Queridos amigos, 

Wow. Fasting works.  After fasting and praying a lot yesterday, we almost immediately witnessed the blessings/miracles.

We met a guy named Luis yesterday, who let us in, and we taught lesson 3. At the end, we extended a baptismal date, and he accepted it. We asked him to say the closing prayer. He started the prayer with "Padre Celestial," which is normal. He began to sob. He thanked God for the tranquility that he could feel right then. The spirit was so strong, and we know he realized this is what he needs in his life. He gave a beautiful prayer. He thanked us so much for coming and we will visit him again later this week when he has more time. 

We've visited this Peruvian couple a couple of times. She is an inactive member, and he is a nonmember. They are not married and they have a son together. Eduardo is very interested in the church and always asks a lot of questions. Sandy wants to come back and to have an eternal family. Elder Kelson felt strongly impressed that we should end the visit yesterday talking a little bit about the law of chastity, and leaving the pamphlet with them. At the end, Eduardo jokingly told us to get them married tomorrow. We were so happy how it turned out, and will be making plans for getting them married and baptized shortly. 

There's so much more I could write, but I'm completely out of time.

I'll just bear testimony that fasting and prayer truly works. The things we prayed for are happening in this area. 

Elder Bednar will be here on Saturday, which is going to be very awesome. There will be something like 400 missionaries, at least. We are excited to have him here in Chile. It will be a great blessing.

We have transfers this week, although they're being delayed until Monday. At this point we don't know what will be happening. 

Elder Garrett    

We have had quite a bit of rain the past three days. Luckily, we also had conference. Yesterday we rode home from a session on our bikes in the rain. We were soaked and had to change our clothes before we left again. But how about General Conference? It recharged our spirits. I understood most of what was said. I think most of the translators were Mexican, much easier to understand. Elder Scott prerecords his talks in Spanish, so that was cool. We are very excited that Elder Bednar will be here on the 20th.

How about that announcement Saturday morning? There is going to be a surge of missionaries in this mission come next year. And we already have 200, more than half of which have less than one year in the mission. We are very excited. We have to let President know this week if the wards we’re in can handle two more missionaries. Sounds like John could be out in under a year. That´s pretty crazy. We were so, so excited. I am very excited for John, should he decide to leave earlier. The most important tools a missionary needs are 1. A testimony, 2. The Holy Ghost, and 3. The Book of Mormon.

Today while we were on a bus (the drivers are absolutely nuts!), a lady got mad at the driver and yelled at him and hit him with her purse 3 times. It was super funny, and yet we should've been scared for our lives.

This week was a little rough on us, but conference made us feel so much better. The spirit was so strong, and I received personal revelation through the Holy Ghost.

Sé que hay un profeta de Dios. Dios le habla y el profeta nos habla la palabra de Dios. Jesucristo restauró Su poder y autoridad, y llamó José Smith. Thomas S. Monson es el profeta de Dios hoy. Puedo sentirlo cuando habla. Compartan el evangelio con sus amigos!

 
Elder Garrett

Top of Form

We had a really great week this week. But before I get to that, I have a cool story about a missionary in our mission.

He is either from Ecuador or Paraguay... not sure. He and his whole family were Jehovah´s Witnesses his whole life. He says he didn´t like the Mormons. But one day when he was 17 he decided to let the Mormon missionaries talk to him. He felt the spirit and wanted to keep meeting with them. His parents refused to let him meet with them in their home. So, he would sneak out of his bedroom window, which was on the second floor, in order to meet with the missionaries in a park. He decided he wanted to get baptized, but his parents refused. As he was under 18, he needed parental permission to be baptized. He stayed up all night one night practicing his mom´s signature, signed the paperwork the missionaries gave him and didn´t tell them he´d forged it.

His parents were very upset, maybe even furious, that he chose to get baptized. He snuck out of the second story window every week for church. His Bishop told him he should serve a mission, and he decided he wanted to. He gathered all of the clothing and other things he would need, and he and his Mormon friends would sneak them into the house through the second story window. He didn´t tell his parents he was going on a mission until the day before he was going to leave for the MTC.

When he told them, they were furious. They told him he didn´t even have any clothes to take, at which point he showed them the suitcases and clothing he´d bought on his own. His mom told him, "If you go, don´t come back." He was completely rejected by his family.

Now we get to the cool part. Four months in to his mission, he got an email from an ex-girlfriend. The Lord softened the hearts of his family. Not only did his parents get baptized, but, in one day, 32 members of his immediate and extended family got baptized.

We had a very busy week this week. We decided we really wanted to complete our goal of 140 contacts this week (10 each, every day). But, because we were so busy, there were days where we didn´t quite get them done. Yesterday, we did 42 contacts. We made it. There were even times when I was talking to one person and Elder Kelson was talking to another. That was a little tough, but I did alright. We knocked so many doors and talked to everyone we could. We were very much blessed to find several really good potential investigators.

The Bishop had asked us to focus our efforts on two certain streets. I have no doubt he was inspired, because we found a lady who has clearly been prepared by the Lord. Her name is Mariela. She attended a certain church with her family for about 7 years. She had some concerns, though, and talked to the pastor about them. She was concerned that it seemed like because she didn´t have much money she wasn´t really accepted there. Also, she was concerned because the pastor didn´t exactly practice what he preached. She brought this up. He told her that she was a child of the devil and that she was going to hell. She was shocked. Her family sided with the pastor and completely rejected her from the church, and from the family.

She told us she didn´t want to believe him, but was still worried nonetheless, not only for herself, but for her children. She really opened up to us and talked for quite a while. We taught her a little bit about the restoration. Not only did we give her the restoration pamphlet, but we also gave her a Book of Mormon, because she really likes to read, and really needs some peace and comfort in her life. On top of that, she asked us what her purpose in being here is. So, we also gave her a Plan of Salvation pamphlet.

She is so meek and humble and she really wants to know where the truth is. She´s been investigating churches and reading the Bible to try and find it. We are very excited to work with her.

Other cool experience. We contacted this lady who told us we could pass by a certain day. She then told us she was actually Mormon. But she was inactive and had a bunch of weird ideas. She wanted to convert us to her ideas about God, and wanted to argue with us the whole time. We were patient, and started with a prayer. The Spirit seriously flooded the room. It was so strong that as we shared the message of the Restoration, she couldn´t argue, because she could not deny that she could feel the Holy Ghost. It was a really incredible experience, and we were invited back.

Watch general conference.

Elder Garrett

¡Hola!

So many fiestas. I mean, we´re talking about people who know how to party. For an entire week. It has been pretty crazy.

I received my first kiss from a drunk guy last Monday night. Congratulations, right? It was slobbery and it took a while to get the feel of his scratchy beard off my cheek. And we were trying to teach a lesson in this 15 year old’s doorway. On the 19th we encountered Juan Carlos, a very talkative drunk, whom we could not get away from for 30 minutes. We were almost late getting home. He wanted to accompany us, so we said we had a meeting first. And since he was going the same way as us, we ran like there was going to be no tomorrow down a side street so we could get home long before he could see where we live.

Yesterday we encountered a very angry drunk. Usually they´re pretty nice to us when they´re drunk. They just talk forever and ever or give us big wet kisses. This guy was so mad at us for being in his country, and thinking that he´s poor, when his shoes were a nicer brand than ours. He scared off the old lady we were talking to, which made us a little mad. We honestly thought he was going to hit us, and both were tempted at times to just run away from him. But we waited it out. Elder Kelson pulled a fake phone call, but the borracho told him to put the phone away. He took the fake call anyway thinking we could both get away, but instead, I was stuck speaking with a drunk man who was speaking a language I hardly know, just praying that someone would come along to distract him away from us. He told me I should stay away from my companion because he´s a bad influence on me. Haha. Another drunk guy distracted him and he let us go. He was nuts, though. Fun stuff. We are definitely watched over, I will say that much.

We had a huge ward activity with the 18th. We had tons of great food and played tons of games and such. Tons of empanadas con queso, which are my favorite.

We had a couple of really great experiences this week (Other than the adventures listed above). We found this really amazing evangelico who really tries to live what the scriptures teach. He was incredible, and we left him a Book of Mormon. We really think he will actually study it and pray about it. He told us if the book is true, we will meet again. We really think God will put him in our path again.

We got a great reference from one of the members. The wife is inactive, and the husband and children are not members. The wife was really excited to have us visit and wants to do a family home evening with another family in the ward. She said if she asked her husband to go to church he would. And she´s having problems with her 13 year old daughter, for which we prescribed church, and young womens. The young women in this ward are really supportive and friendly towards investigators. We will be doing a family home evening with them tomorrow with a family from the ward, for which we are excited.

Last night we set a date for the baptism of Eric and Marjorie. The missionaries have met with them for a long time. We bore testimony and left 2 Nephi 31 with them to read, and pray about it. They said they want to get baptized but want to get married first, which is convenient, because we need them to do that anyway. We are going to take them to visit the temple, hopefully, this weekend so they can see the great blessing of an eternal family is in their future. They have a daughter who is two or three.

Things are starting to pick up around here, for which we are very grateful. The fiestas were good, but I´m glad they´re over now....

Elder Bednar will be speaking to us on October 20. We are stoked for that.

Pray and rely on the Lord every day. Don´t forget Him.

 

Elder Garrett

 

 

 

 Elder Garrett and Elder Kelson in front of the Mission Home, which used to be an Embassy.

 

 

Stake activity for 18 de Septiembre, national dance.

 

 

Barbeque on 18 de Septiembre

 

The family we ate lunch with on the 18th. They have a son serving a mission in brazil. Elders Shelley, Villagran, myself, and Kelson. 

What a week it has been! Sometimes when I wake up freezing in the morning to the sound of wild dogs barking like mad, I look out my window, which is barred, and I ask myself, "where in the world am I?," at which point I remember I am in Chile. It's so weird to think that a little less than a week ago, I was sweating in the heat of summer in Utah. We've actually worn jackets quite a bit this last week, because it has gotten pretty cold the past few days. When we wake up, we pray on top of our beds, underneath three thick blankets and a sheet, and then roll out of bed and immediately start exercising in the hopes that we will warm up a little bit. The good thing about this mission is that we don't have to wake up until 7:30... we go to bed at 11:30 though. It's because a lot of people work later, so our best proselyting time is between like 5-10.

So far I like it. I hardly understand anything people say to me, but other than that, it's great. They say I'll be able to understand them better in like two weeks. I really hope so haha. 

September 18th is Independence Day... really the only big holiday here. Bigger than Christmas. And they celebrate it all week long. I have seen more red, white, and blue in the past couple of days than I think I have ever seen in my life. It's bigger than the 4th of July, I'm telling you. The Chilean flag is everywhere. I have also seen and will see more drunks than I've ever seen before. It's always fun when we're talking to someone and a drunk comes up to me and tries to communicate with me. It's hard enough for me to understand these people when they're sober... We're not exactly sure what we'll be able to do tomorrow, as everyone will either be drunk or partying (or both) all day long... but it will be a normal day for us. A lot of our investigators are out of town with the holiday. There was a huge stake activity on Saturday celebrating the 18th and there will be a huge ward party this Saturday.

 

Our ward is Renca Dos. Oh, by the way, I'm serving in Renca right now. I can't exactly tell you where that is... because I'm really not sure... I just know I'm to the north of Santiago. Let's just say it's a very good thing Elder Kelson knows this area. If I was in charge, we would probably accidentally be halfway to Buenos Aires by now. Oh, by the way, my trainer is Elder Kelson. We're hoping after the holiday we can have a little more success, when people might actually be home so we can teach. 

We live with two other elders, Elder Villagran (de Guatemala), y Elder Shelley. 

We eat a huge lunch in members homes almost every day. So far I've had some good food and some food I've just choked down out of politeness. We've had some good empenadas, completos, choripan(?), and something we just refer to as "Jackie Chan." 

A lot of times we talk to people about how when Christ organized his church it had a prophet, 12 Apostles, Christ at the head, and His authority (priesthood). We explain when they died, it was lost. They agree with us that the true church needs all these things, and that baptism is not valid without the authority. Then we tell them all of these things have been restored but when we ask if we can teach more, they say they already have a church. It gets a little frustrating some times. 

On a funny note, I contacted a Pastor Evangélico and his wife the other night on our way home...they were not interested. I also knocked a door wherein lived a bunch of nuns. They were also not interested. 

It's so great to be out here. It really is a great feeling. I may not be able to communicate very well with these people, but I'm having a good time and learning to rely on the Lord. 

I hope you are all doing well in the states. I'm getting more comfortable here everyday. I do have some blisters, and my feet hurt for several days, but it's better now.

Elder Garrett

 

 

I am safely in Chile.  I got in a couple power naps during the flight... maybe 30 minutes tops.  As soon as I'm done writing this, I get to go take a nap, so...

The missionary next to me and I got to talk to this lady named Gaby, who is from Chile/USA.  At first, she didn't want to hear about our religion, but about 3 hours of talking about random things and learning about her, she asked us to teacher her.  Actually, she used the word debate, but it was more like a conversation.

We talked a lot about agency (albedrio).  We shared scriptures, then she closed the book and decided to open to a random page.  Guess what opened?  Index page with "Albedrio".  She loved it and found great scriptures.

She told us how bad her day and week had been, and how she wasn't supposed to be on that flight with us, but she felt like we were angels and she felt a lot of peace.

I think we made a great impression on her and cleared up a lot of her concerns.  And we taught the law of chastity... bizarre, but she loved the pamphlet and it did actually fit in with her concerns.  It was an amazing experience and the Spirit was so strong.

Elder Garrett

So, we got our flight plans last Thursday.  We fly Delta the whole way. Flight 985 from SLC to Atlanta 12:50 PM to 06:28 PM on September 11. Then Flight 147 from Atlanta to Santiago 10:35 PM (Sept 11) to 09:10 AM on Sept 12.  We leave the MTC at 8 AM and have a four hour layover in Atlanta, where we'll eat some real food and make some phone calls.

A week from now I'll be preaching the gospel in the streets of Santiago. How cool is that?

I've got one more week to practice my Spanish before I enter a world where I may only be able to communicate in Spanish. But hey, I can talk about Joseph Smith's First Vision pretty much fluently, what else do I need?

It's amazing how strongly the Spirit testifies every time we teach that story. Because we are testifying that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that He and His son, Jesus Christ are two separate beings, and that the heavens are open in our day. We too can receive personal revelation. For example, during a lesson, I was acting as an investigator and I was reminded of something my dad once said, and prompted to ask the missionaries who were teaching me that if they are happy because of the gospel, why I could not see it when they taught it. It was a great lesson for me especially, and I have been trying to show the joy that I have when I'm teaching. Through personal revelation we have all become much better teachers.  

Also... I've been really sick since about Friday or Saturday, but I'm getting better every day and hoping by September 11 I'll be better, as I will be on an airplane for something like 17 hours.

I'm so excited that I will finally be teaching people, and bringing something they desperately need into their lives. The Lord has blessed me so much in my life, and especially now with Spanish. I know it will be several months before I can really communicate comfortably with people, but the amount I've learned already is incredible! The Lord certainly takes part in the preparation of His missionaries. I see His hand in my life every day.

Yo sé que Jesucristo vive y es mí Salvador. Él sufrió por mís pecados y todos de mís affliciones y dolores. Quiere ayudarme porque sabe todas las cosas que siento. Y sé que tenemos un profeta de Dios por neustro día. Jesucristo restauró su Iglesia por medio del profeta José Smith. Tenemos la opportunidad usar la expiación cada día.  

I know that this is His work, and I cannot wait to get out there and help people to follow Him. "For I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day." (Alma 36:3). Know in whom you should trust, and trust in Him, because He wants to help you and guide you, and I promise you that He will, because he is doing so for me. "And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me... and I do put my trust in Him, and He will still deliver me." (v. 27)

God be with you 'til we meet again

Elder Garrett