First Week in Valle de Uco

Leaving San Luis last week.  Bus was one hour late but Marcelo Riveros was there to say goodbye.  

Hey fam and friends!

Wow I loveeeddd General Conference! My favorite is Elder Holland as always I just personally feel like I feel and understand him the most out of any other apostle. The love he can express for other people is truly a gift he has and how he talked about we don't need to be scared for tomorrow. Heaven will be cheering us on and will always be cheering us on as we go on day by day for the rest of our lives. I really liked it. We watched all of it in spanish because the english channel wasn't getting picked up but I was fine. I just felt bad because there were several new missionaries who had just gotten here to Argentina and couldn't understand a word. Haha it was hard for them but they'll be ok.

So I'm kinda sad to be honest that I'm not in my last area. It was pretty hard for me to leave San Luis. I'm only sad that I'm not gonna see the progress of the people that we worked with. But I know the next time I'll see them I'll be with you guys!! I'm just happy they're progressing a ton right now!

Well my new area (Valle de Uco) is A LOT of farmland haha and we walk a ton! We have bikes but they're broken and I don't want to fix them. I've heard about bike areas and them always getting broken and stolen and missionaries having to pay a ton for all of that stuff soo we're just gonna keep them in our pench haha!

I've been doing way good just learning and progressing as usual and I'm really trying to do my best to end strong. I'm just trying to imagine that I still have like another 6 months or a year to go so I won't be anxious to go home and see you guys. It's been working so far but every now and then it's weird to think about.

I really don't know a whole lot of members and our investigators but we talked with a lot of people in the streets and had some good conversations! I got to know my branch President and he seems like a good guy. We have about 20-30 people come in this small building with a plaque that has the church name on it. It's cool but small and somewhat dirty I guess but to the point where we can't really clean it if that makes sense. Just in bad condition but that's ok-- it doesn't matter.

Also my new companion has 4 months in the mission and is a really goofy guy haha but he's funny and I already love him as a person. We're gonna have a lot of fun this transfer I can already tell!

Anyway that's all for right now OH! So several of my investigators in my last area are getting baptized that we worked a lot with so that made me happy! They had Lucas go for all 10 hours of the conference sessions it was awesome! Also now Catriel's mom is listening and they both said the Book of Mormon is true because the Mom felt it and Catriel had in his words" A voice told me in my head that it was true and I felt really good!" Catriel is just 11 by the way and is a stud!

Much love to you all I hope you all enjoyed General conference as much as I did! I can't wait to study those talks when they come out! Talk to ya guys soon!!

Love,

Elder Chamberlain

Transfer to Valle de Uco

Hey family and friends,

So this email is going to be very short because I have a lot to do today because I'm leaving tomorrow for another area called Valle de Uco. I'm excited but way nervous and pretty sad too. I'm going to be with a gringo named elder christensen and I haven't heard anything about him and there's also 2 christensens in our mission so I don't know which one will be my new comp.

Other than that this week I've seen some amazing things and some awesome miracles. We have a ton going for us which is awesome and I feel proud that I've been able to help teach and start a lot of future baptisms that will be future missionaries in the church. I feel proud of what I've done and I'm ready to go to my next area and finish my mission there.

I love you all sooo much I hope you all had a great easter weekend and that everyone enjoys General conference!

Love,

Elder Chamberlain

Marcelo Riveros took this photo and sent it to me.  It's my absolute favorite of his entire mission because it sums up what my son has been doing the last two years of his life.  Faithful, diligent, obedient, hardworking young men giving their ALL to serve their Lord.  

​(letter from Brother Marcelo in Argentina)​

Dear sister, today I feel pretty sad. I know our Savior needs E' Chamberlain in other place because there are more souls waiting for him. However my heart is crying inconsolably. Today we had the most powerful and strong spiritual experience. I received a blessing from my brother and best friend. I know he was a tool on the Lord's hands. I felt his love so deeply and my heart started to jump inside my chest. I love your son. He saved me from a fallen state. I testify that We know one each other before our lives here in Earth. I know that my Father in Heavens knows it and that's why I'

​​

not able to deny this. I know I'm going to see him again and I'm going to know you. I promised to my Father and Kohler that I'll be part of Kohler's life forever and I will help him, protect him, I'll be there for consolation and guide. We'll share more laughs and tears. I testify you that just like Ruth 1:16-18 We'll be friends forever and we'll keep on working for our Savior. Please I beg you to sustain and hold him because I know he's as sad as I am. I know he's more strong than he thinks but if there's just a minimal chance for help him or strengthen his heart I'll do it. I made my promise, I'm crying like a baby and we cried together but I wanna tell you that tomorrow I'll give him a blessing because I know that

​it will​

comfort

​ ​

​

E' Chamberlain

during this new challenge. He es the most important missionary, (at least for us he must be) so don't forget your son is a Christ's servant and he was invested with power from on high. You can be proud because he's someone that makes me feel like that.

With love Brother Marcelo

From: Thomas Chamberlain <kohler.chamberlain@myldsmail.net>

Subject: Re: Hi great missionary

Date: March 28, 2016 at 9:09:09 AM PDT

To: Julie Marshall <juliatmarshall@gmail.com>

Hey grandma!

Man I've been doing sooo good and just about experiencing everything! I'm trying super super hard to have a good attitude about everything but its all been a humbling experience for me and I've been learning sooo much.

YOU ARE AWESOME! You leave with the missionaries to go tracting?? Thats awesome I can totally see you and grandpa...wow you guys are amazing. 

Grandma I'm soo grateful I have strong family members like you and grandpa in the gospel. It gives me sooo much strength to do what i do here and makes me soo happy that were all united in our faith. You guys are truly examples to me and all of us. Thanks for being my grandma and as well as for grandpa being one of the coolest grandpas ever haha! I CANNOT WAIT to hang out with you guys and talk with grandpa about the mission. It'll be awesome.

much love grandma tell grandpa I love him a ton too! Talk to you guys soon and have an amazing general conference!

Love,

Elder Chamberlain

On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 8:03 PM, Julie Marshall <juliatmarshall@gmail.com> wrote:

Oh hello you fabulous young man. When I read all your letters about being robbed, funny but different experiences, tough but spiritual times I am so grateful for your strength!!  I am so grateful that you are strong and brave and true️. I watch these missionaries in Merced and always think of you. Especially when we go tracting with them to such different homes. Makes me so grateful for my parents and my family and our many blessings. Just know how much we love you. Grandpa and I do not miss a night without praying for you. You are a blessing to us all. God bless you my wonderful grandson. Grandma

Sent from my iPhone

So Grateful for a Baptism

March 7, 2016



Hey family and friends,

So this week was a very stressful week...but we got through it all without complaining at all and we were very grateful to the Lord for helping us have a good attitude. ALL of it is a really long story but we had to move everything ourselves in basically a day or really less...We were robbed in our own apartment several things but more of my comp which was hard because some of them were sentimental things...our land lord basically forced us out and told us that a lot of the things were his (almost all of it besides a table chairs and the fridge thank goodness)...some problems in the ward  the new apartment is nasty/ has bugs everywhere combined with mosquitos all over you at night etc and more that I don't want to say but we dealt with it. We took it with a good attitude and we were grateful for the experiences that happened to us.

I'm sooo glad that the Lord gives us these experiences to us. Knowing also that all these experiences will be for our good makes me have a better attitude even if we don't have anyone to help us with them. We just have to remember that the Lord is always there and that's all we truly need.

Look at challenges as opportunities not obligations because the problem is never the problem-- it's how we react to them and that's what the Lord did. He never once reacted poorly to any problem that he had, he just dealt with them. Anyway so I encourage you all to "just deal" with your problems and accept them as the Lord did. 

The coolest thing that happened this week though was on Saturday was that I got to baptize and confirm 2 investigators that the sisters had been working with. Their names are Claudio and Alicia and I would always teach them in the gospel principles class and they wanted ME to baptize them. It was such an honor and I hadn't gotten in the water to baptize for a while! I missed it sooo much! Before Alicia got to the font she just started crying and her husband was telling her how much he loved her and how proud they both were of each other. It truly gave me a testimony that the church is true and that this church is ALL ABOUT uniting families to be together forever. It was such a cool moment and to be right there watching the love they both had for each other to start this new path together and as a family with 2 other little girls. One will be baptized by her dad in a couple weeks and the other who isn't of age yet.

I'm soo grateful for this gospel and how the gospel truly blesses families by uniting them together for eternity. It's such an amazing blessing to be a tool in His hands and watch how he will work through us being His representatives here on Earth.

Anyway I hope you all have an awesome week I love and miss you all soo much! Stay and live true!!:)

Much love everybody lets have a good week!!  Oh, I tried to make my companion some heart pancakes.  They didn't turn out that well ha ha!

Elder Chamberlain

On the left is Marcelo Riveros.  He helps the missionaries here a lot!

The water here is VERY dirty!!

My attempt at heart shaped pancakes I made for my comp ha ha!

February 29, 2016

What is goin on family and friends!

So this week has been really hard and rewarding. About a little more than a week ago we were randomly told by our landlord(who is a member by the way) that we had to be our of our pension by the 1st of March with no exceptions. We were somewhat confused and it was kind of frustrating. This pension has been by far the nicest pension I've had in my whole mission and it says a lot from president telling me that I lived in the worst one for 6 months haha so that made me feel good. I've seen some of the best and the worst haha. We have been trying to work and pack the things we could without having to use them that often. We don't really have a lot of things but its the extra books in the pench, and some furniture things with no tools to dismantle them and just us...and our good friends Marcelo and our mission leader Joel haha. They're awesome were planning on having an asado with them today!

Later our land lord comes over and tells us that basically everything in our pench is his and doesn't belong to the church and we were like...well we basically wont have anything when we move...it'll be an easier move we can basically just carry our stuff over to our other pension. Our new pension is nice...our land lord is a jehovas witness and is super nice. She doesnt know how to read but shes learned a little bit from reading the bible. Shes already been asking us in what we believe soo ya were definitely going to baptize her haha. She needs it! 

After all of that we called president rastelli that's in charge of helping cleaning and maintaining the pensions in the mission and he told us that he was going to talk to our land lord. In that same call he told us that our land lord lied to us and basically everything belongs to the mission, and that we don't have to move out in such a short time.

The contracts with the church are for 30 days and we had about 9 and he lied saying that he informed our pencionista( idk how to say that in english) a month earlier. So having the extra time to move has been great and now we have money again soo we have a little more food than normal ahaha.

The coolest thing that happened this week though was on saturday was that I got to baptize and confirm 2 investigators that the sisters had been working with. Their names are Claudio and Alicia and I would always talk with them in the gospel principles class and they wanted me to baptize them. It was such an honor and I hadn't gotten in the water to baptize for a while! I missed it sooo much! Before Alicia got to the font she just started crying and her husband was telling her how much he loved her and how proud they both were of each other. It truly gave me a testimony that the church is true and that this church is ALL ABOUT uniting families to be together forever. It was such a cool moment and to be right there watching the love they both had for each other to start this new path together and as a family with 2 other little girls. One will be baptized by her dad in a couple weeks and the other who isn't of age yet.

I'm soo grateful for this gospel and how the gospel truly blesses families by uniting them together for eternity. Its such an amazing blessing to be a tool in His hands and watch how he will work through us being His representatives here on Earth.

Anyway I hope you all have an awesome week I love and miss you all soo much! Stay and live true!!:)

Elder Chamberlain

ASADO!!

We work out really hard.  It helps get rid of stress and makes us feel a lot better.  I'm sorta addicted to it!

Two Posts - Feb. 8th and Feb. 15th 2016

Elder Ruiz Diaz and me

My District in San Luis

Feb. 8

Hey Family and friends,

So Elder Bennett is gone and I'm with Elder Johnston until my new comp Elder Escobar (from here) comes. I don't know him but it should be good! I just hope he's a good worker that's all haha. 

But this week was kind of sad and frustrating because Franco decided that he didn't want to get baptized. He's afraid of the water and was too tired to come to the baptismal interview. The mom was saying that it's his choice and that if he wants to sleep in or is afraid of the water its his choice. So we kind of see now that the problem is with the mom for not helping and teaching her child to get baptized and so we dropped a little cane on her BUT with love so its all good:) If children aren't baptized by the age of 8/aren't taught the principles of the gospel the sins of the children will fall over the heads of the parents and soo it's sad but the Lord himself has said it. We have to teach it how it is.

But we're going to try a little bit more and see how we can help them. Maicol was really sad that Elder Bennett left and we put another baptismal date for him to get baptized on the 27th of this month. So please help and pray that he'll be ready and stop smoking and understand enough to make the choice to be baptized that day that would be awesome thanks!!

Anyway, those are some bad and good things that happened this week! Much love to you all!

Elder Chamberlain

Feb. 15, 2016

Hey family and friends!

So Valentine's Day in Argentina?  Haha they say its the day of the lovers but nothing happens. Nobody gives anybody anything or does anything. I think its more of an American thing to be honest.  Wow Dad---that's way cool what you read in sunday school. I'm gonna read that! I've been reading a lot in the bible lately in my studies. I'm trying to read from 1 Samuel to the end of Kings. There's some cool stuff in there about how blessed those people are.

So Elder Bennett is gone and he'll be one of my fav comps in the mission for sure. A wayy good guy and a super hard worker until the very end. Truly a good example to me and many others.

Now I'm with a way cool elder from Mexico named Elder Escobar! We get along wayy good and we're working a lot! We're really just trying to find news (new investigators) because Franco left the other day for Chile and so did several others soo haha we just lost our prime people for a couple weeks. But it's ok --we need to find more news and we should always be doing it.

Other than that I made my comp already some of my famous honey bbq wings (I'm like known for that now in the mission here ahaha) My comp loved them and next Sunday he said he's gonna make me some tacos so I'm wayy happy to get some mexican food! yeesssssss.

But ya it was a good week with a lot of clapping/knocking doors etc and getting to know each other.   My relationship with President Goates is pretty good. I don't know how he is compared with other mission presidents but he seems more on the strict side as I've said before but he's an amazing man and I have learned a TON from him. He's very close to the Lord. I always respect the decisions that he makes because he knows best even if I thought different. 

Special shout out to Sister Schmidt for being an amazing woman and for her example to endure through trials! Cancer's got nothing on you Sister Schmidt!  You can do this! My comp and I will be praying for you:)

Much love to all of you---Ciao!!

Elder Chamberlain

This is Marcelo Riveros.  He helps the missionaries a lot.  Also this is Elder Bennett--- a way cool missionary from Tucson