Austin's Gift to us...

¡Feliz Navidad!

For the first time in my life, I`m putting on sunscreen for christmas. Also for the first time in my life, I won`t be with my family for christmas. But after this, there`s only one more.

Well, I`ll start with the exciting news. I had another companionship change. I`m still here in the same sector, and my former companion Elder Ferreyra went to another sector. My new companion is Elder Saravia, from Cochabamba, Bolivia. We are working hard, and having a lot of fun. Oh, I also got my package on wednesday. No, I haven`t opened it yet. I`m saving that for tonight at 12:30 when we get back to the apartment. Tonight we will be celebrating with members, and having a christmas eve dinner. We have to be back in the apartment at 12:30 AM - it`s a tradition here to stay up until midnight on Christmas Eve. Then tomorrow we have lunch with a member family, and then I will be calling at 4:00 pm MY TIME - 11:00 AM your time!!!!!!!!! Please be ready and make sure that everything works. Oh yeah, dad will love this. This past week we had a christmas party in the mission house, and they took us on a tour. The house is almost a hundred years old. I took a video that we will watch when I get back. It was really cool.

I want to give you all a gift for Christmas, and I have decided to share with you all what I know. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father, and he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to suffer, bleed, and die for us, so that we can return to live with God again. I know that The Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that it was translated by Joseph Smith, who was called to restore the Church of Jesus Christ, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is that same church that Christ established, and it is led today by a Prophet of God. I invite everyone, my family, friends, and everybody else, to find out for themselves if this is true or not. During this holiday season, I grateful for the greatest gift ever given, even that of Jesus Christ. I wish I could be with you to celebrate, but you know that I`m there in spirit. I love you and I miss you.

I`ll be home for Christmas, If only in my dreams,

Elder Austin Bryan Hjelm

Dreaming of a white Christmas -yeah right!

Happy Holidays! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

One week before christmas, and all through our house, not a creature was stirring, because we´ve been out working. It sounds like everything is going well. Congrats, Mom, on your classes - I do take after you. And why did nobody tell me that Dad is having Knee Surgery? This is the type of thing that I would like to know. I wish I could have been there for Mom´s birthday, and the delicious lemon berry cake. But know that I was thinking of you, and we did eat cake with a member for her birthday. However, it was the Anti-Jodi cake, that is, Chocolate Cake with fruit. It was good.

I will be writing next monday as well, and I plan to be calling between 10:00 and 12:00 tuesday morning. I will try to zero-in the time this week. I can´t wait. Still no package by the way. If all works out, I should get it tuesday morning - on christmas day.

I´m dreaming of a white Christmas (pssh, yeah right),

Elder Hjelm

Very short, but pretty sweet

Hola,

I don`t have much time. First, I am extremely saddened by the loss of uncle Kurt. Please give my condolences and love to the family. Everything is well here. I am excited, and can`t wait to talk to you. Remember that I love you. I will write more next week.

Love,

Elder Hjelm

Sunscreen in December

Since when do I need to wear sunscreen in December?

It´s summer here, folks. It`s starting to heat up. My new area is, once again, large, but we are working in one little sector inside the ward. The ward is great - great members, many of which are ready and willing to help with the work. I found out last night that I will be here in La Rioja for this next change, which lasts until 2013. Wow. That went by really fast. This week we have Tour of the Mission, with Elder Jorge Zeballos of the Area Presidency. In two weeks we have Christmas at the mission House, and the next week is christmas. I`m already singing christmas songs, and we have a small christmas tree in our apartment. About the christmas communication - I need to start arranging things for a skype or phonecall. What you need to decide is if you want to buy or borrow a webcam, set up two skype accounts - one for you and one for me - and then I can use a member`s computer to talk with you. Or, we can talk on the phone. I would like to talk on skype so I can see your beautiful, smiling faces, and you can see my tan. Please decide what you want to do, and then we will work out the five hour time difference.

I am doing well. I can understand about 90% of what everybody is saying. I am not sick. I am safe. I love you, and I miss you. Good luck.

May the force be with you, always,

Elder Hjelm

Doesn't he look awesome?!

Elder Williams and Elder Gibby

The three Elders

Elder Hjelm & Hermana Lazcano

Hermana Lazcano & the three Elders

Greeting from La Rioja....what?

Greetings from.......

La Rioja. My new sector. Let me explain just what happened. On Tuesday (the day that I recieved my package - gracias for the shirt and the goodies), we had our regular interviews with President Essig. At the end of the Interview, he told me that he might change my sector. I said, oh yeah, in two weeks, when we have the scheduled changes. He said no. I said, Sooner? He replied, It could be tonight. GULP! I said, Okay, President, what are the odds? He said 90%. Anyway, long story short, I got a call wednesday night. Thursday morning I packed, got on a bus to santiago, and now I´m here in La Rioja, just north of Simón Bolívar, where I was just a month before. My new companion is Elder Ferreyra, from Rosario, Argentina. We´re opening a sector. This emergency transfer was not my fault, nor the fault of my companion. I just got hit with the blast.

Anyways, I´m doing fine. No problems. It´s time to start preparing for the christmas call. Would you like to skype, or use the telephone? It can´t last more than 40 minutes. I

haven´t recieved any message from Brooke, so I have absolutely no idea what you´re talking about. Love you all.

Como Siempre,

Elder Hjelm

Austin has a tan!

Greetings from the other land down under!

This past week was great. We are working super hard, and having a lot of fun. Before I forget, I want to tell you about our lunch yesterday in a town called Curimon - bascially out in the middle of nowhere. The family we ate with is Russian. They spoke to each other in Russian. And we ate Russian Food - bolsch, to be precise. It was kind of cool, because we don`t speak Russian, and they don`t speak English, but we could all communicate in Spanish. Wow.

Still no sign of my package. I`m praying that it comes tomorrow. I´m a little worried, becuase Hermana Essig said that every once in a while they´ll open a package, and if there´s food, adios. I hope that my package is just late. But everything is going well other than that. I`m withstanding the heat. I got sunburned on Monday when we played soccer - yes mother, I forgot sunscreen. but now its faded and I look tan. Boo yah.

It`s weird to think that this is the fifth week of this change. And, it`s almost December. The time is flying. We have a baptism planned for saturday. And more planned for December. I don`t know if I´ll still be here in december. But anyways. Love you all and miss you all.

Ciao,

Elder Hjelm