Hey family!
This week was awesome! I´m getting sad because I will probably be
leaving Copiapó this transfer and I love the ward I´m in SO much. But we
shall see! I would definitely like to get to know other parts of the
mission too.
We had a really good week working. We had a bunch of lessons, had a
sector attack in the hardest sector in the city and found five news for the
elders there, and had people in church! Jorge now has three assistances,
but hasn´t accepted a fecha yet. The other one was a grandma of a member.
They both really liked the church. Jorge is really funny because he
pays SO MUCH ATTENTION. After Sacrament meeting, he told me he wasn´t sure
if I had said a word wrong in the middle song or if it was just a word he had
never heard before. The word was ¨exaltation.¨ It was pretty
funny.
A cute story for the week: Deisy´s granddaughter (or one of them) is
named Antonia. She is 6 years old and is my best convert. ;)
She reads the Book of Mormon and actually understands a lot of what she
reads and I guess on Saturday, the
whole family was sitting down about to eat lunch and she stopped everyone and
said they all needed to say a prayer together before eating because that´s what
it says in the Book of Mormon. Later in the meal, she asked her uncle if
he had asked for forgiveness for his sins in a prayer. She said that she
didn´t have any sins yet because she was too young (we always have to tell her
that because she didn´t understand why she couldn´t get baptized), but since
everyone else was an adult, they needed to ask for forgivness in a prayer
because that´s what it says in the Book of Mormon. I love her so much!
She is going to be an EXCELLENT convert in a few years when she´s old
enough.
To answer some of mom´s questions:
1. What we teach. The Restoration, Plan of Salvation, and then the
Gospel of Jesus Christ (emphasizing baptism) over and over again until they
finally understand that they MUST get baptized to be able to have eternal life.
With members we mainly just share scriptures and with menos activas we
either give PALOS or try and help them remember why they love the gospel or
joined it. Speaking of Menos Activas- there are two families in our
sector that are sealed and ex-missionaries and ignore us at all costs. One
has since started going to church. In the other family, the wife will meet
with us when we can find her, but the husband refuses to even show his face.
One time the son let us in the house and the dad hid in the bathroom the
entire time we were there and got mad at the son for letting us in. We
know that it´s because the first time we went to that house, he lied to us and
told us he was the uncle. It is the saddest thing to see these families
that feel so guilty that they won´t even talk to us or let us into their houses.
It´s like seeing the prophecy in Alma 5 about wanting the mountains to
fall and cover your sins come true right in front of our eyes. Don´t stop
doing the things that are important! Don´´t stop reading and praying and
going to church!
2. How much we walk. On bad days (with few lessons) we walk many
hours. On good days, probably only 2. If we plan well and the people are
home, we walk very little, but our sector is big so some places take 20-30
minutes to walk to.
3. Typical chilean meals. Rice and chicken. Another one called
Consuela. But the ward has figured out that we like italian food so they
mostly have been giving us pasta and lasagna! Que bendicion!
4. How does it feel to be in one area for a long time. I love
the ward I´m in so much, but the sector is hard at times. We have a lot of
really rich housing. But the key is always that if you have investigators
who are progressing, you are happy. If not, you are normally sick of the
sector. Last week we had only one progressing investigator and so I wanted
out of the sector. This week we found a bunch of news and people went to
church, so I feel like I could stay another transfer. Six months is
DEFINITELY the limit though.
5. Favorite hymns in spanish. Conmigo quedate Señor, A Vencer.
I´ll have to answer this better next week, No pianist. I don´t play.
I feel sorry for missionaries who have to play. Our priority is our
investigators.
6. My shoes are starting to break, but they´re still alive and
kicking!
I love you all! Next email will be about CAMBIOS!
Catron
This week was awesome! I´m getting sad because I will probably be
leaving Copiapó this transfer and I love the ward I´m in SO much. But we
shall see! I would definitely like to get to know other parts of the
mission too.
We had a really good week working. We had a bunch of lessons, had a
sector attack in the hardest sector in the city and found five news for the
elders there, and had people in church! Jorge now has three assistances,
but hasn´t accepted a fecha yet. The other one was a grandma of a member.
They both really liked the church. Jorge is really funny because he
pays SO MUCH ATTENTION. After Sacrament meeting, he told me he wasn´t sure
if I had said a word wrong in the middle song or if it was just a word he had
never heard before. The word was ¨exaltation.¨ It was pretty
funny.
A cute story for the week: Deisy´s granddaughter (or one of them) is
named Antonia. She is 6 years old and is my best convert. ;)
She reads the Book of Mormon and actually understands a lot of what she
reads and I guess on Saturday, the
whole family was sitting down about to eat lunch and she stopped everyone and
said they all needed to say a prayer together before eating because that´s what
it says in the Book of Mormon. Later in the meal, she asked her uncle if
he had asked for forgiveness for his sins in a prayer. She said that she
didn´t have any sins yet because she was too young (we always have to tell her
that because she didn´t understand why she couldn´t get baptized), but since
everyone else was an adult, they needed to ask for forgivness in a prayer
because that´s what it says in the Book of Mormon. I love her so much!
She is going to be an EXCELLENT convert in a few years when she´s old
enough.
To answer some of mom´s questions:
1. What we teach. The Restoration, Plan of Salvation, and then the
Gospel of Jesus Christ (emphasizing baptism) over and over again until they
finally understand that they MUST get baptized to be able to have eternal life.
With members we mainly just share scriptures and with menos activas we
either give PALOS or try and help them remember why they love the gospel or
joined it. Speaking of Menos Activas- there are two families in our
sector that are sealed and ex-missionaries and ignore us at all costs. One
has since started going to church. In the other family, the wife will meet
with us when we can find her, but the husband refuses to even show his face.
One time the son let us in the house and the dad hid in the bathroom the
entire time we were there and got mad at the son for letting us in. We
know that it´s because the first time we went to that house, he lied to us and
told us he was the uncle. It is the saddest thing to see these families
that feel so guilty that they won´t even talk to us or let us into their houses.
It´s like seeing the prophecy in Alma 5 about wanting the mountains to
fall and cover your sins come true right in front of our eyes. Don´t stop
doing the things that are important! Don´´t stop reading and praying and
going to church!
2. How much we walk. On bad days (with few lessons) we walk many
hours. On good days, probably only 2. If we plan well and the people are
home, we walk very little, but our sector is big so some places take 20-30
minutes to walk to.
3. Typical chilean meals. Rice and chicken. Another one called
Consuela. But the ward has figured out that we like italian food so they
mostly have been giving us pasta and lasagna! Que bendicion!
4. How does it feel to be in one area for a long time. I love
the ward I´m in so much, but the sector is hard at times. We have a lot of
really rich housing. But the key is always that if you have investigators
who are progressing, you are happy. If not, you are normally sick of the
sector. Last week we had only one progressing investigator and so I wanted
out of the sector. This week we found a bunch of news and people went to
church, so I feel like I could stay another transfer. Six months is
DEFINITELY the limit though.
5. Favorite hymns in spanish. Conmigo quedate Señor, A Vencer.
I´ll have to answer this better next week, No pianist. I don´t play.
I feel sorry for missionaries who have to play. Our priority is our
investigators.
6. My shoes are starting to break, but they´re still alive and
kicking!
I love you all! Next email will be about CAMBIOS!
Catron