Day 40

¡Hola Familia!
im sorry that i wasnt there to help put up the christmas stuff but it sounds like everything went ok. it is really hot here but the wind can really pick up and cool everything down really fast. my comp said that during winter, the wind here is so cold that it would cut his face really bad with all the wind so i hope i don´t stay here until christmas... i have learned to appreciate the wind because there aren´t any drunks on the street when it gets bad outside. more people are congregating in the streets with a bunch of liquor and it gets really scary sometimes because they call out to us and they whistle a lot to get our attention. we have learned it is best to keep our heads down and just keep walking when they have alcohol because they most likely want to ask us for 10 pesos or to empty our pockets on the spot. my heart jumps everytime they call out to us and my comp warns me whenever he sees a group of guys walk out onto the same street. i always thought my mission would be a breeze just walking up and down streets knocking doors. i never imagined that i would be dodging streets and using code words with my comp to run from dangerous people.i just keep thinking of DyC 122:9 that says that my days are set and these guys can´t hurt me because i am protected by God. i know he is with us even thought things get pretty bad.
i wasnt robbed this week! yay!!! other than that, we have a lot of families that we are teaching and we are really trying to help them. most of them are progressing and i really do believe we can have some baptisms by christmas because i really want a `white christmas´!!! we understand the importance of baptism and we are inviting everyone to be baptized. i love the feeling i get after i challenge someone for baptism because there is a huge ´relief´ like i have done everything i needed to do. things are going very well with our invesgators. we are teaching 6 families that are so close and we are doing all we can to help them find the faith that they need. e` escobar tells me that i remind of robin williams because i am always smiling like him. i tell him that he must have one good looking smile then... my legs are really toned because we are always walking ´´with purpose´´ past dangerous people. i want to take a picture and send it to you guys because i am not lying. my face was pretty burned at first but it is turning into a nice tan and the people think i am from chile!!! i really believe that i can blend in with these people and i just have to practice my accent. here, they don´t say the ´s´s at the end of words and some of the ´s´s are pronounced like ´j´s. kind of strange but recognizing that has helped me understand a lot more and i feel a lot more comfortable talking with people. my ward mission leader kind of looks like the guy from ´no country for old men´ but is skinnier and has shorter hair. i need to get a picture with him because he is really cool. when we go on divisions with the ward members, i actually lead the discussions! sure, my castellano is a little weak but they can understand me and i can generally understand them and i am so glad that i am here instead of being in the mtc! the missionaries in my first district still have 3 more weeks in the ccm before they enter the mission field and i am grateful that i was able to use this time to my advantage to learn so much more than the others. i feel so lucky but then i remember that the lord has been preparing me so i could do this.
could you send me more pictures of the family? the people here LOVE to look at pictures and i feel dumb only having a few pictures of my family. i want to show off how amazing you all are so you should send me some good stuff! i didn´t get any dearelder letters on jueves because we had a zone conference with pte peterson. it was really cool meeting with him and we practiced teaching about the importance of the sabbath day and how to talk about the law of chastity here because nobody here gets married. i am the only elder in the zone that can read piano music and play the hymns. elder cortes can play songs by listening to them and i really wish i could do that but it takes him awhile to figure it out. elder cortes is chileno and i am trying to pick up an accent from him so people actually could believe i am not a ´´yankee´´ and i am getting better.
every monday is my p-day so we come down to this place where there are a bunch of computers and i pay like 3 pesos to use one for an hour. i look forward to this ´´sacred day´´ when i can just relax for a few hours with the other elders before i unleash again in comodoro. i am really working hard here and i think my clap has been perfected because everyone can hear me on the street. now i know why i have such large palms! the water is ok here but we have to buy all of it. nobody drinks a lot of water but they have a lot of juice. i love jugo de pomelo the most and i buy more when i can. i think that means grapefruit but i´m not too sure. yesterday for fast sunday we walked the farthest i have ever been in the mission boundaries to eat some little tortilla things with a member but then we found out we were supposed to eat with an hermana that lived really close to us and she made us an asado, an amazing potato salad and lots of chorizo (sausage), and pizza! i felt so bad that we didn´t eat with her but she still brought us all the leftovers and there were a lot... i eat so much here but the other elders are telling me that i look like i lost a lot of weight in the last week. i discovered white chocolate alfajor cookies and i eat one every morning with my pomelo juice for breakfast. im feelin´ good, i love the weather here, i love the families we are teaching, i love the huge support we get from the ward, i love the music here because they blare a lot of 80´s music in the streets with lots of Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi songs. if i was not a missionary, i would be dancing up and down these streets but we end up humming lots of church songs to keep the spirit and to discern where we should be going all day. i love my companion and the lessons we teach are becoming a lot more balanced because i can contribute a lot more. thank you for paying my tithing for me, i was actually going to ask about that today! i am glad that shane´s birthday went well. i am glad that you are writing me more dear elder letters but i should receive some today when i meet my zone leader. elder nuñez is awesome. thank you for all of your love and support!
con mucho ánimo y amor,
Elder Summers