La Semana Paso Volando!

February 23, 2015

Dear Family,

La semana pasó volando (This week flew by).  I am grateful to be here in Talcahuano.  This week we had a conference with Elder Di Giovanni from Buenos Aires who is a member of the 7th Quorum of the Seventy.  It was great and I got good notes. 

Macarena and Hilda were baptized.  They both love the gospel, I think it is because they have passed through some extremely trying times.  The Bishop baptized Macarena and Brother Campbell from the Stake Presidency baptized Hilda.  The previous missionary here worked very hard, and I am making sure he gets a picture of their baptism.  

It is very windy here in Talcahuano, it is great.  Today as a P-day activity we had a big dodge ball competition with 7 combined zones.  It was fun.  We met up in a very large stake center, and divided the 150ish missionaries into 6 teams.  We had a blast.  

We have a few people that we are teaching, but not many, so we are going to be committing member families to give away copies of The Book of Mormon.

I love you all and hope you are well.  I am short on time to write, but I love you more than all the minutes that have passed since the first vision in the spring of 1820.

Elder Withers

New Area, New Companion and a New Bishop

February 16, 2015

Dear Family,

Well, this has been a good week.  

The weather here in Talcahuano is way comfortable right now.  It isn’t as hot as Parral, there is a constant and strong ocean wind, and we can see the huge huge ships that come into the harbor area of the zone.  It is a great ward, with about 160 people in church on Sundays.  Our ward mission leader magnifies his calling, and we got a new bishopric last Sunday.  The ward had gone a few months without a bishop, because the last one moved and they took a while to find a new one.  Bishop Krausse is his name, and he looks like Einstein, an older guy with crazy scientist white hair, and a well trimmed white moustache.  He is cool. 

Being companions with Elder Hutchins is probably one of the biggest blessings so far in the mission.  We think alike and I haven’t ever had a comp I got along with so well.  He is the 3rd of 10 children, which explains why he is so easy to get along with.

Well, I am out of time.  I was reading and responding to a lot of people today.  Just know that I am happy and healthy and love you all more than the number of paper clips it would take to link the sun to the far end of the milky way galaxy.

Elder Withers

Transfer to Talcahuano

February 9, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been an adventure and a half.  Our landlord has been very problematic, and has been cheating the contract, and so the mission office had us look at a few houses where we could live, and we found a good house and we’re going to move in at the end of the week, but then on Wednesday morning, Elder Kauer from the office called us and said we had better start packing up, he wanted us out that day.  The other elders called a convert who has a huge flat bed truck, and before lunch we had the entire house packed up.  It was crazy, but it is good to be in a better, cheaper house.  It is a bit smaller, but brand new, better priced, more secure, in a more quiet, and more central location.  We are a 3 minute walk from Lider Expres (a mini Wal-Mart).  The new landlords are great.  Our house is built behind their house, and they have chickens and roosters.  They asked if the roosters bother us, and since they wake us up at 5 am we said yeah, they are a bit bothersome.  That same day, in the afternoon, they broke the necks of those blasted birds, and were later cleaning them out.  They are a nice older couple.  I really like the new house.   

However, I won’t get to enjoy the house for long, I am being transferred to Talcahuano tomorrow.  Estaca Talcahuano Norte, barrio Cruz del Sur (Talcahuano North Stake, South of the Cross Ward).  It is hard to leave Parral, but I know Talcahuano will be good, and I will at least have the mission office close by again.  It will be an exciting place, a lot less hot than Parral because it has a good ocean breeze.  I will be with Elder Hutchins from Connecticut.  He is a good elder, I was in the same MTC group as him, and there are a lot of other missionaries in the zone that I already know.  I look forward to the upcoming transfer.  

I am loving the mission, and am grateful for each and every thing I have learned so far.  I love how each day I have the opportunity to help other people come closer to God.  I hope you are all happy and healthy.  Have a great week, and just keep being awesome.  I know you will all be able to do your best on everything, if you try your hardest and say a sincere prayer. 

Cuidense arto.  Les amo más que el numero de versiculos en los libros canonicos que mencionan Jesucristo.  (Take care.  I love you more than the number of verses in all the cannonzied books – scriptures, that mention Jesus Christ.)

-Elder Withers

Improving Teaching Methods, and Surviving a Dog Bite

Feb 2, 2015

Hello Folks, Fellows, and Familiar Faces!
This week was a very interesting week.  It was a good week, just very busy.  We had splits with the assistants, and those were great because I learned a lot a lot of good things about how to work with members in every aspect of the work.  Funny thing about the assistants - it is trainer and trainee from a year and a half ago.  After Elder Calder finished his 12 weeks training he trained Elder Mitton, and now they are companions again.  I was with Elder Calder and took really good notes. 

Something Elder Calder taught me that can help any and all teachers prepare to teach a class or a lesson is breakdown vocabulary.  Let me explain.  Try teaching a 5 year old what ordinance means.  Now teach the same thing to a 45 year old.  To help the 5 year old understand, you use simpler words, right?  When we break it down, they understand better.  Now the preparation.  Take key words from the lesson you are going to teach words such as faith, atonement, priesthood, baptism, or any gospel term, and wrap your mind around it by trying to express the meaning of the term in 3 words.  In Spanish you might need to do it in 4 words.  For example, faith might be “action in Christ”.  As we teach simply so that even a child can understand, everyone will understand, and the Spirit will have a greater chance to testify. 

Also, quite frequently we study and learn gospel doctrines with a highly in-depth, complex perspective, and then when we teach that is all we express. We often teach the roof, and then hope the person either already has a foundation or that he can build it and then put the roof back on.  We teach the complex, hoping they will understand the principles as we understand them.  For a teacher to achieve that his students understand as he does, he must first teach the simple and then build up their understanding, bit by bit, according to the needs of the learner.  In other words, milk before meat.         

A few days ago, as I was riding my bike, a dog ran up and normally they are just following the bike, focusing on the spinning of the wheels.  If I speed up, they usually get excited and more aggressive.  If I slow down or stop, they lose interest and go away.  I started to slow down, and this dog for whatever reason decided to latch onto my ankle.  It was a medium to large street dog, but didn’t bite too deep because the movement of the bike pedals made him lose his grip.  We called the mission nurse and she told me what to do.  I have started the required process of 5 shots for anti-rabies and other infections.  Luckily, Chile does dog bite shots for free, because dog bites are so frequent, so it doesn’t cost the mission anything.  There wasn’t any bad bleeding or anything, and it should heal quickly.

Also this week was the Semana Parralina, because the city is 200 and something years old they do a big party all week long in the plaza.  So we contacted hundreds of people in the evenings, and set up some good citas (appointments).  I am excited.  The work is moving along great here in Parral.

I love you all more than the number of boats and canoes docked to the 10,000 lakes in Minnesota.

-Elder Withers 

The Importance of Members is Immeasurable

Dear Family,

This has been a solid week.  I hope you can all have a chance to share the gospel with someone, or show kindness by doing a quiet act of service.  I can’t believe how fast the time is flying.  I really can’t believe how fast the mission has been going by lately.  Every transfer is faster than the previous.  I am grateful for every day.  

A couple of months ago we made a street contact, and the lady says she is less active.  Yesterday for the first time we were able to find her again, and she has a 9 year old son who loves the church.  His name is Francesco, and he is really bright - and no joke a living encyclopedia with a solid grasp on the Bible.  And he wants to be baptized!  We want to re-activate his mom, Eliana (who by the way gave us amazing empanadas) and baptize her son.  Hopefully everything works out.  

I am still in the thick of the summer heat, but it should start to cool off a little bit once February starts.  

The importance of the members is immeasurable.  Every member a missionary is of huge importance.  If we truly act as disciples of Christ everywhere we go, and our words are in agreement with our righteous actions, the church will grow faster than it ever has.

I want you all to know that God loves us, that he is aware of who we are, of our strengths and our weaknesses.  He can help us in whatever circumstance we find ourselves, if we are simply humble, and allow him to help us.  Missionary work is really miraculous.  He helps us as we help his children receive the gospel.  That is cool!  I want you all to know that God is watching out for you, that he has angels to protect you, and that his son, Jesus Christ, is our Savior.  I love Him.  I love the mission.  I love being a part of the Lord`s missionary force.  I love being a member of the church that Christ established, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I want you all to know that I really mean it.  I love to be a member of this church.  Remember who you all are, you are sons and daughters of the most high God.  All of us on this earth are brothers and sisters.  Let’s all work together to return home to the presence of our Father in Heaven.  He will help us. 

I hope you can all be well of health, and that you read the scriptures, say your prayers, and invite people to go to church with you.  I love you all more than the number of grains of oats it would take to make ten thousand big bowls of oat meal.  

Love,

Elder Withers

Surviving in the Hot and Rainless Dry Heat of Chile

January 19, 2014

Dear Withers Family,

I salute all relatives that came to Rebecca’s report.  I hope they enjoyed their brief stay in the home of my upbringing... ¡Well it was fun talking a bit like Shakespeare, but let´s get on with the letter!  

Out here in Parral, it is very very hot, and rainless.  It is a dry heat, and I am grateful for a bike.  I hope it is all right with you all if I make some necessary adjustments on my bike, there are no reflector lights, and as it was a used bike the tread was wore down, and the air is always slowly leaking.  I got it spruced up. 

Also small announcement, my companion doesn’t want to go home out of shape, so we are going to the gym 3 times a week. 

I have decided that mote con huesillo, and harina tostada are 2 of my favorite food items here in Chile.  Harina tostada is toasted flour and you can put it in water, in milk, or in any drink, and stir it, with sugar, and it is amazing, and a great source of protein and energy.  Here they even put it on watermelon, I really like it.  It is a very Chilean thing.  If you can find it, buy some and try it.  If not, shoot me an email and I will get you hooked up, as it is very cheap.

I love the mission.  There are days, even weeks, even months when it seems very difficult, but the Lord will get done that which he has set out to do, we just have to obey the master and everything will work out.  Every day you learn something, and it really is great.  I know the church is true, and that Joseph Smith was the prophet of the beginning of the Restoration. 

I love you all more than the number of toothpicks and brownish red varnish it would take to make a replica of a California Redwood.  Have a great week.

-Elder Withers

Another Great Week

January 12, 2015

Dear Family,

This has been another great week.  We are excited,  we are finding lots of new people lately, and trying to help them realize they need the gospel in their lives.

I am greatly enjoying this cambio.

This week I did not crash my bike or anything like that, so that was a plus.  I am really excited for this new week, because my comp and I have decided to just work crazy hard trying to find as many new people to teach as possible.  We want to enter about 5 houses a day, and in the street contacts be extra bold and to the point, testifying at every chance we get.  We will see how it goes.  Yesterday we found a mom and her only son that both are excited to be baptized and go to church.

I love the work.  I am happy and healthy and I know that this church is the only true one, the only one that has authority from God.  I love you all, more than the number of pedals it would take to drive a bike from Parral to Boise.

Have a great week,

Elder Withers