¿Bautizamos Catchai?

Elder Weaver's last email...

Hola mis queridos, 

Yet another change has come and gone, yet I find myself in the same exact internet café I was sitting in a week ago. Nope, nothing changed for Elder Ramirez and I. We will have another 6 weeks together here in the good ol' sector of Pajaritos Tres. Fortunately we have investigators that can be baptized this change, so we're both happy to still be here. Should be a good change. 

This Sunday we baptized Javiera! She doesn't show a lot of emotion, but during the baptismal service she started crying during one of the talks. The ward does a really really good job with the baptismal services... when they're right after sacrament meeting. If we have a baptism on a Saturday hardly anyone shows. But a good portion of the ward sticks around after sacrament to support so that's nice. Also, Veronica, Martina, and Florenica received the Holy Ghost Sunday as well! I got to confirm Martina a member of the church and give her a blessing and all that! It was a super cool experience for me, and it just motivates me even more to work even harder this next change. The ward has had 5 baptisms in the last 3 weeks between us and the sister missionaries so it's safe to say that the bishop is very pleased with our efforts. This is a ward that doesn't usually see a lot of baptisms... Heck, Chile doesn't see a whole lot of baptisms in general. 

This week I thought a lot about families. I think it's safe to say that the whole gospel of Jesus Christ is centered around families. We ask a lot of people "Cree que va a vivir con su familia para siempre?" (Do you believe that you will live with your family forever?) A lot of people say "sipo" (of course).The question is "cómo?" (how?) I love my family more that anything else in this world, but I know that if I don't do my part while I'm here there's no way that I can be with them for eternity. It's sad to see so many people living without a clue why they're here or what their purpose is. I'm here to tell ya that just living your life casually won't get ya to where ya need to be or want to be. We all have a purpose for why we're here, thinking that God is just going to save you by grace alone is crazy. Thinking there's a lot of paths that lead to God doesn't exactly make sense either. There's a reason that Jesus Christ organized a church while he was here on earth. There's a reason he called 12 apostles. There's a certain power that he had in order to perform miracles, and he gave that power to his 12 apostles. There's a reason he was baptized by John the Baptist and not some random guy on the side of the road. It's all very logical really. This gospel is hope, this gospel is love, this gospel is pure happiness, but just like anything else in this life WE HAVE TO WORK TO GAIN A REWARD. That reward is living with your families together forever. I am so grateful that I have this amazing gospel in my life. I am so blessed. There really is no reason in the world why I should ever feel down because I am beyond blessed. I have the best family in the world and I am grateful for the consistent SCRIPTURES AND PRAYERS AND FAMILY HOME EVENINGS that we did daily and weekly. 

Elder Ramirez and I have had our fair share of lessons with people that purely want to Bible bash and all those stories are great, but I think it's even better when the people literally have no clue what they're even saying. This lady was super offended by me saying that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church on the face of this earth. She then went on talking about how she finds the Virgin Mary to be very, very, very important. I asked her why and she had no clue. I talked about not worshipping idols like it says in Exodus 20 with the 10 commandments and she had no clue that a commandment like that even existed. I asked when was the last time she went to church and she said 20 years ago. She stuck it out though and just kept saying that the Catholic church is her church and she's going to die catholic.

Entonces, estoy tranquilo. (So, I'm taking it easy.) Ojalá que catchen mis frustraciones. (I hope that you understand some of my frustrations). I don't think I ever told Dad about the Chilean spanish... catchar is entender and everyone uses vosotros without the s. Yes, cómo estai is a thing. The thing that really throws you through a loop is ¿de donde soi tu? I don't even know what more to write or where this email even went, but I hope all of you have an awesome week! I love all of you! Send letters! I love to read them, I'd love to know what's going on in the States. I really don't hear much down here. TALK TO EVERYONE ABOUT THE GOSPEL!

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Weaver 

Bautizamos!

Muy Buenas Tardes de Chile Mis Queridos,

This week was obviously one of the best weeks I've had in the mission. We baptized Veronica, Florencia, and Martina! The Grizzweaver Curse remains strong though as the wedding on Saturday night did not go perfectly. The judge was supposed to be in the stake center at 7 to marry Daniel and Veronica. The judge wasn't there though and no one had her number because apparently they're not allowed to give out their numbers... So we were all just waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting, until FINALLY AT 8 she shows up in a taxi. Veronica was freaking out because she wanted to be baptized SO BADLY. She kept asking Elder Ramirez and I if she would be able to be baptized still if the judge didn't show up. Obviously no, but we kept assuring her that the judge was going to show up. This small road block provided a good oppurtunity for us to talk about opposition in all things and how Satan also plays a role in everything we do. The honest truth was that I was panicking too. A lot of her family and friends were there and they had already prepared SO MUCH FOOD: Holy crap do Chilenos know how to eat. Elder Ramirez and I ate way too much after the wedding ceremony. So there ya go guys, the Grizzweaver curse continues to affect my life! Poor people that are associated with me always get to take the brunt of things...

The baptisms went wonderfully the next day! A good portion of the ward was there to support and we had a wonderful musical number by the primary to wrap it all up. I personally baptized Martina and Elder Ramirez baptized Veronica and their uncle who served his mission in Uruguay baptized Florencia. The water was frigid cold. That's alright though because the spirit warmed us right up. I almost broke down as I started to say "Habiendo sido comisionado por Jesucristo..." It's my first time touching water on the mish people... cut me some slack. This family is so amazing and I know they're going to stay strong for the rest of their lives. We already have plans to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead as well! Then a year from now we'll be heading to the temple so that this amazing family can be sealed for time and all eternity! Guess what? I'll still be here!!! That'll be so cool to be able to see that! The amazing thing is that I made a personal goal to baptize and seal a family on a mission, and it looks like I'll be able to accomplish that goal!  

The other miracle of the week is that Javiera decided that she wants to be baptized this next Sunday as well! So we're way stoked about that! I had to perservere through a lot of hardship but it's all paying off. Goes to show that if we pray as if everything depends on the Lord, but work as if everything depends on us that you do see miracles! 

I went to the CCM this morning because my comp has foot problems and had to go in to see the doc. While I was there I saw none other than ELDER BRADLEY CARNEY AND ELDER CHANDLER BROWN!!! It was way cool to catch up with them. Crazy that I'm already 7 months into my mission and they are only 3 weeks into the CCM. Time flies. They're both going to Santiago Sur so I'll be seeing them in November when our missions meet up to see an apostle speak. All the teachers at the CCM remebered me too, and it was great to be able to speak spanish with them as all the greenies just watched in awe. 

I'm finishing El Libro de Mormón today in spanish and I have to just say that I know without a doubt that this book is true. The Book of Mormon proves that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that we do have the true church of Jesucristo on the earth today. Chapter 7 of Moroni obviously talks alot about the importance of faith and hope and charity. I know that with these 3 attributes we can see changes in our lives and in the lives of others. A lot of people in my sector are atheist and they always ask questions like "who created God?" "Where did God come from?" "How do you know that feelings are from the spirit and not just your mind fabricating those sensations?" There's a lot of anwers to be given, but the main thing is that I have faith. I have so much faith that I know that what I am feeling is from God and not from ym own mind. I challenge everyone that reads my emails to develop their faith everyday. Read the scriptures and learn for yourself who God is and how he works with you individually. LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE SPIRIT!!! 

Love this gospel, love this mission, and love my Savior Jesus Christ. Now let's see what changes are coming my way this next week....

Love You all so much. Thank you for the support and love. 

Chao,

Elder Weaver