I got a new comp!
Elder Sebreros - Murrieta, CA
Hah, he's from right around the corner. How fun. This is his first time in Chile, so everyone be nice to him. He doesn't speak a whole lot of Spanish, almost nothing, but that will change real quick here. I'm still in the same Area, in Villa Norte of Villa Alemana Oeste. Qué fun.
This week went by all right. We got new investigators from a recent convert who wants her friend and little sister to get to know the gospel as well. The Pérez family, the people who I've written to all yalls about before, are kind of at a brick wall. They just have to come to church! Those bums. Satan builds up habits in good people outside the church of breaking the commandments, such as drinking Tea or Coffee, and sleeping in on Sunday. People who wake up at 6 O'Clock every day find it insanely hard to get outside of the house at 9:30 Sunday Morning. But I suppose that's why we're there, to break the chains of false liberty and set people free by helping them keep the commandments. Other than that, life is good, calm, and exhausting. Elder Sebreros was like a professional body builder or something before the mission, and he's got me on a protein diet and a workout program. We'll see where this goes.
e'horspool
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
8 down, 8 to go.
Time goes too fast.
So, today marks the end of my Eighth change, and the start of the 9th. I've always been told that the second half of the mission goes by quickly, and avast, I feel like I'm still fresh from the MTC. Nevertheless, I feel like a new person, new mode of thinking, new stories/experiences, new hair style (or lack of hair!). All for the better though, of course.
This week was a week of ups and downs. Mostly downs, in the sense of that we taught very few lessons this week. Bummer. But whatever. We got a lot of service done, and we're hoping for results on a King Limhi level. Dream big. That's something that I've developed on the mission. The ability to dream. Not to say that I Daydream a lot, but I do dream up random goals and plans on how to do them. Without dreams, or as the scriptures call it, Hope, we don't have anything to shoot for. I've been studying a lot about Christlike Attributes, especially Charity and Patiente (two things that have been running short around here). Hope gives us the motivation to improve ourselves... our efforts; having the hope of a better world. I have hope that if we keep working, fighting, struggling despite all the challenges, trials, and jerk people who were tragically born without common decency or manners, God will bless us. Seems to be the theme of my mission right now, at any rate. Doubt and Faith can not be part of the same person! But I ramble. I'm doin' fine folks. My comp is good, he's a stud. There's a reason we're sent out in Twos, because if I had to do this whole thing alone (not including the spirit), I would've packed my bags long ago. I can only imagine the support and help that Husbands and Wives have for each other. Blah, I'm rambling again. Well, have a good one family, I'll be writin' yalls same time next week. ¡Ciao Pescao!
e'horspool
So, today marks the end of my Eighth change, and the start of the 9th. I've always been told that the second half of the mission goes by quickly, and avast, I feel like I'm still fresh from the MTC. Nevertheless, I feel like a new person, new mode of thinking, new stories/experiences, new hair style (or lack of hair!). All for the better though, of course.
This week was a week of ups and downs. Mostly downs, in the sense of that we taught very few lessons this week. Bummer. But whatever. We got a lot of service done, and we're hoping for results on a King Limhi level. Dream big. That's something that I've developed on the mission. The ability to dream. Not to say that I Daydream a lot, but I do dream up random goals and plans on how to do them. Without dreams, or as the scriptures call it, Hope, we don't have anything to shoot for. I've been studying a lot about Christlike Attributes, especially Charity and Patiente (two things that have been running short around here). Hope gives us the motivation to improve ourselves... our efforts; having the hope of a better world. I have hope that if we keep working, fighting, struggling despite all the challenges, trials, and jerk people who were tragically born without common decency or manners, God will bless us. Seems to be the theme of my mission right now, at any rate. Doubt and Faith can not be part of the same person! But I ramble. I'm doin' fine folks. My comp is good, he's a stud. There's a reason we're sent out in Twos, because if I had to do this whole thing alone (not including the spirit), I would've packed my bags long ago. I can only imagine the support and help that Husbands and Wives have for each other. Blah, I'm rambling again. Well, have a good one family, I'll be writin' yalls same time next week. ¡Ciao Pescao!
e'horspool
Monday, February 9, 2009
¡Nada que ver!
The story continues!
So here's how it went down...:
So the family we're teaching right now just had this little run in with the devil. It started off with a few weeks ago when they ran into a couple of "Ex-Missionaries" who had some "list of 6,000 errors" in the Book of Mormon. I heard her explain her doubt, then showed her the Scripture in Mormon 9 where Mormon talks about not condemning him because of his imperfection, and we invite her to pray to know if it's true. Satisfies her for the moment. Then, last week (on the 31st of January) there was a mother(investigator) and a daughter(recent convert) who had a dream... A nightmare really. There was a whole bunch of chaos and madness going on, and in the midst of all this, they heard a word, "Anatema" which being translated is to say, "Anathema," or "Curse." Both of them had the same dream, yeah¿? So they wake up, tell each other about their dream, and start freaking out because they don't know what Anatema ment. So they look it up in a dictionary, and start getting even more scared. For some reason, the mother thought it response to her prayers about the church, especially to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet and if the Book of Mormon is true. So in response to that, they start to do some research. On the Internet. As we all know, the Internet isn't the most reliable source of information in the world. She was unaware of this, and comes across a Spanish Anti-Mormon website. When we got to their house on Sunday Night (the 1st of Feb), Barbara, the daughter and recent convert, was at the point of tears and saying that she was just so confused because she felt good about the church when she was there, but when she read all those terrible things, she couldn't believe it was true. Edith, the mom, just kept listing off all these doubts with absolutely no back-up. Mostly about atrocities that Jo-Smith supposedly did. She was pretty firm that that was her answer to her prayer. So that's when we got to work. We explained to her that there was absolutely no way that the Spirit of God, of the God of Love, of Peace, of Happiness, of Order, of Truth could possibly give her an answer like that. God is not a God of confusion, nor hatred, nor doubt. We read to her the fruits of the spirit, how God loves us, and won't punish us for doing what's right nor asking questions to him. We shared testimonies. However, after all that, she wasn't convinced. She was telling us to go look up this website and make sure that we were in the correct before we continued being missionaries, or even worse, passed on the restored gospel to others or our posterity. Barbara was pretty silent throughout the whole thing. Just when we were about to leave and pretty much say goodbye, for I felt that we were out of options, the Spirit gave me a suggestion. "Barbara, would you like a blessing of comfort?" I ask her. She looks at me, and says she would. "Do you believe that we can do it?" She says that she does. And Elder Wallentine and I gave her a simple, yet powerful blessing of comfort. We said our goodbyes, and started a fast. Probably one of the more intense periods of prayer I've had in a while. I spend the greater part of the next monday (last week) studying about the Spirit and how it communicates to us, and we prepare an awesome lesson. When we got to their house, after district class, we realized that there was absolutely no need for a thorough lesson. The Spirit had already taught them all that we were going to say. When we got there, they were happy, they were cheerful, and they were ready to hear the gospel. I was confused as all get-out; so was my comp. They even invited their relatives over to come listen to us. Later on, Edith told us that when she saw us put our hands on her daughters head, she felt a sort of power, like she was witnessing something marvelous. And there we are. It had a happy ending after all. This last Saturday, Jaime, the son, got baptized, and all the family came as well. Hopefully the parents will be following suit very quickly!
e'horspool
So here's how it went down...:
So the family we're teaching right now just had this little run in with the devil. It started off with a few weeks ago when they ran into a couple of "Ex-Missionaries" who had some "list of 6,000 errors" in the Book of Mormon. I heard her explain her doubt, then showed her the Scripture in Mormon 9 where Mormon talks about not condemning him because of his imperfection, and we invite her to pray to know if it's true. Satisfies her for the moment. Then, last week (on the 31st of January) there was a mother(investigator) and a daughter(recent convert) who had a dream... A nightmare really. There was a whole bunch of chaos and madness going on, and in the midst of all this, they heard a word, "Anatema" which being translated is to say, "Anathema," or "Curse." Both of them had the same dream, yeah¿? So they wake up, tell each other about their dream, and start freaking out because they don't know what Anatema ment. So they look it up in a dictionary, and start getting even more scared. For some reason, the mother thought it response to her prayers about the church, especially to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet and if the Book of Mormon is true. So in response to that, they start to do some research. On the Internet. As we all know, the Internet isn't the most reliable source of information in the world. She was unaware of this, and comes across a Spanish Anti-Mormon website. When we got to their house on Sunday Night (the 1st of Feb), Barbara, the daughter and recent convert, was at the point of tears and saying that she was just so confused because she felt good about the church when she was there, but when she read all those terrible things, she couldn't believe it was true. Edith, the mom, just kept listing off all these doubts with absolutely no back-up. Mostly about atrocities that Jo-Smith supposedly did. She was pretty firm that that was her answer to her prayer. So that's when we got to work. We explained to her that there was absolutely no way that the Spirit of God, of the God of Love, of Peace, of Happiness, of Order, of Truth could possibly give her an answer like that. God is not a God of confusion, nor hatred, nor doubt. We read to her the fruits of the spirit, how God loves us, and won't punish us for doing what's right nor asking questions to him. We shared testimonies. However, after all that, she wasn't convinced. She was telling us to go look up this website and make sure that we were in the correct before we continued being missionaries, or even worse, passed on the restored gospel to others or our posterity. Barbara was pretty silent throughout the whole thing. Just when we were about to leave and pretty much say goodbye, for I felt that we were out of options, the Spirit gave me a suggestion. "Barbara, would you like a blessing of comfort?" I ask her. She looks at me, and says she would. "Do you believe that we can do it?" She says that she does. And Elder Wallentine and I gave her a simple, yet powerful blessing of comfort. We said our goodbyes, and started a fast. Probably one of the more intense periods of prayer I've had in a while. I spend the greater part of the next monday (last week) studying about the Spirit and how it communicates to us, and we prepare an awesome lesson. When we got to their house, after district class, we realized that there was absolutely no need for a thorough lesson. The Spirit had already taught them all that we were going to say. When we got there, they were happy, they were cheerful, and they were ready to hear the gospel. I was confused as all get-out; so was my comp. They even invited their relatives over to come listen to us. Later on, Edith told us that when she saw us put our hands on her daughters head, she felt a sort of power, like she was witnessing something marvelous. And there we are. It had a happy ending after all. This last Saturday, Jaime, the son, got baptized, and all the family came as well. Hopefully the parents will be following suit very quickly!
e'horspool
Monday, February 2, 2009
Into the Fray
Hey peoples
So Elder Wallentine and I are in the middle of some battle with Satan right now, and it's getting pretty intense. I'd love to give ya'll more details, but it's not all developed just yet. But its keeping me on my toes, that's for sure. There's not physical danger, so don't you worry, but let's just say the Adversary is working very intently on some of the investigators we have, and we're doing all we can to counter-act it. I'm pretty confident that all is going to turn out well. It is God we're talking about, after all. My impression is that he's giving us all opportunities to grow: To the missionaries, to learn how to react to this kind of situation, and to the investigatores, to give them a greater contrast of darkness and light. Not very unlike the Joseph Smith story. Let's just hope the investigators are as diligent in their prayers as Joseph Smith.
But other then that, I'm doin' pretty good! We had interviews with President Wilhelm last week, which are always fun. I learned a whole bunch from him, about how to be a priesthood leader 'n' stuff. A very inspired man, that President.
Anywho, I'll keep ya'll posted on the news, when stuff happens, and dish out pictures when the opportunity presents itself to take one. I've kind of forgotten about the camera as of late.
e'horspool
So Elder Wallentine and I are in the middle of some battle with Satan right now, and it's getting pretty intense. I'd love to give ya'll more details, but it's not all developed just yet. But its keeping me on my toes, that's for sure. There's not physical danger, so don't you worry, but let's just say the Adversary is working very intently on some of the investigators we have, and we're doing all we can to counter-act it. I'm pretty confident that all is going to turn out well. It is God we're talking about, after all. My impression is that he's giving us all opportunities to grow: To the missionaries, to learn how to react to this kind of situation, and to the investigatores, to give them a greater contrast of darkness and light. Not very unlike the Joseph Smith story. Let's just hope the investigators are as diligent in their prayers as Joseph Smith.
But other then that, I'm doin' pretty good! We had interviews with President Wilhelm last week, which are always fun. I learned a whole bunch from him, about how to be a priesthood leader 'n' stuff. A very inspired man, that President.
Anywho, I'll keep ya'll posted on the news, when stuff happens, and dish out pictures when the opportunity presents itself to take one. I've kind of forgotten about the camera as of late.
e'horspool
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