The week before 2017

Hola Hola Amigos!!! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with the fam and loved ones and you all were able to share some great times, some good food and make some memories. Since next time i talk to all of ya'll will be 2017 ill just say right now Happy New Years!!! This week has been absolutely crazy leading up to Christmas. More work than ive ever done in my life. 3 baptisms, one skype session with the family and a whole lot of food. What a week. 

So we were able to baptize Angel and the married couple Luis and Norma and they all had such a special Christmas day being able to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ and get baptized in the exact form that He was baptized thousands of years ago during His life. To see their excitement and joy in being baptized really showed to me just how much joy and happiness this Gospel brings to lives of Gods children and how rewarding it is for me to have the opportunity to share that happiness each and every day. I was asked to baptize Luis and so i was the one that performed his ordinance for him as the baptizer. It was a really special experience for me.

We also spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day night with wonderful families from the ward and we left eac house we visited about a waist size bigger haha. Its time to do some major ab workouts. I had the awesome opportunity to Skype my family and it was the best part of all to see all my siblings and parents and family members and talk to them and see their beautiful faces again after 6 months of not being able to. All in all this week was difficult and exhausting but probably the most rewarding and best week of the mission. Funny how those go hand in hand right?

I love you all very much and i wish you all another Happy New Years and i challenge you all to make this year a little bit better, love a little more, help a little more, and try to be a better person each and every day. We're here on the earth and learn and progress and if we do all that we need to, we'll be rewarded more than we can fully comprehend. I love you all i love this Gospel and i love our Savior and Redeemer of the World, Jesus Christ. 

Love, Elder Carlos Cabrera

Facts of the week:

1. Santa apparently comes to apartment complexes in Chile at midnight and yells way to loud and likes to wake up sleeping missionaries, i thought hes suppose to be sneeky

2. The Latinos have their own version of the Christmas song "12 days of Christmas" and believe it or not it's even LONGER  in spanish. and that much more annoying. 

3. People go grocery shopping everyday here in Chile, its like part of their daily schedule, its like they've never heard of the idea of efficiency

The one with the week before Christmas....

Hola Hola everybody!!! I hope youre all well and geared up for this weekend to enjoy the beautiful celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Enjoy the presents, the food, the music, the matching pajamas, and what not but i challenge you all to read about the birth of Jesus Christ as a family and try to focus on more the true reason for the season. 

This week has been crazy and full of awesome work with awesome people. We are planning to have 4 investigadors get baptized this sunday on Christmas day and we've been preparing them and helping them be ready in every aspect that we can. the 4 people are named Angel, Luis and Norma, and Theresa. All of them are super excited to take this first step in beginning the path of following Jesus Christ. My companion and I could not be happier for them as well. Its gunna be an absolutely beautiful and very special Christmas for us all. Even though i wont be feasting and opening presents around the tree with the family, im doing something very special to me and i know to Jesus Christ. Im super excited to Skype the family this sunday and this week is going to be super busy and stressful but in the end itll be totally worth it. I send my best to all of you and your families. I know that this time of year is more than just Santa and the presents and the goodies, its about the birth of Jesus Christ. Through Him and what He did for us and what He sacrificed for us, we have the opportunity to be with our families forever and we have the opportunity to return to live with our Heavenly Father again. 

Love you all!!

Elder Cabrera

Facts of the week

1. Nobody uses dryers here just washers and they hang all there clothes up to dry like old school

2. While you all are drinking down hot chocolate, im buying smoothies and icecream on the daily

The one with the tramites

Hola everyone!!! Its me again sending you all the weekly update of whats been goin on down here in Chile! I hope you all are well and you all are totally immersed in the Christmas season and enjoying the reason for the season. This week absolutely flew by and it was full of just random activities and a whole lot of work and sweat, yes i feel like im walking in the desert but still hearing christmas music in the streets. 

So this week ive been just getting a hang of the new sector and the new ward that im in and just teaching and getting back in the groove. But this week i had the delightful pleasure of doing something called tramites which is basically like visa paperworks in order to get my Chile citzenship (dont worry im still USA all the way, but its the law) haha. SO that process took forever and i have to go back thursday to finish it but it was a lot of traveling and seeing a bunch of friends of mine from Mexico so that was super dope to catch up and see everyone. 

We had an awesome Christmas Devotional in the stake and it was absolutely beautiful this one guy sang like he should be signed to a record contract, im gunna make a fortune as his manager, call me Simon. So that was beautiful, doesnt feel too much like christmas since im sweating so much to fill my water bottle, sorry probably too much information but hey thats the mission for ya. Merry Christmas to me. 

Anyways all is well, im healthy, i have the gnarliest farmers tan ever, and im happy. I wish you all the best and i love heaing from all of you!

Shouts out to my family for the awesome christmas package and the Woodward Park Primary for sending all those adorable notes! It totally made my week!

Love, Elder Carlos Cabrera

Facts about Chile

1. People hear consider a banana a satisfying dessert, i personally prefer icecream

2. the metro system in chile is extremely well organized and clean, better than New York if you ask me, well done Metro Santiago. 

The one with Garcia's final week in the mission...

Hey Everybody! So This week flew by for me and now as we speak my ex companion Elder Garcia of Veracruz Mexico has been reunited with his family after 2 years of serving the Lord here in Chile and i couldnt be any more proud and happy for him. So with Garcia leaving that means i have to recieve another companion and actually i received a new area too so Goodbye to Los Manantiales. But dont worry because President just moved me to the neighboring ward named Alberdi and im actually really close to my old area still haha. But my new companion is Elder Jacobsen from Palo Alto, California and he has 4 months in the mission. so that makes me the senior companion, no pressure haha. From yesterday i now have 18 months left in the mission, man does the time flie. But this past week was awesome it was sad saying goodbye to all the members and people within my ex area and im gunna miss them all very much but not nearly as much as Elder Garcia, he was a good buddy and i wish him luck in his future endeavors as he returns to his normal life in Mexico. So in the meantime im just getting to know my new sector, getting to know my new companion and trying to enjoy and embrace every moment. Pray for me to adjust well and pray that Elder Jacobsen and I enjoy this cambio that lies ahead of us. Im sending my love to all of you as you prepare for the Holidays. ALl is well and its gunna be a hot christmas for your favorite Missionary in Chile. 

Love, Elder Carlos Cabrera

facts abotu chile:

1. 4 months with one person makes you miss them a lot when they leave

2. They have this version of fruit cake called Pan de Pascua here that everyone eats all of December and im already bored of it haha

The one with the first thanksgiving...

¡Hola Ladies and Gentleman! I hope everyone is alive and well and you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! So before we get into the week im just mention a few things...while its getting colder and colder for all of you this week ive began to a solid suntan walking all the day in the south america sun. (dont worry mom im putting on sunscreen) but yeah it's getting super hot here but hey what are you gunna do. 

So maybe a few of you guys are wondering how i spent my Thanksgiving and the fact of the matter was that...for the most part it was just another day. I actually spent the day in an intercambio with another missionary, Elder Alex Leavitt from Mesa, AZ. It was kinda cool to at least spend the holiday with another American. The Latinos just dont appreciate the day like we do but ya can't really blame them, it's not part of their culture. But no we had a fun time hanging out working hard, not gunna lie we spoke more english that day than we probably should have but hey, it was a holiday cut me some slack. 

Besides that things are kinda coming to a close with my companion Elder Garcia because this time next week, Elder Garcia will be back home with his family in Mexico and I'll have a new companion, who ever he may be...we dont find out until monday in the office, its like a lottery haha. But all is well, its a bit too hot to be walking around in a shirt and tie all day but hey, Welcome to the Mission. 

Anyways i believe thats all to report on, if anyone has any specific questions that ive failed to answer or you guys just wanna know something, send me an email and ill get back to you when i can! I love ya'll and i wish you all a great rest of your week. Until next tuesday!

Elder Carlos Cabrera

facts of the week:

1. as the summer season comes up more and more people start breaking out the barbecues and it really does a number on the air quality here, especially when youre always outside and walking fast haha

2. All those of you that are sad that youre beginning to lose your suntans because of wintertime, take mine i dont want it every person i run into is like "Elder have you been working otuside lately?" the answer is always yes...

3. Nobody has any money during this time of the year here in Chile, theyre tarting to buy christmas presents and spending more money on electricity for fans and stuff and everybody is just poor haha its quite a humbling experience

The one with Maria Livia's baptism...

¡Hola Everybody! Coming to you live once again from Caliente Santiago. Another week come and gone and its been a busy one. We had an intercambio, temple tour, a baptism, a confirmation, more sightseeing and a whole lot of experience a long the way. I hope you all are well and that you all are getting ready to chow down this Thursday, as for me, its just a normal Thursday.

So as expected Maria Livia Giraldo was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What a special day it was for her. Shes not really a woman that likes to show much emotion but she couldn't help but display the joy she felt. What a neat experience. But it wasn't easy we did some major traveling, my companion and I had to travel to the other side of Santiago to go to the temple where Maria could get interviewed by baptized by President Canioles. It was quite the hassle. But all went well.

Today we did some more sighteeing and we climbed Cerro Santa Lucia, it was awesome, the architecture is super beautiful and we had a great time celebrating the last Pday for my companion Elder Garcia before he heads home to Mexico. 

So i dont have too much to say but ive got a ton of pics so i hope that makes up for it. I wish you all a wonderful thankgiving as you reunite with famil, friends and loved ones and i hope you all are able to feel and share the things your are grateful for in your lives. The Lord has truly blesed all of us in more ways than one and we just need to take the time to look. Happy Thansgiving!

Elder Carlos Cabrera

Facts of the week:

1. theres these spiders here that make these cool spider webs that look like blackholes on like every tree here and if you stick your pen on the web and cause a vibration on the web, the spider will come out and literally try to grab the pen from you. It was quite terrifying at first but now its an entertaining game we play.

2. Its completely normal to pass other cars by going into the othher lane going the other way. In the states its seen as rude and a bit dangerous, but here its an everyda necesity. I would hate to drive here.