Last week we had stake conference. We have been contacting a lot, and we have found a new investigator. We have been able to talk with her a little, her aunt is a member and so she knows a little about our church. She seems really receptive, and I hope we can get in and teach more. Last time we could get in because her husband arrived later than usual, we hope to teach a little this week. Today we played sports again for pday, soccer, volleyball. I realized I should probably buy more shoes, I was hopping they would last till the end of my mission, the last 6 months. They are starting to part where the leather connects to the sole. I will look for a place where I can get them at an affordable price. The Copa America is starting!!! It is here in Chile this year which is HUGE. It is all the south america countries, Jamaica and Mexico. It lasts on month, I am sorry Jeremy but CHILE IS GOING TO WIN!!! Argentina, no :( . When Chile plays we have to enter in early, when the game starts. We have special permission to watch the games on Pday, if it starts before 630. Viva Chile!!!! I love you all, have a good week. Good luck amy and kate in girls camp. Thanks for the your letter amy, it came monday, it made my week. I love you all. Elder Chandler
Good news, my comp is a lot healthier now! Friday we had the special conference by Elder Gonzales, of the 70. It was inspirational. His wife talked about what kind of teachers we should be, like Jesus Christ. She talked about many teaching techniques that Jesus Christ used in the New Testament, like asking questions, understanding their situation, using silence so they can ponder and learn and feel the spirit. Elder Gonzales talked about the bad tradition that everything needs to go through the bishop. He said we should use the Elders President more and Relief Society President, and we can utilize the bishop when teaching youth. We should also go to the bishop if somebody has worthiness problems. He talked about the magical question ¿Que opinas Vos?, o ¿Que opinas po? or in English, What is your opinion? He talked about two commandments that we need to strengthen in the people we teach, Keep the sabath day holy, and bieng self sufficient. He talked about Tithing and Fast Offerings which is a way to be more self reliant physically and spiritually. We did practices and he showed us how to leave strong commitments, the most important is that they understand why the commandment is important and they can find the solution if it is hard for them to keep it. It will be more special for them if they find out how to keep the commandments, even when it means sacrifice. Maybe they dont make a lot of money, and dont want to pay tithing, or they work at night and are too tired to go to church in the morning but they will be willing to make the sacrifices neccesary when the undersand its importance. And Sacrifice brings forth blessings. In the end it was a great confrence. He finished talking about love, to expound on what Thomas S Monson talked about in the conference. Afterwards we watched Elder L Tom Perry`s funeral service. It was interesting to me how he went through life at such a fast pace, until the very end of his life. Then they said that there is not a resting place after death, there is plenty of work to do on the other side, and Elder Perry`s apostolic duties will continue on the other side of the viel.
Last week we had stake conference. We have been contacting a lot, and we have found a new investigator. We have been able to talk with her a little, her aunt is a member and so she knows a little about our church. She seems really receptive, and I hope we can get in and teach more. Last time we could get in because her husband arrived later than usual, we hope to teach a little this week. Today we played sports again for pday, soccer, volleyball. I realized I should probably buy more shoes, I was hopping they would last till the end of my mission, the last 6 months. They are starting to part where the leather connects to the sole. I will look for a place where I can get them at an affordable price. The Copa America is starting!!! It is here in Chile this year which is HUGE. It is all the south america countries, Jamaica and Mexico. It lasts on month, I am sorry Jeremy but CHILE IS GOING TO WIN!!! Argentina, no :( . When Chile plays we have to enter in early, when the game starts. We have special permission to watch the games on Pday, if it starts before 630. Viva Chile!!!! I love you all, have a good week. Good luck amy and kate in girls camp. Thanks for the your letter amy, it came monday, it made my week. I love you all. Elder Chandler
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Sick Week. Last week of the transfer, I was hopping Elder Lopez was getting better, that we were going to have a good, hard working week, I was wrong. We were the majority of the week at home, Elder Lopez feeling really bad, migranes and a lot of trips to the bathroom. I got a lot of study time in. There were a few highlights last week though: A really good Family Home Evening with the Costa Family and two youth investigators, which was fun, Another Family Home Evening with an inactive member we are reactivating and the Reyes Family. Those two families are great families, two of the best here, for their willingness to support the missionary work and their unwaivering faithfulness. I can´t imagine how hard it is for Dylan on the mission, his mom bieng so young, tell him and thier family I say hi, and am sorry for their loss. You have to be strong, and hold to the faith and knowledge, of the plan of salvation, that you have. Today my comp was feeling good, we went to the temple, it has been so long. We have divisions with Brother Gonzales, and a couple of appointments today. I hope my comp is over his sickness. Wow, Elder Perry passed away. It will be wierd to see a new apostle. This friday Elder Gonzales is comming to speak to the mission, and will give a special mission capacitation. We have the mission aniversary the first of July. We have Stake Conference this weekend. Another Investigator I was teaching for a long time in Quimey got baptized last weekend, Daniel Palma, but he changed ward and I came here, to San Miguel. I love you all. Take Care. Thanks for everything.
Bautismo in Quimey, Rosa and Cesar. Rosa is an elderly woman that I contacted with Elder Esteves in Quimey, About two transfers ago. She is a nice person, maybe she first started listening to us because she didn`t want to turn us down, but she was sure to tell us that she was Catholic. About the second visit she was a little unsure, saying she loves our visits because we remind her what she needs to be doing in her church but isn`t. She is one of those Catholics that never go to church. She was unsure about the restoration, but we invited her to church, and organized someone to drive her there, because she lives a little far from the chappel. She had a strong spiritual experience the first time at church, even crying durring the sacrament, and the members helped to fellowship her and make her feel comfortable. She was super excited to go back the next sunday. After recieving the lessons for about 2 months she was baptized Saturday, I recieved special permision to go and it was a wonderful experience. Her daughter and grandson are preparing for baptism now. Cesar is the cousin of Joice, one of my baptisms in Quimey. He struggled to keep commitments, go to church and read the book of mormon, the assignments that we left him to read. He only in 14 years old, and was recieving very little support from his mom, which makes it difficult. Without the support of the parents, in this mission people under 18 have to attend church for 4 months before they can be baptized. It was great to see him get baptized saturday with Sister Rosa, two people that I found. Two recent converts shared their testimonies, both of them baptized while I was in Quimey. Their conversion stories are amazing, and now are super dedicated members. That was definately the highlight of the week. The low of the week was Elder lopez getting sick. The three other elders in the apartment have been sick since arriving the ward, and they don`t know exactly why. My comp is the sickest, and I am a little tired and bored of it. Yesterday we couldn`t leave at all, he was sleeping and going to the bathroom all day. We had to cancel the appointment that we had. It sucked. When I arrived in the sector, he went to the hospital to pick up some test results that he had done, but they turned up with nothing, no parasite or common sickness. Then they figured it was an ulcer, and have been taking Aniprazol, but it hasn`t shown any results. Elder Harrison called the mission nurse, and they sent him to a hospital to do a few tests, and he should be going back in a few days. I don`t enjoy bieng sick, and feel bad for them, but it isn`t too fun bieng the comp of a sick missionary, I hope they can find the problem. We have been trying to leave when we can and work hard. I am trying to stay positive, and do what I can. He feels good now, we played basketball, soccer, and volleyball for p-day, then a peruvian elder cooked us some peruvian food, MmmmMmmmMmmm. Thanks for the updates everyweek, to all that write me. It is getting colder outside, this week I started leaving with my coat. The rain hasn`t started yet, which is a little wierd, it seems that we are in a droubt. That is a positive for me though, with rain comes more cold. School is ending, how cool, what are your plans to escape the heat? I love you all, Take care, Elder Chandler.
Once upon a time there were three stone masons building a brick wall. A curious young fellow walked up to the first one, who was mixing a batch to concrete, and asked, what are you doing? He replied, I am mixing concrete. He walked up to the next man, who was starting to lay the first row of bricks, and asked, What are you doing? I am building building a wall, he replied. Then he walked up to the third man, diligently working to complete his portion of the wall. He asked, What are you doing? I am building a beautiful cathedral, a safe place for children, youth, and adults of all ages to worship our Lord, learn his gospel, and strive to apply his teachings to become like him. As they do so, they will live longer, happier lives, thanks to this beautiful sanctuary that I am building. What was the difference between the three men, each doing the same job. The vision that they had, The third man understood what he was doing, what it would be in the end. What would happen if you asked three missionaries what in the world they were doing. Maybe the first would say, I am talking to people here in the park about the gospel of Jesus Christ, trying to get someone to listen to me. Maybe the second would say a little more. I am inviting all people to come to Christ, to recieve the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and to be baptized. And the third, I am a servant of the lord, and we have the same purpose here. I a working to bring to pass the Immortality and Eternal Life of man, to follow the path of Jesus Christ to make it back to His presense, with their families. What are we doing here? It is no small, not important, task. We are preaching the gospel of salvation, saving souls, people that are lost. They are hungry, and helpless, and cold, and need the gospel in their lives. If we can save just one soul, how great will be our joy in the kingdom of our father. It can be hard, but it will be worth it. We must do everything we can, now, to accomplish this great work on our shoulders. Members and Missionaries alike. I was a little sick a couple days this week, but now I am feeling better. We had interviews with the president this week. We had an activity saturday, a ward talent show. A lot of investigators went for their first time in the church. A few members were able to reach out and get to know them a little more, to fellowship them in the church. The only bad part was the lack of acts, we sang a funny song about what a mother does for her son. But the elders followed through, and the people we brought enjoyed it. And brother reyes tres leche cake was soooo good. Today we played soccer outside the chappel, which is always fun. Thanks for the update on life in town, I love you all, Elder Chandler.
It was great to see you for mothers day, and a little crazy to think it was my last skype. It was good to talk with Josh too, from texas. A lot has changed scince I left on the mission, but I am happy that you all are doing so well. I will be able to get to know the oakleys a little more, now that they live so close. That will be good because I havn`t seen them in forever, I dont even remember the last time. I have had a good week, last thursday we had our first lesson with a golden investigator named Daniela, and her husband Brigham, who in inactive but wants to return to the church. They have a lot of mormon friends, and Daniela had listened to the missionaries before in their old house. They are a cool family, and tomorrow we are going back for lesson two with a recent convert. I have high hopes. We have been contacting a lot, and found more future investigators that look very hopefull as well. Monday we went on splits with the district leader, and had a really good starter lesson in the park, talking with him for a good hour, and we got his address to go back. Saturday we have a talent show for mothers day, and the missionaries have an act, we will see what we can pull off, I am excited for this ward activity. Thats about it for the week, but I wanted to leave you with a short spiritual thought. In James 1:2-4 it talkes about trials, and how we should react when it gets hard. Have Joy in diverse trials, because the trial of your faith brings patience. We need to be patient and keep moving forward because it will get better. Sometimes we could think, why is this happening to me, I am a good person, I don`t deserve this. Why do bad things happen to good people? Maybe God knows we can handle it, that we are strong. We just need the faith to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the blessings that are delayed to truly test our faith, but that will come. Maybe not in weeks, months, or even a few years, but on the lords time. Don`t give up, don`t become weaker, pick yourself up and show the world what your made of. No trial is to big, when we put our trust in the lord. I love you all, Josh, Jeremy, Amy, Kate, Dad, Mom. I love you all my family and friends. Make this week a good one, Elder Chandler.
This is going to be a little short, but we will have one hour more sunday. It has been a challenging week, I have put more confidence in the Lord. We have been contacting a lot, searching for people to teach. We have been talking with people in the parks, streets, and been going door to door. I have found some encouraging words in my daily reading of the new testamant. In 2 timothy 4 7 it says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. I hope by the end of my mission I can say that I took advantage of every minute of everyday, that I had been a truly consecrated elder. I trust in him to guide us in this work, as I have already seen and know we are only going to see miracles if we show our faith by works, and strive to be a worthy servant. It is the same in your lives, keep fighting, keep trusting in the Lord, give every talent and ability to this work, to your conversion and faith, every minute, every day. My study of the book of mormon has a lot in common with Pauls words. In 2 ne, 4: 16-35 nephi gives thanks to the lord for the strength that he gives him. Nephi talks of his own unworthiness, realizing his nothingness compared to god, the weaknesses he has, the sin that so easily besets him. Then he teaches us what it means to rely on the lord, trust in his infinate mercy. He says he will rejoice and praise his name forever, the rock of salvation. He asks for strength to flee from sin, even the appearance of sin. He says he will trust in God, and not in the arm of flesh, the weaknesses of the natural man and the constant tempation. We need this Nephi Level of humility, trust, and greatfulness. We need to abandon everything that can hurt us spiritually, and make the changes that we need to make in our lives. We need to have self evaluate ourselves, and repent everyday, every week. The closer we become to Christ, the happier we will be. Without God we our nothing, even though we might think we are a ``hot shot``. With God, we can do anything. I love you all, that write me and give me the strenght I need to be strong everyday. I cannot thank you enough. Mom, you are amazing, you have always been there for me, I know you are praying for me. I love you so much, and can`t wait for my LAST SKYPE SUNDAY. College starts in January right, Should I extend? How was your cinco de mayo, we had tacos . Today we played soccer, and volleyball. I love the Parque Subercaseaux ward, there is a lot of work to do here. Tell everyone I said hi. nos vemos, elder chandler
A good week, First there`s Gorge, an amazing investigator who has gone through a lot of tough things these last few weeks. One day, a little before I arrived in this ward, he was sitting on a bench, alone, in a big park next to a busy street. He was thinking about how he would end his life. He heard someone talking to him, so he lifted his head to find two missionaries standing in front of him. That was my companion, elder Lopez and the Zone Leader, and they began to give him hope. He saw them as angels, sent from God to change his life. Then I came and got to know him. His was living on the streets, sleeping in the park, but shortly after I arrived he found a room to rent. He is gathering money to buy a bed and kitchen. He has been prepared to recieve our message, he is so willing to read the Book of Mormon and has accepted a baptismal date for the 30 of may. He knows we were sent by God to save his life and give him hope, to change his life. We expect to see him in church for his first time this sunday. I am so happy for his progress. There is also an 11 year old investigator that is progressing. The missionaries have been working with her and her family for quite a bit of time now, she has gone to the church various times, but the problem is she has no support from her family. Youth have to attend church for at least 4 months strait if they don`t have the support from an adult in their family to get baptized. She had a fight with another girl at church and has stopped reading the book of mormon and going to church, but we were able to convince her to go last sunday to church, and she had a good time. She is strong, but with the financial problems at home, it is hard keep at it. Other than those two, we have few people here that we are teaching. But, I like to work hard and we are hitting the streets and doing plenty of contacts, trying to talk to everyone. The ward is good sized, with an average assistance of 85 in sacrament meeting. For now the meetings start at 11, but in a few weeks they will start at 9, flipping the schedule, starting with Priesthood-Relief Society, and ending with sacrament meeting. Thats because we recently changed buildings and now share a building with another ward. I had a little cold this week, but keep working. I love you, see you next week. Elder Chandler
Transfers!!! After 7 changes and 10.5 months in Quimey, I had changes and now I am in the Parque Subercaseaux ward. I am really excited to get to know my new area, and am going to miss Quimey a little too. Parque Subercaseax is a lot different from Quimey. Quimey is the sector furthest south in the mission, and now I am in the sector most to the north. Quimey is a sector with a lot of country, really rural, and one of the largest in the mission. Now I am really close to the center of Santiago, which means a lot of city, a lot of towers and department buildings, and stores. In fact we have a huge Jumbo mall in the sector. There are a lot of people, and we are just a few minutes away from the subway station. And there are a lot of rich people here. I love city life, but it can be a challenge on the mission because we cannot contact department buildings to find new people. But I am really excited to get to work and make a difference here. Right now we have very few people we are teaching, but I expect to change that and have success here. I already know I am going to love it, and I`ve only been here 1 day. My companion is from Columbia, cool huh. Every one of my companions have been from a different county. Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico, California, Argentina, Peru, and now Columbia. I am learning a lot of culture, I only need a Brazilian and I am set. He only has 8 months on the mission, but is a hard worker. Today for pday we went to the Plaza de Armas, in Santiago Centro, and went to a national museum, and a catholic cathedral. The Cathedral was very interesting. It is huge inside, with ancient architecture, luxurious statues of the Saints, and Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. It is beatiful with all the detail they put into it, and the paintings on the tall arching ceilings. There were even people kneeling in front of a booth to confess their sins. It is amazing, but I am greatful to be a member of the true church and the beautiful simplicity that there is. But, it was a good experience to learn so much about another church. I love hearing how you are all doing, Jeremy on the mission, Josh and new job with amazon, Amy and Kate and your experiences in school. I love you all and can`t wait to talk for mothers day. Sincerely, Elder Chandler.
Paintball! It was incredible. That was on the list of things we couldn´t do for pday, but President gave us permision, if everyone in the zone went. It was my first time playing. I will want to play more when I get home, we played for 4 hours but I could have played all day. It reminds me of when we used to play airsoft. The field was sick, with a lot of obstacles around the an old house, which made plenty of cover to hide behind, including old cars, towers of tires, old metal barrels, bushes and trees, and a lot more. The last team to have players on the field won. It is definatly a pday that I will not forget. This week Sister Taylor went to the doctor and they told her she had to rest, and shouldn´t walk on it, so she borrowed a wheelchair and her companion has been pushing her everywhere to get to their apointments. Today they went to paintball with us, which required us to take bus and they take turns pushing her chair to arrive to the foot of Cerro Chena where we played. Her comp played while she watched and took photos. This Saturday Pilar is getting baptized, the wife of moises who got baptized without her wife knowing about two years ago. His wife goes to another church and at first was really stubborn and didn´t want to listed to our message at all, especially the book of mormon, but I have seen a huge change in her while I´ve been here. The other elders are teaching her, but in just the last couple months she has been to church without missing a single sunday, she has been reading the book of mormon, and going to ward activities. She went to Conference and was writing notes the whole time. She is really excited for her baptism. There is also a youth convert baptism this sunday, a young man who is 14 years old named Brandon. The missionary work is really bombing here in quimey. Me and Elder Esteves worked really hard this week, getting to know new people and helping older ones make commitments and progress. We are almost at week six of the transfer. Hey, how did you like General Conference, super stong huh? And a new temple in Haiti!! That is amazing news. There are a lot of messages to read over again and share them with others. Remember, as the world grow more wicked, the church becomes stronger and stronger, you can see that clearly in so many ways, the faithfulness of the members, the strong missionary force, the numerous temple that dot the earth, ECT. It is so amazing to be a part of something so big. Study conference, and change the things you need to change to be more spiritually strong. I love you all, I hope you had a good easter. Did the easter Bunny bring a lot of candy, LOL. Love, Elder Chandler.
Sunday was Joven Combatiente day, which if you remember from last year means that we had to return to the house early because there is a lot of violence on the streets. Luckily for us, San Bernardo is peaceful, and nothing bad happened. We had to enter at 6PM both Saturday and Sunday, but saturday we recieved permission to stay out later to go to a baptism of the sister missionaries in our ward. We did take advantage of the extra time though, and played Bang, a fun card game. It was a gift for Elder Peck, and came in chinese, but thanks to Elder Peck he was able to teach us how to play and we had a blast. Saturday Juan Carvajal was baptized, and it was an amazing baptism. His wife was baptized about a year ago, and was crying with the happiness that she felt to see her husband baptized as well, one year later. She bore testimony that God answers prayers because she had been pleeding every night that her husband would change and join the church. They both pleaded that thier daughters, most of them older that 18, would also be baptized so thier family could be eternal. The spirit was strong. Brother Garrido did the baptizing, who helped a lot to friendship him, and help Juan make the same decision that he had taken almost a year earlier. On Friday we had the Quimey Talent Show, and we had a good turn out. Sister Taylor did her sheep immitation BAAAAABAAA, the Soto family did a theater act from the bible, the young women danced, and Brother Barriga, the ward mission leader, and Brandon, a youth investigator did an amazing martials arts fight. It was a good activity and we laughed a lot. Brother Fica went to church!!!, I do believe in miracles. We have been working with the Fica family, and Sister Fica goes to church, but feels really alone in the church without her husband. Her Husband works late driving taxi, and sleeps in Sunday. But he came Sunday, at last due to a little convincing. Me and Elder Esteves keep working hard, contacting and finding new people to teach. We have a lot of good investigators. Today we played soccer. I am trying to make the best out of my last few weeks in this ward. I love you all, and with you the best. Mom, that april fools joke was not funny. Love, Elder Chandler.
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