Hey all,
Ok this week was pretty bland again sorry guys. We went to Curanilahue on Tuesday after the district meeting to help find some new investigators for one of the companionships of hermanas there and that was fun. It's really huge and there are a ton of houses so we found some cool people and scaled some really big hills. I like getting to see new places and exploring them it's way fun. It was funny because we all of a sudden both had to go to the bathroom really bad and were VERY far from home and we got in a house by asking for the bathroom and handed off the reference to the hermanas hahaha hopefully they don't find out what happened -- that would be embarrassing jk. That night we took the bus home to Lebu. Wednesday was pretty average and we had to go to branch counciM and I think we were able to help there. We are working on a choir w Hna Ximena muñoz for the branch conference we will be having here soon but hopefully we both stay here for another cambio because I'm directing kind of and Elder Diaz is playing piano hahaha. Regardless it will be a good thing to get the branch excited and to help them get something together as far as music goes. Truth is our pool of investigators had pretty much dropped to a hard 0 by Thursday. Even M. kind of dropped out which was pretty sad. We are trying really hard to look for more people with few results right now but I think it was an attitude problem last week. Truth is the people are really religious here and usually don't want much to do with us. Even the guitar has yielded few results but we are going at it still! We had a few long days of door knocking this week but we are also trying hard to train the members on how to do missionary work and invite people etc. Hopefully that turns out well. I know things will be better this week because we really need to find some miracles for the next transfer. I'm trying really hard to keep pushing. Sometimes we're a little discouraged but it will get better. The sad part is that the other companionship here in Lebu is even worse off than us. It's just discouraging to see that after 5 weeks here in both companionships we have made little progress. The good news is that I'm learning a ton about how despair and self pity are totally tools of the devil that we often do not see coming. I'm learning a lot about how to keep the attitude up and how that effects our results and the example we give to the people around us. I'm especially trying to give that example to the three missionaries I live with because they are essencially passing through the same circumstances. I also think a lot of what's going on here has to do with how we are using our time so I'm going to try really hard to figure out how to use each hour of the day in the most effective way. At the end of the day we still have so much to be grateful for too. It's been absolutely beautiful here lately because it's been really warm and sunny for some weird reason so that has been a fun treat. We have been walking around in just our white shirts without sweaters or anything. Lunches here are always fantastic as well, we finished our fast this Sunday w Hermana Tamara Alarcon which was great. The coolest news and events this week is the progress of a yound couple B. and P. and their baby M. who we hadn't been able to find for like 2 weeks. B's mom is a member who is inactive but we had a very spiritual lesson this week with them and they accpeted the invitation to church right away so that was really cool. They came to church and there baby was super chill the whole time and didnt cry once for 2 hours which was pretty miraculous. Hopefully they liked it! We will see what happens this week. They cool part about them is that B. has a ton of doubts and questions which sounds like a bad thing maybe but honestly to us it shows that he really understands the importance of all of this, and shows that he doesn't think of religion and faith as just like a social think like a lot of people in Chile think. Truthfully when people have a lot of questions our job is easier because they are in a place where they will really truthfully look for revelation in a meaningful and personal way so thats really cool. I'm really really excited for them. I've been studying the sermon on the mount a lot again and I'm really loving it. I think the thing that impacts me the most, and that is really a central part of Christ's and Jon the Baptist's teachings is that our status as members of the church or even our testimonies are not what will save us in the end. The only true thing that will make the difference in our salvation (after Christ's personal sacrifice and grace of course) is true, righteous actions and living. I just think thats such a powerful and important message for Chile and especially for the church! I'm trying to apply it to my own life as a missionary and not act as if just "being" on a mission will make a difference in my life, but remembering that it is my own righteous efforts and doings that make the difference. I think being a Christian (or Mormon if you want to say it) is not really a status or even an adjective, but it's more a way of living. Or at least thats what I think they taught. I'm going to try harder with that this week. Shoot sorry if it sounds like it was a hard week or I'm being negative. Still dont see the point in saying something that isn't the truth hahaha. It will all get better though that's for sure. One cool thing is that we will have a zone conference this week with the assistants and the mission president so that will be really cool. I'm going to give a training too so I'll let you all know how that goes. This cambio has gone so fast I feel like it just slipped through my fingers. It's been great despite it all though. I love Lebu and I guess we will see what happens with the transfers this week and I'll let you know. The most likely thing is that everything stays the same though hahaha who knows though my transfers are always kind of loco. Ok this computer is frustrating me and I've already talked a lot so more next week. Love you all and hope you are doing great! I love your letters! Congrats Debbie on Australia -- how cool is that! They are going to love you! Elder Trevor Smith
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Elder Trevor SmithElder Trevor Smith is a Mormon missionary in the Chile Concepcion Sur mission, the same mission where his dad served. Although this is Trevor's own mission, he grew up hearing about the beautiful land of Chile and the loving people that inhabit it. These are the letters from his experience there. Archives
July 2017
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