4/24/2017

​¡Hola Familia!  I am doing super good here in a small town called Mejillones.  It´s really cool and calm here.  We are right next to the beach which is cool, because i have never lived within sight of the beach.  It is a bit cooler here, but it still gets pretty hot, but at night it gets supppppeeerrrr cold, so it can be difficult to proselyte, because we have to start out with short sleeves and then change later at night haha.  

My companion is super cool, his name is Elder Castañeda and he is from Columbia!  He is a really good missionary and a hard worker!  He has taught me a lot and he has a very good knowledge of the scriptures!  

We have a really small ward, well actaully it´s so small we call it a rama and we don´t have a bishop, we have a president of the rama.  Like last week we probably had like 24 people in Scarament.  We only had one investagator go to Sacrament this week.

We have had lots of sucess, but right now we are kind of in a slump.  I know that something good is coming though, because Elder Castañeda and I have been working hard.  I hope that we will be able to find someone that needs the gospel soon.

Love ya

Elder Hirschi

Answers:

1. The new area is cool because we have a mammita (someone that cooks food for us every week).  

2. Sorry can´t answer more

4/17/2017
Mejillones

Hola Familia!  Sorry but you might have to wait one more time for me to write about everything that has happened because I had to write back everyone that emailed me for my birthday last week, so next week I will write a longer email for sure.

Anyways everything is good here in Mejillones, we have had lots of success with the people here.  They are super friendly and want to help a lot. It´s really hot here and cold at night, but everything is going great.

 Anyways I love you all and I will for sure write more next week!  

Love, 

       Elder Hirschi

Answers: 

Did you guys do anything for Easter there?  Does the ward have a party or anything?  Does anyone color eggs in Chile or do they even celebrate Easter there?

1. We didn´t do anything for easter

 How is your companion?  What does he like to do?  

2. My companion is cool

What is the ward like there?  What is the ward mission leader like?

3. The ward is a rama, it´s really small like 30 people 

What is your apartment like? 

4. It´s really cool, but it´s on the 5th floor

Have you met any new fun people there?

5. Yep

Did they have you introduce yourself in church there yet?

6. Yep

 Have you been to the mission home lately?

7. Nope

Mejillones

4/11/2017

¡Hola Familia!  I have like 10 minutes to write, and I have to email everything that´s been happening!  Ok First of all, I didn´t email on my BIRTHDAY YAYAYAY, because I was sitting on a bus all day :( .  Yep I got transferred to a really small town just outside of Antofagasta, it´s called Mejillones and so far it´s really cool.  It´s right next to a beach and the people are really cool.  My new companion's name is Elder Castañeda, and he is from Colombia.  He is really cool and he only speaks Spanish.

We actually celebrated my birthday the day before my birthday, and it was really hard because I had to say goodbye to all my converts, and to all the really cool members.  I also had to say goodbye to my companion who is going to train!  I also had to say goodbye to Elder Saaralinen who has been with me for my whole mission.  That was really hard because we got really close.  Anyways I wanted to say that it was really fun in Copiapo and my birthday was awesome.  I also might not have time to write everyone so thanks for all the birthday messages I will write next week.

I will write more next week but I love you all thanks for everything you guys do!  Stay safe! CHAU!

Love,

       Elder Hirschi

Scripture: Alma 36:3 (Trust in the Lord)

Answers:

1.  Have you found out anything about transfers yet?

A: Yep I just got transfered.

2.  What will you miss most about Copiapo if you are transferred?

A: The people, everyone there I already miss them.

3. Does anyone there ever talk about President Trump and what do they think about him there in Chile?

A: YES!  They always say bad things about him, but we met someone who thinks that he is a good President.

4.  How are your investigators doing this week?

A: I hope they are doing good haha, I don´t really know any of them.  The ones in Copiapo are doing well though.

5.   Do you see many people there who are not Chilean?

A: It´s really hard to tell, but I´ve met lots of Colombianos y personas de Peru.

6. What are families like there?  Do you see a lot of families together or are there a lot of split families?

A: There are more split than in the states, lots of people only have moms or only have dads.  However some families can be really strong, like the family that I baptized in Copiapo.

7.  Do you think you will do anything for your birthday or just be taking a long bus ride for transfers?

A: We had a party the day before with cake and presents that was really cool, by the way thanks for all the presents. It was really cool.  I also need to tell you why it was really funny, but that will be next week.  For my actual Birthday I was actually on a bus pretty much the whole day... But that´s ok.

4/3/2017

!Hola Familia¡  This week was a pretty good one!  We had General Conference, which was really cool to hear from the prophet and learn what we should be doing.  I heard a lot about the atonement in Saturday and I heard a lot about following Christ in the Sunday conference.  Oh also we got to be in the "Gringo Room" which is a room that had conference in English, and we got to bring lots of food and snacks!  It was really cool to hear it in English, and to learn about the new temples and things that are going on in the Church.  Anyways I hope that all of you learned from and listened to what the prophets had to say.  It´s very important to pay attention in Conference because it´s like if the Lord was talking to you. Wouldn´t you stop everything to listen to the Lord?

Anyways something crazy happened this week!  Elder Retuta and I were walking behind a high school student who was on her phone.  When she started crossing the street without looking, and she got hit by a car.  I was in shock about what had just happened, I shouted to my comp who had the phone, "CALL 911!"  Which pretty soon after I realized would be completely pointless because we are in Chile...  Luckily someone got down by her and told her to stay calm until the police arrived.  Then the man that hit the girl called the police and they showed up.  Elder Retuta and I actually had to leave, because we had to be somewhere, but I felt so bad to just leave the girl without doing anything.  I felt like I just stood there and watched and then left without even trying to help.  I know she is going to be ok and luckily it was right by the hospital, but it was just crazy to see because the car was actually going really fast, and the girl was just looking at her phone when she got hit.

Anyways on a more happy note, we have been finding lots of people that listening to our message.  I hope that we can teach with the spirit so that they will realize how important it is to accept the gospel.  Anyways thanks for all the love and support and be careful to listen to the spirit.  Especially in the street with cars I don´t want any of you to get hurt (especially because I heard Slade is about to be taking drivers ed class) haha.  No but really I love you all. Thanks for being awesome examples for me.  

Love,

       Elder Hirschi

Sciprture: Moroni 10:32 (Come unto Christ and be perfected in him)

Answers: 

1. You said you might be traveling on your birthday. Is that if you get transferred? When is the next transfer?

A:  I might be transferred on my birthday yes, because transfers are on the 10th of April.

2.Did you get to watch conference? Do you watch all the sessions all in one weekend at the church?  Does the whole ward go to watch it? Did you take the Werthers?

A: We watched all the sessions of conference well except the womens... but yeah it was at the church.  The whole ward watched it, but we watched in the gringo room, and yep I took the werthers, but we also had a lot of other food.

3. Other than dad and I and your siblings, who writes to you the most?

A: I don´t know. I would have to say Grandma Wilcock and Grandma Fawcett

4. Who are some of your favorite Apostles that speak at conference?

A: Joaquin E. Costa was a seventy that just talked about his conversion story, which for you guys I don´t know if it was that good, but I feel like it was perfect for investigators.  I also like what my boy Tommy said in Saturday about being Christ-like.  

5.Is there anything that you wish you would have taken with you that we forgot? 

A: No I think I am good thanks!  I may have left my laptop that would have been nice to bring. hah

6. What are the other missionaries like in your apartment?

A: They are really cool. We have a sweet apartment!

7. We heard the people there are not always on time.  Is it typical for people to be late to things?

A: Actually haha I didn´t really notice that much, but just recently we went to someones house on saturday to ask if they were going to conference and it was like 11:30am and they were still in bed... haha but other than that the people are normally on time.

8.What is a regular Sunday like for you?

A: We go to church and then proselyte for the rest of the day.  It´s usually a pretty good day, because I like hearing people speak. It improves my Spanish a lot.  

Pictures:

I forgot my camera!!!!!!!! SORRY

3/27/2017

Hola de Chile (Hello from Chile)!  We just got done playing some soccer with the President!  Which was fun, but now I´m exhausted.  We also cleaned up the apartment so President won´t be mad if he sees the pigstye that it was before.  Anyways we have been working hard this week, but our numbers are a little bit low.  It makes me sad when we are working hard knocking doors and teaching the people, and they just don´t want to listen.  Anyways I do have some good news though BAPTISM YEAHHHH THAT´S RIGHT!!!

We baptised this week!!  We baptised a man name Jorge, and he had a lot of problems in his life.  But he was really ready to hear the gospel and he had the greatest desire to change that I have ever seen yet.  He said, "I need someone to show me the way so I can repent and confess all that I have done wrong and I will do whatever needs to be done."  When I heard him say that I knew that he was going to be a faithful member and that he truly wanted to change.  He kept telling us that he doesn´t think that he is ready to be baptized and that he didn´t repent enough, but then I explained something to him that really helped.  The sacrament; because the sacrament is the way that we continue to repent after we are baptized.  Because after the baptism we are going to sin, but through the sacrament we can continue to repent.  

We have been working really hard in our sector, but we just haven´t had very much sucess, we always knock on doors but we can´t find the people that are ready to hear the gospel.  It´s ok when people reject me though, or at least I don´t feel too bad, because I think of Jesus and how all the people reject him and even killed him in the end, and yet he still asked God to forgive them.  It´s really hard to have that kind of love sometimes when you spend all day in the scorching sun and then the people don´t let you in.  

We did have some sucess the other day, we found a guy named Fredy.  It was really cool, because he has some really cool collections and he is super receptive.  He told us about when his mom passed away and we taught him that there is a plan, and that we can be with our families forever.  It was really sad, but it made me feel good that I could help him to know that he was going to see his mom again and that he could feel the comfort of the spirit.  

Scripture: Mosiah 2:17 (Through service we can help God)

Con Amor,

                Elder Hirschi

Questions:

1. How are your investigators doing?

A: Well we baptised 1 of them and the others well lets just say we´re working on it.

2. Have you spoken in church lately?  What have you learned the most from your new companion?

A: I have not, Elder Medina had to give a talk in church.  I learned how to play songs on the piano and guitar, and how to work harder

3. Have you been to any zone conferences or district meetings lately?  What are they like?  Do you get to see any of the missionaries you haven't seen for a while there?

A: We are about to have a confrence tomorrow, and they are really cool President pumps us up to reach the metas we have.  Yes I am going to see Elder Carter actually!  

4. What is your ward or branch like?  

A: My ward is super cool the members are good and the ward mission leader and bishop are like the coolest guys ever!!!  It´s really awesome to be in this ward.

5. Have you ate any new foods lately?

A: I had Churasco recently and it is realllllllllly good!  It´s difficult to explain I would say the closest thing we have is a burger.  

6. Is the language still coming along pretty well?

A: Yep, I have only had companions that speak English, but I am still learning really well.  Yeah actually I have problems with my English sometimes haha, but I still have been learning the language little by little.  

7. What kinds of stores do you shop at there?  

A: Unimarc and Lider (Lider is Walmart) Yep they have walmart here.  It´s not the same as in the United States, but they do have Walmart.  

Pictures: 

​The Baptisim