Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Alex's 37th email from Chile 5/2/11

Hola Familia!!!

So this week has been crazy and I am very sore. As you know I have had transfers on Monday.  I said goodbye to a ton of Families in Lo Ovalle but the hardest to say goodbye to was Alan´s family.  We visited had so food and then when it was time to go they went around the table sharing their feelings about me and how I have blessed their lives.  It was so awesome and a blessing for me to hear them talk. They all gave me little notes to read after I was back in the pension. Alan was bawling and wouldn't let go of me when I gave him a hug goodbye, I love that kid. He is truly going to be a force down here in Chile and will be an amazing missionary one day.  He has one of the strongest testimonies I have seen since being on the mission.

So I am now in the zone of Talagante, in the sector La Islita. Talagante is right next door to Peñaflor and I actually drove through Malloco to get there.  It was cool to see my first zone a little again. I was moved up to senior companion which is crazy to think about for me.  I totally didn't feel ready but obviously someone did. I will just work hard and do my best I guess.  My companion is another gringo named Elder Madsen.  He is from Oregon he has about 8 months in the mission.  He is a hard worker and we get along great.  In Talagante there are 6 sectors and my sector is Gigantic!  I am actually in one of 5 sectors in the whole mission that gets to use bikes.  We could honestly take a bus for 45 mins and not leave our sector and for that I am super sore.  It has been a long time since I have ridden a bike this much but now I feel like I have officially been made a real stereotypical missionary with the helmet and mountain bike haha.  To get here we took the bus it was a long ride. I really only know like 2 other missionaries in the zone but its cool.  I like to meet new people.  In our pension we live with two other missionaries. Elder Rhon from Ecuador and Elder Florez from Columbia.  They are awesome and we have a blast in the pension.

Like I said my sector is huge but it is beautiful here.  There are vineyards everywhere! And just pastures and groves and everything.  I love the campo.  Only downside is the smell.  Our pension has a slaughter house right next to it and in the mornings that smells gross and everywhere just smells like alchohol from all the grapes fermenting but really this place is beautiful.  Unlike Malloco I really don't have a nice condensed little city where we do most of our work.  We have a bunch of pocket pueblos where we need to ride our bikes to or take a bus.  It is a huge change from the city. La Islita is a branch that has 4 missionaries.  Our pension, the 4, of us share the branch.  The other two Elders have the more little town part of La Islita and Elder Madsen and I work the pueblos out in the sticks.  Only downside is that the majority of the members live in their sector so we have almost no support in our part. Elder Madsen has told me that our sector has been dead or at least super slow as of the work. From my Lo Ovalle experience I just see it as it has a lot of work to be done.  But this last week and actually in 2 days we found 9 new investigators. Ya at first it will be slow building that teaching pool but I think we can get this place going again :)

At nights I am so tired I am nearly a hundred percent positive it is the bikes.  We ride soo much and not always on roads and when it is on road the roads suck haha.  But hey now I can ride a bike without hands. I had never been able to do that before so that is cool haha.  Well I will be sure to be taking some awesome pictures for you guys.  I love you and I will talk to you on Sunday for Mothers Day!!

Con Mucho Amor,
                          Elder Alexander Leavitt


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