Week #40

Week 9 in Valle Azapa!!!! BAPTISM!!!

Oh my!!

Well this week was just great!!! There wasn't much excitement at the beginning of the week, just normal daily missionary stuff. This week we did a ¨semana blanca¨(White Week) where just focus on the work and don't talk about stuff from back home and at the end of the week we do a fast. It was hard but since we had a BAPTISM!!!! it mad things a lot easier!!!! Yep,Saturday Elder Montgomery experienced his first baptism as a missionary which was a touching moment as a Papito! More importantly Antonella who was baptized, enjoyed it a lot and it was really special because she has been waiting 3 years to do this!!! It was a special opportunity to be the Elders to be there when she could make this first step in the Gospel!!!

Other than that these first few weeks with Elder Montgomery we`ve seen a lot of difficulties and obstacles but now I feel we`ve passed through this trial of faith and we`ve seen the first of many more blessings to come!!!! Love you all and hope you`re well!!!

Con mucho amor,

EE

"Even in the midst of great personal sorrow and pain, our Exemplar reached out to bless others. … His was not a life focused on the things he did not have. It was a life of reaching out in service to others."

—Howard W. Hunter

Week #39

Week 8 in Valle Azapa!!!!

Hola de Arica Chile!!!!!

Oh man we had a great past week!!!! Elder Montgomery is such a stud, his spanish is spectacular for the time he has so it makes my job just a little bit easier!! This past week we did a good bit of walking but thats alright, it helped E` Mont. break in his missionary legs!!!! We were able to invite two people to get baptized this past week which was pretty awesome becuase with my trainer E` Fuller we used these different signs with our hands to tell the other to do something and we`ve been doing that so it brings back some old memories!! Saturday we had the interview of Antonella and we`re having a baptism this week!!!!!! Its gonna be great!!!!!! We should be seeing some more the next coming weeks!!!!!

This past week I really felt a times really overwhelmed, preparing a talk for sacrament, preparing a class for district meeting,helping our investigators,training my companion and so on. But all you have to do is just remember that the Savior knows everying thing that your passing through. He knows how hard things are and he`s always there to help. We just need to reach out for his help. Love you all, hope you`re well!!

Con amor, 

EE

"Patience in affliction and suffering describes the life of Christ, the great exemplar. In moments of great suffering and pain which transpired in Gethsemane, He was able to express in fervent prayer, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39), giving us the example and a frame of reference for a life of obedience and perseverance, despite circumstances or external conditions in which we could find ourselves."

Week#38

Week 7 in Valle Azapa!!!! Con el hijito!!!!

Hola!!!!!!!!

Man it was a crazy week!!!!!!! Pretty much monday and tuesday I chilled with our Zone Leaders and that night I was sent off in a bus to Antofagasta for 12 hours!!! When I got to Antofa. we had an orientation with the president and some pizza which was great!!!!! ( the pizza) After that we were assign our companions!!!! My companion is Elder Montgomery from Georgia!!!! Hes 19 and has a lot of energy for the work!!! Its a little interesting since his spanish isnt the best and only has 1 or so months learning it and also im still mastering my spanish but that will just lead to more miracles I belive!!!

Actually it we´ve seen quite a few changes the past week and miracles up to now!!! I dont have much time to share the details and explain better but I know that Heavenly Father helps his children and that he leads this work and that im just a simple tool that he has but only through him this work can be done!

 

Love you all!!!!!

EE

Week #37

Week 6 in Valle de Azapa!!!!!!!! with transfers!!!!!

Hola!!!!!!

Oh my it was a great week!!!!!!!! I really don't remember what happened at the beginning because this weekend was crazy!!!! To give some information about the mission, every 6 weeks there is transfers and the assistants to the president call us Saturday. Well this transfer they called us Friday in the night, right before we go to bed!! So what happened is that I was in bed sleeping while Elder Mendoza was doing some art thing in the study room. So when they called he comes running in telling me the assistant are calling and was like yeah right and I kept sleeping even when i could hear there voice on speaker!!! So what happened is that Elder Mendoza left today but is still here in Arica but the other stake. As for me, I will have the privilege of being a PAPITO!!!!!!!!!!!! what that means is that tomorrow I leave in a bus to go to Antofagasta to pick up my new companion!!! My companion will be a newbie and I don't know who or what he is until Wednesday!!!!! So for the next 12 weeks I´ll be training this guy on how to be a missionary!!!! Its gonna be super fun!!! Not much else, pretty much the highlight of the week and also congratulations Caroline for your baptism!!!!!!!

-Con Mucho Amor,

EE

"At its core, pride is a sin of comparison, for though it usually begins with “Look how wonderful I am and what great things I have done,” it always seems to end with “Therefore, I am better than you.” When our hearts are filled with pride, we commit a grave sin, for we violate the two great commandments. Instead of worshipping God and loving our neighbor, we reveal the real object of our worship and love—the image we see in the mirror."

—Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Week #36

Week 5 in Valle de Azapa!!!

Hola!!! 

We had a great week here in Arica!!! It was actually pretty normal. I had two exchanges, one with Elder Vannatter of my district and one with Elder Jaramillo who was an ex-assistant in the mission. He`s a stud and I learned a ton from that guy!!! Today we went to some caves here and it was pretty cool!! There`s some sweet photos in my onedrive. This saturday we recive our cambios so we`ll see if Elder Mendoza will leave from here. Right now He has about 4 and a half months here so its possible. 

Well this past saturday we had a baptismal interview all ready for our investigator Graciela. She has quite a few years and forgets stuff quite easily, so when we came to her door ready for the interview she had completly forgotten about it! And was leaving to go somewhere else!! Well we are going to try and help her complete with her goal of baptism for this week but we are still not sure if it will happen. But this day we had so many miricales!!!!! We found 2 familys that were just awesome!!! But at the end of the day, a member came up to us and said that her grand daughter wants to get baptized!!! She has been assisting church for over 2 years and we didnt even know that she isnt a member!!! So the Lord really blessed us when we were having a day that started out pretty bad!!! 

Not much else, and hope you all are doing good!!!!

Con Amor,

EE

"I want you to know that in my life when I have had disappointments and delays, I have lived to see that if I continue to knock with unshakable faith and persist in my patience—waiting upon the Lord and his calendar—I have discovered that the Lord’s “no’s” are merely preludes to an even greater “yes.”"

—Patricia T. Holland