January
13, 2014
Dear
Family,
Today
we went fishing with Adolfo. It was really cool. It was on a really
nice 120 hectare private property. The water was really murky with all
the snow run-off, but it was fun to cast. Nobody brought anything to net, so
there aren’t any fish pictures.
Pablo
went back to his home in Rancagua, if the cancer tests turn out bad it will be
really sad, because we know we could have done a lot more to get him ready for
baptism the last few months or so. We just sort of ignored the idea of
teaching him because he would come and go every few weeks.
We
had a family home evening with recent convert Maria. She invited 4
neighbors, and we invited 4 members. One of Maria`s friends took really
well to what we were talking about. Her
name is Tina. She accepted a baptism date, the first of February.
She then went to church with Maria. It is awesome to see new
converts sharing the gospel.
We
have a baptism planned for this Saturday. Her name is Lorena.
We are really excited, because we have been teaching her for more than 3
months now. She teaches kindergarten, and has 3 kids. Her husband,
Carlos, isn’t really interested in the church, but says he will go to the
baptismal service. We were planning to have the baptism last Saturday,
but her kids were visiting their grandparents in Santiago and wanted to see the
baptism. The oldest son, Benjamin, who
is 12 years old has been taking the lessons as well and wants to be baptized
soon. Lorena is a really good person, reads the Book of Mormon, and knows
the church is true. I know that she knows the church is true, because if
she didn’t have her own testimony wouldn’t have come back to church based on
how some of the members had treated her.
Just speaking to all members within reach of my voice: be nice to
everyone you see at church, sit by them, talk with them, and just be their
friend.
I love
all you more than the number of snowflakes in Minnesota,
Elder
Withers
Dear
Family,
This
week it has still been cooler, with breezes and rain storms, mud, and lots of
blessings. Yesterday at church it was like Christmas. There is this young
mom named Laura, who was baptized about 5 years ago....she served as primary
president and was a great member for the branch, but then had a disagreement
with one of the other members.....got offended, and hadn’t been to church in 3
years. She is a nanny for a different member named Deborah (this town is
real small)...and she has been helpful in inviting her and asking her every so
often about the church and so on....but Laura just sincerely has never been
interested. We have been passing by ever since I have been here, and in
the beginning she wasn’t reading the Book of Mormon, wasn’t praying, obviously wasn’t
going to church, and really didn’t have a desire to change. I have been
here for almost 3 months......and since then she started to read the Book of Mormon,
is praying, and a couple of weeks ago told us that she felt like it was time to
come back. And yesterday.......SHE CAME! She paid for the colectivo
(bus) ride, brought her two kids, and stayed for all 3 hours. Miracle.
A lot of the members thought she was a new investigator because she hadn’t
been in so long, but when they learned she was a member...they gave her a big
hug and now know who she is and can look out for her. Getting them to the
chapel for that first time in who knows how long is a huge hurdle, but if they
can do it...the members here are really great at looking out for them.
But
the miracles don’t stop there. We also have this cute grandma in our
branch who is super active, but her husband has a job on Sundays and has become
less active. And her daughter and grandkids are all less active.
One of her grandsons, Luis, lives with them because of some familial
problem he had with his parents. He is
18 years old, with a good conscious to know what is right, but just in a mix
with a bad bunch of friends. He never comes to church on Sunday....because
he is out late Saturday and can’t get up the next morning. Well
ever since we met him and learned all of this, we said "what the
heck......this kid can come to church." So we made a plan.
On Saturday night instead of going out with his friends....he has to
stay home. And not only stay home, but expect us to stop by and share a message
to keep him accountable to us and to the Lord....to make sure he didn’t go
anywhere. We started this 2 weeks ago....we go over, he is still home, we
share the message, he promises to come to church, and then after we leave he
apparently went out to go with friends and subsequently didn’t come to church.
So we started the cycle again. We stopped by once earlier in the
week, and told him that we were stopping by at 9:00 Saturday, the last
stop of the night to get him ready to come to church, we stopped by, shared a
message, he promises to come.....and at 9:00 am he wasn’t there.
His grandma showed up without him, saying she tried to wake him up but he
wouldn’t budge...but that she left 3 pesos for the colectivo ride in case he
woke up in time to come to part of church. We called him in between meetings,
and no answer. We get to the last 15 minutes of church and the last
speaker gets up to give a talk in sacrament meeting....and, who walks in with
crazy hair but white shirt and tie? Luis. It was excellent, and the
only talk he heard was awesome, just what that kid needed. It isn’t easy
to be a youth here. The young men and young women’s programs aren’t very
strong, and there are only a few that are even active....but they are capable. Its
taking a lot of work to get these people up and running on their own feet....but
the fruits of the labor are worth it. Even if they are only in the chapel
for 15 minutes. It’s worth it and we can try to do better next week and
get to church for a little longer.
I
love being a missionary....it is so cool to be a part of peoples personal
conversion and journey back to Christ. And it is incredibly fun. I
love doing this.
Yesterday
a member fed us "Carpincho" which I have no idea what it’s called in English
or what it looks like alive, but apparently is like a giant hamster dog type thing.
You should look it up. It was a reddish meat that smelled kind of like
fish but tasted a lot like chicken...it wasn’t the best thing I have ever
eaten, but it also wasn’t the worst. I think it helps that I don’t know
what this animal is like in real life.
I
feel like I haven’t been writing very much about the culture or my
surroundings, but I will try to write more about that next week. People ask us all the time what language we
speak in the States because they get confused by the fact that we are Yankees
speaking Spanish....they sometimes think the U.S language is Spanish. And
McDonalds is super expensive here and legitimately considered fine cuisine.
If you go there people will ask you if it’s your anniversary or birthday
or something. Nevertheless....missionaries still go there because in
dollar amounts it’s still really cheap and its one of the only things from the
U.S. here in Argentina.
Anyway....I
love you all lots. Keep me updated on everything! I love you more than all of the people who
ask us if we live in the chapel like the Catholic nuns who live in their
cathedrals!
Hermana
Withers
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