Baking a cake.

 Sounds like things are going well in the new area and with the new companion.  They have added a few investigators to work with this week. They got to play some American football this week...which seemed to be a hit with Sean.

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Hey McAlisters! or the best family in the world!,

Well thank you guys for writing me and I am happy to hear that everyone is doing okay and is happy. I can’t believe that Christmas is near and that it is coming so fast. I hope Brooke and Todd are enjoying their time in Oklahoma and I hope that Todd can pull through. That would be cool if you guys get to come back to Utah! Jessica, maybe the pictures of my hair don’t look bad, but they cut half of the side short and the upper half of the side is long. It’s sad to have that haircut. (HaHa)! That’s cool that you are learning more things and are you still working at the same place? Dad and mom glad to hear all is well and I am going to be missing out on all the Christmas traditions again this year. I miss the Christmas dinner! I hope that you guys are doing well. Sabrina I hope that you are having fun and you are the best little sister ever! I also love the picture of Tillie and her sleeping under the tree! Her hide out is back! (HaHa)

Well this last week was really good and I am happy about all our work. Elder Mills and I are doing well and time is really flying by. It’s starting to get hotter, and it is a very strong sun here. We did a lot of walking this week, but on the bright side my legs are getting stronger (HaHa)! This week was super-fast and Sunday was the best day ever. We had no investigators come to church, but we sure did find a lot of news that day and they seem like they can progress. The funny thing is none of them are from Chile. One is from Ecuador and the other two are from Peru. They are really cool and they have shared a little with missionaries before.

We are working with those three news now! Their names are Ruben, Elvis and John. They are still so new we don’t know much about them. So this week we will get to know them a little bit more. We are still working with the family of Thomas and yes they are doing very well. We invited them to baptism but they said they are very strong in there church. Little by little they are gaining a testimony about the Book of Mormon. I think that they will come to church this next week! We are working with Claudia who had a baptismal date, but she didn’t come to church. We are not really sure how she is? She is a hippie and kind of crazy, but maybe we can change that! Please pray for them because they need your guy’s prayers.

Last Monday we played some American football and I mean the real football! It was really fun, but with time I found out that I was the bad luck charm. Every team I played on lost. So I wasn’t sure what that meant. I loved it and the Latinos were trying to learn how to play, but it was hard for them to understand the rules. We played flag football with socks and it was really fun! I miss watching some good Steelers football!

Today I went to the office of the mission to bake a cake. I made a cake this morning to give it to my district and it is a Betty Crocker cake and it looks and smells so good and I need to go buy some frosting and we are going to have an American cake tomorrow after my district class! My district is super bacan here in Concepcion and we are doing really well as a district! I will tell you guys next week if that cake is good or not!

About Christmas we will only be talking for about 30-40 minutes, but it will still be fun. I am still not sure where I will be talking but I am hoping for a house with really good internet. I will tell you guys more when Christmas is closer. Right now I am not sure what we are doing for Christmas. But I can’t wait it’s going to be bacan!  

I hope that you have a great week and that you guys stay safe! I hope that all goes well and I love you guys a ton. I can’t wait to hear from you and thanks for all the support!

Love you guys!

Elder McAlister

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The spiritual thought shared with Elder McAlister came from President Boyd K. Packer, in his October 2014 Conference talk called "The Reason for Our Hope", he said the following about Jesus Christ.
 
"The Savior wrought the Atonement, which provides a way for us to become clean. Jesus Christ is the resurrected Christ. We worship and recognize Him for the pain He suffered for us collectively and for the pain He endured for each of us individually, both in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. He bore all with great humility and with an eternal understanding of His divine role and purpose. Those who will repent and forsake sin will find that His merciful arm is outstretched still. Those who listen to and heed His words and the words of His chosen servants will find peace and understanding even in the midst of great heartache and sorrow. The result of His sacrifice is to free us from the effects of sin, that all may have guilt erased and feel hope."


I liked this quote, especially this time of year as we celebrate our Saviors birth, that we should think about what he has done for us, and what a huge sacrifice he made for each of us. I really think the quote sums up what he did beautifully and helps me want to live better. 

Until next week....enjoy a few pictures from Concepcion.
 

Elder McAlister and Elder Hoopes

Elder McAlister and Elder Mills in their apartment in Concepcion

Elder McAlister and Elder Mills