The End

HE FINALLY MADE IT!!!

F Did it!!! He finally got Baptised. Ive been praying my heart out like every day for the last 6 months, and he finally did it! That last week before his baptism i would swing by and talk to him just about everyday, and honestly literally everyday i would go over to his house, and would expect him to be drunk, (you may remember that while i have been teaching him he passed his baptismal interview twice, but then the last week before his baptism he would fall into his addiction again and i would have to cancel the baptism, and i was honestly expecting that to happen again this time), but then i would pass by, and he would be fine, super calm, not a hint of alcohol on his breath, and each time he would talk about how he finally feels ready this time, and strong enough to not fall into alcohol again. And it was like that everyday before his baptism.

And then the actual day of his baptism came up, and i was like sweating bullets, i was so freaking nervous for him hahahaha, i had to go  in a couple of hours early to fill up the baptismal font, and literally the whole time i was worried that he wouldnt show up to his baptism, or he would and he would just be stone drunk. But then about 45 mins before the baptism was going to start, F walked into the church, totally ready to be baptised. So i got him the white clothes he needed, and then he just waited patiently, and then got baptised!!!!!!

Its was so awesome the spirit was so strong, and i felt at so much  peace when i finally saw him go down into the water, because like i told all of you guys before when i met him he was basically one of those drunks who didnt do anything but drink, steal his families stuff and sell it for more money for alcohol. And his family was literally going to kick him out on the streets on more than one occasion but for reason unknown to me they didnt. And then to see that change, see him dressed in all white getting baptised, and then   hearing him bear his testimony about how the Atonement of Christ is something real and that one can actually change their lives if they depend on Christ, was incredible, im glad you cant see me writing this email because i am tearing up just thinking about it hahaha

But then after the baptism it was so funny, in the hallway there was a bunch of members standing there talking (and i am pretty close with all of them that was there in the hall) but i just ran down the hall doing this super funny victory dance in the middle of them, and then i made a loop through one of the rooms, and then ran back through them and gave them all high fives, they were all dying of laughter haha. 

But it was so awesome. I saw him today but sadly i was talking n the phone with the secretary of the mission about my flight so i couldnt talk to him much, if i have enough time i am going to try writing him a note and asking my comp to pass it off to him.

But then yesterday the bishop asked me to give a talk of like 5 mins, (even though it was fast sunday, the testimonies just started after i talked) just to say goodbye to the ward, and the bishop didnt tell them why i was talking either. 

 

Actually very very few of them knew i was ending my mission (there was really just one family, and the bishop were the only ones that knew just because i wouldnt tell anyone, every time someone asked me how long i have been in the mission i would say ´´Ive been in chile a little bit longer than a year´´) and so i walked up onto the podium, and i said ´´Hey everyone, im not to sure how i should say this.....But Just in case you dont know me my name Is Elder Crockett, ive been in the mission 2 years now....and i go home tomorrow.´´ hahaha everyone thought that was funny. And t hen i talked for a little bit about my mission and how grateful i was to all of them for helping us out so much. And then a bunch of other little things, i was cracking little jokes the whole time, and it was still pretty spiritual. Now i am kind of scared to be giving my homecoming talk, because in spanish i am totally comfortable with talking, and do it great, but lets get real my english sucks haha. Ill just have to pray that God helps me with the Language a little bit.

Im happy with how i served my mission, the time went by way to fast, and honestly it ws really really hard for me to accept that it was actually ending, but one of my friends helped me out alot, and now i feel alot more comfortable about going home.

Just just so you know, as soon as i finish sending this email, i am going to go to the Airport in Punta Arenas, and i should be arriving in Puerto Montt at around 9:30 tonight, im pretty excited about that, i am going to stay in the same house that i lived in when i was serving there in Puerto Montt, and so you can bet that i am going to steal the Elders Phone and call up a bunch of people haha, and then early tomorrow morning i am driving up to Osorno with Elder Nielson, my old comp, that will be fun, 

 

and from there i am going to have my interview with the mission Presidente and i am going to finally renew my temple recommend (it expired like almost 3 months ago) and in that interview he will probably give me that marriage talk that you told me about mom, when hes going to talk to me about getting married fast so i can keep progressing in life, and heads up world im an obedient missionary who has always followed the councils of my mission President, so look out ladies hahahahahahah Just kidding lets get real thats probably not happening any time soon haha. 

 

I think i am spending the night there in the mission house, the next morning i will drive with the Mission Presidente down to the Airport, and fly up to Santiago, the capital of Chile, and i will have literally all day the to be in the temple  So excited for that. And then late Wednesday night i am getting on another Plane heading straight to the States.

So i want to keep writing but i have to be heading out. Love you all, we´ll be seeing you soon

-Elder Hamilton D. Crockett

SLAM DUNK!‏

So random fact today for p day we were playing basketball, and after everyone else was done playing, they all went and started playing soccer (well 3 fuera which is basically the same thing) But me and elder M decided to keep playing. And he taught me the technique to be able to dunk it good. And oh my gosh its actually pretty easy to dunk! My whole life i always thought that you just normally run up to the hoop jump and slam it, but there is actually technique behind it. But he taught me some technique and then i just started dunking like crazy!!! Just kidding i only slammed it really good like once the rest of the times i just got really close, or just kind of rolled the ball into the hoop.

Other Random fact Dad ive been working alot on doing Euro Steps during my exercise time, and so when it came down to play time, freaking no one could stop me when i got into the key. Next basketball goal of mine is doing a Euro Step into a dunk, but that may just stay a dream until i perfectionize my dunk haha 

Ok so Last random fact, and the only one that is actually of any relevance, this may or may not be the last time i write home. i have to be in Osorno By next Tuesday, and they havent sent me my itinerary yet, so i dont know if i will be flying out of Punta Arenas on Monday, or super early in the morning on Tuesday. And so if i dont write you next week, dont worry im probably not dead, so dont worry too much, but ill try to get some message out to you if i can.

But this week was really good, It had some sad moments too, like that funeral i told you about, i learned about how freaking heavy caskets can be too, holy moly. The man who died was like 6`2 and easily weighted over 200 pounds, and there was one moment when we were walking through a door when everyone let go and left me alone to carry one side of the casket, And i literally had to use like every muscle in my body just so that i didnt drop that stupid thing haha. but the Ceremony was beautiful and it was a really nice day So Menos Mal hahaha

I also had an interview with my mission Presidente this week and it was kind of funny, i walked in and we said a prayer and he said ``Elder Crockett i have one question, are you still working hard, or are you trunky?`` And immediately i responded ``Please i wouldnt get caught dead being trunky, Im going to work like crazy every single day that i got left`` And then Presidente Obeso Responded ``Ya i was expecting you would respond like that, just keep it up`` He then said ``Well i have nothing else i need to ask you, I have to interview you anyway in a couple of days so ill just wait until then to talk more`` I was literally in that room for like 10 seconds for my interview. Well and then after mine i grabbed my comp and we talked about all the missionaries and what i can do better to help them more, and that part of the interview lasted like a half hour, And that was good, 

But i was amazed by something, as i was talking to the mission presidente, i realized that he knows freaking everything about the missionaries, i know that i talk to him alot about them and email him about their needs and stuff like that, but its like he knew them just as well as i did, even though with some of them he has literally only seen them like 5-6 times. Granted he does get a weekly email form them, and i know for a fact he reads them all, like every time i talk to him he brings up specific things that i write to him about different subjects, but still it was pretty crazy how the Lord can give him so much revelation about how to help the missionaries that he knows them just as well, if not better than i do, even though i have known them for longer than he has been the mission presidente. I totally hope that some day i am so in tune with the spirit that i will be able to be like that.

But good news F Passed his baptism interview this week (AGAIN!) Its been the 4th interview hes had (2nd with me) But the last couple of times he was tempted really hard the last week before his baptism, and he would fall. But i honestly believe that he is going to make it this time. He has progressed alot my time ive been here, and especially these last couple of weeks from the last time he fell. But i will keep you posted with how that turns out. Pray for him if you can, he needs it haha

But i am really excited for this next week. I feel like its going to go by so fast, but i am going to work SO SO HARD!!!! Like my whole mission i have always tried to do my best, and work as hard as i can, but this last week i am going to try even harder! I know that God still has alot for me to do, i mean there is some reason why God needed me home on the 7th and not on the 3rd like it was originally planned, and so i am positive that God has alot of people prepared for me in this week. And i am going to find them

Theres work do and i am going to do everything i can to make sure it gets done.

See you soon

-Elder Hamilton D. Crockett

Time Flies

So the time is going by way way to fast. I know that time has always gone by too fast on the mission, but man this last week it has gone by faster than just about any other week ive had in my whole mission, it literally feels like i was here writing you just yesterday.

But there is probably a reason why its going so fast. The other day i was planning a bunch of stuff when i noticed that i only had a couple of days left on the mission, and it bugged me alot, and the thought about going home just terrified me, and i hated thinking about going home, and so i decided to put up some goals of things i need to get done before i go home. Actually i told one of them to the 1st councilor, and he just laughed and said, Elder Crockett thats a great goal, but i dont actually think its possible, jokes on him though because i have already almost achieved haha

But its really funny the last couple of missionaries that ended their missions here in my zone did not do it very gracefully, they got super trunky and would waste a ton of time with members, and going out and having like little Chile bucketlist kind of things, and just waste a ton of proselyting time, and all of the missionaries knew about it. 

 

So the other day we were in a meeting, and i was talking to one missionary after the meeting and my comp was talking to another group of missionaries, and i over heard someone ask my comp ``Hey is Elder Crockett really trunky yet?`` And i heard my comp say ``No way, if people didnt bring it up all the time that he is ending i wouldnt believe it, he works his butt off every day, he does not come across at all that he is ending his mission right now``

I was pretty proud of my comp, hes got my back

So its super cool, i havent told you much about her yet, but there is one lady who got baptized when i was here named M, and i only taught her a couple of times before her baptism so i havent talked about them alot. But shortly after getting baptized she got a job that pretty much worked her like a slave, she was having to work from like 11am-10pm every day of the week, weekends included, And so a couple of weeks after her baptism she went less active, because she was basically a slave. But the other week we taught her son (who got baptized with her, and he may be my favorite person in the ward, love that kid to death) but i taught him about Faith, and asked him to teach him mom about faith. And shoot im out of time but long story short he talked to her, and she quit her job so that she can spend time with her family and start going to church again.

But welps i love you all, see you on Christmas!!!!

stupid going home.

So it hasnt really hit me yet that i will be going home in a couple of weeks, the other day i was having this big conference with all the missionaries in my zone, and i had a computer hooked up to a projector, and while during the thing i had to open up my email, and we noticed that i got a new email from the office with the title ´´Info for returning home´´ i didnt read it at that time, but pretty much all of my missionaries have been making fun of me about that...stupid going home... haha

Random fact i read how you talked about how cold you are. This week i was burning it is sooooo freaking hot here!!!!! i have been walking around in a short sleeve shirt, and im still sweating. And so i decided to look at what the high temperature is.......50 degrees. I am burning to death at 50 degrees....hopefully its like snowing in Arizona when i get there, because any hotter than like 45 and i am going to die....not excited about that haha i think that when i experienced what -20 degrees was it just threw off my ability to measure temperatures. That´ll be fun to get over...not. hahahaha

But this week was really good, we have been helping out F alot this week, and he is totally normal now, we have him with another plan to get baptized on January 3rd. I really hope that he makes it this time. Not so much just so i will be able to be there ( i wont lie i really want to see him get baptized) but i just really want him to finally get baptized. Hes made so much progress the last 5 months that i have been here. I really hope that he finally makes it.

L is doing good. We have been doing family history work with her, and she loves it alot, shes starting to meet with the Family history specialist in our ward to start doing more. One of the biggest things that she loved when we started to teach her was the fact that people have the chance to accept the gospel in the next life, so she has been working in order to get the work done for her antepasados. After we were done though she asked to see my family tree, and was astounded that it was even possible to have so many names on one, and so she got pumped up to have one giant too!

Its really funny teaching my new comp how to be a zone leader, like today we were down in Centro doing a bunch of visa junk for other missionaries, and i cant remember how it came out but i remember saying ´´Welcome to life as a zone leader, when we work just as much of P day as we do any other day of the week´´

He´ll get used to it though. I´ve learned to love never having any time ever hahaha

Honestly i dont know what else to talk about. H's doing good too. He has alot more confidence in himself now, 

I honestly cant think of anything else right now to talk about. Thanks for sending me the photos mom, i got a call from the office the other day and they were freaking out because no one was putting any fotos on dropbox for them to put in our slideshow thing. and i just said ´´Ya i already sent all of mine in a week ago, So i dont know why your trying to give me a hard time´´and then they said ´´Oh ok... You were really on top of that.´´   (One more thing off my to do list.)

OHHH I REMEMBERED SOMETHING I NEEDED TO TALK ABOUT!!!! Hey what is the plan for skype? My comp tells me that apparently its free to have multiple callers on Skype at the same time now, and you get to have video and everything. And i think it would be really cool if we could have me and Truman on at the same time. I should be good for whenever you and Truman can do it at. To be completely honest im not terribly concerned about talking with the rest of the family because i am going to see you just a couple of days after we skype anyways, but i really want to be able to talk to Truman at the same time.

Welp i am going to go now, if i remember anything cool i will write you,Welp love you all !!!!

Big Changes

So this past week i got a new comp, whos name is elder P, and the kid is such a boss. But random fact this week he taught me how to solve a rubix cube. and i am getting pretty good at it, its super fun. But anyways the kids a boss, its his first time as a zone leader, and it was really funny, he just finished training a new elder, and then one of the first things he told me was, ´´Im so happy that i am out of training now, because now i finally get to leave to work in the mornings again!!!´´ And then i had to burst his bubble and say ´´Well dont really count on being outside much more´´ And then i showed him our calender and how we literally dont have any time any morning because we have some kind of meeting, or have to go do visa  stuff and its like that literally everyday. And then he just said´´Well....AT LEAST I DONT HAVE TO BE STUCK IN THE SAME HOUSE ALL DAY LONG!!¨¨ hahaha we think alike. I almost went crazy in my training just because i had to sit down so much. 

But this week was really good. We had a meeting with our mission presidente, and it was awesome (and only 5 hours long....ALOT SHORTER THAN NORMAL!!!!!¨¨ But its nuts we are having some super big changes in the mission (all sadly right after i go home...Waa) But one of them is nuts. We have been selected to be a mission that starts a pilot program, where we are no longer going to have any of the Key indicators, (lessons with member, others, baptismal invitations, references, all of those things) And we are only going to keep track of 2 numbers, Baptisms, and Church attendance (in general). Which is nuts, but we are trying to test to see if those two numbers get bumped up (because missionaries are going to put alot more focus on those things) But sadly they said that they are going to start the program the first week of January, and so i will literally only have 1 week to work with this program. Lame. But im sure that it will be awesome.

We also talked alot about Christmas, and how they want us to pass la navidad, and i am super stoked about it, they want us to do a bunch of public activities, and stuff, so i started to make arrangements for that too, so far we have one event planned where we are going to go and sing Christmas songs at the cemetery that we sung in on Halloween (its weird to think that people would go to a cemetery on Christmas, but apparently they do. And we also planned to sing songs en la Zona Franca, which is pretty much a giant mall, that sells stuff from all around the world (mainly america haha) because boats pass by there on their way up through the channel, and sell a bunch of their cargo, and its all tax free, so everyone goes there to buy stuff, and we are going like the saturday before Christmas, so it is just going to be super packed. And so we talked to someone else to get us a sweet hookup on microphones and sound systems so that we can put on a pretty sick event hahaha just kidding, it will just be us singing more christmas songs. And i am still in the process of planning a couple of other events but its nothing concrete yet (speaking of which it just reminded me that i need to go talk to the stake presidente so that i can arrange another activity with the whole stake, ill have to do that right when i leave to work

But this week was really good, we found a family of a man who is an excommunicated member who wants to start his papers to get re baptized, and his wife wants to get baptized. WE didnt put her with a date though to get baptized, because her husband works on a boat, and he is out at sea for 21 days and then he gets 5 days off for rest, and so we are going to try to get her ready for baptism by the time he gets back, we´ll see how that turns out. Regardless i wont be here to see her baptized because ill be heading up to osorno about the same time he will get back from work.

(p.s. i found out a little more about my plans for coming home. On the 5th i will be flying out of Punta Arenas, on the 6th ill spend the day in the mission house with the Presidente, then i head out that night. On the 7th ill spend the day in Santiago and go to the temple and stuff (YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA 2 years without the temple= too long) and then that night i fly up the Florida, and from there you already know my plans.

But ima bounce now. Love you all!!!!!!!

The darkness always comes before the light. Boats, Demons and Baptisms‏

So this week was awesome. I am so grateful for it.

But first i will start with a couple of little News bits.

We learned about transfers this week. Elder N is leaving, and so i will be finishing my mission here in Punta Arenas!!!!!!! Im so happy about that, This sector is going to explode we are going to work it so hard these next couple of days. Im so stoked.

So this week i took a trip down to a island named Por Venir, i was doing some intercambios with the Elders down there. I had to take a 3 hour boat ride to get down there. And that was super sick, we found some pretty sick investigators there on the boat too on our way over, and one of them is currently preparing to get baptized!!! What! Zone Leader Boat Boss! But i wont talk about that too much. But it was fun

Ok onto the real story. As you know I told you that i was going to have 2 investigators get baptized this week, but  there was only one...I am so sad about that story. But i want to tell it to you guys

So about 2 days before his baptism i felt a really strong prompting that i needed to visit my investigator F, who was going to get baptized that weekend. So i rushed over to his house, and we get there and i find the door wide open. (side note i dont know if this story will be too scary or not for the kids so if you read the email to them maybe skip over it) But i run up to the door, and i see him lying down limp over his couch. 

So from outside i call out his name ´´F!´´ And he didnt respond, so i called his name again. But still no response from him. So I turned to my comp, ( i was actually with one of the APs that day) and say ´´ Dude he doesnt look asleep,we need to go in and make sure that he is still alive´´. And i am just about to step in when while he was still limp on the couch, he let out a terrifying soul crunching scream. I yell at him one more time, (this time with my authority voice haha) ´´Stand up!´´ And he jumps up to his feet, and he had such a demented look on his face. And he had this super creepy smile on his face, and he says really quietly, ´´come in Elders´´

And so i come in, and my comp follows me. And we start talking to him. And he invited us to sit on his couch, so we did, and he sat down in another chair that he has. And we started to talk. And he was not calm at all, not even for a second, he would start talking for a second, and then would just get really tormented, and would starts weeping and crying, and was scratching at his eyes as though he was trying to rip them out.

And he would start to get all shaky for second and lose control of himself. So i cut him off in the middle of one of his weeping moments, and i said ´´When God Restored his Church he gave his power to man, the power to baptize, the power to bless, the power to heal, and the power to cast out demons. We have been given this power by God, and are here to use it to help you.´´ And then he took his hands off of his face, and looked up to me, and it was probably the most terrifying face i have ever seen in my life, He was looking at me the way i imagine a man looks at a man just right before murdering him. But i wasnt afraid.And i said ´´Do you have the faith to be healed?´´

Then suddenly he looked calmer, and said ´´I hope i do´´ I then stand up and put my hands on his head, and gave him a blessing. I wont say what i said. The spirit was very very strong there in the room. And when i finished the blessing, i looked down at him, and he looked completely different, he was calm, with just a happy smile on his face, he stood up and gave me a big hug. And then he told me that he didnt feel ready to get baptized this week, and told me that he was really tempted to drink and fell. it was hard but i told him that because he fell we wouldnt be able to get baptized. But that we would keep helping him. We then prayed with him before we left, and i made him pray, told him to keep reading the book of mormon every day, and to pray everyday, and then left.

We left the house and the AP turns to me and says ´´WHAT THE FREAK JUST HAPPENED THERE!!!!!!´´ I then say´´ Elder Honestly you know what it was just as well as i do´´ And then i started walking toward our house. I was really proud of myself that not even at one second while i was there in the house was i scared, but when i got home i was terrified.  the looks on his face were just burned into my mind, I just prayed myself to sleep that night haha. 

Hes fine now though, i went by again a couple of times since, and he has some nice bruises and scabs on his face, but he is doing fine. And we are helping him get back on his feet.

Ok Good story now hahaha I was debating not telling you that one, but i didnt write it in my journal, mainly just because i have been really bad with writing in my journal ever since i was with Elder N, me and him play too much at night so my weekly emails are pretty much the records of my mission from this last month haha

But anyways good story, L got baptized this week! The were 3 people from different wards who were getting  baptized, so i talked to the stake presidente and arranged that we had a stake baptismal service. And wow it was incredible the spirit was so strong there. L asked me to baptize her she was freaking nervous up until we walked into the water, and i baptized her, and then she just looked really happy after that. It was awesome. It was so awesome to see the change in her life.

When i started teaching her she didnt even believe in God, but as she kept meeting with us, she started changing alot. She is probably one of the most faithful members we have now haha she has such a strong testimony. She had to give up alot to get baptized, and went through some really hard times doing it, but she is really happy about her decision. I think that is probably my favorite part of the mission, just being able to see the changes in people lives. It always makes me so happy.

Welps i gotz to run. I have lots of things to get done today. But i love you all. Keep me posted on how you are all doing.

So much progress!

So guess what, before the mission i was 100 percent anti ice skating, i hated it. Probably just because i sucked. But today i went ice skating with my zone, and i freaking loved it!!!! i wasnt even bad, i was even racing people!!!! Granted i didnt win any races, but i raced. I have some pretty sick pics from it, but ill have to send them next week. I even taught a couple of south american missionaries who have never skated before how to do it, it was a Christmas miracle! except its not quite Chrsitmas..... A ALMOST THANKSGIVING MIRACLE!!!!! So ill have to take the little girls out ice skating some day.

So this week was really awesome F and L both passed their baptismal interviews!!!!!!!!!! The third person that was going to get baptized i realized that he wasnt quite ready, so i had to talk to him and tell him that he wasnt going to be able to get baptized this week, he was pretty much just wanted to get baptized for his girlfriend but didnt have any testimony, and his family was pretty anti him getting baptized, so i had to tell him that we were going to keep helping him to get to another day. Which will be alot better for him,

Well i a can pretty much just think about ice skating right now hahaha it was supper funny, there was at one point where a missionary got a chunk of ice and threw it at me, and so to get him back i saw a big spot where there was just a bunch of shredded ice, from people sliding to a stop, so what i did is a did a super sick slide where i was going pretty fast and i threw myself into a slide and slid over like 10 feet! and then i scooped up a ton of ice, and then once i had a bunch of ice i got myself back up, and raced up behind the missionary, and then when i got close to him i slowed myself down ,and went into stealth mode, and i quietly snuck up behind him, and put the ice down the back of his shirt!!!! I was honestly afraid that he was going to freak out, and fall and kill both of us, but he didnt, but he did let out a pretty awesome yell! Hahahahaha

But anyways so this week i spent alot of time on transfers with other missionaries. But there was one when i went down to a sector called Estrecho (its right on Magellan Straight ( i think thats what its called, that passage that Magellan used in la Tierra del Fuego to cross from the Atlantic to the pacific ocean) But anyways i went down there because the missionaries where having alot of problems, so we made the newer missionary go to my sector with my comp, so that he could see what an ideal sector looks like ( i do not like saying that it makes me sounds super prideful, but thats what we were doing) and then i went down the Estrecho so that i could help out the other missionary there. 

And everything there went really great! The problems were really just caused because they had very very little support from the ward, and that kind of depressed them, which took away their desires to work ,and got lazy and then all their sector started to die. But i went down there because i kind of have alot of experience with fixing problems like that. So i spent the day there working and talking to the missionary helping him get pumped up to work, and giving him new ideas. And by the end the missionary was like a new person, he was working really hard, and super excited to get to work.

One little quote of what i told him was this. (we were just talking about how he thought that it was really hard being in this situation. and i told him ``Elder, i know that being in a ward like this is really hard, But there is one thing that you are forgetting about. The Lord sent you here because he trusts you. He knew that this ward is really weak, and needs alot of help, and He sent you here, because he trusts you. He knows that you would be able to handle it. The Lord sent you here, because he has a giant work waiting for you, there are SOO Many Souls here in this sector, that are waiting for you. Dont let them down. Do what the Lord expects you to do. Be the missionary that they need to bring them back to Gods Presence....`` It kept going but it was good for him.

The next day was super funny, i asked the missionary to call his bishop, because i wanted to meet with him. And so when the missionary called the bishop he put it on speaker phone and said ``Hey Bishop, right now i am sitting here with the Zone Leader, hes the leader of the missionaries in this Stake, And he told me about how he recently had a meeting with the Stake President about the progress of the work here in the Stake, and apparently there is something really important that he needs to talk to you about from that meeting, And wants to do it in person, not over the phone, when can we meet with you``  

That Poor Bishop sounded TERRIFIED!!! He Had reason to as well trying to set up an appointment like that.  sheesh i had something good that i wanted to talk to him about.

But anyways i meet up with the bishop, and he invited me into his office, and he just looks Terrified, like i was just going to call him to repentance for not doing his job right or something like that (just so you all know he is doing his job right, hes a freaking awesome bishop) And there was a moment of silence that was terrible, its like he was trembling... Shoot im all out of time, but ill tell you the rest of the story later, but just so you know before hand i just told him a bunch of good things and got him super pumped to work with the missionaries too. 

But i love you all!!!!!!!

 My studies generally go one of two ways. Both of which are real pictures and not planned, my comp just grabbed my camera without me looking both times and took a picture haha

Milagro + Hard Work = the Story of L

THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME!!!!!!

But first i have some news updates, i got another call from the mission presidente this week, telling me that he got a call from Salt Lake this last week, about our plane tickets home, and they said that they did not want us to travel home that day (im just assuming that they had some vision of a plane crash) but they told the mission Presidente that he wasnt allowed to send any of the missionaries home before the 15th. And so he called me to tell me that i wont be coming home on the 7th, but on the 15th.

Im happy about it that just gives me another week to work with, that gives me even more time to work in la viña del Señor. but i imagine that there may be problems with colleges. I would still like to study the first semester when i get home, so i would appreciate it if you can find out if i will be able to miss that much time right at the start of the semester. If you cant the presidente told me that alot of the school in the united states have another ´´block´´ of school that starts in febuarary. If i cant miss the first week of school, could you look into that for me?

ok so check this. this last week i had a skype conference with Elder Nelson from the quorum of the 12 apostles. And there is really just one part that i want to share about that. But after the conference he extended me an apostolic blessing, and it was incredible, because in the blessing he used multiple phrases that were exact thoughts that i had, and that i was worried about. But there is one part of the blessing that i wanted to send home, he said ´´You will be a disciple of Jesus Christ...you will return home from your mission, and will continue to be a missionary among your own people, and your service will bring them to Christ...´´ I almost cried when he said that because i knew for a fact that the words that came out of his mouth, came directly from God because throughout the blessing he used exact phrases that had been running though my head recently. It was awesome

But after the conference i got home, to a very very very happy discovery. i got home, and my phone started ringing. And i see that it was my investigator L (i know that ive talked about her before) and as soon as i answer the phone she yells ´´ELDER MY DAD GAVE ME PERMISSION TO GET BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!´´And yo respondi ´´WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!! THATS AWESOME!!!!!!!!¨´´And then she told me just the miraculous story about how her mom, who as i mentioned once was a hard core anti mormon, and how her dad, and i think i mentioned, without going into sensitive information, was kind of a jerk, gave her permission to get baptized. And how they supported her 100 percent now, and even said that they were going to come to the baptism and then possible start coming to church with her!!!!!

And so on the 29th of this month she is going to get baptized, also with F, both of them are getting baptized together!!!!!! im pretty sure i told you about F. When the missionaries started teaching him he was literally one of those drunks that pretty much lived on the street. And the missionaries started teaching him back in Feb. And when i got here, he was still a drunk. i dont know why the missionaries never dropped him before  But since i got here, he started getting professional help, and has gone about 2 months now without drinking. Its been the longest time in pretty much all of his life that he has gone without alcohol. But he is going to get baptized too. And they are both super excited. this last sunday the two of them started talking about that they wanted to do at their baptism for hymns and stuff. And its awesome. 

Miya thanks for the idea for H!!!!!! that never occurred to me. Im not sure how ill do it, because, hot glue guns dont exist in South America, and i havent ever seen any stores that would sell just elastic for me to use. But im sure that i will be able to find something out. Even if i have to sew the whole tie together, but hey whatever works right?

This week it was also super crazy, there was a bunch of hard core wind storms too ( like those ones i told you about last time, but last time it was just really snowy and so it just threw ice hard at us) But this week there was no snow on anything ( in fact all the snow melted away and hasnt been any for a couple of weeks now) But anyway there was no snow on the ground, and so the wind was literally strong enough that it would lift small rocks off of the ground and send them flying, i dont know how many times i got slammed hard in the face or in the head by a stupid rock. And granted they arent big enough to hurt alot, they just really sting, but still.. not fun.

But there was something super funny. We were walking down the street the other day and there was a ton of wind, and i look and i see i giant piece of styrofoam flying though the air, and i pretty easily dodged it, but my comp didnt see it coming and it hit him Straight in the face and it broke in half on his face. It was so funny!!!!!

But anyways i got to go. Thats crazy that people are starting to come home. You have to get them all to write me i really want to talk to all of those people that are coming home in the next 2 weeks

Our trip to the Glaciers!!

Yup, glacier in a tshirt.

Welps i gots to go!

Love you all!

Baptism!

thats super awesome that Seussical is going to the MAC i really hope its later in the month that way i can go and see it! And id make sure that punk kid matt keeps his dirty hands off my sister hahaha

but hey this week was super awesome. H.  GOT BAPTIZED! We took pics with him and stuff too, and i would send them too you but the internet place that i am in right now kind of sucks, and it doesnt read my SD card, or my comps, so ill just have to hit you up with them another day.

But it was actually a really cool experience but like everything went wrong with his baptism hahaha. But the spirit was still really strong there so its ok.

But the day starts out and i am super stoked, we had a member assigned to fill up the baptismal font and my comp and i were going to take care of a bunch of other details. So i was super excited for the day. 

But my comp and i decide we are going to arrive to the church for the baptism like an hour before H was going to get there, and we go and we checked on the font, and everything was going good there, but we noticed that the water looked a little dirty, it wasnt bad, hardly noticeable even, And really it was almost all the way full so there wasnt really anything to do anyways, and so we just kept it going, and then my comp and i down load a couple of videos off of LDS.org to show between when H got baptized, and when he came out in dry clothes, and so we found a bunch of super sick videos to show. We then set up the chairs and everything

But about 15 mins before he got there i go and i decide to go look at the font again, and i open the door, and to water looks NASTY! It was a hard core brown color, it looked like a lake after a group of kids were just running around in water. So i shut off the water, and tried thinking about what i could do to fix it before the baptism started, but realized that the baptism was going to start in jut like 30 mins, and with how slow our font drains it would just be done draining by the time we needed to start, and i thought about having the baptism in another church that was close by, but realized that wasnt possible, just because our font takes about 4 hours to fil up all the way, and im pretty sure its the fastest one in Punta Arenas, and so if we did that we would have had to have the baptism at like midnight, so i threw that one out the window. 

So when  H got there i showed him the water and asked him if he was ok with getting baptized in that super gross water, or if he preferred that we did the baptism the next day or something. And he responded like a boss, he said ``Elder I could honestly care less about what the water is like, i just want to get baptized, and I`m doing it today!`` When he said that i thought to myself ``YEAH THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT! (someone taught you right hahaha)

And so i stopped worrying about  the water, and started talking to him about what was going to happen and what not (just reminded him really cause we talk him everything to night before as well) And then helped him get ready (he has no fingers and so he needed a little help with like his tie and stuff) 

But then we started and the bishop gets up and welcomes everyone to the meeting, and then we sing a hymn and we pray, and the the bishop says alright we are going to start with something really special today, with a musical number from the primary, and then the primary president got up and told the bishop that she forgot to prepare something with the kids, and that was lame, but then the bishop said, ``alright well then we are going to have a couple of messages from....(and then looks down at his paper)ummm ...actually we are going to do something even more special, and we are going to pass onto the baptism of the Hermano H. And then H standos up with the man that was going to baptize him, and they left and everyone else followed. and Then i go up to the bishop and asked whats going on and why we didnt have the talks first, and then he showed me his paper, and the person who typed up the paper forgot to put on the names of who was giving the talks so Bishop had no idea, and so i told them that it was going to be me and someone else, and we decided that we were just going to baptise him first and then do the messages.

We then baptized. And that was awesome, they looked so cool in their white clothing that most people didnt even notice that the water wasnt exactly sparkling clean haha.

And then we all went into the sacrament room again, and i set up the tv and was going to show the videos to everyone, but then i put in my USB that had the videos on them, and the stupid tv didnt read my card... I admit that was my fault i just imagined that it was going to work so i didnt test it on the Tv before the baptism, and granted i didnt have time to do it, but i could have assigned someone, but anyways that didnt work, so the bishop and i decided that we were just going to sing hymns until H came back. 

And while they were singing i went to check up on H to see how he was doing, and he was doing great, but told us that he didnt want to bear his testimony. Which i wasnt really that surprised that he didnt want too. But then We all went back in together. And then One member gave a talk about baptism, and then i gave one about the Holy Ghost. Where i told a story of a time where i heard the voice of the spirit talking to me, and warned me of danger, but i didnt listen to it (it was a story from before my mission) and i got messed up pretty bad because of it. I had to give a less cool version of the story though because i didnt want to take the focus away from H and his baptism. And then right after i finished talking i went and sat down next to the bishop and told him that H didnt want to bear his testimony. And then went and sat down.

We then ended the meeting, and right after the closing prayer as everyone was starting to Leave H stood up and said ``no one leave yet`` And then he bore his testimony and it was awesome, i was happy that he changed him mind and bore his testimony anyways.

but that was how this baptism went, i decided to count in my preach my gospel today to see ho many ive had, and he was number 11. not that that matters or anything but it just kind of made me happy knowing that ive helped that many people get baptized.

WElps i love you all. I look forward to hearing from you soon

Sick

So this week was super awesome. But it started out with me getting sick, which sucked alot. I got put on a 24 hour water diet, and threw up 11 times....not fun. But i did take a 8 hour long nap though, and then when i woke up and one other missionary was sick too (Elder M(he didnt get the bug nearly as bad as i did though) and then when i woke up me and him played a ton of uno and told each other stories. It was fun, and then i slept like another 10 hours. Fun days.

So check this, My comp and i go home at the same time, and his family is so excited about it, and so from his mom i know that i have 61 days left until i am home. And his grandma likes to count it by weeks, because there was only like 9 sundays left. his family is so trunky haha. I still feel like its not coming though and that i am still just starting the mish so im not really believing them haha

But anyways when i felt better the week was awesome, One of the days this week we arranged a special zone activity for EL Dia de Los Muertos (day of the dead) (day after Halloween) where our zone went down to the biggest cemetery in Punta Arenas (which from what they tell me was voted one of the most beautiful cemeteries in South America) (it was really pretty) and we put on a concert where we sung a bunch of hymns while we had other missionaries walking around talking to the crowds of people that where listening. and that was super cool. We ended up giving out like 40 books of mormon, and a ton of pamphlets and stuff and got the addresses of a bunch of people that wanted us to come teach them. It was super cool.

My investigator H also passed his baptismal interview this week and is getting baptized this Saturday. he asked though that people dont take pictures, i am going to try to talk him into taking one with me and my comp though to help him to remember his baptism, but he doesnt like pictures that much (he was the investigator that i told you about who got in the work accident which lit his hands on fire and burned off all of his fingers, and so he is a little self conscious about it, the man has a valid reason so if i dont send you pics dont be surprised) (not that you are too used to getting pics though haha the computers in my last 2 sectors have sucked and i can think of at least 4 people who have gotten baptized that i never sent pics of, possibly 5. But whatever.

Thats really all my new news from this week, we´ve found a couple of super awesome families to teach, and L is doing great, still just waiting for permission from her dad and then she can get baptized. But nothing too exciting.

I bought a ton of candy for Halloween to give to kids who were in costumes but there werent alot so in the end my comp and i just ended up with a ton of candy in our house, and almost every house we went to all gave us a ton of candy too because apparently they bought a ton of candy as well, but then no kids swung by and so they didnt give any away so they just dumped it on us. 

But ya other than that its been a pretty chill week, no fights, or snow...i take that back  it think snowed again the other day, yes yes it did, but it only snowed for a couple of hours so it wasnt alot. its still funny to me that it snows here even though we are entering summer, its like it snowing in march or april in other places, but i guess thats what you get living so close to Antarctica.

Welp i cant think of anything else to say, its was just a week full of working but nothing too out of the ordinary. So im just going to send my email now. Ill still be on for another half hour though, so write me if you have any questions or anything

(Later)

Hey CHANGE OF PLANS! I just got a call from the mission Presidente and he gave me a new end date, on January 7th i will be coming home. granted its not a big change. but hey its 4 MORE DAYS FOR ME AHHH YEAH!!!! Victory Punch! But just so you know.

 

Didn't get robbed!

So this week was super awesome. we had transfers the other week, and my new comp is elder Nielson, and he is freaking legit! We started the mission at the same time so i met him in the MTC, And me and him are super good friends. But it was awesome he went with me to Torres Del Paine, and it was freaking awesome me and him started to have rap battles one the bus home (in english, rapping in spanish is way too easy because pretty much everything rhymes hahaha), and it was super legit, and then a bunch of the missionaries in our zone saw what we were doing and wanted in on it, and it was so much fun. But me and him get along super super good, we are pretty much just playing around all day, but it think that i have also been working harder with him than with any other comp ive had because we both are super excited to work, so everything is just going super awesome with him.

Truman i feel like i need to tell you something though, i told my comp and another elder that i live with the puke story. They busted up laughing hahaha They said ``Oh my gosh that may be the greatest story i have ever heard in my whole life`` hahaha But dude the missionary that i live with reminds me so much of you, hes blond, skinny and taller than me, and is super cool. Kid freaking trashed me today when we were playing handball as a zone, hes the first kid that actually stands a chance blocking against me, the last 3 months i was pretty much always the uncontested champion at hand ball, but this kid was wrecking me the whole game, ima have to step up my game a little.

Happy Birthday Ella!!!!!! That senor boy that you love flirting with so much is lucky that im on the farthest end of the world or else he`d have to deal with me. hahaha

So it was super awesome i went to Torres del Paine this last week right, and my favorite part there is called Lago Grey (Grey Lake) and its a big old lake that is filled with glaciers. (ICE BERGS!!!!!) But it was super awesome, we were there, and it actually felt like a pretty warm day to me (it was -20 like it was when i got here so that really isnt cold to me any more hahahaha) And so i was running around in a short sleeved shirt, most of the time, just soaking in the beautiful weather, when walk past a big group of tourists (i wish i got a photo of us) and all of them where in hardcore snow gear, In giant furry snow jackets, with big thick scarfs, with mittens, and they were still all shivering up a storm like they are freezing to death, and then i casually walk up to them in a short sleeved shirt and jeans, sweating a little bit because my comp and i decided to jog around the lake just to have more time to take pics and see cool stuff, and i walk up to those poor freezing tourists and say ``Nice weather we having today isnt it`` hahahahahahahahahahaha I got soooooo many dirty looks by those tourists all of which sent a message like ``Kid your Nuts, just go away im getting cold just looking at you`` But really i just got all of my freezing to death out of me when i first got to Punta Arenas, so im kind of over being cold hahahahahaha.

But this week was super awesome, its kind of cool, most times i have changed comps, i have had to get used to their teaching style so that i can teacher better with them. but i was happily surprised that when i taught my first lesson with Elder Nielson We already teach really well together, as soon as he was done with his thought, i got one and would start talking right when he stopped, And then we were both making questions that were exactly what the investigator need and coincided with what the other one wanted to say. Me and him are both super stoked to work together. 

 

The only really sad thing is that we are ending the mission together, so we will probably just be together for about a month, and then get changed, unless presidente plans on having us both end our missions together, and then just leave our sector empty for new elders that have no idea what to do there, but i find that super unlikely that presidente will do that so i imagine we wont be together that long. thats just great right, you finally get a comp that you get along super good together with, and work awesome together ever since day one, and you know that you will only be together for like a months... lame. But whatever i am super stoked to see what is going to happen up in here this cambio.

But i dont really know what else more to talk about, everything is going good, OH I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING SUPER FUNNY! The other day (when i was still with elder P. Me and him were walking through, a place of our sector that is super sketchy, where im sure people get attacked and stuff all the time, because its a big valley kind of place that you need to cross to get from one neighborhood to another one without walking a really long way around it, but its super dark down there, and so someone could jump you or something, and no one would ever know. 

 

But anyways, my comp and i were in a hurry, on our way home so we decided to cross through that valley to be fast even though it was super dark, But as we start walking down one side of it, i see a group, of about 6 guys, and they all look pretty sketchy. And so i turn to my comp and say,`` hey heads up, i feel like those guys are going to try doing something, so get ready to fight`` And he just kind of jokingly says `Ehh there is only 6 of them, we could take them pretty easy`` And then we laugh. 

 

But as we get down there, they all look at us, and whisper in between themselves, and then all start walking towards us. And so i think to myself, alright here we go, and then i clench up a fist and get ready to fight them all off ( in normal fight circumstances we would just run, but its not really possible from where we were) But then they get really close, and then all at the same time they all turn around and start walking in  a different direction as if trying to avoid us. And i thought that was weird, but keep walking, when i hear one of them say ``Dude what just happened, i thought we were going to rob them, why did we just walk away?`` And then one of them replied ``Did you see them???? They were freaking huge!There was no way i wanted to even risk a fight with one of them`` Hahahahahahahahaha 

 

Good move on their part though i think that was like the first time in my life when i knew there was going to be in trouble, and was one hundred percent ready to fight 6 people, and was not even a little nervous about it. I was just reminded of that just because the other night we were all telling each other mission stories, and i told the other missionaries all of my getting robbed, and getting in fights, and other such stories. Hahaha 

Welps i gots to bounce but i love you all keep me posted on how you are allz doing!

    

Advice for Truman mostly, but good for all

Truman the reactivating the less actives is literally the best way to find new investigators, honestly almost every single person that i taught that was baptized, almost every single one of them was from a less active family, where part of the family wasnt a member, so we reactivated that family and would baptize the kids or the wife, or someone in the family. So work hard with those less actives,

 

 there is one thing that we do in my mission that helps them alot to want to come back called ``Assignments`` and they talk about it a little bit in chapter 13 of PMG there is a quote by gorden b hinckley that talks about how every new member (or recently reactivated member) needs a friend, the good word, and an assignment, and what we do is we find out something that needs to be done in church (like bring bread to church for the Sacrament, or set up chairs, or a spiritual thought, anything really) just look for a need and fill it with an assignment to a less active for them to do that thing.

There is also something called A ``New convert and recently Reactivated member Report`` I just translated it from spanish but it should be something like that. Ask you bishop if he has those papers, they show key steps from the first day the reactivated or new member comes to church. up until they are sealed in the temple. Those help so much too with working better with the members to help reactivate the members. Also in your Ward Council, ask specifically for members who have recently went less active, the members should know, and they are generally one of the easiest to come back. You can also ask for ones that have a member in the family that isnt a member.

I have so many things that i could tell you about reactivating less actives, because that has been pretty much my whole mission, in chile only 10 percent of all members are active, We literally find less active members all the time just knocking doors, it is so rewarding to work with them, help your companion see that helping them come back to Christ is just as important finding investigators to baptize (and honestly the best tool to find more people to baptize)

Dont forget the parable of the lost sheep (the one lost as opposed to the 99) and there is also D&C 18 (remember the worth of souls are great in the sight of God)

And dont let your companion think that it is only the members responsibility to re activate, the fact that there are 300 less actives in a city that has a branch of 60 shows that the members need help with their responsibility. And they cant do it alone. If you need more support watch the special conference called ``The work of Salvation`` there are multiple talks in there that specifically talk about how now the missionaries are going to be needed in the work of reactivation.

Another things that is super useful as soon as the members come back for the first time work really hard with the leaders of the origination where they belong so that they get visiting teachers, the help of the members is 100 percent necessary in reactivation, and visiting teachers help them feel loved and like the ward wants them back, 

Let me know if you need any more help about that, i can tell you about more awesome things to do to help the less actives come back, i could literally talk about it for my whole internet time (and honestly almost did.) And i have no problem telling you more things that can help you in your mission.

 

Ella dont worry i will still be there to keep all of the boys off of you, i already have plans to buy a shot gun before you turn 16 so that when you get asked on your first date, i will be there in the front room cleaning out the shot gun, just to make sure that the kid doesnt get any ideas.. P.s. dont flirt with seniors.

Mom so i am already decided that i want to marry a desert girl, that speaks english, i dont know who it will be, but i have just traveled around the world and around the states enough that i know that Az is as good as it gets, so i dont want to have to have something pulling me away from paradise. p.s. how on earth is alison not married yet, thats just a miracle shes so cool. you`ll have to keep other guys off of her while i am gone hahahahaha just kidding

I got D's letter this week, tell him i love him, im going to try writing him back but honestly i dont know when ill have time, freaking being a zone leader i have no time ever to do what i want hahaha

 

 Heads up so next week i definitely wont be able to write you on Monday, and honestly it may be possible that i do not write you at all, if i can i will write you on Tuesday, As a zone we are going to go hiking in a place called Torres Del Paine (google it) but to get there we have to leave at 5 am, and we have permission to not come home until 9:30pm so i wont have not even one second to write you guys ( on monday that is) i talked to the mission president and its possible that we are going to get permission to write on tuesday but i dont have a for sure answer yet

So quotes from the week 

``So i know that the members tell us all the time that winters over and it should start heating up, but it has been snowing non stop for multiple days now so i dont know how right they are``

Actually another funny quote from before it started snowing again, but back ground story last week ( i just forgot to write about it last week we had a heat wave where it got all the way up to 50 degrees, boiling hot right,) but one member said 

``Ahh i feel like im burning in hell its so hot today!!!! 50 degrees is just unbearable`` And then i thought to myself ``I hope you get to go to Arizona someday...`` hahahaha granted we do kind of live a snows through away from Antarctica, and so if its not below freezing its a pretty nice day outside hahaha, I am happy though we havent had sub zero temperatures here in a little while, and i doubt they are coming back so i am pretty stoked about it.

Another funny quote

``Hey elder p, how hard is it snowing right now ?``

``Its not bad at all,``

``Awesome i has hoping to work in a light jacket again this week!``

Another funny quote. Today it was freaking freaking cold, and it was snowing. And me and my companion walked past a group of girls wearing short skirts and i said to my comp ``it is so cold that it literally feels like my face is burning right now, and i can no longer feel my fingers, I hope that them trying to look attractive is worth it because only my face is showing and it hurts, i cant imagine how their legs feel right now.`` hahahaha 

Ok well shoot i am all out of time i love you all, youll have to keep me posted with how you are all doing. Ill keep you all in my prayers!

No more secrets

So i loved general conference so much, and we saw a couple of awesome miracles that came out of it.

First we have one investigator (i am pretty sure i talked about her before) but she is super awesome, the only reason she hasnt gotten baptized yet is just because her mom is a less active member that is super anti mormon, and her dad hates mormons as well, so for the past while we have been teaching her secretly in the church. But she is awesome and has a super strong testimony. But hasnt gotten baptized because she is afraid of talking the her parents about it (shes 17 so she cant get baptized without their permission) But she came to general conference this week, to both of the saturday sessions. And then told us that she really wanted to come to the sunday sessions but wasnt sure if she would be able to. 

And then the next morning at like 8am we get a call from her, and we see its her and me and my comp both think ´´Dang it...Its probably her calling to tell us that she isnt going to be able to call´´ And so we answer the phone and she shouts ´´ELDER!!!!!!!! MY MOM IS GOING TO LET ME GET BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!´´ 

 

And then she told us the story of how after general conference she felt like she really really needed to talk to her mom about her meeting with the missionaries, and she was afraid to do it, but she knew it was the spirit telling it to her so she decided to do it. And when she talked to her mom, the mom just just super feliz that the daughter was meeting with us, and then expressed how she supported her 100 percent, and to show her support, has started reading the book of mormon with her and helping her to understand it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats so awesome. im so happy for her, because i mentioned her before about how when the mom left the church she started burning all of her church books, and thats when the girl rescued the book of mormon when her mom wasnt looking.

But yeah im pretty happy about that. 

She hasnt been able to talk to her dad yet, and frankly im more worried about her dad that i was about her mom, but we shall see what happens

The invesitgator that had his hands burned off came too, and he really liked it, we had an appointment with him too where we were going to invite him to be baptized but the cita fell, so we are going to swing by later today, and are going to invitarlo.

But ok i have to confess something though, when i was in general conference i thought that i shouldnt keep my returning date a secret from you. I should be coming home on January 3rd. I really want to talk to the mission presidente, and in fact am going to talk to him today about letting me stay until the 11th, or some date close by there. I know that MCC starts on the 12th and i want to be here the absolute most time possible. 

I have another secret that i should probably tell you about. It was one i have been keeping for pretty much my whole mission, but ill tell it to you in story mode,

So generally speaking i have always had like one conference talk that i felt was just written just for me. But i was doing some self analysis, and i realized that there was/is pretty much nothing bothering me, and i wasnt/am not really having any big struggles in my life right now, and so i was just expecting that this conference would just be a really good one, but just not have anything directly pointed toward me. And there wasnt, up until i think it was the last session of conference when there was a man who gave his talk in Portuguese, and he spoke about making decisions. And immediately when he started talking i could feel that it was the one that was going to be focused on me.

And i dont have my conference notes with me right now but there is one thing that he said which made me want to tell you about something.

I am pretty sure that it was the 3rd point in things you should do when making an important decision. And it was talking about telling your plans to your loved ones. And he talked about how if you do that they will be able to help you and support you, and help you see things out of a clearer scope. And honestly i want to still keep the secret from you of about what i want to do, but i knew the spirit told me i needed to tell you so i will.

After the mission i really want to join the Air Force, and almost every talk in general conference made me more sure about my decision. but now i want to tell you why and i would like to hear feedback.

Ive actually wanted to join the Air Force since even before i was a missionary actually. But one thing that i always told my self each time i wanted to find out more about joining was ´´I will do my duty to my God and [then] to my country´´ And i always wanted to help others win the freedom that i had enjoyed for so long.

But as i served a mission that desire kind of changed, or at least was more focused, later in my mission i wanted to serve in the military to become an even more spiritually mature person, i would remember that before the mission i would often sing the song ´´How can i be´´ And i would reflect on how the men like Nephi Moroni Alma and other men from the book of Mormon, how they became the man that they were. And i realized that almost every single one of them fought with their lives to defend their faith and their freedom and their families, and although there are some that it dont specifically say that they fought in a war who became the men that they were, i assumed that their testimonies became so rock hard unshakable is because that even in the face of death they help onto their testimonies and it turned them into strong disciples of Christ.

But then that desire also went or even more refined as i kept going on my mission, and one seed was planted by a really dear friend of mine, she wrote me telling me about how she was part of a choir that went around to military bases and sang, and she told me about how many many people who while serving in the the military came to believe in the restored gospel because their member service men preached them the gospel when they were living pretty hard lives, and they got baptized

Now all of you know that i love preaching the gospel, i see that as really one of the biggest reasons of why i am here on the earth right now, and i am going to tell you probably one of the biggest fears i have (had). I have been terrified of the idea, that one day i am going to end my mission, and am going to lose all of the spiritual progress that i have made, all of the desire that i have gained to preach the gospel, and i will just turn into ´´Just like everyone else´´ 

 

I know all return missionaries say that they are going to get home and leave with the missionaries all the time, and they are going to give the missionaries a million references and what not, and then do..for about a month, and then when schooling and jobs, and girls come back into the picture they fall into a state that is just slightly less iniquitous than how they were before the mission, and they lose an incredible amount of who they just were a few months earlier. 

 

And i am terrified of that. I have seen in happen so many times, before the mission, during the mission, have had friends write me, that shows that its happened to them, and i am positive that i am going to see it after the mission to. And i will not let that happen to me.

And i see joining the Air Force as one of the few things that can keep me on a higher plane of thought, of being, and a greater chance of sharing the gospel than the so common ´´Flirt to convert´´ that most idiot return missionaries do. And i could explain why the air force but that part of my thought process is not as important.

But summing it up, that is why i want to join the Air Force after my mission, to do my duty to my country (and my God at the same time) To continue with my spiritual progress, and last but not least to preach the gospel to souls that are probably more spiritually distraught than most.

Im still planning on Entering MCC on the 12th, and i will wait at least as semester before enlisting. And i have alot of things written down in a notebook about what i want to investigate about it before i make any serious choice. But i would really like to hear your feed back. 

Welp thats my secret...both of them. I think my only other secret is i think i might be addicted to oreos hahahaha Just kidding, but dang it is so hard to only eat one.

Welps i have to go now. But i love you all. Keep me posted with how you are all doing

3 Investigators

So its kind of weird i have no idea what i want to tell you guys about this week hahaha i just worked alot, but i didnt have to raise the dead or cast out Demons or anything like that this week, some would say it was an off week for me hahaha

just kidding it was actually a super awesome week, we have this one Investigator, who is one of the most loving guys you are ever going to meet, but he is generally speaking self conscious about going to church and stuff like that because he had a really bad accident, which burned off all of his fingers, and left his hands in mangled nubby things (i feel so bad describing his problem like that because i love that man so much) 

 

But we havent had much of an opportunity to teach him, because he got flown up to the capital city, Santiago, a little while ago to get some surgery done, and then when he came back a couple of weeks ago, he was afraid to go to church (which before we got flown up to santigao he loved going to church and would come every week regardless of if we invited him or not. But ever since he has gotten back my comp and i have been working with him really hard in order to help him feel comfortable coming back to church. But we had a really spiritual lesson the other day with him. my comp and i left him a scripture to read about repentance and the atonement (alma 7) (random fact remember how i was memorizing scriptures, in alma 7 now i have memorized verses 11-15 memorized, and i can recite it off without any mistakes, i have memorized a bunch of new scriptures too and i am loving it its helping me alot out in my teaching) 

 

But we were teaching him about the atonement, and repentance, and how Christ suffered all of his pains, and that he did it just so that he would know how to help him out. and that all that he was asking is that he repents of his sins and gets baptized. And after my comp and i taught him he talked about how he has just been trying to hide from God for too long and that it was time for him to start coming back to church. AND HE CAME!!!!!! and he enjoyed it alot and no one judged him, now he is super excited again to start coming to church, and is super excited for general conference next week.

We have another investigator, whom i also love alot, but he has been having a really hard time too recently but has finally gotten past it. A couple of weeks ago he had his baptismal interview, but he got scared and didnt show up, and then right after he didnt show up to the interview he started having bad family problems, which every time that happens he would get drunk just to get over them, and he got drunk really bad, he was running around doing nothing but drinking fighting, and stuff like that for two whole weeks, and he just destroyed his life, and his family has lost all trust in him.

 

 But during that time when he was super drunk there was nothing that my comp and i could do, because he want even home most of that time, and those few times that we found him he was tripping all over himself so there wast much that we could do to help him. But my comp and i caught him one day  in the morning (we swung by super early) and talked to him early in the morning, before he could have an opportunity to get drunk, and we talked to him about what he was doing, and got him to stop drinking, and he has gone almost a week now without drinking. But i had no idea what i needed to do to help him, so i decided to turn to my handy dandy areabook, and decided that i was going to dedicate one of my study times to studying his registro and praying and what not to be able to find out what we needed to do to hep him. 

 

And as i was studying i noticed that ever since he met the missionaries he has had 4 baptismal interviews (the missionaries found him in February) and passed 3 of them, and just didnt show up to the 4th one (with me) and i noticed that he would pass the interview, and then get drunk and so his baptismal fecha would fall, and i received the idea that he wasnt really falling into drinking because of just family problems like he was telling us, but it was because he was just afraid to get baptized, and then after getting drunk he would start fighting with him fam.

And so i told my comp about what i discovered and we decided to go talk to him about his fear of getting baptized. And I can honestly remember very little of the lesson, i know that the spirit was super strong there. But i do remember one phrase that i said, i remember i said something ``your fear is holding you back from moving on with your life`` I then talked to him about how he has made so much progress since he met with the missionaries, and how as a person he has changed alot and i said to him ``As long as you let your feat beat out your faith, you are never going to receive the peace of conscience that i know you want to have.``

 

 And then i want to say the direct quote of what i said to him because i think it means more in spanish than it does in english, but i looked him straight in the eye, and said in not a harsh but an authoritative voice ``NO TENGA MIEDO. No Deja que su miedo le gana`` the first part (no tenga miedo) is in the command form in spanish, and i was commanding him to stop being afraid, and then the second part says ``dont let your fear beat you`` and i said ``God is preparing so many blessing for you, and he is hoping, and waiting to give them them to you, but he cant, because you arent letting him, God has always required that His people exercise their faith, before he would give them any blessing. And he requires the same thing for you, if you honestly want to feel relief from your past, and your sins, he requires you to stop sinning, repent, and be baptized.`` 

 

And i cant remember what else we said to him, but i know that i was just super straight up with him the whole lesson, and i know it got him straight to the heart. But he said something to me as me and my comp were leaving he said ``Hey Elder Crockett thank you so much for your words, they were exactly what i needed`` And i was assuming that he was just saying that to be nice to me, but then when he said bye to my comp he just said ``Well see you later P`` And so i felt really good to know that he actually was grateful for what i said to him, no matter how straight up it was haha

He came to church too, so that was awesome

And i want to tell you about a lady too, because we had an awesome lesson with her too, and she came to church too, but i dont have time. But i love you all! NOS VEMOS!!!

Seventy Visit

(Elder P) ``You know its kind of funny every time i start wondering if i really want to be a doctor or not after the mission, i have an experience like that which reminds me why i want to be a doctor´´

```Really??? That experience just reminded me why i DONT want to be a doc. I dont think i have ever seen so much blood in my life and quiet frankly i think it was a miracle that i didnt pass out or throw up or something. Experiences like that just reminds me why i want to be a dentist, because i get to help people but with a whole lot less blood involved´´

It was an interesting P day today, one of my missionaries took a nasty spill and busted his head open, and wow heads bleed alot. But all is well, we took care of him and then got him off to the hospital, but he will be fine, hes just got a minor concussion and is going to need a bunch of stitches, but all is well in Zion.

So this week was a super awesome one for me. I mentioned it last week, but we had a Seventy fly down here for a conference. And wow is was amazing. I got to spend pretty much the whole day with him, because first he wanted to meet up with all of the missionaries for a couple of hours, and then he wanted to meet up with the leaders of the missionaries (me and my comp) for a couple of hours, and then we had a conference with all of the members in the stake, for a couple of hours as well. 

 

But i was just fascinated with being with him for so long. I learned so much. But there was one thing that i really loved, just while i was talking with him, he would just be talking, and then quote a scripture from memory that has to do with what he was teaching me, and then would keep going. But it was just amazing. and that really inspired me. And so the very next morning, in my personal study i started to memorize scripture, and its super awesome. 

 

What i did is a did a self analysis of my teaching abilities with each point of the missionary lessons, and then picked out my weakest point, and then i would search through the scriptures to find a scripture that i could use to better teach that point, and then i memorized it. and man it has been helping me alot in teaching, because even when i dont cite the scripture word for word when i teach, i am using the exact words and phrases that show up in the scriptures to teach, and that is helping alot, i have seen some awesome changes in some of my investigators when i do that. I feel like it just gives me more power when i teach because i am literally using the same words that Christ inspired prophets to write down. 

 

And now its kind of funny in my down time i will take the scriptures that i have memorized and i will chain them together and create a super scripture. Its so cool i love it alot. and it doest even take that long to memorize scriptures, i got some down in just a couple of mins, the one that i memorized today took me about an hour, but it is kind of a huge one, (its Alma 7 :11-13) i was talking to my mission president about how i am doing that in an interview i had with him the other day, and i expressed to him that i really wanted to be able to teach like the Seventy that taught us, but i am sure that if i can keep up memorizing scriptures like this every day until  die im sure that i will be able too hahaha.

So this week there was a baptismal service that i took an investigator to (i think i talked about her, its the one who came to church all by herself, and she has been progressing a ton since then) But after the baptism service she told me. ``this was really good for me to see, before today i knew that i wanted to get baptized, but now i am sure about it. I cant wait until i can be baptized!´´ It was so cool She is super awesome actually, the other day ( a couple of days ago) she called us and Said ``Elders I have news For you!!! I Prayed about the Book of Mormon... And I Got an Answer!!!!!!!´´ And then she hung up on us.....Jerk.... hahaha 

This week was also the Chilean Independence day week, and so we couldnt really work alot, because the streets where just full of drunks, and was not too safe to be outside, so we could only work with Confirmed appointments, or visit members. Or ward Activities. It didnt effect me and my comp too much because one of the days we were with the Seventy and the mission Presidente all day, the next day we had interviews with the mission presidente so we were with him a long time too because we talked about all of the missionaries in my zone and what he wants us to do with them, and then the next day there was the baptism. So i actually was lucky enough to be busy like every second of the day but not have to spend too much time out on the streets. 

 

But oh i just remembered something this is a secret that the seventy told me (not any of my missionaries know yet wahaha and i cant tell you much details, but he told me about how very soon (he told me when but i cant tell you) him and one of the apostles are flying down here again to have another big conference with all of the mission (he told me which apostle too) i am super excited about that. i want so bad to tell my missionaries about us but he made me promise not to tell any of the missionaries. But you guys arent missionaries so its fine, and i dint give you any details so its also fine.

But mom thats funny that you are just telling people that i am just planning to just show up at home without telling anybody, because me and my comp where literally talking about doing that just the other day hahaha (he is also going home in a little bit, before me) But we were joking around about being even meaner about it that what you said. We were talking about telling you a day that we were going to come home, but really just giving you a fake day that is a day or two after we will already be home, so that everyone would be getting excited to get to the airport to meet us and what not, and then they would realize that there is a bunch of suitcases on the couch and not know where they came from...hahahaha and then you would eventually discover us just like taking a nap somewhere. hahahahahaha We`ll have to see what happens Wahaha. 

Haha the real reason that i havent told you what the day on that letter says (in fact i took a picture of everything the letter said, and thought about sending it to you, but i just decided against it.) But anyways the reason i havent told you when is i am still talking to my mission presidente about it, because i want to stay here in Chile the absolute most time possible before college starts.But as soon as i have a more concrete date than the one i already have i will let you know.

Welps i love you all keep me posted with how you are all doing!

Remembering

So Truman in response to wanting to hear about experiences when i started my mission, i wanted to tell you about one. It was on the day that i left the MTC, i was super stressed out, i was completely terrified by the idea that i was actually going down to South America. And the plane ride was actually a pretty restless painful journey for me because i just had no idea what to expect, and i honestly didnt think that i would be able to handle what i imagined was going to happen to me when i finally started. 

 

So after a 15 hour flight, i was transferred planes in Santiago, one a plane that was heading down to Osorno, and i was terrified still because there was no turning back, but i forced myself forward and got onto the next plane. And i remember that i just felt sick. I wasnt really happy at all. But i remember we were flying in the air when i hear the pilot say that we were approaching the city of Osorno, and i decided that i wanted to look outside and see the city that i was going to be working in. And as i saw the rolling green hills, and the rivers and everything, i was overcome by an incredible feeling of peace. One that i will never forget, and i had a scripture come to my mind, that is in the book of Mormon, and its Ammon speaking to the King Lamoni, when he tells him that he was planning on staying there for a while, even until he died if it were necessary, and it was though i heard a voice telling me ``This is where i need you to be`` (Man its getting hard to write i am totally tearing up a ton here, i swear if my comp says anything about it i am going to beat him up hahaha) But i felt at complete peace, in fact i remember an exact phrase that i wrote down in my journal, i wrote down ``I felt at peace for the first time in i dont know how many years`` And i knew without one single doubt that i was exactly where God needed me to be. 

 

That one moment pushed me through some of the hardest trials ive ever been through in my life, because i knew that it was what God wanted for me. thinking about it, i think i may have had one spiritual experience that i would put on a higher pedestal that that moment, its one that i will have to tell you about one day, that other one is one that i have literally never told to anyone ever. 

 

But dude i am so excited for you, you are going to have so many incredible experiences, serving a mission has really  changed my life alot, and even though its been hard, really hard, i would never change the experiences that i have had here for anything in the world. I really see my mission is what changed me from just some other kid, to a true disciple of Jesus Christ (dang it im tearing up again haha)

So this week, was both super super awesome for me and my comp, and actually super super stressful. We just had transfers this past week (Im still with Elder Parsons HURRAY!!!! (seriously my favorite comp ive had.) But we had a little problem, A lot of the missionaries in my zone instantly decided to start being disobedient, and my comp and i are just catching on to it right now, so this week me and him are going to hold a special zone meeting where we are going to get them all together, and tell them that what they are doing is not ok and we are going to put them straight, and then just to reinforce what we are going to tell them, my companion and i are planning on doing a bunch of intercambios (sorry i still dont know that word in english) just so we can have a ton of one on one time with the missionaries, and try to personally help them out. 

 

On top of that this week we are having the Area Seventy fly down here for another conference that he is having with the stake down here, but they did not organize their plans on coming down here very well at all (im not blaming the 70 im sure its his secretarys fault haha) But because of how little notice weve gotten and how little information we have on it (and that fact that it is on a national holiday and all the missionaries in my zone were really excited to waist all day at BBQs) and they have started murmuring alot,  And when we heard those remarks come from my missionaries i was filled with righteous rage. i just wanted to rip off my shirt and make a title of liberty and march through my zone, they are so lucky that i love them .... But this meeting that i am having this week when i am going to call them out on their disobedience we also have a alot to say about how wrong they are about the mission presidente and the 70. I never like having to call missionaries to repentance, but they need it. bad.

In fact the only missionaries that i am not having problems with are my sister missionaries.  ive always loved getting to work with sister missionaries they are just little angles. Im kind of tempted to just not invite them to my call to repentance meeting, but seeing on how they arent doing really anything wrong it will really just be another meeting for them. And really im not having problems with all of my missionaries either in fact really only half of them are causing a bunch of trouble.

And on the bright side the work is doing super well in my sector i love working there so much, my investigators are so awesome, i love them so much, and the members are helping us out a ton, i honestly hope that i get to be here in Punta Arenas until i finish my mission.

Shoot im out of time. Welp i love you all i will tell you how everything turns out! You will all be in my prays about the floods