Finishing Up Strong

Hola!

 

So another crazy week as normal.  I don't know when I'm going to get home and have a normal week, but it was a good week too!

On Monday I finished up with the shopping.  I think I now have everything that I want to bring home with me.  Then after that we taught 3 lessons.  On Mondays we almost never teach so many lessons, so it was a good start to the week.

On Tuesday we had a special zone conference with President Essig.  It was great because all of my friends and ex-companions were there so I got to see all of them. President changed a whole bunch of stuff... again... but that's ok it doesn't really affect me much because I am leaving.

On Wednesday we taught a lesson to an investigator and we invited her to kneel down and ask if what we are sharing is true, she did, and the spirit filled the room.  She is now talking about everything she is learning with her extended family and she wants to read and go to church.  We are pretty excited about that.

On Thursday we had interviews with President.  We were there for about 4 hours.  My companion has been having a lot of difficulties, so it was a long interview for both of us. My whole interview was pretty much talking about him.  That same night he then told me that he wants to go home, but he has good reasons, and he has plans to come back out.  I guess we will see what happens.

Friday and Saturday were pretty normal days.  We went around and invited everyone to come to church.  We had a total of 8 that said they were going to go and in the end 3 showed up Sunday, but we were happy for that, and the rest are going to go this next week.  So I am happy and I know that I am leaving the ward in a good position.

But that is pretty much it for my week.  Hope you all have a good week!  Love you and miss you tons!

Surprise!

Hola!

Well not much has happened since the last time we talked, but it was a good weekend.  We ended up having 3 investigators in church this Sunday which was a miracle because we didn't think anyone was going to come. Then Sunday in the afternoon we did divisions with the ward missionaries.  It was awesome.  We were able to get twice as much done and we got to help some of our investigators receive and recognize God's answers.  It was a pretty good weekend. 

On Friday 2 families threw me suprise birthday parties.  Let's just say I ate a ton and still have a ton of cake! 

But that's it for now.  See you soon!

For My Birthday We Went to the Temple

Hey everyone!

 

So this week was a long one!  Not having p-day on Monday really got me messed up in the week.  But it was a good one none the less.

So pretty much nothing too exciting is going on in our sector.  We are starting to find more people to teach, and we are teaching a lot more so we are happy about that.  I guess I will leave this sector at least in a better way than how I found it.

I had an interchange this week.  It was pretty fun!  The both of us are really old in the mission so it makes it really easy to teach and work together, but we had fun.  Also the other elder has some of the same stomach problems that I have so we could relate really well.  But it was fun in general, and I thought that my sector was rich.  I was wrong.  His sector is a lot richer!

But also today is my BIRTHDAY!  and so far it has been a really good day.  We got to go to the temple! It was awesome!  I really enjoyed it.  It was a funny story.  So we left our house 2 hours early to get there, and there was a huge traffic jam.  So we ended up getting there late, and we had to wait for the next session.  But while waiting I got to speak with the temple president, President Alder and I'm pretty sure that we are related, so it was a cool experience to get to talk with him.  Then they asked us if we could help 2 guys who were going through for their first time so we got to do that as well.  It was really fun.

But other than that things aren't too new around here.  I am getting trunky now, but that's ok I only have 3 weeks left so I have permission, and I am still working hard, so that is the important part right?  But other than that things are good.

I love all you guys so much!  Thanks for all your support!

Prayers are Answered by Listening to the Spirit

HOLA!

So this week was another interesting week.

So there were changes, we used to be 4 elders here in the ward, and so the ward was divided into 2 sectors.  But with the changes we are now the only 2 elders in the ward and we now have the entire ward to ourselves which means we have a lot more walking to do, and now we have to try and keep teaching the people that we were teaching with all the people the other elders were teaching.  It just so happened that we were working at the limit of the ward in the bottom and the other elders were working at the top limit of the ward.  So we pretty much have to run to get to lessons on time.  It's pretty fun haha.

Then on Wednesday my companion had an interview with President, so we had to wait for the bus for 30 minutes and so by the time we got there we were an hour late... Oops.  But the other people that had an interview got there early so there was no problem.  Then after that we had to go to the office and do a whole bunch of stuff so by the end we got back to the house to eat lunch at like 7:30.  Then we left to see if we could at least do something with our time left.

But also this week the Lord put us where he needed us to be.  We were working up in the higher part of the ward and a member asked us if we needed to go to the chapel. The appointments that we had scheduled for that hour fell through so we didn't have anything to do.  That's when the thought came to my mind, "Juana".  Juana is a recent convert that I still didn't know yet and we had never been able to find her at home, but I decided to go with it.  So the member took us to the church and from there we went to visit Juana.  It just so happened that Juana`s family is having some troubles and that she was very upset and didn't know what to do.  That's when we got to her house.  It was a testimony to all of us that the Lord hears and answers prayers, sometimes faster that what we expect.

But hey I'm out of time.  But I love you and miss you all TONS!

5 more weeks!

It's a Tremblor, Not an Earthquake (No not the big one of 8.2)

HOLA TODOS!  Espero que disfrutaron mucho de la Conferencia General que pasó esta fin de semana.  Fue jenial!

So this week was a pretty interesting week.  On Monday we went bowling!  It was so much fun.  Oh the things that you miss when you are a missionary.  I won both games (just to show you guys how humble I am now), but everyone enjoyed themselves so it was good.

This week was a little slow for us, but we still are starting to find people and starting to help them. We had changes this week and both me and my companion stayed in the sector.  The new thing is that we were 2 companionships here in the ward, and now we are just 1 so we have to pick up all the investigators of the other elders and work with them as well. That means a lot more walking for me!

Oh, on Friday night, like 7-5 minutes before bed, I was talking on the phone when all of a sudden the earth started shaking.  Here in Chile it's called a temblor.  That means that it isn't strong enough to be an earthquake for them, but in any other part of the world it would have been an earthquake.  It was 5.8 and lasted for a good 20-30 seconds.  I was downstairs when it started and when it kept going that is when I got up and opened the door just in case it kept going.  It was way fun, and only a few things fell.  But I can happily say that I felt an earthquake while here in Chile haha.

 

Then we had GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!  I love General Conference so much! We got to see all 5 sessions.  Let's just say that I learned alot and that I loved it!  I hope that you all got to listen to as much of it as you could, and that you go back to study it later.  It was very inspiring.  But other than that not much happened this week.  I am officially in my last transfer here in the mission.  I just have to keep working hard!  and see you all in 6 weeks.

Good-bye Testimony

Hola!

 

So this week was a pretty crazy week, but it was still fun.  We had a zone conference this week with the mission president. It was a good meeting and I learned a lot.  Also this reunion happens every 3 months, so during this meeting, all of the missionaries that go home before the next one have a good-bye testimony, and I had to do it!!!  It kind of hit me then that I am actually finishing.  I only have 7 more weeks!  It is so crazy!  But I've got to finish it out strong.

Things are going well.  We are working hard and we were blessed by being able to put 4 people with a baptismal date.  Also we had a very good experience.  We were trying to find people to teach, so as we were walking down a street I was praying in my heart to find someone that the Lord had prepared to receive the gospel.  As I was walking, we passed by a house and I had the feeling that I needed to go back and knock on that door.  Usually I don't go back to houses when we pass them, but I went back and we knocked on the door and a man came out saying that his family was passing through a very difficult time, and that he was searching for the truth and the purpose in life.  We asked if we could share with him and he let us in. It was a testimony to me that the Lord hears and answers our prayers always, if we are willing to listen to the impressions that he gives us.

Other than that it was a pretty normal week of working hard and trying to find people. We are going bowling today so it should be pretty fun!

Learning About My New Sector

Hola de nuevo!

 

So this week was another pretty normal week.  I am getting used to my new sector and I am pretty caught up with where people live and stuff so it's not too hard.  We are trying hard to find more investigators, because when I got here there weren't any, but we are seeing the blessings that come from hard work and are excited for another new week.

I spent quite a bit of time cleaning the house this week, and let me tell you it now looks spotless. There are still a few places that need some organizing but it is a ton better than before.  Also while cleaning I found a recipe book, and some measuring spoons, so I have been cooking like crazy.  I did muddy buddies, no bake cookies, today I want to make lemon squares, and I am going to try to make a cheesecake so I am pretty happy.

On Sunday the other elders in the ward had 2 baptisms, so we had to help them with the preparations and stuff.  It was a little chaotic, but it's always like that.  If it went perfectly it wouldn't be normal, but in the end everything turned out good.

Other than that nothing else exciting happened.  Hope next week will be more exciting.  

 

 

Playing soccer  (Yes, we always play on the cement)

 

 Mom is just glad the goal didn't fall on my head again