Hey everyone! This week wasn't super eventful but I think I can have some stuff to say!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MACY WHOOOOOOOOO!!!!! 15 what the heck! Sorry I can't give you a better birthday gift! I might try to send you a letter but it's hard! Also congrats Cassie WHOOOOO GO COUGARS Ok so its super hot here! Its weird though because we will have like one day where its kind of overcast and chilly and then the next 3 will be so so so hot. It's super hard to work and contact in the heat so that will take getting used to. It just kind of sucks the energy and excitement out of me hahahah. It's just going to get worse ugh. I love this sector but I wouldn't mind getting transferred after the next cambio to avoid the worst of summer here. LA has the worst summers here for sure. Our house is just brick too so it turns into an oven. The sun is really really hot more than anything so it's ok in the shade, but the sun doesn't go down until like after 8! it's kind of miserable. It might be because of the ozone layer having a hole. I'm not sure hahahaha. M. and P. are doing well but we just can't get them to church! Really frustrating because they said they were coming this week but didn't boooo. We had some seriously good lessons with them, and I think FINALLY M. understood the priesthood authority after we told him about how the apostols rebaptized a bunch of people who didn't receive the holy ghost after their baptisms. Yhe misunderstanding was probably our fault though hahaha. I'm learning patience big time here in every way. We'll see though. We are a little concerned they are talking to us with the wrong purpose, so we are going to teach them today to try to kind of analyze their needs, but mostly really invite the spirit super strongly and emphasize the need for revelation and how they can receive it. They are so awesome though and so nice! They totally keep us going and really are awesome! They still have a ways to go but I have so much hope for them! I really hope they come to church this week! Pray for them! We watched a satalite transmission of the Concepcion temple Groundbreaking and it was so cool wow I'm SO excited! It was so special to see all the members in the Stake center watching it! The spirit was way strong. I'm loving studying the New Testament! I'm reading Jesus the Christ alongside it which helps a lot with understanding it. I learned a lot about the origional 12 apostols this week and they are such awesome examples (minus one haha)! My motto this week kind of has stemmed from what I read in Jesus the Christ about James and Jon, that they taught and preached and followed Christ with so much zeal and energy that they were called "Sons of Thunder" which is pretty awesome! My goal has kind of been to be worthy of that title hahaha how cool is that! There are so many awesome stories in the new testament I love it! I did an "intercambio" or exchange with our new district leader elder C. from Nevada! He's a really interesting, weird, but super funny guy! I love him a ton! He has a totally amazing knowledge of the scriptures and helped M. and P. out a ton when he was here! It was also fun because I was in charge of the whole day because it was my sector and it was super fun to show off how well I know my sector at this point (probably because its so small hahaha). Hes an awesome dood and it was fun to kind of change it up though. It rained all day too hahahaha This week we've been trying to change it up and meet with more less active members and member families. We kind of decided that that is a way better use of time than contacting at kind of crappy hours like in the morning or while most people are working and getting only like 6 contacts. It has kind of helped us keep our animo and energy up too not having to be in the street all day. Meeting with them can be hard though, because a lot of times it's sad to see really closed hearts and people that have kind of lost the desire to act on their testimonies. Most of them are ok though, and one was particularly good last week! Hma A. is super sarcastic and super funny, and we got along really well which is good because apparently she doesn't like a ton of missionaries hahahaha. We asked her to tell us the story of her conversion and she did, and she got kind of teared up and it was super special! When the spirit was really strong and she finished, I felt prompted to challenge her to be a missionary hahahaha and to pray and think about a person that we can teach! I shared a scripture from Alma 26 which is all just awesome and was kind of bold hahahaha the spirit pushes you to be that way sometimes. I think it kind of shocked her but worked! She said she would and then showed up in church on Sunday WOOOOOOOO! Such a miracle! What I've learned here from menos activos and everything is that your personal conversion needs to be to Christ. Nothing else. Not to your mom, not to your friends, your bishop, Jose Smith, not the missionaries. It's not even enough to have just received and answer that this church is true. You need to love the Lord and be converted entirely to him. Nothing else is as important. The truth is is that if we really do love the Lord, we should never fall away. There is no reason we should if we love the Lord, not if our bishop's a jerk, we change wards, someone offends you, nothing. Your obedience and church activity should all boil down to how much you love The Lord, because if you really do love Him, you'll obey. You'll give Him everything. Its sad to see people who wont even go to church for Him. There's a scripture in 1 Nephi that says that our names are inscribed on His hands, so it kills me to see people who won't even go to church for one hour on Sunday for Him. I feel powerless sometimes, but I know I can always just love them and keep acting in patience for their behalf. I'm learning a lot about that. I hope I explained it well enough. Sorry to be kind of a downer hahahaha the truth is we do see more miracles than sad stories. Things really have kind of turned around here as far as finding goes! We've found 5 news in the last 2 weeks which is as many as we did in our first 6! One this week, M., was super good. They all are hahahah The second lesson is always the hardest to get though just as far as scheduling goes. Our goal is to get a lesson with all 5 of them by Thursday this week. I know that we will get at least one of them into the water by the time I leave, hopefully before Elder P. goes too. Missions are crazy because they are so trying, so exhausting, so up and so down, so stressfull, but even when I'm sad I'm happy. It's weird and hard to explain. I was thinking this week a few times just how crazy happy I am all the time, despite it being such a trial. I love the Lord's plan for me. I've been marveling at it all this week. I loved your letters all so much last week. I almost cried reading them all, especially about Kaitlyn's baptism and the temple and everything. If I was counting my baptisms in my mission, I think Kaityln would have to be number one. I loved hearing about papa's testimony. I have feeled the prayers of all of you and our ancestors too. It's super embarrassing because pretty much every member asks me if I'm related to "Jose Esmeet" and every time I answer truthfully it's super awkward but of course I'm proud of it in a super humble way haahhahaha. The stake presidency found out when they asked and during our ward council the guy who was conducting said that "it was an honor to have someone with the blood of the prophet of the restoration in our presence" Wow I was embarrassed hahahaha I can barely speak Spanish. hahahahah. My Spanish is getting better though! I'm starting to feel like I can be myself. I'm worried no one will understand me because I speak Chilean hahahahahah not Spanish. No more time but we played minigolf today! It was way fun! Coolest thing ever> I'll a pick of it now and a ton more next week I promise. I'm having a problem with my memory card! Love you all so much! I'm doing great here! I love my mission! Trevor
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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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