Queridos Amigos y Familiares,
¿Qué tal? ¿Qué cuenta? Estoy todo bien, pero esta semana pasada fue muy difícil. Estoy aprendiendo lo que significa ser humilde. Mi compañero y yo estamos trabajando muy duro, pero este sector es tan duro. La gente no quiere recibirnos para nada, y muchos nos rechazan. Aunque recibimos muchos rechazos, estoy feliz. Siempre trato de tener una sonrisa en mi cara. Ojalá que siempre yo pueda tener una sonrisa durante mi misión igual en los momentos difíciles y momentos de gozo. Yo sé que soy un representante del Señor y si la gente no reconoce eso, no es mi culpa, la única cosa puedo controlar es mi actitud.
Anyways, this week was definitely a tough one. Lots of doors slammed in our faces this week. Lots of commentaries that definitely hurt. One day a man flat out just yelled at me because I'm American and he was saying how our church only sends gringos to Chile so that we can take advantage of them. Yo respondí "no estoy aprovechando de nadie, amo a los chilenos." The man wasn't having any of it though and slammed the door in my face after some other commentaries. He told Elder Ramirez that he had no problem with him though, so I guess that's good. Needless to say it took everything within in me not to fight back. The natural man’s tendency is to just flat out yell at the guy. I constantly have to think, "How would Christ act in this situation." I know that Jesus Christ suffered a lot worse than me. Christ had a lot worse rejections than I've ever had on the mission. The funny thing is that we're only walking a little bit of the path that Christ walked. People HATED Christ and the same applies today. People do not want to receive the truth; they "don't have time to hear it."
The good news of the week. La familia tapia is progressing like crazy. They are so ready for baptism; they only need to get married. We had un asado today for p-day actually with them. Man, it was SO GOOD. You really learn to appreciate Chileno sausage down here. SO GOOD, MUY RICO. They already have a family proclamation and everything hanging in a nice frame in their house and they attend ALL 3 HOURS OF CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY! We had probably the most spiritual lesson of my mission this past week with them. We talked about the atonement. The father, Daniel, is a member but he's been inactive for 25 years now. He's reactivating and has a real desire to change his life, but he doesn't feel ready or worthy to baptize his wife and daughters. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER, I got to testify of what I love most about our Church, the power of the atonement. He started crying and the spirit was SO STRONG. That one moment made the whole week of suffering worth it. Daniel still has a long way to go, but man is it refreshing just to see someone who understands that we have to repent to live with God and Jesus Christ. We aren't just saved because we believe. SO AWESOME to see someone who FINALLY GETS THE PICTURE.
We did acquire 10 new investigators this week. The mission has changed a little bit. We no longer teach inactive members. Turns out that the Quorum of the twelve doesn't like that Santiago Oeste y Sur missionaries are turning into home teachers just to have a certain number of lessons in the week. We teach inactives, but only if the family is incomplete and someone can be baptized. That's why we've been out in the street a lot lately.
I forgot to write my thoughts about the death of Boyd K. Packer. When I heard that he passed away, I was definitely sad. President Packer has always been one of my favorites and his last talk shows the importance of being sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. That's my main goal for all the people I teach. I don't want them to just get baptized, because that's not enough; it's just the first step. I want eternal families.
Elder Ramirez is definitely a blessing, he's super funny and we've had some really funny experiences. The mission isn’t easy. This P Day was hectic because we had to go into Santiago to renew my visa. It's crazy that I can basically do everything on my own now. I understand people and I can respond and everything. I renewed my very own visa today, all in Spanish, all by myself. Just 6 months ago I didn't even know what the heck was going on when I landed in Chile.
Love this gospel, love my Savior, and I know he knows each one of us personally. I just want everyone to get the picture immediately sometimes, and it's definitely a trial on my patience. Tenga la mejor semana de sus vidas.
Con Muchísimo Amor,
Elder Weaver
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