March 24

This week I had the chance to go on a mini cambio (I think there called an exchange in the states?) with the traveling assistant to the president, Elder Evans. He is from California and an amazing missionary and hilarious person. We had a lot of fun talking to a lot of weird people and teaching object lessons. He did this one magic trick object lesson with one of our investigators and she almost accepted baptism that day because she thought that Mormons were magic. He was explaining priesthood power and how, through the restoration of the gospel of Christ this power was back on the earth, and that we have the power and authority from God to do a baptism in his name. He had a bowl of water and sprinkled pepper on the face of the water symbolizing our lives with sin. Then we asked her if she could with her finger clear the pepper from the water but she couldn't. Little did she know that Elder Evan dabbed a little bit of soap on his finger so when he touched the surface of the water the pepper instantly ran to the side of the bowl. She was stunned and also a little bit scared. It was great.

 But I also learned a lot more during this cambio then just a cool trick. There are a lot of things I want to improve on the mission, and when I look at it all at one time it is overwhelming and a little bit discouraging. That is why it is important to take it one step at a time. This life is not a sprint... (Even though I like to run fast) rather a distance race. And we need to run patiently and diligently in the direction of Christ, who is the ¨Author and finisher of our faith¨ (Heb 11;1-2) when we can accomplish our small and simple goals pretty soon we will see that great things have come to pass.

This week I have also learned a very important and true principle: Be Happy with who you are, because your situation might suck. 

Carla and David are finally getting married and Baptized this week! It has taken white some time but the week is here. Wednesday is their wedding and reception and Saturday is their baptism! They have come such a long way and I'm glad to see the beginning start for them and their family.

This week I was studying a lot about our obligation as members and missionaries to serve God With all of our heart might mind and strength. I have been thinking about this a lot and I know that there is ALWAYS more we can do. Joseph smith once said ¨A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never will have the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation¨

Sacrifice is an act of faith. And we will always get more then we give.

 So be DOERS of the work not just HEARERS. (James 1 22-25)

I have said all that I need to so STOP reading my blog and get out there and work! (But you can read it next week :))

Love you!

p.s. pictures of the beach! And going to the ristro civil with Carla and David

March 17

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANPA BROWN! Thank you and grandma mina so much for all the letters and package! I love hearing from you guys. Love you and hope your birthday was a good one. Tell everyone that knows me in Colfax that I say hi!

Thank you so much Annalise for the recess! I enjoyed them so much! I hope all is going well in your studies in Virginia!?(I think Virginia if I remember correctly... and if you’re not in Virginia I hope all is going well in all of the other things that you are doing that occupies your time haha)

This week was very very busy. I feel like we have been running around all week... we had interviews with the president, our investigators had interviews with the president, we had people to teach, people to find, souls to save...you know the usual mission/ super hero stuff that we do. Thursday night was the climax of it all. Our whole zone was running around frantically throughout the night to find tunics for the baptisms that we were going to have, we got an emergency call that someone needed a blessing that night. and my phone was blowing up with other people and appts and other problems with our investigators.. And while all of that was happening I was teaching an English class.

By the end of the night, for one reason or another we all found ourselves in our church building for the last 15 min of the day. So all of us missionaries huddled around the piano and sang our guts out. It was so relieving to just end a stressful day singing together.

This week we also had a priesthood conference with all of the members on our stake. Some things that I learned...

-Put God and His work as our first priority

-everyone is at a different level in their conversion process. Those who are strong need to strengthen those who are weak. Those who are weak need to have the desire to be stronger. And we all need to be humble enough to remain teachable.

-for the people that are hard to get along with or annoying, love them. Because Jesus Christ loves them  

-Doctrine according to Ballard: ¨Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are perfect gentleman, they will never interfere, but they will always respond... so ASK¨

We ended the week perfectly with the baptism of ELISEBETH! The first baptism of my companion... he had the opportunity to baptize her

 

March 10, 2014

So much news from home it’s so hard to take it all in! I wish that you all could just put a hold on life until I get back in 2 years... and then you can grow, and go on vacations, and do fun things. 

First things first. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! I LOVE YOU!! Hope you have just a wonderful day, it can’t be the best day... because I’m not there but no worries... I’m only going to miss one more of your birthdays them we can celebrate. You should go see that movie that’s about Noah’s ark... everyone here in Chile is talking about it and I want to know if it’s going to be any good.

Anyways this past week I was reading in Alma about the armies of Helaman and how they were prepared and taught by their mothers. YOU mother dear are one of those mothers. You have successfully prepared me for this, the mission and the rest of my life. I have learned so much from you from your love and example. I sent you a letter! I hope it’s not too ridiculous… I was pressured with time and I don’t even remembered what I said. But just know that it was out of love!

This week was wonderful. We have been working very hard and have seen the blessings in many different ways. 1) We have so much more energy and drive. Obedience really is power 2) we had 5 investigators in church!!!! Yeah! 3) The members here are AWESOME and have begun to catch the vision of member missionary work.

our zone leader let us know this week that our district had the most lessons with member and the most investigators in church then in all of the mission... what what! Represent from the DIRTY T! (Dirty Talcahuano)

This week we had a conference with elder ZABALLOS and his wife! I learned so much in this conference. Especially about our attitude towards the obra misional. They said that we need to have the work not just in our minds but in our hearts!

They gave us this example form the book of Mormon...

In the book of Mormon it speaks of a man who left his home, his treasures and his friends to follow his father into the wilderness in search for some promised land. He was asked to do many difficult and potentially dangerous tasks like return to his homeland to take records from a very dangerous and powerful man. He was also asked to build a boat and sail into the sunset putting just his faith in God that the promise land would one day be on the horizon... do you know who I’m talking about? I’m sure you are all thinking Nephi... but I’m talking about Lamen.

He was asked to do all the same things as his brother... but the DIFFERENCE was that it was not in his heart. And he did not receive the blessings of the Lord although he completed those tasks. 

Truly, happiness comes from obedience to the commandments... happiness is when we can do what we are told to do without murmuring... but with gladness.

'' Happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious and sweet; it builds up the body and it generates energy for action physical mental and spiritual. Pleasure is but a deceiving stimulant which like spirits drink, it makes on think that he is strong but when in reality enfeebled. Happiness leaves no bad after taste. It is followed by no depressing reaction, it calls for no repentance, brings no regret and entails no remorse. Pleasure too often makes for necessary repentance, sadness and suffering. True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a renewal of the original good.'' (Somewhere in Jesus the Christ I think... I don’t really remember but it’s a good quote)

Today we woke up at the crack of dawn to run to the lake and watch the sun rise. It was awesome.

Oh also we had CAMBIOS TODAY... but it’s not that important because no one in our house is leaving. 6 more weeks’ baby!

March 3, 2014

This week was very good! We found a new investigator named Elisabeth! She said that she talked to the missionaries about 3 years ago and wanted to get baptized but never got around to it. She says that she has regretted that decision...until we knocked on her door. Since then she has been actively working towards her new baptism date. She even helped us with our ward activity that we put on.

We had an activity of comida frituras! Which means that everything we made, was fried before we ate it. It was the worst and the best activity we have ever had. Bad because we indulged ourselves in delicious fried foods and good because... a lot of people came and participated. 

It is so much fun planning these activities for the people here. It gives everyone the chance to come together and just spend time as families, as neighbors, as members of the church, as people with common goals and interests.

We had the chance to share a message about the book of Mormon and the importance of the scriptures on our lives. We gave every one a piece of paper and told them to write down a note to God. Just a sentence or two about something they want to say to him... maybe their gratitude, their hope, dreams ambitions... then we collected them all.. And then ripped them up in front of their faces. We explained to them that God as well has written notes to us. He has written his dreams for us and his ambitions for us in the scriptures, and when we don’t read them, God feels the same way that they felt when they saw us literally ripping up their notes to God. The lesson was very powerful and the spirit was very strong.

After we ended our thought we told them that we actually didn’t rip up their cards, but that we changed them with other blank pieces of paper.

But it was great to see people finally understand just how important the scriptures are to us. GOD speaks through the scriptures and we can know him better through the words. 

Gods work and his glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1 39) but I have learned that that should be our goal as well. We are here on this earth to compete the 2 greatest commandments there is 

1. Love and serve God

2. Love and serve our neighbors

The Lord works through us to fulfill his purposes

I love this quote from Thomas S Monson

''the sweetest feeling in life is to feel a prompting and act on it, and later find out that it was the fulfillment of someone’s need. I always want the Lord to know that if he needs an errand to run, I will run that errand for him''

 

We need to always be ready, because we never know when the Lord will need us to help to serve or to be there for one of his sons or daughters. We are his hands of we choose to be, and if we are ready and prepared.

 

I love you family