Wk 34 - 2 miracles that happened this past week!

Companion: Elder Gonzalez

Area: Chillan

oh yeah and we had zone conference this week.
some friends on this mission. elder noe and elder hancock

Got a package! 

we did service this week too and cleaned this thing out!! it was pretty cool

i will send more pics next week because this computer is really slow. have a good week!! 

oh and i got a package from laurens wilsons family
and from grandma and grandmpa smoot! thanks guys!!!:)

view of the street where we live and the side of our house

we ate lunch here after we played soccer

Well this week was pretty good! we had a few miracles that are pretty cool that i am going to tell you about.

first off we found a family. the parents are Carol and Francisco and they have 3 kids. we are going to have a wedding on the 18th of February and a baptism the 21st! cool huh? i hope everything works out with that. they are a great family and i have never met a famliy so funny before!!

haha the next story is about a family that are members. well first off this family is converts as are most of the members here in chile and they do have strong testimonies!! well the mom of this family hadn't gone to church for 2 weeks which was weird and so her son that is a return missionary told us to visit his mom to help her out a little. We went to the house and we started the lesson and we were talking about all the blessings you have from the church and how if you arent building your testimony you are weakening it. well first off there are some problems within the ward which is sad and i think thats why she wasnt going to church but she told us something very cool. the night before, she had a dream that we were here in her house talking to her and telling her how if a man goes away from the church we lose a soul but if a mom goes away from the church we loose generations. and she started to cry telling us this experiences and it was pretty cool to see her attitude change right in front of us and yes she did come to church this past week. 

I feel like i have been able to learn a lot about myself the little time i got in the mission. i have been able to see a lot of miracles and spirital experiences that i wouldnt be able to have if i didnt serve a mission. i am grateful for this gospel. 

we did some cools stuff today! we played soccer this morning on a turf field and this past week we cleaned our whole house inside and out and i got some pics from that! 

i love you guys a ton! i hope you all have a wonderful week!!!

Elder Smoot

Wk 33 - Happy birthday mom and talia!!:)

Companion: Elder Gonzalez
Area: Chillan

sorry my camera died right after we took the pic of the bus
so we couldnt take another one

just so you know my side of the table is clean! haha 

yes 4 of us sleep in the same room. our house is small

So i sent a letter to you guys today to talia and to you mom and to dad! i know it will get there late but itll get there!! :) 

today we just studied in the morning i wrote the letters and we got ready and left as soon as we could! we have been on the summer schedule right now where we go to bed at 11 30 and wake up at 7 30. the schedule depends on the time of the year in chile. 

well last p day we play soccer and ate churi pan! it is sausage with bread thing and it is soo good i ate like 7 it was kinda gross. haha we teach like 3 lessons everyday and we have this vision where we have to have a lesson to a less active or a recent convert with a member present in the lesson of course and a lesson to a member and a lesson to an investigator with a member in the lesson as well. we try and do that every day. It is hard at times to do it every day but we get close to do it everyday!

RIght now we have Delmira who didnt come to church this past week which was a bummer but she has a baptism date for the 7th of feb. so hopefully that will work out all right! i dont know why but all the baptisms we have had in this sector is all old people! haha 

our whole mission isnt really too focused on finding people to teach as much as to help people to return to the church. it is so crazy how many people are inactive here. i have talked about before how we are contacting in the street talking to people and it isnt weird to contact someone that is a member and we have no idea because they are less active. at times it is sad because they dont want anything more with the church. 

The hard times dont effect me as much as before. i have seen why it is a commandment to share the gospel because not only will we find people to teach but as well we will find ourselves and what we acctually want in this life. i have strengthened my testimony so much in my mission and i know it isnt over. i have seen how people have changed their attitudes about things because they arent feeding themselves spiritually. 

I couldnt be more happy to be here and for all the hard times i have. i will be sending pics of my house but dont mind my comps stuff he isnt very organized! haha love you guys!!

Elder Smoot

Wk 32 - i am officially a chileano

Companion: Elder Gonzalez
Area: Chillan

i am officially a chileano

i had a mini transfer with elder garrido from columbia

we had an activity today!

wow it really is crazy how fast time goes!! 

one new thing in our mission that happened with all the missions of the south part of south america is they took out the numbers and we dont have to say numbers of how many other lessons we had and new investigators and a bunch more numbers we had to keep track of. they changed it so we only have to say how many people came to church and how many baptisms we had. they made it a lot easier and what they are trying to do is focus not so much on the numbers and actually working for the love of the lord. i did feel like at times like oh crap! we dont have a member for this lesson it isnt going to count for our numbers. now obviously we are going to continue working with members and visiting the people that didnt come to church but we are doing this to build each ward and have more of a focus on the salvation of people. 

the name has changed from missionary work to the work of salvation. it is a great change and this week we had so many people in the church they didnt have enought water for the sacrament they had to bless it twice! it was pretty cool but our ward there was 130 people that came to church which is a pretty good number here in chile! 

we have a 2 investigators that we are working with. we have delmira and jossette. delmire has a baptism date for the 31st of this month and jossette didnt come to church with her mom who is a less active. jossettes mom is a less active and now has been going to the church for a month now and it is awesome.

it is awesome to see the difference in the number of people at church. makes you feel like you are actually doing something!! haha! i have learned that the hard times dont really matter anymore and you just got to keep being strong and enjoy every moment! 

i have been told i am too happy sometimes so i guess thats not bad! haha!

i love you guys and i hope you guys have a good week i will be sending some pics in a bit!!!

have a wonderful week you guys!!

elder smoot

Wk 31 - Happy New YEar!!

Companion: Elder Gonzalez
Area: Chillan

Elder Hancock's parents came to pick him up at the end of his mission

I couldnt be more grateful for this oppurtunity i have to serve a mission. i have recently been more grateful to serve a mission. it is a great oppurtunity to test how much you love God. in the end the dedication you have to serve represents how much you love him. i am here because it is a commandment from God. I dont want anything more than to make God happy. It has been a pretty good week and i have seen blessings in my life. 

The past new years eve we spent it with the Reyes family. they are an awesome family and it was a good time. we had a carne asado ( it like a bbq thing). it was a good to time to enjoy a little bit. 

I have recently have been trying to focus a little better and give more in the work. I just feel like you can always do more!!

We are working on a investigator named Jossette. she is 12 years old and her mom is coming back to the church- she is a less active. it is awesome to see the people change for the better! i couldnt be more grateful for the gospel. she has come to the church once and now we need to help her get a testimony for her own!

At this moment in my mission i know i only got a little time in the mission but i feel like i am getting the hang of the mission. i wouldnt want to be doing anything else than inviting people to come to christ.

I am grateful for the support you guys give me! i hope you guys have an awesome week.

Elder Smoot