True Change Comes From the Heart

Goals on Goals

This was a great week. I am happy and filled with joy looking back on it and seeing the great things that happened and being able to enjoy the opportunity to share the Gospel and to see good progression with investigators.

First, I wanted to start with this Sunday. Edna Bernard was confirmed, and she is a member of the Church now!!! So exciting to see and to have helped in that.

Following that, we went back to the old sector of my companion Elder Lazarte for a baptism. He baptized a 12 year old kid that loves him. It was cool to see that and to see his joy.

Sunday night, we had a lesson with the Moran family and the bishop and his mom accompanied us. It went very well and we talked wedding plans and they are all excited to become a part of the church and to get baptized! It was a really spiritual lesson and everyone left uplifted, edified and filled with the spirit. I enjoyed this visit especially because we were there with members who helped and the lessons are always better with members!

On Monday, we had a great lesson with Flavia and Jose! The grandparents of a recent convert. They had a sad family conflict and long story short they were left a little devastated and sad for what happened to them. As we got to their house, we talked to them and gave them our advice as they told us the story and we had a great talk and we were able to give them some motivation and scriptures to help them with their problems and difficulties that they are going through right now. We shared the story of Nephi answering the call of his father and of God for every trial that came his way and his willingness to obey and serve his God (1 Nephi 3:7) and then we shared Joshua 1: 9 and talked about handling trials with confidence in God. They felt comforted from our message.

At the end of that lesson, Flavia said something cool to us. The first lesson we had with her she said that she loved our church but that she would never get baptized. Fast forward 5 lessons and this past lesson she said she wants to be baptized but would have to quit smoking! As she said that to us, I remembered that first comment and I realized that in each lesson after the first, her comments towards baptism or becoming a member of the church progressed each time we came until finally she couldn’t help but want the blessing of that in her life!! It’s always amazing to witness that progression and to see people’s desire to change over such a short period of time.

I feel that the same has happened to me even as a missionary. With more time learning and studying the Gospel, my desires and testimony have grown so much and I know that it will continue to grow throughout my life and with the experiences I will have.

Edna's Baptism

What a week!! We had a great one and we are making big strides here in our Sector and in the ward!! We have been working really hard and living it up!!

I got to start with the highlight as well! Edna Bernard was baptized this past Sunday and it was a really special moment to share with them!! Nelson and Edna are the Haitian couple that we have been teaching now for the past few months! They are the couple that was married last month. Anyway, Nelson baptized her and he did an incredible job. It was special seeing a husband baptize his wife and to see him exercise the priesthood. Enjoy the photos!

We were able to have a stake activity on Saturday and it was a culture night with all the countries of foreigners in Chile along with a dance. Each ward had to put on a dance from a different country and it went really well!! It had an incredible turnout of over 300 people! We even brought two different families. One from Peru and the other from Ecuador! It was a great show and the food was amazing.

The following day, we went to teach the same Peruvian family. (the Brake Family) All of them are members except the father (Jose) we have reactivated the son and the mother came to church along with Jose. Anyway, we had a great lesson and he even liked the baptism. We really want him to keep coming. He has a great relationship with the bishop now and feels comfortable in the church and enjoyed his first visit there, so we have our faith and hopes up that he will really want the Gospel in his life!! The Brake family are awesome!!!

Following that visit, we went to visit another couple that we are teaching that really want to get baptized but aren’t convinced on the need to be married. We had to explain the importance of getting married and then baptized and we are working hard with that. They really want to get baptized though which is a great desire and our bishop is helping us tons with that.

On Monday, I had the chance to go on divisions with Elder Murphy and to be with him working for the first time in well over a year.....time flies.  It was great to spend some time with him.

Working Hard in La Cisterna

Yet again, another great week on the mission! We had some great experiences and have been killing it here in La Cisterna even with all the freezing cold temperatures that we have been having here!

We had a great first week Elder Lazarte and I! We were able to teach lots of people and in all, we saw really great progression in the sector and with the people that we were teaching. 

I wanted to start with a neat experience that we had on Thursday in the temple with Carlos. We had a temple trip with him and Elder Moore and his family. It was really spiritual and we all left fortified and spirit filled. Especially Carlos. It was a neat experience for him and he loved all of it. Really cool experience for me to go to the temple with a recent convert and to be there and see his joy. An experience to remember.

Following that, we had a great weekend and we were able to teach the grandparents of a recent convert. They are really receptive and so nice! They even read their homework that we gave them to read. We had a great lesson and they were really touched by our message and what we do! We are excited for them! They said they love what our church teaches and the great reputation it has in the community! (the grandfather works for the Catholic church and takes care of their facility)

We had a great Sunday as well! We have some Haitian investigators coming to church and we are even having Edna´s baptism this weekend! After her marriage last month, she is really excited to become a member of the church! Every lesson we have is great, and she is doing so well!! She is truly converted! We are waiting anxiously for her baptism this Sunday.

Overall, the mission is great! I’m excited for this last change and for the opportunity to finish out strong! It has been such a ride and I feel really happy with the mission and in general the service I am doing. It’s amazing living the life of a missionary after always thinking and wondering what it would be like since I was a little boy.