The Missionary Rollercoaster

So the week didn’t start off too great. We had a lot of people fall away from investigating, lots of rejection, LOTS of dogs, and even more rain. However the victories we had were major. We are currently teaching a teenage boy named Cristòbal, and he has been to church enough times and been taught all the lessons, which means he is ready to get dunked people!! It will probably be a little while until we get to the font but the point is he is progressing rapidly. We also got 3 inactive families to come to church Sunday along with many non-members who are interested in the church.

One of these non-members is Giermo, and he has a cool story. We visited a less active family to basically “dar puro palos” or chew them out. We didn’t even have a lesson plan but just decided to follow the Spirit and choose a topic once inside the house. When the door opened we found kind of a missionary`s nightmare. Their 18-year-old daughter was not wearing much to put it nicely and there were like 5 punk teenage boys in the house. Long story short, we taught a powerful lesson and the Spirit was very strong.

After we taught, all the boys left but one, Giermo. We started talking with that family and asked the family if they were going to come to church. They all gave excuses why they couldn’t and we were about to leave when Giermo told Oliver that he would come get Oliver early in the morning so they could go to church together. Giermo isn’t a member and had to travel an hour to make it to the chapel. He now wants to take the discussions and is just an all around good person.

The work is moving. We are seeing the miracles. We just have to be patient and obedient.

Love,

Elder Rich

Elder Rich with a fellow missionary, Elder Davis, enjoying a P-Day excursion.

We visited ‘La Laguna Verde’ (The green lagoon), Saltos de Petrohue, and Lago todos los Santos (Lake of the Saints)

Can't wait to hear about that vest...

A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit

I am jealous of you guys in St. George are just barely starting to feel the chill. It is so dang cold in the mornings that I can see my breath in the shower and while we are studying. Our house has no stove or heating system so we are kind of at the mercy of the weather. The afternoons are so nice though.

I’m trying to remember my dad’s advice about letting my mission mold me. This week was a little more frustrating and lots of investigators fell away. Though in the midst of a sea of rejection, we found some absolutely amazing and humble people. I learned a lot about patience and faith this week.

This time around my mission is different. It is like the difference in wrestling practice during freshman vs senior year. For freshman it is all learning how things work and how to properly do a squat etc, but senior year you run until you puke, and they add more weights to your squat until your knees buckle. The Lord is not messing around. I asked for it all and He didn't hold anything back. Sometimes the things I am prompted to do are very scary or hard, but I always find strength when I dig deep. I really admire the stories of Alma and Ammon, but the things I never noticed before was in those chapters where Mormon is basically summing up all of their success. He names all of the amazing things they did then says something along the lines, ¨..but all of that happened after the had suffered much both in body and spirit.¨ I for sure have not experienced anything near what they did, but I've learned what it means to come to God with a broken heart this week.
I love you so much.

Love,
Your missionary

These are some kids from the ward I am in and they love it when we come by to talk to their dad who is the ward mission leader. They are always climbing all over me.

We cut the grass of Hermano Orlando (who is blind) this week for service. It had not been cut all winter and all we had was a small plastic weed wacker. It was smoking and begging for rest by the end.

I think Elder Frausto and I spend all day climbing hills!

Humble meal of homemade bread and butter.