Justin will be spending the next two years serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. He will be serving in the Chile, Osorno mission and teaching the people of Osorno the gospel. He will spend two months in Mexico City at the Missionary Training Center learning Spanish and being trained as a missionary. In mid August he will leave Mexico and head to Chile. We will be using this blog to post weekly emails and pictures from Justin and to keep you all updated on Justin's adventures in Chile!

Monday, January 25, 2016

Hey Fam and friends,
 whats up Yall!?
I got something Cool to tell yall! Remember how I told you a bunch about Juan, How Elder Cleverly and I found him one night and we taught him a bunch. 
So one night in the beginning of my trainning we were knocking doors and I remember it was freeeeezzzzziiiinnnnnggggg cold and it was pouring rain so much! We had been knocking doors for the whole day from like 12 to 930 and we were like okay one more door, so i was like yeah thats knock this door over here and we knocked it and a guy answered and he said he wanted to hear and come back tomorrow. We came back and he told us how he was talking to his brother in Santiago and said next time the missionaries come by he would open the door and listen to what they heard and that was the next day, So long story short i taught him with cleverly for like 5 weeks and then with Winward for like 6 weeks, the last day i was at his house we got him to agree to a date where he would give up everything he needed to and get baptized. Yeah well Juan got baptized this past Saturday!!!!! So stoked i am so happy, it is such a blessing, i really wish I could've been there at the baptism, but to here he kept his fecha and kept through and was baptized is awesome! So thankful for that and that he is a member now, so so so awesome. It was so awesome to see that God can make you an instrument in his hands for the salvation of others! Its funny cause that day where i remember it was freezing cold i'm sure we didn't get any to any houses and maybe got rejected 100 times, who even knows, I don't remember! What I do remember is the one who accepted and was baptized and everything in between! Way stoked!
Here in Osorno we found out cambios and Elder Diaz and i are in the office and we are going to a different sector near by so that will be fun and exciting. Going to find some people and bring the world his truth, that's what were are here to do!
Also other day i was looking out of our balcony (yah our house is sweet we have a balcony and carpet) and i noticed a volcano hahahaha didn't even realize it was there so that's pretty cool!
Well i love you all and hope you're all doing well! This week we get to do a lot with helping the new people from the MTC come into the mission and pick them up and be with them for like the first two days, way stoked for that! Also feels like just yesterday i was the new greenie, now look at me, i got 7 months on the mission...... Weird!
Love yall!!!
PEACE!!!
Elder Wertner:)

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Monday, January 18, 2016

Hey yall!!!
Well its been an exciting and eventful week forsure! 
So right now i am in Osorno, that is my new sector.... no longer in valdivia! So now i am actually in the Office and i am the nuevo historiador! So thats pretty sweet, its pretty funny cause just last week my grandpa was writing me and telling me that he is sure one day i will be in the office and be able to drive the car and all that, hahaha well that happened. So the office life is a little different and its pretty sweet, i get to see the mission from a whole different aspect, while still being a missionary and doing what missionaries do!
So we get into the office at like 10 and what i do is i am the historian so i handle all the stuff with the registros of baptisms of people and put them into the sytem so they become members ( pretty big job if ya think about it cause thats the reason we are here, to share this gosepl about Jesus Christ with others and get them baptized on the path to eternal life) So it is pretty sweet. Along with that i do a lot of different random stuff, but i handle a lot of stuff with new missionaries that are coming in and missionaries that are leaving! Its way fun and way weird, weird to think i have almost 7 months in the mission and it just feels like yesterday i was in that position! 
So we get in at 10 and we do all our stuff and then we end the day and leave at 6 and we proselite from 6 to like 10! so we have some pretty cool investigators here that we have put with dates to be baptized which is way awesome! One is a younger girl and her dad is reactivating and shes gonna get baptized in febrero, Also another is a sweet family. We went over the baptismal interview with them and they are awesome, they know a lot and really want to learn more and have this gospel in their lives, they love having us over and they keep feeling closer to the savior everytime we visit with them! So we shall see!
Also i have two new comps, i am in a trio right now until end of the cambio with Elder Diaz who is from mexico and Elder Haddad who is from pleasanton ( if any of yall know me then you know that city should ring a bell;)) Its pretty fun, also both of them are converts of not too long ago, so it is really cool and is a testimony strengthener to me! I think its so awesome when converts go on missions its sweeeeetttt!! They have such powerful testimonies!
We live in this apartment that is like a penthouse and is probably one of the nicest houses in the mission, you can see the whole city of osorno and it has carpet! I havent felt what carpet is like in 7 months
But everything is good here, i am enjoying it and we are working hard! There is always a lot to do! I love sharing this gosepl with others and being able to feel that spirit so strong, nothing is better than that! I remmeebr thoe days in priest quorum with some of my best buds and dahl and all the awesome leaders, the spirit was so strong! Thats how it is in lessons now and thats what i strive for, cause i can promise you! There is no better feeling than that, I have won a state championship and hit game winners and all that stuff for bball and that stuff feels so good, but this there is nothing like that..... When you see someone who needs and wants the gosepl in their life and you can feel that spirit in the room, where it is almost tangible to the point where you can touch it, nothing in the world beats that! If you wanna feel that, This gosepl can make you feel that an more! 
I love what i am doing and i love being in chile! Livin the high life in the penthouse with carpet right now baby! hahaha love you all! Hope youre all doing well and ya keep on keeping on!!!
Much love!
Elder WERTNER:)

Monday, January 4, 2016

Whats up yall!!!!!!
So this week was good, crazy to think its 2016!! That is so crazy! Awesome to think back on 2015 and think about all that we have accomplished and now to look forward to another year! so weird to think about 2016 and how old we all are now! my dad is almost 50!!!!!!! hes so old! hahah just messin pops!
This week was good, no crazy stories or anything but i was thinking about the missiona nd life, and of course i was comparing it to basketball. I was thinking how when i was younger i just wanted to dunk so i just kept trying and trying to dunk, finally it happened and i was so stoked! (catherine knows she was there) but then i did it, so then i tried to dunk harder, tried to put it thru my legs! I just kept trying to push myself. Now for those of you who dont play bball, just compare it to whatever, like for jessica and alyssa it could be shopping or for perry it good be eating bacon! whatever it is, i have realized soemtimes we feel like we just legit, cannot do it, but we just have to push ourselves, push ourselves and it will eventually happen! We just have to try our best, sure soemtimes we are gonna fail, but thats just life, just keep trying! For me that is just to keep looking and to just keep knocking doors and to keep trying to share this gospel, Eventually we will be able to look back and say "Wow it was all worth it". I hope we can all just try and keep trying!
This week was good and this sector is awesome, i know there are people prepared we just gotta find them!
Also we had inter cambios, so i went to another sector for a day and it was on the beach! It is so beautiful over there! kept making me think of my future at uci on the beach!!!! wowoooohoooooo! 
hahaha but ill be sending lots of pics!
Love you all and hope christmas and new years was awesome!