Greetings from Santiago, Chile!!!!!
Things are great here! My mission is super ghetto, but perfect. The sector(area) I`m in is one of the wealthier areas though. My trainer`s name is Elder Peck. He is a super nice guy. He is from Pocatello, Idaho. He has been out six months and has been in this sector the entire six months. My first day, we had a lot of orientation, got assigned companions, more orientation, got a pillow, dropped our stuff off at the house, and went to work!! It was an amazing best day. We started WALKIN! (Drake)
We went to a park and immediately my comp asked me to start a conversation with this group of people. It was a dad, his probably 20 something year olf daughter, and her son. She said that the Dad isn`t around. We talked about how the gospel blesses families and that with the gospel, her son, even without his father, would havea great understanding of who our Heavenly Father is and what it means to be a father. Then, my companion told me to share the message of the restoration, so I handed them a pamphlet. I told them about Joseph Smith and his circumstances, and how he prayed to God about what to do. Then, I said the first vision. I explained that because of his faith and his willingness to act on his faith, Heavenly Father answered his question. And that that was Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that appeared to him. He said "Wow, that`s amazing." I told him that He too could feel the blessings of the gospel and that he would recieve an answer too if he will pray with a sincere heart and an intent to act upon his answer....It was a super great way to start the mission.
We taught a lesson later on with a boy named Axxx. He is 17 and the only person in his family listening. We read a chapter from 1st Nephi with him. We then talked with him about how it is solely necessary to do three things to have a closer relationship with Christ and Heavenly Father....First, Pray every morning when you wake up and when you go to bed. Second, read the Book of Mormon daily, even if it`s just one verse. And third, go to church. We talked about the importance of these three elements in the gospel. I testifed of the power of prayer and that I know that he and his family and his friends would all receive blessings if he would do these things. We also talked about how this would affect his kids...he said that this would help his kids have a sturdy foundation in their home. We challenged him to do these things. He agreed. I threw out an idea of playing soccer to read a chapter in the Book of Mormon the next time we are there....we rotate at goalie and if you get scored on, then you have to read a verse and explain how that is important of how that can help us in our life.
The last real big lesson was with a man named Vxxxxx. He is 30 years old and lives with one of his friends. They are both members of the church, but are less active. We read a chapter with Victor. We talked about how this is important. Many of the prophets wrote that they couldn`t write everything that they were revealed. That means that what they did include, they felt was important, so it`s essential to consider every chapter, and every verse as something vital. He agreed with that and said that he`d work at breaking things down more. We talked also about how important it is for him to go to church so that he can feel the spirit. I promised him that if he would do that one thing, he would experience miracles in his life. We went to a park and immediately my comp asked me to start a conversation with this group of people. It was a dad, his probably 20 something year olf daughter, and her son. She said that the Dad isn`t around. We talked about how the gospel blesses families and that with the gospel, her son, even without his father, would havea great understanding of who our Heavenly Father is and what it means to be a father. Then, my companion told me to share the message of the restoration, so I handed them a pamphlet. I told them about Joseph Smith and his circumstances, and how he prayed to God about what to do. Then, I said the first vision. I explained that because of his faith and his willingness to act on his faith, Heavenly Father answered his question. And that that was Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that appeared to him. He said "Wow, that`s amazing." I told him that He too could feel the blessings of the gospel and that he would recieve an answer too if he will pray with a sincere heart and an intent to act upon his answer....It was a super great way to start the mission.
We taught a lesson later on with a boy named Axxx. He is 17 and the only person in his family listening. We read a chapter from 1st Nephi with him. We then talked with him about how it is solely necessary to do three things to have a closer relationship with Christ and Heavenly Father....First, Pray every morning when you wake up and when you go to bed. Second, read the Book of Mormon daily, even if it`s just one verse. And third, go to church. We talked about the importance of these three elements in the gospel. I testifed of the power of prayer and that I know that he and his family and his friends would all receive blessings if he would do these things. We also talked about how this would affect his kids...he said that this would help his kids have a sturdy foundation in their home. We challenged him to do these things. He agreed. I threw out an idea of playing soccer to read a chapter in the Book of Mormon the next time we are there....we rotate at goalie and if you get scored on, then you have to read a verse and explain how that is important of how that can help us in our life.
