Halloween!!

So like sometimes I start my emails off with some experiences or some spiritual insight but today I´ve gotta start my letter off with two very unimportant and realitively short little stories that made my week.

Number 1: We were visiting a family and they have a son named Felipe (he is six). The kid is insane haha but soo funny. He just has a lot of energy, well like any little kid, but is contained in a tiny little apartment. Anyways we had recently gotten to the house and his mom had made us jell-o to eat. He was really excited and wanted to serve us to he excitedly and rapidly went and got the jell-o from the fridge and put it on the table then grabbed two bolls and two spoons. He served the first bowl to my companion and when he went to put jell-o in my bowl he realized that no one was really paying attention to him because we were talking to his mom and dad and I think his little brain realized that he had a gigantic bowl of jell-o in front of him and no one watching him so what does any kid do? The kid drops the spoon he was using to serve with and digs both his hands in the jell-o and just starts shoveling handfulls and handfulls into his mouth. Honestly it was impressive how fast he downed them. He had the BIGGEST grin on his face in the world. It was like he was feeling complete and total joy and nothing else was important. He then heard us laughing because it was so funny and turns around, face so full of Jell-o haha just thinking about it makes me laugh. His parents were laughing and didn´t react so fast and he noticed that they still hadn´t stopped him so he turned back around and kept going. Hahah funniest thing I´ve seen in awhile. His face radiated joy! Haha

Number 2: Halloween night. It was the first Halloween for my companion cause they don´t really celebrate or do anything in Argentina I guess. Anywas we were walking around to see how the apartments were decorated and everything and all the sudden we here some kid yelling, ¨Give me candy! Give me candy! I need more candy!¨ we look around to find out where the voice is coming from and on the second floor we see a little kid jumping on his bed then all the sudden he is banging on the bars on his window (window is open but he has bars on his window like in the first harry potter movie... #nerd) and still screaming the same thing. Then he starts climbing all over the bars in his window sticking is head out and yelling the same things and oh my gosh the little child had so much sugar running through his veins. It was hilarious. He was crazy for candy.

Those were the two best moments of this week I´m convinced. Although we had a very good week and the we were able to confirm all three of those that were baptized since they couldn´t be confirmed last week for the stake conference!

Thanks for everything! Hope everyone is doing well!

Over and out 

 Cow blood wrapped in intestines! It was... Actually not as gross as I thought it`d be! Haha in reality it wasn`t too bad at all.

 Haciendo sushi de nuevo! Pero esta vez con una familia! Sushi again!:) And me getting some sewing done;) haha #live

Bad Week for Elder Bof

So now that I have like a whole seven minutes to write this general email I´ll try to do a quick summary of what happened this week.

We are working very hard with two families, a single mom, and a new family that we just recently found. Talk about families!! With two of the three families we have got to wait until they get married. One of the families will be getting married in December!!!:) They were the only ones we could bring to Stake conference because just about everyone we invited happened to get sick Saturday night or Sunday and ALL of them went to the hospital... Nice. I hope it wasn`t something I cooked... Haha no but the good news is that they are all better now:) Nothing too serious happened to any of them!

Like I said in the subject line, my comp had a rough week. He broke his camera, payed 55 dollars to fix it, got his wallet robbed by a taxi driver (luckily he only robbed us of Elder Bof`s wallet. It was an interesting experience.) and they haven`t been able to find the guy and we are in the biggest city in Chile so the odds of it turning up are one in a million. Also I am convinced that just about all missionaries will be robbed of something in two years. Later that day he realized that he lost his SD card and then remembered that it was also in his wallet. Then he heard some sad news from home. He is doing well but prayers would be appreciated. To help out a little bit we decided we would make sushi since we are both fanatics! We made it last Thursday then again today! Sooo good!

That will wrap it up for now! Over and out.

Elder Gunnell

Baptism and WOW I´m tired after this week!‏

It was one heck of a week. We worked like crazy. Not a joke. It was such a good week and I loved it. Every day we came home and were just exhausted. Which was kinda bad because the house was a disaster since we had no desires to clean or organize anything. It`s a little better now!

I don`t really know what to say in this email because the week was so full of things!

First of all we had a baptism! Her name is Luisa. She and her family lived in another part of Santiago and moved into our ward two or three months ago. She was already meeting with missionaries in her old house and we she came here she found the missionaries here so that they would go to her house. The original plan was to baptize her and her husband (they got married just so they could get baptized) but he isn`t sure yet. He knows it is right but hasn`t made the decision. She was kinda getting unpatient haha and basically said, ¨well why do I have to wait for him if I know it`s right and I know it is what I need to do? I want to get baptized the 18th of October.¨ How were we going to say no to that?!? Haha so she was able to be baptized yesterday. It was a very gorgeous day. In the morning before church we went to their house to make breakfast for the family and went to church with her! I think that her husband will get baptized too, I don`t know when but I believe he will do it.

The two that got baptized last week weren´t able to be confirmed this week because of an emergency that happened. We call about 10 minutes before the meeting started and it turns out they were in the car on their way to the hospital... They had gotten ready for church even but right before something happened! It was a little bit of a bummer and sad but all is well now. We went to visit with them after church and they were doing okay. We helped clean their house, make dinner and wash the dishes. They will get confirmed in two weeks since this upcoming week is Stake Conference! I´m pretty lucky because I was here in this stake the last time they had stake conference! haha

My companion Elder Bof is awesome. He is such a punk but man we laugh a lot. It has been so fun with him and he has helped me work harder than I ever have in my mission. We have been seeing progress and are looking for one or two more baptisms this transfer! Hopefully we can reach them!

I am doing very good and getting excited for Halloween then CHRISTMAS!!!!! Haha I´ve already put on the Christmas music a little bit. Mom, you`d be a little annoyed but dad would be on my side I think. Haha I just love that holiday so much. There is a whole different vibe around Christmas time and it is such a good, fun time to share the gospel.

That´s all for now folks. Have a fabulous week!

Simón Bolivar and TWO baptisms!!!!!!!!‏

I can honestly say we started this transfer with flying colors. I don`t know how we did but man we had an awesome week. We taught and taught and contacted and taught and contacted. And we were able to end it with two baptisms! TWO! Thanks to Elder Bof and Elder Terry who were working so hard in this area before I got here.

 I am soo extremely tired. I´ve never been so tired before in my mission but I feel like we don`t ever have time to rest. It was one heck of a week to say the least. 

We are working with a young couple that have two little girls. The wife will be baptized this upcoming Sunday or the next for sure. Without doubt. We are working with the husband because he knows it is right and good and supports his wife 100 percent in her baptism but he is just lacking a firm answer. I think if he doesn`t get baptized with her he will get baptized soon after. 

Funny story! Last night after finishing up everything we decided to make some food but we burnt it (small fire on the stove... haha) so we opened up all the windows and the door and went outside (I now live on the 10th floor of an apartment building) to get some fresh air. We both had the grand idea of walking over to the railing to watch all the little kids playing soccer below. As we walked away from the open door it slammed shut from the wind..... We then realized how dumb we were because neither one of us had the keys and we weren`t really dressed well. Like we had our white shirts on but without ties and we just had our sandals on and it was chilly out! But lucky we got into the house about two hours later. No big deal. Also something funny, we lost the keys today:) haha so good work Elder Bof and Elder Gunnell! I think it is funny but I don`t think my comp thinks it is as funny. But oh well it already happened, what are we gonna do now? We think we just left the keys at the stake center which is like 20-30 minutes away so we just need to go back with someone who has the keys!

I´m excited for what other things we are going to see in this sector! It has been awesome with a latin comp, I love it.

Over and out,

Elder Gunnell

General Conference!! Transfers!!‏

 Last time I´ll see this water bottle (gave it away... You know how much I loved that water bottle)

Two of my favorite Elders in my last zone!

  The house after we finished painting it!

 The sister that lives in the house in front of us

  New companion

So I can´t express how wonderful conference was. I loved it. I missed the majority of the last session because we brought a family of investigators with us and she has three kids. Two of which are little boys. Ages 10 and 4. I took responsibility over them for the session so that she would be able to focus on the apostles and their words and feel the spirit. We stuck her with her daughter on the far edge of the bench, Elder Martinez in the middle and me right between the two boys! Haha wow did it remind me of the good ´ol times with the family and all the little munchkins. The good news is that we were able to do it! With enough games, coloring pages, treats, and other distractions us three had a good two hours! And they were quiet!! Their mom was able to enjoy conference and got a lot out of it! I love that family and hope that the continue meeting with the missionaries so that some day they can make it to their baptism.

I was so sad to leave that family and that ward but it is time to start something new! I won´t ever forget those amazing people but they will always be in my prayers. Now it is time to get to know and love the people of this new ward, Simón Bolivar! I am so pumped to be here! I am actually returning to a zone that I was already in! The zone and stake Huelen! The same stake as Miguel! Haha and I am with MY FIRST LATIN COMPANION!! Elder Bof from Argentina! Man I´m stoked to be with someone whose native language is spanish. It will be wonderful! This sector seems like it is going to be amazing and I am so excited to get started here! I am terribly lost and have no idea what is going on or who we are visiting but I already love it:) Elder Bof has been in the mission for 3 months and started his mission here so he knows the people and the area. It is the first time that I have been with someone who already knows the area! We won´t be wandering around for a couple weeks trying to get our bearings!

We already saw a blessing today! Someone ran up to us and asked if we were mormons we told them that we were and he wants us to visit him this week! He just got here from Colombia and wants to talk with us about God and families! Yeehaww we are already starting off good! Also Elder Bof tells me that we are going to have some baptisms this Sunday soooooo it should be good here:)

I am excited, happy at peace, a little lost but glad to be hear.

Shout out to the fam, have a good trip in Hawaii! Don´t enjoy yourselves too much!

Love you all.

´til next time,

Elder Gunnell

GENERAL CONFERENCE and transfers coming up this week!‏

For those of you who don´t know there will be a world-wide conference held this upcoming weekend and I would suggest to all of you that check out conference.lds.org because we will have the wonderful opportunity to hear our beloved Prophet and his Twelve Apostles give us advice and counsel in these difficult times. I know that we can find help and peace in these messages no matter in what circumstances we may be found in. We would do good to listen and ponder on their words knowing that the world will get more and more difficult as time goes on.

I love this church and know that our leaders only want what is best for us. By listening and heeding their counsel, peace and true happiness CAN be found. We are so very blessed to live in these days when their messages can be transmitted live and in many languages. Let´s take advantage of our grand blessings and set aside a very small portion of time to be able to listen to what they have to say to us.

I know that God is our Father. He loves us. He is closer than we realize. He wants us to succeed in all that we do whether it be being good parents, a good child, finding and having success in a job, or help us get out of a hole that we have dug ourselves in to. Because of his pure love for us he has called worthy and noble men and women to transmit His messages to us. He will never abandon us in our times of trial nor in our times of happiness. ALL can benefit from this Conference and I invite everyone of you to join with us! 

I love you all and thank you for all the letters of support! I hope all is well and that we all learn something from this conference! Let us prepare ourselves and have a desire to listen and apply their counsels!

And if you have questions about the Apostles, how they are called and what their roles are, take a look here!

https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/calling-an-apostle-of-god?cid=HP_MO_9-28-2015_dPTH_fPROP_xLIDyL1-B_&lang=eng

Have a marvelous week!

Love always,

Elder Gunnell

P.S. Transfers are next Monday so I might be with a new companion or in a new area!

Time to get the dead cat off the roof! Jk... Turns out it`s been there for awhile.. It just fell apart. Gross.

Multi-zone conference, earthquake and tsunami, September 18th‏

I feel like I have a lot to say but I will most likely forget it all, I´ll try to do my best!

Last Wednesday we had a conference with the whole mission which was awesome to be able to see all the missionaries that I´ve been able to get to know while I´ve been here. It was also an eye opener because a lot of the missionaries that I did know have already gone home and there are a lot of new missionaries that I´ve never even seen before. Everyone says that´s what happens when you have been in the mission for about a year.... Oh boy it`s going by fast. Anyways in our conference Presidente Viñas gave a surprise visit! He is the seventy in charge of the South America South area. Anyways he stopped by and our President gave him and his wife some time to talk to us. His message was very very powerful and I took about a million notes. It got me excited to work again cause I was kinda getting down but what he said helped a lot! It turns out that he will also be speaking in General Conference! I´m sure his talk will be wonderful. I´m so excited for General Conference.

The next thing that happened was that same day but in the night time around 7:30ish. We had an earthquake! But not just one of those little earthquakes that happen all the time, a real earthquake. The epicenter happened up in the North and had the magnitude of 8.4 on the Richter scale. For as strong as the earthquake was it didn`t do as much damage as what would be expected but it did cause a tsunami which, yes, did cause quite a bit of damage. There were quite a few people affected and it took out the city that was on the beach so please keep them in your prayers. It still isn`t quite warm enough to be sleeping outside and they need shelter! Here in Santiago we didn`t feel it as strongly as where it hit but wow it was still strong! I knew that earthquakes were strong because of the other ones that always happen but it was still crazy! The whole house moved up and down and left and right and it sounded like thunder! The other thing that was different from the other ones is that this one lasted for like two minutes (at least it felt like it haha) without stopping. It left us feeling dizzy and motion sick. Luckily we didn`t lose water or electricity in our part but there were other parts around us that lost them. The cellphone towers were down so we couldn`t communicate with very many people and when we could it was a really bad signal. So that night we didn`t end up leaving the house again! Haha and all night there were reprocussions, actually, since wednesday I think we have had at least one or more earthquakes every 24 hours including a pretty strong one last night. So that was quite the experience! I´m glad nothing happened here but please pray for those affected in the North!

The 18th of September was a BLAST!! ¡Lo pasamos rey bien! We were at the church activity from 11 in the morning until about 5:30-6 at night then went to a little party of some less active members and their family until 10. At the church we just played all sorts of games all day long. We ate empanadas, choripanes, BBQed meat and meat and meat, salads and desserts. Soooo much food! I tried not to eat a lot so I could play more games and not feel sick. It was such a good time. We all snacked on a few things in the morning and then around 2 we all sat down and ate a lunch together. While we were there the whole ward sang happy birthday to me in spanish AND in english! Hahah it was impressive! They said they had never sang happy birthday to an Elder before and so I better feel special haha. The members are so awesome here. The second counselor and his wife made me a birthday cake and brought it to me in the morning, such sweethearts.

 Even Miguel swung by to wish me a happy birthday and give me a little gift! He also brought a little video that my family sent to him to show me. Thank you Miguel and family for that:)

Then in the evening when we went to the other family they had made me an icecream cake and all sang to me! Someone recorded it so I´ll tell them to put in on facebook. Haha it was soo funny with them. I´m gonna miss this place if I leave. There are some people here that I´ll never forget. All in all it was an absolutely amazing birthday. I think I´m going to celebrate my birthday in Chile every year because it was so dang good. And no we didn`t do much misisonary work that day... Haha but the other days yes!

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! Pray for those who were hit by the tsunami!

Over and out,

Elder Gunnell