-sometimes
people walk around the streets yelling ESCOBAS which means brooms, and
people come out and buy brooms so they can sweep more dirt.
i
made my first few jokes in spanish this week. it was awesome. i felt so
cool. if anybody has good material send it on over to me.
i
seriously cant even remember what happened this week or what i related
this week. also i want to start typing spanish sometimes. elder ramirez
and me stayed here in belloto. 6 more weeks with my argentine giant.
pray for me. i love him but sometimes i want to push him out the window
of our 3 story apartment.
for starters carlos did not get
baptized, and we will not be going back to his house. he lost all his
faith. it was super sad. in one week he went from being ready for
baptism, recieving the priesthood, and preparing to enter the temple to
perform covenants for his wife that died 15 years ago, to being angry at
god because hes poor, not wanting to walk to the church anymore or be
baptized, and being mad at us for who knows why. he let pride really
take over. most of the time people with no money or food are pretty
humble but he reacted the opposite.
danny is doing well.
apparently he met with the elders before 2 or 3 times but couldnt be
baptized because he lived with his pareja. but something happened and
they separated and now he lives in belloto. cool. it was funny because
the first lesson we taught him was the law of tithing. yeah i dont know
how it happened but he committed to pay tithing and told us he wants to
be baptized. the problem is he thinks he needs more knowledge before
baptism than he really does. hes started reading the book of mormon and
loves it though. tonight we have a family home evening with him in our
bishops house so thatll be awesome. our bishop is so solid. hes been the
bishop of estero viejo for 8 years now.
on sunday
we were seated and sacrament was about to start and one of our
investigators walked in named manuel. it was so awesome because we didnt
think hed come. he told us a few days before that he had work but we
told him to pray about it. so he said if he felt like god told him to
come he would come. it was the best sacrament meeting ive been in in
chile. he got pretty emotional and told us all of the problems hes been
having with his family. were hoping to help him out thjis week but him
and his pareja (not married... nobody likes to marry) have a lot to do
before theyd be eligible for baptism. theyre awesome though.
i
prayed more this week to love people more than anything. i decided
after my first change that if i could just learn to love the people here
i could forget about home. its been working out really well. i still
have days where i feel miserable, but ive been able to think about all
the things i love here and when we are actually teaching or giving
service im really happy. self control is a hard thing to develop but i
think with persistence im going to love missionary work. its been hard.
but everytime i progress in spanish, feel the spirit, or strengthen
relationships with others it gets easier. it doesnt come easy. nothing
of value does.
ive come to the realization of this concept
this week. there are two types of people in chile. the ones who work
every day in their job, church calling, and families are happy. they put
every bit of energy they have in the day to get stuff done and help
others and they are truly happy. then theres the people that just want
to give half hearted efforts and get by. they might have another 2 and
half hours to watch netflix or play warcraft but when you compare them
to others they are not happy. i read an article on lds.org
called the key to supremely happy people. it says that 50 percent of
being happy depends on genetics. 10 percent on circumstances, and 40
percent on activities. when im working im happy. when i slow my pace and
think about something that doesnt help me be a better servant in the
lords hands im sad.
im gonna do everything i can this week to
never slow down and cien por ciento give everything i have to this
work. theres no better way to serve a mission and have a good time in
the process.
my two best days in the field were this week and i dont think i thought about home the whole day for those two days.
thanks
for everything family. love you guys, i see miracles constantly and i
know the lord is the head of this church, and my haircut looks less bad
every day.
-Elder Allred - Chilean Street Raptor
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