Hey folks!
Welp. Another cambio is coming to its end. A short one, only five weeks, so that the elders who are leaving can get home before Christmas! Fun for them. A little sad for us. But we are going to have a great time with all the activities comin up with the ward and everything here in TC!
It will be weird going back to school again after the mission, but definitely not any harder. The schedule on the mission really teaches you how to use your time wisely- one mess up in the schedule and literally nothing else goes as well as you would like.
So let’s see. Lots going on this week in Talca Centro. We have had a lot of people who we thought were golden just completely go off the deep end. One called us completely drunk and I talked with him for about 5 minutes how he just loves us but has different views of the Word of Wisdom and convenios and all that. Good guy, but honestly, the Chileans can be pretty frustrating at times. Chismosos, mentirosos, orgullosos. But it’s great to find those that want to listen to us and change their lives. We have a few that we are visiting that are promising, but it is still early and we will see. Really it all depends on if they can have enough faith to try to go to church. If they can just go once they are gonna feel something special there, and that makes all the difference.
It’s us and Jardin del Valle in our district now- we had a minicambio this week again, me with Elder Silva again, but this time in TC. He is pretty tough to work with. Very quiet direct, but a good missionary. Didnt have a lot of success with him. Didnt plan well enough, and didnt get all the visits we needed done. But this week should go a lot better. We have some investigators that should start to progress. Ill share about two of them.
Javier has talked a lot with missionaries in the past. He is a real nervous guy that suffers from panic attacks. Lives with his parents, he is almost forty. I think he has troubles with smoking. He has gone to church once, and he wants to be baptized, but he has a hard time going to church because it makes him really nervous. Which is sad. But we will work hard with him and pray that he can have the faith and courage to do what he needs to.
Felipe is a young guy that was in Church on Sunday with a member. She found him on the street and invited him to church. He has worked as a clown in the circus but got into drugs and now lives on the street. He is a good guy, but seems like he has a hard time understanding, and we are pretty sure he can’t read, although he says he can. We talked with him at church, then visited him in the members house later in the afternoon. We are gonna look for a job for him, do some service with him, and really just try to save this kids life. It’s possible, if he is willing to just do it.
But that’s how it is. It’s all there- people just need to ACT! Super simple- like lookin at a snake on a stick, but still, for pride, or malcomunicacion, or other things, people who honestly need what we have won’t do anything! It’s sad. But we do what we can. I am learning lots of patience and I think I have learned a lot about the balance we need as missionaries with Elder Conti. Fun, but spiritual. Direct, but loving. Focused on our purpose of bringing others to Christ and helping them receive eternal life, rather than the darn numbers. And more patience. And probably above all, humility. Poco por poco thats startin to come too.
We have been fixing the ward records all week- updating them to all the people that have died, moved, the houses that no longer exist after the terramoto, and all the menos activos that lie to us when we ask if they know the member.
While we were updating that, we realized that Rayen Concha, a less active daughter of Fabiola, our favorite lady who washes our clothes, hasn’t been baptized. We are working on that, but Fabiola is really strict that she won’t force her daughter to do anything and she doesn’t want us doing it either. So we have to tread really carefully there. Jose our golden investigator who won’t keep the word of wisdom and doesn’t understand repentance is living in a house of all guys who yell at us. Drunks. Awkward the lessons there.
We are having a mission conference this week- should be really neat to see everyone! Hopefully I see Elder Shumway! Keep me updated on all the mission calls- Awesome that Steph Tidwell is coming here! I met an elder Riley Greenwood today, the son of Ann Perry, the daughter of Peggy Wheelwright today. Had no idea I had a relative in this mission. Whoda thunk.
Say hi to Allie and Ben and Thomas and Carson for me- they're all great and I hope things are going well as they finish up their semester! Game time!
Welp. Another cambio is coming to its end. A short one, only five weeks, so that the elders who are leaving can get home before Christmas! Fun for them. A little sad for us. But we are going to have a great time with all the activities comin up with the ward and everything here in TC!
It will be weird going back to school again after the mission, but definitely not any harder. The schedule on the mission really teaches you how to use your time wisely- one mess up in the schedule and literally nothing else goes as well as you would like.
So let’s see. Lots going on this week in Talca Centro. We have had a lot of people who we thought were golden just completely go off the deep end. One called us completely drunk and I talked with him for about 5 minutes how he just loves us but has different views of the Word of Wisdom and convenios and all that. Good guy, but honestly, the Chileans can be pretty frustrating at times. Chismosos, mentirosos, orgullosos. But it’s great to find those that want to listen to us and change their lives. We have a few that we are visiting that are promising, but it is still early and we will see. Really it all depends on if they can have enough faith to try to go to church. If they can just go once they are gonna feel something special there, and that makes all the difference.
It’s us and Jardin del Valle in our district now- we had a minicambio this week again, me with Elder Silva again, but this time in TC. He is pretty tough to work with. Very quiet direct, but a good missionary. Didnt have a lot of success with him. Didnt plan well enough, and didnt get all the visits we needed done. But this week should go a lot better. We have some investigators that should start to progress. Ill share about two of them.
Javier has talked a lot with missionaries in the past. He is a real nervous guy that suffers from panic attacks. Lives with his parents, he is almost forty. I think he has troubles with smoking. He has gone to church once, and he wants to be baptized, but he has a hard time going to church because it makes him really nervous. Which is sad. But we will work hard with him and pray that he can have the faith and courage to do what he needs to.
Felipe is a young guy that was in Church on Sunday with a member. She found him on the street and invited him to church. He has worked as a clown in the circus but got into drugs and now lives on the street. He is a good guy, but seems like he has a hard time understanding, and we are pretty sure he can’t read, although he says he can. We talked with him at church, then visited him in the members house later in the afternoon. We are gonna look for a job for him, do some service with him, and really just try to save this kids life. It’s possible, if he is willing to just do it.
But that’s how it is. It’s all there- people just need to ACT! Super simple- like lookin at a snake on a stick, but still, for pride, or malcomunicacion, or other things, people who honestly need what we have won’t do anything! It’s sad. But we do what we can. I am learning lots of patience and I think I have learned a lot about the balance we need as missionaries with Elder Conti. Fun, but spiritual. Direct, but loving. Focused on our purpose of bringing others to Christ and helping them receive eternal life, rather than the darn numbers. And more patience. And probably above all, humility. Poco por poco thats startin to come too.
We have been fixing the ward records all week- updating them to all the people that have died, moved, the houses that no longer exist after the terramoto, and all the menos activos that lie to us when we ask if they know the member.
While we were updating that, we realized that Rayen Concha, a less active daughter of Fabiola, our favorite lady who washes our clothes, hasn’t been baptized. We are working on that, but Fabiola is really strict that she won’t force her daughter to do anything and she doesn’t want us doing it either. So we have to tread really carefully there. Jose our golden investigator who won’t keep the word of wisdom and doesn’t understand repentance is living in a house of all guys who yell at us. Drunks. Awkward the lessons there.
We are having a mission conference this week- should be really neat to see everyone! Hopefully I see Elder Shumway! Keep me updated on all the mission calls- Awesome that Steph Tidwell is coming here! I met an elder Riley Greenwood today, the son of Ann Perry, the daughter of Peggy Wheelwright today. Had no idea I had a relative in this mission. Whoda thunk.
Say hi to Allie and Ben and Thomas and Carson for me- they're all great and I hope things are going well as they finish up their semester! Game time!
Have a great week!
Elder Brown
This is me in front of a weird rock church by
our house. The sign says they are preparing the saints for latter days, and talks about the same organization, apostles, profetas, etc. They are called
"Hijos de trueno." Like James and John. Boanerges. Ha ah funny stuff.
Me with my Christmas packages! I took the
liberty of wrapping them on up.
Me and Elder Greenwood. Good guy. Good at soccer
too. He was just here for the day- not really sure why. But cool!
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