First news from Chile...and it's good news!

¡Hola, familia! It´s nice to see something in english. It´s kind of weird here. Everybody has a big fence in front of their house, so when we knock doors, we have to yell through the fence, and then they come out. Oh, and everybody watches or listens to soccer. Yesterday there was a match between the two main teams here - Colo-Colo and La Universidad de Chile - and there was nobody out on the streets. But it´s good. There´s a lot of dirt, so all of my shoes are dirty. I kind of like it here. My house is apparently one of the nicer ones, but it´s not much compared to what I´m used to. My companion is Elder Chung from Lima, Peru. Luckily he speaks some english, and the other elders in the house with us are American, so I´m not going to lose my mind. He´s crazy, and I don´t understand him half of the time, but he´s cool. We have one investigator from the previous missionaries with a baptismal date that we had to move back two weeks because she can´t stop smoking. Oh, and I´ve met a few drunks and a couple druggies. That was interesting. But we have taught some people. However, none of them are progressing, so its nothing to get excited about. Oh, I´ve found out that I can speak spanish pretty well for a white guy. However, I have no Idea what anyone else is saying. They speak really fast and really bad, dropping letters all over the place. I can pick up more now, but the first day I was completely lost. Even now, I still only pick up about 2/3 of what they say. But I´m doing good. I´m pretty much settled, and now I´m getting to work. Oh, and I´m safe - don´t worry, I´m in the Lord´s hands. I hope you all have fun at the renunion - I´m sad that I have to miss it. Be sure to send me pictures. I will try and send some pictures next week. Right now we´re at a mall. We just had lunch, and they have a cool exhibit on Tutenkhamen that we´re going to go see. I miss you all so much, and I can hardly wait another 665 days (approximately) to see you all again, or to talk to you in six months. You are in my prayers every night.

Someone in Chile Loves You,

Elder Hjelm

Last post from the MTC....

Hello Hjelm Family! This will most likely be the last time I will email you from provo. We got our travel plans on Friday. We fly out of Salt Lake at 2:00 Mountain time on Monday, April 18, and then we arrive in Atlanta at 8:00 Eastern time. Then I have a 2 1/2 hour layover before a 9 1/2 flight to Santiago. We get there at 8:00 in the morning. I already bought a prepaid phone card to use at the Georgia airport. I figured that If I called you about 5:30 pacific time, we could have about an hour and a half to talk. Does that work? I don't know what your plans are... Just dearelder me with what your plans are. Things here are going great. I'm continuing to learn spanish, and I'm learning a lot about the gospel. I thought I knew a lot, but I really didn't.It's harder when we have to explain to someone who doesn't know anything. It's amazing how much I've learned about myself here. I've learned how to live with companions who are literally the exact opposite of me. I'm starting to realize that I'm not in charge. It's all about the work. We're going to the Temple later for the last time - we'll do a session. Tonight we have a general authority devotional. We're hoping someone big, like Elder Bednar or Elder Holland to send us off. I don't really care how good of a driver Jonah has become, I'm glad that I'm in Provo and he's in washington. I can't send him a birthday present, but he'll get to talk to me - that's enough, right? I can't wait to talk to you all on monday - It's already been two months! only twenty-two to go! I 'm excited to go to the field. I can't wait to learn more spanish. When I call at christmas, I should basically be fluent. I'm more sure now than I ever have been that I can do this, and that this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

May the force be with you,

Elder Hjelm

Random thoughts from the MTC

Dear family O' mine,

Como estan? It's another 75 to 80 degree day here in Provo. My clothes are holding up just fine, and several other elders have channel belts too, but as far as I know, I'm the only one with a cool tie rack. I plan on leaving a few things here in the free box to lighten my load. I've heard that overweight bags can cost as much as $330 for international flights. I think I could deal with one overweight bag, but not two, so that's something that i'm working on. We get out travel plans on thursday, so I'm scared, but excited. My spanish has begun to pick up. I can just say things now, and don't really have to think about it as much. I was able to activate my card, I just haven't used it yet. It sounds like you had a lot of fun with the Roholts and Sis Brown. Too bad I missed it. Hopefully the birds don't get Jack. I expect the house to be perfectly painted by the time I get back - are you still thinking the same colors or have you changed your mind again? The MTC is still standing, but i'm starting to go crazy in here. It's the same thing day after day, week after week. I'm still not used to having a companion - I think that's the thing I don't like the most, is having someone with you 24/7. But I agreed to it, and I get a new one in two weeks, so I'm not worried. I've some really good experiences here, just over the past week. I think I'm actually starting to became a missionary, instead of just someone with a badge. I only have another 97 weeks to go, or 22 fast sundays, or sixteen transfers, or 681 days. But whatever the count, I miss you all. Please keep me informed. You are in my prayers.

As always,

Elder Hjelm