August 2 update

Elder Balling wasn't feeling much better this week, so it was another slow week.  It sounds like they had minimal contacts with members and investigators.  They were checking in again with the doctor, so we're hoping and praying for a full recovery!

Meanwhile back home, I had some email contact during the week with a member who lives in their ward in Las Industrias.  He said some really nice things about Matt — how hard-working he was, and how he hoped his own son would be that kind of missionary.  I asked Matt to tell me more about Hermano Mauricio Parra.

he's... AWESOME! haha he was literally a miracle. he was the one who was making some mistakes and was inactive for 15 YEARS! and now he's active actually he's the young mens president and his wife was recently called as the Relief Society President :D pretty awesome :D haha but their son, Paulo, was the member who gave us Gabriel as a reference. and recently we started teaching another one of his friends. haha the family is AMAZING!!!

It was wonderful to hear such positive things about Elder Kenison coming from someone who sees him in action!  Mauricio concluded with, "My commitment to you is to care for him and provide all my support, as if he were my own son.  I greet you my brother from my heart, brother Mauricio Parra."  Wow.

There was one other story that some members of our family will appreciate.  One of Matt's aunts on his mother's side is named Kristin.  For reasons that are too long to explain, she used to have the nickname of "Fern."  More recently, she's been called "Aunt KK" — and that's the background for this comment:

ALSO haha funny story. so mom, i'll have to call your sister Aunt Fern from now on. haha because KK in spanish or "queque" (sounds the same) means cake, but in chile it means "butt". so if you say "hermana i like your cake" they laugh and say "elder no it's "torta". so "hermana i like the torta" it's better. but i've decided that, unless Aunt "KK" is ok with me laughing every time i say her name she'll probably just have to get use to the name Fern hahaha :D

Typical missionary humor!

The only other thing to report was that we received an envelope from Elder Kenison with some letters to some of his friends here (it's cheaper for him to send four letters in a single envelope to us, and have us re-mail them).  On the outside of the envelope he had affixed this sticker of the flag of Chile, with a little addition that made one person in our home say "Awwwwwwwwwwwwww..."