Merry Christmas!

​​Merry Christmas family and friends!

While some of you may be freezing or already icicles in the cold snow, I have been eating watermelon, a lot of corn, and getting a pretty sweet missionary tan on my feet. And dying of heat as usual. Luckily this week we had a breeze that helped us out with the sun. 

I just want to say how awesome my ward is because in the end, its the best ward. The members are so nice and always looking out for us. This past week they especially showed our love for us by giving us presents from the Relief Society and several sisters and our ward mission leader. Anyway we have been spoiled by our ward and everything they do for us. Also our stake president gave us a breakfast on Christmas Eve. They are pretty much the best. 

We also had a Christmas devotional as a mission, because my mission is so small, and so we all gathered in a church big enough for the mission and listened to testimonies, a lot of songs, videos, lunch, and a special message from our mission president. My Zone sang Silent Night for the closing finish. Save the best for last! 

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day our mission President asked us to not set up to many citas but to visit everyone we know; members, investigators

, friends, everyone. So we were busy walking around, singing Christmas songs and sharing the Christmas spirit. It was really awesome and got to meet some great people. 

Have a happy New Year!

Christmas is Coming

Dear Family,

This week was pretty great. We had a couple of great miracles, one being a less active that came up to us the other day in the street, saying he wanted to come back to church. We visited with him this week and taught him about repentance, and then we saw him in church. Everybody welcomed him back with smiles, and he even joined in on the group who sang a special musical number in sacrament meeting. It was the first time that he came back to church in years and he says he wants to stay for good. Which makes me so happy. 

This week we also had a lot of citas set up, but as usual some of them fell through. Saturday was one of those particular days. We had five citas set up and didn't have an hour to spare, but as we walked to each cita nobody was there. We visited a lot of other people who weren't there, and it turned into a day were we walked all over. But we still took every opportunity to talk to people on the street and share the special Christmas message. 

On one particular street, my companion and I were walking to a supposed cita, when I felt like there was somebody behind me that would pass me, that I felt like I should talk to. As they came up to my side, I turned around and said hi to a very tall Colombian named John David. We got to talking and he turned out to be a very respectful open young man who lived in our area (yes!). We invited him to church the next day, and he accepted. 

Also, on Sunday, I walked out of ward council and who should I see but Neil and Shawn in the living flesh. I was very surprised and very happy to see them. Mom, you liar, you told me they didn't have time and I willingly accepted your excuse  A lot of the members were surprised to see that the two gringos that showed up were my brothers, but the bishop invited them to come to the lunch that they were already going to have with us. They got to eat a traditional Chilean dish that I am sure they will show you a picture. Its called pastel de choclo (corn cake, very similar to shepherds pie). They got along really well with my bishop and their family, and the ward really liked them visiting. A lot of people have asked me about them afterward too and were very happy for me to have my brothers visit me. 

I guess even being a continent away won't stop someone from visiting me. 

And also thank you a lot for the Christmas present. My companion thought it was hilarious that Shawn said he traveled with the garbage over the mountains. It was fun to see them for a brief time. 

Santa Claus is Melting in Santiago

Hello from the other side...

I am hearing that people are getting a lot of snow in the United States. Or at least in Utah. It is the exact opposite here in Chile, where in the desert of Santiago the sun gets stronger every day. Thankfully, members in my ward are very nice and always give me a drink when I come to their homes. I just have to specify to give me WATER from the tap, instead of the soda or the juice that they give me. A day full of soda doesn't feel as great as it sounds. The building that we live in also has a pool, and recently we've seen a lot of people swimming in it. I just have to stay strong every day and remember that I do not have a swimming suit (which helps a lot). 

We also get to talk to a lot more people who leave their houses because of the heat. We've been finding new investigadors, talking to more people about "Ilumina el Mundo," and sharing this great Christmas message. In my new area now, we also have houses to meet people. Its a lot better than talking to conserjes (doormen). But whenever a house does not have a doorbell, we ring the door the Chilean style and yell 'Alo!' If the people don't have headphones on in their house, they usually hear us and come out. Or their little sister hears us and tells them that we are outside, which happened to one of our investigators this week. 

We did have one day of the week that it rained all day, and it was cold. It was a great day, especially since it cleaned the air here. 

Have a great week!

Light the World

This week was a week we had some more time to work. We have had some new investigadors of all ages, been contacting referrals and spreading the news of the new video "Ilumina el Mundo" which is "Light the World" in English. Our president wants us to give out at least 10 cards a day so in between lessons we are doing our best to light up our little area of work by sharing the message. Its a really great video and I would suggest anybody to watch it and to follow the example of Christ. 

We've had some good contacts and some good lessons. Our members are also really excited to help us in the work. Yesterday we went with one of our members Juanita to her friends house to get to know her. Her name is Mirian, and she is suffering from cancer and taking chemotherapy. We sang a song for her and shared the video with her. She was really grateful to have us there, and it made me happy that we could visit. 

We finally got to visit some investigadors that have been really sick. I am really excited for this month and all the activities that will happen for Christmas. But I know that the best part of this month will be every moment of every day, and every new opportunity to talk to people and share a message can can make their day a little brighter. 

Merry Christmas!