4/11/16 Cold, Cold, and More Cold

Hey everyone,

This week was awesome... and really really really cold. Well it is just a lot colder than it has been so it feels really cold. I have taken my big winter coat out for the first time in the mission. So ya that is pretty fun trying not to freeze. Haha it is actually kinda fun because we have to run to stay warm so i get some good old cardio in. I also started working out with my companion Elder Petersen and well at one point I was soo sore and tired that I could not do a pushup!! haha 

The work this week was crazy we have been meeting with a family called Familia Lotitos and the mom and oldest daughter are members but the dad and youngest two kids Nasalino and Wanda are not. The two kids accepted and picked their own Baptism date for the 30!!!!!!! It is so awesome to see their desire and willingness to follow the example of Christ.

We also have been teaching an older lady named Rosa. She is like the missionaries dream. When we taught the first vision she told us she saw it in a dream before. She also told us about a dream where she saw her mom and she and her were wearing white so ya baptism time! Haha she came to church for the first time yesterday too, and she brought a friend so ya know I love this lady.

My baptism from a few weeks ago is doing alright. She has a lot of health problems and has Epilepsy Attacks a lot. However she always tells us she has faith and with this faith she will always go to church. So that is good I just hope she can get healthy. 

We also had Divisions this week with the Assistants and I went with Elder Derrick from St. George, Utah. It was way fun and we just had good time, and I learned how to just teach direct and with love. That day we also had a Noche De Hogar in the church and played a lot of foosball. I am getting pretty good. 

The last cool thing was yesterday at church it was soooo cold and the church does not have a working heater. So after the first hour which is Priesthood and Relief Society we just had the sacrament and everyone went home. Yes church was canceled because it was too cold. How bout that Patagonia weather!? Haha 

Well I just love knowing the peace and safety the Gospel can bring. I know that in times of hardship and struggle we can turn to our Savior and He WILL lift us and help us push through. I know how important families are and that they are eternal. I know that one day we will look back and see the hand of God in our lives. I invite everyone who reads this to look for this. Look for the hand of our Heavenly Father in your life and write it down at least once this week! I love you all and I know our Savior and Father in Heaven does too!!!

With Love from the End of The World,

Elder Saunders

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See it. Feel it. Trust it

4/4/2016 New Companion and General Conference‏

Hey Everyone,

I hope you all enjoyed the wonderful words that we heard this weekend from our wonderful prophets. The testimonies they gave and the power they speak with pierced my soul and for the first time I was able to take notes for every talk in every session. For me that was a huge success and I will hopefully be able to keep the habit up for my entire life. We were able to watch the conference in English which was a nice refreshing few days for my brain. We also got to watch   all of them live and  we got permission to watch the priesthood late and we just the four of us gringos huddled around a computer in a tiny room for hour after hour like the prophets said it was so sick to hear them give us shout outs basically. haha 

 In Calafate we now have four Americans. It is nice but it is really hard to not just always speak English to each other. My new companion is Elder Petersen from Quincy Washington. He loves sports like me, has ten months in the mission, is shortish haha, likes a lot of the same things as me, and we are just really close already. He has grown up in the church and we both have a desire to work hard here in Calafate! 

A few take aways I have from General Conference are... 1) No matter where we are or what we are doing we can change. We have the power and agency to make the choices that will move us closer and closer to our loving Heavenly Father. As we all heard from our dear prophet Thomas S. Monson, " Make the Harder Right choices, instead of the Easier Wrong choices." 2) Families are important. Really important. Even though I am a missionary I still have a family and knowing that we can be together forever is something I will treasure for my whole life. 3) We have a Father in Heaven and a Savior and They love us more than we can imagine. I know that our Savior lives and that we are all son and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Hearing prophets bare real literal witness of Them rang true in my mind that in times of need I have and you have two people that are there for you. In a whole as Elder Himes sais " Conference is like the Super Bowl for missionaries." 

Besides conference the week was pretty normal. I took over my area and showed my new companion Elder Petersen around beautiful Calafate. He was able to meet the Branch and all of our investigators. I am excited for these next two transfers and thank you for your support back home and around the world!

Here's a bit about our investigators lets see right now we have a family of four the mendoza family they are amazing but like everyone the mom works a lot so coming to church hasnt happened yet. we have another family of seven the dad works in chile and the rest are here they are the crazy kids ive talked about a bit. they are awesome but we dont have the dads permission to baptize the kids or they would be baptized already. we have a single lady named rosa who told us she saw the first vision in a dream and her mom who said she had been waiting for her. so that is crazy. we have a sweet old couple named oriel and orieta. they are awesome and are just needing to come to church. that is the hard thing in calafate getting them to come to church.

I also apologize for my spelling, grammar, and punctuation. We email on spanish computers and I am trying to learn spanish and forget english. Thank you for your patience and love! I know this Church is true with all of my heart!

From the End of The World,

Elder Saunders  

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See it. Feel it. Trust it.

Elder Himes an elder in my district and Maria our recent convert

 and  Hermana Otellado the branch president wife 

3/28/2016 The one and only week seven‏

Dear Everyone,

This last week was week seven in the transfer, but that usually doesnt happen. In a transfer like yall might now there are six weeks but in this transfer we had seven because the change of the mtc with native speakers spending three weeks instead of two. so that is cool i got an extra week with my first companion elder cortes. 

this week we went and said goodbye to everyone, well elder cortes did i figured out how to say... no i am staying here only elder cortes is leaving... very very good. haha we also had what missionaries dream off a baptism. 

Maria was baptized this wee and i was able to do the baptism which was awesome and i loved it. we baptize in a little pool in the back of the church and the spirit was so strong. i also had to learn the baptism prayer in spanish so that was fun. haha i am just really happy right now and the mission is getting to feel more comfortable.

this week with easter we didnt do much because down here it is not that huge of a holiday besides at church where it is really the true meaning so that was good having the focus entirely on christ and not bunny rabbits. 

anyways we went golfing one last time together for my dads birthday and a last hoorah. We in a whole just had a great time this week and having my first baptism was a great experience. 

Well next week i will tell yall about my first week with Elder Peterson my new companion that is coming to Calafate tonight. I know that our Savior lives he suffered and died for each of us individually and i know that he is waiting with his arms open to accept us and help us in all of our struggles. He knows you perfectly and knows how to help. Please go to him and ask our Heavenly Father in prayer for his love and help. I know Jesus Christ will be there and He WILL help you in what you need. I love Him and can feel his love down here in the end of the world. 

I know that we have living prophets and i invite yall to listen this weekend with an open heart to search for one thing just one little thing to change in your life to bring you closer to our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. I love you all and i am praying for your health and success in all your doings. Keep doing the simple things and you will be blessed. 

Elder Saunders 

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See it. Feel it. Trust it.

3/21/2016 Another week of Fun

Hey everyone,

Alright another week gone and another week full of fun missionary adventures. First i want to thank everyone who has been Reading these letters it means a lot and the support I have is amazing. I can feel your prayers as i strive to do the Lords will. Also i apologize for spelling grammer and well my language in total i dont really know how to speak right now because between spanish and english i dont know what is what. My companion and district think it is pretty funny.

Hmmm lets see so this last week we had a lot of work with all of our investigators with baptism dates. right now we have 15 people with a date for baptism. that is a lot of people to worry and pray for but we are doing our best. we have a family right now that has five kids and four of them came to church this yesterday but not with there mom sooo that meant I got to play dad for three hours. they are crazy and all under the age of 12. to all you parents out there i love you and bless you with the patience not to scream because i barely made it the three hours of church. haha i love those Little balls of crazy.

another thing is because my companion is leaving calafate next week for transfer we are going golfing tomorrow to celebrate his legacy here in calafate. haha i am excited and ready to make a few putts. we also have been walking a bunch to the two ends of the city for service so my legs have been dead. i have been asked a Little about my laundry. we have a washer in the pension but we dont have a dryer so we hang dry and it takes about a day to dry some things a a few hours for others it just depends. so that is fun and we have to be Smart of our time we use the washer so we have clothes that are not wet in the morning.

Well the biggest adventure of the week has been with our wonderful Maria. she is getting baptized on friday and i am soooo excited. we have known her for about four weeks so just a Little less then i have been here. her story is awesome she has stopped smoking, her health has increased like crazy, she prays, reads, and comes to church every week, and well she has so much faith. I love her. I will send pics of the baptism next week.

I know that our Heavenly Father is in charge. He has a plan for each and everyone of his children and these plans will come to pass. I know that in times of hardship, boredom, sickness, and well everything there is one person we can turn to for help. Our Savior Jesús Christ is there waiting for you to ask for help. I have felt his loving hand in my life and on my misión. Please think and turn to him this week. I love you all and I love our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesús Christ. I know this church is true and the Little things we do each day like prayer and scripture study bring the peace and joy we all search for. Till next week in the end of the world.

Elder Devin Jay Saunders 

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See it. Feel it. Trust it.

3/14 Birthday Fun and Missionary Work‏ and lots of PICS

Dear Everyone,

These last few weeks have been crazy. We have had a lot of success here in Calafate, i had a birthday, we had the divisions with the assistants of our President, we had our first attendance to our Sacrament Meeting at night, and well we put Fechas like crazy. All these add up to what I call a pretty awesome two weeks. 

I learned on my divisions with the assistant Elder Guty that I actually kinda yes kinda know spanish. We found the most perfect family of four. I did the contact and invited the mom right there in the door way to be Baptized and she said yes. The next week which was just a few days ago Elder Cortes and I randomly decided to go to there house and had the coolest lesson ever. Now the three kids have accepted to be baptized. I love that feeling of he spirit when we talk about baptism. 

We also found a family of six! That is huge down here and we got so excited when two of the kids Alexis and Monica decided by themselves that they wanted to go to church. These two little kids are going to help there family and i cant wait for their baptisms. 

Okay for everyone that asked about my Birthday it was the coolest day ever. We ate at this buffet, went golfing, and well partied as about as much as a missionary can party. Haha i still know how to golf and i hit some good shots the reminded me that i love that crazy game. The food was awesome at the buffet and we ate a lot. The golf course was actually nicer than i thought it would be and it was fun teaching golf in spanish. I taught my companion who never golfed before and he did really well. I had a really great birthday and thank you to everyone who sent me bday wishes. It really means a lot. I have the best support system ever.

Well the work is exploding here in Calafate and i cant wait for my first baptism. It will come and i will not stop at one. I love our savior and since i dont know a lot of spanish i usually just speak of Christ. I know he lives and i know that his Atonement is for everyone perfectly and individually. Jesus Christ knows you. It is that simple but yet so complex that in every moment and every feeling you have, had, and will have He has experienced it for you. All we have to do is ask for help and he WILL come. I know this i testify of this everyday and without our Savior i would be nothing. I know that the scriptures testify of Christ as i have studied more then i ever have in my life. I invite all who read this to read in the scriptures and simply look for our Savior and invite Him into your life. Just ask in prayer and He WILL come. 

I love all of you and I hope through the hardships of life we can all learn, feel, and accomplish our Heavenly Fathers will through our Savior Jesus Christ. 

From the End of The World 

Elder Saunders 

See it. Feel it.Trust it.

3/7/2016 Happy Birthday Devin!!!

Devin did not send a blog letter today- He is having too much fun partying for his birthday.  But he did send a quick email to  the family- I thought I would post it for now.

BTW - He has the best family and friends.  Notice that he recieved 50 emails wishing him Happy Birthday!  Thanks everyone. It warms this Missionary Momma's heart to know how many people love and support him.

  

 Hey Fam,

I hope all is well. Since we want to party today and go out to eat and play golf and one of our miembros has a bday today as well i will not be writing a big letter for the blog. However i wanted to let yall know i love you and feel your prayers as i am serving down here in the end of the world. We have had some crazy experiences that i will write about later this week in the big letter. Thanks for the bday wishes and man i have a support system. i recieved fifty emails today and well i am overwhelmed with the love of yall back home. I miss yall but when we teach all the homesickness goes away and never want to leave. the spirit is strong down here and i love the work and people. I am starting to be able to actually talk with people by myself and that is nice. well i love yall and i will write you later this week about the last week. oh the bday plan is as follows... eat at a buffet, go say hi to the member with a bday today as well, and then go gofling so i am so pumped. 

Love, 

Elder Saunders 

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See it. Feel it. Trust it.