Bits and Pieces

Hayden's group emails have been spotty at best, so this week I am taking bits and pieces from each of our emails and sharing it on the blog.

1.  Apparently Hayden got bitten by a dog and had to get a rabies shot.  His story is that he got attacked by five dogs and the Pit bull bit him.  He said not to worry, that he will be fine. Nice...

2.  He is mad at Autumn because she is driving "his" truck.  It has been friendly teasing about it until lately, when it took an ugly turn.  Even 6,000 miles can't separate my kids from fighting.

3.  Hayden feels blessed in his mission.  He says, "We were able to baptize again this past week! The Lord has seriously blessed me so much in the mission."

4.  People in Chile are excited for the new Star Wars movie to come out.

5.  He loves his apartment (pension).  It is above a member's house and they have another set of Elders living with them.

6.  It is getting warmer down there and the kids will be out of school in December for their summer vacation.

Hippy Dudes and Neighbors

"Hey there!

I`ll be staying in Estación Central with Elder Ballard for another change. I`m happy about it. We lost two disobedient missionaries in the zone and got 3 new beasts, so we are pumped about that! 

Still can`t send pictures, but I`ve got some winners. I took a picture with a hippy dude that looks like an engagement photo, so that`s nice. 

Ventura, our next door neighbor who sells some serious substances, had some major kidney problems...So pray for Ventura.  

We`re gonna baptize a couple people next week. I like baptizing, but it`s hard to find complete families to baptize here.

Everything is good!" 

Elder Clegg

Freakishly Beautiful

In my last email to Hayden, I asked him various questions about what he is eating, his health and life in Chile.  Here are a few of his responses.  

"I've eaten some pretty ratchy things lately, but the worst was definitely chicken livers.  I think that`s what they were. Haha it was horrible. I will be having homemade tacos today!  My friend, Elder Ramirez, invited us over for tacos!  So I`m pumped about that.  He is one of our DL`s!  President also invited all the ZL's for hamburgers at his house. 

Chile is so freakishly beautiful. I've been to some cool places, and nothing but Alaska compares. Imagine Park City in Alaska. 

I`m doing super well. I want to baptize a FAMILY! I haven`t been able to do that yet. I have completed and reactivated families, but never baptized. 

I`ll be staying with Elder Ballard for another 6 weeks! That makes him my longest term companion! I`m happy about it!  We get along well!"

Not Broken? Don't Fix It!

Here is a little part of the email Hayden sent me.  I am grateful he is so happy!!

"I`m doing super well.  It was a really good week.  We had another baptism of a guy named Manuel. Super special dude. He`s been to about all the churches, but the BOM convinced him that ours was the true church.

The teaching situation is super great!  We have found almost 50 new people these past two weeks. So the sector is back up and running with a lot of people that are gonna get baptized. This change has flown by! This next week will be changes again.. but President told us we would be staying together another change! Haha it`s pretty crazy.  He`s just been saying that if it`s not broken, he`s not gonna fix it. "

And guess what?  We are now on our second set of holidays without Hayden.  Halloween? Check!   The next time we carve pumpkins, HE WILL BE THERE!

Press Replay

If you had a "replay" button for your life, when would you press it?  That's one of the thoughts I've had this week since reading Hayden's email.  I can think of moments I'd like to delete or moments where I wish I had a slow motion button, but I can also think of many I'd replay.  I'd replay my wedding day (for many reasons...one of which is I never had it recorded on video...what was I thinking?), the birth of my children (except I'd fast forward to the part where they were placed in my arms), the day I finally got up on slalom waterskis (it took FOREVER), and many more times where I felt Heavenly Father's hand in my life.  

As far as Hayden's wishes go, I'm grateful missions are only two years.  I'm afraid I'd need a fast forward button if they were any longer.  I think most Missionary Moms would agree!

"Hey!

I`m doing super well!  We worked way hard this last week and the sector is back up and running. We also had interviews with President and he said that Ballard and I would be staying together for another change. So that`s good news! 

We've been having the usual ghetto experiences. I had a little, tiny greenie with me in divisions this week and he got scared after some gunshots. Such a cute little guy! Haha I always see the greenies and think how much I would give to be in their place...I love the mission! I`d kill to press replay. Haha it`s passing by so fast! 

We went to the temple as a Stake activity with new converts. It was SOOO cool to see all of the fruits we`ve had in the temple. Such a big activity. It`s been such a blessing to work in one of the functional stakes in Chile. 

Haitians are still dope. Chileans are still funny. The Peruvians are still very interesting. 

Elder Clegg

Life in Estación Central...(Central Station) Is rolling."

Good Problem to Have

There are lots of "good problems to have" in life.  For example, leftover Halloween candy, everyone wanting to sit by you at lunch, or choosing between three favorite pairs of jeans.  (Still waiting to find that one pair.)  Hayden has found a good problem to have.  He describes it best.

Hey Guys,

Well...I haven't written a group email in a while! Haha but we`re all good! 

This past Sunday was lame, because it was the first Sunday in a while that we haven`t baptized. Whatever!  Haha! 

We've been looking for lots of "new's" because our investigators have been baptized...It`s a good problem to have!  

We find like 20 new investigators every week, but the majority of them don`t want to progress, so we don`t ever pass by again. Right now we`ve got Pablo...recovering from a cocaine addiction. French Love...Haitian., Jess...Hatian, Michael and his family...Beasts!  We teach a ton. 

Today we went to the temple. It was fun. I like the temple. It`s in the rich part of Santiago. So it`s kinda nice to escape the ghetto! 

Have a good week! 

Elder Clegg

Content

In my last email to Hayden, I asked him about the group emails.  He says his time on the computer is used up with ZL responsibilities.  He also mentioned that he'll try to throw one in when he can.

Hayden is content.  In fact, I don't think he has been more at peace in his life than now.  He loves seeing the miracles that come from serving our Heavenly Father.  In his email to me, he writes, "We had a miracle baptism of a really cool lady! She was so prepared for the gospel and just received everything. Her son took his life and so she really stuck to the plan of salvation. She talked to us because we looked happy when we knocked her door...so that's why she let us in. Before the mission, I thought being funny and doing dumb things was being happy...(well, skiing is being happy), but now I realize that just being content and loving what you're doing is the real source!"

I miss this boy of ours more than ever, but knowing he is content, makes me content.