Man, not going to lie this week was a tough one. Elder Ortiz and I decided that we were going to "kill" most of our investigators this week and try and find new ones. The term "kill" means that we´re leaving them because they´re not progressing or keeping their commitments. It´s just a waste of time to visit people who don´t really want to change their lives. The hard part about leaving investigators is that you have to do a lot of tracting. So this week we didn´t have a lot of lessons, and on Thursday I had my first day without a single lesson. Yes, it was definitely one of the harder days for me on my mission. Tuesday was a pretty amazing day though, so I´m going to start there and then talk about something that I´ve been thinking a lot about this week.
So Tuesday we started tracting. We started in this street or little area called Villa Chiloe. We prayed a lot the day prior and the morning of to find miracles. Little did I know that literally the first house we contacted would be our first miracle. This house had one lady sitting outside with her daughter and a kid who was handicapped. They were listening to music and just enjoying the morning. I felt immediately impressed to talk with them because she had a kid in a wheel chair sitting by her and I just have a soft spot for people with disabilities because of my uncles Tyson and Timmy (they were handicapped and passed away)! So it was a golden opportunity to talk about Tyson and Tim and how Grandma and Grandpa needed the gospel to help them with their trials and challenges concerning having two handicapped sons. Sure enough, the lady let us in. Unfortunately she doesn't believe in God. So, we taught about how God is our Loving Heavenly Father. Bang, the question came up. If God is our loving Heavenly Father, why is my son handicapped? Boom, I had my time to shine. I talked about how her handicapped son is literally an angel right now. He will live with Heavenly Father again because he had to bear the trial of cerebral palsy for his whole life. I talked about how Heavenly Father gives us trials to help us grow. I talked about how with the gospel we can find peace that can't be found in any other way. Honestly, I can't remember everything I said, but it was a powerful lesson. She wants to hear more and we hope to she her progress. She really liked what we had to say about God, but she still doesn't know if he's really there for her.
The next house we contacted was a man named Washington. Haha yes, Washington. He was pretty much blind and had really bad hearing also. This was the first lesson that I've had where I actually started tearing up in front of the investigator. He immediately expressed how happy he was to see us and how he's been feeling lost and alone. Long story short, we taught him and his wife Rejena (who has breast cancer) about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We taught about hope and happiness. We even talked a little about the Plan of Salvation. Washinton totally started crying and we just gave him a big hug. I told him that I knew without a doubt that Heavenly Father loved him and that Christ know EXACTLY what he is going through and his Atonement can enable him to feel peace even with all the burdens he has in his life. Pretty awesome lesson, we hope to see them both progress as well.
Last but not least for Tuesday, we contacted a lady by the name of "L". She was smoking a cig when we knocked on her door and her son was actually in his room doing drugs with his friends while we taught her a lesson.... so that was cool. He came out a few times to talk with his mom and he was definitely as high as a kite, so sad to see that stuff but I've actually taught quite a few lessons where people are drinking or smoking. Either in the room we're teaching in or in another room. "L" confessed how she wants her life to change. She wants to stop smoking, she wants her son to not be a drug addict, and she wants her husband to stop cheating on her. Pretty heavy stuff right? Yeah, we get that ALL THE TIME. So we taught about Heavenly Father and the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how with the gospel we can overcome all of our trials and temptations of this life. She was really interested and we hope to see her progress. So that was Tuesday with some other lessons of past investigators or inactives mixed in. I thought that the week was going to be awesome, but like I said.... Thursday we didn't teach a single lesson! We did have a ward FHE on Thursday night though and it went really well!
Friday we taught an excommunicated member named "R." Unfortunately, him and his friend JC were high as can be when we passed by and they had a crap ton of alcohol all over their house when we came in. "R" was so high that he even confessed his sin that got him excommunicated, but he did say how he wants to come back to the Church desperately because he's been out of the church for 10 years. He talked about how hard it is to leave drugs and alcohol behind because now he's addicted. He actually called us earlier this week because he feels like now is the time to finally come back to Church. He does have a testimony and I know that God loves him, but the road is going to be really hard for him.
So not going to lie, many times I'm sitting in a lesson and I go "holy crap, here I am. In Chile with people that are drinking and smoking as I try and spread the good news of the gospel. One day I was running to the finish line for a national championship win in Miwaukee and now here I am, in a room full of booz and smoke talking about Christ and the atonement."
With that, I would like to say that I KNOW this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I wouldn't be here if I didn't know that this gospel could change lives. Trust me, I could be spending my time doing other things right now, but I'm here because this is the most important thing in my life. Even on the hard days, I am so blessed just to have what I have and know what I know.
I love all of you guys and think about you all the time. I have the best family and friends on Earth and I feel your prayers everyday!
Have the best week ever!
Love,
Elder Weaver
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