July 29, 2013

Otra semana en CHILE!

Hey I just realized that I wrote the title in Spanish, but I'm too lazy to change it...

Hey there!!!  How is everything going back home?  Things are going pretty well here.  The weather hasn't been too bad lately.  It hasn't been all that cold and it only drizzled one day.  I really don't mind the cold as long as doesn't rain.  So... I've been pretty happy recently as far as the weather goes.

I was talking with my companion the other day, and we realized that this just seems like normal life now.  I've now been with my companion for almost 4 months, and it just seems pretty normal everything.  I will soon be reaching 9 months in this same house.  I just feel like living here in Santa Cruz is just what I do these days.  I almost feel like I am part of the District working to try to help things get better here.

I honestly really love this opportunity that I have at this point in my mission to be working like I am now.  We are focusing a lot on helping less active members come back to church, and on helping the branch organizations to work like they should.  It is a really great experience since it is really helping me to be able to learn how things should be working in the church and how church leaders should act to be able to really help the members in their branches.  I feel like the things that I am learning now will really be able to help me when I have other responsibilities in the future.  Right now we are working especially so that home and visiting teaching start working and so that the presidencies of the organizations are able to help their members grow spiritually and remain strong.  Otherwise, it is very possible that things will just return to how they were before we came here.

We are also working with a family here who is coming back to church and are preparing their three children to be baptized.  It was really neat to have a great experience this past week with them.  We had challenged them to pray to know if Joseph Smith really was a prophet, and when we came back for the next visit, each of the children felt an answer in their own way.  The youngest boy felt a burning in his chest and hands that even his mom could feel as they held hands together to pray.  The middle child felt a pain that she had leave her as she knelt to pray.  And the oldest felt that everything seemed to make sense and become clear in her mind as she prayed to know.  It is interesting to know that each one of us can receive answers in our own ways.  And it is inspiring to know that God answers the prayers of even the smallest child who sincerely wants to know.

Well I decided to attach a couple of pictures of some things that have happened lately.  There's a picture of me cutting up some onions for a Mexican dish that the senior missionary couple made for me and my companion called Pozole.  There's also a picture of me, my companion, and some other missionaries from the zone on the day before changes when two of the other missionaries left.

Well I hope all is well back home.  I'll see you later!!!

Elder Stollenwerk