Independence Day in Chile

Hola!

 

I love reading about everyone´s lives! Dad! I forgot to mention you in my list of shout outs last week. I love how well you describe what´s going on. I can get a good idea of all the important changes from your emails. I also think it´s nuts how much you ride your bike :P The photo of High Adventure was particularly fun to see. That´s too bad about Max´s first week of high school. Keep up the good work, Max! Do what will make you happier in the long run! And I hope Maia´s school schedule works out better. Maybe God has a special purpose. He usually does.

I also like reading about my friends on missions. I love hearing about the success! Tommy´s mission in Washington seems to be doing particularly well.

 

These weeks in Chile, I´ve been learning about patience and animo (I´m not sure what the direct translation of "animo" is... It´s kinda a cross between energy and excitement). The work is slow right now. These weeks we´ve been doing a lot of knocking doors and contacting people, but we don´t have any investigators that are progressing. People that we used to teach either moved away or don´t answer the door anymore. We´ve been getting false phone numbers and people aren´t answering when we have their real numbers.

 

We´re not perfect missionaries. We´re far from it. But there´s always more to improve, and that´s what we´re patiently trying to do. I said I learned about animo this week, and that´s important because even if times are tough, we need to be joyful. It´s normal to be sad, but there´s no point in moping. It´s like the great saying that I always liked framed in the Sheppard´s house: ¨Keep calm and carry on."

 

The Lord is never in our debt. It´s always the other way around. When we are obedient, we receive blessings immediately. When we prepare to receive the spirit, when we listen for it, when we act on it, we will always be doing the Lord´s work, every if we can´t see the fruits of that work.

 

It´s like Abinadi who preached to the wicket priests of King Noah. He was burned to death without seeing a single person repent and come unto Christ, but little did he know that he touched the heart of one named Alma. Alma went on to baptize thousands of people, and his son as well. The work was moved forward and miracles happened. I can´t say that I always follow the promptings of the Spirit. I´m not perfect. That´s why we´re here. That´s part of the plan. We knew it would be this way before we even arrived. I know I´m doing the right thing by serving a mission. I know that this is the Lord´s work and we are representatives of Him. I´m grateful to be here I´m excited to continue growing. I pray to be more receptive to the spirit. 

I got a bit rambly in this email, but I hope what I said helps someone somewhere :) Life´s awesome!

-Elder Connor Christopherson

PS: I got a boatload of DearElders today. (mail strike is over)

PPS: This next week is 18 de Septiembre! It´s the independence day of Chile and it´s a really really big deal here. There are lots of Chilean flags everywhere we go. We won´t be able to knock doors for a few days because it get´s a little crazy, but there will be a celebration in the chapel and we´ll have fun with the members there :)