Christmas!!

Hey Everyone!! This has been a crazy week for sure but it was full of blessings. It was so nice to Skype home and talk to everyone again! It felt so fast but it was super cool to see everyone and hear how they were doing! And sorry that it was so late!

This week we has been hard to meet with our investigators because of all the fiestas and holidays but it has been such a blessing when we can meet with them. This week we met with Mariella and Miguel, and their son Shamuel who are from Venezuela and they are probably the nicest people ever. Miguel used to be a barber in Venezuela and he gave us some great haircuts one day during mediodia for a Christmas presents. We have also been teaching them English which has been really cool because then we can teach them English for service, and answer their questions about the gospel at the same time. Haha like one day baptism came up, and Mariella mentioned that she had heard it was pretty expensive to get baptized in our church, because you have to buy a cadaver to get baptized. Haha I guess she had found something on the internet about the"Mormons" but it was cool to answer her questions and testify about baptism to them. 

We also got to go up to the pueblos in the mountains to visit a new investigator named MariaJesus and she is super excited to hear our message! We don't know if she is in our area or not right now but we have our fingers crossed. 

Christmas was really fun too! It is a totally different experience having Christmas in the mission field because it was so quiet and there was just nothing going on. Which was kind of a shock to me, but it was a great experience because it really helped me focus on the true meaning of Christmas and think of what my Savior has done for me. Then Sunday was a cool experience. There was a total of 6 members at church this week including us because everyone is gone for the fiestas. So my companion and I got to give talks during Sacrament meeting and the President talked. then we taught the second hour of church, and after we taught, we ended church early because the person teaching the third hour was gone. Haha my companion and I were joking around that we could double the amount members in this ward in no time! 

I am so glad I get to be a missionary and to share my testimony of Jesus Christ with everyone. Alright, till next week! Hast Luegiño! 

-Elder Chandler

Merry Christmas from Villagarcia!

Hey everyone!! Wow, I sure have a lot to write. So this past week has been Super busy. On Tuesday we left the CCM to the mission home where
we got some training, and then we headed to the stakecenter by the
Temple to get our Areas and new companions. There I found out my new
companion is Elder Barlow (from Chicago), and that we were going to
open an area up North called Villagarcia de Arousa. Villagarcia is a
city about 6 hours by train to the North of Madrid above Portugal
along the coast. It is green and beautiful up here. It was actually
pretty funny when we got here because a lot of the people here
actually speak a different dialect called "Galethian" up here which is
a mix between Spanish and Portuguese. Haha so when I got here I felt
like that Elder in the Best Two Years "Uh, Elder, what language are
they speakin? Cause they didnt teach me that in the MTC..." But I
found out most of them understand, and can speak Spanish also so I
feel alright haha. 

 The church is really small up here but we are super optimistic about
building the church up here. Our branch Presidents name is President
Themis and he has been super helpful. Saturday we had a Christmas
party with the branch and then on Sunday we had 15 people at which is
really awesome. We meet in a room in the bottom of a hotel we rent out
on Sundays. We have some of the strongest members here. 

 My Spanish is getting progressively better and I am understanding more
and more of what the people are saying here which is awesome because
they speak SUPER fast. My comp was sick the first few days, but now we
are hard at work. And we have a lot of work to do! I love his work and
I love these Spanish people! I know this church is true! I love you
all so much! 

Feliz Navidad! 

-Elder Chandler

Elder Chandler has arrived!!

Dear Chandler Family, 

 We had the great pleasure of welcoming your son to the Spain Madrid Mission. We spent the day together at the mission home where he received training and orientation on his missionary assignment. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together and felt a wonderful spirit present. We appreciate all that you have done to prepare your son to serve the Lord and for the sacrifice you are making in giving him to the Lord for a time.  

 Elder Chandler has been assigned to labor in Villagarcia, with Elder Barlow. 

 We thought you might enjoy these pictures that we took in the backyard during our lunch break.

May the Lord bless you and your family in all of your endeavors. 

 Sincerely,

President and Hermana Pack 

Leaving CCM

Hey Mom! sorry, I only get a couple minutes to E-mail today, but I am
doing great! I head out for the field tomorrow morning and we will
find out when we get to the mission home where in Spain we are
serving. I can't wait! oh did I send you the wrong pictures?? I take a
picture of all the cousins E-mails in case I have a few minutes in the
week to read them because I don't have time to read them during e-mail
time.  I'm not sure when I can write next but I love
you! Tell everyone I said hi!

Week 5!

Fotos Parque 28 Nov 2015

From one of Mason's teachers :)

CHALLENGES will come to you,

but as you TRUST in God,

they will strengthen your FAITH

Elder Andersen

 Ustedes tendrán DIFICULTADES, 

pero al CONFIAR en Dios, 

éstas fortalecerán su FE.

Elder Andersen

Dec. 3, 2015

Week 5! or 6…hah i am not sure

Wow, time has been flying by! The days are slow, but the weeks go by so fast! just one more week and then I will be out in the field! it is so crazy to think that I already have over a month under my belt! We have seen a lot of Native missionaries come and go because they only stay in the MTC for 2 weeks and it has been fun practicing our Spanish with them. But Besides that, not a ton has happened this week. We have had some struggles as a district and this week has been the toughest by far, but i thank Heavenly Father for every one of those days because I give my problems up to him and really feel his presence. and Im not even out in the field yet! Haha I am so excited to go into the field and serve! We have about a week left and then we are out. Sunday we get to meet with our Mission President and then we head out on Tuesday. Proselyting in the park was great this week. One of the teachers said he got some pictures of me so ill see if I can find them and send them to you. I love teaching people about the gospel even when they dont except it or try to convince us what we are teaching is wrong. I feel the power of what we teach no matter what we teach.  I love you guys so much! And Thanks mom for the Pictures! Have a great week!

-Elder Chandler

 True Happiness is found in serving others

Hey Dad! All is going great here! things are really getting boring here in the MTC but I am learning a ton. I thought that High School was bas, but we study here like ALL day. But its good, i know i need it. But wait, they were selling stuff for that much? thats crazy. I get homesick when I hear about home sometimes but I know this is where im supposed to be! Talk to you later.

Hey Mom!! thank you so much for your letters and for the pictures. I cant tell you how much they mean to me. I still haven’t gotten the letter you sent but hopefully before we leave and I get a new address! That is so good to hear that the boys are doing well, and that heavenly Father has been blessing us so much! I know that as I serve he will take care of my family at home. I am so excited to hear that Justin is heading out! Where is he going? He and Lindeon were awesome kids and good friends. I cant wait to Skype home too. It will be so nice to see everyone again. We head out of the MTC DEc 8th and i am way excited! sorry, I dont have much time, but i love you SO much! tell the little guys I said hi!

-Love Elder Chandler

Week 4!

Hey everyone! First, it was so nice to hear from everyone. Thank you so much mom for the pictures! They are priceless on those homesick days :) I am guessing that the CTR pumpkin was mine? It looked really good. but im not sure yet, how to make Family History seem more interesting to teenagers.. haha ill have to think about that one and get back to you next week. And im glad work is going well too.  Its great to hear that everyone is doing well, and that everyone is liking school. I remember just sleeping through class and now I am realising how much I was missing! Especially Spanish class, PAY attention in spanish class! haha. Things here have been good. I am still in the MTC here so not a lot goes on but this week has been really fun, and i have been learning so much. The Russian and Portuguese missionaries left this week and we only have 2 weeks left! Then its out to Preach the Gospel.They are going to rock their missions. other then that, I cut my hair and gave an Elder a haircut (thanks for the haircutting stuff mom), I took lots of cool pictures of the sunset(they have the coolest sunset here ever!), Madrid lost to Barcelona at home :( , and we got to go to the temple. It is amazing how strong the spirit is in the temple and it is such a treat to go every week. I would highly suggest to go to the temple as much as you can. I promise it will bless your life soo much.

 

A cool experience that we had this week was when we go to the park to proselyte I have almost always had a native Spanish or Portuguese speaker in the past with me to teach most the Spanish people and then I would mostly teach in english. But today I was with Elder Rodgers who doesn't know very much Spanish and we gave away a Book of Mormon to a guy from here that only spoke Spanish! It was amazing to me to just open my mouth and watch it be filled with Spanish right when I needed it. I know that the Don de lenguas is real! I love you guys so much and I love the Spanish people!  I hope you have an amazing week! And Happy Thanksgiving!

 

-Elder Chandler

pics are on their way

True Happiness is found in serving others

Hey Mom!

Hey Mom! Thank you so  much for the reminder! I write in my journal almost every day. Keep writing with dad because it will mean so much in the future! I love you SO much!!

P.S.  I sent you some letters so let me know when you get them.

P.p.s. can you send me some pictures? I am dying to see everyone and know what you are up to!

Week 3 in the Mission!

Hey guys!

So this week was great! Life here in the MTC is the greatest. I love being here because I get to learn more about Christ, and learn how to share his message better. My Spanish has been improving a Ton every day but it still gets frustrating sometimes when I think I just taught a great point to an investigator (fake) here in Spanish and then they look at me like they didnt understand anything i just said haha. But its alright, I know it will come and the Lord has blessed me so much! Something cool we did this last week was my district went to go and tour the Real Madrid stadium and it was super cool! It is by far the biggest stadium i have ever seen! We play soccer everyday here and I love it. It is crazy how big Futbol is here. Then at the park last Saturday, when it was time to head back, about four of us started talking to this guy and his girlfriend on the way back to the Metro and it was "Jesse" from the show Breaking Bad! Ive never seen it, but i guess some of the Elders have and they were stoked. I should have gotten a picture with him. He had heard of us, and wasnt interested but it was still nice to talk to him. Something cool that I heard this week was from Elder Holland and he said that "we are Gods investigators" and that "Leaders in the Kingdom study the scriptures".  it is the coolest thing EVER to hear Elder Holland, Elder Bednar, and the quorum of the twelve every Thursday. I feel the Spirit so strong everytime they talk, and It has been a huge blessing. I know that they are called of God and are his servants. And it is a blessing to me to think that I a too! I get to go out and serve the Lord for two years to invite others to come unto Christ, and i am so glad for the opportunity. I cant wait to get out in the feild! I was really cool to hear From Elder Erikson who just left the CCM. Haha and its ok Mom! Thats pretty funny that you got to read them too. Its ok with me if you leave me logged in. Im so sorry I didnt get to answer everyones Emails last week and it has been killing me! How are the little guys? How is school? How is work? hearing from everyone is the best part of the week! oh and pictures are like the greatest thing ever!   I love you Guys! Hasta Luego!                                                                                     -Elder Chandler

                                                               Can you find me?

                                                                         Stadium

True Happiness is found in serving others

Week 2

Hey everyone! I can’t believe that a full week has already gone by! time flies here in the CCM! this hggg week was really cool. We went to see the Grand palace which is MASSIVE and super old. everything here is ancient and has so much history! Then today we are gonna go check out the Real Madrid stadium today which should be pretty cool. I’m gonna see if I can send you guys some pictures. Sorry if I didn’t have time to write to everyone I don’t get very long to email, and I type slow lol. We have seen some cool stuff, but the best thing ever has been going to Retiro park and proselyting in the afternoons on Saturday. This last Saturday we had some cool experiences but my favorite was when we taught a kid probably a year or two older than me with tattoos and earrings and stuff. We were just walking through saying hi to everyone when this guy stopped to talk to us. Most people don’t give us the time of day which is hard, but this guy just seemed drawn to us and I could see something in his eyes. We started teaching him when he asked what the difference was between our church and the Catholic church because they seemed really similar. We were both stumped for a second until i felt impressed to talk about joseph Smith. And after we shared the first vision with him something about him changed. He really opened up to us, and told us that his dad had passed away a few days before and he just really needed God. i know that heavenly Father brought him to us and helped us to share what we need to say to him. And it meant EVERTHING to me to be able to share with him that I knew he would see his father again and that families are forever. I love missionary work!

thank you so much for the support. it truly means a lot. I love you guys!

Love, Elder Chandler
-- 

True Happiness is found in serving others

 Andy says this looks like a magic tower!

 Andy ran and told Adam and Aaron that Mason went on his mission to a castle.

 Seth Erikson from School

My comp Elder Johnson

First Week!

Hey Guys! How is it going back at home? How is the family doing? I miss you guys all the time, but i know that i am doing the Lords work
and this is where I need to be. I thank Heavenly Father everday for
the chance I have to be a missionary and it has been the most amazing
experince. I love the CCM here and the chance to grow my testimony of
Jesus Christ and his Gosple. It is so funny trying to explain my
experience here, but I think Isaac and Aunt Lisy aniled it on the head
when they said that days go by slow but weeks fly by. They really push
us hard here but I am so glad for it. Haha I remeber throwing a ball
around in the hall before bed, with one of the elders and it was
seriously the funnest thing ever. It has really been a struggle to try
and learn Spanish, but the Lord has trully been blessing me so much.
HAHa I am really wishing now that I would have paid more atteBntion
when dad expained all that Spanish to me and in class back in High
School.But its alright. Spain is such a beautiful place. EVERYTHING is
different here and it took me a bit t o get used to. The food is
AWESOME, but it deffinately took some getting used to also. Its like
eating an olive back at home, and then eating a spanish olive. They
are both olives but they taste so different!! My companion is awesome.
He seriously is a spirittual GIANT! He is our district leader and some
days i feel like im just trying to catch up haha. Last week we went to
a Giant park called Retiro park to go proselyting and we gave away 4
Books of Mormon and a bunch of cards and stuff. It was actually a
really cool experience becasue it is so hard to understand the people
when they speak so we prayed that we would get English speakers and we
got almost all English speakers that day which is crazy! I am so glad
for this experience because I am getting to know my Savior more and
more everyday, and to get to know him, is to Love him. And I Love My
Brother. Thank you so much for the support! Your emails me sooo much
to me. Sorry that I didnt get to reply to everyone, I type so slow.
But tell Grandma and grandpa Chandler i read their email and I love
them soo much! Thanks! I LOVE YOU! 

-- 
True Happiness is found in serving others

I Made It!!

Hey guys! I made it to Spain! the plane ride was the worst, but I'm here so that is all that matters! haha. I was going to call you when we got to Denver but we were so late getting there that we had to sprint to the terminal and we barely made it and then in Frankfurt none of could figure out how to use the telephones because it was all in German. But it was all good :). They also lost all of our luggage so I will get to wear this suit for a while haha. I cant wait to hear from you guys again! I get to email every Thursday on my Pday. They have us gettin to work already and its great. It helps me keep my mind off everything except the work. Es impossible domir en un avion. I think thats right.. haha. well, I dont get very long today but I love you guys! until next week! 

Love ELDER Chandler.

Elder Mason Chandler

Hey friends and family!

This is Mason Chandler's cousin. While he is away for two years serving a mission I will be helping him by posting his letters on this blog. You can see how is is doing and find out how to keep in touch with him as he serves the Lord.