Week 12 (12-16-13)

Hola! Again another week has gone by. It’s been a good week. We have worked hard and I have learned a lot of lessons this week. It’s so great hearing from everyone and how everything is going on at home! I can’t express how grateful I am for all of you. I love you all. 

This week wasn’t much better as to finding more people, but I still had a good time and learned lots. It was eye opening in a lot of ways. 

Monday,

Was kind of crazy. Things just got to a boiling point with all the frustrations we have been having lately. Elder Froerer got a little flustered and it wasn’t too fun. We got back to the casa and relaxed a bit. We went up to one of the hills in our sector, and we got some members to go help us find and teach people. We were stoked. We taught a super Catholic hermana, and an Evangelical preacher. The lessons didn’t really phase them but we were glad we actually taught two more new people. We went back down and had a fun noche de hogar(family home evening) with la famila Reyes, Miriam, and Lidia. 

Tuesday, 

Regular day of work, and not much happened. We were working in A and D, which have been pretty much dead for the past while as to finding more people. We also met with our ward mission leader, Pato, and set goals for mission work in the barrio for the coming year. 

Wednesday,

Somewhat regular day once again. Elder Pulsipher, the second counselor in the mission presidency came to work on his documents and all the work we have done with them (the p-doc where we go out and verify old and inactive members of the church with the little information we are given, like an address.) He came to the chapel and we worked in MLS and updated records of the church. Also, he gave us an updated list and new stuff to do. Since Elder Froerer’s chances were high of leaving this cambio, we had to use part of our morning studies to go to the chapel and update records with the 6 and a half months of knowledge he has gained of Nonguen. We worked on that for a while, and then had a normal day. We met with the usual people like Ignacio, Matias, and Tomas. And then we worked in C. We found this guy named Ricardo who is strongly addicted to smoking and drinking and owns a nice house. He has a huge garden and patio within his gated property. He looks like he’s 50 years old or so and is taking care of his 85 year old mom who can’t do much at all. He is a really friendly man, but is stressed with the burdens of life. He wants to change and have more peace in his life. We taught him the restoration, and it went pretty well, but since he was kind of drunk he didn’t catch on too much. 

Thursday

We worked with the p-doc records in the morning and had another kind of non- exciting day. We met with some good people but nothing amazing really happened. 

Friday

We had planning for church attendance, and companionship inventory. It went really well. We both kind of figured out why E Froerer and I had been companions all along. We brought up that at times we have felt kind of distanced as companions, and that there was some friction at the moment. We discussed in great detail patience and things we have learned. We haven’t always gotten along that great. But we have learned so much from each other. He is the complete opposite of me. He always played sports, can make decisions on a dime, and tends to lean to "If you want it done right, do it yourself." I’m completely opposite. We have both learned patience and humility. Through this talk, we became better companions. We had yet another normal day. We ventured out to another sector, Santa Sabina, where Elder Froerer had to give an interview with another investigator. After, we came back and worked some more in D.

Saturday. 

Better day. We finished up the p-doc inventory, and went to lunch with hermano Wladimir Aburto Rico. He’s the guy we have been helping move boulders, and carve stairs in his backyard for service times. I had no idea what I was getting into when we went to lunch. Little did I know that the hermano loves to have food challenges with the missionaries. We walked in and sat down to a table filled with every condiment, aliments (side food) for tacos you could ever imagine. We were going to eat some serious tacos. We all sat down and began to eat. At first I ate slow, cause I didn’t want to look like a pig, and eat all the food. But from seemingly nowhere the hermana just kept going back and getting more fresh tortillas from the kitchen. They just kept heaping on my plate. We ate until it hurt. The hermano finished at about 10 and Elder Froerer and I couldn’t take more than 9. It was ridiculous. We spent the rest of the day waddling around Nonguen with our stomachs about to explode. It was a good time. We had some good lessons and things went all right.

Sunday

Good day. Our church block was cut to an hour cause of the voting and election of the new presidenta de Chile. We had a good lunch at la familia Ojedas. They are such an incredible family. After, we went to the house and studied, prepared, and relaxed and laughed with our extra time. After, we visited with some people. We were invited to a surprise once with la familia Torres. They cooked up some delicious Sopapias. They're like mini scones that taste really good. We visited with Miriam and Jenny as well. We had a nice day, and we went home finishing the week with a good attitude. 

Monday

Today was cambios. Our zone has stayed pretty much the same but Elder Froerer is leaving to Talchauano. Elder Shumway is leaving to be a zone leader in Chillan. I’m going to miss these guys. My mission dad is always going be one I’ll never forget, same with Elder Shumway. My new companion will be Elder Layton. He was one of the office elders and he’s going to be great. I’m excited for these next couple weeks. 

The week hasn’t been anything spectacular. We didn’t really find anyone special or have any major events occur, but I learned a lot about myself and what mission work is about. Even though times get tough out here, I only need to focus on my purpose and look on the bright side of things. I’m grateful for the help of a gracious Savior who knows my struggles perfectly out here. I’ve had good times, and I’ve had the rough times. Both have taught me so much during the 12 weeks I’ve been a missionary. I’m grateful to be able to just be here and serve with everything I have. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to bring people to the source of true happiness and to be able to serve them and befriend so many people. I’m grateful for my testimony that I have to share. God lives and he loves us. His Son Jesus Christ is our Redeemer. He leads this church and this work. I’m grateful to be a representative of Him. I hope you all have another great week! I miss you all and love you so much. Till next time. 

Elder Ethan Haws