New investigators and donkey milk!!!

Well this week was great. We started to work better or we started to see the fruits from our labors. The zone leaders taught on diligence and why it’s important. I thought that was a great thing for the whole zone to learn more about. My companion and I started to work on that and we also learned a lot this week about LOTS of stuff. 

We were able to talk to a lot of people this week and we found many more people to teach. We still have to wait to see if they will progress but it was great to talk to them and teach them a little bit but we will see this next week or so. 

We have an investigator that has been progressing a lot and her name is Emily.  Her mother named her after a sister missionary that taught her. She is 11 and really wants to get baptized. Her grandma and mom are both members that are starting to come back to church now and really are supporting Emily. It’s amazing to see the excitement Emily has when we teach her or when we invite her to do something. She loves reading the Book of Mormon and she has just been reading it like crazy. 

We also learned a lot about getting robbed by some Chilean selling donkey milk... let’s just say I had to try it and before we knew it, we were having to pay a lot of money.

(Mom note:  This part is from an email we got Friday)

... well you could say something super stupid happened to us today. So we left the house today and some guy was selling donkey milk... me being me,  I wanted to try it. So I told me companion that we were going to ask how much it was to try some. Well he told me 1000 Chilean pesos (that’s a little more than a dollar) for a class of milk. He told me that I had to go get a glass. I went and got a glass. Then I returned and he filled the class half full and I drank it... he started to say some more stuff about the milk and then asked my companion if he wanted some. My companion told him yes and he tried some then after that he started to explain more about  how much the milk costs and then both me and my companion did the math in our heads and asked him how much we would have to pay him. He said we had to pay him 4000000 Chilean pesos!!!! Well you could say that I felt like he was tricking us and that he didn’t explain it to us really in the first place. So I talked to him and told him that I was not going to pay him that much money. One because I wouldn’t be able to live for the next three weeks and 2 because I didn’t believe him and that he tricked us. We called some members and they told us that the milk was expensive but not that expensive. So, we tried to bargain because he tricked us. I wasn’t going to pay him that so I talked with him for an hour and half and he wouldn’t take anything less than 30 million pesos and we couldn’t get the police involved because our president... or I actually think it’s for all the missionaries...  but we can’t because they don’t want problems. Soooo, we paid him $25 for a glass of donkey milk!

My back is better I have really been trying to just work out a lot so that I can strengthen everything but the doc. told me that it still wouldn’t be enough. He told me that the good thing is that I will be living a normal life again soon and that I will have time to work out and do other things that will help... such as climbing and hiking and other things.

I’m so grateful for the time that I have to serve our Father in Heaven. I learn so much every day and really I never thought that I could be where I am now. I’m so grateful that I have this chance to help others know of the gospel of Christ now days and I’m glad that I can strengthen my testimony and come to the knowledge that I have and continue to keep learning. 

I love you all!!!!! 

Con Caleta de Amor,

 Elder Smith

2 Nefi 15!

This week was awesome. We started to see more of the blessing from our work and we are starting to work even harder. So we were able to have interchanges on Friday and I learned a lot about seeing people more for who they are.

We have a family that is going to church. It's a family of 6 and two of them are members and they want to return to the church. So we started working with them a couple weeks ago... maybe one.  They really have started to do a lot to follow Christ. A little girl with 11 years is in 2 nefi 15 and she started reading maybe 2 weeks ago. The grandpa that really isn't old just wants to get baptized and will do anything to follow Christ and be baptized.

Seeing these people love this makes me feel with a feeling that I can't describe! I feel a huge love and peace and the spirit is so strong because they just want to do the right thing.

I think that I have learned a lot about how reading the scriptures helps me. I think that more then anything when I don't read, I don't feel the spirit as strong and I don't feel as protected... in my patriarchal blessing it says that if I read the Book of Mormon every day I will never lose my testimony and it will strengthen me.. I really have seen those blessing in my life and some days when it's like we never have time because we have to wake up early for a conference or something I always try and read because I know that it blesses us. 

 I pray that we will be able to be the Lords servant and guide them correctly!

 I love you all!!

 Con mucho amor,

 Elder Smith

Hard work pays off!!

This week was good!! Our sector is good I enjoy it but it's a bit rough because the leaders aren't working. I have some ideas that we are going to try and pass by the bishop to start working on them. The missionaries are good and we are all getting better. I recently found out that the sisters are a bit disobedient and I think it's because one goes home next week. I try to learn with them as I teach. I don't like to make it seem like I am telling them to do things. I try to invite the spirit and then I put myself there with them because I know that I have a lot to learn too. We are finding more people but this sector is one of the places where the church started here in Chile so there are a lot of members that aren't active and don't know anything about the Church but we are working a lot with part member families. I have been practicing playing the hymns on the piano to invite the spirit more during sacrament meeting so that I can help all the ward members. 

We are starting to find and have success. We found a family thanks to an activity all of the missionaries did for our wards. We invited the members to pray, fast, and think of someone they could gift a Book of Mormon to and then give it to them and pass us the reference. Soooooo this last week payed off. We found a family "Bakán" that has two less actives and four people that are not members. We went over to their house and it was cool!! We started getting to know them really fast and then we shared a message and gave them all a copy of the Book of Mormon. It truly was such a big blessing because it's been hard to find people here in this area, although I  know that there are always people ready for the gospel we just have to find them and do our part. 

I know that God lives. I know that He loves us and that this life is part of His plan. I know that this is Christs church and that He loves us and that He payed for our sins our pains and everything.  The gospel is the way and we need to live it. 

I love you all 

Con mucho amor,

 Elder Smith

Working hard!

So this last week was good. It's been super weird in this new sector and I've really been trying to work hard but.... it's been hard because I don't  know this new sector. We have been talking and helping some of the leaders of the ward so that we all can work together to the strengthen the ward and really start to progress. 

We recently started working with a family that really is excited to come back to church and a another girl that is 22 that wants to come back. We took this family and this sister to the temple this week and had a tour so that they could get to know the temple. It was super good! It seemed like this single mother of the family and this girl got along super well and they are both going to help one another come back to church. The family came to church and the girl didn't. We don't know why because well she is a firefighter but we haven't been able to contact her. 

I've also been learning a lot this change with my new comp. It's been a new challenge and sometimes I find it hard but I am learning more and more how to love as Christ does. 

Other then the people that we are reactivating, not too much is happening. We have been trying to find more and more people but haven't been finding too much success. We will continue to work hard and do what we need to. 

I love you all and hope the best for you all!! 

Con much amor,

 Elder Chase Smith

PS. Elder Smith let me know that he didn't end up having scabies but a severe reaction to a bug bite.  They treated it with some medicine in the IV and sent him home last week with some other medication and he is doing much better.