Planting Seeds

The weather here is really nice. It is really hot during the day, hardly ever rains, and the salty breeze can always be felt and tasted coming off the ocean. It is going to be hard leaving this place and going back to the desert of St. George. This week was just kind of a regrouping week. Getting over sicknesses, doing without some things [Elder Rich’s apartment was robbed], and weeding out the people that don’t seem to be progressing right now.

We had a cool experience this last week. We were helping Carla with some stuff around the house because she just had a surgery to remove her appendix (Is that how its spelled? I have been speaking Spanish too long.) Her mom came home from work and asked us why we were even there and even bothered. 

*Back story: Carla´s mom used to listen to missionaries 20 years ago but hasn’t since then and has not been very supportive of Carla´s Mormon investigation. She got pregnant young, divorced young, and has not had an easy life. She has spoken maybe 4 words to me and avoids us.*

Anyway, I told her it was because we loved her daughter, but even more importantly, God loved her. She went upstairs and that was all she said too us. The next day we were picking up some stuff from the grocery store and someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around and it was Carla´s mom. She told me she had appreciated what I had said and done, and invited us to dinner. We went over and taught about the restoration and the love of Christ and it was so quiet you could hear the wood stove crackling the whole time. I just told them they were beautiful and that I loved them and that we were genuinely there for them and the atmosphere was so warm and spiritual.

Carla came to watch conference and her mom has invited us back, she isn’t "investigating", but she doesn’t hate us. I think they will both get baptized somewhere down the road, but I am happy with progress in the right direction. This is the first time in my mission I have sincerely understood the importance of planting seeds. I have taken myself out of the equation and it doesn’t matter to me who baptizes them, I just want them with me in the presence of God and I want them to know His love.

I love you.

Elder Rich

My first 'missionary photo' from Chile.

Still has some wrestling moves left in him.

Ancud, Chile. A view of the inland and Pacific Ocean at sunset.

"Don't tell the cat about my new friend."

It takes a lot to get me through studying.  Elder Greenwood says, 'Hello!'