Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Week 31

It’s step by step here in Retiro. This was just a blur of a week.   Time flew fast and we found ourselves feeling like we didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted. It was really normal. Too normal for me. I'm getting really tired of the normal weeks here in Retiro. I want to see something of a change. I feel really hungry and thirsty for it. It was a hard week for finding people. Since the rules have changed that only street contacts count, I think we have been dropping the other ways of finding people off to the side a little too far. A lot of things just didn't turn out this week. But,  I'm excited for every new chance I have to start a new week to make improvements here in the sector.

Monday
We felt good. We felt energized for some reason. We started off good and ran around to some citas. Most fell but we were able to talk with a lot of good people. We ended the night having a family home evening at the Uribe's house. We shared the #BecauseOfHim video that just came out and talked about the savior. We finished and then made some brownies from the brownie mix I got a couple packages ago. It was a ton of fun enjoying the night with them.

Tuesday.
We had a slow day on Tuesday. We mostly visited members whether active, converts, or less actives. We ended the night with another family home evening with Miriam and her daughter Estephanía. We shared the same video, and turns out Estephanía has a ton of questions about the plan of salvation. She never got a testimony of anything in the church. She was just a baptismal number. That's the case with 70 percent of the people here. So we talked for a while about things about the plan of salvation and stuff. We finished the night by eating completos and playing games.

Wendesday.
We had a training in Parral given by one of the senior couples, the Scholes. Elder Scholes gave an incredible message and I enjoyed it very much. It taught me a lot about the work we need to do. It really affected me.
We had another slow day and sadly we had to drop our investigators Armandina and Daniela and Carmen and Carina because they aren't progressing and aren't really committed to go to church. It was a long day. We finished with yet another family home evening with Alejandro and Evelyn. We ate a ton of food and I had a spicy pepper. We all laughed as the tears streamed down my face! We shared a few scriptures and finished up.

Thursday.
We hit it hard with the contacts. We talked with a ton of people. That was our main focus for the day. We had to start finding new people. We ended up at Jorgé's house that night. Turns out that his wife was there along with the Sepulveda family. We were able to teach 4 MA's right there! It was a great lesson and we were grateful for the chance to be lead to an opportunity to help the branch.

Friday.
We headed out that morning for a conference in Chillán. That trip was a hastle. We had to get up really early and study, and then leave for a bus at 7 in the morning. We got to Parral, and left as a zone. We got to Chillán an hour later and walked to the chapel. Turns out the speaker couldn't make it so we just had some more trainings and we had practices.
As we headed back we got news that the buses were full. My district and I had to run to another terminal and catch a bus that was going to Santiago. We would be dropped off near Parral. So we got back pretty late.
We had an ok day. We had originally planned to go to Copihue, but that fell through because we were late getting back. We decided to visit some people on our mind. We decided we needed to strengthen this branch that day. We had a good day of visiting people like German, Matias (Less Active), and María (convert).

Saturday.
We had a great day. FINALLY. We were finally able to find some new's. We started off the day meeting with a member from Parral named Pancho, and we went to a set appointment. The lady's name is Maria José. We talked to her on Thursday. We got to her house and we shared a great lesson. We committed her to baptism and she accepted immediately. We were so stoked. She couldn't go to church this week but she was more than willing to accept to go the next week. We felt so good. We went out with renewed energy. We were stoked. We went out and had 3 more lessons. We had a good day and we're excited for things to finally start happening.

Sunday.
We had a good day. I was assigned a talk this week and I gave it on the importance of ''Living what we Learn''. I feel more comfortable giving talks in church these days. I crave for those opportunities. It went well. We had 39 people in church. It is progress. I am so happy to see the Saldaña family going to church again!!!! It is truly a miracle in my eyes. We went out and visited them that night and had a light 'Once'. They are committed to coming back to church. It couldn't be better.

All in all, we feel satisfied with what happened this week. Everything that is good that happens here is a huge success. I feel so privileged to be serving here at this time to help re-animate this place. I love it here. I love the people. And I know I can and will see many miracles in these next 6 weeks. I am so excited for the opportunities we are seeing.

I have been studying the life of the Savior for the last while and I have really learned a lot. I am so grateful for a loving Savior and for all that he has given us. I know that if we follow him, we will find peace in our trials and comfort in our sufferings. I know He lives. He is real, and he is waiting for us to obey so that he can help us. I know we have a loving Heavenly Father in whom we can confide. To him we can open our hearts. I know that they will help us. They are ready to lead us on. I love them and hope that I can be an instrument in their hands. I am so grateful for the chance to be here in Chile.  The things that I am learning here are so special to me and so personal. I am grateful for hard times. I know that they are meant to help us grow.

I hope all is well at home. I think of all you do, and how things are going in Utah.  I love you all so much. I miss you so much. I cannot wait to talk to you in just 2 weeks!! I cant wait to tell you more details life here in the mission. I love you and miss you so much. Until next week!

Elder Ethan Haws

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