Dear Mom,
It was great to hear the great break you all had together! You don't have to worry about me! Yes, I have had to adjust a lot to this new sector, but it's really not all that bad. Actually, I felt bad. . .because I was starting out in this sector already judging it before I had actually known the sector--like judging a book from it's cover. I was just judging the sector off of the impressions from my companions, but it really isn't all that bad here. Yes, there is a lot of bad stuff that goes on and drugs are a huge challenge, but just as you said, Mom, I know that this is a testing time for me. The good thing is that I have already realized that this is a test for me right now and that means I can take on this next transfer and give it my all to pass this test right now! And, yes, my companion is different and sometimes hard, but I have really come to be Christlike this week. I have showed so much charity this week and, yes, it is really hard to do, but at the same time afterwards I feel so good after doing it. I know that it will help our companionship and the work here. Actually, my companion and I talked last night and I asked him what his goals were for his mission and for this new year and he talked for a long time, but he remembers his second companion who was really disobedient and hard and he knows that he doesn't want to be like that for me. I can see his desire to do good and to be obedient now; it will just take time, practice and patience, which is another thing I have learned a lot, along with love and charity, the patience. But it's really not all that bad! I have a lot of patience, as you said, and I know that I can help my companion and this sector! So you really don't have to worry about me, Mom! I am fine! I am still loving every day in the mission and I love my companion and this sector!
And wow! 2014 already! Holy cow! I seriously can't believe it! The time has gone by so fast! I feel like I have matured so much just in these past 4 months in my mission! I actually feel like an adult now and it's so weird!!!! Ha ha ha! But it's awesome! The mission really does change a life!
Well, to start off the letter, New Year's Eve was a little sketchy and we had a rule in the mission to be in our houses at 8, so we really didn't have anytime to work that much! I was a little disappointed :/ But we had a lot of down time in the house and then at night it was really hard to go to sleep with all the fireworks, people yelling and other noises going off. And in the night there was a tiny earthquake too! So it was a pretty eventful night, but we didn't really do much, ha ha!
Then the new year! We started it off with district meetings and then we taught Natalie who is one of the recent converts in our sector who is a really old lady but has the sweetest heart and desire to keep coming to church! She reminds me a lot of Grandma Dennis, actually! Wednesday we also taught Lorena and her daughter and we taught about temples and we really sparked their desire to enter the temple. In the night we taught Irma and Pabel about the priesthood! So Wednesday was a full day of just teaching less actives because there is a TON of less actives here! But I am glad that I have the chance to re-spark the light of Christ in them! It's one of my favorite things!
Thursday I met Mauricio, who is another less active and is actually blind, but he gets around with no problems! It's amazing! He is really young, too, probably the same age as Justin. He has had some troubles in the past and now can't take of the sacrament, so we are trying to help him to use the Atonement in his life to better his life and to Recife's the blessings of the sacrament. He doesn't have a lot of desires to do so because he feels alone in the church. He's single, hardly has any friends, but he knows the church is true, but doesn't like going because he feels alone, which in that lesson really made me feel sad for him.
Friday was a very, very long day! Because I am officially illegal in Chile! Ha ha, my 3 month tourist visa ran up so the office in the mission called me to come work on my visa. So all day Friday was just going to Santiago and waiting and waiting and waiting in lines!!! Holy cow! It took forever! We had to go to 3 different places and the last place I waited in line for 5 hours! Aww man I was dying and partly in the sun too! It wasn't really that fun! But since I was standing in line with a bunch of people I met a lot of new people and actually shared the gospel with a lot of them. There are a lot of different people in the world and I just love getting to know all their different personalities! Like there was one man with a shaved head, with only half a mustache, one eye brow who was dancing in line, ha ha, it was really funny! And the lady in front of me was pregnant and while I was talking to her about the plan of salvation for our families she just got this look of shock in her face and actually her water broke! Ha ha! It was very interesting! I had to go call the police who were in the building and we had to help her out of line and into the ambulance! Ha ha! Oh, the joys of meeting new people! But yea, that was basically all Friday it was really boring! Ha ha but in about a month I will have everything complete and will have my visa and will be legal! Woo hoo!
Saturday I met Hugo and Teresa who are less actives who are coming back to church. They remind me a lot of Uncle Mark and Ronda! Ha ha, they are really nice and make me laugh a lot! Ha ha, and finally Saturday I got to meet one of our investigators named Teresa who has a lot of problems smoking but she is so grateful for the missionaries and feels like we are messengers from God, which actually we kinda are ha ha! I love seeing the joy in peoples faces from listening to this gospel and even more happy when they live it and I can see the change in their lives! We taught the Restoration and it was great!
Also we taught another investigator named Mara who actually had a baptism date for yesterday but she couldn't attend sacrament but she is progressing really well! And we taught her daughter Camila about the Restoration and we are hoping that we can baptism them at the same time! That would be great!
Sunday was a day of tests for me. Mostly a test of patience. Well, first off I met the ward and actually the sacrament meeting went really well! There are only about 60 people attending right now but I didn't see any problems amongst the members as my companions had told me. I just think they are a little pessimistic at times because I didn't see anything bad--just another ward with members! Ha ha! And after sacrament Santanas, my other companion, left for his mission in Venezuela! So he got his visa all worked out and so it's just Elder Barraza and me now. But the trial of patience was with Barbara who is a less active and lives with her ¨spouse´´ Claudio who isn't a member and they aren't married. Barbara knows a lot about the Church and just treats it all like it's not important and Claudio was drunk so we couldn't teach him. But the difficult part was that we found out that Barbara has problems with the law of chastity, well, obviously, because she is living with Claudio, but another problem with the commandment is pornography. She willing admitted it to us and just treats it like it's no big deal! Aww, it was driving me crazy that she thinks that way! She said that she went to the bishop in the past and because of that she has repented and it's all good! I used a lot of scriptures to counter that attitude that she has and we taught about the Atonement but she doesn't care because she doesn't feel bad doing it. Aww, she is really hard to teach. But I know that I just need to show my love for her more.
That is my week! This week I am hoping that we will have more time to work and to find new investigators! Elder Contreras wrote me today and guess who attended church yesterday in Padre Hurtado???? Valerie!!! Woo hoo! I am so happy!!! Thank you so much for the letters everyone! Have a great week and a great start to a new year!
Love,
Elder Cowan
No comments:
Post a Comment