the one with the bowling win

Hola Everyone!!!! Another week has passed in the wonderful time which is the mission, every week is getting faster. but this week was a really good one not gunna lie. first off we had a baptism, our buddy Johnson Bordes got baptized on Sunday and it was a really beautiful service, he seems really happy. this week has been great in the life of a missionary baptizing, teaching, talking to people, helping people and just trying to make the world a better place. how can i not be happy?

And on top of that today we went bowling and i started off kinda poorly but i sure heated up and ended up winning out of the group, so check me out I'm a mean green baptizing strike machine haha. I'm totally just joking. but sorry i don't have more to say i'm just happy and content and learning more everyday. i wish you all the best and have a wonderful week!!!!

Love, Elder Carlos Cabrera

facts of the week:

1. it is hard to set up a baptismal service without something messing up, poor Johnson didn't have hot water to get baptized in

2. people here when they're hot just open fire hydrants and start playing in the water, I'm pretty sure that's illegal where I'm from

the one with thanksgiving dinner...halleluyah

Hola Everybody!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!! i know im 2 days early but better now than never am i right? man where do i get started. this week has been a full week with zone conference and activities and just puttin my nose to the grind stone. Its been getting pretty hot down here in Colina, Chile but that has been stopping us from helping everyone we can find. 

This week we had the amazing opportunity to have zone conference and hear from our liders in the mission including our President Meservy, his wife and other liders. it was great, we received help and advice on how we can basically help more people know the Gospel. and on top of that, our President and his family went up up and beyond to pull off a thanksgiving dinner for us. they had turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans even stuffing. its the little things you appreciate went you havent had it in a long time, nearly teared up haha kidding. but yeah besides that we've just been working hard and trying to help and teach as many people that are willing to listen, our message changes lives. I want to wish you all a wonderful thanksgiving, i invite you all to take the time to be grateful for the things you have and the people that you love and love you back, ive learned a lot of gratitude since being away from all of that. I love you all very much and have a great week and grub up!

Love, Elder Carlos Cabrera

facts of the week:

1. children hate going to school here, they play hooky all the time its ridiculous

2. its a tradition here as a birthday boy/girl that you have to bite a piece of your cake after being sang to, but someone else has to sneakily shove your face into the cake when you go for the bite, its not a birthday without it. 

3. haitians take their church dress very seriously here, youd think they were going to prom or something

the one with the first week in colina

Hola Everybody!!! Its me again ive made it one week in my new sector in Colina just so you guys all know Colina in spanish means hill so i guess you could say im in the middle of a few hills haha not a great description i know. but yeah so its been a super busy week with getting to know, well everyone. im the newbie in the sector so ive been saying hi to a lot of faces ive never seen beofre getting to know everyone. the mission is sure full of a lot of hellos and goodbyes, im good at the hellos but the goodbyes are still kinda tough for me, youd think id be a pro by now. but anyways alls been good here just learning more everyday and working hard. its gottin so hot that i feel like im drinking 10 liters of water daily just to stay standing haha. but thats the mission life gotta love it. ive been good and ill be even better as i get use to things here just keep me n your prayers, and i hope you know that youre all in mine as well. well thats about it for now, side note: a drunk man that we were talking with last night named jota said that if he was a girl he would be dating me hahaha and then he gave me a lettuce head to take home, it was hilarious. memories like that is what its all about i suppose, oh yeah and teaching the gospel ;) i wish you all a great week and i send you my best!!!

Love, Elder Carlos Cabrera

facts of the week:

1. in chile its rude to shake hands with gloves on, its a lack of respect, just fyi

2. here the children dont believe in the tooth fairy they believe in ratoncito, some rat that comes in the night an takes teth and leaves money, that sounds terrifying if you ask me...

3. all streets in chile are named after some famous chilean person, but the catch is that every chilean is either named luis, marco, fernando or roberto so it can make things a little complicated

the one with halloween, last birthday in the mission and too many tears

Hola Everybody!!! so here i am coming to you live once again. this week has been a week to remember to say the least. so many experiences and memories were made, happy and sad. the biggest news is that thursday night i got a call saying i had transfers and my last day in Llay Llay would be November 5th...my 20th birthday. it was the saddest birthday of my life saying goodbye to the people i love here in beautiful LLay LLay. ill never forget the memories i made here and all the lessons learned. best few months of my mission. Now im with a guy from Colombia named Elder Puello here in a zone called Colina Esmeralda. its still otuside Santiago but a good in between city and country. I want to say thanks to all those that send me birthday wishes,i really appreciate it and i can say that next year ill be state side once again. i love you all soo much and i love the mission. i love the people i serve, i love where i am and i love having the name of Jesus Christ on my chest each and every day. ill talk to you all next week!!!!!

Love, Elder Carlos Cabrera (20 year old)

facts of the week:

1. people in llay llay love the missionaries so much to the point of crying when they leave

2. the more the people cry the more you know they love you

3. greasers are super orginial costumes here in chile, and the easiest thing ever for a missionary

 i cant send photos from the computer that im at but next week for sure, get ready for a picture overload!!!

the one with the bmx tricks

Hola Everybody!!! Here i am another week in windy LLay LLay, youd think im in chicago except all the tall buildings and style and police violence. But yeah its been a great week here we are coming into my last week of the transfer with my comp and im thinking hes out of town coming next Monday so we're making the most of the time we still have together. we have some great pics and stuff so stand by and more will come givin we have halloween (favorite holiday) and as i come to the end of my 19th year of life. i know crazy stuff, last birthday in the mission, none of ya'll knew me as a 19 year old but ill see you all as a 20 year old. so yeah things are great, riding bikes a lot, preaching the gospel and soaking up the sun (unfortunately too much). i wish you all a great week a happy halloween and may all your trick or treating be successful tonight. (especially you Kami Lu)

I love you all so much talk to ya next week!!!

Elder Carlos Cabrera

facts of the week:

1. its completely normal for haitians to live like 20 in a small house. theyre all very close.

2. its required to use helmets as missionaries on bikes, i feel lame but on occasions i see the necessity

3. people in chile wait until the day of to buy all their halloween costumes, it stresses me out

the one with the creole ward

Hola Everybody!!!! I hope everyones been doing well and enjoying there fall, things are actually heating up down here in Chile as we're getting into spring, more like mid summer it feels like (see photo below, promise i put on sunscreen mom). but this week was great it went by fast but just from being busy and having fun. I had a great interchange with my buddy Andrew Flores from Orem, UT. and i realized that we're like the same person, it was crazy, missinary work is so fun when you have so much to talk about with your companion, we just talked all day long and it passed by too fast. We met a dude that lived in New Jersey for like 20 years and it was so weird to hear the mixture of his spanish with a jersey accent, i imitate it all the time now haha. but the best part of the week, obviously sunday when i kid you not over 20 haitains showed up to church, the building was full of just stylish haitians there to worship God, it was so awesome. Man life is good, the things i see everyday continue to surprise me. 

but yeah that was basically my week and i wish you all a great week as well, until next tuesday guys!!!

Love, Elder Carlos Cabrera

facts of the week:

1. Chilean, New Jerseans swear more than anyone ive ever met, even sailors would be appauled

2. Haitains own dress shirts of all colors of the rainbow, in church i felt like i was in the 80s

3. when girls here think your cute, instead of doing a cat call or that classic whistle they just make a kissy noise with their lips, pretty sure a 80 year old woman did it to us yesterday

the one with the haitian futbol

Hola Everybody!!! Man im sorry to disappoint ya'll but this week wasnt all that noteworthy and all but we worked hard i saw miracles, its been good stuff. We did do an activity to invite the haitians to get to know the church by invited them to a soccery tournament that we were doing. there wasnt as much as we wouldve liked but those that show up put in work, those hatiains know how to play, soccer is a universal language and people of all walks of life can be friends in a good game of futbol. but other than that we've just been working, riding a lot of bike and getting some swoll thighs. call me Lance. 

i love you guys so much i wish you all a great week and im sorry this email wasnt one of my bests but im great no worries, living the dream!!!

Love, Elder Carlos Cabrera

facts of the week:

1. for a cultural that loves to play soccer, its actually kind of difficult to find someone that has a soccer ball, like how can that be?

2. the cheetos here in the chile are not even close to the same thing as the US stuff. dont try it, youve been warned.

3. even chilean girls are obsessed with the same 3 movies that all girls i know are, the proposal, the notebook and anything that stars Zac Efron, some thigns never change