Santiago Chile

Santiago Chile

Monday, April 27, 2015

April 27, 2015- Iorana!

iorana familia y amigos,

today I am writing here from Easter island! this is the island in the middle of the ocean that has the giant head sculptures everywhere. I arrived Monday late at night. it was a little scary to travel solo. I was alone for about 6 hours which is never what a missionary wants. Elder Macedo, Elder Swan, and Elder Espinoza (my new companion) picked me up and we went to the house.

Elder Espinoza is from Puerto Montt. he is Chilean. he is very awesome. Before his mission he was in a metal band, so we got right to talking about that. this is his 4th change in the mission, so he is still pretty young. he lives very close to the volcano that just erupted in the south of chile, but his family is OK.

the next day was our pday and we went on a tour of the island. they ride bikes here, and there are a ton of hills, so the bike is kicking my butt real good here on the island. we visited the beaches here and we took pictures with the Moai (Moai are the giant sculptures).

later that day, we met up with some investigators and we went fishing with them. they fish different here. they dont always use poles, but pbc pipe that is about the size of a can of wheat and they wrap fishing line around it. we didnt catch anything, but it was awesome.

on wednesday we did a service project. we helped this one lady cut down a tree in her back yard. we do a lot of service projects here. I got to meet A on Wednesday. he is an investigator that has been going to church for years, but he still hasn't  been baptized. he´s an older man, and he is rapanui (native to the island). he is awesome and always goes to church, but he is missing a testimony of joseph smith.

wednesday and friday nights we taught english. on thursday we had a regular day, and we got to be missionaries. the island is very different. the people here are a lot more laid back. they are very relaxed here. the contacts we do are a lot longer because they want to talk for about 10 minutes before you can invite them to hear the gospel. its not like santiago where everyone is busy all of the time. it is very different here.

on Friday we had a bike trip with the young men from the branch. biked aroung the island and visited these awesome caves. there are a lot of young men that are investigating the church here, so we came with them. after that we came back to the church and we cooked oi oi which is a rapa nui dessert (its like sweet stuffing).

on Saturday we had other service projects and we got to play soccer that night. soccer isnt allowed in santiago but here we have permission. we played for a while with some islanders, and some recent converts. I scored 4 goals, so I was a pretty happy camper.

on Sunday I got to know the branch. there are about 25 people that go to the branch. we dont have a branch president because they are in the process of calling a new one, but it appears that they will call one of us missionaries. I got to give a talk on agency, so that was fun, and I got to present myself. it is an awesome branch here. they are all very close. 

Sunday afternoon and night. we had lots of appointments of people who wanted to give us food. we visited with a less active named M who gave us emanapadas and a peruvian investigator who made us arroz con leche. it was a crazy week.

I feel very blessed because I get to be part of those who fulfill the scriptures that say that those of the house of israel that are scattered over the islands of the sea will be brought to the truth. I am very happy to be here serving my Lord and Savior. It is a completely different mission here in the island, but I am doing my best to adapt and help the people here come unto christ.

Love, Elder Williams

Saturday, April 25, 2015

April 20, 2015- LOST!!!!



hola familia y amigos,
Elders Williams & Farnsworth

today are transfers and after only one change in my new sector I am headed to another area. it is a little far away. actually it is very far away. I will be serving on Easter Island. it is the island that has the giant head statues. I am taking a 5 hour flight over the ocean and it looks like I will be there for a while. it is very exciting because the president called me early this week to tell me because it is a huge privilege for missionaries that are obedient. he complemented me on my obedience and told me that I would be going to the island. my companion from the MTC is there with 2 other missionaries and I will be companions with a new chilean missionary. to say the least, I am very excited.

this weekend, Elder Oaks also visited our mission, and the stake of quilicura where I was at. it was an incredible weekend. Elder Oaks spoke a lot about the importance of the sacrament. he was a great speaker and his wife gifted the mission testimony gloves to help the families that we teach have a testimony in God, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, Thomas S. Monson, and the temple. 

Elder Oaks came to our stake center and R came with C and C.They loved the conference, and it really helped R with her testimony about modern day prophets. earlier in the week we visited with them and they gave us arroz con leche, masamora, and panettone. for those of you who dont know they are peruvian desserts and they are so good. we said goodbye to them last night, and it was a little emotional.

we met with C this week and he is doing really well. he prayed, and he read, but he didn´t receive an answer, but he accepted a date to get baptized and he said he wants to go to church but he had a commitment this weekend with someone else. 

we visited some haitians that we have been teaching as well. Y is very interested in the church, but wasnt able to read and pray because she has been very sick. she is very nice and she always offers us haitian food.

this week we werent in the sector a lot because we were rehearsing for the musical number in the conference with elder Oaks. on Saturday the musical number went really well, and it was a lot of fun.

that is all I really want to talk about today. Im still pretty thrilled about cambios and also nervous too because I thought I was already pretty far away from home.

I know that the church is true and that Christ has his church with prophets and apostles here on the earth. the gospel that we share with the world is so important that we make sure that all can receive it. I know that Christ is my savior, and I will do what I can to serve Him.

Love,

Elder Williams

April 13, 2015- Esta Semana



hola familia y amigos,

bueno, this week was still a lot of fun, but we didnt get to spend a lot of time our sector again for all of the meetings and rehearsals we have, but hey, its all good. we are just craving some time to be able to study, because we have had to travel in the morning and we havent been able to study preach my gospel a ton, so that has been rough this week. in the end it will all be worth the pain, because elder Oaks will be visiting our mission this weekend, and he will be visiting my stake center which is in our sector. we feel so blessed, and we are going to be working hard, so lots of people come to church.

on tuesday we taught C again. he is really awesome. he was able to read the pamphlet we left with him but he didnt read the book of mormon (thats like only eating the bread at restaurant before the food arrives). he said he would read this week. he is very genuine and he said he really wants to know if it is true. so we are hoping he has followed through.

on Thursday we spent a lot of the afternoon in the valle de lo campino. it is very crazy there because it is basically an american neighborhood that got uprooted out of the united states and placed in chile. there are lots of really wealthy people that live there, and there was no one there during the day. also, the people there dont often open the door for us. there are some awesome members there though, and there are a lot of ward leaders in our sector which is a huge blessing for us.

that night we taught some haitians with D. D is the best, and always has time to visit people with us and explain the lessons in Kreol. we taught P who is heavily involved in his church, and the lesson became a big debate for him. that happens to us a lot. a lot of people just want to talk with us and learn about the religion. do they want to make changes in their lives? maybe. usually its a no to that question. we pray and try with all of are might to teach with the spirit so people feel the truth of our message and the desire to live what we teach. that is our prayer as missionaries that is always in our hearts.

on Friday we, the missionaries of the ward lo campino, hosted a ward family home evening. C and C were the only people from our sector that came. we invited everyone, but we weren't able to bring them to the activity because we had to get there way early to set up. the message was about apostles to prepare the ward for the visit of elder Oaks.

on Saturday there weren't that many people in our english class, but one of the haitians that we taught there came to church the next day with D. we taught R. that night and she told us that she read the book of mormon. she doesn't feel like she has received an answer yet, but she basically told us the story of nephi and she understands everything she reads. she is doing really well, and we hope that she will get her answer soon.

yesterday was an awesome fast and testimony meeting. the spirit was really strong there, and it was awesome for R to see that because she really did feel something different there. we learn that there are 3 things that help people stay connected with the holy ghost. prayer, scripture study, and church attendance. we hope that investigators are doing all of the following, and as they do it, they fell the influence of the spirit telling them that the church is true.

I know that this is the church of Jesus Christ. I came here to serve Him, and I am trying to do want He wants. I am trying to make His will mine. it is very hard because I am very week, but He´s perfect so he helps me do it.

Love,

Elder Williams

April 6, 2015- Conferencia y Feliz Pascua

hola familia y amigos,

this week was very spiritual for us wasn't it? we had conference and Easter and it was just the best.

on Tuesday i had another choir practice to attend, and it sounds like we are going to be ready for the conference with elder Oaks when he comes. that same day something funny happened to us, that Im pretty sure happens to almost every missionary in south america. we knocked a door to visit a person we had an appointment with and a little boy answered and he said "my mom´s not here". this little boy was about two years old. we were pretty sure that no mother would leave their two year old son completely alone. we asked "are you here alone". he said yes. we then said "ask your mom when we can come back". he dissappeared for a second and came back and said "she says 5 oclock". I just love little kids.

We had a lesson with M that day. he had been working all day and was falling asleep on us. he also didn't go to conference this sunday when he said he would. we are trying to see if his interest can become conversion so keep praying for him. 

on Wednesday we had a zone conference. it lasted the whole day, but we learned some awesome things. we talked about the importance of ministering because it is impossible to transfer faith from one person to another. we also talked about the my family pamphlet. the mission president asked all of the 80 missionaries there who had their pamphlet complete. there were only two that stood up, and I was one of them, and it turns out the only two in the mission that have it completed. thanks mom for sending me the info!

we had another awesome lesson with C C, and R, and we invited a nearby member to come with us, K. it was a great lesson. we are really working so our investigators have a testimony of the book of mormon. we had K share his testimony about the book of mormon and R committed to reading it and praying about it. 

on Friday in the morning we visited the bishop who expressed to us his concerns about the families and marriages in the ward. he expressed to us that baptisms were not that important to him, so that´s something that a missionary never wants to hear, but we received a list of people to visit to help them with their families and marriages so we can help him out. being a bishop would be hard, so we are going to help him out. 

Conference weekend was the best, and easter too. my companion hid easter eggs for me!!!! he is the best! I shined his shoes for him while he was in the shower. we went to conference and it was awesome! we got to watch it in english, because our mission president wants us to hear it in our own language. we were also able to set up a room to listen in french, and the Haitians from the stake could here conference in their own language as well. they were all very happy to hear that there will be a temple in Haiti. they were thrilled, and very thankful that they could listen to conference here in Chile like they would in Haiti. actually, we had a Haitian investigator named J that came to conference. he arrived late, but just in time for the talk when they mentioned the growth of the church in Haiti. we asked him how he liked the conference, and he said he wants to come to church next week as well. awesome!

I really love the themes in conference of the resurrection of our Savior. I love how Elder Holland explained our desperate need for a perfect being to literally Save us. I am so thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that here in the mission I too am a unprofitable servant and that it is the Lord that is directing the work here. it is after all that we do that we see His graceful hand reveal His blessings. I know that He lives, and that this church is His. the restored gospel is what brings us to Him, and we work hard so other people know it too.

love,

Elder Williams

March 30, 2015- We are Tired and Happy

hola familia y amigos,

to describe this week I have to quote the missionaries from the TV show the district "Iv'e never been this tired, but yet, I´m just really happy". We are very tired, and we are very happy,

on Tuesday we finally found someone to give us lunch in the ward. we are paying a less active sister to make us lunch everyday, so we don't have to cook anymore. we are very happy now. in the night we had our weekly coordination meeting with the ward mission leader, and we have to plan a ward family home evening to prepare the ward for the visit of an apostle (who is going to be Elder Oaks). 

on Wednesday we got to meet N and F. they are investigators that the other missionaries had been teaching before. we finally found them on accident. my companion was knocking doors and found them in a different house than the one that we have knocked 4 times to find them. they are really awesome. they told us that two weeks ago they just set the date to get married, so that will be cool. we are working with Fabian so he can get an answer about the book of Mormon. they are both really nice.

on Thursday we had interviews with the president. they went well. interviews with the president are very relaxed. we talked about cleaning the chapels for about 10 minutes and then we talked about my reading of the book of mormon. it´s nice to not have to worry about more serious things in interviews with the president.

that night M, a priest from the ward, came with us to visit some people. we visited C and C and we helpèd them with their my family booklets. it turns out that M is actually a family history specialist, so he really helped us out too. M is going to be a great missionary. that really is the best preparation for the mission--leave with the missionaries.

on friday we did a service project for a brother in our ward. he is an accountant in tax season, so we volunteered to help him out, and we cleaned out his patio and killed more than a hundred spiders in the process. 

we also had a lesson with M and G, our ward mission leader came with us. it was an awesome lesson. I love to hear members testify in the lessons, because it shows that the missionaries aren't the only people who know that these things are true.

on Saturday we taught english. about 6 people showed up, so it was a little class, but we are going to publicize more, and hopefully more will come. we mainly taught about pronunciation, and how to introduce yourself, and it will get more advanced later on.

on Sunday only R went to church. M wanted to go to church and see the baptism there was that day, but there were some serious personal problems that got in the way so he couldn't see it. this sunday MB got baptized. I started the teaching with Elder Huarca, and it was cool to see her get baptized. R stayed around to see the baptism as well, so that was awesome. 

this week truly was a lot of fun, and a lot of work. we are excited for conference this weekend, and we invite all of you to participate. we hope that you also share thanks to Him video that is on the church website in all of your Facebook, twitter, and google plus feeds or what ever social network cites there are these days.

Love,

Elder Williams

March 23, 2016- Miracles



hola familia y amigos,

this week was a lot of fun, and we really saw the hand of the Lord guiding us this week.

on Tuesday I went to the office of the mission in the morning to practice a musical number because an apostle is going to come 19 de abril to visit our mission and then visit my stake. I got to see Elder Muñoz there because he will be playing the violin. it was awesome to see him. he goes home this transfer and he is starting to freak out a little bit. 

when I got back from that we were knocking a lot of doors, and we decided to stop by a recent convert´s house. we knocked the door, and a new face appeared. her name is R and she is the sister of the recent convert. she just arrived here from Peru. we taught her with the recent converts, C and C and it went really well. she has a baptismal date set in May, and we invited her to church this sunday.

on Wednesday we had district class, and we ate lunch. I ate some lentejas that really did a number on my stomach, but everything turned out ok. that day Elder Farnsworth and I fasted so we could find more people to teach. in the evening we taught E who has two sons who are not members of the church. they have listened to missionaries before, but they just don't have the desires to go to church so we will see what happens there. the two sons who are twins are G and I.

on Thursday, I had an interchange with elder Cifuentes in lo matta. we spent most of the day in a part that was a little dangerous, but nothing happened. when we arrived though, there was a fight that was going on in the street, and when we came home that night it was still happening. when the people in the street fight here, they usually just yell swear words at each other. they don't really fight, they just scream at each other all day. Elder Cifuentes basically taught himself kreol, so he teaches a lot of Haitians. I felt like I did at the beginning of my mission because I did not understand what was happening in the lessons.

on Friday we performed an act of service. we were coming back from working to eat dinner, and there was a little girl who was talking with the guard at the apartment door. she said that her hampster fell, and the guard asked if we could look into it. we followed the girl to this giant box that was next to a park. it was the container of an underground generator. there was a little hole in the box that the hamster had climbed into and it had fallen about 12 feet into the room of the generator. Elder Farnsworth and I opened the trapdoor on top, and I climbed in and chased down the hamster in the dark, and we returned it to the little girl. We felt like super heroes!

on Saturday in the morning we taught a less active member, and her son walked in who isnt a member of the church, and for the first time in his life he listened to us. his name is M and he is 22. is really awesome and smart, so we hope he will be there next week.

on Sunday M, one of our investigators with a baptismal date came to church, and R came too! we were so happy. the Lord really blessed us for our Ayuno (our fast). we feel so blessed this week. Sunday in the afternoon we had members that came with us, and we taught 4 new people with members. it was the best Sunday I have seen in the mission. 

the Zone leaders have set up goals for members of the zone, and this week we completed all of them, so we will get a chocolate bar on Thursday to reward us. YES! CHOCOLATE!

this was a great week, and we can testify that the Lord is in charge of this work. we would fail miserably if it was just us working, but the Lord really revealed his hand to us this week.

Love,

Elder Williams

March 9, 2015- Crossing the Street



hola familia y amigos,

this week we had cambios and I have to say they were a little weird. I got transferred to the sector Lo campino 2. I was in Lo campino 1, so i literally just crossed the street, and I am working in the sector of elder Tibbits. elder Tibbits went to another zone, and his companion elder Arce went to my old sector. Elder Arce and I just switched! I got a new companion whose name is Elder Farnsworth. i actually knew him from my time in simon bolivar. he was in the same zone as me for like 4 months, so I already knew him a little. he is awesome. he has been here for about 7 months, and he is from Chandler (basically phoenix) Arizona. he likes to play rugby.

what else happened this week? we taught Y and B on Tuesday. they told us that they didnt want to go to church or make changes in their lives, and they told us that they wanted to search on their own for a little bit. it broke my heart a little bit, but hey, in the future they´ll make the right choices. 

on Wednesday I had an intercambio with elder Tibbits in his sector (which is now my sector!) and it was fun. we taught a new person named M. he came to church on sunday because it just interested him. he seems pretty cool, so we will see where that goes. 

on Thursday we had an awesome lesson with R. R is a haitian who we have taught, but hes had some doubts about Joseph Smith and the book of mormon. last week we printed out Joseph Smith history in Kreol and we brought it to him and asked him to read it and pray. today we taught him, and we verified if he had read or if he had prayed. it was so awesome he looks at us and says. "yes, i read it". I asked "did you pray to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet" he said "yes", then I asked him "what was your answer"? then he said "its true. he's a prophet and the church is true". he then accepted a baptismal date. he had declined 3 dates before that night, but he said YES! we were so pumped!!!!!!!!!!

on Saturday they called me while I was in a lesson to tell me that I was going. that straight up wrecked me. I wanted to stay in the sector so bad. we spent saturday and Sunday visiting the investigators and converts and members to say goodbye. on Sunday we gave a little farewell talk (the missionaries that were leaving the ward). now I look back and it was all in vain. so many tears shed for nothing! but hey, i get to see the people I love for even more time, and I will be in this stake when the apostle visits.

on Sunday we taught J and L again. the lesson was so awesome. they were asking questions about if baptism was necessary and at one point they asked "there are so many churches, and we just want to know what the right one is". F, a recently returned missionary came with us and he testified and everything. we watched the movie the Restoration with them and the spirit was so strong. they committed to reading the book of mormon, and praying to god to know if it is true. it was awesome!!!! good way to finish my time in that sector.

on Sunday night, the P family invited me to their house, and we had a family home evening with them and O and A  it was a lot of fun, and O and A gifted me a tie. I really do love that family, and i am so happy because I will still get to see them!

I am excited to work and see how it goes here in Lo campino 2. it is a little fancy here. there are parts here that look like the united states. there are a lot of ward leaders here, and there are a lot of ethnic people here too. there are arabs, haitians, africans, peruvians, colombians, gringos...everything.

I am so thankful to be serving the Lord. I love Him. I owe Him everything. 

Love,

Elder Williams

March 2, 2015- Apostol



hola familia y amigos,

this week was a lot of fun, and it is starting to cool down here a little in the morning so we are pretty happy.

on wednesday we were working in the night time, and we invited a young man from the ward to come with us. his name is M. we had a ton of appointments that night, and all but one fell through. M. was very nice about it, and we decided to pass by the house of R. M is Chilean and R is Haitian, so it was cool to see R and M interact because Haitians dont usually talk with Chileans.

on thursday I had another intercambio with elder Tibbits. we taught a less active woman who had many dogs in her house. we also made tacos for lunch. we have been having to make lunch for ourselves these past two weeks, and we are starting to run out of ideas.

in the period of about 2 minutes that day, 3 lessons fell through. I was visiting a person that we had an appointment with and while they were telling me that they couldn't meet with us, two people called me to tell me the same thing. that was a little lame.

we had a nice lesson with O and A. they are going to Talca this weekend so they didn't go to church. on thursday night we taught them the 10 commandments with the family of M. it was a fun time, and the mom of the family made bread for us!

on Friday we had another good appointment with Y and we invited a different young man who is also named M to come with us. it was awesome when M came because Y and her sister B said that it was amazing to see a young man like M who wasn't in the street smoking drugs like all the other boys his age. it was the example of M that stood out to the investigators, so I would say to the young men and young women within reach of this email: your example is the greatest testimony you have, and dont be afraid to go with the missionaries to show it to people who want it.

on Friday night there was an elders quorum activity, and oscar came to it. they taught about temples and the class was really awesome. O really wants to get sealed with his family, he is just waiting to get married first so Acan get baptized and then they can go to the temple.

this week was a rough week to find people until saturday and sunday. we were working hard the whole week, setting up appointments and calling people, but a lot of people didnt have time for us or didnt open the door (even though I clearly see they are watching TV inside!) but on saturday morning we found P. he was the second door we knocked in the morning, and he came out with his big tattooed arms, and we started talking to him about that, and he said "do you want to come in". naturally we came in and we taught him the restoration and he said he would pray and read, so we will see what happens there.

on Sunday we stopped by a reference we received and we found L and J. they are a young couple that arent married, and they have 3 kids. they were busy working on their house, but they still let us come in to share our message. they are a family with a lot of faith, and it was awesome to teach them. I remember J saying "all I want is to be able to live with God again" and L said "what I want is to be with my family for the longest time possible." the lesson was awesome and we hope that they will be around for the next appointment we have with them.

no one came to church today...bummer, but next week will be better. we found out that in our stake an apostol will come in april, so we are excited about that and hoping that we wont get changed this cambio. also a missionary recently returned in our ward, so it was fun to see his face when he saw his old ward after two years. (he looked very scared. I wonder If i will be like that when I get back).

I am really learning to love the mission, and I am working hard to demonstrate my love for the lord. I love my savior Jesus Christ. He has heard my cries thousands of times and I hope that he is pleased with my service.

Love,

Elder Williams 

Feb 23, 2015- Qualquier Intercambio



hola familia y amigitos,

this week was a lot of fun. on Wednesday we had a zone conference that was a lot of fun. we are really focusing on how to work better with the leaders of the church here in chile. we had great classes on how to help those members of the church who haven't gone in a while and how to help those that have recently converted to the church stay in the church. we got back that night and had a lesson with M. Manuel is the only member of his family who is not a member of the church. he almost always goes to church, but he still feels like he is missing something to get baptized. we are going to try to work with him so he can receive a testimony of the book of mormon so he knows the church is true. he understands a lot of what we teach because his son often teaches him when we arent.

on thursday I went to the sector of the zone leaders. I spent the day with Elder Cifuentes from xela guatemala (where my dad served), and it was a fun time. we visited one of his investigators, R, who is trying to quit smoking. the sector of elder cifuentes is very flite or in other words ghetto. it has one of the most dangerous apartment complexes in the mission. dont worry mom, we didnt go in there, but we were close. 

in the morning we made a ton of pancakes because we needed to eat a big breakfast. why did we need a big breakfast? because we gave blood that day. there is a member of the church who needed blood to give to the blood bank, so she could take some of her type out, and she asked that the missionaries donate blood. we did it. i wasnt the biggest fan of the experience, but I got free juice and cookies out of it.

right after my interchange with elder cifuentes I went right a way to an interchange with elder Tibbits in his sector. I was there with him, and we ended up walking a little bit because we were trying to find a reference he received. Elder Tibbits and I had  a lot of fun. we are both very similar in personality.

saturday was a great day. we worked really hard friday. we spent all the morning and afternoon looking for new people to teach, and no one let us in. no one set up an appointment with us either. ooohhh it was so much fun. I like talking with new people. its fun to here their stories and see a glimpse of their lives. we taught R at night but he doesn't feel ready to set a baptismal date. he feels like he will need lots of time to be sure, but we are hoping that as he prays to know that the book of mormon is true, he will be able to feel the reassurance from God that this is the right path for him.

yesterday just O and A went to church which is great! but we were expecting more. yesterday we were knocking in the apartments in our sector, and we finally found a new investigator. his name is P and he is also from Haiti. he wants to go to the united states, and he also wants to learn english so we will try to help him with that as well. it was a little funny how we found him. usually we just try to knock the doors that have evidence that someone really is home. this means an open window, or the door itself is open or there are lights or music or TV inside. we looked up on the third floor of the building and we saw a very angry dog that was growling at us. it went and hid at the end of the hallway, and i decided that I would try to knock the door at the other end of the hall. as i got closer it started to growl and look at me but stayed there. I knocked on the door, and P came out, and let us in as the dog was getting closer to us. not even a mean dog can stop the work of the lord.

I learned a lot this week and I had a lot of fun. it was weird to be out of my sector for so long, and I was missing elder Huarca and our investigators while I was away. I am so glad to be a missionary. I am really learning to love the mission. there are some lame parts, but they just make the sweet parts sweeter. I know that this is the work of the Lord, and I am doing all I can to serve Him.

Love,

Elder Williams

Feb 16, 2015- Renca la Lleva

hola familia y amigos,

this week was a ton of fun, now let me tell you why...

on tuesday we had a very fun day. we were working hard in the morning talking with lots of people and we made completos for lunch. I think when I get home I am going to open the first completo shop in Seattle, because I make pretty good completos.

we found out shortly before lunch that my previous zone leader, Chad Newey, who recently finished his mission, was long boarding at his house and fell, and ended up in the hospital in a very grave condition, so the mission president called a mission wide fast for Chad Newey, who we have heard is now doing better.

we also taught a new young woman named F. She is 20 years old, and we talked to her a couple of weeks ago, and she told us that she used to meet with the missionaries. we stopped by her house this week, and we started to teach her, and we asked her how long she had been visited by the other missionaries and she said "a couple of months and then 1 month after my baptism". that is something funny that happens in Chile, the people sometimes forget to tell us that they are baptized when they first meet us. we hope we can help F come back to the church and enjoy the happiness that the gospel brings to those that live it.

on Wednesday, I had an intercambio with elder Sandberg. Elder Sandberg is from las Vegas nevada. he is a convert to the church, and it turns out that I actually know his girlfriend from EFY. we hit it off and worked hard that day. we found a less active member family with a lady who would not stop talking to us. Chileans love to talk, and Missionaries love to work, so it is difficult and requires patience to find a way to leave the house of a talkative chilean.

we met with R that night. he is a Haitian man that we have been teaching. he is awesome. he says he wants to come to church and read the book of mormon so he can understand more, because he likes how he feels when we teach him. we invited him to be baptized which he accepted, but he doesn't feel ready enough to accept a baptismal date, so we are working on that with him. I love the reaction of people when we invite them to be baptized. the faith of the people here is strong, and they often accept the invitation to be baptized, but when we suggest that they set a goal to be baptized in 5 weeks, they usually reply "that fast?". its a fun life being a missionary.

we were in a trio with Elder Tibbits untill his new companion elder Arce arrived. we visited C that day and her daughter F taught us how to take blood pressure.

on Friday we left with some haitain investigators to help them get a marriage date. it turned out that one of them is illegal because she has been here more than 4 months, so we were in the centro of the city the whole morning waiting in lines and wading through red tape. we have to go back at the end of the month to help them finish.

Saturday we cleaned the church building and we taught E. E is having a hard time keeping the sabbath day holy. she owns a little market and she feels like she cant close it on Sundays to go to church. we are trying to invite her to exercise her faith and know that the lord will bless with what she needs, but she still isn't ready to take that step. prayers for E.

Sunday, R came to Church! it doesnt look like he understood everything that happened, but he said he liked it. he only stayed for the first hour, so we will talk with him later this week to see if he liked it.

that was pretty much the week in a nut shell. thank you all for your letters, and prayers. I hope you all had an awesome valentines day, because I spent mine with a peruvian man.

I want to share my testimony that I know this church is true. I know Jesus Christ is our savior, and I am trying every day to serve him to show my love for Him.

Love,

Elder Williams