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Mon 11/15/10 8:41 AM
Ok i have learned a lot this week. Wow its amazing. This letter looks pretty daunting right. I just realized that. But it is good!
First. Scott I don´t know if you died or something but i sent you a letter. So i hope you get it!!! And tell me how snowboarding is and stuff.
And Kenna I found something better then peanut butter sandwiches and chocolate milk. Peanut butter and hot chocolate mmmm.... :). So good. Try it. Its amazing!
Oh and mom im very happy that you got those cards. Just so you know we are in the osorno area right and we can see the 3 volcanoes all day. So cool. WE went over there and took a bunch of photos of waterfalls i will be sending pictures.
I notice my english is detoriating really badly. Like my grammer is becoming terrible i feel like. Its kind of sad. I´m in this weird medium right now of were I feel like i can´t really express myself quite all of the way in spanish yet and i´m losing the same ability in english. Hahaha it is really interesting. Sounds good when im writing here but i have more time to think about what im going to say before I say it.
As far as the branch goes here its not very big hahahaha. This week there were like ten people in church. 3 investigators. Hahaha. But ya its great.
As of now I´m learning so much about the spirit. Following the spirit. Gifts of the spirit. It´s really incredible.
Hahaha i had to give a talk in sacrament this week. Was pretty sweet. I talked about charity because that is what a lot of people here have issues with. The members aren´t super nice all the time and I guess they push a lot of people away from coming to church. Like I´m pretty sure my talk was really forward and bold because my spanish is not perfect so i can´t exactly beat around the push. But thus is the word of god in 1 Ne towards the end. I don´t have my scriptures on me. But super sharp and bold and dividing.
Oh I had my first bible bashing experience hahaha. It was great and soooo funny. Well how it started was so there was a group of guys talking who were probably a little drunk or rough right but I´m thinking ya I´m not afraid of anybody or whatever why should i be and go and talk to these guys. Turns our they are actually really receptive and we have an appointment with them the next day. This guy Samuel just went off hahahaha. Talking and talking about the Bible and how its the only true book and how he doesn´t believe Joseph Smith was perfect and he had to be perfect and al of this stuff. Haha ya i was just like I dont understand sorry but blahblahblah hahaha he was really frusturated. Good stuff.
I have no idea how but spanish is coming really really really fast. Its the gift of tongues. Its not nothing else. I pray for it everyday and it is ridiculous. I guess the US Gov asked
the MTC about how missionaries learn languages so fast because normally it takes people a year or 2. But I can almost say and understand everything I need to hahaha!! Ok
ok I still have a ton to learn but I can comfortably get around and talk with people. The hardest part is people hear talk SOOOO fast. Its crazy. And the crazy part is I can understand and I guess I talk that fast too when I get going. Hahahaha ya. It is CRAZY.
Another thing I realize is amazing is following the spirit. I have absolutely no idea how this works or how to explain but it is incredible. Of course we plan for the day, almost every moment but it´s important to be flexible with everything you do and to not be afraid to drift away from your plans. Its soooooooo crazy. There is no other possible explanation for a series of incredible COINCIDENCES in a day. Hahaha it really is crazy. It´s like hmmm i feel like we should do this. No its not important. Ok maybe we should. I feel like we should. So we do so skeptically and something crazy happens. Like deciding to walk on a street down (which is not normal cause where we are going is on the original street) but then we run into someone having a lot of problems one of our investigaors. Little things like this all day long. I know its so hard to explain but I know the definition of following the spirit now haha.
I made french fries last night for the first time. Everyone in Chile uses oil for like everything. I dont know how but they do. But ya i was pretty proud of myself. I mostly just eat cereal here Chocapic, and pasta every day and night, and hot chocolate. So ya if you sent recipes or something on how to eat that would rock... hahaha.
I´m excited for th package. I think i have to wait until the next big meeting until I actually get it but apparently it is somewhere around here in Chile.
As far as investigators go umm... i dont know where to start. It is really hard to talk about all of these things. We have asked like 7 people to be baptized and 6 have accepted but of course we have to teach them and prepare them and get them to church. There is Camila, Sara, Marcello, Anamaria, Rudy, Damian, Marlen... and more maybe I think but i can´t remember. But the biggest problem here is inactive members. Apparently there are like 120 something members in Fresia. I found this out yesterday and was like WHAT??!!! I DONT BELIEVE IT. So we have some work to do with building the church again and helping people to feel what they felt when they joined again and why they are a member.
I´ve had to give many many blessings lately. I have no idea why. Its crazy. But one guy was on fire and Elder Urias and Elder Bluth put him out right before I got here. He had burns really bad all over his body but like 2 weeks ago he was already better after the blessing. This guy Oscar we are teaching right now was hit by a bus and totally injured bad bad bad and lost all movement of the left side of his body but after we gave him a blessings like 2 days after he is up and walking again and working his left side to be better. So ya miracles. I had to give a blessing to a member who was about to die. It was really intense. I feel really bad because she ended up dying but in the blessing i told her she had the promise of the celestial kingdom.... Pretty big promise but that is what i felt and i wont deny that. Rosita died and the rest of her sons and daughters are like Jehovahs witness, Evangelicos, Catolicos, and others. So we´ve had to talk a lot about that and deal with a LOT of things with funerals and blessing the grave and stuff. There is a lot of stuff to deal with as the presidency.
Sometimes i feel like im a life counselor or something. Im learning so much about life. How hard it is for people. How lost some people are. People come to us with all of their problems. Marriage, death, problems in the family... everything. Sometimes well all the time i think who am i so young to tell YOU who has like way more years of life then me to do. Its kind of mind blowing because the words that are put in my mouth to say are exactly what i need to say and they need to hear. Everytime. I dont even know haha. Its great. Its really humbling.
I cannot say the least of how i feel being here. It´s just amazing. I know i may make it sound like a dream world. There is a lot of hard work. A lot of walking. A lot of rejection. But "nothings more important than the attitude!" haha i think thats the quote in bandito but really ya it is the key. And I just so happen to usually see the bright side of things so good for us right!!! I´m doing great here. I´d like to hear from friends a little more...SCOTT and JAMES maybe you know haha but its good. There is a lot happening its kind of hard to explain it all on paper. We´re kicking but I guess. My new comp is kind of weird a little. Just really interesting. Like i love of him he just does these weird litle things. But im constantly changing my point of view. Changing is hard but its great.
Anyways yeah! I wouldn´t be doing anything else with my life right now!!!!! I get the study the gospel everyday for like 3 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who gets to do that everyday!!! THis is the best thing I will get to do in my life!!!!!! After this it will be crappy work and super hard making money focus on life for the rest of my life. You know what im saying right??? Oh well. I cannot describe how satisfied i am being here. This is the greatest opportunity i have in my life ever. Sometimes i get frusturated but then i just remind myself of that and im grateful. Thank you mom and dad and everyone who has helped pay for this because i LOVE IT. My life will be infinitiely better and more succesful.
WOW. Ok well I have no idea what else to say. I´m sure the second I get off the internet i will think of something I wished I had said. I´m going to buy a sweet Chile jersey now! Umm... yes.
Chaito familia and friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Con amor, ELDER REEDER
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