Happy Halloween!!

Thank you Mom and Dad. I couldn't ask for better parents. I feel your support and prayers every day, seriously it's the weirdest thing but I really do. Thank you for the pictures as well, I loved them and the costumes were hilarious and the house seems to have changed a lot as well! For example what happened to the other television? It's all good because its looks better like this anyway.

Well to start off this week has been a good week and the more Elder Vergara and I get along the more we both want to stay together cause we know we are going to see success this next change and so I was nervous because I already have 4 and a half months in this sector and so I really didn't know what is going to happen but if there is one thing I have learned it is to trust in God cause he knows what I need and he knows what will make me better and I prayed that whatever happens I just want to be happy.


So we got the call and I found out that elder Vergara was leaving and I was staying again! I couldn't believe it and I'm not going to lie but I was kind of irritated because we had gained confidence with all investigators. But I prayed to feel comfortable about what happened and I felt that everything was going to be alright.

So I was thinking there is something else God wants me to learn in this sector because even though I feel I learned a lot already and even though I didn't want elder Vergara to go I felt like I learned what God wanted me to learn and most of all I learned to have greater love for the Chilean people, but I guess there is still to learn.

I received my new companion at the change counsels and he is a Mexican named Elder Lugo I'm his mom and he is super nice and he is a way happy guy. I feel good that this change will be a great one. I'm excited.

SO we went to change counsels and president had told us some things and one of those things was that every single missionary will do the training program which includes 2 hours of studying as companions and he also told us that he has been praying hard for someone to come here and inspire the mission and he said this Saturday we will definitely be inspired and the north mission will be joining us and so it will definitely be an apostle so I'm way excited! I can't wait, their hasn't been an apostle here in this mission for 3 years and so I'm super excited!

I cannot believe that Chanelle is dating someone that she likes. I'm not surprised to know that she is going on dates but with someone that she likes? Dang it lol I hope they don't rush things lol.

That's so awesome to hear that Daniel is becoming a great teacher, that's awesome that he has already mastered it because I'm still working on it. It's definitely a gift that only comes from heaven.

By the way I haven't got your package yet. Hopefully it will come this next week or something and I don't think I need anything else but thank you for taking care of the card thing. I think I just need foot soles but that's about it.


Wow it's so crazy to see how fast the time is flying by its insane. I remember when you sent me those pictures form last years Halloween. It seriously feels like it was a month ago. Also today a huge group left to return home. Elder Fiscuss and many other awesome elders went home today. It was kind of sad but tells me how fast my time will run out.

 By the way has Shanna already gone to the doctors to see what's going on?

Love you all and keep safe. I'm glad to be a missionary, there's no other place to be and to grow as much as I'm growing now.

Con Amor,
Elder Pedersen

Love my mission!!

Thank you Mom and Dad for the letters. I honestly don't feel that special, but if you say so...I love you both and couldn't ask for better parents.

I can't believe you didn't send any pictures of home coming of Kenny and them or is it next week? I can't remember if you told me or not. I'm so glad Kenny is doing awesome. He and I are going to be hanging out a bunch when I get back, I love that guy.

It was an awesome experience with Skyler that I will never forget and it was awesome to see how much we have grown. Skyler is a great leader like he has always been and we are just growing together while being here. We talked so much about what we want to do when coming back and things like that and it's so crazy because it just kicked me back into reality and I realized I only have 8 months left, and Christmas its already coming up and people are starting to tell me that I have no time left and it just puts it into perspective on how fast the time is flying by and I can't believe it!

Well this week was a great week. Me and Elder Vergara (which no not elder Perez) are doing awesome together and are working the sector and finding more people. And by the way I have about 4 months in this sector but I actually really like it now because the people you form relationships with motivate you to stay and in every lesson or at lunch we are always laughing our heads off. We have a great time together.

And I'm not sure if I told you but about 2 months ago I got a reference from a member in the ward who is from a big family that recently had their mom die. So Elder Perez and I went over there and the Dad first came out and said he doesn't really like associating with gringos (Americans) And so I tired persuading him to listen to us but he said you believe in agency right and so I don't really want to listen. And so I was looking for the spirit to direct me on what to say and so I said if you believe in agency then how about you use it by listening to us and then after you can choose if our message is true or not and so he was convinced and let us in and we talked about families and had a great lesson but we only taught a part of the family and so after he said he liked the lesson but he said he would call me and he seemed kind of hard to teach so I don't know why, but we didn't go over again. So like a month passed and I got my new companion and I was praying really hard for a family to be able to find and the next Sunday the hermana came up to us and said, "Elders what is happing with that family? I have had them on my mind all this week. And so we passed by again last week and just talked to the dad just to get his confidence in us and he seemed nice to us but still doesn't like the states but we set up an appointment and went in and watched the movie together forever and this time more of his family was present and they all loved the movie and so we set another appointment up for yesterday (Sunday) and so we passed by and taught them the plan of salvation and the spirit was so strong and the love that God has for that family was present and they told us they have never invited someone into their house before and so they said we got lucky cause he felt different with us and he is warming up to me and in no time his heart will be opened towards me and he will love me ha-ha. So they accepted to pray and read and so Elder vergara and I were super happy so now this next coming week for changes I hope that I stay because I want to be able to be here to see the people I have been teaching be baptized. We have other people progressing too but I was super happy to find this family cause president encouraged the mission to pray to find a family so the mission can have a ¨White Christmas¨. Cool huh?

Well I'm happy that everything is going great for the family and especially grateful that Shanna is strong and is able to carry the baby.

I can't believe that Kellin has a girlfriend and to top it off being a ladies' man! That's hilarious! I think it's funny that he's also dating the daughter of the mom that Dad dated before. Ha-ha I guess that's the price you pay for living in the same place your whole life.

My Spanish is great and I'm loving have a Latin for a companion, elder Vergara is the other reason I want to stay in this sector because he is awesome and we get along great and were doing work.

Wish me good luck and pray for me this week. I love you and the gospel is true!

Con Amor,
Elder Pedersen

50th Celebration!!!! I saw SKYLER!!!!

The celebration was awesome! The four missions that were there sang a song and many seemed to love it. But I first got their on Saturday knowing that for sure I was going to see Skyler but scared at the same time that I wasn't going to be able to find him but when I got their I couldn't find him and so I was thinking in the back of my head, what will my parents think when I don't find him and then someone in my zone was like elder Pedersen I think that's him and I was like no way and so we started freaking out and ran and gave each other a huge hug and we were just in shock that we were in Chile together and so we sat down together and talked for the entire celebration and no not one Apostle came but it didn't really matter to us cause we paid enough attention to say amen at the end of each talk. ha-ha but I was seriously in shock and every time we looked at each other we would just be reminded that 6 months earlier I was talking to him on Skype for Mother's day. It was so awesome and we both were just in awe thinking how amazing God is, It was definitely a little tender mercy of the Lord thinking that God put two best buddies just 30 min away from each other and the only time we would be able to see each other was at this celebration!

We talked about everything and we watched the dances that the youth prepared of different cultures all around the world and it was way cool and at the end we ran out on the field with everybody jumping and screaming. Lol it was so fun.

Ha-ha I'm still in shock that we were able to see each other! I will send you some pictures that we took together. We actually realized how close our missions really are from one another.

It was an awesome experience that I will never forget that we were able to see each other as missionaries serving the same people in the same country and to be able to see how much both of us has grown (spiritually). We also found out that I have actually grown physically, I'm actually as tall or taller than Skyler so I didn't feel like such a little person like before.

It's weird that you say that you have only gotten like 25 pictures from me because every time I send pictures I send you that much so I'm wondering if you are not getting all the photos that I send you guys. And I cant send videos over internet and so I will try to make some copies on a CD sometime And I still haven't got the package that you sent but hopefully when the mail comes tomorrow I will get it.

You should go on the church website to see the video of the celebration because they said they would put it up there and you'll be able to see us singing and stuff.

Well this week has been a little different with having to travel so much during the week to practice for the celebration. But our investigators are doing good but it's kind of lame cause I have found out that people here in this part are super slow to progress like our investigator that want to get baptized told us he put his own date for the 18th of November to be baptized so I'm kind of disappointed if i'm not here for the next change, but if I'm not it's what Gods wants. But overall we are finding more and more people to teach and so part of me wants to stay in this same area but the other part of me wouldn't mind leaving, but we are doing good.

Well I love you all and thank you for all the love and
Support and I hope to hear from the boys soon!

Les Amo Muchísimo
Elder Pedersen

Serving in the Promised Land!!

Alright I'm sorry I feel like a slacker with the short e-mails and the little bit of pictures that I send but I only send a bit of pictures because I don't take much. It's a lot different cause they advise us not to pull our cameras out and take pictures so we don't look like tourists and plus people might steel our cameras which I have heard has happened many times. I have heard of missionaries that only take pictures of the baptisms that they have, and that's it. But still I will try and take more pictures than I have.

This week has been a good week and we are finding out that it's easy to find people to teach, the only thing now is to keep them and have patience with them. For example this last week on Tuesday we went to our investigators Mom's house and the son to see how they were and talk about the 10 commandments cause we gave them a folleto (pamphlet) to read on the law of chastity and when we passed in the house and sat down the mom came in from the other room and handed us the pamphlet and said I don't agree with this at all and started going off on what she doesn't agree with and things like that and so I was actually about to get mad but instead we just listened to her and I just waited to see what the spirit would put into my mouth to say and after talking to us about the things that she didn't like which were little things, I asked her if she had read the book of Mormon and prayed and she said she had not even prayed about it but prayed everyday and I knew she hadn't so we calmed her down and talked about how everything hangs on if the book of Mormon is true or not and so they came to church and after church we talked about the 10 commandments and she didn't have any complaints about anything and she was super happy about that and it was way cool because it was fast Sunday and they heard awesome testimonies from the members and they were shocked at people spoke straight from the heart, they said no other pastor in any other person in another church does that and Elias the son said he went back and listened to the talk by the prophet 3 times and he said he knows the church is true. It just makes me think that if truly people would search with all their heart they would find the truth.

So we are super happy with the progress of Elias and Edith and we are finding more and more people that have great potential to progress. I have been praying and praying that we can find a family to be able to teach and baptize because president invited us missionaries to pray and set the goal before the navidad to be able to find a family. In this sector there is so much potential and I just want to find that one family that is waiting for the gospel and that is being prepared by the lord.

Well I actually just found out that Skyler got permission to go to the big celebration this next Saturday cause last week he told me that he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to go to the activity but now he can and so we are so stoked and can't wait to see each other, I don't know how we are going to be able to find each other in a bushel of tons of people but it will happen or God wouldn't put us so close together! And as of right now nobody is sure if an apostle is coming or the prophet but it's going to be awesome! This last week we heard from the area presidency of Chile through satellite and it was actually shown all over but it was way cool and they showed a video of how the church started here in Chile and while watching it I just felt super privileged to be a missionary here in Chile and to be surrounded by many great Chilean members who have such great testimonies of the gospel.

Well it looks like you have tons of fun at the lone pine activity, I couldn't believe that dad made that jail, and it looks way cool. Thank you for your prayers and I will let you all know how it goes, I'm way excited!

Love you all tons and I'm super glad that Shanna is doing well so far, I hope it continues that way

Elder Pedersen

P.S. I have written some people back in the ward and I haven't
received many letters from the ward, maybe people have got
The address wrong or something. But yes I will write the kids more and I hope Kenny
received the letter I sent to him like a month and a half ago.