HEY EVERYBODY!! HOWZIT GOING!!!??? So whats happening is that the Church doesn´t want me to leave the country so they´re trying to delay me as much as possible :-D Just kidding. President Martinez couldn´t meet up with me on monday the 4th so he asked if he could change flight plans but the next one is on Friday so thats what happened. What are a couple of days to two years. Sorry mom and dad :-P At least I get to go to the temple now :-D I really can´t believe that Grandpa Thad is gone. That is so weird. I was thinking about the people who I am going to have to visit when I get back as well as the cemeteries I´ll have to visit. Unfortunately there are several now :-( BUT, I don´t feel sad. I don´t feel sad. When I read the email I felt like ``Well shoot. Now I gotta wait longer``, something like that :-) I thought that had I came home 3 weeks ago I probably would have seen Grandpa one more time, but honestly I have no regrets. none at all. I will see Grandpa Thad again. I dare ANYONE to tell me I´m wrong. I love the gospel :-) Its just awesome. SO things are going good here in Chilly Chile. Its been raining like a beast for the last couple of days. Sometimes we cant cross streets for the water. I´ve considered renting a canoe but I´ll just wait .-D Everytime the rains fall or the wind blows I yell ``THE ONLY REASON YOU ARE GETTING ME WET OR KNOCKING ME OVER IS BECAUSE I AM ALLOWING YOU TO DO SO! I AM THE BOSS HERE!!`` I stayed so that the rain could me. I´m in control .-D Things are going good with the work too. A lot of the people we are teaching are not progressing as much as we`d like but we`ll fix that.

Saturday we had a Family Home evening about the atonement. The lesson was like this. We had donuts but in order to get one, somebody had to 20 pushups. That somebody was me. :-D i`ve gotten a lot stronger in the mission but i`m still human and there were 7 people in the house. It started to get really hard halfway. I thought a lot about the atonement and prayer. They offered to do their own pushups but it had to be me. they offered water, and i had to wait. they said to take a break but i couldn´t. Quite the experiance. i`m still sore. I was worried towards the end if i was going to be able to do it. I wondered what Jesus thought through it all. Maybe i`ll do it again for a FHE at the church sometime .-D Thats it for me this week guys. Almost there. Until the next MOm DAd Sam Meri Grace and Sophie, i love you all and BE HAPPY!! Sincerely Elder Jamie McConnell p.s. I liked that story about Grandpa dad.

One More

HEY EVERYBODY!!1 :-D HOWZIT GOING?!??! :-D Hey guys, how´re things? I hope good because we`re doing good and its better when everyone is doing good .-D So the gigantestic earthquake that was going to happen on Sunday didn`t. I honestly still wanted to get water and food together just in case but I suppose that wasnt going to be necessary. I was really thinking that it was going to happen JUST because I decided to stick around a little longer. I was REALLY paranoid .-D no reason though .-D Sorry that we didn`t write yesterday. It was a Chilean holiday so President Martinez had the idea that we go out and find all the families that would be home and have Pday today. Good idea :-D The people however didn`t agree entirely. The families were all home though :-D ``Can we share with you about how Jesus Christ is our Saviour and how he can help you and your family?`` ``No, we`re having lunch`` `` . . . its 6`` ``Yeah, now we`re going to nap and then have dinner`` `` . . . right, and THATS more important`` I didn`t say that last part but I thought it :-D So things are good. We worked really hard this last week. Lots of people taught Unfortunately many of our investigators are not wanting to make changes in their lives. Word of wisdom, prayer, read, church, get married. It´s sad because they say ``I can`t do that because I really like coffee or I don`t have the money to throw a huge party for my wedding or i don`t have time to read and pray.`` They say it sometimes like we`re supposed to say ``OH! I wasn`t aware of that. DOn`t worry about it then`` :-P Blegh. A guy we`re teaching told us last week (very nicely, it was something he honestly believed) that a person has his life and he has his religion and that they don´t need to be connected at all. he said you could believe in God and stll smoke or drink or whatever and thats ok, If I didn`t like him I would have told him a lot differently what I told him how ``We cannot serve two masters. One will fall``. It made think about how many people really believe that. Shoot. Highlight, It RAINED this week :-D People ask us the bes questions when it rains. ``Why don`t you stay home or at least go home early?`` ``Because what we do is a lot more important than the rain. What we offer is of much greater worth than being cold. We care about you and the people enough that rain or shine we are with you faithfully. Would you like to see what we are sharing today?`` Like rain, blessings fall, sometimes at the same time .-D It was because of the rain that Graciela, Carla, Claudio, and other family members of theirs got baptized. :-D thats it guys. until the next Mom Dad Elder Sam Meri Grace and Sophie I love you all and BE HAPPY Sincerely Elder Jamie McAwesomeSauce McConnell p.s. FETCHING BRANDIE TYLER AND ASHLEY!!! INVITE ME TO YOUR WEDDINGS!!!

I Believe this is the 104th EMAIL

HEY EVERYBODY!!! :-D COMÓ LES VA?!?! HEy guys how`re things? :-) I hope good :-D ELder McConnell, sounds like the missions fun but still challenging :-D THats ok, thats how its supposed to be :-D Enjoy all of it, even the hard parts. SO I`ve been a missionary for two years. . . . People ask me ``How much time do you have?`` I`m like ``two years`` and they say ``Wow thats a lot`` I say ``Yeah`` then the question ``Was it hard?`` and I respond ``You bet`` and then they ask ``Was it worth it`` and I declare ``Yes. Every Single Second of it. I will never be the same and that is wonderful``. What a blessing. Live it up Bean Choro. I have little time today but I still want to write a bit. I will be calling probably sunday night but I`ll phone call before. Last one :-D No changes in sector or companion. Elder Attridge is my assassin. Lovely :-D WE had a Wonderful WArd activity Friday:-D White Elephant. Everyone was asking us ``Why is it called a White Elephant?`` :-D This week our investigators kind of jad it hard. WE had two mothers freak out, one is going in for cancer surgery, others simply can`t find their testimonies BUT WE WILL STILL WIN. We have to win we`re on Gods team. :-D Here are some names Coni and Nelson(Father) Tapia: Her Mom Claudia does NOT want her to be baptized and now doesn`t want her to learn anymore. Coni is also praying for a testimony. Nacho Jaque: Same story but his Father is also against him learning anything. THey both like the church and want to learn more. They want the peace they feel when they come. Alejandro and Hilda: She has surgery this week so naturally they are both worried. He believes everything but she is still a little reluctant but they both like it that we visit them. CInthia and Aylin: They read and pray but they still can`t seem to achieve that testimony that they are looking for and actually it would seem that Cinthia has some sort of secret doubt that she is unwilling to share. THats the people :-) THere are always others but those are who we are focusing on. Elder Attridge is awesome :-) We`re doing great :-D Now for an experience. We were talking a bit with an Adventist father and his family. We invited them to read of the account of Jesus´ visit to the Americas and how it would be cool for them to read what he said. THe man paused for a second and said ``I know that you mormons believe that this all happened but NO ES REAL, it isn`t real.`` He then said nothing trying to disprove it. All he said that it wasn`t real. . . . . . . . It is though :-) It really did happen. After 2 years of talking about it I have a little something to say. The church is true. There really is a God, he talks to prophets, he`s given them his power and because of that we can go back to live with him. What a blessing :-) THats it guys. Mom Dad Elder Sam Meri Grace and Sophie, I love you all and BE HAPPY!!! SIncerely Elder Jamie McConnell