Santiago Chile

Santiago Chile

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

July 27, 2015 - Work, Work, Work

Hola familia y amigos,

I have to start off with some bad news. starting in August the internet time for the missionaries in Chile Santiago Norte will be cut to one hour. So be patient with my abilities to write you all and also the slow internet we have here in the island.

This week we gave the church a good deep cleaning. A mission representative is scheduled to come in a couple more months, and some of the rooms in the church were disorganized, so we dedicated two mornings to cleaning it up. It was kind of fun to see what was hidden away. We found a newspaper clipping from the church newspaper of when Elder Holland visited the island, and we saw a couple familiar faces in the foto. 

We were working a lot this week with the activity we have coming up in two weeks. It is an activity about family history so we are trying to get the members to invite their friends.

Also, Elder S got a call on Thursday from one of the counselors of the mission president calling him as the branch president here on the island. We have a leader now!!!!
Left to right: Elder A, Elder E and Elder S in Orongo

We also spent Friday morning trying to fix our shower. the water doesn't stop coming out so we ended up buying faucets that didn't fit. It still doesn't work right, but we are working on it.

We stopped by to visit T on Friday. He is a recent convert. We sat down with him to set a couple of goals with him. He isn't doing to well in school, so we are helping him understand what his priorities are, so his mom will keep letting him go to church.

We also taught english to M and L. L is one of our investigators, and we had been looking for a way to teach his girlfriend as well. She asked if we could teach her English, so we did, and we taught the gospel afterwords. It's  a good way to meet people here. We teach a lot of English in order to teach the gospel.

Saturday morning we were knocking doors, and I asked elder E where we should go. Elder E is a very good missionary, but sometimes he struggles to know what to do. I asked for his guidance, and he suggested that we knock a certain street, so we went there, and the first door we knocked had a guy that came out and let us in right away. Apparently he had been baptized about 20 years ago, and just had a baby girl. We were able to teach him, and pass the reference to the other missionaries because we found M while he was visiting his mom. well done elder E!
Elder Williams and Elder E on their trip to Orongo

On Sunday we had Elder S sustained as branch president with hno T as first counselor and elder A as second counselor. Elder E was called to be secretary, and I am the pianist now! I have a week to learn the piano. Pray for me!

The island is the most beautiful place in the world, and the best part about being here is that I can enjoy the beauty while I teach the gospel. We get rejected, and then we see a moai or an awesome sunset. It is like God is saying "well that didn't go too well, but remember that there are more important things that I have in store for you" I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I have dedicated my life to Him. I love Him. I am not perfect, but I am trying to get better everyday because that is what He expects of me.

Love,

Elder Williams

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

July 20, 2015- Baptism

hola familia y amigos!!!!

This week was awesome because it ended with J's baptism!!!


During this week we were knocking a lot of doors and teaching J everything she needed to know before this Saturday, but there are a few things to report before the baptism.

On Wednesday, our land lord, Hanana, wanted to take us to the country part of the island before she took off to the United States on Sunday, so we went with her and showed the island to Elder A we visited the Moai factory and then we went fishing. I caught 3 big ones (picis se llaman) and they were super tasty. We ate them for dinner the next day.


On Thursday we visited J, who is a less active member here on the island. She is into her 70´s and when we visited her she asked if we could come back the next day to do a service project. We came back Friday and raked leaves for her.

On Friday, we ate lunch at B´s house. She is a recent convert that we are reactivating. We ate lunch with her and had to explain about the church´s stance on plural marriage. There is a show that everyone watches here called "Case Closed" and they had a couple that came on, said they were Mormons, and then had a Judge Judy- like battle because the man had 3 wives because supposedly it was a commandment. B was the 5th person that asked us about the show. We had to explain that even though they said they were Mormons they were not and they belonged to a different sect.

On Saturday we had J's baptism. There were a ton of people that came. We invited the whole branch and almost everyone came. There were about 30 people that came. Considering that there are only about 15 people that come to church regularly it was a good turn out. 

J was super happy with how it turned out. She was baptized in Tehai which is right next to big Moai. The day was beautiful and the water was calm. We were all really happy. After the baptism we had a big party at her house and the whole branch came. It was great because it gave us a chance to have the ward members know the rest of her family that aren´t members.

Yesterday we had J's confirmation and we spent the rest of the afternoon knocking doors. We got to have a lesson with A, who is a less active member and we are going to help Alex get back into the swing of things.

It was a great week for us, and we are so happy with J's decision. She really has a strong testimony, and it was made possible through the Book of Mormon. That book changes lives. I invite all of you to study it and really ponder about what it says. It is the proof that God loves all of his children, and that he communicates with them.

Love,
"J" and her family

Elder Williams 

Thursday, July 16, 2015

July 13, 2015 - Lluvia

Hola familia y amigos,

I need to start out with a huge shout out to nephew #1 Christopher Rob Williams who was born this week. I was waiting anxiously the whole week to see his photos, and it was worth the wait because he is the cutest baby in the world! Congrats to Evan and Lizzie!

On Monday we said goodbye to Elder M. which was sad because he has really helped the branch here in the Island grow.

On Tuesday we got to do a service project for P and J. We teach english to them, and they asked if we could help them in their garden. We were chopping off dead palm leaves with a meat cleaver (because they didn't have a machete).

On Wednesday the new missionary arrived!!! His name is elder A. He is from Farmington, Utah. He was actually a friend of Elder S in Junior high school, so it´s cool to see them back together again as companions in the mission. Elder A is really awesome and a hard worker, and was really excited when he arrived.

That night, we had a soccer game. I was the goalie again, but I don't think I´ll be playing anymore for what happened. It turns out that while we were playing I rushed up to grab the ball, but in the process one of the other players hit me in the head with his knee, so I actually got knocked out for about 15 seconds. I woke up with everyone standing around me and looking down at me. I didnt remember what happened, so I went to the hospital, but they told me everything was ok!

On Friday we spent the afternoon preparing a powerpoint presentation for a family history activity we are going to do here on the island. We are going to teach the members how to use Family Search and we are going to mix it with a cultural night as well with music and food. Its going to be a lot of fun.
Service project at the cemetery

On Saturday we had a service project in the morning with our land lord. After that we left to teach english to V. Tuesday morning we were studying the scriptures and we see that there was a woman who came up the stares to our porch. Elder S answered the door and she told him that she was looking for the Mormon missionaries so they could teach her English. She was pretty concerned about learning, so we set up a day to go and teach here. She is very nice and very religious, and we have another appointment with her to teach English and the gospel this week.

we are thinking that we are going to start up english classes again. here on the island, learning english is very useful for tourism and it is a great way to get to know people and teach them as well. people contact us in the street to ask about english classes.

Saturday night, a storm passed through the island, so we had to hide in the house, because it was dangerous. the storm raged through the night and kept going through church. not a lot of people came to church because it was so bad. 

Sunday in the afternoon, we visited T which is a less active member that we have been helping. It was her birthday, so we came with her favorite dessert and the Relief Society President to celebrate with her. She commented to us during the week that she is waiting for a visit from the sisters in the church. Mission accomplished!

Sunday night, we taught J with the H. Rapu family. We taught them in them in the church and we talked about the Sabbath day, obedience, and obey and honor the laws of countries. We have a lot to teach J. in a short time, and it can be difficult to throw so many commitments and doctrine at one person in such short time. She is doing well, but has some butterflies for her baptism.

The work here in the island requires a lot of patience. We have a lot of responsibilities to fulfill with the church and sometimes it doesn't leave us with a lot of time for missionary work. We are doing the best we can because we know who we are serving. We serve the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't do everything perfect but we are trying to get better because through Him we can.

Love,

Elder Williams

July 6, 2015 - Niño Maravilla (Alexis Sanchez)

Iorana familia y amigos,

First off, let me give a huge shout out to Evan and Lizzie who are going to be having their first child (my first nephew) on Wednesday! It will be a great birthday present to my dad who has his birthday on the same day!

This week was pretty crazy because it was Elder M's last week on the Island and the last week of his mission starts today. This morning we dropped him off at the airport and said goodbye to him. He will be missed, and he has been a great missionary and servant of the Lord here on the Island.

I'm just going to tell about what happened this weekend because all of the most important events happened in the past 48 hours.

Saturday morning we went to work at the cemetery here on Easter Island. The church teamed up with the city to do a service project and clean the cemetery. They gifted us a lunch afterwards, which was steak and bread and sausage. In the afternoon we visited our investigator A, whose brother passed away last week, and he invited us to come to a kuranto. we went to visit him there, and he gave us more steak to eat, and steak to take to the house. That night we held a surprise goodbye party for Elder M, and we ate more meat and fish there. There was a lot of meat this weekend!

The island was pretty happy Saturday as well because Chile won the American Cup. That is the first time they have won, and they beat Argentina, with whom they always lose. Everyone was driving their cars around and honking their horns and waving flags. We had to hide inside because it wasn't too safe for missionaries on bikes.

Sunday morning, we had some surprises in the church. first is that an ex missionary that served in Elder E´s ward about 10 years ago, came to church! She is a teacher and was taking a tour of Chile with 3 girls from her school. She knew Elder E  when he was about 8 years old, so she was thrilled to see him again.

Also, the recently released mission president from Santiago Este came to our ward. he and his wife wanted to visit Easter island before heading home to the states. it was a real help to our ward, and we had a lot of people bearing their testimonies this sunday!

in the afternoon Alberto called us again to eat lunch at his house. it was more steak. we got to teach him this time and he told us that he has some doubts about the word of wisdom, so we invited him to pray about and ask god if it really is one of His commandments.

After that, we got to take the sacrament to Bro. C. He is an older man in our branch who isn't able to go to church for his health. We arrived and he pulled out a bag with a cloth, a plate, and pansito, and told us that he was waiting for us. L is awesome

that night, we had a lesson with Tonga, a recent convert in the branch, and his sister Jake. Jake has been participating more in the church, and last night she pulled out her calendar and she said "Yeah, I want my baptism on this date"! she chose her own baptismal date, and it is coming up quick. I dont want to mention it for bad luck. she was beaming after she said that and it was awesome because she recognizes that she has received her answer.

It was a real blessing this Sunday because the mission president that visited with his wife (Brother and Sister Wright) were already known to me. During the devotional we had in Santiago with Elder Nelson in November, this mission president bore his testimony about the Restoration. It was so strong, and I remember sitting in that room and feeling the spirit of the Restauration. I have always looked to that moment as an example of how to teach and testify. His testimony is one of the strongest examples I have of the power of the message we teach. It was great to have the opportunity to thank this mission mission president for his testimony and bear mine to him in sacrament meeting.

Before I end, I just want to bear my testimony that I know that this church is true, and that God has not stopped talking with His children. He talks with prophets, and He talks with us as well. I know we can hear Him as we read the scriptures and as we pray.

Love,

Elder Williams

June 29, 2015 - A Little Under the Weather


Buenas dias buenas tardes familia y amigos,

This week was a great week that was full of the Spirit and fun. On Tuesday we were able to teach T, a recent convert here on the Island, and his sister J. J has been going to church and participating with the missionaries for a while, and when we arrived to teach them, they were having some family problems. they were fighting a little bit as a family. We taught them afterward and as we shared our testimonies of the work that the Lord has in store for the two of them here in the island. J said that she really felt the Spirit strong enough to recognize it, and now she is seriously considering baptism. 

On Wednesday, we were able to visit L in the afternoon. he is a little discouraged because he hasn't been able to work for the past 3 weeks. We taught him about the Sabbath day and how the Lord promises that the abundance of the earth will be ours if we keep the Sabbath day holy and go to church. He went to church this Sunday, and I know the Lord will bless him for it.

That night, during our dinner time, we made brownies for L and his girlfriend M
 and we stopped by to share a message and dessert. It was a nice lesson, and they were very thankful.

On Thursday we were in the house all day because Elder E woke up sick, and it was raining a ton, so it wasn't the best idea to go outside. I spent the day cleaning the house and reading the scriptures, so it was nice to learn more about the New Testament.

On Friday, we had an awesome lesson with B. She is a recent convert in the church, and was inactive for about 8 months, but now she has started going to church again. She stopped going to church a while ago because she didn't want to pay tithing. She told us that a lot of people from the church had come to teach her to pay tithing. Some had even shouted at her to pay it. The Spirit doesn't work like that. We shared our testimonies about tithing, and I shared the story about L and C. when they started paying tithing they saw more miracles. When they didn't have enough food, they would discover flour and rice hidden away in their cupboards. L received a raise in his job. L was now just given the opportunity to study law! After sharing this experience B said "Ok now I understand. I will pay tithing" we were pretty pumped!

on Sunday, a family from Chicago visited the church, and all three of them father, mother and son bore their testimonies (they were all also RMs and two had served in Guatemala and the other in Chile). they were awesome, and they are headed to Valdivia in two weeks, so watch out Meli! 

We got to teach a man named R yesterday. He is a naturalist, but he ended the lesson with a question, "I just want to know why there is evil in the world?" We have an appointment set up for this next week.

One of the things that R mentioned is that he wasn't sure if Jesus really is the Christ. He looked at him as a teacher, but not the Son of God. if there is anyone who has this doubt, I would ask you to go to the scriptures. Look at the miracles He preformed, the prophecies He fulfilled, the pains He suffered, the love He showed and the death He conquered. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and He has not ceased in His work on the earth. He has His church here on the earth, and He is calling his younger brothers and sisters to come unto Him. I know that this is His gospel that I am sharing.

love,

Elder Williams

June 22, 2015 - Feliz Dia del Padre!

hola familia y amigos,

Let me start off by saying a Happy Father´s Day to my Dad! Thanks for all you've done for me and all you've taught me, and I wouldn't be here without you!

On Wednesday we had the chance to teach one of the recent converts here on the island. Her name is B, and up to this moment in her time in the church she has had some doubts about Joseph Smith. When we arrived to teach her, she told us that she was able to talk with a member about her doubts, and la hermana E was able to explain it all to her, and now B is doing great. the members here are awesome and the members are essential to the work here on the Island.

That night we were able to have a ward activity and play basketball. we went to the municipal gym to play; it didnt end well. One of the other players who wasn't a member of the church headbutted Elder S in the chest while he was shooting. Elder S didn't do anything to deserve it, but we weren't left with the greatest desire to keep playing so we left.

On Thursday we were able to do a service project for a couple that we are teaching. We teach English to P and J and they asked us to help them clean out their garage. They just bought a new puppy named bernardito. He is so cute it is ridiculous.

After the service we were able to teach a woman named I. We have stopped by her house many times, but for one reason or another we haven't been able to really dive in and teach the Restoration to her. We were finally able to and it went really well, and she committed to reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it! 

On Friday, we were able to have a lesson with R.  R is a recent convert in the island that hasn't gone to church in a while. She is very nice, and very funny, and we were able to teach her in the house of R who is the first counselor in the branch here. The spirit was way strong and we were able to discover some of the doubts she was having,  R testified so powerfully about the church and the restoration. It was awesome! 

On Saturday we helped a family mow their lawn. They don't have lawn mowers here because there are so many rocks, so everyone uses weed wackers. It was fun.

We went to F's birthday party that night. She is an investigator of the other elders, but she is a good friend of ours, and we were able to eat cake and celebrate with her.

Yesterday I was assigned to speak about fathers in sacrament meeting. It got a little emotional, but I remained in control. there was a surprise as well at church. A pilot from the Chilean Air Force came. Where was the pilot from?  Idaho! It was fun to talk with him. He is doing a pilot exchange thing with the Chilean Air Force and he and his family are living in Valparaiso. He was really cool.

The rest of the afternoon on Sunday we spent visiting people. A lot of people were busy with Father´s Day parties, so we were biking around a lot, and calling to see who we could teach. We also had the blessing to bring the sacrament to a couple of members in the branch that were sick, so that brought back a fair amount of memories from the Bothell Ward.

That's it for this week. just want to end with my testimony of the importance of this work. I was reading Jesus the Christ and it talked about the parable of the workers of the vineyard. There were some that worked all day and others that worked no more than a couple of hours. Talmage talked about the importance of serving for the work and not for the wage, and that is a true principle. I am here to work in the Lord´s vineyard and it my blessing and privilege to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. He is what drives me when I am tired and foolishness enough to get discouraged. I love Him and I am trying to prove it one righteous decision at a time.

Love, Elder Williams


June 15, 2015 - Paciencia

Hola familia y amigos,

Whoo, this week was definitely an intensive exercise of patience. We had a lot of appointments fall through and a lot of activities in the branch that got in the way of our proselyting time. We are still doing well though, and we are excited for this week.

On Tuesday we received a phone call in the morning from Sis. B. She is a sister from my stake that is visiting the Island, and she said she had a package for me from my mom, and she wanted to take us to dinner. We accepted right away. It was a ton of fun to see her and talk about Bothell, and she was so kind to bring a package with her. I was really impressed by all of the English that Elder E understood. He was talking with us like he was a gringo!

After eating dinner with sister B, the church soccer team had a game. we lost, but we played a lot better than the past, and I am definintely improving as a goalie.

On Thursday we were knocking some doors and we met the most famous sculptor on the Island. He was pretty cool and he told us that he had traveled the world and been to more than 100 countries. He was way cool. He said he wanted to come to church this sunday, so we invited him. He didn't come, but he is still really cool.

That night we had a class in the church for the teachers in the church. I was called as the teachers for the teachers in the church. We should have seen 10 people there but only 2 came. It was a bit of a downer, but the class went well, and everyone understood.

There was also a lightning storm that night which never happens on Easter Island

On Friday we helped set up for and celebrate J's  birthday.She is an investigator of the other elders, but she lives in our sector. It was a fun time, and there was a lot of food that was eaten. 

on Saturday we got to teach R. He is the owner of a grocery store close to our house. we found his house on accident and we were able to teach him. the lessons here are difficult to control. we usually have to spend the first lesson with people getting to know them and their beliefs. the people here like to talk and it takes about 30 minutes to establish trust between us and the people. we have an appointment with him for next week to teach the restoration.

On Sunday we found out that the other missionaries are giving J. and her family to us to teach. They said that they need to spend more time looking for new people, and that we could use someone to visit in the night (because we usually are left without people to visit in the night time). It will be exciting to teach them, because they are a wonderful family.

That is the big news of this week. Big shout out to Lizzie Williams who is having a birthday this week! her present his coming a little later this month (her baby boy). 

I just want to end with my testimony. I know that this is the church of Jesus Christ. I am a pretty weak imperfect person, and that is why Christ has a gospel and a church to help us. we are all weak and imperfect and we need His help. We just need to come and follow Him. I am trying my hardest to be the best missionary I can. 

Love,

Elder Williams

June 8, 2015 - ¡Feliz Cumpleaños a Mi!

Hola familia y amigos,

This week I turned 21! It was an exciting day and it added onto another exciting week here on Easter Island.

On Tuesday, we got to teach M. who is a less active member of the church here. She told us that when she was baptized she hadn't really developed a testimony of Joseph Smith, and that she wants our help so she can gain one. It was a very spiritual lesson, and we were able to understand what really goes on in the mind of less actives in the church. They know what they need to do, but they don't want to do it. That is also how Amulek felt before he became a very powerful companion to the prophet Alma in the Book of Mormon.

After that we got to teach M. She is also a less active member of the church who has a son who is not a member.We taught about the Restoration, and she committed to reading the Book of Mormon again to know if it is true. Sometimes you have to jog the memory to remember the testimony you already have.

On Wednesday, I celebrated my birthday.It was a pretty typical day until the night time where 3 families invited me to eat food and celebrate at the same time. First we went to I. and P's house. We ate food and they sang Happy Birthday to me in Rapanui. After that we went to L's house. He had arroz con leche and a little cake ready for me. After that we went to C's house. He had a cake and fish ready for me. He gifted me some cologne! It's not because I smell bad, it is so I can smell even better!

On Thursday we went to the library on the Island because we are preparing a family history activity, and we are researching the resources that the Island has to help with family history. while we were on the way to the museum by bike seat broke off, so I had to ride on my bike that morning without a seat. It was very tiring on my legs.

This week we also had an activity with some investigators and the first counselor in the branch and we went fishing! I took pictures, but I left my camera in the house, so I will send them next week. I caught a fish! it was a little one, but it still counts! 

on Friday, I cooked lentejas for lunch. Lentejas is a very authentic chilean food, and I was very proud of myself for making it for the first time. That night we also taught a less active recent convert named B. She also doesn't have a very strong testimony of Joseph Smith. We have had to teach about Joseph Smith a lot to less actives.

on Saturday we left the house early to drop our bikes off because Elder Espinoza´s wasnt breaking well. when we left it started to pour, so we got all wet. after that we went to a service project all wet. we ate lunch and changed our clothes and we were walking the rest of the day. because we were walking we could do about one third of the things we usually do.

Yesterday we found an awesome new family!They have been here on the island for about 4 months. They are both pharmacists. we asked them what they would ask God if they could ask of him one thing. the dad said a family that will be together forever and the mother said strength to be a good example for her kids! They were really nice and said we can pass by whenever we want. they are awesome!

This week was definitely a blast. Even after two months here, I am still getting used to the island. I am working different spiritual muscles here. It is called missionary work because it is hard, but we teach the plan of happiness so we are happy as well. I know that this is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that He is the Savior of the world and He has not left us to our own self destruction. He has a church to help us, and a gospel to save us. I try every day to share this message so the Spirit can tell people that it is true. I am learning to love the people here, and as I love them, they hear the Spirit more easily.

Love,

Elder Williams




 One of Elder Williams' birthday parties

Another birthday Party!

 He still loves to fish!

June 1, 2015 - Happy Birthday To Me..... In Two More Days

Hola familia y amigos,

First off I want to start and say thanks for all of the birthday messages. I feel really awesome. Thanks to all of you that have helped me get to this point in my life. I am only what you all have helped me become.

Anywho, let me tell you about my week. On Tuesday we had another soccer game. we got permission from the President to have a soccer team made up of members of the church and the missionaries. we were playing against the second best team here on the Island and we lost. I was the goalie, and after losing 2-7 we are looking for another goalie. the team is a great way to build unity among the members and the people who are getting to know the Church

On Thursday we got to do a service project for M. We helped her in her garden. She said she was able to read a little bit of the Book of Mormon, but she wasn't able to pray about it. She said she was going to read more. She is such a sweet lady. She has a lot of things to do in her house. She has two little boys, and she is working two part time jobs. 

On Thursday, we were able to visit with L. as well. L. is an investigator that has been going to church for a while now, and recently his girlfriend M. arrived from Peru and they are living together. We started teaching M. They had some questions about a modern prophet, so we showed them a video of Thomas S. Monson. M saw it and was really impressed. they are working on picking a wedding date.

On Friday we were going to meet up with a less active convert, R to help construct a music school. the Toki school is a Non profit that is working to preserve and teach Rapa nui music to kids. they are made of all volunteers. We came to work, but Rosa didn't show up because of her work, but we met some awesome guys that were working there as well.

On Sunday we celebrated the birthday of T. He is the most recent convert here on the island. We played foosball with him and we ate a ton of cake and meat. we also played a prank on him and threw balloons with flour at him (its a rapanui tradition).

This week was a lot of fun, and it was a lot of hard work. I try to include the highlights of the week because no one wants to read "I walked, knocked a door, and no one was there. then I went to knock another door, and a little kid opened the door and said his parents weren't home". It would get a little boring, but I want you all to know that I am working hard on the outside as well as on the inside. I am trying to develop a greater love for the people and more humility. I know that I'm not perfect, but Jesus Christ didn't come to help perfect people. I know that He lives and that He is changing my life.

Love,

Elder Williams

May 25, 2015 - Servicio

hola familia y amigos,

This week we did a lot of service, and we had some awesome activities.

On Tuesday we painted the house of an older sister in our branch. there were a lot of spiders, but don't worry no one was hurt. 

On Wednesday we had a rehearsal for a play that we performed on Saturday. In Latin America there exists a show called Chavo del 8. It is very popular in any American country that speaks Spanish. The men in the branch put on a spoof of el Chavo and it was a Mormon spoof.

On Friday we cleaned the gardens of the church. They are now very pretty. 

On Saturday we had an awesome activity. We roasted a lamb on a spit. we had a huge fire and we roasted lamb over the fire, and we acted out our show. There were a lot of people that came, and it was a big success.

After church on Sunday we saw that across the street they were throwing a party called a corantun. it is a huge BBQ where anyone can come and eat free food. they cook whole cows underground and they serve them to everyone. it is the best. we ate there on Sunday.

Also, on Sunday we got to teach M we have passed by her house many times, and she never had time for us, but yesterday she let us in. She had a lot of questions, and she was very confused about where the truth was. We taught her the Restoration and she committed to reading the Book of Mormon. We are very excited to see what happens next. We have a service planned with her for this Thursday. 

A big shout out to Hermana Williams who lost her backpack. hang in there hermanita!

Love,,

Elder Williams

May 18, 2015 - Real Rapanui

hola familia y amigos,

This week was a lot of fun, but it started out a little slow.

On Tuesday my foot got operated on. I had an ingrown toenail, so they had to take it out. I was in the house on Tuesday and Wednesday, but because we had some down time, I got to read a lot of church talks, and Elder E and I wrote a song about Easter Island. it was fun, but I was pretty ready to leave the house after two days trapped inside.

On Thursday, we got to work like normal, and it was an awesome day. in the afternoon we met M and his family. He was one of the first people we contacted here on Easter Island, and he was very nice. This time he was home and had some time, so he let us in. We taught him about the Restoration, and he had some awesome questions, and he said he would read the Book of Mormon. He didn't want to pray though, which was a little sad. He didn´t know how to, so we taught him, and we'll see what happens next with him.

After M., we met M.. She used to receive the missionaries a lot, but these past 6 months she has gone through a rough separation. We found her, and she was very nice, and we offered to do a service project for her. Here on Easter Island, we do a lot of service and it works really well, so people want to listen to us.

After M we went to try and teach a young man we had contacted and we found a lady outside of his house yelling at a tree. We realized that it wasn't the tree that was the problem, but it was her cat that was stuck in the tree. The tree was a palm tree, and it had no branches to climb. We helped her tape together some broom handles and a bucket with salami in it to lower the cat down, but the cat wouldn't come down. She actually called the fire department and they helped get the cat down, but she was really impressed that we helped her so she said "stop by my house any day you want". 

on Friday we were looking for people from the area book and we knocked a door where this lady came out and called us antichrists. that was fun. I was thinking "what is it that I have ever done in my life that would lead someone to think I was an antichrist". thankfully the answer to that question is nothing.

After that we had a ward activity where we played soccer on a real soccer field with synthetic turf. The smell brought me right back to Bothell Football days. I was the goalie and I did a really good job! That means I was eternally branded as goalie whenever I play soccer here.

On Saturday we did the service project for M. We were pulling these giant weeds for 3 hours, and it was so tiring. that same day we also met an Argentinian who showed us a triple that a missionary had given to him 2 years ago. we were talking with him, and he said "you're from the church of Jesus Christ?" "I have a book from you guys". he is pretty Catholic, but he still seems very nice and likely to listen to us at some point.

On Sunday, I taught the gospel basics class. We also stopped by the house of the lady that had her cat stuck in a tree, and she told us right away to come in. her name is D and she was very nice, which was refreshing because that whole afternoon no one had let us in. 

That was my week, and Elder E and I are doing well here. Easter Island is completely different from Santiago, so we are still getting used to how things are here, but we know that we are what God wants us to, and we know that our message is the most important thing in the world.

Love,

Elder Williams

May 11, 2015 - Happy Mother's Day

hola familia y amigos

This week includes a year completed in the mission and Mother's Day. It was therefore, an awesome week.

I'm going to keep this email short, because I talked with my family yesterday and told them a lot of things. This week we had a lot less service to do. however on Friday we helped a member construct a roof and weed the side of a house. They didn't have clippers, so we used machetes. That was fun.

On Thursday I completed 1 year in the mission. To celebrate, we got home in the night and made a little fire pit in our backyard and we roasted smores. It was so awesome. There's a tradition in the mission to burn a white shirt, but I like my clothes so I burned marshmallows!

On Sunday, we had a special Mother's Day program in the church. I played the piano for a musical number. The sacrament meeting was put on by the young men in the ward. The young men that participated are all recent converts and investigators. It was awesome. They sang a special musical number to finish. 

We ran into a surprise in the church as well. There was a guy who arrived to the church who was speaking English! His name is Dallin and he is working on the island in an internship from BYU Hawaii. It was cool to talk with him. when he was looking for the church, He talked with one of his co workers who is a less active member here, and he asked her if she would go to church with him to show him where it was. he reactivated a member the first time he came to church. He is only going to be here for 6 weeks, but he is awesome.

The mothers day call went well. I hope everyone talked with their mothers. that is very important. 

I know that the church is true and that the Gospel is what blesses families more than anything else in the world.

love,

Elder Williams

May 4, 2015 - I Don't See Any Eggs Here!

iorana familia y amigos,

Let me just start right away with what happened this week.

On Tuesday, it rained a ton. The climate here on Easter Island is tropical, so the rain comes unexpectedly and it comes hard. The whole afternoon we were searching for people, and we were just getting poured on. I thought about the counsel that the mission president from my home ward gave to just 'look up and smile' That's what we did, and we had a jolly good time in the rain. We visited an older man from our ward who lives alone, The other elders couldn't visit him, and had told him that they would play a couple games of dominos with him, so we stopped by taught him about the word of wisdom (because sometimes he accidently buys coffee thinking it is hecho) and we played dominos. 

That night we were looking for a less active member of the church. On Easter Island the houses don´t have numbers. they just have street names. If you want to find someone, you have to knock the whole street and ask everyone. We were knocking to find this less active and a young mother answered the door. We talked with her and asked if she knew where the member lived, and she told us, but we kept on talking with her, and we asked if we could share our message with her. She let us in, and we could see that she was there with her family and they were all sitting around doing nothing and we thought "this is awesome, we are going to teach a family". 5 seconds didn't pass until this older woman comes out of the kitchen and begins to yell at us saying "who let you into my house. Get out of my house! we are Catholic!" we left. it was a bit of a bummer. but don't worry we don't stay sad for more than 2 seconds. we left and knocked another door.
On Wednesday we were knocking some doors, looking for more people, and we heard someone playing a ukulele in a nearby house. obviously, we went and knocked that door. we found a young man who was there, and he let us in to hear our message. he told us that his dad is in Santiago because he is really sick. He was very nice, and he liked what we had to say, but he didn't have a lot of time, and he goes on vacation to Tahiti this week, so we will wait another week to chat with G. again.

On Thursday we had to stay in the house in the afternoon because there was a protest near the house. dont worry, nothing happened. there is just some tension between the Easter Island natives and the government of Chile. the Rapa Nui want the national parks to belong only to the Island and not the government of Chile. there were some people marching about that, and we were advised to stay in the house.

On Friday we did a service project for a less active family. We had to coat these wooden beams with gasoline to kill termites, and it smelled so bad while we were doing it. I do not like the smell of gasoline. after that, we went to a funeral because the son of our land lord who is our neighbor and our good friend, died. it was an interesting experience to see a rapa nui funeral. they sing a lot and they wear white. 

On Saturday we had the baptism of T. He was one of the people the other elders were teaching before I arrived, and he got baptized on Saturday. They get baptized in the ocean here which is really cool. a recent convert got to baptize him, so we were pretty excited about that. In the baptismal program we sang "I am a child of God" in Spanish and Rapa Nui. It was awesome. After the baptism the family invited us to a barbeque.
T. was baptized by R. (a recent convert) in the ocean.

The four elders serving on the Island with T. and R. just before T's baptism.

It was a good week, and I am really loving the mission here. Im pretty excited to be completing a year in the mission this week, and even more excited to talk with my family this next Sunday. 

Something that has stood out to me here on the island is that I am in the middle of the ocean and yet I feel the same Spirit of the Lord when I take the sacrament and when I pray and when I read the scriptures. The Lord has no bounds. I know that this church and this gospel are true because the Spirit has revealed it unto me, and that is not something I can deny.

love,

Elder Williams