Week 70

Week 69

This was a very eventful week! Obviously it was New Year´s, so it wasn´t a normal week. For New Year´s, my companions and I played soccer in the office and then we watched fireworks from our apartment building. The following day, we had a zone activity, where we had tacos, horchata, and we played a ton of sports. I got really sunburned, but it was a ton of fun. A week ago, a lady approached us in the street and asked us to teach her... which never happens... ever. SO, we went by her yesterday and she told us about how she has a boyfriend who served a mission, who lives in Antafogasta (in northern Chile). She loves church and everything about it, but her parents are against it. She has to meet with us in secret. She has really strong desires to follow the gospel, but is afraid of how her parents will react. We shared Alma 36 with her. I love that chapter because Alma tells his son about all that he experienced as a result of following Christ. He lost many things. He was even run out of his hometown. But, he shares his testimony that, those who put their confidence in the Lord will always be delivered out of their trials and difficulties. I know that is true. Christ suffered all things and overcame all things. As we put our trust in Him, there is nothing that can stop us. I have felt His love and His power in my life. I shared my testimony with her that she will be capable of following the Lord as she puts her trust in Him. I have no doubt about that. The Lord has always and will always fulfill His promises, and He has promised us the company of His Angels to overcome the trials of our lives. May we always be willing to accept that help. I´m grateful for the gospel. I´m grateful for my God and His Son Jesus Christ. I´m thankful for my family. I´m thankful for this brand new year that I have to become better and to live the gospel. I invite everyone to strive to put God first this year. As you do, I know that you will be given all that you need to overcome your specific challenges and you will enjoy the constant companionship of the Spirit of God, which is the ONLY thing that can fill us with an everlasting joy.

Week 68

My companions and I have been teaching a woman named Vanessa for 3 months now. She has been to church 4 times and has a testimony of the gospel, but fears the reaction of her family if she is baptized. She has also said that she wants to be absolutely sure before being baptized. Well, this week, on Wednesday, we visited her. We decided to teach her about revelation. Halfway through the lesson, we started talking about what faith is. We shared the scripture from Ether that says that faith isn´t a perfect knowledge. By the time we finished, the Spirit was really strong and the thought came into my mind to invite her to be baptized on Friday of this week. She left for Puerto Montt yesterday (Friday). So, I invited her to be baptized on Friday. She looked at me and said "in two days?" I said "yes." Immediately, she began to cry and said "yes." Yesterday, she was baptized and received a remission of her sins. She is now a member of the church. We later found out that her parents, when they found out, threatened to disown her. She still chose to be baptized. That was one of the greatest experiences of my mission. She went into that lesson not understand what faith was and went home last night having put what she learned about faith in practice. She is a great example for me and I am so grateful for what she has taught me.