Pirate swords, earthquakes, and the true meaning of Christmas

Holllaaaaaaaaaaaa mis amigos!! 

I had another great week here La Parte. I can't believe that I already have finished two transfers! I honestly have fallen in love with this place--the people, the food, the hills that I have to walk up everyday, the dogs, the cats, the WHOLE PLACE!  THIS IS SUCH AN AMAZING PLACE! I am so grateful to have started my mission here. This Tuesday we have changes. I'm not sure if I'll be leaving or not,  but wow this place has a big place in my heart. Right next to my mom! ha ha lol (She's going to like that) . . . still got it . . . ha ha 

But this last week here was really good except for that fact that I got super sick ha ha. Other then that it was good.  I think the Grinch was here and got me sick right before Christmas. ha ha

But I'm doing really good now, and I had an amazing week! I met someone who knew Nick Emery, but of course they didn't know me. ha ha ha Pucha! 

It was a little different not spending Christmas with my family, but wow, it was so great to talk to them. It was just like the good old days. They are so great and the coolest part was that I got to talk to my sister who is also serving a mission. It was super cool to hear from her and see the progress that she has made in her life. Its was way sweet. 

This Christmas we spent the day working. It was really special to spend the day with some of people that don't have anybody to share Christmas with, and who really needed the company. 

Funny story lol. So this week I went into a store to go to the bathroom, and I was already nervous because there was like a group of chilean gangstas chillin' in the bathroom. But I had to go, so I went. While I was going, the stall started shaking like crazy and I thought the gangstas were messing with me or whatever ha ha ha so like I started yelling English at them and hoping it would scare them away (and when I say gangsta I mean like a group of 12-year olds lol), but ya, anyway I found out that there was an earthquake while I was in the bathroom ha ha ha ha When I walked out these kids were giving my the weirdest looks. Classic! 

I got some Chilean hats for Christmas so I guess I'm Chileo now. And I got a sword from my pirate.

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas! The people here are amazing. I love the way they celebrated here--super humble and not about the gifts at all. It's so cool. I asked a lot of kids what they wanted for Christmas and most of them said, "like whatever, I just wanna be with the fam" or like "peace and love." It's really cool. It really made me realize the true meaning of Christmas. 

Elder Frampton

P.S.

Hey family! Wow, how fun was that to talk again? You guys are freaking awesome! I was soooo pumped to talk to all of you guys, wow!! just like the good old days! You guys look awesome! Thanks for making it the best Christmas ever for me, and it was great to talk to Tatum! Garrett and Wyatt are growing up, which is weird. I miss joking with my bros! But ya, thanks for being great examples for me, Wyatt and Garrett. I love you guys! Garrett said something in his letter that caught my attention, he said "I wish I was as happy as you,"  i can really say I have never been so happy in my life than I am right now. It's just honestly living the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you want more happiness in your lives, then make more sacrifices and read your scriptures everyday! Like really read them and pray with all your heart. And gain a testimony because you will get blessing after blessing and you will see a difference in your life. 

Boyd Frampton Lives On . . .

This week started out a little different then I expected, and ended out being one of the best weeks of my life! 

I started out the week with a phone called from my misión presdiente. He told me that my grandpa had passed away. I'll be honest, it was hard! It was the first time in my life that I experienced someone really close to me passing away. I really didn't know what to do! I didn't have my family there with me to talk to. It  was really hard to think that when I return me won't be there. 

BOYD FRAMPTON TRULY WAS THE FRAMPDADDY! 

He was my hero... I can remember my last day in the states and he took me out to CHUCK A RAMA  ha ha What a legend! Really, this guys played a huge role in life. I cant explain the impact that he had on my life and the things he did for me and my family. It's interesting how it works. I truly have noticed the plan that God has for us and how amazing it is. I've been thinking about the man that grandpa was. He was a dentist in the Army and his family life wasn't the best growing up. His  father was a drinker and wasn't a great example for him, but i think the fact that he was able to become the person that he was is a miracle. He was able to teach my dad how to be a father and my dad has taught me so much in this life. It's interesting the chain of people--the way my dad and grandpa have been a part of my life and, now the people that I am teaching and meeting and helping. Really the things that I am teaching them are things that my father taught me. It's almost like the relay race of life--my GRANDPA passed the knowledge to my DAD, and my dad passed it to me and now I have this opportunity to pass this knowledge on to the people that I come in contact with.

BOYD FRAMPTON LIVES ON IN THE LIVES ON THE PEOPLE OF COQUIMBO PARTE ATLO.

When i found out he passed, I was a little sad, but mostly I realized that this is exactly what I teach the people here everyday. I teach about this góspel and how we can live with our families forever and he was able to receive this góspel and my heart is at peace.

It was really interesting because that next day after he died, multiple times in the day, people told me things that really helped me, and nobody knew that he had died. One of the miembros here told me things that really shocked me because it was exactly what I needed to hear and I know that God was there for me through these people.

This Saturday I baptized a lady named Marta. I met Marta when I first got here and I have been working with her this whole time! We really have become good friends. She told me that this is the first time in her life that she has ever felt like anyone has ever supported her. Wow, I felt so lucky to able to give her that support she needed. She asked me to baptize her and it was amazing. So espiritual, wow! When I was in the wáter with her, I could feel my grandpa with me in this momento. I know he has been serving with me this week and he will be there with me for the rest of my misión. We also baptized Ceasar this week and it was also amazing. 

This góspel is real. I really have seen the power that it was has to change lives.

Big shout out to my dad, BIG Al. It  was his birthday yesterday! I love you dad!

Hope everyone has an amazing Christmas!! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 

from Elder Zachary BOYD Frampton

The best of times, the worst of times . . .

Hey family, 

How are you guys? How is grandpa? How is everything with him? It's so hard not knowing how he is doing! It has been a tough week not knowing, but dang, he's not doing very good? Man, I hope he can make it until Christmas so I can see his face! That's great that you guys are there taking care of him. 

.......................................................................................................................................

This is my week: 

I had another great week out here in Parte Alta, but this week went a little different then I expected. Last week when I was reading the letters from my family I found out that my grandpa had fallen and broke his hip. It was difficult for me to soak all that in in the 1 hour that I have to write and then get back to work without knowing how he was doing.  And the fact that I can't do anything to help is tough. 

This week really gave me the opportunity to put my trust in the lord. On top of that, this week I faced something really difficult for me too! Last week I wrote about my good friend Bastion and how incredible he was doing and everything.  So this week we were preparing him for his baptism and because it was supposed to be this Sunday, we had the interview and everything was perfect. All we needed was to the permission from the parents, but they said no. Wow. Ya, it was really rough, especially because i wasn't even there, I was in a intercambio so I wasn't there to talk with the parents. I was only able to hear about what happened, Apparently his dad was drunk and freaking out at my companion, and told them to never come back. Ya, I know . . . broke my heart to hear that too! I haven't seen him since. 

So, ya this week has really given me the opportunity to put all my faith in the Lord. Me and my companion fasted this Sunday and WE'RE GOING TO PASS BY TODAY BECAUSE THE LORD SENT US HERE TO BRING SOULS UNTO CHRIST AND THAT IS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO! 

I know the dad said to never come back, but we are going to return to the house today with a cake and I'll let you know how it goes next week! 

It has been a bit of a tough week and I had a few tough moments, but I also had some amazing moments. 

We found a family this week and its was absolutely amazing. I honestly can say that the Lord prepares these people here in Chile for us to teach because I witnessed a miracle in this lesson. So we were teaching this family the 1st lesson about the restoration and during the lesson I saw a picture of the when Jose Smith received the priesthood from Peter,  James, and John. As I was showing her this she said,  "Wow, STOP, I'VE SEEN HIM BEFORE" (pointing to one of the apostles) "I've seen him in my dreams. He has helped me a lot in my life."  My mouth dropped. She said that it was the first time she's ever seen that picture. I know that the Lord was preparing here to receive this message, and I know that the Lord was there for me when I needed him and I put my trust in him. Without a doubt he was there in that lesson because I've never understood or spoken better Spanish in my life than in that lesson.

The Lord is truly there for all of us in our trials. Just trust him!

I also had some funny experiences too. Some kid threw a water balloon at me when I was walking in the street! Kinda hurt my feelings. ha ha 

Also when I had intercambios, me and my companion decided to go teach in this old folks home. ha ha So we snuck in there with all these old guys and started playing Dominos with them.  Then we started teaching them.  Then we got kicked out!! ha ha 

Oh, I saw some dolphins with week and ate crab too, so that was cool!  

My favorite part of this whole week was that I got to baptize the son of the most legendary pirate!   Enrique asked me to baptize his son (Gonzalo) and it was an amazing experience to be in the water with Gonzalo. I was a little scared he was gonna make me walk the plank or something like that. lol but, ya it was amazing. His mom came and everything and he was so excited. 

It was an amazing week and I really had a chance to let our Heavenly Father show me the way.

You guys are freaking awesome!! Thanks for everything!!! I'm doing great here! I love it! Don't worry about me!! Take care of grandpa for me!! Love you guys!

Elder Frampton

Tio Frampton and The Truman Show

Hey family,  I love all you guys! I can't believe that grandpa fell this week. It was really hard for me to hear that. I started think about all the amazing things that man has done for me and our family, and words can't describe the effect he had on our family and on my life! I'm soooo grateful for the time that we had to together. I think about the message that I'm preaching right now about the plan that our Father in Heaven has for us and it brings me peace because I know I will see Boyd Frampton again.  I'm forever honored to have the name BOYD in my name and in my life!! "I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM!!"

 I love you grandpa! I have faith, and we can do this.

WOW, it's amazing how fast this week went again. Sitting here writing again is seriously crazy, but ya, I had another great week and I'm doing really good, I'm really starting to feel comfortable here, which is way nice, but at the same time it's almost a Little bit too comfortable. I'm starting to know all the different groups of people on the different streets at the different times of day. For example, when we first leave the casa in the morning, we pass the garbage men on the same street everyday, and so I'm pretty tight with them now. And there is a "Pancake crew" which is a group of old ladies who are always cooking pancakes outside their house. Also we have the "HELLO MY FRIENDS" group, which is a group of teenagers that we pass on the way home to our house every night and they shout, "HELLO MY FRIENDS" because they think it's sooo funny. I'm starting to think I'm on The Truman Show ha ha. 

I even know all the dogs and what dogs are on what street, so I started giving them names. My personal favorites are Snuggles and Cuddles on Billboa Street. 

A quick pirate update. So we were going to have the baptism last Sunday, but his mom who lives in Santiago wants to come to his baptism so we are going to it this Sunday. Less goooooo. I'll  have pictures next p-day!

All my investigators are doing great! It's been so fun teaching them this week. I'm really starting to enjoy the teaching part of the mission. Especially to all the Little kids I am teaching. They now call me "TIO" which means uncle, so now I'm known as TIO Frampton.

A couple of cool experiences that I had this week:  one was with one of my friends name Bastion.  He is 14 and he is super shy. We have been teaching him almost three weeks now and he doesn't have any brothers or sisters or that many friends in his life right now.  He told me that he feels lonely a lot, and so this week when we went to teach him I brought one of the members of the young men's to come teach with us and to just be a friend to him. I've never felt so happy to see the smile on this kids face when Diego (the kid from the young men's) invited him to church. He was soo happy to feel a part of something. Wow! and I truly have seen a change in him since then. He is so outgoing and everything, and he is going to get baptized this Sunday.

Another cool experience I had this week was with an old man who can't hear or speak. Ya, it WAS AWESOME!! Last Sunday I saw this man who was wearing a Steelers sweatshirt and obviously I was going to talk to him because he was wearing the Steelers shirt.  How are the Steelers doing by the way?? But anyway, so I went to talk  to him and I quickly found out he couldn't speak or hear.  This week we went to visit him and his wife, and with a Little bit of help from his wife, and my amazing acting ability, I was able to listen and share my thoughts. It was amazing the spirit this man has and the spirit I felt even though he can't speak or hear. We are actually really good friends now and he sat by me at church this Sunday. He is awesome!

Well, it's been another great week. I love you guys.

Tio Frampton

Helping a Pirate Find Treasure

Wooooooooowwwww, what a fast week. I cant believe that I am sitting here writing again. This week might have been the fastest week of my mission so far. I think its because me and my companion have been working so hard this week! We seriously went ham this week!!! A lot of things happened so let me just fill you in on what is going on with the our work here in "THE PARTE." So first off, I love this work!! I literally get to talk to people all day long. It's freaking awesome. I love it. Like it's my job to talk to people. how cool is that? But also right now it's weird. I'm teaching all kids.  We have five baptism dates and four of them are with kids 13 and younger! I just have a connection with those kids I guess.  I love teaching kids. They are sooo pure and fun! We should have a baptism every week this month, so that is so cool! I'm sooo pumped and grateful for the success we are having here in "THE PARTE." 

Ok, so this week I had a couple of really cool experiences and some funny ones too. I'll start off with the spiritual.  This is the legend of "CAP'N JACK." It's an amazing story about one of my best friends named Enrique, who is a PIRATE!! So the story starts out one night in the great country of Chile at 9:15 p.m., as me and my companion are walking home after a long days work. As we are walking home I see a man across the street with his two kids and I had a strong feeling that I needed to talk to him, so I went over and talked to him. At this time in my mission I couldn't speak or understand very well, but I knew that I needed to talk with him. As we started talking, I quickly noticed he was dressed in all this pirate garb, and he even had a hook . . . No, he didn't have a hook, but that would have been cool! But ya, we started talking and he told me that he was homeless. I felt really bad for him and his kids and I wanted to help him so bad, but we had to go and that was that!  

After a couple of weeks with my new companion, we happened to come across him in the street again and so I went up to him and with the little Spanish I could speak, I told him that if he came to the church that Sunday, he would find a house. That week I prayed so hard for this man to come to church, and guess what?? He came.  That Sunday I talked to the ward and asked them if they could help this man find a house, and YESTERDAY HE CALLED ME AND TOLD ME THAT HE FOUND A HOUSE! AT THAT MOMENT MY HEART WAS FULL BECAUSE I KNEW THAT GOD BLESSED HIM WITH THIS HOUSE BECAUSE HE CAME TO CHURCH. 

NEXT WEEK WE ARE GOING TO BAPTIZE HIS SON, GONZALO! It was a miracle!! I'm so grateful that I could help this guy out! HE FOUND HIS TREASURE!

Ok, so remember how I told you that I was starting to organize a soccer game every Monday? So last week we had a game and it was super fun. They are unreal at soccer here. It's crazy! But anyway, they taught me this other game that they play in Chile and so I was super pumped to play, you know? And we started playing and apparently I lost. I'm not sure how cause I was dominating! but I guess I lost and so then the craziest thing happened to me. Everyone that was playing--like 30 little Chileans just started charging at me!!! it was the scariest thing ever! It was like that part in Spy kids when all the teenage robots attack!! Ya, so all these little Chileans start tackling me and get me to the ground and then and they start chanting this weird Spanish saying that I didn't understand. And then each of them grabbed one of my arms and legs and lifted me up and started running in different directions!!!! I'm not kidding! Picture that!! Like this tall skinny gringo being torn apart by a herd of Chileans! ha ha ha Apparently it's like the punishment when you lose or something,  so ya, that was funny . . . really hurt though!

And also something really cool that happened this week was with one of my recent converts, maria, who was baptized like three weeks ago. She is so cool! But anyway,  the ward went to the temple this week and this girl,  Maria was able to get the temple work done for her father that passed away when she was eight! how freaking amazing is that?? Wow, words can't describe the feelings I had after hearing that! 

I love the mission!! Like, seriously wow! It's incredible! Helping a pirate find treasure, getting my arms and legs ripped off, and building the kingdom of God!!

Love, 

 Elder Frampton 

LAND HOOOOO

Hey mom and dad!!!!! How are you guys doing!!!??? Thanks for the support!! I love you guys!!!  I'm doing really good here.  My Spanish is coming! WOW, what an incredible week here in THE PARTE ALTE!!!! YEP, I STAYED. LESSSSS GOOOO!! I'm so pumped to stay here with my family here!! Also I got a new companion! He is from Utah and is name Elder Henderson! HE is AWESOME! He is literally the nicest guy I have ever met in the whole world! It's crazy. He is really cool, and I'm really pumped for this change with him! 

 

Little update on our investigators. So the pirate that I was telling you guys about came to church yesterday with his two sons!!!!!!! LAND HOOOOOO!!! Yep, he sailed his ship straight into the church, baby! And he really liked it. I think we are going to baptize his son so I'm super excited about that! This week we had family home evening with a family in the ward and it went super good and one of the daughter's in the family brought her friend and she loved the family home evening and so we have been teaching her. She is so awesome. Her name is Chrissann and she is 11. She's really sweet! But, ya we are having a lot of success and I'm really grateful. Because my companion left I am having to lead and its kind of hard because I'm still trying to understand the language, but I kind of like it and my Spanish is a lot better. It's weird, like this week I have felt like my Spanish has improved a ton and I'm excited about that!

Oh also this week I had intercambios, which is when you exchange with a different companion from your district, so I have had three companions this week! I was with this Argentine Elder and it was one of the funniest days of the mission. He was soo funny!!! He is like me but he can speak Spanish a little better! ha ha I'm still funny as you probably noticed. But ya, guess what else? I'm starting an English class in Parte Alta! ha ha ha Serious though, I got it approved by the bishop and everything! so Wednesday at 8 we teach whoever wants to learn English--members and nonmembers, everybody! I think it will be a great way to get people to the church and meet the members and stuff! Oh and also every Monday I am starting a huge soccer game here because we have p-day so I am trying to organize this a big soccer game with all the kids here to have fun and introduce them to the gospel through soccer! I'll let you know how it goes next week!

Nothing to funny happened this week, except I stepped in a lot of dog poo . . . ya it was weird how many times it happened this week! but other then that nothing much!

This week I have just been thinking about all the different people I have met so far in my mission and it's so cool to get to know them. Every single person is so different in their own special way, but I notice that they all need Jesus Christ in their life! lt doesn't matter if you're black, white, blue, green, red, Chilean, pirate, or if you have a lot of money or not. Whatever the case is EVERYONE needs Christ! THE WORLD IS CONNECTED THROUGH HIM! I'm really grateful to be able to bring them the message of Christ!

Have an amazing week!! 

ELDER Frampton

All the little secrets to missionary work . . .

Hey mom and dad, It was sooo good to hear from you guys this week and it sounds like everything is going so well there. It makes really happy to know that! I really miss you guys and am grateful for your help in preparing for this mission because every day something happens and I have to make decisions and I am grateful for what you have taught me so I can make those decisions and become like Christ! I got your letter mom!!! Thank you. I love your letters and it probably takes a good solid month to arrive. 

So one thing I have been doing this month is I have been reading my Patriarchal Blessing every day and marking it up and basing my day off of what it says. And wow has it really opened my eyes to the little things that happen to me every day. My goal is to read it once a day for the next 19 months!

This week I have finished my first transfer in the mission. I can't believe how fast this six weeks has gone but it has been some of the best weeks of my life! It has been freakin' great. I was able to have a lot of success and I'm really grateful for that. I hope I can keep it rolling. Tomorrow I will find out if I am going to stay here or if I'm leaving. I'm hoping to stay because this place is great. I love the ward and I don't want to leave because I want to baptize Ceasar and Mike, who are two of the people we have been teaching. It would stink to have to leave.

A lot of things happened this week. Let's see so, we did a lot of service, which is always great. We are helping someone build a house right now. ha ha Oh ya, and I am also teaching two different people English and they are teaching me Spanish. I found out that everyone here wants to learn English so I'm using it to teach more people. Like now I'm teaching two different investigators English, but I'm teaching them only gospel words. ha ha It's a good way to have fun with and teach the lessons. 

I also did a lot of little service, like helping this guy push his car up this massive hill and stuff like that . . . but service is one of my favorite things to do here in the mission.

This week I also set up a few "noche de hogars" which is family night, with some families and I'm really excited for them. They are gonna teach me how to cook some Chilean foods. I can't wait.

I love the mission!!!! 

A little funny story I had this week--ok, the other day me and my comp were walking to an appointment that we had and out of nowhere we find ourselves walking in this huge parade of people. Like we were just walking in the street and a mob of dancing Indians just came flying in behind us with drums and stuff. We looked ahead and there was a whole crowd of people just lined up for this parade. So I decided to enjoy it for a bit and and flow with it--just cruise along with the dancing Indians. So ya, that was that. 

This Sunday we were able to confirm the kids we baptized Last Sunday, which was really cool because guess what? I gave a blessing and confirmed one of them in Spanish!!!!!!!! It was great. I was pretty nervous cause it was in front of the whole church, but I told myself if I wanna get better at my Spanish I gotta step out of the comfort zone and go for it. So I did and everything was great. My Spanish is getting better and I'm starting to understand a little more everyday so I'm excited about that. 

I'm starting to learn all the little secrets to missionary work and this week I learned a really important one and that is that you can only do so much in your companionship. I learned that you gotta work with members and with the spirit. If you can be cool with the members and work with them you will have a lot more success as a missionary. And this applies to life as well! 

That's all I got this week!

Love you guys!! Have another great week!

Elder Frampton

Arrrrrrg!

This week was just amazing!!! I was able to baptize 3 kids. Two of the kids were brothers and they're some of the sweetest kids I'e ever met!! They are like my little brothers and having the chance to baptize them this week was so freakin' amazing.  It really made me realize why I'm on my mission! I can't even describe the feeling I felt when I saw them enter into the water. I'm so grateful for them and the chance to be apart of their lives. We also baptized a girl named Maria. She is 13 and she's soo sweet! She has been through some really hard things in her life . . . her dad died when she was 8 and I can't imagine how hard that is and so to be able to be a part of bringing her into this church was super cool. She reminded me of my mom because my mom's dad died when she was young too and I just thought about how this church has blessed my mom and our family and how this church is going be a huge blessing in maria's life too. I'm really grateful for them in my life.

Other then the baptisms not a lot happened. We spent a lot of time preparing for the baptisms this week, but we also found some awesome people to teach. So guess who we found. We found a Pirate! No joke.  A legit Pirate! Apparently Coquimbo was founded by pirates, so we met this pirate and we started teaching him. It's hard to teach him because he's always out on the ocean, but he seems way interested so hopefully it will go somewhere. Maybe we will find his treasure ha ha!!! 

Another cool thing that happened this week is I'm learning how to knit!  ha I'm serious! There is this member in our ward that is a freaking amazing knitter and she makes these crazy cool stuffed animals. She is good! So I asked her if she would make me one and she said ya, she's gonna make me a missionary with my plate on it so I'm pumped about that. Then she said she would teach me too so I'm about to become a professional knitter! Watch out!!!!! 

Then I ate cow stomach this week too, which was way weird, but it actually turned out way good!

That's about it for this week. I'm understanding a little better. The language is hard, but I'm not scared. I have fun with it and enjoy it!! lessss gooo!! 

Frampdaddy!

My Mom Was Right

I had another great week here in Chile. It was a freakin' great one and I was able to witness a lot of little miracles. It was AWESOME! This week we were able to confirm Bruno and there is a great story behind it. We also set another baptism date with a 15-year old girl named Maria, so we were super pumped about that! If everything goes right this week we should have four baptisms with Felipe, Antonio, Maria, and Maria Pas, the sister of Bruno! It's going to be busy week but I'm so grateful and excited!

Okay, to start off my week I painted a fence. Ya, I painted this lady's fence blue for her. We were just walking in the street and I saw this lady and started talking to her. I asked her if we could do anything for her and she said we could help her paint her fence, so we spent most of the day painting, which was actually super fun. I guess you can call me Elder Tom Sawyer. 

That same day I saved a dog's life. I'm dead serious, I saved this dog's life. So we were going to this house and all the sudden I hear this dog whining and so we go to check it and there is this dog who has it's head stuck it this fence. It was bad. I don't know how it got in there but it wasn't gonna come out and we had no idea how long he had been there. We tried everything to get him of there, but he was so stuck. So finally we said a prayer, and no joke, his head just slipped out. It was the craziest thing! 

Halloween is like the one day missionaries can actually fit in, so that was nice! I actually made a costume because I wanted to be something. I made myself in to a human Book of Mormon. It was great. I have pictures! Such a classic!

Funny story for the week: This is too funny. So there is this guy that is always on this street that we pass by everyday and every time he sees us he says these bad words in English that start with an F. Not good, right? I was getting of tired of it, so this week I decided to talk to him. I was like 'hey do you know what that word means?" and he said "ya." So I was like "that word isn't even that bad, there are words that are way worse. He was like, "tell me" and I said "Sorry man I can't cause I'm a missionary, and he was like "please," so i was like "fine, but I'm only gonna say it once so you better write it down."  He agreed so I said, "baptize me" ha ha ha So now every time we pass him he says "baptize me!"

My spiritual thought for the week: These first two months of my mission have honestly changed me. If my mission ended right now it would have an effect on me for the rest of my life!  I have changed so much. This is kind of a shout out to my mom because she was right, reading is awesome. I don't like saying it, but reading she freaking great! I really enjoy reading now and if you would have asked me that two months ago I would have said, no way! I hated it so much that my mom used to ground me until I would read a book. But now I honestly love it and I love studying! 

And another thing that I like is to clean. Not kidding. So weird.  Mom, guess what else? I make my bed every morning now! ha ha I am a huge nerd. But the mission is awesome. This gospel is true and it can help you with anything. Honestly, any problem or addiction or whatever, this gospel of Jesus Christ can change you!

I love the mission. It is awesome. I can't wait to learn Spanish.

love, 

Frampdaddy!

Peter Frampton, Waffles and "The 4th Missionary"

Hey fam, how's everything going? I miss you guys, but I'm doing really well out here in Chile. Mission life is the best!!! I baptized Bruno last week, and it was so freakin' awesome. This week we will baptize Maria and then the week after that we are baptizing Antonio and Felipe.

I can't believe I've been out for two months now. It seriously feels like I just left. I honestly can't explain how awesome it has been so far. This week we found eight new investigators, but I also have like nine goose eggs on my head. lol Seriously though, I have huge bumps on my head cause I can't tell you how many times I have slammed my head on the door frames and just random things because everyone is so short here. It's crazy. Literally every time I walk into someone's house, they say, "Wow that gringo is tall." I've yet to find someone taller then me in this country, but I seriously love this place. It feels like I've lived here my whole life pretty much! Oh ya, and here I am not known as Elder Frampton, they just like to call me Peter. ha ha like Peter Frampton. I guess everyone knows Peter Frampton here and so every time someone sees my name tag they say, "Como Peter Frampton?" lol So ya, now I'm just Peter! hahaha 

This week we met thee coolest kids in the whole world!!! Their names are Atonio and Felipe and they are 11 and 9 and they are honestly like my little brothers, that's how much I love them. I can barely understand them, but we just laugh and we have this legendary handshake.  They are gonna get baptized in November. I'm soooo excited!!!! So this one time we were playing this board game with them and they were beating me and I started getting a little competitive lol.. 4 peat, right? lol jk . . . but anyway, they beat me and my companion just started yelling random things in English. Just the funniest stuff, and they couldn't understand. It was so classic and they were so cute.
For some reason the only thing I could think of to say was waffles, so now my go to is "waffles." 

This week was great! I'm loving everything about the mission. I'm ready for another awesome week. BRING IT ON! Also my spiritual thought this week is a talk called "The 4th Missionary" If you have the chance, read it! It will change you! At least it did me! 

Love you all!

Elder Frampton

WEEK TWO! LESS GO!

This week was soooo sick! What a swaggy week! I had a lot happen, but I don't know where to start. Let's see, oh I had a baptism this week. I guess that's a good place to start. Ya, it was so cool. I baptized a kid named Bruno. Such an amazing kid and it was a really spiritual experience. I can't believe I got my first baptism. We also have a date to baptize Bruno's sister, Maria next Sunday, so I'm really excited for that too. 

Oh, and kinda funny story. You know how my hair grows really fast and I have to get haircuts a lot and so mine was really long and everyone kept asking if I was from Peru or Argentina. They don't think I'm from the states. So I went to get a haircut at this Columbian Barbar shop and the guy kept playing with my hair the whole time he was cutting it and it was so creepy. I couldn't understand anything he said so I just kept saying "si." So then finally after I said "si" he took me to this massage table and was going to start massaging me. LOL So creepy. 

I'm in this place called Parte Alta and it just full of hills and so all day long I'm just walking up and down these hills. My calves are absolutely huge now. It's so sweet! Oh and there is this massive cross out side my window. Not kidding, it's like the Twin Towers or something. 

The people here in Chile are so tight and they always feed us and everything, but they only have soda. I haven't had soda in five years and I've been trying to keep my streak up, but this week I broke down and started drinking it again . . . So ya, I drink soda now . . .

I had to give a surprise talk in church yesterday. I was like, are you serous? I don't even speak Spanish, bishop! Whatever, I just went up there and killed it. 

It was a great week. My spiritual thought is to make the most of the time you have with family and friends and school and missions. Whatever it is have fun with it and enjoy it! Be grateful for it. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16 it says "Rejoice always." And in 5:18 it says "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God's in Christ Jesus for you." 

VIÑÑÑÑAAA!!!!!

Hey family, how are you guys doing? It was so good to hear all of your voices last week. You all sound so good. Gosh I miss you guys, but and the same time I've never felt so close to you guys! All week the song "Cats in the Cradle" has been playing in my head. I don't know why, but it just makes me so grateful for the family and the dad that I have. You guys are the best. Thanks for all the support!

VIÑÑÑÑAAA!!!!!   

I literally can't describe how my week was, but I'm gonna try my best. I am finally here. Wow . . . I'm actually here in Chile. I got into Chile and I guess there was some super famous soccer player on our airplane and so when we landed there were tons of cameras everywhere, and at first I thought "How did they know about the Lone Peak National Championship?" lol. 

We then got on a bus and went toured around Vina and it is absolutely beautiful!! Man, I love it! It's seriously so pretty. And then out of no where, President just drops us off in the middle of the city and tells us to find our way back to the mission home. lol 

Okay, tight. I don't know any Spanish . . . but I figured it out. lol I like the president and his family a lot. Then we found out our companions and what area we are serving in. It turns out I am serving in the north which is six hours away from Vina, so I got on a bus in the middle of the night and traveled to a place called Coquimbo. I arrived at like three in the morning and got up the next day and got to work.

My companion is way cool, I like him a lot and he helps me a lot! His name is Elder Buker. I call him Elder Puker. lololol classic! 

But I honestly don't understand anything anyone is saying here. Their Spanish is so bad and the say po at the end of every word so I just sit there and smile really big and say "si" and then smile some more. It's awesome, but, ya I just try to have fun with it and not get frustrated! 

But dang the people here are honestly so freakin' amazing. Some of the most down to earth people. Their houses are really humble and poor, but they are so happy and I have never eaten more food in my life! I WILL BE FAT by the end of my mission! lol 

But I love my mission. It's so smooth. Dogs are everywhere! Probably more dogs than people. I just preach to the dogs cause they actually understand me and listen. lol I might take one home if it's okay with you mom. ha ha

I love it.  Gotta keep working and having fun and doing my thing!

I really miss the family but I want other families to have the love like my family and that's why I'm here. All these families remind me of you guys. I love you guys. 

Have an amazing week!! 

Love, 

Elder Frampton

Here a few pictures from the last week in the MTC

VIVA CHILE

Hey mom and dad, thanks for all the support and love. 

My week was another great week! I can't believe that it was my last week at the MTC. It seriously feels like I'm leaving my family again. It's crazy! I met so many amazing people and had some amazing experiences in these last six weeks. How has it only been six weeks?  My life has been changed already. I can't imagine what Chile has in store for me. I honestly cant wait!

This week I met the sickest Latino. It was so weird, like we instantly became best friends and we only knew each other for one week and and we could hardly talk to each other because I can't speak Spanish yet. I told him that after the mission we will have a reunion here in mexico and we will talk about everything. He told me that I need to work on my Spanish because in Chile they talk super fast and really broken. He also said to watch out for the Chilean girls.  lol

This week I got in my  last couple of games of cage soccer and dunk ball, which was way sad. We also had a chess tournament with our district, which was fun, and we had our final "socks and garments journal writing session." You can guess what that is all about.  Then for the last night here we had a huge slumber party in my house with all the districts. Everyone brought over their mattresses and had a slumber. It was so tight!!!! such a fun night!! 

Highlight of the week was for sure General Conference. This was probably the first time I watched all the sessions and took notes and stuff and WOW! seriously, I loved every second of it. It was a perfect way to end the week! 

I am a little scared to go to Chile today because I don't know much Spanish and I'm getting a new companion and everything. This is the real deal I guess. Real investigators and everything. That's kinda scary, but I know I'll be fine with the Lord on my side! i can't wait to get to my new home! 

VIVA CHILE   

I did see Grant singing at the Priesthood session of conference, and I got super pumped! I miss all my friends and stuff, but dang, I miss singing and dancing and watching The Office with my bros more than anything. I think about Wyatt and Garrett more than anyone. I miss them every day. 

I love you guys and I'll tell you all about Chile when i get there

Last Week in the MTC: TURN OUT!

Hey family!! 

How are you guys? How has your week been? Mom, I got you Dear Elder this week and I loved it! There was one part in there that was so touching about what Chase said, which was so cool, so thanks for sending me that! 

I can't believe this is my last week in the MTC. It's so surreal to me. It seriously feels like I just got here and now I'm leaving. The MTC has honestly changed my life and I'm writing a little book about my MTC experience. I'll share it with you guys when I'm done. Mom, I decided I want you to start a blog for me about my mission because I realize that it's just as important for others to hear about the experiences I am having as it is for me to experience them. In a devotional this past Sunday somebody said we need to share our thoughts and feeling just like all the prophets in the Book of Mormon shared their thoughts and feelings. 

This week has been way good. My Spanish has been getting way better, but I realized something so important. I'm not trying to learn Spanish and I'm not trying to learn English. These languages don't matter. The real language I'm trying to learn is the language of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and if I can become more like Christ, Spanish will come and everything else will fall into place. 

I'm kinda sad to leave this place because its become my new home and my new family and now I have to leave it again.  But it's okay because I'm excited to meet my new family. But ya, its hard to say goodbye again. 

I'm doing great though. I'm working hard and learning a lot and having a lot of fun too.  I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life as I have here.  

I miss you guys and I'm truly grateful for all that you've done for me.  I love you guys!

Here is my spiritual thought for the week: 

TURN OUT, TURN OUT, not in, TURN OUT! It's a really simple thought, but it really is so powerful. I heard this in a devotional given by Elder Bednar. He said "when times get rough, turn out."  I've had a lot of time to ponder and think about life and I think about how I can become a better missionary and more importantly, a better person. I realized that if I just strive to be more like Christ, then I naturally become better and so I've really been trying to figure out how I can be more like Christ. I've been reading scriptures and praying, and then I heard this: TURN OUT! QUIT THINKING ABOUT YOURSELF! Not once did Christ ever think about himself. Not once. Even when Christ was betrayed by his own apostles after HE HAD JUST SUFFERED FOR THE SINS OF THE ENTIRE WORLD, he didn't feel sorry for himself. I imagine Christ on the cross with his hands and feet nailed to it, and then him saying "father forgive them, for they know not what they do."  Wow. TURN OUT! I know that if we can turn out then we will be happier in our lives. 

Love Elder Frampton