Última Semana de Cambios Connor's Week 49

 

Connor's New Christmas T-shirt..."You Serious Clark?"

Hey there Friends and Family! 

So this last week was a tough one, not going to lie! Elder Marquina continues to have a lot of issues with his feet and we have literally done a solid 30 hours of traveling these past two changes! Needless to say, Elder Marquina is pretty much sick and tired of his feet. We have made a solid 2-hour trip to Las Condes approximately 15 times over the past 12 weeks. That's 2 hours there and 2 hours back.

We'll see how the changes meeting goes tomorrow, but it's going to be interesting. I'm really learning to have a lot of patience and charity. I knew when I got to Villa Sur that it was going to be hard for multiple reasons, but this past week everything kind of just piled on top of Elder Marquina and I. It's moments like that where you just learn to depend completely on your relationship with your Savior and prayer is the only way to go. 

 

Sadly, I am one who likes to talk things out to get problems resolved and Elder Marquina is not. We finally had a long talk! This kid is a huge example for me, and I know he is going to bless a ton of lives here in Chile and after his mission. He just kept asking,"Elder Weaver, si estoy haciendo lo que debo hacer, por qué Dios quiere castigarme?"( If I’m doing what I should be doing, why would God punish me?) I think this is a question all of us have asked at one point or another. It's a question that's tricky to answer. When we're doing everything we should be doing and we're trying our best just to deal with the trials we have, why doesn't God just put His hand in things and alleviate our pain? 

My answer is this... there is always something to learn from every trial. Elder Marquina may never heal in his feet. For the rest of his life he may have this problem, but I am 100 percent certain that he will bless the lives of many here in Chile and even more after his missionary service because he will have the experiences necessary to properly deal with future issues that may arise. Whether that is within his family, in his ward, or with friends... he will bless the life of somebody. 

I try my best to relate everything I can to the scriptures, but sometimes the best thing we can give to others is our own stories and our own experiences. Elder Cook said in a conference with the mission presidents of Chile..."Your missionaries not only deliver the message, THEY ARE THE MESSAGE!" Everything we do, everything we say is literally scripture and we are the light of the world! I am so happy to be a representative of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I love this gospel; I know it's true because I've put it into practice in my life. What I say, what I do, is scripture and it is what Christ would say if he were here right now. My only hope is that I do Him justice. 

All I can say is that we work hard because we owe it to our Savior to work hard. We don't work hard so that we can look good in front of everyone else. 

I love all of you and thank you so much for the support and love! I Love this Christmas time of year where we think of our Savior and His birth! I love sharing this message during this time even more! 

Love,

Elder Weaver 

Week 48...Sequimos Bautizando

 

Hola queridos, 

So this week I had the privilege of baptizing Osvaldo Andres Cordova Rojas! It was such an awesome experience and I'll never forget this family! They are truly amazing. Osvaldo totally changed everything in his life so that he could be baptized! He got married, stopped smoking, stopped drinking, and stopped working Sundays so that he can go to church every Sunday! What a guy! The baptism went great, but as always there was a few challenges. We went to the church to fill the baptismal font, and one member told us that if we were just going to fill it with cold water it would take about an hour and a half to fill! Well we came back 45 minutes later to check on it and it flooded!  We had to mop up the whole church about an hour before the baptismal service! Nobody even noticed that the hall was flooded when they got to the service, so I'm taking that as an indicator that we did a good job! IT WAS A BLISTERING HOT DAY and it felt so good to get into that baptismal font with pure cold water! Osvaldo and I gave each other a huge hug afterwards. Such a cool experience! 

Osvaldo and Maycol will be receiving the Aaronic priesthood this next Sunday!

We might be baptizing this weekend as well... Rosalia is going to try and get a marriage date from el registro civil this week and if we're lucky she could get married this Saturday! It's just a matter of time, but she's going to get married!

We have two other investigadores that are progressing and have potencial. Carlitos and Julio, the only thing stopping them from being baptized is themselves. They basically want God to appear to them to tell them the church is true. I have never explained how to know when the spirit is testificando so many times in my life. 

 

So nothing really crazy happened this week! We played fútbol de bebé today with a few elders from the zone and the elders quorum of another ward and it was crazy intense. Never have I played so intensely!

Speaking of people that rock in the sporting world... PRESTON!!! YOU ARE RANKED 6TH IN THE STATE FOR WRESTLING!!! YOU ARE A MACHINE!!! Little do they know that you're going to win it all this year! You better... you're starving yourself for this. Way to be man! So stoked and proud of you! 

VISTA NATION DOMINATION AS WELL!! I hope you guys killed it at Nationals! Way! Way! Way Sweet that you guys won the southwest regional!

All the members of the ward say that I look like Barney from How I Met Your Mother, I literally have no idea why they think that... we look nothing alike. Everyone in Villa Sur knows me to, and to this day NOBODY CAN PRONOUNCE MY NAME! WEAVER! It's Weaver!!! Dad, not sure if you can relate? 

It feels nothing like Christmas here, and we literally die everyday due to the heat. Never in my life have I experienced heat like this. Not to mention I'm in the concrete jungle of Santiago and it's bakes hotter than an oven here. 

I Love the mission. I can't describe the joy I feel seeing Osvaldo and his family so happy in this gospel. They are also super excited when we come over, and they're literally willing to do whatever to draw nearer to God. They truly are examples to me! They'll be in the temple a year from now without a doubt! 

Love you all so much! A few more weeks and we'll be seeing each other... on Skype unreal. Glad everything went well for Thanksgiving!

 Elder Weaver 

Alma 5: 40-41! 

40 For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil.

41 Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth follow him.

Dia del Gracias

November 24,2015

Estoy Super Agradecido Esta Semana del Día de Gracias (I am very grateful this week of Thanksgiving)

Hola Familia y amigos,

So this week was incredible, I'm not really sure where to begin, and I always forget to write about amazing things that happen in these e-mails. But here we go....

So we baptized Remy this weekend! This Haitiano is seriously such an example for me. We tried so hard to get as many people as we could to his baptism, but only a whopping 5 people were there; me, my comp, our mission leader, the first counselor in the bishopric, and one member. I gave the first talk and then the first counselor gave the closing talk and bienvenido al barrio (welcome to the ward). Remy he was absolutely thrilled! Elder Marquina was with Remy in the bathroom after the baptism and Remy just said,"Oiga! (Listen!)" Elder Marquina was like,"qué pasó (what happened)?!" And Remy said, “me siento diferente, me veo diferente, estoy tan feliz. (I fee different, I look different, I am so happy.)" It was then that Elder Marquina finally felt good about the baptism and he's thrilled to have finally performed his first baptism! He hasn't baptized since his training, and he never actually performed the ordinance. So while there was a poor showing from the ward, we definitely felt the spirit really strong that night with Remy and we know he is going to be a great member of the church. His next goal is to get his family baptized, but he has to wait until they come to Chile next year. SO RAD! I came all the way to Chile to baptize a Haitian. I got to confirm Remy a member of the church and that was also quite the experience... he arrived 10 minutes late for sacrament meeting and we weren't sure if we were going to be able to confirm him. But we did it! 

So Remy was a huge miracle and blessing, but Katuisca and Osvaldo and Michael are also huge miracles! Michael is going to get baptized this weekend sí o sí (no matter what), but Osvaldo and Katuisca gave us the amazing news today that they're going to get married this Friday!!! WOOHOOO! Thye have plans to get married in the temple after Osvaldo's baptism. It's still up in the air as to whether or not Osvaldo is going to get baptized this weekend, but definitely this change he will be baptized! Their youngest son Jared turns 8 this Sunday, so he'll be getting baptized this next weekend! UNREAL! My second family in the mission. They literally want us to come to their house everyday, we had a family home evening with them last week and they absolutely loved it! This family is way, way sweet! 

Rosalia is coming to church every Sunday and has every intention in the world to get baptized. Her boyfriend is the only problem. She's been praying super hard though and so have we, and he suddenly asked Rosalia if he could have an interview with the Bishop to talk about marriage.... we'll see how it goes. This guy apparently just doesn't think that 20 and 19 year old boys can tell him to get married so his girlfriend can get baptized, so he's going to meet with the bishop tonight. 

Yesterday we went all the way to Las Condes AGAIN! Elder Marquina is not doing so hot with his feet. He had his birthday Sunday and he was super happy, but his feet are killing him. Yesterday we literally ran all over Timbuktu to get his feet figured out. They performed a biopsy and he was super drugged out because of the anesthesia. It was hilarious, but at the same time, I just want to go go, go, and we have to stop, stop, stop for his poor feet. We'll be going to Los Condes at least two times a week for the rest of the change.  It is so hard because missionaries really need their feet to do this work!  

So Grandpa Weaver is a bus driver for handicapped kids! I have to admit, that gig is perfect for him! Super, super cool that he's doing that! I GOT YOUR THANKSGIVING PACKAGE! Holy cow, you guys are the best. Thanks grandpa Weaver for your sarcastic written letter... yes there is a difference between written letters and e-mails. 

I'm sending ya'll a picture of our shower considering Dad has 10 SHOWER HEADS IN HIS SHOWER! I bet it feels like a carwash every time dad... gosh, who on planet earth needs 10 showerheads? 

I'm super happy and super stoked for this change! It's unreal the miracles I've seen this past week. The key is staying humble and to keep working hard. There is no letting up on the throttle in the mission. Unreal to think almost everyone from my quorum growing up is getting back home these next few weeks... Don't get married until I get back guys! 

I haven't read about BYU XC:.. But I hope they killed it at nationals! 

Love all of you guys! Pray for all of you everyday!  

Elder Weaver

Week 45

November 17, 2015

Milagros Existen Chiquillos! (Miracles Exist Little Ones!)

Mi Gente,

This week was absolutely insane! I do not think I have had a better week on my mission up to this point! Elder Marquina and I broke all the Zone records this week! Not that records matter, but it shows that we're going to see some real progress in this sector! A smashing 17 new investigators, 32 lessons to just recent converts and investigators, and 5 people in the chapel! 2 have fechas (baptismal dates) for this month! UNREAL! We're way stoked and we're seeing the fruits of our labor finally. 

So while this week was amazing it also had its' ups and downs. For one, we have a Haitiano named Remy who has a baptismal date for this Saturday. He is truly amazing. He speaks really well in Spanish because he lived in La Republica Dominicana for 2 years, but he only has about 4 months in Chile. We contacted him on the street while we were waiting to meet up with our ward mission leader and he invited us to his house the next day. This took place about 7 weeks ago. Since then he's come to church and he feels ready to be baptized after an all or nothing lesson we had with him on Friday! He accepted his baptismal date and he couldn't be more pumped. The bad news was that our Bishop told us that if Remy isn't legally here in Chile he couldn’t be baptized. We were nervous because Remy has just recently found a job and we didn't think he had a visa. Turned out that he doesn't have a legal visa yet and he's waiting for his boss to sign his work contract. We were heart broken. I called our District leader and told him everything. He asked the zone leaders if it would be okay if we baptized Remy and they said they had to talk to the assistants. Turned out the asistentes had to talk to President! After a long 2-day wait we got the good news that REMY CAN BE BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND!!! Yes... President said it's all-good as long as he has a passport and a roof over his head. So technically I'm going to baptize an illegal immigrant! But salvation doesn't have borders. Remy told us an amazing story about how he came to Chile and has been looking for a way to get closer to God. He had a dream where Christ told him to come to him, but he couldn’t do it because he's not worthy to come to Christ. When we talked to him for the first time he felt like we were the answer, but wasn't sure. When he called his family this past week they basically told him "GET BAPTIZED! THOSE YOUNG MEN ARE SERVANTS OF THE LORD!" He still wasn’t sure but when Elder Marquina testified to him on Friday night the room was filled to the max with the spirit and he accepted! WAY SWEET! 

The other miracle is Katuisca and her son Michael. They both came to church this week! We taught to Michael for the first time this week on Wednesday, and he accepted a baptismal date for the 28th of this month! The spirit was so strong during the Restoration and he accepted everything just like that. His mom Katuisca is all for it! She was baptized when she was 13 years old but inactivated 2 weeks after her baptism! She hasn't gone to church since and she forgot everything! It's been 20 years since her baptism! We contacted her on the street my first day in this sector and she basically told us that she wanted nothing to do with us. We passed by the next day and she told us that she's a member of the church but she preferred the Testigos de Jehovah (Jehova’s Witness) more. After 2 lessons her heart has completely changed. She now wants everyone in her family to get baptized, and she wants to be sealed with her husband who isn't a member! They aren't married yet, but they're now trying to get everything together so they can get married! Her husband had a lesson with us yesterday and he asked me at the end of it, "So when can I get baptized, do I have to wait?" I told him he has to get married and then he can be baptized in 2 weeks. He's way stoked and really wants to change his life around! Katuisca as well wants to change. They have accepted the palabra de sabiduría yesterday completely! WHAT A MIRACLE! Another family that I can see sealed by the end of my mission! 

We went to the temple today and I absolutely loved it! I love the temple. It's such a blessing to have one so close to our mission. Elder Marquina and I are getting along super well. Elder Marquina doesn't want to have another companion for the rest of his mission. We get along super well and he's working super hard despite his feet! He says that it's a miracle that he's walking the way that he is! 

In the temple I was looking for how I can be an even better missionary and what I need to do to keep the success going. I opened up D&C and read (D&C 103:36) All victory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your diligence, faithfulness, and prayers of faith.

I love that scripture! 

We have a lot of good investigators, but every single one of them has a desafio (goal) and many need to get married! I love seeing the changes in this sector! This gospel is truly amazing and I know that Heavenly Father is a God of miracles. I know this gospel is true and I love being a representante of my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:31) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 

LOVE ALL OF YOU!

ELDER WEAVER 

Si Pudiera Sonreir Más Lo Haría (If I could smile more I would)

November 10,2015

Si Pudiera Sonreir Más Lo Haría (If I could smile more I would)

Hola mi gente,

So this week was a scorcher. It's getting hot down here, and we're only in November. As all of ya'll are getting into the Christmas spirit, I just feel like going to the beach. Man is it hot!

So this week Elder Marquina and I worked our cans off and saw very little results. Así es la mission (That’s how the mission is). We have some great investigators, but this week was a tough one for all of them to come to church! They all work on Sundays, and can only attend like every other Sunday! We did have our eternal investigator Julio in the church though, so I guess we should just count our many blessings.   

REGISTRO CIVIL (civil registry) FINALLY OPENED UP AGAIN! After about 2 months of strike they finally went back to work! Freaking government employees, they're the same everywhere. Do you know what this means? This means that Rosalia and David can get married; the trick is getting their respective companions to agree. The coolest thing is that Elder Marquina and I fasted specifically for the strike to end with the social workers and the following day (yesterday) it opened up again! 

The goal for the mission the month of November is 100 baptisms. Considering we're such a small mission, this would be quite the achievement. Pray for Santiago Oeste, Tim Tebow style if ya have to, whatever works, we just need the blessings. We're all working our cans off out here. 

So our Zone is rocking it, basically the whole Sud America Presidency has their eyes on our zone because we found the most new investigators the month of October in all of South America. I do have to say that it has a lot to do with the book mom gave me. I showed Elder Nalesso how we're contacting lately, and he's applied the same principles. Needless to say, it's working. It's amazing. 

As a zone we're doing a 40-day purificación, where we basically fast or give up a certain amount of things for 40 days in order to become better missionaries. We read an article about a missionary who was super obedient, but just like all of us, he always had something that distracted him a little from the work. In his case it was golf. On P-Days they could play golf, but he found that if they played golf on P-Day he would wind up thinking about golf the rest of the week until the next P-Day. So this missionary gave up golf for 40 days and some other things that distracted him, and ended up baptizing 16 people by the end of this 40-day "purificación." We all fasted this weekend in order to give up certain things, and I truly believe we'll see the blessings for doing it. Try and think of things in your own lives that stop you from progressing, and try to give it up. It's a 40 day process, but by the end of the 40 days, you'll find that you'll have no desire to do that certain thing ever again, because you'll be accustomed to not having it. 

Elder Marquina was really down in the dumps about his feet this week. He's reached the point where he's just sick and tired of it. He wants to work hard, but he can't walk without pain and it drives him crazy. I told him about my knees my freshman and sophomore year of XC and told him I know EXACTLY how he feels. He finally opened up to me yesterday during companion inventory and he says he’s just super grateful to have me as a companion. Apparently his last comp wasn't all that obedient and he's seeing the blessings of our obedience and diligence in his family. His parents have plans to finally get married and they want to be baptized when he gets home. Before I got here apparently they weren't going to church and were separating themselves from the church. It's cool to see how diligent Elder Marquina is, so that he can see the blessings in his family. He's a huge example to me as well. He comes from a family situation that is completely different from mine, but he's so strong and has a great testimony of the gospel. I'm super blessed to have the family and life I have, and Elder Marquina makes sure that I know that I should never take my family for granted. He's super jealous. One Elder in our zone named Elder Arroniz (He's from the U.S.) he saw a picture of my family and he said "you have such a beautiful family Elder Weaver, heck, I want to get a Christmas card from you guys and I don't even know all of you." Ha-ha, so there you go! You guys rock! 

Yesterday we were teaching a lesson to a little girl that has 9 years and she's apart of an incomplete family or a family where not all of them are members. Her name is Fernanda and she happens to be the one that's not a member. She is a spaz. I think her and Adin would get along just great. She's WAY SMART! Holy cow she speaks so well in Spanish and does not sound Chilena at all. Elder Marquina and I are blow away about how smart she is. She's super upbeat too, and puts a smile on our faces. She gets super excited when we come over. Yesterday she asked us "hay baños en el reino celestial? (Are there bathrooms in the Celestial Kingdom?) Dios y Jesucristo comen y si comen, van al baño? (God and Jesus Christ eat and if they eat, they have to go to the bathroom?" We told her that she has some really good questions and that she makes us laugh. She told us "si pudiera sonreir más lo haría (if I could smile more I would)." Talk about a positive influence! 

I challenge you guys to keep positive with everything! THE HOUSE IS FINALLY DONE! BE HAPPY! Just do what ya gotta do and keep positive! I guarantee your lives are not as hard as some of the Haitianos we teach. Talk about "homes." We are very blessed! 

I love this gospel, and I love my Savior. These may just be the hardest two years of my life, and the best two years to draw closer to my Savior. I can now say that I know maybe a little of what he went through as he was trying to teach his true gospel, and I can say that I feel a little of the rejection he felt. I love my Savior and I know that he loves me. This gospel is true. End of story.

Alma 26:16-Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.

Sent all ya'll letters today. Sorry if they're short. I don't have much time! Thanks for the support from everyone!

Oh, and WAY TO GO BYU XC!!! I am so pumped for them! VISTA XC WITH THE 4 PEAT AS WELL!  V.I.S.T.A VISTA, VISTA VISTA! VISTA NATION! 

Love,

Elder Weaver 

Trick or Transfers?

Week 43...

November 3, 2015

Hola mi gente,

So, this week was absolutely awesome! I have a lot of experiences to share, and I hope I remember them all! But first things first, I do not have changes and Elder Marquina will be staying with me another change! Elder Marquina is super pumped and so am I, the key is we have to baptize this change! This ward hasn't seen a baptism for about 10 months! Luckily we have 6 people that are all progressing beautifully. This is saying a lot because when I got here, we literally had NO ONE. 

So let's start with the fact that Elder Marquina is improving with his foot problems. He can finally walk at the pace I want to walk, and he's a lot happier now. He really was bummed out with his feet all this change and when Rosalia didn't get baptized it definitely took a hit on both of us. This next change will be different though! 

So this past Thursday we were contacting, but literally no one was opening the door. We saw this bulldog though and Elder Marquina wanted to take pictures because it was so awesome. So did I, mostly for Preston because I know he loves bulldogs. While we were taking pics, the lady in the house came out laughing and it turns out she's Colombiana! This whole house is filled with Colombianos! She originally just laughed and we started to contact her just by getting to know her. She was leaving for work at that moment, but told us to come by, well today... The funny thing is there was another guy in the house and we decided to talk to him as well. He's a 20 year old kid from Cali, Colombia (there's a lot to be said about Colombianos from Cali... The city of sin.) He let us in and we started a “Cómo Comenzar a Enseñar” (How are we going to start teaching?) and then linked everything in to La Restauración (the Restoration of the Gospel). When I gave Joseph Smith's first vision, he went completely quiet and I knew he felt something. This kid's name is Arturo Franco and his accent is probably the coolest thing I've ever heard. I want to talk like him someday. Every time we call him we yell "HOLA COLOMBIA, CÓMO ESTÁ MI PARCERO?!" He didn't believe me when I told him Aunt Lelsy is from Colombia. THE COOLEST THING IS THAT HE CAME TO STAKE CONFERENCE WITH US THIS SUNDAY! ACCEPTED A FECHA FOR THE 21 OF NOVEMBER AS WELL! He's definitely not a perfect investigator, but he's got the desire in his heart to change! 

This Saturday the member of the seventy wanted all the missionaries in Ochagavía to go to the afternoon session of Stake Conference. It was an interactive meeting where members got to participate and share their thoughts and feelings on certain subjects. When Día de Reposo came up I felt a really strong impression to talk about my World Championship experience in London and how I decided not to go. Everyone was oohing and ahhing and after I had so many people come up to talk to me. Including President and Hermana Barreiros who immediately told Elder Marquina and I that we were going to have another change together because of our comments in the conference and because all the members of the ward have basically begged that we stay together another change. So we got to know Saturday about our changes rather than yesterday. 

It was quite the adventure getting everyone to Stake Conference this weekend... Just like any other Sunday, it's just crazy the things we do as missionaries to get people to the meetings. 

We had such a cool lesson with one investigator who is not married but has a daughter and is living with his girlfriend. He's a really cool guy and we found him my first day here in Villa Sur actually! He's reading the Book of Mormon and he's progressed a ton! We taught the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity yesterday. Not going to lie, I was a little nervous. It was amazing though, because after we explained that having whoopie before marriage is a sin, he totally went quiet and said "Chiquillos, necesito arrepentirme, pueden ayudarme para que me case?" WE WERE PUMPED! He invited us to Once this Thursday and he said he’s going to talk to his girlfriend so that he can get things moving. He really wants to be baptized. 

Lovin' life, seeing miracles, and ready for another change in Villa Sur. We saw 2 Haitianos get baptized this weekend in the Stake and another Chileno as well! It got us pumped to baptize in our ward! 

The mission is tough, there are times that I feel inadequate and that the mission is not going the way I planned. I read a quote from President Hinckley that Mom gave me and I love it and think it’s so true. "Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. Most puts don't drop. Most beef is tough... Life is like an old time rail journey-delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinder, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." 

Love all of you! Thanks for the support! I'll be sending out about a million letters tomorrow! 

Love Ya All!

ELDER WEAVER 

Week 42...

October 27,2015

 Hey Fam and Friends,

This week was one of the weirdest and longest weeks of the mission. I'm not sure how to even describe it. We worked hard, but it was a week filled with ups and downs. 

To start off, we did not baptize Rosalia, but man were we close. I'll give you the run down. So we were going to pass by Rosalia's house on Thursday to teach the last lesson on tithing and then fix a baptismal interview for the next day so she could be baptized this Saturday. She left town on Thursday though so we had to pass by on Friday. We were super nervous before going over to her house, because she still has had a lot of doubts and we weren’t sure if she would say yes to a baptismal interview right after the lesson. We went just praying and hoping we could have the spirit with us and that she would see the urgency in being baptized this weekend. We taught a good lesson on tithing and she accepted to pay tithing when she's a member of the church!

So, then after I asked how she felt about her baptismal date for this Saturday and she gave us the typical "I don't feel prepared or ready, can we wait? I just don't want to get baptized and then feel like I made a huge mistake after." Elder Marquina responded "entendemos, está bien, podemos emperor.”( We understand, all right, we can accept.) I wasn’t going to leave there with a “no” though, she was so ready for baptism and I wasn’t going to have any of that, “ o, I’m not ready”. I whipped open Mosíah 18 and we read when the golden question is asked “ sty dispuesta llorar con los que loran (I’m willing to mourn with those who mourn) “I testified of the truthfulness of the gospel and how she would not feel like she made a mistake in the slightest. I pointed out that if she could name one thing bad she sees in our church that she could delay her baptism. She sat there for a while and thought, but told us that everything seems so perfect in our church. 

Elder Marquina (who is a convert to the church and the majority of his family aren't members) testified that baptism was the greatest decision he's ever made in his life. After lots of testifying she finally said, “sí, me quiero baptizer.” (Yes, I want to be baptized.) We were estatic! I called our DL immediately and told him to come over to our sector to perform a baptismal interview. He came and they had the interview and she passed with flying colors. Elder Nalesso told us that she is going to be a firm member of the church.

On our way back to the pension Rosalia called us and told us that she felt horrible but she had something to confess. She had lied to us and to Elder Nalesso about being married. She was divorced 25 years ago and the man she is living with is not legally married to her. BOOM! BAPTISM CANCELLED AND HEARTS BROKEN! It was definitely a huge blow for Elder Marquina and I, but we thought... she has the desire to be baptized so she'll definitely get married and this next change we can baptize her! We passed by the next day and it turns out that her boyfriend does not want to get married and definitely not for this cause. I wanted to just argue every point he tried to make with the scriptures and really let him have it, but luckily Elder Marquina took care of the situation in a different approach and it seems like we gained this guy’s trust and confidence. Rosalia will not be getting married anytime soon though, and we won't be baptizing this cambia (change) as this is the last week of this change. BUMMER? Yes. But what can ya do? 

Elder Marquina is doing terribly with his feet as well. We went all the way to Los Condes, which is about 2 hours from our sector two times this week! The Doc now thinks he has a fungus and he does not have psoriasis. We were in the pension practically all Saturday and I about lost my mind!  We did end up having 5 investigators in the capilla though! HUGE BLESSING! Just goes to show that God is aware of the events that have transpired this week. Sunday after church Elder Marquina needed to rest as well. I called Elder Nalesso and it turns out that his companion (his greenie) is going home this week and has no desire to work anymore. We immediately did a division on Sunday so that I could work with Elder Nalesso Sunday and all day yesterday. We took out the trash and found 6 new investigators in his sector. Just goes to show that when two missionaries are on the same page, good things happen. 

Today we played some fútbol and now I'm gonna take a nap. I’m wiped! Mom wants to know how my sector is and the only way I can describe it is by saying imagine all the people that spend their days at six flags in the summer. Yes, the people eating turkey legs and churros, and it seems as if they live to just pass their time in a theme park. Then there’s the Haitianos and they have a lot more class than a lot of the people here, but don’t speak Spanish very well.  Although there is a very different mind set and environment here than my last area, I love being here and I love the people and the opportunity I have to serve the Lord and share His gospel.  

After a frustrating week, we'll see how this last week goes! We have Stake Conference this weekend so that’ll be good! 

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that he suffered and died for me personally. He is my best friend, and I know he is constantly aware of me personally. I know this is the only true church on the Earth. I cannot and will not ever deny these precious truths that I know. Read the Book of Mormon and get to know Jesus Christ, once you know Him, you will know that this is the church that he directs and guides. Even after a hard week, I can say that I know all of this is true and that God's plan is always much greater than our own plan. 

I love all of you! VAMOS A CAMBIOS! 

Elder Weaver

Girl Put Your Records On...

Week 41...

Elder Weaver's favorite Chilean soccer team "La U."

October 20, 2015

Girl Put Your Records On

Hola hola mis queridos familiares y amigos,

 !Esta semana fue buenísima! (This week was awesome!) We had two investigators with fecha (a baptismal date) in the capital this week! Rosalia came and absolutely loved church. She felt so welcomed by the members and she feels good about her baptismal date for this upcoming Sunday. She still has a few doubts though and so it'd be wonderful if you guys could pray for her! We passed by her house yesterday to teach the Palabra de Sabiduría (the Word of Wisdom) and La Ley de Castidad (Law of Chastity), she has no problems there. She also gave us Once (Dinner here in Chile), which is always a good key indicator of the progress of our investigators (investigators). Our other prime investigator is Julio. He accepted a baptismal date for the 7th of November, but he basically just has not received a spiritual confirmation in his prayers that The Book of Mormon is true. He has so much faith, and he basically told us, "If there is a true church out there, it's you guys because you're the only church that has any real order and organization. Your doctrine is perfect as well, I just can't seem to get a spiritual answer in my prayers." I felt the spirit so strong with him, and we read Mosíah 18 when Alma was baptizing and asked “qué le impede  si está dispuesto llorar con los que lloran?" (What prevents you from crying with those that cry?) He says that he just wants a spiritual confirmation more than anything. We’re going to teach about “Cómo Reconocer El Espíritu” (How to feel and recognize the Spirit) this week, hopefully he comes around. 

I had divisions with Elder Nalesso this week. I don't know if I've talked about him, but he's from Brasil and he arrived in the mission field with me. He's one of my better friends on the mission and he happens to know DANNY CARNEY! Turns out Danny was in his branch in Sao Paulo for 2 changes, and Nalesso said he ate almuerzo (lunch) with them all the time! Small world huh? Elder Nalesso and I took advantage of our time together and found 6 new investigadores in one day. His comp also has some foot issues and so it was nice to be able to take out the trash the way I like to work. All and all, Elder Marquina and I found 14 new investigators this week! Not bad at all. Elder Nalesso would also like a BYU Cross Country shirt, Nike Dri fit like I have. He's willing to pay through the nose to get it too. So if Mom could send that our way, he’d greatly appreciate it. 

I got your package this week and the whole zone was so jealous of everything I got! Not to mention all the letters I received as well! Love you guys a ton! Totally lifted my spirits! THANKS AUNT CAMI AND SHELBY AND HANNAH FOR WRITING ME! Almost 10 months into the mish, but it's good to hear from you guys! Put a smile on my face for sure! 

We're teaching a lot of Haitianos lately, and lemme tell ya... it's not an easy task. I need to learn Creole pronto. All I know is "Cómo Saba? Saba bien." They love it when we greet them like that too. Like I've said before, they're just amazing people... it's too bad we can't communicate with them. Our MAC Jean Deecir is always working too and so he can only translate for us occasionally. 

We taught diezmo (tithing) in the gospel principles class this Sunday. We weren't prepared at all, but apparently we taught it so well that the investigator of the asistentes asked Elder Cummings after the class if she could pay tithing before she gets baptized. Pretty cool stuff! 

I'm reading the books Mom gave me and I love The Effective Missionary Book! It's so true that you can be exactly obedient and never see anything happen! The key is being an amazing teacher and contactor and also being exactly obedient. We're going to change some things up this week for sure! I read Alma 26 this morning and I gotta tell ya'll, I love that chapter. 26:16 (“Therefore let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men?  Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part of which I feel.” This really describes those times on the mission where you really can't express how amazing the Lord is in our lives. No puedo describer mi gozo. (I can’t describe my joy)

Los pies de Elder Marquina están en la hiel, y fuimos al medico dos veces esta semana. Vamos al medico de nuevo mañana, le van a operar parece.  (The feet of Elder Marquina are healing and we went to the doctor twice this week. We’re going to the doctor again this week. It looks like they’re going to have to do surgery.)

Mateo 18:3-4 is my ponderize scripture for the week. I love the mission; it's definitely anything but easy.  Way sweet that Jan Frodeno won the Ironman. Una bestia ese tipo.(He’s a beast) Ironman 2025 will be the year that I win, mark my words. 5 years after my Olympic appearance in Tokyo for Triathlon. I also loved reading the Willy Day face book posts Dad sent me from the BYU XC squad. I about died laughing at night. The motivo for my title is just that I heard that song on walking to this Internet cafe and it's just so catchy. 

Week 40!

October 13, 2015

What Lack I Yet?

HOLA CABROS CÓMO ESTAI? 

So this week was a lot of contacting as usual. Can't really say that we had any crazy spiritual experiences, but we worked hard and had fun while doing it, and that’s what really counts, am I right? 

Can't believe that Isaiah Wood is married. This next year is going to be crazy. Chris Lyman, Josh Timmons, Jeff Booher, Parker Garner, Tyler Willis, and Austin Atkinson will all be getting home soon and I can only imagine the amount of weddings that are about to take place within this next year. If you guys are reading this... I expect wedding invites! Wow... weren't we all just in Deacon's quorum yesterday? 

Yesterday we had almuerzo with the bishop and his family. He likes to cook comida española and we ate a dish called "ropa vieja" yesterday, which literally means “old clothes,” but man was it good! Nothin' like some good ol' ropa vieja for lunch!

I have officially decided that "Santos, Avanzad" is my favorite hymn in Spanish. Page 38 in the Spanish himnario... man, so good. 

Mom's weekly emails to me are better than general conference talks. I'm always blown away when I read mom's epistles. So thanks Mom for keeping me inspired and focused! Love, love, love your emails! Dads aren't half bad either. 

So this week I prayed to know "¿Qué me impide de ser el mejor misionero yo puedo ser? ¿Cómo puedo mejor Padre Celestial?" (“What prevents me from being the best missionary I can be? How can I be better Heavenly Father? ") I have to say he responded rather quickly or as they say here "altiro." He just said, "Connor, you know you have way more to give than what you're giving right now. You know that you're not 100 percent consecrated to the work. You know there are many more people you can be talking to, FEED MY SHEEP!" 

It's not that I'm not working hard or that I'm distracted. The thing is that as a missionary I can always improve. Really, as Latter- Day -Saints we can always improve. We had a zone conference with President this week where he talked about how we can become consecrated missionaries. We received so many palos. There is so much more that I can be doing to be the best missionary I can be! I'm working hard to literally just lose myself in the work and completely forget about myself. It's not easy to do, but I'm trying. I Love the mission and love how we can learn in so many different ways from so many different people and challenges that come your way while on the mission.

My scripture to ponderize last week was Mosíah 4:9 and this week is D&C 29:4. We're teaching some really great Haitianos right now named Remy and Bilus (I’m not sure how to spell her name). Remy speaks Spanish pretty well and understands everything. He'll be going to church with us this next Sunday. Bilus is really shy, but loves when we come to visit. The thing about teaching Haitianos is that you simplify everything and they are SO RECEPTIVE TO THE SPIRIT. I love em; they're so awesome and so humble. Contacting them is so easy as well. They know that we represent Christ and so they all let us in, the only problem is the language barrier. 

 Rosalia got sick this week and so did just about everyone else in our zone... There's a virus going around and luckily I've already gone through it. 

 Super happy and stoked to be here in Villa Sur. It's definitely a new world in comparison to Pajaritos, but I love it! 

 Have and awesome week everyone! Love you all and pray for you guys everyday! 

 Love ya!

 Elder Weaver 

Don't Ya Just Love Conference?

October 6, 2015

Don't Ya Just Love Conference?

 Hola mis queridos wachitos y wachitas, 

2 General Conferences down in the mish! I honestly can't even believe that! The time just flies by here in Santiago. I think I'll start out by saying THANKS MOM FOR BEING THE BEST MOM A DORK LIKE ME COULD EVER HAVE! Wow, Elder Holland made us all feel pretty darn trunky after his talk about the love our mothers have for us. I can honestly say his statement that the only love on earth that is equivalent or close to equivalent of the love that our Savior and Heavenly Father have for us is from our Mothers! So true in my case, I wouldn't be who I am today without my Mom! Thanks Mom for getting me where I am today! 

I really loved all of conference. I did watch it in English because President told us that all of us should watch the conference in our native tongue. So I was in the English room with all the gringos! The atmosphere of the gringo room is always awesome. Elder Ewell who arrived with me in the CCM and was in my first zone in Peñaflor is also in Ochagavía so we were joking how we are going to be together for every conference we have in the mission. President Monson talk was great, but he was definitely suffering towards the end. But it doesn’t matter because I know without a doubt that he is called of God and he is our living PROPHET today! How cool was it to see 3 new apostles called by God?  I have to say that I personally thought the testimony of Dale G. Renlund was clutch stuff. Another heart surgeon in the quorum and man did I love his testimony! I think as missionaries we tend to look at each contact and each lesson just as something we do because we are called to do it. A lot like Elder Renlund does heart surgery just because it's his profession, so he became emotionally detached from his patients. I myself need to focus more on looking at each Chileno or Haitiano as a beloved child of God who needs to hear this message. I need to show them the same love that Christ has for them in each contact and each lesson. Maybe his testimony touched each of you in a different way, but that's what I took from it. I loved President Uchtdorf's talk as well and it really was an answer to my prayers. We become obsessed with all the gospel doctrine as missionaries and we need to, but we need to evaluate how the gospel is working for us and SIMPLIFY! We need to start where we are and just work on progressing. So when anyone asks how the gospel is working for us we can say, "It's working wonderfully thanks for asking! Would you like to learn more about why it's working so well?" Exaltation is our goal discipleship is our journey! I also loved Holland's quote "Our mothers don't just bear us, but they continue to bear with us." Kim B. Clark said, "We don't have to be perfect. But we need to be really good at getting better!"  I LOVE CONFERENCE! 

I didn't see Priesthood Session, but I'm sure it was steezy as always. I'll have to read it in the upcoming Liahona. 

Other than conference…this week was pretty good! We did some service for our prime investigator Rosalia who went to conference! She is so great and has a baptismal date for the 24th! Pray for her because she still has a lot of doubts! I saw some really, really sad things this week as well. We were walking the streets and a 94-year-old lady approached us and told us that she was a member. She lives in the cruddiest conditions I've ever seen and it broke my heart to see her "home." She told us that animals live better than her and I can honestly say that is true. We're going to try our best to just help her out. She even has her tithing from the past 3 months that she wants to give, but she can't walk to church on her own to do it. The stake attendance for conference was not very well attended. We literally only had 220 members in the Sunday sessions. So many members here are basically in-actives and EVERYONE needs the missionaries.

Other than that, we just did a lot of walking and talking as usual here. We need to find more people to teach because a lot of the people we have been working with aren't progressing. It's different here because there are SO MANY IN-ACTIVES.  Yesterday I talked to people that were baptized in the 80's and they still live here, but they just have forgotten everything, and have no desires to come back to Church. 

I Love the mission, I'm learning a lot, and I'm trying to just keep positive in every moment. 

Love all you guys, have a great week! 

Elder Weavercito 

Week 38...Ochagavía

September 29, 2015

OCHAGAVÍA

 Hola hola mis queridos,

So, I got sent to the most flyte (Ghetto) zone in the mission! OCHAGAVÍA in the sector Villa Sur! This is the only zone in all of Chile that does not allow Hermanas to serve within the stake. So it's pure sacerdocio (priesthood) here! It's definitely a little bit of a culture shock. I was in one of the wealthiest sectors in the mission with one of the biggest wards and now I'm in one of the most ghetto sectors in the mission where our ward attendance last week was a whopping 28 people during sacrament meeting. Needless to say... there's a lot of work to be done! 

 So my new companion is Elder Marquina from Trujillo Peru! I'm the compañero mayor but who really cares! The guy is a total stud and we're going to get along just great this change. He's actually from my group! He'll be going home the same time I go home, so it's really cool to be working with him! He was a Division 1 soccer player before he left on his mission and he really had to decide between serving a mission or going pro in his respective sport! Sounds familiar.... The good thing about athletes is that we tend to work super hard on the mission. So I am going love being with him! The biggest problem right now is that he has a major foot problem. He got an infection in his foot and when they cut it open on Friday he could hardly even walk on Sunday. We had to stay in the pension for 3 hours after church while he put his foot in hot water with salt. I about went bonkers in those three hours, but it's all-good. I'm fine now! He's one of 6 siblings in his family and his mom and dad aren't members. But he just now slapped me on the back and is jumping up and down as I write because his Mom wrote him and said, “that his mom and dad are going to get married so that his dad can get baptized once he goes back home”! WOOHOO! 

 So changes’ meeting went great as always. We all left super pumped for this change. The cool thing about Ochagavía is that as of about 3 months ago it is no longer the WORST STAKE IN THE WORLD! FELICIDADES A OCHAGAVIA! Ha-ha, there are SO MANY INACTIVES HERE IT'S UNREAL! It definitely humbled me being in sacrament meeting with only 23 other members, instead of 180 members like the ward I just left. 

 We share the ward with the Asistentes but they hardly ever work in their sector. Our bishop is a top-notch guy and so is his wife! He's from Spain so he's got a different accent for sure. All the members are SUPER NICE and I've never seen such faithful members in my life. 

 Ochagavia is a place where missionaries go to learn more than anything. It's really humbling. There's probably more Haitianos in our sector than Chilenos. I'm not even kidding. It's super hard because they don't speak Spanish! They speak Creol! We have a recent convert named Jean than helps us translate though because he speaks perfect Spanish! We had a super powerful lesson in Creol with a new investigator named Sergot! We also have a new investigadora named Rosalia who accepted a baptismal date for the 24 but she still has a lot of things that need to be answered before she gets baptized! 

 This sector has pretty much been dying for the last 6 months because the last missionary here just finished his mission. Turns out that they weren't doing much here! 

 Other than that, I'm all good and super pumped to be here! It's a bit different going to bed with gunshots going off, but other than that... I love it here! It's cool to have Flytes and drunks all wanting to talk to me again! 

 Love all you guys! Thanks for the support! THANKS FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES! ENJOY GENERAL CONFERENCE! I'm looking forward to seeing who the next three apostles are going to be! Enjoy Chili’s Molten Lava Cake after Priesthood Session for me!  (This is a Weaver Priesthood Session tradition!  The boys love it!) 

Que Estén Bien Chicillos! 

Elder Weaver 

My Next 20 Years!

September 22, 2015

My Next 20 Years!

 I think I'll take a moment, celebrate my age, ending of an era and the turning of a page. Now it's time to focus in on where I'll go from here, Lord have mercy on my next 20 years. My next twenty years will be the best years of my life. Gonna raise a little family and hang out with my wife. Spend precious moments with the one's that I hold dear. Make up for any lost time, in my next 20 years. In my next 20 years, in my next 20 years! 

 So if nobody caught it that's a line from Tim McGraw's "My Next 30 Years." Give that song a play for me and think about me, there's a good way to remember me. I was singing it all day on Sunday with Elder Ramirez and it about drove him crazy. The translation in Spanish isn't as cool when I was trying to explain it to him. 

 So this week was absolutely insane. I'm not really sure where to begin. I guess first and foremost is the earthquake! Wednesday was pretty rad. I was on divisions with Elder Montero from Costa Rica and we were in a lesson with Darwin when the earthquake hit. Darwin is a little depressed because his girlfriend broke up with him and he was basically just like "¡llevame no más Dios, llevame!" When the earthquake started. I wasn't really freaked out, I was actually just laughing because Darwin was so hung up on this girl.  The fact of the matter is that although it was 8.3 or something like that on the Richter scale. It was really just long and it was super strong but not fast... the house was just moving slowly for a minute or so. So that was a fun night! I'm all-good though! Pray for the people & the missionaries in the north! That is where most of the damage took place. Chile is the most volatile country I've ever heard of. Since I've been here, the north flooded, volcano in the south, now an earthquake and a tsunami to top it all off! Fortunately as a missionary you basically just feel the comfort of the Lord 24/7 and I've yet to feel like I've been in danger. 

 This past Friday was Chile's independence day and we had such a good time at the ward activity! We brought 3 investigators and they loved it as well! Our ward has so much talent! We have a professional singer in our ward and he sang and everyone was going nuts! Not going to lie, the man can sing! The funny thing about Hermano Leiva is that he sings in English perfectly but doesn't understand a thing he's saying. I'll show you the videos of the party when I get home next year! Super cool activity! The Chileno thing to do is dance "cueca" which is actually pretty cool! They all dress up as cowboys basically and the girls wear these super beautiful dresses! I was going to buy Mia one, but I don't know what size to get! Anyways, needless to say... we ate way too much this weekend! The Chilenos literally celebrate the 18th of September ALL WEEKEND LONG. I never want to eat Asado or Empanadas ever again! 

 As far as how my birthday went... On Sunday night La Familia Tapia surprised me at their house when we had an appointment with them. They made SO MUCH FOOD and just sang "Feliz Cumpleaños" It was such a surprise!  I felt super loved though! I'll never forget the Tapia family or Hermano Juan who was also there with his wife! He's been helping us out A TON with all these investigadoras that live sola so that we can teach them! (We have to have another man if a woman is alone). 

 As far as my real birthday went, I just worked as normal. I was on divisions with Elder Montero again and we put a baptismal date down with María Jose. She´s going to be baptized with Claudia this Saturday! We also found a new family to teach yesterday as well! 

 In the night yesterday I opened your package and it was AWESOME! THANK YOU SO MUCH MOM AND DAD! You guys rock! President and Hermana Barreiros called me as well to wish me a happy birthday! President even sang in Portuguese and everything to me. I also found out yesterday that I HAVE CHANGES! Yep, after 4 and a half months here in Pajaritos 3... I'm leaving! Not going to lie, it was bittersweet! We have two baptisms this weekend! Fortunately President gave me permission to go to the service this weekend! 

 All and all it was the best week of my life here! Ate a ton of food, and now I get to say bye to everyone in the ward tonight! Everyone's super sad that I'm leaving, and honestly so am I! Hermana Tapia already said that she wants to talk to President Barreiros so that I stay longer! Elder Ramirez is pretty sad too! We really get along well! He wants to go to general conference after the mission with me! Haha! 

 That's about it! In the words of Kenny Chesney "Don't blink cause just like that you're 6 years old and you take a nap, wake up and you're (20 and you're on the mission and going into your 3rd sector)." Nah, the song doesn't go like that, but close enough.

 Love you all!

Love the mission! 

Love the Lord!

Love life!

LOVE PAJARITOS!!!!

Elder Weaver 

La Ciudad (the city)

El Campo