AJ's email from 12/26

Just a side note that for what-ever reason this post was the most frustrating ever. The pictures are all over the place and wouldn't stay put when inserted. I am done being frustrated though, so...it is what it is! :)
AND...don't miss the best post of all, his testimony in the previous post. 

AJ and E. Sosa at a member's house Christmas Eve

hey everyone, i hope that you all had a great christmas. i know that i definitely had a lot of fun the last 2 days. especially yesterday with elder sosa. it was more like a day for us to relax just once. but ill explain that part later.

          first im just gonna start with the beginning of the week. on monday we taught a really good lesson to a kid named javier. he is 19 and is really amazing as far as being an investigator. he has a ton of the same beliefs and wants to know which church is true. and he learns really fast and understand easily so its so easy to teach him. as long as he has time to teach him and he comes to church, he should get baptized without a lot of effort on our part. and that would be awesome. the only problem is that im probably leaving next week and so i wouldnt be able to see it. but its alright.

      tuesday, wednesday and thursday were pretty boring days. the only thing worth mentioning is the fact that we had our coordination meeting with the ward mission leader for the first time in about 3 months. and it wasnt even a good meeting and was really just a waste of our time. cuz we got to the church at 830 when we had the meeting planned and he wasnt there. so we waited for him to come. and at 915 he finally got there and said alright lets have this meeting quick cuz im gonna go play soccer with the ward. and so it was just a 5 minute thing where we didnt really accomplish anything. but its just another thing that we have to deal with here.

E. Leavitt and ? at the mission party

      then friday was a pretty good day. we had the mission christmas party. and there was good sides and bad sides to having it. the good things were that we are the only mission in chile to get together cuz we are the only mission with area small enough to do it. and another thing was that i got to see friends from other zones and talk with all of them and catch up a little. also elder leavitt, elder braddy and i just messed around and talked the whole time. it was really pretty funny. and finally, we had a white elephant thing with the whole mission. and it was pretty funny the way that they did it. cuz everyone picked their present and then before opening it, we played a game where we had to rotate presents several times and so you ended up with something that someone completely different picked. but it was cool. and i ended up with a cooking apron, which is kinda ironic seeing as how i dont cook. (there is a picture of that)

AJ in his apron...looking good!
I couldn't manage to upright the picture. He looks just as silly with your head tilted sideways!

 then saturday was a good day, for multiple reasons. the first one is obviously the fact that i got to talk to my family. its been since may since i have seen them and so it was really good to see everyone and hear their voices and actually have conversations. but that was definitely the best part of the day. but that ended 

Enjoying Christmas eve

A dinner to remember!

around 8, so we still had another 3 hours in the day to do stuff. so we went to the house of jose and magali (my convert) and we had some soda and ate christmas bread. then we left and on the way to 

Ping-pong...and...pong-ping?!

the dinner we planned, we walked past the house of a family in our retention, and the were having a bbq. so they gave us a little meat to eat and some more soda. so at that point i was already about halfway full and we hadnt even started dinner yet. so we got to dinner and we started around 1030 and it was really cool. we were with a member and her pareja which is an investigator and good friend of ours now. (more pictures of that) and it was a huge dinner and i was stuffed after finishing that and could barely walk home. but just before we left, they gave us each a present to open which was really nice of them and it was the ping pong set for us both cuz we like to play so much. but we didnt up going to bed that night til about 1 so we were so tired for church the next day.

opening presents from the fam

opening more presents from the fam

       then sunday we just had sacrament meeting so we got out at like 11. and we had time to rest and then went to lunch and came back and rested again. and then we went back to the same house that we were at the night before and hung out with them for a couple hours. and then around 8 there was nothing else to do so we just went back to the apartment and starting doing stuff just us. and we ate choripan, played ping pong in our pension, and then made a couple videos which are kinda funny. but it was just a relaxing day.

     so that was about everything. i hope that you all have a good new years and stay safe. take care everyone

The BEST present a mom could get...

AJ sent his testimony for his grandma to share with our family at the Milius Family Christmas Party. I got permission from AJ to post it on our blog. It is truely the best Christmas present a mom can get...my heart is full.


I bear my testimony that I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true church on the earth today. I know that we are guided by a living prophet who recieves revelation for us in these days and for our time. And if we listen to his counsels, we will be more protected from the dangers of the world. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Its a special book that was written specifically for us and that it came forth by the power of God. When we read it often, we may have the Holy Ghost more and feel the promptings of the Spirit more easily. And we can recieve personal revelation to direct us throughout our lives. I know that families can be together forever through our efforts and actions as well as the power and authority to seal families that is found in the temple. And I want nothing more than to have that, eternal life, being able to live with my family and God forever in happiness. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that He atoned for our sins so that we can become clean to be able to live with God again.Everything that Christ did, was for us. Whether it be His example, His teachings, or His atonement, it was all for us. And this time of year is the time we can remember all of that and think about everything He did for us. But most of all I know that the preisthood is the power of God here on the earth. With it and through our faith, we can do anything. Even perform miracles. As is proof, with the living miracle that we have in our family, my mom. I love you all. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. And I share this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

AJ's email 12/19/11

Santa is pretty short in Chile...but still very generous
(Weird Camera Angle!)

alright im definitely ready to get into a new sector now. im tired of walking around from 4 til 7 everyday just knocking doors and watching everyone reject us. especially when its about 100 degrees outside and we are in ties and pants. it sucks.

     anyway last monday night we have a family home evening with a couple in our retention. and it was cool cuz basically we just talked the whole time. but at the end was the best part. cuz a few weeks ago she told us that she didnt get baptized cuz she had a testimony. she just did it for faith. and so then that has made her question getting baptized. but then a couple nights earlier she had a dream. and i cant remember exactly what she said happened in the dream, but she knew that the church is true after that. and she thanked us for being so persistant in wanting to come see them all the time and for not giving up. and that we definitely have made a difference in her life. so that was pretty cool to hear from someone that you dont actually baptize.

        then tuesday is when we started the walking. we literally walked from 4 til 730 without stop and without getting into a single house. cuz all our plans fell through and then all the houses that we knocked were just terrible. so it was a really long day. but one good thing came out of it. and that was a few days later on saturday, a lady stopped us in the road close to the street that we had knocked. and she said that we had knocked on her door the other day but that we had left before her son could answer. and that the family are all inactive. and so we set an appointment to go see her this week. but the cool thing was that who knows if she had stopped us in the street if we hadnt knocked on their door. god works in mysterious ways.

AJ's District playing soccer...on P-day.

      thursday was a very long day as well. cuz in the morning we had a training meeting with president king. and that started at 10 in the morning. and then after we had our interviews. so we were in the church from 10 in the morning til 7 at night. i dont ever want to spend so much time in a church ever again. there is only so much that you can do. but i was nervous for my interview cuz apparently one of the guys in the stake presidency had told president that elder sosa and i had been playing soccer every thursday for the last few weeks. which wasnt true at all. we had only played once and it was cuz we had 6 investigators there and so we thought that it would be a good idea. so i was nervous that president was going to get mad at me. but it turned out to be nothing and he just explained that we shouldnt change out of our clothes except for pday cuz we just have to keep our image. so that made me feel a little better.

      friday night we had a family home evening again with chela, a return missionary, and she invited several of our investigators to it. and it was kinda funny to me cuz afterward i realized that she invited all the people that need to get married and then she taught a lesson about marriage. but it was really good.

      saturday night we were in the church practicing for our choir which had to sing in the stake yesterday for a devotional, when a family walked in from australia. and they didnt speak hardly any spanish. so i had to translate for them. but apparently they are on vacation in chile and were staying close and so they just came to see where the church was for sunday. then yesterday they came to church and i got to talk to them a little. (i loved their accents by the way) but it was parents with their 2 sons and daughter. but i found out that they have been on vacation for a long time now. almost 6  months. and they have been in china, the states, then they went to uruguay for a month, here in chile for 3 weeks, then they are going to peru, bolivia, back to peru, and then from there i dont know where. but need less to say they are very rich. but it was cool. i especially liked talking with the 19 year old daughter lol but just kidding really.

     the other weird thing about sunday is that president corbridge came to our ward. he is the area president of chile and in the first quorem of the 70. so we are talking big time. and i honestly have no idea why he wanted to come to ours but it made me kinda nervous. but he gave a pretty good talk. the only thing that i dont like about him is that he talks so slow in spanish. maybe its just cuz im used to hearing chileans or cuz i just get impatient sometimes but it made me bored at times how slow he talks. but the funny thing is that elder sosa said that the speed he talks is actually normal, we just talk really fast in chile. so it kinda put into perspective how hard it is to understand chilean spanish. im glad that i caught on semi quickly.

     but other than that it was a pretty good week. im looking forward to the next couple weeks with the holidays cuz it should be fun but i know that it is gonna hurt us in the missionary area cuz no one is gonna want us to come over and teach them during holidays. but at least i have the mission party to look forward to friday and then calling home saturday. hope everyone has a very good christmas and enjoys their time together. take care

Another P-day soccer picture.

AJ's email from 12/12

hey everyone hows it going? this week was kinda crazy to be honest. and we did so much without really doing anything at all. hard to explain. but it happens sometimes in the mission. but anyway tuesday night i went to the baptism that elder leavitt had. cuz i had met her (Rocío) the week before and she asked me to come to her baptism. so i figured why not. but i went with one of the guys in our ward cuz we did divisions cuz elder sosa didnt want to go. but it was very good. except for the part where mauricio (the guy from my ward) and i had to be the witnesses. and she pulled her foot up out of the water. but...it was after she had completely gone under. so we had to make the decision about whether or not she had to do it again. and i honestly felt that she was ok and so did mauricio. so we approved it. but still it was a very nerve recking situation to do be honest.

AJ and E. Sosa...now that's a missionary pose!

        then wednesday i didnt feel very good and neither did elder sosa. so it was a slow day. but what makes it even more miserable right now is that its getting hot and its humid and so walking in the street at 4 in the afternoon is tough to say the least. it really wouldnt be that bad if we werent in ties and pants. cuz i know that if i had shorts and a t shirt i would be completely fine. but i guess its just one of the challenges of the mission. then thursday we were supposed to practice our thing we were doing for the talent show with the elders quorem president. and we planned to meet in the church at 8. but he never showed up and we basically wasted 2 hours just waiting for him there. thats one thing that absolutely drives me crazy about the latin culture is the inability to say a time and day and commit to it. because no one ever shows up on time here or starts anything on time. and it also kinda ruined our plans twice during the week cuz we planned to do divisions and get to more people than normal. but a lot of times they show up half an hour late or just dont even show up and so we do less than we would have normally. but its just something we have to put up with.

Ward party...partyers :)

         friday was pretty cool though. cuz that was the night that we had the talent show. and i was so nervous to sing cuz ive never sang in front of people alone before. but it turned out to be alright. we only ended up singing one song together with elder sosa cuz we had other stuff with him singing and others playing guitar and then him playing harmonica. and i had to worry about the other thing we were doing so i didnt have enough time to practice more songs. but the other thing that we did was better anyway. we performed one of those skits where one person is the head and legs and then someone else is behind as the arms and we did dances and stuff. and it was really funny. unfortuantely the videos are to big to send in email so im gonna try and have a friend here put them up tomorrow on my facebook and then you should all be able to see them. (thats also how i put up those other pictures before if you were wondering. dont worry im not just getting on myself lol) but everyone loved it and laughed a lot. and then all told us how good it was.

painting houses for service

       then saturday morning we went and did service as a stake by painting the houses of the people in one the little passages in our ward. so there were about 80 people there in this little passage painting and it made it kinda packed. but it was a lot of fun and the people there loved it and it honestly made the passage look so much better. but the better part is that because of that, we had 3 kids from there come to church yesterday. they were like 13 years old. so that was pretty cool. but i really did nothing except have fun and mess around with the youth in our ward. cuz there really wasnt a lot for us to do when we got there.

          so yea thats pretty much it for this week.

AJ's email from 12/5/11

well first off i just want to start by saying i just had the dumbest thing ever happen to me. i went to put my memory card into the computer and i pushed it in and the card slid down to far or something and then went into the computer. i dont know if i explained that very well but basically i lost it for now and i have to wait til some tech guy comes in a couple days to take it out. so that sucks.
      but anyway i had a pretty good week, for the most part. elder sosa and i started practicing for the talent show this friday. and we settled on the songs that we are going to sing. we were gonna do unstoppable by rascall flatts but that one is a little to difficult so we changed the english one to more than words. but i cant remember who its by. and then we are adding another for a kind of "encore" song called "mientes" by camila. we are getting help from one of our investigators, sergio, who is like 15 or 16 years old and plays the guitar really well. but im excited for it.
      but thursday this week, we did divisions with a couple of the youth from our ward that are going on missions. one already got his call to peru and the other is doing his papers. but it was kinda cool cuz we went and taught a lesson for just 20 minutes but when we walked out, the one that i was with said wow i just felt the spirit so strong in there and it just made me kinda smile cuz it was just another lesson and so he is going to be more surprised when he actually gets to the mission. but it also showed me how used we get to just feeling the spirit and going off it in the mission that it almost becomes more of a reaction and less of thinking about it. but it was cool. and then thursday night we went and played soccer in the church with the guys that always play there every thursday. cuz we invited a few investigators and put our own team together. and it was cool cuz we just dominated even though we werent very good individually, we worked together well and werent selfish like the other teams. but i played goalie the whole time and the fun part was that after everyone told me how i was the best goalie that played that night. so i felt pretty good that i gained some respect from latins in the soccer area.
        then friday morning we had a special meeting with the missionaries from our zone. each zone had a special meeting to talk about how we can better as a mission. cuz apparently our mission is way under the number of the others in santiago in terms of baptisms. and so we are trying to take a step up to be on the level with the east and north mission. but it was something very spiritual cuz we were all fasting and giving each other ideas and everything about how to get better. so that was cool.
         saturday we did divisions again with the same 2 kids. and it was good cuz we found a very good lady. we knocked on her door and as soon as we started talking, she told us about how her friend always talks to her about the church and that she has been interested and a bunch of other stuff. and then at the end she asked if our church was open to anyone who wanted to come and we said yes and she said that she wants to come and she how it is. so i have some hopes for her.
         then sunday we had stake conference. our ward had to put together the choir for that. and it went pretty well until the very end of the last song when we messed up bad. which kinda sucks cuz thats what people will remember but all well. it was a pretty good conference. there were a ton of people there too. the only thing that was disappointed cuz we had no one come. but i guess you cant have a good week every week. but that was basically my week. hope that you are all doing well. take care

"Borrowed" pictures from November 21

I "borrowed" these pictures from Elder Leavitt's blog again. (I didn't ask this time...I hope it's okay Lisa.) Let me first acknowledge their blog - elderalexleavitt.blogspot.com - which I watch for little bits about AJ. But more than that, I love Elder Leavitt's enthusiasm for his work, the example he is to those around him and most of all his heartfelt testimony of the gospel. I am so grateful AJ has had the opportunity to meet him and have him in his life.


Here's a reminder of a little blurb about the shirts in these pictures from AJ's email on November 21...


     the other cool thing about this week is that we made shirts as a district. cuz we are named los encapuchados (which basically is another name for rioters if i havent explained that before) so we made a jersey type thing with that name on the front and then our names and numbers on the back. and they only cost about 8 dollars so it wasnt bad. but my name is el rey, sosa is el macho, leavitt is el rusio rico, tognetti is the italian stallion, enamorado isenamorado.com, and then carcamo put te pongo.