August 24, 2015 - Chao Pescado

Hola familia y amigos,

Well, let me just start with the bad news. We got a call from President Videla and Elder S and Elder E are being transferred back to Santiago. Elder A and I will be companions, and we will be the only missionaries here for a while because they are not sending other missionaries to replace Elder E and Elder S.

The two of them take off tomorrow so today is their last Pday in the island and there is a ton to do today.

This week, we were doing a lot of finding and we found some cool people that I´ll tell you all about.

1. There is a guy named C that fixes are bikes when we have problems with them, and he is way cool. He asked that the next time we pass by if we can share our message with him. I love it when people contact us!

2. We found a young guy named F. who was really awesome. He was super respectful and he was only 12 years old. He and his family have listened to missionaries before, but we are still trying to locate their house (there are no addresses here on the island only street names)

3. We met a guy from the United States that lives here. His name is C (awesome name!) and he was really pleased to see us, and he told us he wants to watch a video about Jesus Christ with us that was made here in Easter Island. 

4. We also found a Peruvian family that is living here. We shared the message of the Restoration with J who hadn't prayed in a long time, but he prayed at the end and he said he felt really good.

We also met with M. two times this week. We got to teach her the plan of salvation with a member present and it was nice to see her put together why we get baptized. We don't get baptized so we can join a church, we get baptized so we can be cleansed from sin and live with God.

We also met one of the converts here in the island. L was baptized almost two years ago by Elder B, but we haven't been able to find him. It turns out that he is living and working in the hospital here, and he is awesome! He hasn't been able to come because he had knee surgery and cancer, so it was a little difficult to get out of bed, but now he is doing really well!

The craziest thing that happened this week was the arrival of a certain friend of mine, ex Elder M arrived on the Island on Saturday. He is going to be working and living here until April. He arrived on the same plane as J, who was visiting family in Santiago for the past ten days. The big news is that they came off the plain holding hands... they are going out. Apparently after Macedo finished his mission, he started talking with J on Facebook, and they met up in Santiago, and they talked about it, and now they are going out...

That's the big news here on the Island. Elder Adams and I are going to have a ton to do here with two missionaries covering the whole island. I don't know how we are going to do it, but the lord will help us out. I know that this is His work. 

p.s. We found a trampoline and Elder Swan used to be a gymnast!

love,

Elder Williams

August 17, 2015 - Milagros

Hola familia y amigos,

Wow, this week was super crazy and there was a ton to do.

Last Monday we went on a huge bike trip. We were so tired afterword. We went to explore a ton of lava tubes and we explored  7 caves there. Fotos are coming.

More exploration on Easter Island.

Elder Williams inside one of the caves.

That night, we had to stop by the church to send something to the mission president and we hear this scraping sound coming from the trash can. We looked inside and found 3 little rats stuck inside. They were kind of cute, but we had to get rid of them. Que descansen en paz....

On Tuesday, we did a service project for an older sister in our ward. We cut her grass and weeded, and then she gave us food. It was a good time.

On Wednesday, we had a nice surprise in the morning. There were some tourists from Santiago that visited the church last Sunday. Usually when people from Santiago visit, they bring food (because the food here is really expensive). They had to leave, and they needed someone that could eat the food they hadn't used here. They left us with 5 grocery bags full of meat, chicken, rice, crackers, and dip. We were so happy!!!! We prayed extra hard that the Lord will bless them.

We´ve got some fun news here. Elder M will be coming back to the Island!!! but he will be returning as Marco M because he is no longer a missionary. He arrives this Saturday with J, our convert who is vacationing in Santiago!

Thursday, we had an awesome lesson with M. It's been a long time since we have been able to teach her (like 2 months), but we finally found her. She´s having a rough time. She is a single mother, and her son, O, isnt doing too well. We are trying to help them have a happier family.

On Friday, we did a service project for the less active sister M. We got to meet her son who is also less active and his girlfriend who is expecting a baby this week. We did yard work, but it was a great way to know her family a bit better.

On Sunday we saw a little miracle at church. L isn't doing too well, and he has asked us not to pass by to visit him. We have also heard that he has started drinking again, so we are concerned. We found out about this because his ex girlfriend (M) arrived at church. apparently, before we got here, she was meeting with the missionaries as well. We went and taught her in the afternoon and she told us that she was ready to become fully integrated in the church again.

Sunday night, we went to the house of T´s cousins to make tacos. They say they are Catholic, but then again everyone says that here. They are very nice, and we are just trying to find a way to get into a lesson environment with them. It's difficult, but we´ll get there.

That´s pretty much it for this week. oh, just kidding, I just remembered that I gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting. I gave a talk about the flesh. I talked about how we all have weaknesses and imperfections, but God does not want us to dwell in them. God wants us to be like Him. that is why we call him Father. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father. I know that He lives, and that He loves us, and that He sent His son Jesus Christ to save us. I love talking with Him when I pray, and I hope you all do the same.

Love,

Elder Williams

August 10, 2015 - Noche Ancestral

Hola familia y amigos,

This week was crazy with all of the things that happened, so let me start with the beginning of the week.

On Monday, I sent a letter to L and C because Elder Muñoz wrote me to tell me that they got sealed in the Santiago Temple this past Friday!!!! BEST NEWS EVER!!! I am so happy for them, and I feel so blessed to have been a part of their conversion.

Elder Williams, Elder Munoz . C and L are second and third from the right.

Tuesday we taught English to P and J. Last Friday we showed up to teach them and I was feeling a little sick. Tuesday P showed up to pick us up and he was sick...with the same symptoms as me....and then on Sunday I got a message from J that she was sick as well...with the same symptoms as P...I am a monster.

We met with J Tuesday night. She travels to Santiago this weekend, and we taught her about the temple. She said she was going to visit it, but she didn't want to go inside and do baptisms. She feels that she needs a little bit more time. We were a little bummed because the temple is far away and this is her only chance for a while, but at least she is going to visit it and do a tour.

On Wednesday I learned how to bear my testimony in Rapanui. Look out Bothell Ward when I get back! 

On Thursday we had a lesson with a less active member named M. We have taught her about 4 times in the span of 4 months. She is fighting, for the fifth time, cancer. We taught her about Joseph Smith, and the restoration and she told us at the end of the lesson that all of the times we have visited her she was really testing us to see how we were as missionaries. She told us that she has known a lot of missionaries that stop by her house one time, tell her to go to church, she doesn't go, and they never stop by again. She said that we were the first missionaries in a while that demonstrated that we really cared for her. She also told us that she intentionally didn't receive us some days, just to see if we would come back again. She told us that she would say things to challenge our testimonies to see if we were really believing in what we teach. She said she hadn't felt a love for her like that in a long time, and now she wants to come back to church. She is trying to stop smoking, so we still have a bit of a battle with that.

That night we went to Aunt P's house. She is T and J's mom, and it was her birthday. Her birthday is the 6th of August and my mom's birthday is the 5th of August, so I was thinking about my mommy that night. 

On Saturday, we had our Noche Ancestral, which was a ward activity to teach people about Family Search. We were praying the whole week so it wouldn't rain, and it didn't! We had a BBQ and Elder E and I taught a presentation about Family Search. During the presentation we had members share stories about their ancestors and other members prepared musical numbers from their respective cultures. Elder Swan and I sang "Swing Low Sweet Chariot". It was a big hit, and it was a lot of fun. Some investigators called and to say they couldn't come, so that was a little lame, but all in all the activity was a success.

Saturday night we received a text message from L saying that he is "retiring from the church". He said he needs some time to work some personal things out, so he doesn't want to participate in the church anymore. That took us completely by surprise. We visited him yesterday, but he didnt receive us, so we are going to try again during the week. Pray for L.

Last night, we were invited to Cl´s house. He is an investigator of the other Elders. we made pancakes for him. It was a jolly old time.

This week was definitely eventful, and I think one of the highlights was studying a talk by President Eyring about priesthood and prayer. I experimented with my prayers this week, and as I did so, I could feel a greater spirit in my life. I am so thankful that we, as children of God, can communicate with our Father through prayer. I know that He listens, and that He loves us.

love,

Elder Williams                                                                                               

L and C at the Santiago Temple

August 3, 2015 - Sick Sick Sick

Hola familia y amigos,

This week was a little disappointing because I got sick on Wednesday, so we didn't get to work as much as we wanted to, but we did do some awesome things.

On Tuesday we started Rapanui classes. T´s aunt is teaching us how to speak Rapanui. It is going ok. The language is a lot different than Spanish and English, but we are making progress. Some basic phrases are maururu (thank you) iorana (hello) and kakai (comer). I´ll try to include more Rapanui in later letters.

On Tuesday we also started a fast. President Videla asked that we fast for the missionaries that are sick in the mission. I started the fast Tuesday afternoon and woke up on Wednesday morning feeling sick. Not sure how it happened like that, but it did happen.

We talked with L on Tuesday, he asked us to help look for a ring so he can propose to his girlfriend that lives with him. We were excited when we heard that! It's a big step for him, so he can get closer to baptism.

On Thursday, I was feeling sick, but we kept on working because I didn't think it was too bad. We visited with P, the father in law of a less active in our ward. He said he was going to come to the activity we have planned this Saturday. He is the most famous sculptor in the island and he can make a moai in one day!

We visited some members that night to help them with their family history. They were elderly sisters that aren't too technology savvy, so we helped them out with that.

On Friday we visited with J´s brother who lives next door. He is a big fan of marijuana. Marijuana is a huge problem here on the island. We visited with him and his girlfriend. We ate dinner with them (actually, I made them pancakes), and  taught them about the Book of Mormon. C (J's brother) and D (his girlfriend) were really interested in the book, so we are going to follow up with them later.

After that, we had to cover for Elders S and Elder A. They had committed to making brownies for a couple of investigators in our sector, but they had another commitment, so we made brownies for them. It wasn't the best idea because I was feeling really sick, and I had to wash my hands 20 times because I was constantly having to blow my nose. They gave me a hospital mask to help.

On Saturday, all of my running around and working caught up to me, and we called the mission nurse and she told me to stay in bed. I probably slept close to 15 hours that day.

That night, I felt an impression to call L, and when I called him, he said he was going to the hospital. We live in front of the hospital, so when he came out we talked with him on our porch. he said he had a big fight with his girlfriend and that he might break up with her. He was feeling really stressed, so he went to the hospital to see if they could help. We aren't too sure what is to become of L and M. Pray for them please.

Yesterday, we were knocking doors the whole day. we found some nice people, but there is nothing major to report. We are excited for this week. We have the family history activity planned, and there is still a lot to be done before this Saturday, so please pray for us!

I just want to finish with my testimony. I know that this is the church of Jesus Christ, and I know it because the Spirit of God has told me. It is only through the Spirit that we can know the truth of all things. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the most important thing I have received. It is what I hold most precious.

Love,

Elder Williams