Chile
-Annual visit to the street market every friday. This week a man selling shoes took my shoes off and placed the shoes he was selling on my feet without my permission. Not too bad of a selling tactic.
Funny
-On our preperation day we ran into like ten nuns who were just casually going about their day buying groceries, walking the town and eating hot dogs. After seeing so many nuns hermana cutler turns to me and says, Ïs it the nuns preperation day too?”
-Winning a less active members heart by playing pokemon go with his kids and him for a hot minute in the park.
-A drunk chilean approached us got down on his knees, kissed my hand and started crying because Chile beat Argentina in soccer.
Spiritual
- Paula is a less active member that we met who is ANIMATED to feel Gods love again in her life. I have never met anyone who has so much anticipation to read the book of mormon and to readily feel the peace that comes from it! Can we all just be Paula? She rocks my world.
- -We passed by Ilmari's house (reference from the open doors temple in Conception) and we said, “we should call him to see how he is doing.”and right then and there we crossed paths with him in the street! He was so excited to see us and tell us that he had just read 3rd Nephi 11 and is going to read it again and go on a fast with his girlfriend to be more in tune with the spirit! LIKE WHAT. It was so so awesome to see that he is progressing even when we arent teaching him!
- - We found a 13 year old columbian boy this week who is just a total stud. We taught him the restoration today and it really clicked for him! He says to us, “There has to be a good reason why you two left everything behind and traveled all this way to share this message. I wanna know if its true. Im going to read this book and pray.”Please do.
- -A less active member invited her friend over to meet us! This friend has other friends that are members who have shared so much with her! She tells us, Ïve never been to your church but I heard one of your apostles speeches and it gave me so much peace.”Thank you to all the brave members who arent afraid to give their light to those who are in the dark!
- -Seeing our friend Andre from New York completely change. When we first met him, he wouldnt come out of his room. Now, he fights us to say the prayer. Today in his prayer he says, “Dear God, Im a little sad that the missionaries friends (members in the ward) couldnt do the family home evening but im happy to share this moment with them.”We talked about the 10 commandments tonight and before we asked him to live them he says, Ïm going to live these! Im going to write them down in a different way so that I understand them and put them on the wall to remember to live them everyday.”He has seriously changed so much, it has blown my mind.
- -Eriazar is the first haitian I have ever met who UNDERSTANDS the restoration of the gospel. ALSO, we randomly decided to pass by for his house today and the conversation led perfectly into the book of mormon. It was the ONE DAY we werent carrying around a book of mormon in creol and he tells us, Öh wait I think I have one of those books, its my cousins.”AN ANSWER TO OUR PRAYERS. He then pulls out three bibles and tells us that he loves to read it but wants so badly to know which church will be the church of Jesus Christ in the end. During this whole appointment he had been wearing a velvet blue suit jacket without anything under, he looked so fresh. At the end we slip in the, Äre you going to be wearing that new velvet coat to church this sunday with us?”and he was like, “heck yeah.”I love Eriazar's PURE DESIRE TO KNOW
- JOYS
- -Chileans dont smile very much. So we left the house with the goal to give every chilean a good big cheesy smile. 9 times out of the ten it worked!
- -We went out with our zone to do a service! We picked the weeds outside of people houses and along the streets. It was really cute because one by one, the chileans started to leave their houses and start working on their yards too!
- -Seeing Jose after his baptism wearing a tshirt with a big picture of Jesus on it. Highlight.
- -Hugged by a boy for the first time in a year. He was dressed like a clown and I couldnt escape it. Pics down below.
- -Being the companion of Hermana Cutler.Spotlight:
- Someone who really stuck out to me this week was a new family in our ward that just moved here from Venezuela. The family Canizales has about 4 months in Chile. Im sure you all know what is going on in Venezuela, everytime I hear about what the venezuelens have gone through or are still going through my heart breaks. They are sometimes without food, electricity, and their only safe haven is when they go to church on sunday. Right when brother Canizales,the dad, got released as stake president he moved here with just a suitcase, he got here and had no where to stay. They prefferred not to tell us that part of their story because it was so terrible. A few months later the mom and three daughters got here and have all had to start from ground zero. Their professions they once had are long gone, their friends are still in venezuela, and their extended family has been split apart and are all living in different countries. As we shared with them, Mosiah 23:21-22 came to our rememberance, “...the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. -whosever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day.”When faced with trials, asking “why me?”never takes away the hard thing, but as we put our confidence in Jesus Christ and give ourselves to Heavenly Father we will not only be lifted up in the last day but will also be blessed the moment we start to put our trust in Him. I love the family Canizales and I am so grateful for their faith. It strengthens mine! When we have no where else to turn, turn to HIM because He was never turned away from you.
Love you all!! Have a stellar week!
Hermana PulsiPer
