Elder Derek Keele, June 25, 2012

Haha Jordan is already back at the Shell. I knew Linda would get her way ;) Oh how much I loved working there. Yes, remembering those memories brings back good feelings. We were all so blessed that we were able to do that.

My companion and I were talking about that same scripture yesterday (Helaman 10:4-5)! I know it is true! If we try to have those traits that Nephi had, the Lord will bless us and trust us more in His work. And, of course, that means we will be able to help more people. Thank you, Mom!

Go Brenton! I really miss Brenton and Josh a ton now. Way to be Brenton! Josh, keep working hard. I´ll try to write them soon.

That is so fun Dallin! I bet Jordan will love scout camp too. Good memories :D And dad may not love it so much, but it will be good to be with Dallin and the boys.

My companion is Elder Santos! He is from LA California, but moved to Utah about a year before he left. Fun fact, he got baptized when he moved to Utah, in February 2010! He is so awesome for coming on the mission, and he was prepared from day 1 in Chile. His parents are Guatemalen so he knows Spanish. And he already teaches and talks  to people so well. He is a stud!

Also, Elder Eggleston moved in to our apartment. He is from Idaho. He is hilarious and a great missionary. He reminds me a lot of Tyler Russon.

How are the Russons doing by the way? Tyler, Nichole, Tanner. Is Tanner preparing for his mission? I forgot when his birthday is but he goes out soonish right?

Well, I love the mission still. Everyday I learn more and feel the Lord´s hand in everything :) We had a talent show Saturday night and we sang.

I am still preparing that package I wanted to send months ago.

Have a great week everyone!

Love, Elder Keele

Elder Derek Keele, June 18, 2012

I´m staying here! I am so happy because I love this Branch and am excited to work another transfer or two with the members. I don´t know who my new companion is yet, but I am excited to meet him! Elder Morales taught me a ton, and he gets home to his home in Bountiful tomorrow afternoon!

Hermano Dias didn´t make it :(

Our daily routine... Let´s see,  we get up and exercise, either by playing soccer with the four of us at a court nearby or just by using our pullup bar and my suitcase stuffed with magazines (for weight). For breakfast it is whatever we can find. Sometimes I attempt pancakes but they usually burn haha. I´m working on that. Also sopaipilla, hot chocolate, juice, just whatever there is haha. Then we study for a couple hours, go work, and then go to lunch at 1:30 at a member´s home. We eat with the family of President Valdez, the branch president of a different branch here in Alto Hospicio. She is so good! She gives us so much and it is always delicious! Empanadas, swordfish, soups,  spaghetti, and of course rice and chicken. Much of that haha.

Then we go back to our pension for an hour to study language or whatever you want (President Bruce wants all the Latinos to learn English). And then we go work again until about 10:30. Because of the culture here in Chile, our whole schedule is a half hour later than most missionaries. (We wake up at 7 and go to bed at 11) And during the four months of summer, another half hour later (7:30 to 11:30).

As for dinner, we just eat if members give us food or when we get back to our pension.  (We usually just buy a bunch of spaghetti and sauce because it is easy to make and is cheap and  filling)

Hermana Alexia Alvarez does our laundry every week. She has a washer but then has to hang the clothes on lines to dry them, and then she irons them too. It amazes me how she does it all week after week. The mission pays our food mamita and clothes mamita, but not very much. They do a lot of service for us. They are both amazing!

We mainly walk, but there is a part of our sector that we usually take  a bus to just to save time. There are taxis everywhere here, probably at least one-fourth of the cars  in the road, but we don´t use them very often because they cost much {Derek is using Spanish grammar with this sentence].

TREK! That is so good to hear all of that! What a fun week! And the experiences everyone had must have been very special. Way to sing Nathan! (I can´t believe you are 17. The oldest of the youth!)

I remember the part where the men leave the women. That was hard to see them do that. It really helps us see a little of what the pioneers went through. I´m sure every youth that went on trek was so glad that they chose to go. Thank you for all the work of the leaders who planned it all! Thank you, Mom, for your dedication to your calling!

Of course, happy birthday and Father´s Day Dad! I hope it was a great day! Especially right after trek. Resting must have been nice :D

And happy birthday on Friday Dallin! :D

Yesterday we had one of the neatest experiences of my mission so far  :)

I´m not sure if I told you about Hermano Domingo Paredes. He is an elderly man we found a couple weeks ago just by doing contacts. We knocked on his door and told him we wanted to share a prayer with him to invite God into his home and bless him. He thought for a second and then asked, What does a prayer do? He invited us in and we explained the importance of praying and how our Heavenly Father wants to hear from us and will  bless us with whatever we need. Hermano Domingo told us that he really needed to pray then because he had just had heart surgery 22 days before. He even showed us his stitches on his chest (sorry Mom). He said most definitely, he needed help from God to recuperate. So we ended with a prayer to bless him and his family, and he invited us to come back in a few days.

When we went back, he invited us in energetically. We sat down and he told us that the last time when we prayed, he had felt such a peace in his home ever since and  was feeling a lot better :) 

We shared the first lesson, and at the end he told us that he now sees the importance of baptism, and told us he really wanted to go to church on Sunday. Sadly when Sunday came he didn´t make it. Later we found out because he was waiting for his son to come home to take him in his car. So for the next week we said we would pick him up with a member.

So now yesterday came. We were running late to church so we took a taxi (I hope that is not breaking the sabbath, because not many people have cars here. A lot take taxis to get to church). On our way we were coming up to a street that is ALWAYS packed, especially at that time. I prayed so hard that it would be clear so we could get Domingo to church on time. And miraculously, there was nobody :) We got to the church  and asked the member to take us and made it on time with Domingo.

We had a really good Sunday school class on faith. And at the end of the lesson, Domingo asked the teacher if he could get a blessing from anyone in the church to help him heal his heart. I don´t know how he knew to ask or how he had the courage or faith to ask, but he did. And immediately after we had the opportunity to give him a priesthood blessing. 

He had a great time in church and learned a lot. He is such a humble man, and has tremendous faith. I know the Lord is in His work. He is helping everyone come unto Him if they just accept His invitation :) 

So yesterday, was a great day :)

Have a great week everyone! Birthdays, holidays, summer, etc. I hope everyone is having a great summer! :D

I love you all! 

Elder Derek Keele

Elder Derek Keele, June 11, 2012

I´m great! My companion is starting to get anxious to go home! Only
one more week! He is really good though and has taught me a lot,
especially about finishing strong! He´ll have to meet up with Jamie
and Travis when he goes back to his home in Bountiful  :D
Our investigators are doing well. Most are progressing :)
That is so great to hear about Jordan. What an exciting weekend! haha
that makes me excited already :D
I hope I stay here! This branch is amazing! Our branch president,
President Quiroga, has the vision of where the church is going here in
Alto Hospicio. He is so dedicated and always working to help the
branch with the guidance of the Spirit. I will find out on Sunday
morning where I go next, but yes I think I get to stay here :D
Thank you for the recipes! Hermano Fuenteable has taught me how to
make sopaipillas, bread, and cake. Sopaipilla is delicious! It is kind
of like a tortilla mixed with homemade donuts. It rocks!
Yesterday in church we ran around 3rd hour talking to the Relief
Society, Elders quorum, and Priests quorum. We are trying to get
everyone more involved in the work. And it really helps the members
strengthen their testimonies too!
I really hope I have at least one more transfer here, two would be
nice. But I am ready for whatever!
Thank you for sending me Rachel´s letter. It is so good to hear
testimonies from family!
Happy birthday two days ago, Jamie!!! I sang happy birthday to myself
for you that day.
And happy Father´s Day on Sunday Dad! Enjoy the Krispy Kreme Donuts!
(You could probably use one of Jordan´s ties because I´m sure he has a
bunch haha)
Elder Hertler´s mom is active in the church again!!!! :D He even
called her and she talked to him! She said she wasn´t sure why, but
she suddenly had the desire to go back to church again. I am so happy
for her and Elder Herlter!
Thank you for everything! Enjoy the trek! And be safe!
Love,
Elder Keele

Elder Derek Keele, June 4, 2012

Whoa. That is so cool. Those sound like amazing missionaries. What a
sweet experience :D It is times like that when it is just impossible
to doubt that the Lord knows us and loves us.
And with Jordan coming home when he is. That is such a blessing! Holy
cow! I didn´t realize that he is coming this Saturday! How exciting!
Enjoy this next week! :)
My companion only has a couple weeks left and he is starting to get
excited. But luckily for me he is choosing to finish strong and not
let off on the throttle. I have already learned a lot from him and
will continue learning.
Oh boy! Yes Jessica, please write me before you get married! (Jessica is not even engaged!)
Way to go Nathan! Jamba Juice! I hope you don´t turn crazy from all
the sugar! That sounds like it will be a really fun place to work. I
knew a lot of friends during high school that went there all the time.
Do your best every day to be the best! :D And enjoy it!
This week was pretty good. We still need to do better of course, like
always, but I was so happy to see all the people in church! A guy came
that hasn`t been in a long while, but our branch president told us
that that guy used to be the most dedicated guy he has ever seen. It
will be so good for this branch when he gets going again!
His testimony is super strong; he said that he has never ever denied
that the gospel is true. He just made some mistake years ago and said
he hasn´t deserved to be back in the church. But we shared 2 Nephi
28:32 with him. The Lord`s arms are always open, just waiting for us to
come back to him. And now Hermano Días plans on being fully active in
the church again, because he has missed it a lot.
Yesterday the electricity was out for most of the day. We heard from
about 4 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon, and then it went out
again from about 6 to 10 at night. We heard it was just a maintenance
thing. This is very different from Orem. I do´n`t remember this ever
happening and if it did it was for about an hour at the most.
But luckily, most of our branch still went to church. And it turned
out to be the most favorite fast and testimony meeting I have ever been in!
Hearing certain people get up in the meeting was so cool to see!
People I love so much, people we have worked with, and members that I
didn`t think would ever do that. I loved hearing all of the
testimonies, and that meeting was such a strength to me. :D I love this
branch!
President Bruce challenged us this month to finish the Book of Mormon.
As a mission we were in Mosiah 6. Now he challenged everyone to
finish by the end of this month. I love it! I love reading the Book of
Mormon many pages at a time. It gives you a bigger perspective on how
and when things happen, and it really seems to boost my testimony of
it. I know it is true.
Well have a great week prepping for Jordan! I hope his adjustment will
be easier than it seemed for Jessica. And now you will have two recent
RMs in the home.
I love you all! Have a great week! And have a great summer kids!