May 3, 2016 - This is not the end

Hola familia y amigos,

This will be my last letter to you all as a full time missionary. I would like to tell you all about how last week went.

On Wednesday night, I received a call from President telling me that I had to work harder. He said that he expected me to find more people teach than I was finding and he felt that my effort wasnt typical of what it had previously been during the mission. I will admit that it was becoming more difficult to me to focus on the work, but I was still working, and when he told me that, I felt a flame lit underneath my seat that couldn't keep me still. 

The next day I was on an interchange with Elder Chancay. I was in his sector, and we did contacts all the day long. We did 52 contacts from 11:30 am to 9:30 at night. It was rough, and not one single person let us in.

It was the same in my sector the rest of the week. Lots of contacts and a lot of failed appointments with no one letting us in. I can honestly say I had never seen a week so deceptional in my mission. A lot of work with little results.

We did find a couple of new investigators, Soledad, Suzana, and Karina. We found them knocking doors and talking with people in the street and they are all very nice.  Soledad looks really interested in what we have to teach her. Karina is very interested in helping her two autistic sons know more about Christ through the organization of the Primary in the Church.

We had a lot of appointments that fell through, even on Saturday and Sunday which are our best days to work.

Yesterday we saw the fruits of all of that work from last week when we found 5 new investigators, and we did divisions with members, and we found a less active family that wants to baptized their 9-year-old daughter. We feel more than blessed, because we also found out that there is now an active Haitian family in our ward that can help us teach other Haitians about the gospel, which unlocked a huge potential of future baptisms in this ward. The sector has never been better, and this is my last week.

I bore my testimony on Sunday, and it was normal until I arrived at a statement that made my cry like a child: "I know that this church is true". When I said it, it all just hit me. Every blister, foot pain, slammed door, insult, cold wind, heavy rain, and sunburn stood there with me as the price I had paid for that testimony. I have felt the Spirit so strongly here, I have seen so many lives change and so many miracles happen. I have stepped so many times in faith and knelt so many times in humility and repentance that I cannot return to my home as the same person I was. I am a convert of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am what I helped others become. I am not close to perfection, but I know that the Lord is close to me. I know that He will always sustain me as He has for the past two years. I love Him so much. I will serve Him until the day I die. This is His church and His gospel. I share this testimony with you all along with a feeling of gratitude that I have for your prayers, letters, packages, and examples throughout these past two years and throughout the course of my life. Thank you all and I share this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Elder Williams

April 26, 2016 - Cold Mornings

Hola familia y amigos,

This week has reminded me of the beginning of my mission. I forgot that here in Santiago during the spring it gets really cold in the morning and then hot during the afternoon. The houses aren't heated so the temperature inside is just about what it is outside. Ooh its chilly in the morning!

On Wednesday we got to teach Juan and Maria. They are an older married couple. Juan is pretty Catholic, and Maria is Catholic but has a lot of questions about the Church and she wants to learn everything. She has little time and we can only teach her every other week, but she really wants us to visit her.

On Thursday, we were able to teach Johana and Felipe Godoy. They are both recent converts that haven't gone to church in a while. After two years as a missionary, I still don't understand why people can be so enthused about going to church and then stop going so rapidly. Retention is a very serious job we have here in Santiago Norte, and we are hoping that the reactivation of these converts will help them take the gospel to their friends and family that are not members.

On Friday, I got to go on an interchange with the assistants. I was with Elder Simmons from Star, Idaho. It was interesting because Elder Simmons is legally blind, so I had to help him cross the street and make sure that he didn't run into anything, but he is an amazing missionary that does a great job talking with the people!

On Saturday, we got to teach Henry again. It was an awesome lesson because the Stake President lives on the same street as him and the Sake President came with us! Henry really enjoyed the visit. He doesn't quite feel ready to go to church because he is just starting to learn about us. He`s relatively shy when he is around other people, so it is going to be a challenge to help him come to church.

We also taught all of our Haitian investigators Saturday night. The Haitians are really worked hard here in Chile and taken advantage of. They work a lot and only have Saturday afternoon and Sunday to rest and do all of their things, but even like that they let us visit them and teach them the gospel.

On Sunday, David, Hertz, and Ernest (3 Haitians) and Jaime (a Chilean) came to church. Jaime is a friend of a member. He stayed the second hour to hear the classes and he really liked the class. We scheduled an appointment with him for that night, but he wasn't there...things happen.

We got to teach Valentina and her family. Valentina is a recent convert here in this sector. Her parents aren't members because her father has a drinking problem, but he said he really wanted to stop drinking and get baptized, so we are going to see if he can really stop drinking. Valentina`s father`s name is Mauricio, so we will need some prayers for him.

We also got to teach a new investigator named Robinson. He is Chilean. We actually contacted his wife the other day, and when we stopped by to see if she was there, he let us in and heard our message. He was really interested in it, and he allowed us to visit him again. He had a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon, so we will see how it goes.

Yesterday, we got to teach a new investigator named Karina. She is from Peru, and she has two little boys that are autisitic. She really wants to know what she can do to help her boys grow up believing in God and protected from such a bad world. She accepted our invitation to go to church and bring her kids to Primary.

We also got to teach Antonio. He is a Peruano from Chimbote. He is doing really well and he accepted a baptismal date for the end of May. It is really fun and interesting scheduling a baptismal date knowing that you aren't going to be there.

Today we cleaned the house and had a huge taco lunch with the other missionaries from the zone.

I would like to bare my testimony this week about the importance of scripture study. I know that scripture power is something real. I sang songs about it in Primary, but now I feel that song of redeeming love inside of me. I know that if we really study the scriptures like we would study for a finals exam, we will learn the secrets of heaven and we will feel the Spirit more fully in our lives.

Love,

Elder Williams

April 19, 2016 - Contacts in the Rain

Hola familia y amigos,

Not too sure about what headlines make their way to the USA from Chile but this weekend was super crazy. there were record rains that left down town  Santiago flooded with water. Everything is alright now, but it was crazy. Also, on Saturday and Sunday, the water of all of the Santiago region was cut because of problems in the mountains. Luckily we had water stored away for a rainy day (: it was funny though. no one had water and it was raining a ton outside!

This week went great. We got to teach a recent convert and his non member wife. Bernabè and Lela are really awesome, and Lela would get baptized if she could only stop smoking. We are going to try to help her do that, so prayers are needed this way.

On Thursday, we did some visa paperwork and licensing stuff. We were in the city hall of Santiago and we waited for 2 hours and nothing happened, so we just left and went to work, and planned to do it another day.

We were able to teach Karen and Leonela. They were two references from some members in our ward. Leonela and her deaf sister, Karen invited us over with their member friends (Leroy and Tamara) so we could teach them. It went okay. There were some fussy kids in the lesson, so it was tough to keep it controlled. Sometimes I wonder if the children really are of the kingdom of God...

We also got to teach Claudia and her family with the help of Efraìn. Claudia is less active and her two children: Angela and Jeremìas aren't baptized. It was nice to teach them with Efraìn because Claudia has cancer and so does Efraìn. Actually, Efraìn`s cancer is terminal so Claudia was really impressed that he came to with us to teach her. They committed to going to church

We also taught Alexis this week. We taught him about the word of wisdom. He also smokes and we are helping him quit. He also committed to go to church.

On Friday I got to do an interchange with Elder Pimentel. He is from Rio de Janeiro Brazil. He is new in the mission and doesn't speak a lot of Spanish. We had a great day and we were able to teach Pablo and Aurora. They are old investigators that have a lot of doubts about Joseph Smith and the Book ofM ormon. We are really trying to help them feel through the Spirit that the Book of Mormon is true. The Book of Mormon can appear so strange if someone doesn't have that testimony from God that it is true.

On Saturday, we taught our Haitan friends. All of our pamphlets and books arrived in French so now we can really start teaching. Saturday morning we taught Henry. We taught him last week, and we thought he was drunk, but now when we taught him he was really receptive and wasn't drunk. He is a father that is about 50 years old and has been really stressed because of his work that he is now looking for more peace. We were able to teach him Monday night as well. he said that if he feels this is true he will get baptized. I love it when people say that because that is where the real missionary work begins.

On Sunday, no one went to church. We went to pick up investigators in the rain and no one wanted to come with us. The Bishop told me last minute that he needed some to give a talk, so he asked me to do it. It came out alright. It made me think back to my Easter Island days when I gave a talk almost once a month.

Yesterday, we were able to teach Marcelo. He is a man we contacted last week that is passing through some hard family times. He is also 50 years old and is very nice. He let us in right away and he is also trying to see if the Book of Mormon is true. 

This morning, I went to a session in the temple for the first time in about a year and a half. It was excellent! I learned so much. I love the peace the temple brings. I also got to participate in proxy sealings in the temple (as one of the children) it was an awesome experience and it made me appreciate the dedication of my parents to the Lord and His Gospel. The faith of my parents blessed me automatically and I am so thankful for having been born unto them. thanks Mom and Dad!

Love,

Elder Williams

April 12, 2016 - So hard to say goodbye

Hola familia y amigos,

This week was so crazy!!! Seriously tons of things have happened.

On Wednesday we were in a zone conference all day with the President. We talked about area`s plan to increase Sabbath Day worship, temple attendance, and self sufficiency. A the end of zone conferences they always let the missionaries that go home give their testimonies. After seeing two years worth of zone conferences it was finally my turn to do it and say goodbye to the mission. Don't worry, I said goodbye but I keep working like I arrived in Chile yesterday.

On Thursday we spent a good chunk of the day doing all of my visa paperwork and procedures. That meant waiting in a lot of lines and talking with people from different parts of the world. We always run into other missionaries and other gringos there and its fun to talk with them.

That night we got to teach angel and Claudia and Jeremias. They are a family. Claudia is a member of the Church but her two children, Angela and Jeremias aren't members. Claudia has cancer so usually they have to take care of her and they aren't able to go to church but we are working to see if they can switch off who goes which Sunday so they can attend church and get baptized.

On Friday I went on an intercambio with Elder Arce. He`s the same Elder Arce that was in the same ward as me in Quilicura. Iit was awesome to be with him again. He was working really hard and we were able to receive a lot of references from the members.

On Saturday we worked a ton. We taught Jimmy, Adler, and David. they are all Haitians. They all live in different houses and we teach them in Spanglish.T hey have a lot of faith and want to go to church.

We also received a lot of references from the members. The members are really stepping it up here in San Pablo. They are really helping with the work.

On Sunday we had Jimmy, Jimmy`s cousin, and David at church. One member invited a friend named Jaime to church and the non member husband of a member came. We had 5 at church. It was interesting to go to the ward because neither my companion nor I knew anyone! 

After church we taught Antonio. He is an investigator from Peru. He believes that the church is true and is open to baptism so we are going to help him go to church next week.

Yesterday we got to do a fun service project to help some old investigators. We destroyed a floor. We took out a wooden floor with crow bars and hammers and saws. It was a mejor stress reliever. After that we taught Pablo and Aurora. They told us that they had thought about joining the church but then ran into a lot of things on the internet, so now they aren't too sure. It's going to be a big struggle with them, but I know they will find the truth.

This morning we played soccer with the zone. Americans against Latins. They creamed us....but we did get a couple of goals on them.

When I said goodbye to the mission of Wednesday I really realized how much I have come to know the Savior during my mission. I gained a testimony of the divinity of the Restoration of the Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ before the mission, but it is here that I have really learned that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I feel so honored to represent Him and a little confused that He would extend that calling to me. I am excited to work very hard until the last day of my mission because that is what Christ did.

love,

Elder Williams

April 5, 2016 - La Conferencia General

Hola familia y amigos!

This week was insane!!!!! There were so many things we had to do this week and it ended with General Conference, so it was awesome!

On Wednesday we had a leadership meeting with all of the zone leaders together. It was fun to eat lunch with them because the zone leaders are almost all from my group or people that I have met during the mission. We talked about the area initiatives that are going on that focus on the temple, the Sabbath Day, and self sufficiency.

That night we met with a member of the stake presidency who is in charge of missionary work. We are now in the process of planning a Stake missionary work activity.

On Thursday we had district class. There are two new missionaries in our zone. A Chilean from Temuco and a Brazilian Elder. Elder Pimentel, from Brazil, doesn't speak a lot of Spanish, so it was a fun time trying to communicate with him.

Our sector is really big!!! It's huge! We walked a lot and we tried to hunt down the investigators from here, but we didn't have a lot of success, but we found a new investigator named Alexis who is really awesome!

On Saturday and Sunday we had General Conference. I really loved Elder Bednar`s talk about baptism and the reception of the Holy Ghost. That is really going to help us explain the importance of baptism. I also loved Elder Nelson`s talk about power in the Priesthood. It was a great conference weekend. The first half of the afternoon session on Sunday I didn't understand too well because we were watching it in French with some Haitian investigators.

Yesterday we also had a great day. We are working hard here in San Pablo and we are excited to help the members of our zone work with enthusiasm and love of the work!

Love,

Elder Williams

March 29, 2016 - San Pablo

Hola familia y amigos,

Well, this is my last change and it is starting off with a bang. They changed me. I am now a zone leader in San Pablo. I am in a sector named lo Prado. My companion is Elder Andersen from Gilbert, Arizona. We were both changed so this sector got white washed. There is so much to do here, and it looks like I won't have even 1 second to think about the house (just like it should be).

This past week we worked a lot. On Thursday, we found a less active family. They are the Huertas family. They were really nice. They have a daughter named Genesis who is 18 who isn't baptized. The family is really interesting because they used to go to church but about 15 years ago they stopped going and now the mom goes to a Pentecostal church. Not sure how that happened but they were really receptive and want to return, but are going to need some real help to do it.

On Friday, we taught Hugo and Lorena. They committed to going to church this Sunday. They are doing well. We lent them our dvd`s about the Restoration and they loved them. They want to go to church but I think they still are afraid about not knowing many members of the church. 

We also taught Pilar and her family in a family home evening we had with them. It was really nice and without really knowing it was kind of a going away party.

Pilar and her family

On Saturday, we found a new young man named Benjamin that served a mission for the Catholic Church for a week. When we knocked his door he let us in right away. He said "it was really lame when people didn't let me in, do you want to come in?"

On Sunday, we taught the Alberto family. They committed to a baptismal date, but it looks like they are going to have some problems because the grandmother of the family is going to visit from Peru and she is a Seventh Day Adventist and isn't too big on her daughter listening to the Mormons...I`ll be praying for Elder Barillas and for them.

On Sunday we also helped Gabriel, a new investigator, come to church. He is really shy but he liked it a lot, and he also accepted a baptismal date.

I said goodbye to a lot of people (the pictures of that are found in the photos email I sent).

I'm excited to be here in lo Prado. It's going to be an adventure. I'm really going to miss Elder Barillas. I love him a lot, and I know he`s stressing a little bit about leading the sector, but I know he`ll do just fine.

That`s it for this week. I am excited for this new opportunity to serve new people and new missionaries, and I will endure to the end!

Love,

Elder Williams                                                                                                       

March 22, 2016 - Lucky number 7

Hola familia y amigos

There are no changes this week because this week is a 7 week transfer. The extension of the MTC time has made us spend one more week in this change.

On Wednesday, we didn't enter a single house. We contacted the whole day and set up appointments with other people. On our way home we were a little tired and without hope after being rejected more than 20 times that day, but as we were walking to our house a guy got out of his car and shouted "Hey, you guys, come and teach me about Jesus". We at first thought he was drunk, but when we talked with him he told us that he never had time to hear the missionaries and he was sitting in his car waiting for someone and thought, "you know what, I'm going to hear what they have to say". His name was Pablo, he lives in another mission, so we taught him there in the street and sent the reference to Santiago west. It looks like there are people that do want to hear us but you have to look the whole day for them.

On Thursday, we taught Nelson and Katia. They are older investigators. They are a lot more willing to do commitments now. We shared with them the new video the Church has done for Easter.

On Saturday, we found a new Peruvian family. They were really interested and it was awesome because they committed to reading the Book of Mormon and we asked them why and they said. "because we want to know if all of this is true"! I love it when people understand the message.

We also taught Gabriel. He is a young guy we found. He read the chapter we left with him and we taught him the Plan of Salvation. He loved it. He had so many questions, and we are really happy with how he is progressing. He looks happier every time we visit him.

On Saturday night we were invited to the adult session of stake conference. An Area Seventy from Argentina came and taught us about the importance of working with the young men and women from the stake.

On Sunday we had stake conference. We were waiting for 3 investigators to come and no one showed up and President Videla was there. We did all we could but no one came..

That afternoon we taught a lot of people including a part member family that is from Peru. The dad has the priesthood and his wife doesn't know much about the Church but is really willing to investigate. 

Yesterday we taught the Murillos Caceres family. They told us that they want to get baptized, but with all of the family drama that they are going through they cant do it right now.It's the same problem with Christian, too many family problems.

I know that the gospel blesses families. My parents taught it to me and look where I am. I know that families based upon the principles of the Gospel are more like to achieve true happiness in this life than any other means.

Love,

Elder Williams

March 15, 2016 - Challenges in the Font

hola familia y amigos,

We ran into some challenges this week, but the work of the Lord continues!

On Thursday, we had a great day. We taught Miguel Angel, a less active young man that we have been helping in the house of one of the ward´s high priests. It was great, and then we left with Miguel to teach Lorena. Lorena is part of the Murillos Caceres family.  Hugo, the dad of the family was in Antofagasta working, so we went with Miguel to be able to teach her, and the lesson helped a lot. She could finally see how the members of the church were and she felt a lot more comfortable with us knowing that there are members of the Church that are just like her that also had to really work to get an answer. We hope that Miguel gets the missionary work bug.

On Friday, we tried to find Luis, the older investigator that recently had a stroke. We stopped by about 4 times this week and we couldn't find him. We are worried that they sent him to the hospital to live because he had mentioned a couple of weeks ago that that was an option.

We also taught Mario on Friday. he wants to get baptized , but he goes to Iquique in about 2 weeks and he´ll be there for about 3 months, so he might get baptized in Iquique.

We also taught a new family from Valdivia. We taught them about the Restoration. Elisa and Franco were interested a little bit, but didn't show a desire to open up to new ideas, but during the lesson, their friend Sergio arrived and he was really interested and asked if we could stop by again to read the Book of Mormon with him. We obviously said yes!

On Saturday, we had an awesome lesson with the alberto family. brother Navarro came with us and Juliana was really impressed with him. he is a recent convert of about 4 years and he is the high priest group leader. he bore a very powerful testimony and Juliana was really impressed. we read with her from the book of mormon and that really helped because we realized that she hasnt been reading too much because she wasnt understanding it. we helped her understand how Lehi left everything behind to follow the Lord and how Nephi prayed to know if that is what he had to do as well. we asked her to apply that in her life and she committed to praying about if she needs to join the church.

on Sunday we had a special Stake transmission. We had confirmed with Christian and Miguel Angel and some other people about going to the Stake Center with us, but no one arrived! The transmission was from Salt Lake to all of the churches in Chile. Elder Nelson was presiding and he spoke in Spanish!!!!

After that we called Christian to see what happened and he told us that because of some family problems he wouldn't be able to meet with us for a while, but he will keep going to church. We were kind of bummed because he was going to get baptized this next week, so Satan is working hard on him.

In the afternoon we had a great lesson with Gabriel, a young man we found last week. He was really able to understand how the gospel could make him happy. He told us "I'm not the type of person that is always happy" we asked him "would you like to be that type of person?". He said "yes" and we read about how the obedience to commandments is what makes us happy. The Book of Mormon really does apply to us specifically and perfectly.

One last funny thing. Sunday, we found some new Haitian investigators. One of them likes to preach the gospel on street corners and he said "here in Chile, I scream 'God loves you, God loves you', and the people don't do anything. they don't even look at me. I've lived in the Dominican Republic and people with beer bottles in their hands used to stop and say 'amen'. The people here don't believe in God. In Santiago there are thousands of churches and all of them are empty". They were powerful words, and I know that the people of Santiago aren't the most receptive when it comes to missionary work, but I know that the Lord prepares His chosen children and it is my job to find them and teach them.

Love,

Elder Williams

March 8, 2016 - Day at the Museum

Hola familia y amigos,

This week was a lot of fun, and we got to have some great moments,

On Wednesday, we got to teach Luis. He is an older man we have been teaching. He has a hard time remembering things because he suffered a stroke about 6 months ago and he is still recuperating from that. He has a hard time remembering how to pray. He doesn't remember to end in the name of Jesus Christ, and gets confused about what to say to Him, so we've been helping him with that.

We also taught Christian that night. he is progressing really well. He´s working on a baptismal goal for a couple of more weeks, so we will see what happens. He is really brave, because he is preparing himself even though baptism seems really big to him. He is taking it step by step.

On Thursday, we got to teach Leonor and Miguel Angel. Leonor is a recent convert, and she is doing great. She is serving in the Primary and we are working with her so she can go to the temple. Miguel is also doing well. He didn't go to church this Sunday because he had to work, but he is reading and praying and he goes to church when he has Sundays free.

That night we had another family home evening with Pilar. She invited her two sons, and some of her grandchildren. The Bishop and his family came with us, and we had a great time. I made 60 chocolate chip cookies and everyone ate all of them. Chileans love cookies. Pilar gave the spiritual thought and  lead an analysis about 1 Nefi 21. She also lead an analysis from the Isaiah chapters. She is doing awesome!

On Friday, I went on an interchange with Eder DaRosa because we had to do some visa paperwork in Santiago center, so it was a fun time waiting in lines. 

After that we got to teach Luis again. He was finally able to pray. We had to whisper in his ears to help him do it, but he was able to do it! It was great and he felt really great.

On Saturday, we taught a ton of people in the houses of members. In the afternoon, we taught Christian in the house of Sister Villablanca, and we taught the Alberto family in their house, but Pílar came with us. After that we were going to teach Jorge (Pilar´s oldest son) but he was busy and couldn't. They were all great lessons, and we were able to really help the Alberto family with their doubts about the Sabbath day because it turns out that Juliana, Alberto´s sister is a Seventh Day Adventist, so we had to explain a couple of things.

Sunday, the two parents from the Aberto family came to church, Christian came, and Katia came. The testimonies were really great.

We got to eat lunch with the Montero family. They made us Peruvian food that was really spicy, and Elder Barillas does not like hot food, so he suffered a little bit. The Montero family is less active and they aren't doing too well.T hey've stopped praying and they don't see the big deal about it, so we are worried about them, and they aren't excepting the commitments we leave with them....prayers for them would be nice

Yesterday, we taught a family from Valdivia, and it was a very nice lesson. We also taught the father of the Alberto family who committed to living the Sabbath day. It is incredible the humility that Enrique exemplifies. He knows now that it is a commandments and now he wants to live it, even though he is really used to working Sundays. Amazing!

Today, we went to a museum in our mission. There were lots of stuffed animals, so that was fun. Elder Barillas and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Penguins!

That's it for this week. I know that if we pray with faith the Lord will bless us. What does it mean to pray with faith?It means to pray a plan to God, expecting to do it, and expecting that He will bless you. My prayers have changed a lot. I don't pray so people come to church. I pray so that I can pick them up and take them to church. I know that God hears our prayers

love,

Elder Williams

March 1, 2016 - Paint and Birrell

Hola familia y amigos,

Whoo, this week, a lot of things happened.

Highlight of the week was seeing his friend from home, Elder Birrell!

On Wednesday, there was an Area wide conference with Elder Bednar. All of the missionaries in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chile listened to the teachings of Elder Bednar. That conference changed my life. It was about how the Spirit is the teacher, and how we must ask inspired questions instead of playing the "guess whats in my head game". It was a great conference!

On Thursday, we taught Miguel Angel. He is doing really well. He hasn't been able to go to church because of his work, but now he has Sundays free. He now officially has home teachers assigned to him as well, so we are very happy. After you ask for something 10 times from the Elders Quorum President, he always comes through.

On Friday, we had interviews with the President. This was my last infield interview with him. He asked me how I am dealing with the difficulties that present themselves in my last two months. I told him, that I've seen everything fail in a million ways before in my mission, so now it doesn't affect me anymore. so many appointments have fallen through, so many people have gotten close to baptism and then changed their minds, and it has been hot for so long that these problems don't bother me. They are just part of the day.

That day in the afternoon, we taught the Murillos family. They are a Chilean family that has almost come to church 4 times. They are so close, and they committed to come this Sunday.

On Saturday, we got to teach Luis. He is an older man that recently is getting better from a stroke. Pilar came with us, because she also suffered a stroke a couple of months ago, so she helped him understand how the gospel could help him. 

On Sunday, we went in the morning to go and pick up Luis and go to church with him in Taxi. When we got there, I got to play the hymns this week, so that was fun. The Murillos family and the Alberto family didn't come to church. They did call a new bishop. They called the second counselor of the bishopric as a new bishop.He's about 35 years old, and he has two little kids. He was a convert to the church that got baptized when he was 14. We have a really great relationship with him, and he confides in us a lot, so we are really excited to work with him and help him in what he needs.

On Monday we found out that the Alberto family had left to go to the beach the day before and had gotten sick, so they didn't go to church. We also found out that the Murillos family got up early, got dressed in their Sunday clothes, left to the church, and got there at 10:15 and saw that the meeting had already started, and because they did'nt want to interrupt, they didn't enter, but kept on walking to go and buy some groceries....so close.

This morning, for P-day, we climbed Cerro Renca with Elder Birrell! It was a ton of fun to catch up with him and see that he is doing well. He looks really happy, and his companion is one of my good friend, Elder Smith. We had a fun time with him, and it shows that Elder Birrell is going to be an excellent missionary.

Elders Birrell and Williams, two Bothell Boys in Santiago!

Elder Williams and Elder Barillas in painting suits.

That's it for this week. I know that this church is guided by revelation from God. I know that this is Christ´s church and that He really does speak to us so we can carry out His work according to His plans.

Love,

Elder Williams

February 23, 2016 - Hot, hot hot!!

Hola familia y amigos,

Elder Williams and his companion, Elder Barillas

This week has been really hot! Thank goodness 'Ive gotten used to it. I think when I get home I will feel cold for like a year or two until my blood cools down to a normal temperature.

On Wednesday we had a nice day. We taught Enrique. He is the father of the Alberto family. He is really progressing. He is reading the Book of Mormon and he wants to get baptized. He´s not too sure about when, but he is really thinking about it.

We also found some new investigators that night. We were knocking doors, and a guy let us in.  He was really friendly and he really like to talk, and as we finished up teaching him, we invited his wife who was (who had woken up from a nap during the lesson) to join us in the prayer. When he left to invite her, she came storming in saying "there is no way I am going to pray with you guys! I am a Pentecostal and you haven't even mentioned the Holy Ghost in your little lesson." She continued to say more false things about what she thought we believed. We tried to explain to her that we had taught about the Spirit. We had just read John 3 which talks about the baptism of the Spirit when we had finished the lesson. She wouldn't take it. We invited her husband to give the last prayer and he said no, and then she said "that´s it then! That's my sign! I am going to leave my husband because if he is not capable of praying he is not capable of me!" 

These are just some of the crazy things that happen to us during the day.

 

On Thursday, we taught Mario. He is an older man that his an extreme desire to get baptized. It's hard to teach him, because he has a lot of health problems, but he understands everything we teach him. The stake patriarch came with us to the lesson. It was awesome!

That same night we had a family home evening with Pilar and the majority of her family members that are not members! It was a big success. I made brownies. It was a nice way to break the ice with some of them, and clarify that their grandmother/mother is in a good church.

We also were able to teach Hugo and Lorena that day. They are the Chilean family that we found forever ago. They were really progressing well, but they left on vacation. They are still doing well. they read the Book of Mormon every night to their daughter.

On Saturday, I had to do a baptismal interview for the sister missionaries and we also had a great lesson with Luis. He is an investigator that we taught a month ago that was really promising, but we lost him because he was visiting family members, but now he´s back, and he seems really open to investigating the church. We are going to have Pilar come with us one day, because she also suffered a stroke like him, and have been through similar problems.

On Sunday, 4 investigators came to church. Two of them were people that we invited. Katia, an old investigator came because the EQP invited her, and a Haitian woman showed up during the meeting, and she didn't speak barely anything of Spanish. she went to the gospel principles class and I was thinking, "what are we going to do"? I just felt like I had to do something, so I left the class with Elder Barillas, we found a brother with a car, and we went to go find Marjori. She is a less active member who is Haitian. We got to her house and her baby was screaming. We said that we needed her help, and she said she couldn't, but we asked again, and she agreed. while she went to go and change, the baby stopped crying, and in the car ride to the church and the rest of the meeting, the baby didn't make a single sound. It was a miracle. It was also a miracle to see the face of the Haitian woman light up when she saw someone who spoke her language enter the room it was a nice experience!

That night, we had a very powerful lesson with the Alberto family. Enrique wasn't there, but his wife and daughter in law were. They still haven't felt like they had received an answer so we are working really hard with them, so they can really feel the truth of theses things. They have to learn to nourish the seed so it begins to swell with in them and become desirous to them.

It was a crazy week this week, but I am so thankful to be a missionary for Christ´s church. I know that this is His gospel.

Love,                                                                                                           

Haircuts and completos!

Elder Williams

February 16, 2016 - Happy Valentine's Day

Hola familia y amigos,

We had a great week this week. We were very obedient and had a very lame Valentines Day! 

On Wednesday we taught Tania (not Talia, I wrote it wrong last week). It was a nice lesson. We followed up with her reading of the Book of Mormon and she told us "at the beginning, it was different, but as I kept reading I felt this peace come over me and something warm in my heart that I had never felt before". We were so pumped! We invited her to church. The only problem is that her dad is really Catholic, and because she still lives with him, she has to ask permission to go to church.

That same afternoon, we taught Stefen. He is a Haitian investigator we have. He was locked out of his house when we found him. We taught him and then we prayed that the Lord would help us open the door so he could get into his house. We tried to get in with a cut-up two liter bottle, and it didn't work. We were just about to give up, I said one more prayer in my heart, and then the door opened when we tried one more time! It was an awesome little miracle.

We taught Pilar and her son Leo. Leo found some anti-Mormon material, so he´s been a bit doubtful about our message. We asked him if he had read the Book of Mormon. He said no. We asked him if he would read. He said no. We told him that what he was looking for on the internet were reasons why the church couldn't be true, instead of searching in the Book of Mormon where he can know that the church is true. He didn't commit to reading the Book of Mormon. He was content with following the twisted opinions and lies found on the internet instead of reading an established and concrete evidence for himself. I invite anyone who has doubts about the church to read the Book of Mormon and then ask themselves "could a young farm boy have written this to trick 15 million people into believing that he was a prophet"? I don't think so!

On Thursday, we taught Christian in the house of his neighbor. 3 of his neighbors are active members of the Church, so we are taking advantage of that.H e is doing really well. He is still a little anxious about baptism and picking a date, but he is progressing really well.

We also had an appointment with Tania again, but she didn't show up...

On Friday, I went on an interchange with Elder Da Rosa. It was a fun time. I went to his ward, and I was able to give a little insight about some of his investigators. We contacted a lot, but didn't teach too much. Meanwhile, Elder Barillas was in our sector with Elder Huber, and they taught a ton of people! I was so proud of him, because he did a great job.

On Saturday, a lot of appointments fell through, but we were able to visit Miguel Angel. He´s doing well. he committed to going to church

On Sunday, only Christian made it to church. The Alberto family had people that were visiting them so they weren't able to make it this Sunday. We taught the Alberto family in the afternoon. They are doing well. The father received an answer about the Book of Mormon. He said he felt like his spirit was taking a bath while he read it, and now he drives his taxi with the Book of Mormon on the dashboard.

We taught Christian again Sunday night. We taught him in Pilar´s house. We followed up with his reading and he said that he felt like something warm entered into his heart, and he felt like the Book of Mormon was true. We are working on choosing a baptismal date with him.

Yesterday a ton of appointments fell through, but we did get to visit some less active members. A cool story was that we felt that we needed to visit Marjori and Fito last night, because they had'nt gone to church in a while, and they recently just moved into a new house ( that after 2 months we found for them actually) when we arrived we found the bishop and his first counselor there. They were saying "what a shame that you are here alone. That means that we cant come in-- oh, hey Elderes, now we can come in"! We taught Marjori with the bishop and his counselor. It was a nice lesson, and nice to know that we were in the right place at the right time!

That's it for this week. I testify about the power of the Book of Mormon. It really does work. I have had similar experiences to those of our investigators, so I can also say that I feel and know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.

Love,

Elder Williams

February 9, 2016 - Hermana Acevedo

Hola familia y amigos,

This week was a good week, but it was very frustrating and a huge exercise in patience and hope. We had 17 appointments with investigators this week and 14 of them fell through... We walked a lot and contacted a lot and we are working with the members more.

On Tuesday we got to visit Miguel Angel. He is doing really well. He is with goals to receive the Aaronic Priesthood because he never received it after his baptism. He was surprised that he could still receive it. We were able to testify of him of the power of the Atonement. It is true that Christ can forgive us of our sins. That is the miracle of forgiveness. We can always repent, and the most perfect beings in existence can forget that we ever did something wrong.

On Wednesday we were knocking doors and we found a new investigator named Talia. She was really interested in the message of the Restoration. She said that she was looking for a new church, and that she would read the Book of Mormon. She was visiting her friend´s house when we taught her. Her friend wasn't too interested, but Talia said that she wants us to visit again, so we will hopefully see her this Wednesday.

On Thursday, we taught Cristian. He is a friend of a young woman from the ward. He has come to church 3 times. He told us that he wants to make changes in his life. He also said that he was unemployed and he told God that if he found a job, he would investigate the church, and he got a job and now we are working towards baptism with him! 

On Friday, we taught a ton of people at night. We were pulled into the house of two Pentecostals and they talked for a while about the Bible, and then let us speak about prophets for about 30 seconds before interrupting us again. We also taught a man named Gonzalo. He was really nice and interested in the message, but he and about all of the people in our sector leave on vacation this week! I am not kidding. Chile shuts down during February.

On Saturday, we taught the Alberto family again. Pilar came with us. Pilar was born to be a missionary. She testified so well about everything. We have to get her a name tag that says sister Acevedo. She said "at first I wasn't sure about the Book of Mormon and about God answering us, but then I read it and I prayed and I know it is not a lie. This is true"!

That night we also visited some recent converts. We arrived while they were in the middle of a party and because of what happened there, We need to visit them a ton. Satan works hard with the converts.

On Sunday, there were only 45 people at church. Everyone was on vacation.T hey were so short on people, that Elder Barillas and I had to bless the Sacrament! It was a nice experience. We had 5 investigators at church. The Alberto family, Christian, and the friend of a member came to church! Yes! I love it when the gospel principles class is full.

We taught Christian again that night in the house of the gospel principles teacher. It was a nice lesson, and Sonia, the wife of Mauricio, the teacher, bore her testimony about how she knew the church was true, and how it was hard for her to take the decision to be baptized. The members were testifying well this week.

Yesterday, we had a family home evening with Christian and the Valenzueal Tapia family (EQP) It was a good time, and Christian is making friends with everyone in the ward. We also found a new young couple they are teaching. Bastian and Maria Jose. They lived in Canada for a year and they have a new baby girl. they were very nice and Bastian looks a lot like Phil.

Today we went to go and eat Chinese food with the zone leaders, and my telephone rang. It was Elder Birrell!!!!!!!! It was awesome to hear his voice, and he is doing well. his trainer is Elder Smith. He´s going to be in Zapadores. Elder Smith is from my district in the MTC!! We've got two Bothell boys in the North Mission!!!!

That's it for this week. I learned a lot about patience this week. Sometimes the Lord lets us remember who gives us success. I know that He is the Lord of the vineyard and that this is His work, and He lets me help. I love Him for letting me do that.

Love,

Elder Williams

February 1. 2016 - Baptism by Fire!!

Hola familia y amigos,

I'm sure that everyone at home is pumped to be seeing Melanie Williams again! On Thursday I got permission from President to go and see her at the temple. It was a very special experience even though we hardly could recognize each other. We have both changed a lot but we are still best friends. Love you Meli and I'm proud of you for being such a great missionary.

Okay, on Tuesday we got to eat lunch with Pilar and her son, Leo. Leo and Jorge are her two sons and they both went to her baptism. They left really interested in hearing the gospel, so we taught Leo after lunch and we are planning on visiting Jorge this week.

That night we visited Hector. He is a new investigator that we found last week. We were teaching him about prayer again, and his wife came in, and when we invited her to join us for a prayer she came in and yelled at Hector saying "what are you, drunk? Don't you know these guys are a cult and that some man started their church and we are Catholic? Why did you let them in?!!!! It looked like she was a little stressed. She still let us say the prayer and then politely threw us out of her house...gotta love Chile!

On Wednesday, we visited a lot of people that we had appointments with and none of them were there or they just hid inside. We did get to teach Hugo and Lorena again. Hugo just got back from the north, and he and his family committed to going to church this Sunday.

On Thursday, we got to teach Reinaldo. It's been about 2 months since we've been able to teach him.  He is one of the recent converts here. He said that he doesn't go to church because he still is mourning his wife and his children prefer to go on trips. I testify that the best thing you can do to help your family and combat depression is the renewal of the presence of the Holy Spirit that comes into our lives when we take the Sacrament.

On Friday, I had to go to the office to register my classes for BYU. Elder Adams was there so we could do it together. It had been 3 months since I had seen my taina (brother in Rapanui). He said everyone is doing fine on the Island and that Fran and Claudio are getting baptized this month.

On Saturday, we got to go on the temple tour with Pilar, her son Leo, and Leo´s girlfriend Jaquelín. Jaquelín is actually less active. Pilar and Jaquelín ended up crying at the end of the tour. Leo was impressed, but on Friday when we saw him he had been researching the church on the internet. He found a ton of anti-Mormon material, so we had to combat against that with him, but the temple helped so he could see what the Church is really all about.

That night we had a lesson with the Alberto family. They didn't accept a baptismal date but they are resolving and committing to reading the Book of Mormon and praying and going to church.

On Sunday, Enrique, the dad of the Alberto family came to church. Also Miguel Angel, a less active young man we have been teaching and his nonmember girlfriend, Daniela came to church. They liked it. Hugo and Lorena didn't make it. We still aren't sure what happened.

Also, Pilar was confirmed. She cried at the end of it and gave the Bishop a big hug

The third hour in church was given to us, the missionaries. It was the fifth Sunday, and we got to teach how to do missionary work and practice with all of the members of the ward. We have them with goals, and they have to report key indicators to us every week about their individual efforts to share the gospel. We are excited to see what happens with that.

That's it for this week. I'm glad that I still get to share the gospel as a missionary because that is a blessing that doesn't last forever (right Meli?) (: I know that this is Christ´s true church and that this gospel has changed my life!

love,

Elder Williams

January 25, 2016 - Pilar Bautismo

Hola familia y amigos,

This week we are pretty happy because PILAR GOT BAPTIZED!! Whoo!

On Tuesday we got to teach Juliana. She is the mother of the Alberto family. They are the family that came to church last week. We committed her to coming to church again and she said she would. It was a great lesson because it was so simple and she was very willing to obey.

On Wednesday we got to have a worldwide missionary inservice that we had to attend. It was really great! I loved the teachings of Elder Bednar about the Spirit. One of the key things he taught was about how we cannot thrust the Spirit into other people. Instead, by being examples and commitments we need to allow them to invited the Spirit into their own hearts. That's a great teaching.

On Thursday, we found a lot of new people. We contacted into a lady named Roxana. She let us in and when we asked her what she felt like she needed more of in her life she said "I just want peace to come back". We were able to teach the Restoration focusing in that need that she had and she committed to reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it. She was a little iffy about baptism, but she´ll figure out how it helps in the future

We also taught a man named Hector. He is a friend of our ward´s first councilor. He was really touched by what we taught him, and he ended up crying during the last prayer he offered. The Spirit was really strong and we were able to explain to him how he was feeling the Spirit.

On Friday, we got to teach an older man that we contacted the other day.H is name is Luis and he has a very similar story to that of Pilar. He recently recovered from a stroke, he lives alone with a daughter who works all day, and he has white hair. We are hoping that Pilar can help us teach him, so he can see how she could make some changes in her life that he also wants.

On Friday, Pilar passed her baptismal interview!

Also, Friday morning something bad happened: we left in the morning to do our exercises outside and we were running around on a soccer field and Elder Barillas slipped and sprained his ankle. We worked like normal that day, but at night it was really hurting him, so we called Sister Videla and she said that we had to rest in the house!

We spent all of Saturday in the house. Lame. We werent able to communicate with a lot of investigators for church on Sunday, so only Pilar and a young man named Christian came.

On Sunday, Pilar got baptized. She actually arrived late. Everyone else was sitting in the chapel waiting for her when she arrived. We just barely had time to take a couple of pictures. I got to baptize her, and the baptismal water was really hot, so it was like a jacuzi. it was a great service. The ward where I serve doesn't have a baptismal font so we combined with another baptism with the ward Renca 2. It was cool because the young lady that got baptized in Renca 2 was a reference that I sent to them. Julia is a friend of Jecksel and we asked her if she would like a visit from the missionaries and she said ok. And sunday she got baptized. also, President Videla came to the baptism. He spoke and took a couple of pictures as well. He wasnt too happy with Elder Barillas´leg, and now Elder Barillas is walking around in a boot.

Elder William's mission president and his wife with Pilar, Elder Williams and Elder Barillas

Well, it was definitely a highlight of my mission to see the baptism of Pílar. She has come a long way, and made a lot of changes. I testify of the Lord´s power to change people and to heal them. I know that the Atonement is real because it is made manifest by those who become saints through the blood of the Lamb of God

Love,

Elder Williams

January 18, 2016 - Hot Hot Hot

Hola familia y amigos,

It is way hot here in Santiago! Love it!

On Tuesday we walked and talked a lot and we taught tithing to Pilar. She accepted it like a champ!

On Wednesday we taught Miguel Angel again. He is a less active man we are working with. We taught him and his girlfriend actually. She was really nice and she said she would like to get baptized. She lives in another sector, but we hope that we can help Miguel so he can help and even baptized her. We taught Pilar again and we also taught Ruben and Magali and Zuli. They are a family of Peruvians we have been teaching. Brother Hugo Gutierrez came with us and we had an awesome lesson about the Book of Mormon and baptism. We just need to help that family go to church.

On Thursday we taught a less active family. The Montero family about 2 months ago was going to church. Their son, Bryan is the sunday school teacher of the youth but he hasn't come in 3 weeks so we were worried. He was doing okay. Now that its getting hot outside the people are becoming a little bit lazier and they don't like getting up and walking when it's hot outside.

On Friday we had a very interesting day. First off, Pilar was going to get baptized this week but there was a problem. In her interview with the zone leaders she confessed that she had drinken tea on Thursday. She was walking around in downtown Santiago on Tuesday when a random group of señor citizens just randomly invited her to a free trip to the beach.  It was all included: lunch, travel, drinks and breakfast. She agreed to go with them and at breakfast the only liquid thing they were serving was tea. She asked if they had herbal tea and they didn't, so she drank it. We found it interesting that it just happened to be the week before her baptism that this mystery beach tour party invited her randomly to go to the beach....smells like Satan.

During the interview, we had another lesson planned with an older investigator: Olga and a less active family: the Diaz family. the lesson didn't go too well because Olga kept interrupting us and the family had a pet ferret that got out of his cage and was bothering everyone during the lesson (for all of you ex missionaries catching a ferret is not one of the steps found in how to begin teaching). It was rough controling the lesson, but that's just what happens sometimes.

On Friday we also had a zone conference.The next one I will give my farewell speech, and I am now the oldest missionary in the zone...the end is somewhat near.

Saturday, we got to teach a Peruvain family (the Alberto family) and we had a ward mision meeting to plan our ward mission plan.

Sunday morning we got to present our ward mission plan in Ward Council. It was a success and we feel happy. Part of it will be teaching the members how to be missionaries. We also had 6 investigators in the church. The alberto family came, Pilar, and a young man named Christian who has a friend who is a member of the church (we still havent taught him). I got to teach the gospel doctrine class. it was about Jesus Christ and I got to bare my testimony at the end to all of the 6 investigators and the Spírit was super strong.

That afternoon we walked a lot. After that we got to teach Pilar one more time, and we taught a new lady named Nancy. She is pretty Catholic but she is really nice. I also got bit by a dog It wasn't too bad. It broke the skin, but the dog had all of his shots for rabies so I am all good.

It was a fun week. I have really enjoyed walking in the heat because that means that every sweaty step is another way to show the Lord that I love Him. Shout out to sister Williams who is in her last week!

Love,

Elder Williams

January 11, 2016 - Sunday Blues

Hola familia y amigos,

This week was eventful,

On Tuesday we had a ton of appointments and almost all of them fell through. We did get to meet with a less active man named Miguel Angel. He is really nice and is trying to get involved in the church again. He was baptized about 4 years ago and joined the military, and now he is back in Santiago and wants to get involved with the church again. He also gifted us popcorn.

We spent the rest of the day contacting and visiting houses of people who weren't there.

On Wednesday we had an awesome lesson with a family. We taught Hugo and Lorena last week and they were really interested in our message. We tuaght them the Plan of Salvation. they loved it and we did it with photos and drawings to help the kids learn. We finished with another kneeling prayer. Lorena gave it and she started crying during it because the Spirit was so strong. As we left Hugo asked "are you going to keep visiting us". Usually when people say that they dont want us to keep on stopping by, but then he said "cause you've got to do it because we really like it when you visit us and we keep on learning" WHO SAYS THAT!!!!!?????

We also taught Pilar that night. she got her answer. She called us last sunday to ask us about how to help in the church and when she hung up she felt something come over her. She started crying and felt really happy and she knew that god was trying to speak with her. She´s doing really great and now she wants to get baptized.

on Thursday we had another training meeting. after that, we visited a less active member named Jonathon. he still hasnt come to church in a while. after that we taught wendy. she is a dominican woman and we taught her in the elders quorum president´s house. the lesson went awesome and she accepted a baptismal date.

On Friday we taught Pilar again and we taught a lot of former investigators to see how they were doing. They still dont want to progress...but Pilar is doing great

On Saturday we helped clean the chapel in a service project. Pilar came to that as well. After that we helped an elderly woman do some yard work with the elders quorom president. We taught Miguel Angel again and we visited the Montero family. The Montero family is a less active family that we are working with. We were teaching the mom when all of a sudden she says, calling to her son "Bryan, can you go and get your dad I don't feel too good". Bryan was laying down in his room. She repeated what she said, and Elder Barillas and I went down the hall to find her husband who had just stepped out of the room. As we called for him we heard a big BOOM! We looked around and there the mom was knocked out cold on the floor. She fainted and face planted. We were freaking out, but her husband came and she regained conciousness and we all ended laughing about it. Turns out that used to happen to her all of the time, so it wasn't too big of a deal. That was the most interesting lesson I had had in a while. 

This week we had heard from Hugo, Lorena and their family, Wendy, Rafael, Pilar, and Julio and Juan Carlos that they all were going to come to church. That was like 10 people. Only pilar came....lame. Hugo and Lorena were in Maipu on Saturday night and their car broke down. Wendy had an interview. The others had other excuses but they weren't as good. Classic sunday here in Chile.

We visited with Hugo one more time. He works in the north of Chile and he works 15 days there and 15 days here he has free, so we have to wait 2 weeks to teach him...lame. But he wants us to visit him and he was reading the Book of Mormon to his daughter everynight before she goes to sleep so I cannot complain too much!

That's pretty much it for this week. This week I started feeling mature as a missionary. Before I struggled with getting frustrated when people don't come to church, but it has happened so much that 'Ive gotten used to it. The other thing is that I know that the Lord´s plans and will never get frustrated. If they dont come this week, they will come next week. The Lord always wins. I know this because Pilar got her answer. She had to wait for it, but she got it. I know this because I have knocked 1000´s of doors and now we found Hugo and his family. The Lord always wins. period.

Love,

Elder Williams

January 4, 2016 - The Power of the Maya

Buenas tardes familia y amigos,

The results are in.....my new companion is Elder Barillas. He comes from a chosen people. He´s from Guatemala! He´s 18 years old. He´s the first missionary in his family and he is a convert of 3 years to the church. He has a very strong testimony and he likes working, so I am more than happy to be training him. All of the members here are really surprised because he looks really young but he is very mature and awesome.

Elder Williams with his new "son" Elder Barillas.

I picked him up on Tuesday and we went to work right away and we taught the son in law of a less active couple in our ward. The son in law was really interested in how the gospel could help his son stop doing drugs.

The next day, we taught so many people!!! We found a new family of 5. The dad of that family has a friend who  is a member of the church and he had an idea of what we did as missionaries, so he let us in right away. We taught he and his wife the Restoration, and they were really interested and they said they would read the Book of Mormon. Recently our mission president has told us to change how we do baptismal commitments. There are so many misinterpretations of the word baptism here. He has asked us to invite people to "join" the church instead of "baptism". He wants us to really explain what baptism is before we invite people to do it. it's different but we are doing it, and we did that invitation with the family we found, and they accepted.

We taught P  and J  with members that same day. It is going to be impossible for J to go to church until she can move out of her dad´s house, but she has plans to be moving out soon.  P is doing okay. She still feels like she hasn't had a confirmation about needing to baptized. We did find out that her nephew is actually a member of the church, and he wants to baptize her, so she has some additional support from that side.

We found a Peruvian couple that night. The sister of the lady from the couple just arrived from Peru, and she is a less active member. It was funny to meet her because it was kind of like "no matter where you go you´ll always find the gospel". 

Not a lot was done on Thursday. We had another training meeting. We visited a lot of members and contacted some people. That night we went to bed at the right hour, but then we woke up when we heard the giant firework show that Renca puts on on the hill right next to our house.

Climbing Renca Hill.

On Friday, we had a great meeting with the Bishop and his family and we made some plans and goals with them so they could invited their friends to church this month. It's awesome to work with the members and use the planning skills we have as missionaries to help the members set goals and then verify with them to help them reach their goals.

On Saturday we and our elders quorum president helped a Dominican lady move into her new house. We got there and she had everything ready and done, so we just taught her the Restoration instead. It was a nice lesson and it looks like she´ll be going to church soon.

District White Elephant party.

On Sunday, we had 3 investigators at church. Esteban, a 13 year old we´ve taught came. We taught him and his older sister on Saturday night. The older sister Yiseña isn't too interested, but Esteban was really interested, so he came to church. P came to church. and the Haitian friend of our elders quorum president came. Elder Barillas introduced himself and his testimony was really powerful. The Haitian investigator, Rafael, also bore his testimony. He bore it for a while and didn't really understand what the purpose was. He testified of Christ and he mentioned he needed a job about 7 times. 

That afternoon we taught another new family. The dad was really interested in the Book of Mormon and eternal families. Every new lesson that we have had this week has ended in a kneeling prayer (excluding the lesson with the Dominican lady because she has a very rocky floor) and the father of the family offered it. It was awesome! We really hope these people progress.

That´s it for this week. There were a lot of things that happened. new companions, new people, same Spirit, same message. I really love being a missionary. Ive grown so close to the Lord this year and my life has been filled with His light. I understand my life more. I understand that what was once "my life" needs to be His. I am dedicating myself to Him every day more and more.

Love,

Elder Williams