Another week down! My time is really going quick here in Concé.
Here’s how the week went.
Mini cambios and finding some more people:
I had a mini cambio with Elder Colque from Bolivia on
Tuesday and it went pretty well. We found a lot of futures and were able
to get to know a lot of less actives. Elder Colque is on his last cambio and is
headed home in 3 weeks. We had a good day together and talked about many
missionary experiences.
Weather and apparent lightning:
During the night of the mini cambio there was an apparent
thunderstorm. AND I SLEPT THROUGH IT! I have been waiting all of my
mission to see a lightning bolt to no avail. The one night that there is a
storm I’m so dead tired that I miss it. So sad.
The weather has been nice this week. You can definitely feel the
chilly (haha… Chile…) winds in the late afternoon, they are starting to come
stronger and colder. Fall is in the air. During the day it feels like the
perfect temperature.
The 4 missionaries of Concé:
Oh man. We 4 missionaries are having a real good time. I haven’t
been in a house that has gotten along so well. We are all good friends. Elder
Letelier, Castro, Flores and I constantly laugh. We are a hilarious group if I
do say so myself.
Rocking a talent show, folk style:
So the Laguna Redonda ward who is sharing the chapel with us
because theirs is under construction hosted a talent show on Friday. Like
2 weeks ago we decided we were going to take a swing at it. Elder Castro and I
are pretty musical so we printed off the sheet music for the spirit of god and
we made a little arrangement for the talent show. It turned out awesome. Being
up on stage was crazy. I haven’t played for people like that for AGES. I was so
nervous. But it turned out good.
Stake Conference:
We had stake conference this weekend. It turned out well. Elder
Nuñez an area seventy from Santiago came down and presided at the meeting.
There were some great talks, loud children, and the microphone was really quiet
but it all went well. The talks were mostly based on temples and families.
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| Plaza de Tribunales de Justicia |
Prayers answered:
As we were leaving from the Saturday session we were
walking home in the dark downtown streets. We came up to one of the biggest
plazas here; the ‘’plaza de tribunales de justicia.’’ We were walking
down the far end and all of a sudden I hear, ‘’Elder!’’ I turn and there is one
of Hermana Yolanda’s daughters. Hermana Yolanda is one of the less actives that
we have been working with. She is older
so her daughter is like 40 something years old. She came up and greeted us and
we started talking. For some reason we got on the subject about her mom. She
said that she had passed by recently and had had an interesting conversation
with her mom. For a while now Yolanda hasn’t had a fully functioning cable and
antenna to her TV so she often feels lonely and doesn’t have much help most of
the time because there are some complicated family situations and hard things
like that. She began to explain, ‘’I was
talking with my mother and she said that she needed help in this last week to
replace the TV cable and antenna and she didn’t have the means necessary to do
that. Suddenly (the other daughter) showed up and helped my mom get it all
fixed. Afterward Yolanda said that it wasn’t the blessing that her sister had
helped set up the TV, but the simple, reverent, and humble prayers of Elder
Haws praying for the blessings of temporal and spiritual things had helped her.’’
As she told me this story she began to tear up and I did as
well. She expressed her gratitude and
began to disclose many terrible things that had happened in her life and
reasons to why she had left the church and joined another. She also told us about many other very
difficult things that she had gone through. I was touched. She said that she would always be
grateful for the missionaries and expressed her still good but buried feelings
towards the church. I expressed my love to her and her family and testified of
the God’s love for her. I guess we
really never know of the simple and small things in our lives that make great
things happen. I had no idea that my prayers to end lessons with Yolanda and
her family had made such a big impact on this family. Unintentionally I had
softened the hearts of a family. God works through mysterious and simple ways
to bless people. We just have to do what we need to and be in tune with
the spirit so that we can help bless others.
Soon her Husband and child came by. As her son came she embraced
him and said ‘’look son, Its Elder Haws!’’ and began to remind him of the times
that they had been with Yolanda visiting while we passed by. We ended the
conversation and said our goodbyes and I, with teary eyes, walked reverently
home.
Lessons of faith:
This week I studied a lot about doubt and faith. From stories of
our Savior Jesus Christ to conference talks, I learned a lot about how we need
to act without fear or doubt and remain calm keeping our faith and doing all
that is necessary.
Elder Uchtdorf mentioned this in a talk a few conferences ago.
‘’Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters—my dear
friends—please, first doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.8 We must
never allow doubt to hold us prisoner and keep us from the divine love, peace,
and gifts that come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.’’
I also like these two experiences from the life of Jesus Christ.
We learn a lot about faith in the church. And it plays a huge
part in our lives. I hope that we can all stand strong doubting our doubts and
staying strong on the straight and narrow path so that we can reach our divine
goals. Our savior Jesus Christ is always inviting us to act with a little more
faith. I hope that we can all do so.
Thank you all for your great messages. I love the inspiration
that I get week to week. I love you all so much. Make the most of this week! Until the next.
Elder Ethan Haws
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