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.

Endure to the End!

Well this last week was good... with me going to the therapy we often loose time to work and it kills me. Sometimes I feel like I'm a terrible missionary and I imagine that all of us have felt like that. I was determined to turn that around and to have a better week. On Thursday I went and did interchanges with an elder in our district and it was good. We did a service project and talked a lot. I got to know him and it was cool because I didn't know who he was before and it was nice. At night when we were in the house he opened up and just talked to me. I honestly didn't talk but I decided to just listen and listen. He basically told me his life story but I felt good because he seemed happy to open up and talk to me about that stuff. 

The next day we worked in the morning because I had to be at therapy in the afternoon and it was cool. My companion seemed even happier and he was talking with a lot of people doing contacts and that never happens sooooo it really was a blessing. 

So now we are going to back up a little on Tuesday and Wednesday I had gotten bit by a bunch of.. well I don't know what but the Presidents wife said I had scabies... sooo I  really had no idea what that was it just sounded bad.... well they told it to me in Spanish.. Anyway, I  told her on Friday,  the next day on Saturday they sent me to the clinic again and well...I'm sick of that place. The people looked at all my bites said I was okay and then they drugged me up by IV and man I really wanted to kick the nurse she was not nice with the needle. So Saturday, we were in the house all day because I was drugged. But I got to study a lot even though they told me to rest... or sleep but I didn't want to so I read and studied. With those studies I could really feel my spirit grow and it helped me feel more of Gods love for me and I  understand a little bit more of the gospel. 

On Sunday, the Bishop told me that I would be speaking right before sacrament started.  I had know idea what I was going to share I immediately started thinking about my studies and I found a scripture I liked. I then had to pass the sacrament and during that time we need to be thinking of Christ and really I just wanted to think about what I was going to talk about because I'm a freak.  I was nervous. I then prayed for help and said to myself that if I think and focus about Christ during the sacrament God will help me.. so right after I stood up to go to sit down the Bishop said that I  would be talking.. I was not ready, so I grabbed my Book of Mormon and went up to the pulpit. With my legs shaking I started my talk... I don't know when I stopped shaking but I just talked and talked and really I am so grateful for God because I know that what came out of my mouth was given to me by the spirit. It was soo cool I felt like it was one of the best talks I have ever given and I just felt spiritually pleased. 

Anyway, my week was a little weird. I love you all and I encourage you all to endure to the end. Don't just hang in there. 

Con amor, 

Elder Smith

I feel your prayers and support!

This week was fast. On Tuesday I went and worked with one of the zone leaders for the day because we had interchanges and it was fun. I learned a lot. I learned that when you are with people.. or your friends, sometimes things can get out of hand or maybe you can be comfortable to say or do things that maybe you shouldn't. It made me think about after the mission and really how life is always full of other who are going to be doing things that maybe we shouldn't be doing or saying things too. Nothing bad happened on our interchange I just realized this then.  With that being said it makes things very clear that we need to constantly be coming  unto Christ in our actions, thoughts, words and so forth.

On Wednesday we had district class. We are focusing more on how we can enjoy the mission more and I taught how being obedient is going to help us enjoy the mission more. Really I think that we forget that somethings are just pleasures and they just make us feel good for a little bit of time.. like playing a video game.. its only fun until you stop playing. But when we are constantly trying to follow and do what Gd wants us to do we are going to be happy and it's going to stay with us always. Sometimes when we don't think that a rule is going to help us or we are going to be happy from following it it's because we don't trust God and our faith has gotten weaker. 

So on Wednesday night we got home late and we didn't plan because we didn't have time and then we were going to plan in the morning and then we had to give a blessing. We then continued to work the rest of the day and I just didn't feel good the rest of the day because we didn't plan. I feel like the spirit wasn't as strong as it could have been and we weren't prepared. I think that really when we plan things out.. like life and everything we will be prepare and God will bless us so that we can complete these plans and be able to do what we need to..but only if we prepare ourselves. 

Friday I got up feeling super good and I was ready to go. I really wanted to feel the spirit and be uplifted so that we could work hard. So, when I got on my knees to start my studies I said a pray and during my prayer I could really feel the spirit come to be with me stronger and it just grew during my studies. 

A while back I read a talk that said when you feel the spirit is when you know you are forgiven. Because the spirit can't dwell with any unclean thing. I like this a lot because really we all sin every day and we need to constantly repent so that we can have the spirit to be with us. 

On Sunday I played two of the hymns that we sang and man it was rough because I am out of practice and they don't know how to sing with the piano. 

I know that this is the true gospel of Christ and that this is Gods work. I know that all of us are His children and that He wants the best for us. I know that Christ lives and directs his church and I know that this is Gods plan so we can come to live with Him and be like Him some day.

I love the gospel and I know that this is my life and without it I am lost.

I love you all and feel your prayers and support, they give me strength to continue even when I have a bad day. 

Con mucho amor,

Elder Smith

I know that God has sent me to this area!

This week was super long!! I got to my sector and all I can say is that things needed to change so we took the whole week to work and change everything. The ward is small but the same amount of people attend like my other ward. I got here and they had not  been working at all. They spent a lot of time with members and less actives and were not progressing and their only investigators were found in January of this year and they are still working with them.... But I'm excited because I feel like I was sent here to help... not just in my sector but in my zone because this zone has the lowest number of baptisms and on top of that it has a lot of disobedient missionaries. Soooooo, it's going to be rough but I am excited to see what happens. 

  We really didn't have anyone that they were working with to get baptized so we went looking and after a good day of walking and talking to people we contacted a man that was standing outside his house. We started talking to him.. he had a football jacket on from the states, so I started talking to him about that... after a little while, he said that his son is in Utah studying English and UVU!!! This was cool... now on top of that his son will be baptized this Saturday in Utah! 

We met with him again and taught him about the restoration, then we challenged him to be baptized and he took the date. 

I know that God has people chosen that are ready to hear his message but all we have to do is to talk and to open our mouths. I also learned that I need to work a lot more on being a good leader and studying more about the life of Christ so I can try and be like him. I know that this is true and that this is the work of God. I love this work and I love serving and growing closer to God. I know that God loves us and I know that even though things are hard we can get through them but we have to trust that we can do it, but only through Gods help.

I love you all!! 

Con mucho amor, 

!Elder smith