Tengo Gozo en mi Alma

Dear Family and Friends

Wow!!! Another week has flown by! This transfer has gone by incredibly fast that I can't believe it! We have transfers next week and I'm anxious of what's going to happen! I doubt that I will stay here for another transfer because I've been here about half a year almost which is so weird to think about ha ha! But I love it here!

Well first off! Thanks for the letters and the pictures like always! I love you guys so much! And just to be safe and not to forget I know that it is June right now and that Father's Day is close and I don't know if it was yesterday or the next Sunday, but I want to wish Dad a HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo hoo! I have the best dad in the entire world and I am so grateful for you Dad! I hope you have a great week!

Now onto my week! This week was another cold week and I never thought that Chile would get so cold. I am a little scared because people are saying that this is just the beginning of winter and it gets really really cold in July and August! But that doesn't matter to me! The work must go on! This past week it was just rain and rain and more rain! HA ha! I actually used those huge boots that you bought me, Mom, which I thought I would never use! So thanks Mama!! But even though it has been cold (oh and I forgot that when it rains the lights go out so we had two more days without light or heaters or anything and ohhh boy was it a chilly one in Chile! HA ha (did you get the joke? ha ha chilly in Chile! Ha ha! Maybe that's why this country is named that! ha ha! But other than the rain, it's fine. The missionary work really dies off when the rain comes which made this past week the worst week with lessons and entering houses and finding new investigators--the worst in my mission! But that's okay! Tengo Gozo en Mi Alma!!! Woo hoo! I always get so pumped up to go walk out in the rain! The other elders can definitely tell that I'm an Arizona boy completely! Ha ha ha! Yeah rain! 

I was even so excited on Tuesday when we had divisions and our district leader went to our sector while I went to his and worked with his companion who is an elder that is a little lazy. . . As we had the first lesson of the day, it just started to pour! Luckily, we had all our rain gear and everything so it was all fine! Well, all fine for me at least. . . the other elder was a little downer and just said that we should just go back to their house. And when I heard those words I was just astonished! Ha ha, there was no way we were just going to waste a whole day in saving people's lives just for some danky water! Ha ha I let him know that I'm gonna keep going till we enter houses! It calmed down a little and we started going to some other people's houses in his sector, but after the 7th we couldn't enter a single one. Then again he told me to just go to the house and warm up. I just turned to him and said, "I have 9 months in my mission and I'm not gonna start now wasting it!" This elder only has 5 months in the mission and I let him know that I was gonna go to the next street and knock on some doors if he didn't have anyone else planned to visit. He then just stared at me with a mean look in his eyes and I left! Ha ha I kept going until I reached the end of the street and saw him waiting and then he started to follow me! 

We then started knocking on doors and the Lord was blessing us! It was incredible! The first three houses on the street let us in and had us do a prayer over their house! After leaving the third house, I turned to the elder and put my arm on his shoulder and just told him that sacrifice brings blessings! After experimenting that tiny miracle he then had the excitement to work the whole rest of the night! It was great! At the end of the night, when we entered the house we were completely SOAKED! Ha ha but it felt so warm inside me to know that I had given it my all. I love this work! There is nothing that will stop me from serving my Lord and Savior! 

Another great thing to see this week was Jose! He is a machine! Seriously! He now has the priesthood and he passed the sacrament yesterday! I had the privilege to bless the sacrament and it was a privilege to pass the trays to him to give to the faithful members that attended yesterday. We really saw who are the faithful members yesterday because it was raining as well and we only had an attendance of a little less than 50, which it has never been that low since the time I was with Elder Barraza like 4 months ago! It was sad to see an empty church, but it was incredible to see these faithful saints, who some of them have to walk a good distance to the church in the rain, renewing their covenants from baptism. I have really come to love the sacrament on my mission. I realize now how much I took blessing the sacrament every Sunday for granted! It is the most important ordinance!

Another awesome thing to see is Hermano Hugo Gonzalez! When I arrived here he was less active. Elder Barazza and I visited with him a lot and by the time Elder Alcaraz came he was attending church regularly. Now he is fully active, has received the Melchizedek priesthood and now is our ward mission leader! How awesome it is to see the progress of the people I get to visit and teach! Just like Jose, Hugo is progressing incredibly fast! And it's awesome to be right there next to him in this process! He really is an example for the ward of his dedication to the missionary work and his faith in the church! I love him soo much! He is the biggest, but nicest person I know! (Oh, and some other great news Mom is that he told me he´s going to take my camera to the center of Santiago because he knows a Kodak store there and he´s going to take it there and fix the flash woo hoo!)

Well, I don't have much more time to write! This p-day was occupied with our zone activity where we met up at a church and had a huge meat barbecue lunch Latino style! And yes, Blake, I heard it enough from Elder Alcaraz that it's not the same or as good as the asados in Argentina. But it was still delicious! And with that we all had mate which I love!!! Ha ha! Blake! What's your favorite mate? Ha ha

Well, I hope you enjoy my letter as much as I loved your letters! I love you all so much! This mission means everything to me! And I am so grateful for all of your examples in my life! May the Lord be with us till the next p-day! Love ya!

Love,

Elder Cowan