Jan 9,2018-February 5, 2018

Jan 9-Jan15, 2018
This week was just way long but I felt like it was good.  It was busy as always and we are trying really hard to make some adjustments and bless the area here.  I keep forgetting that most of the world I know is in winter right now.  I am spending a lot of days here just applying sunscreen and sweating jaja.  So I will tell you a little bit about what has been going on this week.  One of them is that last P-day Elder Wheelwright and I went clothes shopping and I bought some red shorts with sharks on them.   It is pretty hipster LOL. My comp and I get along really well.  He is really good and we enjoy talking everyday.  We talked about Psych the showand when the Blueberry got destroyed.  "German engineering  (the car was Japanese, I was talking about the barrier Gus, made in Hamburg").  And we just crack jokes a lot.  He is pretty funny.

--Zone Conference

--Miracles

So to talk about the Zone Conference, basically it started out on Tuesday when we had a multizone soccer game with President.  Before we started though he told us he had received a new mission call to serve in Guayaquil Ecuador North mission.  We were all stunned.  Then after about 3 minutes he said he had received the call in a dream, so he is staying  haha.  Anyway, I got a really nasty turf burn on my knee, but that is on its way to healing.  During the actual conference, we discussed muchisimo about the work and how to improve our efforts as a new year starts.  That there is no need to get discouraged because the Lord respects our efforts and also the choices of other people.  Then we talked a lot about how to ensure that we are returning and helping people.  Our purpose as missionaries is to just say and provide an atmosphere for the Holy Ghost.  In this way people feel the Spirit and gain true conversion to the gospel.  We have been able to see that a lot this week with our investigator Claudia and her son.  They have really felt the peace and joy that comes from living gospel principles and they have decided to be baptized this Saturday.  We are so happy for them and they have really become close to Elder Wheelwright and yo.

So for this week for big things that happened was that we now have 7 possibilities for baptism this month.  We are so stoked and extremely grateful to the Lord for allowing us to find people and teach them.  This week at church we  had 8 investigators which is a record for me and for our ward.  We have never had more than 4 and this week it was double.  It was a huge miracle, but also a huge effort.  The Lord is always willing to magnify our efforts if we are willing to make the effort.  That is something I really learned this week. Also My comp and I had to give surprise talks this week in Church.  We got the call about an hour and a half before which is really like 5 minutes because we spend all that time arriving to the sector and picking up investigators for sacrament meeting.  It was really good though and I spoke on how families have to function to help us learn and to provide joy.  I think it was pretty good for the time that we had.

Also just a funny little story from this week.  Our sector was really dead.  We usually say this when there is no one in the street.  And realmente there was no one in the street.  So Elder Wheelwright and I are just cracking jokes as we are making our way to someone's house and I said  "Thanks,Satan" (referring to the fact that there was no one in the street or if there was they were really rude to us.)  Not more than 5 seconds later I found 1000 peso bill on the ground and then we went to buy Gansitos which are like chocolate covered twinkies with raspberry filling.  Anyway... I just thought that was a good story I wanted to remember.

Photos-- Fitting in, in Los Induflaites

              Best Ward Mission Leader by far  (and he is single)

              GIno y Claudia after their first time at Church           

January 16- January 22, 2018

Hey!

So this week was a really good and stressful one.  We had a pretty big earthquake here.  They don't really count them as big here unless they are larger than 8, but by most people's standards it was big.  About a 6.5 .  We have a lot of tiny 3 pointers in the nighttime, but I always sleep through those.  This one happened at about 9:30 at night so we were just getting home.  It was pretty interesting.We also had a baptism this week!  We were able to help Claudia and her son Gino  this Saturday and it was way awesome.  I am really so happy for them,  they had to overcome a lot.  We met her back in October because she works at this Completo restaurant by the church but we didn't begin teaching her until Christmas or so.  This last Tuesday after we had taught her that there would be some resistance leading up, and there was.  But I really admire her willingness to stick it through and see how her testimony has grown  in so short of a time.We are going to work really hard for this upcoming week and I guess we will see if I get transferred.    Sorry for the short email this week.

Hanging out with Hermano Victor Miranda

Claudia and Gino
 We found a pretty awesome puppy 

January 23 -January 29,  2018

TAAA!

I got transferred today and recently arrived in Alto Hospicio!  Because i arrived kind of late, this will be a short email, but I am way stoked.  My new comp is Elder Turner from Wyoming.  He just finished his training so I will be helping him turn this sector into puro fuego.

Just know that the Lord is there and His hands are in all things.  We are given new opportunites with the hope that we will grow and become the persons we need to be.  

Alma 37:37

Photos:

Baptism!

Baptism 2.0

Saying Goodbye to La Familia Alvarez

Taking a small break in the park

My friend Gabriel Guerra

Just a few shots of the land between Arica and Alto Hospicio.  That's a lot of desert!

January 30 -February 5, 2018

Hello One and All!

What a crazy week in Alto Hospicio.   There are a ton of dogs and they like to travel in packs.  I have only almost been bitten 3 times this week, but I have been able to kick or fake throwing a rock or something, but I feel like my time is limited. haha

 The people here are way cool and there are many people to talk with.  The branch is also way cool.  All the church has here in Alto Hospicio are branches (like smaller congregations) but everyone is super animado to become a ward and become a stake.  The members here are really cool for the few opportunities we had to work with them.  The Branch Presidente actually lived in the States for a little bit with his family and so they all speak English and they speak like Americans.  It is really weird and neat to hear it from someone other than un otro misionero.

I am really enjoying my time here with Elder Turner.  He is just the nicest guy.  I see him having a lot of success in the future and I enjoy being his companion.  We are looking at a lot of miracles about to happen in Los Condores.  Just pray that we will have the strength to do it.  The Lord is hastening His work.

Today we hiked  El Cerro del Dragon in Iquique.  Rumor is that a dragon escaped from China and is sleeping underneath.  ]Even if the story is not true, it is the 2nd largest urban sand dune after the one in Dubai.  I would not recommend hiking a sand dune if you don't have to.  There is very little traction, but it is way good cardio workout.

Photos: Sand, lots and lots of sand

             Day 20 and I still havent found a source of water

             At least I will die with some of Chile´s Best Missionaries