From Kent 10/12

¡Hola de Chiguayante!‏

Hello Flamy!!

MyLDSMail must have something against me, I don´t know if I like, spilled Mountain Dew all over it or something, but it´s rejected the last two letters I´ve tried to send, both of them nice and dandy, so I´ve lost much of the will, I´ll get the rest of things back to you next week.

I´m in Chiguayante, a city 20 min south of Concepción, in an area called Tierra Bella. Beautiful Earth, and oh how it is. Very beautiful in landscape, and very white in field. We have 11 baptisms scheduled for the end of this month (9 of them we did this week). My companion is Elder Carazas, from Cuzco Peru, he doesn´t speak too much english, so I´ve had fun trying to figure out what´s going on. It´s only us two in our apartment, which is decent for an apartment in the U.S., pretty big for a house in Chiguayante.

I´ll have more next week, I don´t has much time now, Perdonadme.

Love ya Love ya!
Elder Kent Pimentel

From Kent's mission 10/9

From: Chile Concepcion Mission <2015528@ldschurch.org>
Date: Fri, Oct 9, 2009 at 5:01 PM
Subject: Elder Pimentel


Dear Pimentel family,

Your son has arrived safely and securely in Concepción Chile. He has met his trainer and is now working diligently in his new sector. We are excited to have him here and expect to see many miracles through his service. Attached is a letter from him, a photo with President and Hermana Chavez, and a map to help you know where your missionary is serving. Thank you for your sacrifice and support.



Elder Eric Davis

Secretario

Misión Chile Concepción

From Kent 9/28

Una semana más en los Estados‏


¡Hola Famila!

Pues, es la fin! This is my last week here in America, we got our travel plans on Thursday, and we leave Monday morning bright and early. Our flight from Salt Lake leaves at 9 A.M. Oct 5 and we arrive in Concepción at 9 A.M. Oct 6. ¡Oy! Es difícil creer pero ¡el tiempo es aquí!

The weeks have gone past far too quickly, that's without doubt. There have been some interesting things happening this last week though. One of the Elders in our Zone, Elder Stephensen got extremely sick, he's been out almost all week, so we had to take him to the Instacare, it turns out that he's got some crazy infection in his throat and pink eye.. no fun.

Elder Jardine, the Opera singer in our zone sang a solo for the fireside yesterday, it was most fantastic! He sang ''I Heard Him Come.'' Umm... not a whole lot else to be of reporting. Oh! The Lindseys (Branch President and his wife) spoke with Uncle Tom Green and said that he had a Pimentel as a zone leader and Tom said ''Oh those Pimentels are great people!'' so that's good!

¡Oh! This Wednesday we hosted again, and guess who should come trangling out of the car I was to host? None other than Elder Kekoolani! (Henry Kekoolani was one of my roommates last year) It was a most joyous occasion to see him again, we thought we were going to miss each other and not come across each other in the MTC, but alas, we did! :) He's going to the same mission that Jordan is in, San Domingo East I believe.
It's amazing how close we've all gotten with one another in the course of a few weeks; I suppose that when everyone is united in a common goal it's very easy to connect and become friends. I feel that I have grown so much, but in having done so can see that there is so much more to go. I'm excited to continue to press forward.

The Spirit is without a doubt present and His power is manifest. In the exercise where we teach someone as though they were someone we really know incredible things happen. From the one brief paragraph describing Elder Dushku's friend that he wanted to share the gospel with, the Holy Ghost helped Hna. Scaife know a lot LOT more about the friend than was written. We asked a question about her family, the vast majority of details were not written on the sheet, and Hna. Scaife plunged into a great amount of detail and things that Elder Dushku had forgotten as well. Very powerful.

Pues, esta es la último carta puedo escribir a vosotros ante salo para Chile. Quiero sabéis que los quiero y amo mucho, y que la iglesia es verdadera. Estóy animo de enseñar y predicar el Evangelio en Chile y en español. Daniel, venga a el templo tanto como puede con sus amigos, estarás feliz hizo.

¡Los amo mucho!
¡Tiene un día buena, haz trabajo bueno, los amo los amo!

From Kent 9/21

For Pete's Peppers, I'm out of here soon!‏


Hola, Buenos días, buenas tardes, etc., all that jazz, Flammy!

Two weeks. Then I head south. Two of them. That is verily a few amount of weeks. Eeps.

I'm glad to hear that the e-mail worked, it was throwing a hissy fit last week, so hot diggity for that! This has been an interesting week for surely! Sadly, neither of the international Hermanas made it here... hopefully they'll show up some later time and be put into a suitable district. We know that the Korean Hermana was postponed and to be moved to another district, but the Tongan Hermana we haven't heard anything about :(. Pues, está bien.

Our district got to host the new missionaries this week, it was a jolly good time! Two of the Elders I helped around are going to Chile on their missions, one of them going to Concepción! So that was grand and interesting! On the subject of grand and intersting, I've met some people here of distant relation! We were coming back from dinner, I think it was Friday night and Elder Dushku took two stairs thinking they were one and brutally rolled his ankle, yea verily we did need to trangle to the trainer to whom it was appointed to tend to such injuries and wounds. Upon seeing my nametag of Elder Pimentel, he said "Hey, I've got some cousins that are Pimentels, A Lisa, Cari, and a Megan, whose parents were just called to be Mission presidents in Berlin!" Clearly, these were the same Pimentels to whom I am related. His name is Terry Eugene Jacobs, one of Aunt Becky's grandsons. So, there's another 2nd cousin to add to my growing list of family I've not known I have.

I also ran into another Elder Pimentel at service who traces his ancestry back to some Pimentels leaving the Azores for California, and others for Brazil, approximately 5 or so generations back; he is the Brazil half. We didn't get much time to figure out exactly when this split was, but it sounded quite possibly related.

Our teaching went nicely this week, we have three progressing investigators, and then the Teaching Appointment with volunteers in the RC every week, and then other ones as they come up. Our TA this week was very nice, we were teaching a non-Christian store owner from whom we were purchasing clothes. It's interesting the times when you go in having planned how you're going to teach the 1st lesson, and you only end up touching one point of it because they have different specific needs. The Spirit was very very strong and it did loose our tongues, it was the most seamless we've ever been teaching in Spanish, and the Holy Ghost did carry our message to the heart of this child of man.

Also had a very Very strong Spiritual Experience when we watched a brief clip about the Martin Handcart company and the three 18-year old boys who carried them all across the river. How powerfully and quickly it affected everyone in the meeting was phenomenal. To imagine that they could sacrifice so much, experiencing immeasurable pain, eventually at the cost of their lives for these people was too much to handle. And then to realize that that is exaclty what Christ has done for all of us... No puedo describir con palabras.

Needless to say, the Spirit is very strong here, and The Church is very true.

Tell Dave Happy Birthday two days ago, someone mentioned it was Talk like a Pirate Day and I did remember those things that had been spoken to me concerning his birthday being of the same day.

The new district that we got this week has officially settled in I think, they aren't as silent and nervous as they were the first day, it was pretty dreadsome. But they're good now, so huzzah!

I am verily stoked and excited to head to Chile, I'm feeling comfortable with the language (I can at least notice when I don't know a word and what it was I didn't hear, and can therefore ask) but of course I'm going to have to re-learn it Chilean style (i.e. pues=po, más o menos= maomao, and other bizarre dialect changes)

Well, I must begone of this place, I do hope that all is well on yonder home front, and if it's not now, it will be :). The Lord keeps his promises, of that I am sure.

Love ya Love ya! (Btw, I'm having good weeks and doing good works!)

Elder Pimentel

From Kent 9/14

Hola del CCM! (<--Spanish for MTC)‏


Helloo Hello!!

Things are just zipping along here like crazy, it's hard to believe that we're already six weeks into the MTC (Well, we will be on Wednesday). Many a things have been a happenin' here this past week!

We got a true taste of some good ol' quality time Zone Leader duties. There was a batch of contention in the oven of one of the districts, so after approximately four hours of prayer, meetings, prayer, interviews, prayer, discussions, prayer, deliberations, prayer, deliberations, and some phone callery and prayer, 'twas sorted out. Oy!

We get a new batch of missionaries this week! This district will be doubling the number of Hermanas in our Zone, bringing in four sisters, two of them we believe to be international. (Their ID numbers are different and their names are Soo Ryun Lee and Feofaakiakakau Funaki, and yes, that is those are actual names, not exagerations). So in addition to being host missionaries on Wednesday this week, we'll have to go find these two sisters the day they come, which will be on Tuesday instead of Wednesday like the rest of the clan. Then give the whole district the new and improved/lengthened intro to MTC, tour, rules layout, uplift and loved...ness thing. That we do. On Wednesday and Thursday nights with new districts. :)

We witnessed some great courage and wisdom from one of our Elders this week. Knowing he had left some unfinished things back home, he talked with the Branch President, etc., and flew back home yesterday for a time to get things all sorted out. He's already got a system set up to keep studying PMG and learning Spanish, and we hope to have him in Panama in a few months. Very humbling to watch him do it all on his own accord, and with determination.

This week we did our first SYL day, speaking only Spanish for all of Friday. It was a challenge, but it helped us all to focus and it was great to use the language that much. Hna. Scaife never ceases to amaze me, I am SOOO grateful to have her for a teacher. She was telling us about the need to teach from the heart, etc., not just teaching but TEACHING, and it took a while for me to figure it out, but then it hit me. Those are the exact, abstract, make-no-sense but actually does-make-sense words I use when I try to get dancers to DANCE and not just move. That kind of "meaning it" and "from the heart." It clicked, and it makes sense, and it has greatly improved my teaching I've felt.

On the subject of teaching, we taught four lessons this last Saturday, it was exhausting but great at the same time. Though technically all were "the first lesson" the investigator's needs differed so greatly that only one of them really followed "the script" so to speak. Though with limited Spanish it's hard to go too far off base, which is a good and bad thing. Oh yeah, we're teaching wholely and entirely in Spanish now.

Estoy lo encontrando difícil decir mucho más, la menos en inglés. Entonces, intentará hablar español! Vimos "Los Testamientos" ayer, y cada vez lo veo crece más y más poderoso. Cuando vi ayer El Espíritu fue lo más poderso de cualquier vez lo vía. No tenemos mucho tiempo más, entonces terminará pronto. La Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de los Últimos Días es verdadera, sin duda. Estoy animado enseñarlo con la gente de Chilé y Concepción. La gozo que trae no puede ser econtrado de tereneal cosas. Recuerdelo.

Los amo mucho, toman suerte!

Elder Kent José Pímentel.

From Kent 9/7

Subject: Downhill from here!

¡Es muy loco pensar que ya estoy pasado la media de mi tiempo aquí! Todas cosas estan bien y los distritos nuevos han cabido bien tambien.

Pretty much things are rolling along at the same pace here, and that pace is very very very fast it seems, at least as far as weeks are concerned. No new district this week so I don't have to be trangling them all around town while trying to keep up me studies and other duties of organizing church.

Sadly, the temple was closed today due to it being Labor day and all such things, so I did not get that lovely blessing. Fast sunday was great however, we had mission conference which was very neat, we heard from all the MTC presidents and their wives. These meetings go by very quickly when you're paying attention and taking notes, etc. The two hours were up far before I thought they would be. As of last or... maybe two weeks ago we are now the 2nd most senior district in the zone! ¡Oy! ¿Tiempo pasa tan rapido, a cierto?

The Church is true. Yes, yes it is. Verily. I keep geeking out about that at times, and get some fun responses. A few of my ward members from BYU have trangled their way into my same building for classes, so we run into each other a lot. We started an interesting exercise this week, practicing teaching investigators as though they are real people. I.E., fill out a teaching record of someone I know (Nick Grossaint) and ask someone else to be him after I give a bunch of characteristics etc. With the help of the Spirit, inspiration comes to ways that that person can be helped to understand the Gospel and come to Christ. It makes the "exercise" a lot more real, especially since it's to be done as a progressing investigator, with follow-ups, etc.

Our district has bonded together very tightly, had many a Spiritual experience. Thank goodness for the Holy Ghost and our fantastic teacher Hna. Scaife!

At the fireside last night Steven Graham spoke about how a Soviet ambassador came for a "15 minute"stay at the MTC and was shown to one of the Russian classes. He came out an hour and 15 minutes later with tears in his eyes and exclaimed "This is the REAL United Nations!" The Gospel is true, and living it blesses the people of the Earth in all ways. I haven't much more time, so I shall bid thee all adieu! I love you all!

Elder Kent Pimentel

From Kent 8/31

Subject: A cerca de media (Close to the middle)

Howdy flammy!!

We are approaching the midway point of our stay at the MTC, it's quite possibly the most bizarre thing in the world to realize we don't have that much more time here. Truly we require the Lord's assistance in all things.

So we greeted, oriented, welcomed, etc. the new district that came in on Wednesday, it was much fun and much work. It's very different having a batch of Elders that don't know you as anyone other than "The Zone Leaders" whereas everyone else has a bit of that "They're some of those new missionaries" attitude still, but they're still good. Part of being the New Zone Leaders is we get the all-knowing binder passed down to us. I was flipping through a few pages of it and there were pictures of all the districts. First picture I saw was of District E which is leaving this week and had a lot of Elders leave earlier to other MTCs. Top left corner is a very bright grin of an Elder Hunter, Jordan Fife. Yup, Jordan and I were in the same Zone, but we never crossed paths because he had to trangle off to the other MTC. Pretty neat though, I was able to talk with a couple of the other Elders that knew him and talk about him.

Provo's been hopping since BYU starts today. BYU starting today has also caused a slew of hiccups among the staff here at the MTC, as all the teachers are required to be students of BYU. Thankfully we get to keep Hna. Scaife as a teacher, but sadly Hno. Harrington is being replaced by Hno. Jessen, who we don't really know that well, so we're hoping for the best.

Sunday came, had ten meetings to attend, more meetings on this day than the week my friend. There are no partings in Heaven, though I hope the meetings will end, life gets wearying, don't it. The meetings weren't as bad as all that though, they were nice. Just in great quantity. There was a bit of a fiasco getting Sacrament Meeting organized though, the leaving district hadn't had a chance to administer the Sacrament yet and really wanted to, so we had to change the program the night before and re-figure out who was doing what. District E (leaving) ended up doing EVERYTHING (oops) for the meeting, (opening and closing prayer, blessing and passing sacrament, pianist, musical number, and closing hymn). But it worked out in the end, so all is well!

Jon might remember the amazing devotional by Elder Holland I think they have every missionary watch, "The Miracle of a Mission." We watched it, and goodness gravy, Elder Holland epitomizes what it means to be "bold, yet not overbearing." Very powerful. We also had Richard G. Scott come for the Tuesday devotional, and he gave a truly amazing talk. Those kinds of talks just can't happen at General Conference or Youth Firesides. Very very spiritual, many sacred stories and some very neat apostollic (sp?) blessings. Yay for truth!

I'm truly learning more each day here, both about the Gospel and in Spanish. Purely amazing, the Spirit is very very strong. For yesterday's Fireside Robert Swenson, director of Missionary Services spoke, and the theme of his talk was "This is The Christ," James E. Faust's song. There was actually a video of some missionaries from earlier this summer singing it to new mission presidents, with a very prominently featured Alyson Harmon. The Church is true, and that's about the end of it.
Liz, you'll be happy to know that I am taking Brandon's advice and taking the work very and extremely seriously.

I hope things start working out better for y'all, it seems the autos have served their time. I pray for you all! The Church is True, Christ lives, Joseph Smith was a prophet, and the Book of Mormon is true. Amen and amen! Recognizing and following the Spirit is fantastic and amazing!

Love ya love ya! Less than three! (<3)

Elder Kent Pimentel.