Hello all!
So I suppose you're wondering why I'm writing so late today.
So this week was actually really good! It had it's moments of absolute terribleness, particularly one day where I really didn't want to exist, but overall this week was actually a dramatic improvement. I have a lot of confidence that my mission President is a very very inspired man. He actually wrote to me and told me that these changes this change will make a big difference, even though nothing changed at all. And he was absolutely right!
First, some funny stories:
So this week I ran into a road sign. The chileans here are a little short, so I'm actually taller than most of them. I was walking down the street distracted talking to Elder Hadlock when before I know it I get a speed limit sign to the face. It was painful, but also so funny that tears were rolling down our faces.
This is a story of last week but I forgot to write about it. Elder Schley had this really bad habit of saying the word ''literally'' wrong in almost every single sentence. In district class last week he said that an investigator was ''literally golden'' which made me laugh in my mind quite a bit. Let's sure hope he's not teaching anyone that's literally golden.
The show spongebob here is called ''bob de spongo'' (translates to Bob of sponge) I've come to find out. This Sunday when we went to a member's house after church for lunch their little daughter was watching spongebob and she said she was watching Bob of sponge and she had to say it a few times before I understood what she was saying and I was so confused. I figured that spongebob was his name so they'd just leave it like spongebob, or at least spongobob, but I guess not!
Also, some more Chilean news made me laugh this week. I saw one headline that said ''Parejas de roncadores no pueden dormir!'' which is ''Partners (girlfriends) of snorers can't sleep!'' I thought that was downright hilarious. Not only was it obvious, but it was considered newsworthy? Really? Really now? You need to have more crime in your country.
Kidding, kidding.
Also there was another news story about how street protesters were distracting bus drivers and bus drivers were getting really annoyed because they felt that it wasn't safe for them to drive under such distracting conditions. That's more or less normal, but the funny thing was that a news anchor was interviewing a bus driver while he was driving the bus! Yes, a bus driver was complaining about being distracted while driving to a news anchor, while he was driving!! He was talking to the anchor while occasionally looking over to the window to glance to the road. I thought it was just about the funniest thing I've ever seen.
BTW the reason I'm seeing so much news is that two families that we have lunch with regularly always have the news on, so I always catch bits and pieces.
Another thing that I forgot to talk about last week was the ward halloween party down here! It was a lot of fun, because Elder Hadlock is black and I'm white we dressed as ''men in black'' and it worked perfectly. We dressed in black suits and black ties and bought sun glasses for the occasion. I'll need to send pictures because it was pretty awesome. Sadly not many people in the ward had seen men in black so they all thought that we were the mafia, but hey that works too.
A quick note to my parents: If you ever get a friend request on my facebook account from anyone that has a latino name, it's definitely going to be someone that I gave my facebook to so always go ahead and friend them. There were a few people that asked for my fb this week that's why I say it.
Now to talk about the people! This week nothing much happened in the way of teaching lessons, so sadly I don't get to give you much of an update on any of our people that we're teaching. But there were a few developments. First we taught another small lesson to La Mamá de Marcelo about prophets. We really want to teach her all of lesson 1 but we keep finding ourselves with not enough time. What is a blessing is that she's finally healthy enough to be taught again, after about 3 months of hardly ever seeing her. Also, Cristian has told us that he has completely stopped smoking and drinking, which is no less than a miracle. He's the awesome investigator that we can hardly ever ever teach because he's never at home, but he really wants to be baptized. We keep in touch with him by calling him every day however, and in one of these calls he told us that he isn't smoking anymore. So that's super happy news, we just need to help him get to church. In less happy news, the new investigator that Elder Hadlock and the zone leader Elder Trancoso found while we were on divisions a few weeks back dropped us. Apparently he was really amazing and very readily accepted a baptismal date, so we were really sad about it. Likely he got into some anti material. When we passed by his house his Mom answered and told us that they were talking and they both agree that they don't really want anything, then kindly invited us to go away and never come back. It was definitely a little rough, but those kinds of things happen in the mission, and you just have to come up from it and not let it get you down.
Also! Remember that gringa that I told you about a few weeks ago that we talked to? The other day Elder Hadlock and I were contacting in a block of apartments and we accidentally knocked on her door, she answered and surprised us by speaking English. This time though, after talking for a few minutes she asked us what the core of our beliefs were as Mormons. I wasn't expecting her to ever ask about our religion, even though we're missionaries, so I was pleasantly surprised. We were able to give her a quick version of The Restoration in English, which was actually a lot of fun. I felt like Elder Calhoon in The Best Two Years (''Oh sorry, I don't speak Dutch. - Oh well neither do I!'') The problem was that I don't have the first vision memorized in English so I had to do that part in Spanish, but she grew up learning Spanish and English at the same time because her Mom is Chilean and her Dad is North American so she could still understand me. She prefers English however because she's spent all her life in the states with only small few month visits to Chile every now and then, so she really wants a Book of Mormon in English. The problem is, I don't know how to get her one quickly. I guess we'll see about that. It's very different teaching a North American, because they're much more sincere and learn a lot quicker, but they also have a ton more doubts. Especially in the topic of gay marriage, which isn't much of a thing yet here in Chile. But I hope that we can continue (is that how it's spelled?) teaching her because she is very sincere in her search for the truth. She was previously Catholic but doesn't agree with a lot of what they do, especially regarding praying to saints. So we'll see what happens!
SO the real development of the week was an English class that we started up to try to find new investigators. We've been teaching La'Cote and her family every week but that's kind of been a private tutor type thing, which missionaries don't really do all that often. We decided to keep doing that because we're also teaching them the gospel, but we decided to also hold an English class in the chapel every Saturday that would be advertized throughout the city. So this week Elder Hadlock and I had a good time coming up with the curriculum and making flyers and handouts and putting them all over the city. Here the only really good English teachers are gringos, because the difficult thing about English is the pronounciation of words and the accent, so gringo teachers are the only ones who can really teach it right. So on the top of the flyer we put ''Free English Classes'' and then right underneath we have ''Taught by gringos.'' Between those two things we figured we'd see a lot of people, and we actually did! A lot more than we expected. Usually when Elders start classes up fresh they get 3 or 4 people for the first lesson, but we had 12! It was awesome. Elder Hadlock and I had a great time teaching such an unexpectedly large class size, and we got to know all of them personally. They're all really cool people, and I hope that they all keep coming. The first lesson went really well, so I think the size of the classes will increase and not decreased. At the beginning of the class we asked why people came and a few of them said that they wanted to meet and know the Elders a little better because they've always been curious about them, and so we're hoping that we'll be able to become friends with them and eventually teach them. So, success! It felt good, especially after last change when just about everything that we did flopped in our face.
There are a few more stories, but I'll have to save them for next week. So like I said at the beginning of the email, this week was a ton better. Elder Hadlock and I don't really know what happened to us last change, but whatever it was it wasn't good. Now we're both eating healthier, exercising better, and doing just about everything a lot better. We have the excitement of the missionary work back, finally, which is awesome. So here's to a great change! We're both super excited for whatever comes.
So, I should probably tell you why I'm writing so late today. Today both Talca zones held this awesome activity that was so great that the assistants to the President gave us Conti peeps special permission to wake up at 5:00 and travel at 6:00 to Talca to be able to participate, then end our P-day as late as necessary. The activity was awesome, from Talca the zones took a bus to an awesome garden type thing in the middle of nowhere (it was gorgeous though, I love the Chilean fields and the hills) where we played American football, futbol, and kickball, then had a big barbecue with everyone. It was a lot of fun.
So, I know that a big thing happened recently in the church, which I actually didn't find out about until today through all of your emails. I know that my family is as strong in their faith as it gets, so what I have to say here is more intended for other people who may end up reading this outside of my family, especially people my age. Please, please remember that the Church of Jesus Christ is not a company. It is not a business, it is not a nonprofit, it is the Church of Jesus Christ. The Church never has, and never will respond to protests or to the demands and desires of ''revolutionaries'' who feel it their responsibility to modernize, update, or otherwise revise the Church of our God. If you believe in the Church, if you believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet, you must acknowledge that these men are inspired and chosen servants of God. There is no way to profess allegiance or belief of the church and then suggest any kind of change to the policy that the Lord's chosen servants have set forth, it just doesn't make any sense. You're in or you're out, or else you are water that is ''lukewarm'' as Christ says it in one of his many great discourses, or ''salt that has lost it's savor.''
Now with that said, remember that their are answers to every question, and to every doubt. When we're knocked back, or something happens that we don't understand, we always need to go back to the roots of our testimony. Those things that the Spirit has communicated dirrectly to our understanding that can't be shaken, and from that basis of faith, any principle can become testimony. If those roots aren't there, seek to grow them, or else when the days get hotter your faith will wither as a plant without root. Stay firm, things aren't going to be getting any easier. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints is the true church of God upon the earth, and nothing will ever shake that testimony.
I wanna say more but I gotta go, bye! I love you all!
Love,
Elder Fox
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