live with you guys! You have three empty bedrooms at the moment. And then she wouldn't have to pay for living. I find it really hard to believe that we are in December almost. The last two months have gone by ridiculously fast. I feel like we are still in September sometimes. Cooking is a pain. I don't like it anymore. It takes me ten minutes or more to cook something, and two minutes to eat it. That's why I like cereal so much, it only takes like 30 seconds to make. $400 a month?? Jeez that's a lot you will save for insurance. Keep getting better though with your arthritis. Allergies here have been killing me. We are in Spring now, and my eyes have been so itchy. My nose hurts a little too. I started taking those allergy pills that you gave me though. I don't know if they are doing anything, but it's worth a try.

Haha that picture of snow would be awesome to have. It's been pretty hot here lately, almost too hot again. but that's okay. Like I said, most people here don't even know how the snow is. They are missing out on a lot of fun. I think that snow is awesome, I miss it. Hopefully it snows though. They need it there. It hardly snowed at all last year right?

We expanded the house while Josh was on his mission right? Or was that before? I just remember that we bought the big screen TV and Josh about had a heart attack when he saw it. No big surprises please. How is my room coming along though? Knowing mom, you will probably be working on it until I come home.

Haha Connor and I have totally experienced completely different things here in Chile. He was in the beautiful south of Chile and I'm in the city of Santiago. I would love to come back here and get to know better the south of Chile, it looks spectacular. 

I hope that you also have a great week and a wonderful Thanksgiving! The best thing was probably setting a baptism date for Alonso, it's awesome to see the fruits of your labors. Love you mom!

Love,
Elder Stam