August 19-August 25, 2025 Week 8 Centinela Branch, Talcahuano Chile

This week felt really long but also very short at the same. I bet that'll be a common theme in my mission. And sorry for the last few weeks in emails, I made no less than 17 typos every email. I guess my Spanish is just too good now- I cant speak english.  (from his mom, I edited the email a bit before I forwarded it so you didn't get the really awful version.)

Summary:

This was a great long week! I didn't talk about it last week, but I'm in a city named Talcahuano- it's on the coast and it is like 30 minutes north of Concepcion. We have been teaching and visiting pretty much every day the Mom of the boy who was baptized last week. Her name is Maria Jose and she is going to be baptized Wednesday! This week I went to Concepcion twice, once for pday and once for a multi zone conference. 

Tabernacle choir at Temple Square: 

This Saturday there was these huge event that was in Buenos Aires, the tabernacle choir perfomed there. It was broadcast all over south america and the world. It was pretty lit. We had been inviting everyone on the street to it. We handed out like 100 plus invites. We had another multi zone "blitz" to invite people to this choir on Tuesday (where 2 full zones of missionaries worked in 1 area for like 2 hours or so) 

Concepcion: 

Well, this city is massive I'm not going to lie and very modern and very clean. It is way more cool than Talcahuano, but the views in Talcahauno are very beatiful. Well it was pretty cool getting to walk the streets of downtown concepcion last week. 

Food: 

Last pday was clutch, cuz I was able to buy groceries for myself and not eat Elder Macais food. But if you know me you know I can't cook, so I just eat 3 eggs for dinner every night. Because eggs are like 5 bucks in the US for a docen but like 2 in Chile. 

The food the members give us is pretty much the same, some like soup to start and than the main plate of chicken and rice or fish and rice and than some dessert.  Its a very big deal to the members to feed us, and they do a great job. 

The best food I have eaten here was not even chilean. Last week we when to concepcion and we had franchute, which is like a french food and that was pretty fire. 

Spanish: 

I am conviced this chileans are speaking spanish with marbles in there mouths. jkjk, I am not going to get discouaged at my language process, that would be dumb. But I am able to teach pretty well, if they ask a question, that is where I'm cooked. Elder Kearon said, "dont worry, work hard"

Multi zone conference:

We had a fire multi zone conference this week. All of the missionaires " en dentro (inside)" the city were there. So 6 out of the 10 zones, so 60% of all the missionaries. It was cool getting to meet all of the missionaries. It looks like our mission is 70% american or so, but there is a very diversie group in that 30%, missionaires from all countires in south america, haiti, new zealand. There is even a missionary from south africa. 

Spirtual thought (from the zone conference): 

FAITH. Faith is an action word, and it has been the christlike attribute I have been studying this week. Faith is a principle of action and POWER. Our prophet said, "Faith in Jesus Christ is the greatest power available to us in this life. ALL things are possible to them that believe." Word. 

If you have made it this far you're obviously a real one, feel free to shoot me an email.

Pictures from Zone Conference

My smile is frozen on

Garret is definitely his father's son.  He took a lot of pictures of his food this week.

Our weekly call

August 14-August 18, 2025 Week 7 Centinela Branch, Talcahuano Chile

YOOO! How's it going? People here in Chile keep telling me how tall I am, and women keep trying to kiss me---which I have to reject= so pretty much nothing has changed from when I was in the United States. I have a feeling that this email is going to be very lengthy so here is the quick summary.

Summary/highlights: 

I got to Chile this Wednesday, so I have been here 6 days. My trainers name is Elder Macais, he is awesome! He's from Venezuela originally but he lived in Brazil from ages 11-16 and Chile from 16-18 before his mission. We get the elite opportunity to teach a lot and talk to lots of people. We had a BAPTISM my first Sunday (which i obviously take none of the credit, but still insane nonetheless). (Way better than my brother Tanner's first Sunday IYKYK)

Language: 

Um. So like I thought no matter how much I learned in the MTC, I would be confused.... Good news, I'm not as confused as a thought I'd be. Chilean Spanish is very hard, don't get me wrong, but I know with the Lord's and Elder Macais help I can learn it. (It will just be awhile) 

Meeting my companion and learning about my area: 

I meet my comp after we had meetings with president, I was very excited to get a latin comp so I can practice my Spanish. Elder Macais does speak some english, but it is probably not better than my Spanish, so we just speak in Spanish 24/7. I was excited, but then later in the same meeting thingy I was talking in english with one of the office Elders and he's like "oh yea Elder Christensen- good thing you have Elder Macais cuz you're going to one of the most dangerous areas in the mission" which I thought he was joking but I asked other Elders who weren't jokesters and it turns out he wasn't joking. Well, I got uncharacteristically scared for like the next 2 hours before we went to our area. After spending 4 days in our area, i this is one of the most dangerous areas in our mission, than I'm chilling and our mission is very safe. There are just lot of stray dogs (my comps previous comp got bit and had to get 6 rabies shots) and lots of drugies. I'll try to contact someone and Elder Macais will be like----Elder don't "él es peligoso" (he is dangerous).

Food: 

The big meal of the day is lunch, and I've only had 3 lunches but they have all been very good. The members are very good to us. For breakfast and dinner we just eat food at the house, I haven't had a chance to get groceries so its clutch that my companion's former comp left mucho food like yogurt, apples, bananas, cereal, peanut butter. But the lunch is very big so my companion just pretty much eats the lunch and like a snack for both breakfast and dinner. But i'm excited today to go to the grocery store and get groceries for myself. 

Missionary life: 

All of the days of the have had the same schedule (all days for missionaries do) except for the day that I arrived and the second day. The second day out in the flield, my zone did something very unique (my comp tells me it is unique and i'll have take his word for it). We had district council (not unique but this next part is) and after distract council we had what's called a bli., All of the missionaries in our zone were in one area for 2 hours or so. I went out during this with one of the APs and he was talking to me in english and he had lots of good advice for me. He said that lots of missionaries when they go through rough times it affects their faith and their faith struggles, but he was telling be my faith needs to constant.  I was reflecting on this and I think that my faith needs to be the reason I get through the rough times, I need to have faith that hard times on my mission and life are only temporary. 

Sunday: 

We had a baptism this Sunday! This was the most unique baptism and church service i've been too. Church started at 10 and the baptism at 12. My companion got to the church at 8 to fill the font up. But the church was trashed. We looked around and someone broke the glass and broke in. We called the branch president and because it was only the back half of the church he just put a whiteboard to stop it and cancelled 2nd hour and moved the baptism to 11:30. Sacrament meeting started 20 minutes late, and my companion was supposed to speak. The first speaker a very nice sister brought but her son and he kept trying to grab the mic, and we were hearing him speak more than her. He was a toddler so she set him down, which he went to play the piano for 2 minutes before she stopped him. I gave a testimony in sacrament, so all the people after came up to me after and knew I was very fresh missionaries. 

Spiritual thought:

Lots of people in Chile and in the world think that this life is some mistake of some accident. But I was thinking about the scripture in Nephi (don't know the reference off the top of my head but) "all things have been done in the wisdom of him that knoweth all things". I know that I'm not in the Chile Concepcion mission and the Centinela branch my accident, and we are all not in this world my accident. 

¡cuídense!

Tenga una buena semana, Dios te Ama!

1st day out working in Chile

My companion Elder Macias

My first baptism

August 7-August 13, 2025 Week 6 Mexico City MTC

Garret finished his last week in the MTC.  He didn't write a letter this week but we talked to him for a few minutes.  He did manage to repack his suitcase by himself.  He really didn't want to do it.  He had p-day on Monday.  Then Tuesday at 12:30 am, he had to get up to get ready to go to the airport in Mexico City.  They left at 1:30 am and took a bus to the airport.  His flight was at 5am.  He flew to Panama, then on to Santiago Chile.  He was with a big group of missionaries.  They got picked up and taken to a hotel.  They had a delicious dinner.  Garret had a steak and a hamburger.  They stayed in the hotel in Santiago that night.  They got up at 4 am and went back to the airport and flew to Concepcion.  We got an email saying that he arrived at the mission home.  We found some pictures on the mission Instagram page with his companion and his mission leaders.  He is companion is Elder Marcias and Garret replied with a Venezuela flag so we are guessing he is from Venezuela.  

Tavin McDonald, one of Garret's friends from Spokane

My King Elder Wade

Airport Welcome!

Delicious Dinner! Garret couldn't stop talking about it.

President and Hermana Lillo and Garret's companion Elder Marcias

Garret's location! Concepcion Chile