Hey everyone!
My zone leader who is "dying"(AKA going home next
change) has this computer retyper, so I bought it from him and these long
emails can be a consistent thing from now on.
This week was very interesting. Now that we finally have a
baptismal date or 2, we can focus on the other things of missionary work, or
more than just finding people to teach. Both of the people are also showing
lots of promise, and I truly believe that 1 or both will actually get baptized.
Plus, there are a lot of people that are ready to receive a baptismal date as
well.
Of these prospective dates, one is a mother of like 2 little
kids. She almost got lost on the way to church this last week, and Olaiz and I
had to run around trying to find her! It was fun, and it helped our recent
count of 5 people in the church.
I've gotten pretty behind on my diary writing, like a full 2
months back, but I have a plan that will make it so I'm back up to the present
in less than a month. I think it will work out, and the being backed up has
helped a little too. It keeps my negative feelings from being to much in the
foreground, and instead allows me to focus on the growth and what I actually
learned each day. I just finished writing about the roughest time I've had on
the mission so far, and so the process should speed up soon. I'm happy with it,
and it should all be perfect soon enough.
Anyway, with all said and done, this week was very special.
Last Wednesday we had this amazing lesson with this really catholic dude from
Bolivia. We got to the point of the need of a restoration, and how the idea of
the apostolic succession, while there may have been the ordinances, with the
sins of the first bishop of Rome, Linus, the line broke. There was a need of a
restoration, and any student of history can easily find MANY proofs of it. Then
we testified of the truth of the restoration of the gospel and the church of
Jesus Christ, and in that moment we pointed out how the Holy Ghost is
testifying to him the truth of it. It was evident he was feeling something in
that moment. Afterward, we had him pray to know the truth, and it was the first
time in a prayer where I asked with all of my heart that they hear the truth
and receive their answer. I'm sure he felt the truth, but I'm not sure if he
let himself recognize it. I'll find out later this week.
A zone souvenir we are making this change is something so
Chilean- a memory of my graduation photo. At all the schools here in Chile,
when a class graduates from an elementary or high school, they get a group
photo of the class, with individual members, and put it into this frankenstein
creation of the individual with their class photo, and the names of the fellow
graduates. Think of the class list you get in elementary school when it's
school picture time. So, in commemoration of the 4 so-to-be
"deaths"of missionaries, and 2 more leaving the area, and 2 others
finishing their training, either in the CCM or in the field, we made a "Memory
of my Zone Graduation"from the school San Tiago Norte (because all the
elementary schools here are a "San ___"). I hope it turns out nice.
It'll be pretty funny to only me after the mission, but it'll be a hilarious
personal joke. I'm serious though, EVERY house here in Chile has this thing.
This week I've focused a lot on the letters of Paul, and I
can't believe how good his rhetoric is. He took such complex concepts of the
gospel and makes them seem so simple, even a baby could understand it.
Definitely the Elder Holland of his day. Also, it's odd on occasion to find
parts of the bible that so easily contradict basic
"Christian"beliefs. How people support dealing with it, I don't know.
I mean, there has to be a doctor of theology who explained away how Paul railed
against forced celibacy in a clergy (AKA the priests and bishops can't marry)
in 1 Timothy 4:3. But I digress. What I like most in his letters is his ability
to use allegories and examples so cleanly. I've tried it on occasion, and it's
hard, man.
Anyway, this week has been special with the ward too. The
Elders quorum finally got a 2nd counselor, so we have someone specifically
involved with us finally. It'll be nice to have a person who can coordinate
with us and the ward while we go out and work. The asking of just like 6 people
to do work can be worrying, because I have no idea if we are pushing on that
part of the ward a little too much, y'know?
We are prepping for this amazing baptism that should come
right at the end of this change. She has an active brother who is sealed and
everything, but is the only member in the family. I know that he has prayed and
fasted for his family a lot, so that they can know the truth of the gospel, and
I have the luck of carrying out those wishes from god. It is amazing to spend
each lesson with her and to help her, since she understands quickly and reads a
lot of the book of Mormon.
This week has also seen quite a bit of progress with our
other investigators. There are 2 couples that individually have said that they
want to get married! I probably won't see the marriages, but I helped 4 people
find their eternal companions over the course of 3 days, so I'm happy with my
work. I believe (nothing's confirmed, but the writing's on the wall) that I
leave this next change. I do think that I'm leaving the ward in a good shape
missionary-wise. We've had more than 4 people in church for 2 weeks in a row
now, and quite a few people are getting ready to get married or to receive a
date. Once people get a marriage date, they can receive a baptism date as well.
The marriage process here is different than how it runs in
the US though, I think. You have to go to the town hall, say you want to get
married, and then they give you a day 3 months down the line to come back so
they can marry you. Why there is that wait period I have no idea. Maybe it's
the same in the states, but I don't think so. I'll have to go to the town hall
this week to get the dates (you can have a friend do it in your name, so Olaiz
and I will just take the 2 dates our for our investigators), so I'll have more
info on that next week.
I have spent the last week studying more from Preach My
Gospel, specifically with extending the commitments during a lesson. A common
mistake I made for a while was to teach all of the restoration and afterwards
stick 4 or 5 commitments at the end, being a "will you do this, this, and
this?"So, I've tried spreading out the commitments, like in the first
lesson saying "the prophets wrote the scriptures, and part of our visits
will require learning from these writings. Are you willing to read from the
scriptures in between our visits?"Or something like that. That way, there
is only 1 or 2 commitments at the end of the lesson, and it makes things
smoother and seem less like an inquisition.
Also, this letter is covering like the last 3 weeks or so of
work, but this latest Sunday over 9 investigators attended church! I was really
worried about 2 weeks ago that I would leave the sector in a really bad shape,
but there is a good number of progressing investigators, and 1 baptism that
should happen either the last week of my time here or the first week of the
time after I leave. So, I'm just a happy person for right now. I do think a
good number of them are progressing well, to the point where they bring the
reest of their family to church.
Anyway, I love all you guys, I hope you all have an amazing
week as well with me. I spend time thinking about yáll and the experiences we
could have together!
Chao chao!
