The FINAL E-mail...This is IT.

December 12, 2016

This Is It!

I can't really fathom that I'm writing my last email as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Where has the time gone? These 2 years have been absolutely amazing. The chance that I had to serve with all my heart, might, mind, and soul here in Chile has changed me forever. The mission is something that I wouldn't change for anything. I wouldn't change it for 2 World Championships in triathlon. I wouldn't change it for an amazingly beautiful girlfriend. I wouldn't change these 2 years for anything. These 2 years have molded me into the person that my Heavenly Father wants me to be and He's still not done with me! I know that I'm going to come back and do exactly what Dad told me to do... work and not bury my talents. 

I've learned so much on the mission that it would take a week to write everything down, but it all comes down to this... 

I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that He is real. I never once saw Him on my mission, I never once had a vision, I never once even had a dream where God talked to me... the closest thing was a dream talking with Dad in Spanish and Dad just telling me to keep working hard and expressed how much he loved me when I was working in Pajaritos in Cinco de Abril. That's about the closest I've come to a prophetic experience. Despite all of that... I know that God is real and that this is His gospel! I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer, I know that He really was born in Bethlehem and that He lived, established His Church and His gospel, that He died for every single mistake and sin I've made, and that He resurrected. I know that He was the reason that I came on the mission in the first place and now I really know and understand that He is the one that gave me strength during these 2 years. I know that this gospel changes lives. I can't even begin to express how it changed mine and how it changed the lives of the people that I taught. 

This last week was hectic and was exactly how Heavenly Father had my whole mission... filled with trials and challenges! Elder Villota is not going home due to his back, but he did have special changes and Elder Nalesso (good bud in the mission) will be sending me home! 

I plan on giving it everything I've got up until the very end. Jesus Christ didn't take a break in His last week here on Earth and neither will I. 

This gospel is as true and real as the air we breathe and the water we drink. What an amazing, incredible ride it has been here in Chile! I've had my auto sufficiency class and my last interview with President. Tomorrow is Temple and lunch! Then it's full gas vomit until I'm in DIA! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you all for the love and support! I couldn't have done it all without you guys!!! SEE YA ON SATURDAY!!! 

ELDER WEAVER, SIGNING OUT FOR THE VERY LAST TIME!!!! WHAT A PRIVELAGE IT HAS BEEN!!!! 

SANTIAGO OESTE ES LA MEJOR MISIÓN!!! !

Saying Good-Bye! 

Week 100...Every Good Thing Comes to an End

December 5, 2016

Every Good Thing Does Come to an End

Welcome to the Weaver Report…

So this is it people. My time as a missionary is really coming to a close and I can hardly believe it. I'm not really sure how to feel because I mostly just feel tired. The stress never goes away! I just keep trying to help the zone and help the missionaries out, and then there's the stress of just making sure I end strong. The worst part is that Elder Villota's back is doing horribly and this week was anything but ideal for us, but we still baptized! Nicole and Josefa entered into the waters of baptism this Saturday night and I had the amazing opportunity of baptizing them! I'm sad to say it, but it looks like they were my last baptisms in the mission. This doesn't mean that I'm going to go into cruiser mode and just coast until the very end! I'm going to go FULL GAS VOMIT up until the moment I walk up those stairs and see you guys in the Denver International Airport! 

The baptism was a little stressful. The girls didn't actually get to the church until 8:20 and the service was set for 8:00. We baptized them at 8:50 and ended at 9:15 and then we blazed out of there to get to the pension on time at 9:30! Obedience with exactness! There is no excuse! The cool thing is that the spirit was still super strong and it was a super spiritual night for me as I got to baptize for the very last time on my mission. My hope and my dream is that I can baptize Marisol before I head out to BYU! It's not my last time being wet in December! 

I gave my farewell testimony in church yesterday because this coming Sunday is Stake Conference here in San Antonio. I talked about a lot of things, but I mostly just talked about pride and how pride is truly the pitfall and grand stumbling block to all of our lives. I finished the Book of Mormon again this week as well, so I expressed how interesting it is that in the beginning of the Book of Mormon it starts with the pride of Laman and Lemuel and ends with pride as the Nephite nation is destroyed. I expressed how out of all the things that the Book of Mormon teaches us, I think that one of the key principles that God wants us to grasp out of all the Book of Mormon is that pride kills progression and pride kills exaltation. I finished by saying that while my testimony hasn't changed much from the time I was a greenie up until now in terms of words, I can now say that the words I say in my basic testimony have much more meaning and much more importance in my life then what they had when I first started the mission. The reason is because God has truly changed my nature and has molded me into the man He wants me to be. I now have a very different perspective on the world around me and I can truly say that I have lived my mission without regret, not because I've been perfect, but because I've repented sincerely and I can truly say that I understand repentance and I understand this gospel in a way that I simply did not understand when I first got into the mission as a punk, self-centered, 19 year old teenage kid. That being said I just want to say that I know that this gospel is true, I know that José Smith was and is a prophet of God and that he was an instrument in the Lord's hand to restore the true church, I know that The Book of Mormon is true, I know that Christ lives and that He loves us with an infinite love, and I know that the Atonement works, I know that Heavenly Father lives and loves us as well and that's why he's created a perfect plan of happiness so that we can live with Him and our families forever. The mission has been the best two years FOR my life; they haven't been the best 2 years of my life, but FOR my life. I can't even begin to express how I feel, but it is all summarized with the simply assurity and knowledge that I know that Jesus Christ lives and that this is His church and His gospel. I love Him more than I can put into words and that's why these 2 years have been OH SO WORTH THE PAIN AND THE EFFORT! I know I have 1 more P-day left, but it looks like I won't have much time to write next Monday! 

I love you all a ton! Wow will it be cool to see all of you again! It's going to be weird going home to cold and snow! 

Elder Weaver 

 

This is the family Connor baptized last year, and they will be going through the temple in January! The dad just baptized his youngest son last week. He LOVES this family!

The last baptisms of his mission! Nicole and Josefa!

Week 99...Beware of Pride

November 28, 2016 

Beware of Pride 

Crazy news people!

I've decided to extend my mission! Ha-ha nah I'm still coming home the 16th! El fin se acerca y hay poco tiempo! I can't lie to ya. There are so many problems that arise in the mission I’m super stressed and just want to be baptizing up until the very end because the baptism of Tamara was so good that it makes me want to just keep baptizing more! 

Tamara is pretty amazing. I can honestly say that I know that God prepares people to receive the restored gospel. She is way excited to be a member of the church and the ward is going to give her a calling right away because she's "super seca" in chilenismo it means just super on target and exceptional. She's going to be a convert that really helps the ward grow! The baptism went really well. Tamara was getting ready to come to the chapel when her kid fell and bumped his head and was bleeding a ton. She called and told us that she was going to the hospital and then straight to the baptism. It's a good thing the hospital is right next door to the church here in San Antonio! She got to the baptism just 30 minutes late but her poor kid who has like a year and 10 months had the biggest goose egg I've ever seen in my life. The other funny thing is that everything was going well and right before entering into the baptismal font a member said, "and your towel?" It turns out that she forgot her towel. So this member ran to her house and ran back to give her a towel. That took about 10 minutes, so that was an awkward delay right before getting baptized! All her family was there and they still ended up loving it! We sang a special musical number "Cuando me bautice" and Tamara cried. Not going to brag or anything, but I could be a MoTab singer after my mission! I sing so well! Ha-ha! Not! I still sing worse than all get out. 

We had interviews with President Woodward on Wednesday and he basically just asked me how I felt and I said stressed and he said "that's good. Keep it that way." It was a short interview because we'll be having my last interview here in a few weeks! 

I had to help out a new missionary on Thursday and Friday. Turns out that he basically just wanted to go home after 1 week in the field and President sent me out to Cartagena to help him out. It was interesting listening to his mentality about the mission. It was also really hard to relate, because I've never really been home sick on the mish. But I did tell him about my experiences on the mission and at the end of it, he was feeling a little better. While we were doing some practices on Friday morning President Woodward called him and told him he had special changes to go to Santiago with a new gringo comp. So, I helped him pack his bags and then we were off to Santiago! It was a super, super, super long day and not exactly the way I wanted to spend my last few days of finding my last baptisms before heading home, but I trusted that God was going to bless me later in the week and boy did he ever! Yesterday a member called us and told us to come to his house because he had a friend he wanted us to meet. His friend was super prepared and he wants to be baptized the 15th of December! My last day in the field! He actually wants to be baptized this weekend, but he has to attend church at least 2 times before he can get baptized! His name is Kevin! 

The comp of this new missionary really made me think a lot about humility and pride this week. This Elder is really struggling with PRIDE! He was a zone leader and President made him a trainer and now he's not training and he comp mayor. He basically started crying and throwing a temper tantrum. To the point where he called President Woodward to tell him that he isn't going to finish his mission and he's going to go home after this change because he's not going to put up with being treated like a "low class" missionary. It's as if I were watching the fall of the Nephite nation in the mission.

I love all ya'll a ton! I'm glad that you had an awesome Thanksgiving! I'm looking to baptize 4 more people before I leave! Marcelo, Nicole, Josefa, and Kevin! 

La Familia Vegas came out to San Antonio and totally surprised me! It was awesome to see them! Osvaldo got the Melchizedek priesthood and they'll be getting sealed in January! Their son Jerek is going to be baptized this week by his dad! I WANT TO SEE THEM GET SEALED SO BADLY!!! Man, I love the mission. 

Be humble and let the atonement change you. That's all I have to say. 

 Love you guys! Keep strong!  

Elder Weaver 

Week 98...Día de Acción de Gracias

November 21, 2016

Día de Acción de Gracias

Cómo Estáis mis queridos? 

I have now received the emails from Presidente Woodward that I need to start making plans and setting goals for what I’m going to do with my life when I get back home. Needless to say, the trunkiness is trying to set in and I just keep fighting it. The good news is that we have a baptism this weekend and it very well may be one of the best baptisms I've had on the mission. Her name is Tamara and she's 19 years old. We found her contacting, but it turns out that the missionaries passed by her house earlier this year and then they never came back. It's a shame that they never came back because she is WAY prepared. I've never seen an investigator so prepared in my entire mission. I know I keep saying this, but it never ceases to amaze me the miracles I see everyday! She’s a Chilena that has no issues with anything and is obedient in everything we ask her to do and more. She reads the church website everyday and she loves reading the Book of Mormon. She is already in Mosiah after only 2 weeks of teaching her. It’s amazing how God has just perfectly prepared her to be baptized and she is way excited for this Saturday! I keep praying that this isn’t my last baptism in the mission! 

My companion keeps saying that I need to just enjoy this last part of my mission. He’s not exactly here to keep me motivated and inspired. I just want to keep working like crazy up until the very end and live without regret. I pray every single day that I can live every day without regret! I know that the only way that I'll be happy in this life is by keeping strong in the gospel, continuing to serve and loving everyone, and giving it my all every single day. I've seen a lot of miracles on my mission, but the biggest miracle is the change that I've made in myself. I don't want to come back being the same Connor Weaver. I hope that the good attributes that I had before my mission are even better now and I hope that my weaknesses have become strengths. I see life with a whole new perspective, and I honestly just wish the mission would never end. I've come to realize though that it's not going to end. It's going to be hard to take off the missionary name tag, but I know that I can still help a ton of people when I come home and I know that I can keep growing and progressing even more in the real world. In the meantime I plan of magnifying my calling and inviting everyone I see to come unto Christ and be baptized by someone who has the authority to do it!

We had a pretty awesome zone conference this week. A lot of the missionaries cried with a motivational video that I showed them. We talked a lot about the power of our callings and I had a Gringo missionary, Brasilero missionary, and a Latino read their mission calls in their native language and then give their testimonies about how they felt when they first received their callings. The room was silent and the spirit was so strong. It reminded me of when I opened my calling that night that I got back from Canada after competing in my last World Championship triathlon and reading Chile Santiago Oeste! I've come a long, long, long way since that night and I honestly had no idea what I was really getting myself into. It's been an amazing ride and the best part is that it’s still not over! I’ve still got time to make a difference in the life of a Chileno! 

I’m running everyday with Elder Villota at 6 it’s basically a fartlek every single day, as I sprint and then turn around to keep him in my sights. It will be quite a change not having a person on my back every second of every day when I get home! Elder Villota is basically dying and I've never seen a missionary sleep so many times in lessons in my whole mission. It's pretty funny how worn out he is after exercise! He sleeps during personal study, comp study, language study, and then he sleeps in almost every lesson during the day. It's unreal. He's a funny, funny dude! 

The gospel is true. The book is blue. Saquen la mugre no más! 

Les amo! Que tengan una buena semana! 3 Domingos más! 

Elder Weaver 

Week 96...Yo Pudiera Ser tu Héroe

November 7, 2016

Yo Pudiera Ser Tu Héroe

Yo what up, 

So this week was amazing! We had another baptism with my main man Enrique Iglesias! Okay, so maybe he's not Enrique Iglesias he's definitely much cooler than him! The baptism was pretty solid. We didn't have any issues with the font or with the bishop getting there to preside and there was little to no drama! I felt uncomfortable, because things just went way too smoothly. We even started on time at 7 which never happens... 7 in Chilean time is usually 7:45-7:50 but this time the service started exactly at 7! I am no longer stricken with the Grizzweaver curse and it honestly just makes me feel weird. I'm sure all with go back to normal when I see you guys again... what are we at now? 20 more weeks right? Ha-ha nah, I know I have 5 more Sundays left... how do I know that? Because I need to know how many more chances I have to baptize and confirm people! I confirmed Enrique and I felt a strong impression to guarantee him that if he keeps faithful in his covenants that he'll regain his ability to speak clearly. He can't speak very well after a stroke he had about 6 months ago, but I know that by not drinking and living a better life that he'll regain that ability! The gospel is amazing people! More amazing than the time I helped Vista win 2 state championships... QUE PASA CON VISTA NATION! It's all-good though a 4 peat is pretty impressive. I'm looking forward to going out on a run with Paxton Smith when I get back. Love that kid!

Anyway, we have another baptism all set and ready to go for this weekend. Antonella is a 10-year-old girl that is apart of an inactive family and her Mom has been endowed in the temple. It's amazing because we've basically reactivated the family and now Antonella is getting baptized! The members are calling us miracle workers! It's pretty amazing to see all the miracles taking place as I finish this last part of my mission. God is good... not to sound hippy or anything, but it is pretty awe-inspiring here in San Antonio! To the point where I just don't even want to go home. 

The zone is improving. We had a leadership meeting in Maipu on Friday and there was an earthquake and the Woodward’s just laughed because it started to shake pretty hard and we just kept talking and participating like normal. President Woodward was like, "Now I know that you guys are Chilenos because the earthquakes don't even cause you stop doing what you're doing." My comp always says that I'm "demasiado chileno." Because, I've picked up a few of their customs. It'll be funny to see when I come home if I crave some of the things I've grown to love in chile. 

I got to see Nacho Gonzalez be set apart as a full-time missionary on Monday.  He is head off to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Let me just tell ya that the Latinos basically have the whole ward present to see a missionary get set apart. It's like a party and everything! It’s cool to think when this kid gets out of the MTC... I'll be on my flight home. The work never stops or takes a break!

We have a ton of baptisms coming up and I just hope that President doesn't take me out of this sector to finish my last 5 weeks in some other zone! Pray that I stay here to finish! We have changes this Sunday! 

Love all of you guys. Keep it fresh. It's aright if ya'll feel trunky, but I ain't feelin it!

Love,

Elder Weaver 

Week 94...Get Up, Get Up, and Get Down...Jump, Jump, Jump Around

October 24, 2016

Get Up, Get Up, and Get Down... Jump Jump Jump Around

What be good,

Another week has flown by here in San Antonio. We had an amazing baptism with Barotlo this weekend. There was a solid turnout at the baptism and we're happy that we've been completing with the vision that President Woodward has for us. We are having the members baptize our investigators so that the retention will improve in the wards. Bartolo definitely has a ton of friends in the ward and is solid. I honestly am blown away by every baptism I've had on the mission. This baptism was no exception. Just 5 weeks ago we found Bartolo after he had been drunk for a solid week. Since that time he hasn't drank a single beer and he actually no longer feels the desire to drink. But he's changed his life completely and he's actually going to move into a new home in 2 weeks. He has a job now and everyone in the ward has done a great job of just loving him. We really focused on having a lot of family home evenings with him and just helping him recognize all is not lost and to see the spirit witness this to him was amazing. He's going to be receiving the priesthood next week! I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, and all of us! The mission is amazing. 

We also did a little service project with a member in our ward that is going through a really tough time with her kids. They're completely lost in the world and they're only 13 and 14 years old. She's super amazing and she has a son on a mission, but her other kids are really bringing her down. We decided to cut her grass... or her jungle in the backyard to aliviar su carga. The project will last until I go home cause there's a ton to do and we only have 90 minutes every Tuesday morning to do it. It's fun work though. 

Elder Villota and I pretty much just pass the time laughing and loving the work. I honestly don’t even think about coming home because I'm always so busy. I've just love the work and I can't think about going back to real life. I'm trying to think about things that I love back home, but honestly I just want to see you guys and then just go back to Chile to share the gospel. This work is amazing. I expressed a little bit of my feelings in a talk that I gave yesterday. I talked about charity and how I didn't always have it as a self-centered tri-athlete punk before the mission, and how the mission has literally taught me to have more charity. I know that Jesus Christ is our perfect example of how to live happy and I know that I'm no where close to being perfect, but I'm so grateful to be apart of his true church and to be his representative. The experience of the mission is something I can't even put into words; it's simply been life changing.  

I'm glad everyone's happy and healthy. I'm sad that BYU football continues to lose, but I'm glad that BYU XC is killing it. GO VISTA NATION! WIN STATE! Love all ya'll and love the support. 

Quick update. I found a Haitiano that lived in Connecticut for 20 years and he talks and looks just like Biggy. I'll take pictures this week. IF YA DON'T KNOW, NOW YA KNOW! He totally sang rap songs with me as well. 

Pray for Mayra, William, Marta, Enrique, and Antonella and Carlitos! They're our fechas! 

ELDER WEAVER 

SIGNING OUT! COLORADO HIGH! 

Week 93...Hey, Hey, Hey

October 17, 2016

HEY HEY HEY, 

First and foremost I'd like to give a huge shout out to my amazing family for putting together the birthday video & package! I almost cried, but I held the tears back because I’m a man! It's insane to see how much everyone has changed. I can't get over how Preston has pretty much just converted into the next Michael Jackson. I imagine that he's got 99 problems but a girl ain't 1. Dad's gotten a little chunky, Mom is as beautiful as ever, Adin is a stud, and Mia is amazingly beautiful as well. Not to mention my grandparents who look great and my cousins who are all amazingly good looking! Ethan is WAY DIFFERENT! WHAT THE FREAK! I come from a very attractive family... what happened to me in the process of everything? 

So other than the video, the week was just splendid. We have 4 baptismal dates set up and things are looking amazing for this weekend. Bartolo and Carlitos want to get baptized this weekend. Things got a little complicated with Carlitos this week and he backed out of his baptismal interview after we taught him the law of chastity. He's a 13 year-old boy, but he just wants to feel super sure with everything before he takes this step. So, we continued to teach him the principle of chastity and why it is so important, and after a few more lessons, he is good to go. The coolest part is that I found him contacting with Elder Montero on my birthday in the night and I said to Elder Montero "una puerta más!" That happened to be Carlitos and his family who let us in. 

Bartolo is the guy we found the week before general conference and he's just rocking it. It's amazing to see how much the atonement really works. He has been really struggling for 9 years and has lost everything... his wife, his kids, his job, everything due to alcohol. We really have just been loving him and helping him and he hasn't drank since we found him before general conference. He's pumped for his baptism! What a miracle! 

William is our other fecha and he's a Haitiano that Elder Villota and I found and I've just been saying the basics of what I know in Creol to help him. Thank goodness that Elder Villota speaks fluently! 

The other fecha is Mayra and she's the cousin of our convert Kamila! Pray for her and her family.

Nothing super funny happened this week. Just watching Dad biff it on the mountain bike made me laugh like crazy.

I Love all of you more than I love Chile, and that's saying something. I'm one lucky guy to have the family that I have. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I know that this is His work! We so blessed to be a part of it!  The gospel is true, The book is blue.

Elder Weaver