Surgery

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, as probably most of you have heard, I'm going to have surgery Monday!! And for those that haven't heard, it's because I have a hernia. But the operation will happen at 2 in the afternoon and it is going to be in the best hospital in South America. I went last Wednesday and seriously, this hospital is HUGE! Ha ha! It's incredible! The Church really does take care of their missionaries ha ha!

But with this whole hernia problem and all it has just slowed down everything. And just as everyone knows me . . . I don't like taking things slow . . . especially in the mission! Ha ha, but it has been a great time for me to reflect on the Lord's will and to trust in Him even more! I know I will just need to develop more patience this week ha ha! But with this health problem, it took up about half of this week! Because after I wrote you guys Monday, we were able to work a little bit but I was having a lot of pain so we couldn't get a whole lot done.

Then Tuesday we had to go to the CCM (MTC) which is about 2 hours in subway to go meet the mission doctor for all the missions in Chile. His name is Doctor Johnson and super cool! Ha ha! And he was able to identify in about 30 seconds that I had a hernia. And from that 30 seconds he was already on the phone with another doctor scheduling an appointment for me to have surgery. Ha ha, it all went really fast! But after that I had to do some small paper work and we were able to finally finish everything and head back to another 2 hour ride in subway and bus . . .

Then Wednesday, we had to return to the CCM to go meet up with Doctor Johnson and he took my companion and I to another hospital that is about 30 to 40 minutes more away to where I got to meet that biggest and nicest hospital I have ever seen! And the biggest and best in South America. It's called, Clinica de los Condes. It's super fancy. There we met Dr. Ferrario who is super cool! Ha ha, I just love doctors! Ha ha, I think all my time in physical therapy and studying anatomy so much has just changed my mind to enjoy all this stuff. But Dr. Ferarrio lived in Chicago, I think that was the state, where he studied and practiced surgery. You can really tell that he is up there on the high list of the doctors in this hospital. After talking with him, I felt really comfortable with him doing the surgery. He really knows what he's doing! So don't worry anyone! :)

But anyway! Other than those trips to and back from the center of Santiago which took up the whole first half of the week, we were able to get out and work a little bit. And this week has really been a humbling week for me. I don't know how the Lord can be soo merciful and loving to His children. This is because as we are starting a new transfer, and knowing that this surgery was going to slow some things down, we realized we needed to find some more prepared people. We had a great last transfer and we were able to find a lot of people, but a lot of them haven't been progressing. So we realized and have been studying a lot in Preach My Gospel on how to help our sector. After a couple days, Elder Kimball and I were talking about how the Lord is hastening His work. As we thought about that we came to a conclusion that if the Lord really is hastening the work, that means He really is preparing people for us, and if He really is preparing people for us, that means we can get baptisms this month! It was our only conclusion! So we decided that as a companionship we would do contacts to find more new investigators, we wouldn't write any of the contacts information unless we knew and felt that they had the potential and were prepared. And I don't know if any one of you have read Elder Free´s letter, but it's quite ironic because just as Elder Free and his companion decided to have a theme for there transfer, Elder Kimball and I did the same. Ha ha (Even though he's in Japan and I'm in Chile we are always connected as best friends ha ha!) Our phrase is, "Si quiere el mejor, tiene que ser major" which in English it is, "If you want better, you have to be the better!" We realized that we had a good transfer this last transfer, especially as a whitewash companionship, but good isn't sufficient for us. We want the Best! Just as the talk, "Good, Better, Best!" So we have decided that the only way to hasten this work--which evidence that the work is hastening--is by having baptisms. We knew we needed to find people that could be baptized within a month's time. And, oh my, . . . how merciful the Lord has been with us these past couple of days!

And that's where Julio comes in!!! And he is incredible!!!! But he was an old contact that went really well that we did about a month ago. But we had almost forgotten about him. Thursday as we were able to leave a little bit to go work all of our lessons fell through which just made us contacting the whole day, basically, which walking made the pain even worse. But I knew the Lord would help us! And as we were contacting for hours, I realized how late at night it was getting and we were going from door to door and we could only talk to 3 people. I could tell that Elder Kimball was getting a little down and I just tried to motivate him to keep going. I shared with him that there MUST be an opposition in all things first. I shared with him examples of this in swimming and of how Coach Rob would murder us in practice to destroy our bodies to just have us, as a result, receive the joy by winning our races. And also of how Joseph Smith before he had the First Vision (something HUGE) had to have the opposition first when Satan attacked him as he started to pray. I told Elder Kimball that as long as we keep going, and push through the opposition there will be a great reward and it will all be worth it . . . .Then three houses down we knocked on Julio's door . . .

At first, we didn't even recognize that it was Julio, our contact from about a month ago. But he came out and opened the door with a huge smile and just yelled out, ´"Come on in!!" Aw, I was soo relieved to be able to enter a house, which at this time it was 8:30 at night and we only had 30 more minutes to work that day. But we entered his house to meet his whole family. His wife, Ivonne, and his daughter, Jennifer! And even just writing this story is already making me teary eyed. But I can testify that this family has been prepared from the hand of the Lord. As we started getting to know them, they just shot off questions that you could tell that they have been waiting for some time for someone to answer. It was mostly Ivonne, the wife, who I felt the Savior's love for soo much in that lesson. She asked us what is the fundamental of our church, and why are there so many different churches today, and what makes our church different than all the rest. Elder Kimball and I both smiled at each other and were happily ready to start teaching them about the Restoration which they just LOVED! We testified about the second principle about how this gospel can bless their families and that is when Jennifer and Ivonne started crying. And the spirit was SO strong! After talking about the ministry of Jesus Christ and His Atonement the whole family was crying. And then, as we started talking about the Apostasy, Ivonne looked up at us and said, ´"What you guys are saying right now about this apostasy thing is exactly how I feel in my life." She then went on to tell us that she had felt lost for soo many years. She told us that she has always had a belief in God, but has never been able to express it in any other church.

At the end of the lesson, we testified with all the will and power that we had in us to testify of the power of the Book of Mormon and the importance of the priesthood and how that is what makes our church different from all the rest. They just awed in amazement as you could tell that they were finally receiving the answers they have been waiting for, for so long. They all started crying again, including me a little. When Ivonne expressed just how this world always destroys the hope in people, I was able to turn to the Book of Mormon and had her read Ether 12:4. And she just soaked it all up! She looked up, wiped away her tears, and asked us, "Do you have the ability to bless others?" As I started to respond, the spirit was overwhelming as I testified to her that we have been called from a modern day prophet to declare this message of hope to all. After Ivonne and Jennifer both asked for priesthood blessings of strength. Elder Kimball and I gave each one a priesthood blessing and that is where I thought the spirit couldn't get any stronger, but it sure did! It was amazing! One of the most powerful lessons I have ever had!

As well, we were able to find Paola who, as well, was an old contact from about a month ago and right as we knocked on her door her husband came home from work and opened the gate and let us right in! And this family, you can just tell that they have the family appearance as a Latter-day Saint family! Actually the husband looks a lot like my cousin, Marty. We were able to share with them for some time and they are super prepared as well! And both of these families are married too! Woo hoo! So we won't have any problems with that! Woo hoo!

But just from these past two days from when Elder Kimball and I decided to be a little bit better and to focus on hastening the Lord's work by teaching his elect people the Lord has blessed us in this short amount of time with these two wonderful complete families! Aww, I already love them sooo much! I have just been really humbled on why the Lord has blessed us with so many families to teach. This has never happened in my mission before, but I know the Lord loves me. I know He trusts in me to help these wonderful families become eternal. I will try every single whit to be better so that they do the best thing in their lives to come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ by taking His name upon them through the covenant of baptism. I am so grateful for the Lord's hand in everything. I know the Spirit testifies of the truth. And I am so grateful to be a messenger and the hope of Israel! Woo rahh! Woo rahh! What such great blessings!

I love you all soo much! Don't worry about my surgery. The Lord is with us. I know He knows me. He knows my weaknesses and I know we can be perfected through the grace of His Atonement. Thank you to all who said that they will be praying for me. I appreciate it a lot and I have the best family and friends in the world! May the Lord be with all of you!

Love you tons!

Love,

Elder Cowan