"Al proximo nivel!"

Hello family!

This week went by pretty fast. It´s been pretty strange having a new companion, because it doesn't feel like I have a new companion. I think since I have spent so much time with Elder Jofre already that it has been an easy change. It has also been really nice having Elder Riding in our house. He is a fun kid and is really chill so there are no fights or contention in the pension. My companion Elder Jofre has seemed a lot happier and more talkative. Elder Grillone has also begun to speak spanish a lot more now that he has to guide Elder Riding around. It appears that this is going to be a good change for us!

A couple interesting stories from the week:

1) We went to the Barrales Family´s house the other day after lunch and they gave us some ice cream because they were having a big party with some friends from other wards. We talked to them for a few minutes and then started to leave. As we were leaving we noticed a large group of children in their front yard sneaking up on their brand new pet EMU named Julio. They started chasing him around the yard throwing balls at him when he started to book it and ran right out the front gate. (Luckily not our fault because the gate was open the entire time). We ran back and told Brother Barrales and the three of us ran and kinda guided him back toward the house. The Emu is really fun though. It supposedly can grow to up to six feet or so. The Barrales family is awesome.

2) We were knocking doors the other day when we came upon a castle looking house. No one came when we yelled ¡HALO! and then my companion noticed that the side gate was open. So he said "Al proximo nivel!" which is President Laycock's saying that means "to the next level." We entered the property when all of the sudden we heard a faint barking. Within a matter of seconds there were 5 or 6 large hound dogs chasing after us. I turned to see where my companion was and he was already out the gate. I hopped on my bike and booked it out of there. Afterwards we just started to laugh. It was a pretty fun experience. Just after that we found 3 new investigators.

Things are going well though. We just invited the grandma of a convert family to be baptized last night and she accepted. She will be the fourth member of the family that will have gotten baptized now.

Thank you for your support and prayers. You are the best.

Love, Elder Mooney

My week!

Dear family,

Well this last week was pretty exciting. It was the last week of the change and Carlos and Maria Jesus were confirmed. It was kinda scary because the bus didn't pass and Carlos didn't show up to sacrament meeting until after the sacrament. He showed up though (in a sleeveless shirt and dress pants?) and was confirmed by the branch president. I think afterward he looked a little emotional. It was good. It was also a good Sunday because President Laycock came to our branch again and spoke in our sacrament meeting. He gave a really powerful talk about the Holy Ghost and he also talked a little about the mission. He had the five young men in church, including Carlos, stand up. Then he made them raise their hands and commit to going on a mission. Carlos did it! We are praying that he will follow through on that commitment now.

I think I told you all before that every Friday we play fútbol and basketball with investigators and members. On Friday we were playing and for some reason my team was just rocking and we won the fútbol match. Then we started playing basketball and my team managed to win each time again. (Probably not because I'm that good, but because the Chileans aren't that great ;) Unfortunately in the last five minutes I rolled my ankle really bad. It still kills when I wake up in the mornings. So now I have two bad ankles. Not fun at all.

On Saturday we went to the house of Mauricio, Cata, María Jesús, and Mariela (all recent converts) and we made cinnamon rolls with them in the evening. It was pretty fun. The cinnamon rolls actually turned out really well for being an internet recipe. They also made panqueques filled with manjar which I love. Then on our way home another member lady called us and had us pick up a big tray of creme puff pastry things. We ate pretty good this weekend.
Oh and speaking of eating good. Luis and Margarita, the people we live with, slaughtered a pig and cooked it this weekend for Luis´ birthday. I took a bunch of pictures. It was pretty disgusting to watch it all, but it was awesome eating it. It turned out really good, especially with the onion mushroom plum stuffing they made.

Oh and about changes. We all figured Elder Mathews was leaving because he had already been here for four changes. The rest of us were pretty unsure of what was going to happen. We had heard some rumors of changes and such but nobody was sure. We got the phone call and yes Elder Mathews left and the rest of us stayed. The only weird part is that I am no longer companions with Elder Grillone. I am now companions with Elder Jofre from Argentina (the other elder we live with) and Elder Grillone is with a gringo named Elder Riding from Idaho who has the same time as me. It makes everything a little strange with appointments and investigators, but we should work it all out this week.

Anyways, that is my week. Thank you so much for the letters, the love, and the concern.

Love,
Elder Mooney

Fotos!

Keep working!

Dear family,

Well on February 5th I officially finished 18 months in the mission. That means I´m 3/4 of the way through?! It feels kinda crazy to think that I am on the final 6 month stretch now. I am just gonna try to keep my head down and keep working!

Things are going great with Carlos and Gloria. Carlos is gettiing baptized next Sunday and is just rocking at everything. We taught him and his mom about the Word of Wisdom. We watched The Restoration video, talked about obedience to God´s commandments and his prophets, and then we explained how our bodies are temples. Carlos accepted the Word of Wisdom without doubts and Gloria accepted it as well. She said that giving up her Tea is going to be a really challenge, but she was going to do her best. We are really proud of them and how much faith they really have.

Oh and I recieved the Valentine´s day package you sent and loved it! Really, the candy, the cookies, the card, and the amazing tie. Thank you so much for the package. It´s strange, because I am not usually a huge fan of pink ties, but the one you sent was just classy and stylish. It´s one of my favorite ties at the moment. And the cookies were used for a good cause, we made them for Carlos´ birthday!

One unfortunate thing that has been going down here in Pirque is that diarrhea has become a weekly routine.. It feels like at least once a week all of us Elders are spending too much time in the bathroom. Not very fun :S

Everything is going pretty well though. We are excited for the two baptisms we are going to have on Friday (Carlos and Maria Jesus) and I´ve just been excited because I am an old missionary now. Haha

Thank you for all you do. You are the best!

Con amor,
Elder Mooney