Sean McAlister Called to Serve: First week of 2014

It was good to hear from Elder McAlister today. In another short email he asked for us to send him a few things, and one of them was an English dictionary because he says “because I’m forgetting the meanings of words!” which is a good sign that he is really starting to pick up the Spanish language.

Sounds like he had a quiet New Year’s, and it’s good news to hear that the work seems to picking for them.

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Hola Familia McAlister,

Como están, I hope you guys had a good New Years. It was kind of boring we had an extra Elder with us for New Years. He was ending the mission, and so they sent him to work with us for a day and then he flew home the next day. We stayed up until 12 and yelled “feliz ano Nuevo”, then went to bed right after. We could hear the fireworks going off, and a lot noise, but I fell asleep so fast I don't remember anything else happening. We did get to have a dinner with the familia Ortiz which was really good and we had a ton a meat, literally a "ton" of meat. Sounds like Mom, Dad and Sabrina went crazy on some puzzles. Jessica, Derek, Brooke and Todd had some fun with some friends. So it’s good to hear everything is going well. That’s crazy that Adam Carpenter has been called into the Bishopric, I hope that everything goes well for you guys.

This last week was much better, and we are starting to find people and working with them. We have one family that is doing really great and they love to ask questions about the States. The family Burgaos Arabena, so pray for them if you can pronounce the name (HaHa). The other families and people we have found are super Catholic or super Evanglico, so they are a little bit harder to work with right now. The members are amazing here, and they are a great help for us. They are always willing to help and join in on any service, or a noche de hogar. Now that I think of it, Hualpencio is a mini Utah with less members (HaHa). Like I said I love it here, our barrio is awesome, we have a little fan club of kids that follow us. I really want to have 6 months here because it’s that cool!

Another funny story this week! So we are out contacting and we yell halo at a house. This kid that is around 16-17 years old comes out and he is acting really interested, so we ask if we could share our message with him in his house and he says yes. So we are like bacan (cool), we enter the house and he has a weird smile on his face and all a sudden his Mom walks in. She doesn't look happy at all seeing us in her house. She asks us why are you guys here and my companion says to share a message with you guys about jesucristo. She pulls out her bible and then that's when we realized we walked into a pastor’s house for another Evangelico church. The dad walks in and sees us and he says that he’s the Pastor for his church and he starts to teach us a lesson and trying to get us to be baptized in his church. His wife is saying that our church is not true because we can get baptized in hot water and that's not how jesucristo was baptized. I’m sitting there like, really that's your argument hot water. The sun could make water hot, we never know the temperature for the water. Then Elder Coronado is like wow this is super bacan now we are going to go out and work with the motivation that you just gave us. Then he just got up and walked out the door and I’m sitting there like what? So I get up and walk for the door and their like good luck, peace and blessing. So their thinking they converted us or something, but it was super funny!

There were a few birthdays this week so we had a lot of cake and I miss the American birthday cake. I’m tired of the weird chunks of I don’t know in my cake at someone’s birthday. I think birthdays are much bigger here than they are in the States. They have everyone come over and it’s a big birthday party. We went to a member’s house to see if they would go with us to a lesson and their daughter had a birthday party the day before. The birthday party was around 8 in the afternoon until 8 in the morning. So they said no, but I learned birthday parties are really big here. That reminds me that someone is turning a big 9 years old next week. I want to hear what you going to do for your birthday!

Today we had a zone activity, which we went to the beach and that was super fun. We played our own little game that we like to call America football. It was pretty much a game for the gringo’s and the Latinos were like us when we play soccer. I was our all-star wide receiver and I got a couple of touchdowns. So you could say I’m the Jerry Rice of Chile now, and looking at a promising career of missionary beach football or the M.B.F.A.C (Missionary Beach Football Association of Chile). I guess you could say I’m okay. To be honest it was super fun and we spent at least 5-6 hours at the beach. I have some picture so I will send them to you.

But thanks for everything that you guys do and I love you guys I hope that you guys have a good week. Don’t work too hard, but don’t be too lazy! I hope that you guys are having fun and partying it up in Utah without me. Thanks for your guy’s emails and the New Year’s messages (HaHa). I just got those today, Happy New Year and make sure your guy’s goals are good. I love you and keep on being the family that you guys are.

I love you guys!!!

Elder McAlister

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Spiritual thought shared with Sean this week came from Elder Neal A. Maxwell on how God provides customized challenges for each of us:

"If God chooses to teach us the things we most need to learn because he loves us, and if he seeks to tame our souls and gentle us in the way we most need to be tamed and most need to be gentled, it follows that he will customize the challenges he gives us and individualize them so that we will be prepared for life in a better world by his refusal to take us out of this world, even though we are not of it. In the eternal ecology of things we must pray, therefore, not that things be taken from us, but that God's will be accomplished through us. What, therefore, may seem now to be mere unconnected pieces of tile will someday, when we look back, take form and pattern, and we will realize that God was making a mosaic. For there is in each of our lives this kind of divine design, this pattern, this purpose that is in the process of becoming, which is continually before the Lord but which for us, looking forward, is sometimes perplexing."

It’s an interesting thought that since we are here to learn and grow, and God is our master teacher giving each of us the lessons we need to learn.

Until next week enjoy these pictures Sean sent today…