Chao pescao...

FAMILY! 

I love you so much. Do you know that? I hope you know that. I don´t know why it takes so long for my emails to get to you? and I think mom´s right about it being too big for the computer Mitchell´s using which is why he hasn´t been getting my emails. I´m glad to hear everyone is doing well. And I´m especially glad to hear the Hunger Games was a success. Trying not to think about how long I´ll have to wait until I get to experience it, but it´ll all be worth it. This week was a little slower. But we started off really great. On Monday we had an amazing lesson with Roberto and Yoanna, they´re easily my favorite people here in Chile. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and they just get it. They´re so recpetive and want to know more and have such great questions. They´re the ideal investigators. They keep their commitments and are earnestly striving to know if it´s true. I don´t know if I told you how we met them. Elder Broadhead and I rode the bus to Mirador, a neighborhood at the end of our sector and we both noticed this guy sitting in the back of the bus, with long hair - just staring at us. When we got off the bus, the man had his arm hanging out the window and was still just staring at us. I remember staring back and possibly doing one of those "I know your staring at me" smiles. Then we went knocking doors. A few hours later we knocked this one door, talked to this lady, she said she was baptized when she was 6 or 7 into our church (but we knew she meant 8 because obviously we don´t baptize until the age of accountability! So we knew she hadn´t been to church in a long time) We asked if we could come in and talk to her, she hesitated but then said, "Alright but my husband really doesn´t really care too much for religion." Boom. Who´s her husband? The man from the bus. We sit. We talk. We teach. We set another appointment. and guess who´s really interested? The man from the bus. Roberto. Last monday we commited him to baptism on the 14th of April. And he and Yoanna came to church again yesterday! Two weeks in a row. I´m so happy. Yoanna keeps saying things to him (jokingly) "If Roberto loves me, he´ll be baptized" and "My mom always told me to marry a Mormon boy." But she still says it. It counts for something. We´re meeting with them again tonight. They´ve progressed so much. I sometimes think about where we started, to where we are now. And I can´t help but smile. The gospel is amazing. 
So that was the highlight of my week. I´m glad Dad is officially retired. I hope he enjoys every second of it. Mom, I haven´t seen any cuchuflines but I´ll keep you posted. You´ve sent me socks?! That makes me so happy. I guess it´s official. Dobby will have been released. No longer the family house elf. I lost two of my watches this week. DUN DUN DUN. I know. I didn´t lose them. The Nixon got water logged (water got inside of it) and then it went blank. I was super depressed about that because it was my favorite. And then the Chinese black one...I was trying to rotate it on my wrist and then the plastic snapped. I tried to super glue it back together and it was a huge mess. So now I only wear my fancy fossil. Which makes me uncomfortable sometimes, because I only used to wear it on Sundays and to meetings. It´s pretty flashy. I´ve looked for cheap watches, but I can´t find any. Someone said there was an earthquake in Mexico? is that true? and one in Conception? 
Mom is going to visit Aleksi in April! Jealous. Take lots of photos. Speaking of photos...you said you sent me some right? I hope so. Quizas you sent some from my utah trip with dad and Aleksi and general conference, and Tswift with Cassie, HP world with Kate, Alexa and Chris, BOO with Maritza, Cueca with mom, Temple with mom and dad and Eva and Joey, and Mitchell´s farewell slash roadtrip? 
Well, things are good with the comp. This week he told me that he hates when people use the command form with him, he says there are nicer ways to ask for things that you need...and when I started talking in a Brittish accent he said, "Okay, you´re done." I laughed to myself. We do quote HP a lot and the Office. Who would´ve thought. 
I broke out my sleeping bag this week. It´s fall in full force. Windy and cold. 
I took the photos today. This is what I look like. March has been like this everyday. Clear and Blue. 
A slang chilean thing is to say "Chao Pescao" which means "Bye Fish" --- I like it. 

I´ve written everyone whose written me a letter - a response - I talked to the lady at the correo and she said it takes 15 to 20 days. So it´ll be a while, but It´ll come. 

I love you family. I love you friends. 

May the odds be EVER in your favor, 

Bye Fish. 

Love, 

Elder Poirier.

Beautiful!

Family! 

So many good letters this week! I can´t believe how great everything´s going for all of you. This is a pretty big week for us. First of all, dad is RETIRING! Congratulations! Por fin! Whoo! Hoorah! Yes! I can´t believe it´s here! You did it! I knew you could do it! Dad, I´m very happy for you and I wish I could help celebrate. You´ve done it! You´re a retiree. How does it feel? And mom. Happy Birthday on Thursday. You are the most incredible person I know. I love you more than I can put into words. You´re my example and my hope. It´s because of you and dad that I have this firing desire to share what I know is true because I´ve seen how it blesses lives. I´ve seen the change it makes. Thank you for your direction, for your passion, and for your love. You deserve the world and I hope dad and Cassie make you feel very special because you are everything to our family. I love you mom. Aleksi, I´m so happy you had a safe trip to San Fran. Loved all the photos! Does one of the photos that I´ve attached remind you of anything...does the number 35 ring a bell...hahaha. Mitchell, I´m so sorry about the emails - I´ve gotten two replies to your email saying that it didn´t send. I always check to make sure I send it to all of you. I hope when mom resent it to you that it worked. I know it´s frustrating to not hear from me, but know that it was out of my control. I´m sorry things are rough. I miss you, I wish you could be in my mission. But remember Dumbledore, "We must not try to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on." That´s what I tell myself whenever I feel down. And I read the Book of Mormon. My love for that book has never been stronger. I read it and I can feel peace and comfort. I know it´s true and written for our benefit and instruction. Cassie, baby girl. Glad you had a spring break full of the sun and beach! and the river! Good memories there. haha. Remember that one time...that I told you about on memorial day....and emily...so awkward! hahah. Miss you sister.
Mom - I got that package! That was incredible! Everyone loves you. and all the treats. They opened it because apparently you can´t send beef jerky or seeds into Chile. But they didn´t take anything out. That thing was PACKED. All the Elders were so jealous because they´ve been trying to get people to send them beef jerky. I shared. Elder Broadhead especially loved it. So I was concerned about buying food my first few weeks because I was new here and didn´t know the currency or how much stuff cost or what to buy. And Elder Broadhead is exactly like Elder Stein. Remember him? with Elder York. Yeah, so no sweets. I know if I´m buying something that´s "unhealthy." Gotta love your companions. I´ve gotten used to it though. I buy whatever I want now that I´ve gotten into the groove of things.
Dad - My mamita told me the Pastel de Choclo recipe right when I asked her, but then I asked her to write it down and she said that´d take her a while...so I´m working on it.
Yes! Send me an Absentee ballet! Why hasn´t anyone told me about Mitt Romney! He´s the Republican Candidate?! Is it true? that´s what all the Chileans are saying.
I´m super excited for General Conference! I´ve never been this excited. I can´t wait.
Yesterday, Roberto and Yoanna and their son Tomas came to church! They said they were only going to stay for the first hour, but they ended up staying for the whole time. You guys, it was amazing. Going to church is vital for conversion. The members were so welcoming and friendly. We´re going to challenge Roberto for the 14th of April to be baptized. We have to change the date because, he didn´t come to church last week. But he came! I couldn´t be happier.
Why did Cassie say 432 days until Hawaii? Is that real?! haha.
It takes 15 days for a letter to get from me to you. I´ve responded to every letter that I´ve recieved. So if you´re waiting, just be patient - it´s coming.
The Hunger Games comes out this week! Ahhh! It´s going to be amazing. And JK Rowling is writing a new book?! What?! I can´t breathe! Details.
Also, this week I tried Ecco for the first time. It´s the LDS version of Coffee. and it´s DELICIOUS. I now know why Alexa and Kate drink coffee 24/7 - it´s amazing! haha, well Ecco is amazing! Apparently it´s only sold here in South America. Look it up. Nestle makes it. It´s so good.
Well, I´m in week 9 of training. Week 9 of 12. I´m so grateful for ALL the support and love that you guys have sent my way. Thank you for your prayers. I feel happiest when I´m out working, when I´m out diligently trying to find people to teach and when I am teaching. I wish I was a good teacher like Mitchell, but I´m trying. I know this is the restored church on the earth today, how incredible it is to be led by a living prophet.

Believe in Christ. Believe that he is. Believe that he created all things both in heaven and in the earth.

He is our Savior and our Redeemer. Through him, we can return back and live with our God and with our families forever.

I love you family. I love this gospel. I love the Book of Mormon. I love your emails. and I love our Savior.

Happy Birthday Mom. Happy Retirement Dad.

Creo en Cristo.

All my love,

Elder Poirier.

CHILE!

FAMILY!

Hello Family,

Another week, another thousand stories to tell. First, let´s address the huge elephant that just squeezed into the room. I´M FAT! Let´s just say it how it is. I´ve gained a ton a weight. Yes, I can see it too. Happy mom? Haha. It doesn´t bother me. I mean, whatever - I´m chunky - but I´m happy. and I´m thoroughly convinced fat people have more fun. And the food here is so good! What am I supposed to do?! I ate consuela for the second time yesterday - DELICIOUS. and it´s not like I don´t eat healthy. Yes, I eat tons of cookies and chocolate bars and peanut butter and jellies, but I´ve never eaten more fruit in my life. I told you before, that we get free fruit from the Cortez family in the fruteria so every week I eat tons. Every morning and night I´m eating fruit. My companion always reminds me of how much weight I´ve gained. But it´s all good. Food is good. Plus with all this weight I´ve been gaining everyone has stopped saying I look like Harry Potter and have started to tell me that I look like Justin Beiber! What´s not to LOVE about that. Yep, four different people and counting have told me I look like Beiber and then broke out into "Baby Baby Oh" The Spanish accent version is so much better. Well, now that we´ve discussed all fat, I mean all that - I´ll tell you about my week.
We lost Gabriel. He stopped returning our calls and when we stopped by his house, he didn´t answer. Roberto, Karina, and Rodrigo all didn´t attend church so all of their fetcha´s for the end of the month fell. Eduardo and Macarena attended church - they´re basically active. So we´re hoping to see them get married at the end of April and then get baptized at the begining of May. Also, she´s pregnant and is due at the beginning-middle of April. Lot´s of changes these next few months for their family. Good changes. This sunday was really cool. We had two members from the Quorum of the 70 AND our mission president and his wife attend and speak in sacrament meeting. Surprisingly I understood most of what they were saying during their talks. Gringos are more easy to understand. On saturday we had a zone conference where the same people and their wives talked to all the missionaries. It was really inspirational. Elder Richards and Elder Nash. Don´t ever slow down.
Also, I think it finally sunk in this week. I´m here, and I´m not leaving anytime soon. Deep breath. The last few weeks were kind of wishy washy, like "What the heck am I doing. Smile. Ah. I´m going to puke. Breathe. Ok, go." But this week, I feel like "Alright. Let´s do this." Which is an improvement. Plus I´ve been reciting HP quotes every day to help me cope. "You´ll stay with me?" "Until the end." "Always." Harry. James. Lilly. Thanks guys.
Funny stories: Elder Broadhead and I were talking down the street like normal, and I stepped on one of those circle drains, and it FELL IN! and I fell smack down on my face! hahaha! I was SO embarrassed. But I don´t think anyone saw...I HOPE nobody saw.
Elder Broadhead and I were talking to eachother in a spanish-english (HP) accent. Which is really hard, if you were wondering. And then I went to yell "Alo" at a gate and I did it in an English accent on accident. No one answered.
I got my first trophie! A trophie is when you teach the Palabra de Sabiduria (word of wisdom) and your investigators give you their beer or cigarettes because they want to live it. Roberto gave me his tiny bottle or rum! WHOO! and he and Yoanna committed to live it! I was so happy! They´ve progressed so much. We gave them a tour of the church building and they really enjoyed it. They have a little son, Tomas, who is the funniest kid ever. He doesn´t talk much but is so polite. Cute kid. Also, I don´t remember if I told you this, but with one of our lessons with Roberto and Yoanna, Elder Broadhead was explaining about Family home evening and how we start with a hymn (Idahoians...) and then offered for us to sing right there! Just me and him! I was like "wait...you´re serious...?" "Yeah..." "Uh...ok..." and we SANG! Right there and they just started at us and laughed at my faces. WHAT?!?! So that was suuuper awkward.

Well. I´m ok that Cassie put that sticker on my Jeep. I´m glad Parker´s healthy. Eva your kids are getting too big. Not fat big, like growing up big. Aleksi I miss you sister. "My name is Indigo Montollo, you killed my father - prepare to die." Mom, thanks for the inspirational quote. I remember you dancing and singing in the keys this week. Made me laugh. Dad, I can´t believe you´re so close to retirement! Wish I was there to celebrate. I might even have gone fishing with you....might.... Mitchell, you´re an incredible missionary and I wish we were companions. Don´t ever slow down.

I wish I could name every one I love and talk to you. I think that´s the hardest part of this work, at least for now, is being so far away from those you love. But you know who you are. And I hope all of you know how much I love you. Seriously, thank you so much for the letters and packages! Mom, I got a call from the zone leaders and they said that your package came - but that it had been opened at the airport, they might not have stolen anything but just send me a list of everything that was in there and I´ll let you know what I have.

I hope you all have a great day at work and school. and a great week! Spring Break is so close! Take in some sun for me. The weather here has cleared up. Apparently February is rainy and cold and March is sunny and warm. But today was pretty random. You never know here.

I love you family. I´ll be with you until the end.

Always.

Love,

Elder Poirier.

I love It!

Hello. Hello. Hello. (Series of Unfortunate Events)

FAMILY! How are you?! I´m doing great. This week has been really, really great. As far as exito, Elder Broadhead says he´s never had numbers so high in all his mission. So it was a great way to end the transfer. Every six weeks is a transfer, and after a transfer you can potentially change sectors but because I´m training, I´m here for two transfers --- which also means I´m HALF WAY DONE WITH TRANING! Whoop whoop! Elder Broadhead thinks he´s leaving after this transfer and that I´ll stay. He´s probably right, but everyone says with President Rappleye, you never know. Everyone wants to go to Punta Renas, the most southern area. Elder Broadhead especially. I´m not so sure, I mean I think it´d be super cool - but suuuuper cold so, I don´t know. I´m doing good here in Puerto Varas. So this week we got SIX people with a baptismal date. Which is amazing, but getting them all there would be the miracle. I love them all and just want them to know how incredible this could be. We have Eduardo and Mararena, they´re living together with their two kids and are waiting for her previous marriage divorce to be finalized before they get married at the end of April, and then have the baptism date for the 5th of May. Cinco de Mayo. But no one celebrates that here, so it doesn´t mean anything. Then we have Roberto who is my favorite and he´s married to Yoanna. We met the tocando puertas and he is super interested, which is so incredible because the first lesson Yoanna didn´t want to let us in because she said her husband doesn´t like religion. She´s a menos activa for almost all her life. He´s for the 31st of March. When he prayed for the first time, I was blown away. It was incredible. They´ve had to drive us home 3 times because we couldn´t find a collectivo (like a taxi), they have such good hearts. Pray that they´ll find their answer. Then is Gabriel, a young adult. He works a lot. He´s for the 7th of April. He´s difficult because every weekend he leaves for Osorno to visit family. Then is Rodrigo and Carina, Elder Broadhead´s favorite. We h ad an amazing noche de hogar with the Hermano Alex and Rafaela (the one´s I told you about a few weeks ago). But they still didn´t come to church! What will it take?! They´re for the 31st of March as well. So that´s basically my life right now. 
Today we went to Saltos de Petrohue, which is like the Chilean version of Nigara Falls - no major waterfalls but little ones, and a TON of rushing blue, blue water. We got together with all the zone, so it was cool to see all the other missionaries. Our district is going to have a few changes, Elder Broadhead is still going to be the District leader, but we have Elder Pugh and Burgos and Rainey and Vilorio - which I feel like were already in our district because I see them so often, but now they actually are! Elder Vilorio is the Spanish looking Elder in the photos, he´s a zone leader with Elder Rainey. 
This week was really great. I´m really happy family. I´m happy that you´re all doing well. I miss you A TON. But I try not to think about it. Instead I think about all the good times, and seriously - it makes me feel so good. Like the weekend before I left, at the Taylor Swift concert when She opened with Sparks Fly and Cassie started crying and told me how much she was going to miss me and how we both started crying, or at my farewell when Alexa surprised me and came, and the time in the keys when we went swimming with the manatee, and the rope swings at the Sniders, and dancing the cueca with mom, and hiking in utah with dad, and going to HP world with everyone that I love, and spending random summer nights with Kate and Kelly, and flying in the airplane with Chris, and taking photos with Reagan, and the time we watched E.T. in the mountains with Aleksi and Cortney and then got freaked out and left and the time Mitchell and I went to the bahamas. and then I think about all the times we´re going to have. And I can´t wait. I love you guys. 
Mom - today was beautiful here in Chile too. Sunny and cloudy. Good luck with everything you have this week. And have fun this weekend with Cassie. Thank you for sending me so many packages and chocolate! I haven´t recieved the second one, but I can´t help but feel it´s close! Thanks for sending Draper all extra stuff. I hope you don´t get tired of all the letters I´m sending your way to mail off....because they´re quite a few. And the Bentley - Elliot´s mom story! ahhhh. I would´ve died! 
Aleksi - My spanish is coming along, everyone compliments me. One lady in the street even asked me where I was from, she said I sounded like a Chilean Castillano. haha. But I don´t think it´s that good. I need to broaden my vocabulary. and my tenses...yeah I have a lot of work to do but it´s coming. I´ve led quite a few lessons. The new training program that the church has makes you, and even ask the investigators to be baptized. It just throws you right in. Which is WAY intimidating and scary, but good because I´ve learned so much. The weather is still scattered, I never know. I wear my boots and it´s dry, I don´t bring my umbrella and it pours. But it´s going to get cold here soon. I´m nervous. Our mamita laughs every time I come over for lunch because I¨m bundled all up and it´s summer slash autumn. Ahhh. I´m not ready! I sometimes look at the sky and wonder if it looks different. The clouds look cooler I think, like bigger. and the sunsets are beautiful - whenever you can see them. For the most part the people are nice, everyone wears so much cologne - which I like but Broadhead hates. lol. Some people have really gross teeth, which has led Broadhead to brush 3 times a day, without fail. haha. It´s kind of nasty. But whatever. One guy had a missing eye, but there was all this gunk in his eye. It was disgusting. I had to blur my eyes while I was talking to him. haha. I´m such a child. 
Eva - I¨m so jealous Cassie gets to drive to your house now! Show Rita a photo of me 3x a day! and don´t let her forget me! 
Mitchell - I think about us being companions all the time! Seriously, we´d have so much fun and we´d be so good! I can´t believe how successful you´ve been as a missionary. Thanks for the teaching advise, I wish I was a good teacher...I¨m not. But that´ll come with time. I hope.
Dad - Can your hear the fish calling your name louder and louder by the day?
Cassie - Go get ém Lacrosse champ! 
Elder Bray - You´ve done so much. I want to hear your spanish, you´re probably amazing!!! keep it up. 

I love you family! and friends! Thank you for all the letters! 

The Shreeve´s mailed me this quote, and I love it. 
"When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place." 

Don´t ever give up. 

Love, 
Elder Poirier. 

p.s. We must try not to sink beneath our angusih, Harry, but battle on. 
Thanks Kate - and yes I´ve been getting all your letters - and the replies should be getting to everyone soon.