December 13th

This week was a good week. I feel like I worked my brains out by learning Spanish the last week that Im sort of mentally tired but, thats what P days are for! We dont always rest physically on P days (because we play sports sometimes) but we always rest mentally, and that helps a lot.

Last friday we had mission conference in Concepcion for the inside. The mission is split into two halves, the inside and the outside. The inside is Concepcion and the surrounding cities and the outside ranges from 2 hours to 6 hours aways from Concepcion. Im still on the ¨inside¨ and my whole district from the MTC is on the inside, so I was able to see everyone! I was really excited about that because Im pretty close with a few of them. My first companion in the mission field, Elder Davis, gave his final testimony because he is leaving in February and also Elder Lopez, my zone leader for 18 weeks. They are both awesome so I talked with them for a bit and with other missionaries. Im getting to that point where I know a lot of Elders in the mission because around the year mark, you know almost everyone. After the year mark, people go home that you know and tons of new Elders come in. So, I enjoyed conference a lot. President Humphrey, Sister Humphrey, and the assistants spoke to us on different topics. I really enjoyed what the assistant taught especially. They taught us ¨The Vision¨, which is what we are supossed to teach as we are guided by the Spirit. They basically told us that we are to teach that God is Our Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ, through the Atonement, is our Savior first and if they dont understand that, then we cant move on because they arent going to know or realize the importance of the Restoration, Plan of Salvation, Doctrine of Christ or anything like that. The assistants that we have now are really good. They arent number pushers like some assistants can be, they just want us to do our best and reach our potential and thats really what its about.

There were two baptisms yesterday. The missionary that I replaced in the sector, Elder Dastrup (who is from my group that came to Chile), came to baptize one of them. When I got to the sector, they were already golden and ready to go for baptism. Baptisms are always really special because you can always see the joy in the convert after they are baptized. Last Tuesday, we attended a setting apart from someone in the ward who is headed to Argentina. It reminded me of mine 8 months ago and how special it is!

I love yall! We are working hard and I love talking to people about the Gospel, that I love!

Chao!

Elder Gregory

First post in Chillan! (12.6.10)

Things are going great! I love the ward, the investigators, and my companion is awesome! Sometimes its easy to get sector trunky (to miss your last sector) the week after changing, but things are amazing here so Im not trunky at all!

Im replacing one of my friends from the MTC and he left a lot of really good investigators. The ward is great and really friendly. Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting and it was a lot of testimonies of people saying bye to a future elder who is leaving tomorrow for his mission! He lives right down the street from us and he is a really good person with a smile always on his face. Its awesome to have a good, LDS family a few houses away from where we live. I introduced myself in sacrament and I could just remember 6 months ago when I arrived in Chile and how petrified I was to do it in my first ward! Its nice to have a fresh start and bring what I learned from my last sector and apply it to my new sector.

My companion is awesome. He doesnt know any English so its spanish all day, everyday. I have probably learned more spanish in this past week than I had learned in the six weeks before. Its all about filling up my agenda each day with words that I hear that I have to look up the meaning to once we get to the house, asking my companion questions, having him correct me, and my grammer book! Im starting to break out of that missionary vocabulary and be able to speak about other topics and it feels great! My companion is really patient with me and he cracks me up. Hes really friendly with everybody and can find something to talk about with everyone and make them laugh. Its hard to explain why, but its different living with a latino but like I said, I enjoy it! For example, Ive been snoring lately a little bit so in the middle of the night I got a few wacks with a pillow! I asked him what was up in the morning and apoligized for snoring and he just laughed about it and wasnt mad at all. It cracks me up how forward he is and how easy going and forgiving he is too.

The sector that I am in is a little ¨flite¨ as they say here. (That is a name for the gangsters here and it comes from the kind of shoe, nike flights!) I really havent seen too much but its known throughout the mission as one of the more dangerous sectors, I guess. We saw a fight outside the church one day with a guy with a 2 by 4, wacking someone who was curled up in a ball against a fence. They got up and the guy getting beat up ran away but its really nothing to be worried about because they dont mess with us at all. The Lord promised us safety as long as we are worthy and follow the guidance of the Spirit so there is nothing to worry about even for a second!

If I havent showed it, I really am enjoying my new sector! Im learning a lot and I feel like we are doing some really good work.

I love yall!

Elder Gregory

End of November

Hola!

Im headed out of the sector where I was born! (in other words, the sector I started!) Im headed to a city called Chillan and I heard its incredibly hot there in the summer. Oh well, Texas prepared me for hot summers! Ill be companions with a latino, from Argentina, so Im really excited about that. His name is Elder Gil (HILL). Its hard to speak in Spanish all the time with a gringo companion so now Ill be forced to speak spanish all the time, which Im excited to do! No more gringo companion to bail me out on vocabulary words! Ill have to study a bunch now!

We have one investigator that is good to go for next Sunday so Im a little bummed that I cant see her get baptized. But in the end, all that is important is that she gets baptized! She was the one that I spoke about in the last email that I found on a mini cambio and challenged her to baptism as straight forward as I possibly could. She was really prepared by the Lord and Im grateful that I could be a part in the process of her becoming a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

A zone leader asked me, on a mini cambio last week, ¨what was the main thing that you have learned from this sector?¨ Considering it was my first sector, I told him Spanish obviously. The other one that I learned is how to do ¨inspired contacts.¨ I mean that by applying the Gospel to the person that we contact in the best way that I can, as quick as I can. Thinking about it a little more, I really learned that the people and the members are amazing here in Chile. Ive really tried to develop that love for my brothers and sisters here and they have showed love back. It will be hard to say ¨chao¨ and ¨nos vemos¨ tonight to everyone but atleast Im not headed home to the states yet! That will be rough!

Thats pretty much the biggest news, that Im leaving where Ive been for 5 1/2 months! During studies in the morning every time something makes sense to me, it just re-assures me that this is the true church! Everything just falls into place so perfectly!

I head out tomorrow morning so time to finish up emails and say bye to everyone!

Chao!

Elder Gregory

November 22

Hey!

We have been blessed in finding some prepared people these past few weeks. Ive already shared of one but this past week we found another. I was contacting and a lady came out and was real nice. I introduced ourselves and said we would love to share a message about Jesus Christ with her. She said ¨of course¨ and let us in! After talking for a bit, we found out she had family ties to members and she knew a few lds families in the neigborhood. We taught her of the Atonement and then the Spirit prompted me to challenge her to baptism. Usually I try to say ¨seguira el ejemplo de jesucristo al ser bautizado por alguien que posea la autoridad de Dios?¨ or something like that which is really formal and well worded. (It translates to ¨will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone who has the authority of God?¨) But, I knew she was prepared and so all I said was ¨se bautizara?¨. (It just asks ¨will you get baptized?¨) It was a plain and simple challenge but she said yes really quickly after! I couldnt believe I challenged her the way I did but it all worked out! She attended church yesterday and she is really interested. We met her husband and he is really nice as well and will get baptized, just doesnt want a date yet. Anyway, the Lord prepared and we were just in the right place at the right time, guided by the spirit, when we did contacts!

Yesterday I did a mini cambio with an Elder that has the same time as me in the mission and was in the MTC with me. We taught an older man that loved cracking jokes at the expense of others. We got in his door and we started teaching. He had every sort of question and so I tried to apply them to our message. After tons of questions, I just had to say that we need to teach the doctrine of Christ. He would laugh at our inability to communicate perfectly and our imperfections in Spanish. At one point, I got sick of it and testified to him and it was silent after. We then were able to finish the lesson and he accepted a Book of Mormon and to read the chapter we left him. I was a little frustrated after because I knew I put too must trust in myself and not enough in the Spirit until late in the lesson. I learned my lesson that I dont speak as well and teach as well as I thought I did! But, the Spirit always testifies strongly and does his part, we just have to invite it in.

Ill put a few pictures. Everything is going great! This is the last week of this cambio and we will see if Im headed out next Monday!

Love yall!

Elder Gregory

First week of November (11.8.10)

Things are amazing here in Chiguayante, Chile! A lot of good things happend this past week and we really have been blessed.

We had a mission conference a few weeks ago and President Humphrey and his wife, Sister Humphrey, challenged us to do something that I really am enjoying. They told us to read the Book of Mormon again in two months. We have a book mark that tells us what chapters to read each day so that we can all do it together as a mission. They gave us a unmakred Book of Mormon in our native language so its really edifying to read it with ¨new eyes.¨ We just finished first Nephi and I really am enjoying it and trying to read it as an investigator would.

Some quick news that isnt so happy is that my companion from the MTC went home this past week. He broke a bone in his foot and has to go back to the states to have surgery. Elder Martell is a good person and I think he was really getting to the point where he enjoyed the mission a whole lot. Its sad to see missionaries go home but especially a bummer when they have to go home early. Oh well, its all the plan of our Heavenly Father and he is in control!

Elder Stull and I were able to be apart of a few baptisms! Ill start with a story of how we found a few of them, and then talk about the baptism.

A few weeks ago we got out of a lesson early and had fifteen minutes to go before lunch. We were thinking of going to lunch early since we were already so close to the house but we decided to do some street contacts. I contacted one and the man didnt want anything to do with us. Then, we contacted a mother and teenage boy walking along the street. Elder Stull talked with the mom and I talked with the son. We found out the mom was a less active and the son wasnt a member. She wanted to go back to church but needed an extra boost. They lived in the next sector over so the missionaries there baptized the son and the father but she gave us a reference of her niece who wasnt a member. Her niece had been going to church and was nine years old but wasnt baptized! She lived in our sector so we were blessed by the Lord with that baptism.

So, there were three baptisms yesterday- Marisol, the niece of nine years, the husband of the less active who we contacted whos name is Marcos (he is from the ward next to us but was baptized in our building), and Jorge! I had the priveledge to baptize Jorge, my companion baptized Marcos, and Marisol´s father baptized her!

I could type on and on about the investigators because I really do love them but just to summarize, Jorge is a teenager who is ninteen years old and became interested in the church through his girlfriend. Jorge is a really good person and I feel really blessed to have been able to baptize him. After the baptism, something really special happend. Jorge told me with a crack in his voice.. ¨Im clean!¨ It was an amazing feeling and I testify that the joy that comes through the Gospel is much more than any other happiness that someone can feel.

Thats about all I have time for! Like I said, I could go on and on about the investigators and experiences with them but Ill save that for when I get home! Love yall!

Elder Gregory

November 1, 2010

Hey everyone! Its heating up here.. but I love it! Reminds me of back home!

This past week went well. We found one family by doing contacts that is amazing! They are inteligent and ask really good questions. They are really looking for the truth. But, the Dad didnt seem too interested. We found out a few days later that he doesnt want us coming by. The son and mother didnt want us to talk to him but we finally got through to them the importance of us needing to talk to him one last time. We said it didnt matter if he told us to leave, yelling at us! We just want that last oppurtunity. So, this week we are heading over there to talk to him. We will see how it goes but I definentely know that God is a God of miracles and anything is possible with his power and his Spirit!

We had Stake Conference in Chiguayante yesterday. President Humphrey spoke and his wife gave her testimony. At the beginning, we were stressing out a little bit because none of our investigators had arrived. We were sitting there and we decided to go to a few of their houses to bring them to church. Within a minute after us walking out the church, we met three of them in the street! One of them told us that he wouldnt even be able to because of work a few days before, but he came anyway! It really was a blessing and wonderful feeling to see them walk through the doors and feel the Spirit that was there at conference.

We had a conference with the missionaries in this part of the mission with Elder Zeballos. He is a seventy and second councelor of the area presidency here in Chile. I learned so much and he is an amazing teacher. He drew a lot of examples of things that we can relate to missionary work. He testified very strongly with the Spirit at the end and the Spirit felt like it was pressing against me. It was so strong. He was a missionary here in Concepcion when he served and was a mission President for the mission below my mission. So, he loves this part of Chile and we were really blessed to have him come by to talk to us and give us council.

It was a great week and im loving life down in Chile right now. Its a blessing to be able to serve these people everyday. Elder Zeballos testified of the significance of what we are doing right now. He said that no other person, except my companion and I, have the authority to teach, find, and bring to the waters of baptisms like we do, in the sector in where we work.

Time to go but I love yall! Take care!

Elder Gregory

October 25, 2010

Hola! Como estai? (as they say in Chile!) Things are good here. Another week of work and another week of trying to follow the guidance of the Spirit!

As I thought about what scripture to share with yall this week and what to share, the Spirit prompted me to say something. So, it might me a little firm but its something I want to share.

We had a mini cambio this past week and I was with a missionary from Argentina. He taught me so much Spanish in the little time I was with him. We did contacts pretty much the whole day and didnt get in any doors but we kept positive and we tried. At night we had a family home evening with a couple who are returned missionaries. They invited their neigbors and we watched a movie of the miracles of Jesus Christ. It was a good night and we are always full of appreciation when the members are willing to help. A thing that had me a little confused is that they told us to not even talk about baptism with them. So, directed by the couple, we just talked about faith the whole time. Faith is where it all starts and is extremely important but many people think faith will get them to Heaven and thats all they need. I dont know any other way to put it except that it is extremely wrong to think that. Baptism is the way we show our faith. As it says in the Bible, ¨faith without works is dead.¨ Sometimes people think we as missionaries are too straight forward and too forceful to bring people to baptism. If we do not invite people to baptism, as the Spirit directs, then we are not doing our job as representatives of Jesus Christ. Ill give a scriptural reference of Jesus Christ himself teaching this.

I have been reading a lot of the doctrine of Christ. This consists of two major chapters in the Book of Mormon for me.. 2 Nephi 31 and 3 Nephi 11. In 3 Nephi 11 Jesus Christ appears in the Americas and teaches his doctrine. When Jesus arrived and showed the scars and speaks of how he drank the bitter cup, the people are overcome. In 3 Nephi 11:17 they say ¨Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.¨ The word ¨hosanna¨ means ¨save us, now!¨ What the Savior does next is extremely important. He calls over Nephi, a prophet and says this to him in verse 21, ¨I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven.¨ He then invites the people to be baptized. He says in verse 33 to the people, ¨And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.¨

They pleaded with Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, to save them. The first thing that he does is give the power to baptize and then invites all to be baptized in his name. This is the way we are saved- as we show our faith and repentance through baptism by someone who has the authority of Jesus Christ to do so.

By writing all of this, I just hope that nobody takes the covenent of baptism lightly. I confess that I was one of those who thought the missionaries were a little too ¨pushy¨ at times. That was wrong and incorrect. Missionaries invite to baptism, as guided by the Spirit, because they love their brothers and sisters. The Savior showed the importance of it, and we need to follow his example.

Now that Ive said all that, I just want to let yall know how much I love yall! I love yall as my brothers and sisters... because you are! Heavenly Father has a plan for us and we have the privelige and blessing to be apart of it. Ive been raised by parents who raised with love and with the Gospel principles. My Mom raised me to love everyone and to have Christ-like patience. She taught me the best by leading by example. My Dad raised me to serve others to show this love and to always remember my priesthood responsibility. He also lead by example. Im also so grateful for being raised in a home with loving Sisters and that I now have the blessing of having brothers to help council me and help guide me along the path. There are so many others that have helped me and have been an example to me and I wish I could mention all but I think its enough to say that so many people have helped me that don´t even realize how much they really have.

The Spirit prompted me to say these things and I feel like I dropped the hammer a bit but just know that I love yall so much! Because I love yall, I invite yall to study and ponder about the importance of baptism. If you are not baptized and reading this, I invite you to do the same and then ask your Father in Heaven if what I have said is true. I also invite you to act on that answer.

Everything else is going great and we are working hard! Its heating up a bit and Im loving it!

Love yall! Chao till next week!

Elder Gregory

6 months (October 18, 2010)

Its been six and its been an awesome six months. We ended the cambio (6 weeks) yesterday so we are starting fresh again. Im staying in the same sector with the same companion but I still feel like I can start over again. Ill remember the last 6 weeks, learn from it, and then not worry about it because we worked hard! But, now its time to work in a smarter way and try to humble ourselves more so that we confide in the Lord even more.

Well, I could just say that it was an average week, share a message, and end the letter but that would be pretty lame! So, things are pretty normal to me but Ill try to dig a little beneath the surface to share in the letter. The thing is, is that things are pretty normal to me now but I know they arent to yall so Ill keep it detailed!

I had a mini cambio with a zone leader, Elder Lopez, this week and went to their sector for the day. Its been close to three months since Ive worked for more than a few hours out of the sector so I was really happy to switch out for a day! The thing I love about going out of your sector on mini cambios is that you can just follow the lead of the other missionary that knows the sector, follow his lead on teaching, and testify! I enjoy it a lot. Of course the zone leaders are great missionaries so we taught some great investigators that day. In the morning during study, Elder Lopez and I read a talk about challenging and testifying. What Elder Lopez talked to me about and from what I learned from the talk, Im really inspired to challenge everybody to baptism now! Of course they will be quality challenges and not on the street asking them to be baptized before I even get to know them but that is one thing that Im really trying to improve on. People cant be baptized if you dont challenge them! So Elder Stull and I are really going to work on that one a lot more.

The Spanish is coming along. Ive noticed that at this point in my mission and where my speaking ability is at, its all about confidence. I mean that in the manner that if I go into a house thinking Im going to mess up, I probably will! If I go in thinking that I can say whatever I need to say about whatever thing I need to say, then it is a whole lot easier! Of course there are topics that I have no clue what they are talking about but I know missionaries that are close to the end of their mission and they cant understand everything. Then the factor of how much slang they use and their accent comes in too. Overall, Im just glad with all of it that I have the help of the Lord or else I dont know how I would be able to do it.

I have a few pictures here of from the zoo a week ago and pictures we took as a zone this past week at our last district class. There is only one Elder changing and his name is Elder Keller. He is from California and a really humble Elder. I remember when I got here he was a junior companion and told me that he wanted to be junior companion for the rest of his mission! Two cambios later he was senior companion, district leader, and training. Now he is leaving to be a zone leader. The Lord really does make the humble into leaders!

Im pretty excited for the new cambio and Ill tie that into my message for yall this week. I have not been apart of record breaking amounts of baptisms or a great number of them but the ones that I have seen have really brought joy to my heart. I can see the renewal when they come out of the water. I can see their desire to do what is right from then on. Im really grateful for the blessing that we all have to ¨start new¨ again and again and again. There are tons of ways we can start new again. One of the most important is what we partake of every Sunday in memorial of our Savior. This is the sacrament. Thats why church is so important so that, with the true priesthood authority, we have the ability to renew ourselves again, and again, and again.

All right, love yall! (I still have the Texan in me by saying ¨yall¨ so much!)

Elder Gregory

October 11 2010

Hola familia!

Today we went by the zoo! Everyone kept telling us that it was really small and to not expect too much. From a few members they told us that all they had were some birds, a cat, and a stray dog that got in! But, actually it was pretty fun and it was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. We went as a district and had a good time.

Well, we are working hard. This cambio hasnt been the best one of my mission but atleast we are working hard and trying. Im really grateful for the part in Preach My Gospel (a guide for missionary work and missionaries) that says what an effective missionary is. There is nowhere in there about how many baptisms you have and how many new investigators each week. Basically what I think it comes down to is if you are satisfied and the Lord is satisfied with your work at the end of each day.

We have a few possibilites for next Sunday to be baptized so we are going to work hard to see that through. Of course as missionaries we are only here to help, encourage, and teach. We arent here to make decisions for people. We couldnt do that even if we wanted to.

We taught two classes in church the other day. The first was for 20 minutes to the ward about the Book of Mormon. We read the introduction of 1)What is the Book of Mormon 2) How to know if its is true. 3) Why it is important to know. I think it went well and we had a few members ask for some to give to their friends. We taught the second hour to the investigator and new members class. We spoke of the Law of Chastity because the teacher doesnt like teaching that one too much. Before the mission, it would have been really hard to have to adress that subject so many times to so many different people and now its no problem. The Lord has to tell his people the way it is and so as representatives of Jesus Christ, we have to do the same about certain things.

Not too much else has happend. Im loving the mission and Im filled with joy that I can be here serving the people of Chile by bringing them the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I cant believe I will hit 6 months this week! Ive heard it a ton of times that the mission flies by but now I can really testify for myself the mission really does fly by!

Through difficult times, I think one of the best, or the best, thing that you can do is be filled with gratitude. So I want to share a little bit more of what I am thankful for as I did a little bit last week.

Im so grateful that the Gospel is restored on the Earth and that we have our agency to accept it and follow Jesus Christ. Im eternally grateful for what our Savior did for us so that we even have an opportunity at all to accept the Gospel. With his sacrifice, we have the chance to better ourselves each day. What Jesus Christ did for us is the basic doctine of our religion and we can show our gratitude through accepting, loving, and thanking in our conversations through prayer with our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ has provided us a way to have Eternal Life and I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to share this message.

Love yall!

Elder Gregory

October 4, 2010

Hola!! How are yall doing? Things are awesome here in Chile. Its starting to heat up a bit but the nights and mornings are still a little chilly. We played a little soccer as a zone this morning with another zone (the zone that my old companion is the leader of) by the beach. It was really pretty and we had a good time.

General Conference was amazing. I feel so spiritually renewed. Its my first one in the mission even though Ive got almost 6 months so I had a completely different look on things as I watched the sessions. 10 Hours of talks sounds like way too much but its actually not enough! I think each apostle should talk twice and each member of the First Presidency should speak 4 or 5 times! Oh well, they have other things to do I guess!

I learned something really significant from each talk. I went into the first session with a question. After the first talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, my question was answered. Elder Holland has been ¨dropping the hammer¨ the past few conferences but he took a different approach this time. He really showed his love and made it known for every member of the Church. My question that I had in my mind was, ¨How do I show my love for others?¨ He showed appreciation for everyone and I learned that a way you can show your love for others is to thank them for the little things that they do that maybe nobody ever notices. He thanked the ¨behind the scenes¨ members, or ¨helpers¨, who never necessarily have leadership callings. Something he said really touched me. He said something like, ¨ Leaders hope to one day attain the sight in the eye of God like these 'helpers' already have.¨ Thats not the exact words but close. That was one talk that I really enjoyed and learned a lot from.

Another talk that I was really effected by was actually very similar to Elder Holland´s. It was from the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Prophet in our day, President Thomas S. Monson. He spoke on gratitude. He gave the example of when Jesus Christ and his disciples were with the large group of followers and needed to feed them. The disciples said that they only had a few loaves and a couple fishes. What the Savior did at this time is a wonderful example for us. He gave thanks to Heavenly Father for what they did have, blessed it, and fed the people with just that little bit of food. President Monson told us that we never know when it will be ¨too late¨ to give thanks and if we look and search deep enough, we will see how blessed we really are. He said one thing that was extremely powerful. He said that to live with gratitude forever in our hearts, is to touch Heaven. This is definentely one thing I am going to work on because especially if our Prophet says it, then we had better do it!

Well, my letter home this week is pretty much just about General Conference but it really was the highlight of the week. We are working hard and Im so grateful to be in this work. I cant imagine how it would be and feel if I had said ¨no¨ to not serve a mission, especially now that I have seen the blessings of having faith in the Lord and serving him. For example, having faith that he will make some 19 year old boy who cant speak Spanish and has a whole lot to learn about the Gospel, into a missionary of Jesus Christ. This is a miracle and I know that the Lord will bless us if we are humble and willing to obey.

To leave yall, I want to share about one more thing. It is the significance of having a living Prophet on the earth. I have overlooked the importance of this until now. How amazing is it that we have a Prophet on the earth, called from God, to lead us through the temptations and struggles of our temporary life here on Earth? In the days where the Gospel was not on the earth (for example- after Christ was crucified and his apostles killed off), there are people that would do anything to have a prophet leading them to safety from the darkness of the world. Now, we have a Prophet to do this! I know Thomas S. Monson is called of God to guide us and to lead us to safety. I invite those who want to learn if we really have a prophet on the earth, to pray and ask Our Heavenly Father and to pray if Thomas S. Monson is that prophet. I promise and testify that if you open your heart then you will recieve an answer.

Love yall!

Elder Gregory

Weekly update- 9/27/10

Hey family! How are yall?!

So, I have a little story to share. First of all, the mission has its ups and downs. One of the ups would definentely be when an investigator that you have been working with, comes up out of the water and looks renewed. Other ups would be when you find a person who is really interested in hearing about the Gospel. These definentely are blessings of the mission. But, for there to be good moments, there has to be bad moments also. But my story ends up with a happy ending so its all fine!

We have been working with this one investigator who is a little over twenty years old. He is so interested in the Church and like I said a few weeks ago, I had maybe the most spiritual experience in my life in a lesson with him. He doesnt have too much support from his family, in fact, his grandmother is a devout Catholic and cant stand ¨the mormons!¨ But, he has come to know that the Church is true and agreed to a baptismal date. His date was yesterday. So, we met with him almost everyday this past week to share a scripture or a message with him to give him some support that he needs. At the beginning of the week he was extremely nervous but with each lesson, he got less and less nervous. We had some really Spiritual lessons and the Holy Ghost strongly testified. We were not able to meet with him on Friday because he had an art exhibit downtown in Concepcion so we tried calling him a few times that night, just to check in, but he didnt answer. We didnt sweat it because I felt really good about him and his date. The next day we got a phone call from his fellowshipper who said, ¨he doesnt want to get baptized, and it was nice to know the Church, Chao.¨ We were crushed. We had never been to his house because his family doesnt like us too much but we decided to this time. He wasnt there so we went back to our house. I got on my knees and prayed and pleaded with Heavenly Father for him. I loved him but I still didnt have close to that God-like love that Heavenly Father has for his children. I prayed for that love and it just wouldnt come. All of the sudden I thought of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. At that second, a wave of emotions hit me and I cried like a baby. My pillow was soaked. I really gained that love for him as my brother and I pleaded with Heavenly Father to just let me talk to him once that day. We went through the day and nothing really could go right. Almost all our appointments fell through and we ran out of minutes on our cell phone so we went on a huge hunt to find a pay phone. Basically, it just wasnt one of the best days. We decided to go to his house that night (this is Saturday night, the day before his baptism) and he was there! He came out and we were able to talk with him! I was filled with joy. After talking to him, he told us of his concerns and basically it just came down to all the opposition that he has had to face this past week. A huge part is that his family is not very supportive. We all bore our testimonys together and we all had a few tears in our eyes that night in front of his house. He really felt the love and support that he needed again. He said that he would get baptized the next day. After that, I felt like I was walking through Heaven as we walked to our next appointment.

So, he had picked me to baptize him! I was so honored and excited and would be my first time to be able to perform a baptism. I brought all my white clothes to Church Sunday, ready to go! We got to church, and the our ward mission leader told us that his sister (who is the fellowshipper) got a text that said that he couldnt withstand the opposition and wasnt going to get baptized. I cant express how I felt, again. So, we gave him some space yesterday and didnt see him but today we are going to head over and talk about it. Hopefully he can see General Conference this next weekend and hear and see the Prophet of God.

I said the story had a happy ending! The happy ending is that the Church is true! Its a little hard to see people say ¨no¨ to the blessings of the Gospel but agency is one thing that nobody can take away. I know that this Church is the Church of Jesus Christ and that Heavenly Father loves his children so much that we cant even imagine.

Other than that, everything else is going fine. We worked hard and I can still go to bed feeling like I did all I could to bring others to Christ. That is a wonderful feeling.

Hope all is well in Texas! Love yall and miss yall!

Elder Gregory

pictures to go with the last post

Here are a few pictures over the past few weeks. A few of them are of us playing the game that I explained. A few others are of the ward party and stake party a few weeks ago. Another is of me standing in the middle of a really busy road when there is nobody on the streets because its a holiday!

Sept 20 2010

Im down here in Concepcion and there are barely anyone in the streets and everything is closed pretty much! It is the 200th year anniversary for Chile and so its a four day weekend for a lot of people. So, the work as been a little slow lately but we are still keeping busy working!

We have been eating a whole lot of empanadas. Its fried bread with meat and onions and atleast one olive inside. They are pretty good but just like anything, too much of a good thing turns out to be a bad thing! So, I think I have had enough empanadas for awhile. There is this one game that they play here. The older men are big on it but anyone can play. What there is, is a square of dirt with wood around it and small heavy disks. The point of the game is to throw the disks as close to a line of string going through the middle of the dirt. You stand about 30 feet away or more and see who gets closest! It doesnt sound like the most amazing and fun filled game in the world but its actually a lot of fun when people get into it.

We went to the ward party and they danced "quaka". Im not sure how you spell it but for the most part eveything in Spanish is said how its spelled! But anyway, this dance is the national dance. Of course missionaries cant dance but we had a lot of fun watching. Again, I love this ward so much. Ive learned so much from them and they are amazing to the missionaries that come through there.

I was reading in 2 Nephi 2 the other day and that chapter is packed with doctrine and amazing scriptures of agency and the necessity of the fall of Adam and Eve. I have a lot of it highlighted but there was one verse that wasnt. I looked at it saying that I was going to apply it in some way because its one of the only ones I hadnt marked or had notes for. It is verse 19 and it says that "fueron echados del jardin de Eden, para cultivar la tierra." (Only have my Spanish scriptures right now!) But it pretty much says that Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden to till the Earth. I thought about it for a second and realized something. "To till the Earth" means to work and that really is our purpose here on Earth. We are to work to learn and to become like Our Heavenly Father, who is a perfect a ressurrected being. We have to work for our families so that we can have a place of learning. We have to work to study about the world around us. And we can work in many different manners. So, relaxing with our family and friends is not bad at all in any way, in fact that is what Our Heavenly Father wants us to do- to enjoy our family and friends! But, after we have done that, we should take it as time that we used to rest from our labors and we should have more desire to work hard the next day. So, two of our main purposes here on Earth is to gain a body and to learn to be like God, which requires much work.

Ill attach a few pictures! I love yall!

Elder Gregory

(Ill do the pictures later when Im on a computer in my sector.)

Sept 13 2010

We played soccer this morning and here is a picture. We play soccer so much! Well, I guess I am in South America...

Hola familia! Things are going good. I have a new companion, Elder Stull, and we´re working hard. Some days are better than others but we work hard everyday regardless. I am so thankful for what Elder Davis taught me and did for the people here but I think it was his time to move on from this ward. He served as best he could and now its time for someone else to come in and have their different views of things and how we should take care of it. I saw Elder Davis today and he has a lot to do in his new sector but hes completely capable and willing. Hes a good guy and was a great companion.

We are teaching a lot and I really feel that we are trying our best to teach to the needs. Ive learned the importance of relating Gospel principles to things that we can relate to now. Especially for children and teenagers it helps a lot. For example, Elder Stull did a wonderful job of asking questions to get to know this one family that we found doing contacts. They invited us in and he asked questions to get to know them. The mom is really friendly and the two teenage boys were willing to listen to us also. We got to know them and with that information of things they like to do, sports they like to play, we were able to relate it to Gospel principles. For example, after our lesson we challenged them to baptism and told them a date that we and they are going to prepare for. At first the two boys were timid about it but I tried to relate it to basketball and soccer which were their favorite sports. We asked them which would they try harder, when they go out and play a game with their friends for fun, or for a competition when your goal is to win? They told me obviously that whenever you have the goal to win and not just for fun. We related this to a baptismal date. Whenever there is a goal in site, we are willing to work harder for that goal. We told them that a baptismal date would help encourage them to work harder to gain a testimony for themselves if this really is the church of Jesus Christ. They understood it and accepted the date! This really helped them understand and Im happy and thankful the Spirit prompted us to say those things. President Humphrey, and especially his wife, have been trying to get us to ask inspired questions. I really have a testimony of how important it is to really feel and understand the needs of investigators and teaching to their understanding.

Well, as I have already told a few people in my family in emails, Im putting talks on my mp3 right now so Im not writing as much. I just bought an mp3 and want to load it with talks. I never couldve imagined before the mission how much I really would love listening to talks! Im really excited for General Conference coming up here soon.

Speaking of talks, Ill share something that I heard in a talk from Elder David R. Bednar, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I also shared this scripture yesterday with someone so I want to share it with yall. (Hopefully I haven´t said this before but if I have, its really important so it wont hurt hearing/reading it twice!)

In the first book of the Book of Mormon is the Book- 1st Nephi. Nephi is very humble and walked in the ways of the Lord. He was guided at times to tell his brothers that they were being disobedient because sometimes the Lord needs to firmly humble his people. Nephi´s brothers would complain a lot of problems that were going on in the wilderness where they were commanded to be by the Lord. One time they were extrememly frustrated with Nephi and tied him up and bound him. This next part is what I want to share with yall. When he prayed for help, he didnt pray for the Lord to just free him from the chords. He asked for the strength so that he might be able to do it. So through his faith, Nephi broke free. This is a wonderful example of how we should ask our Heavenly Father for help. We shouldnt ask him to do things for us, but for help after we have done all that we could do.

All right, time to head back to the house!

Love yall! Elder Gregory

It's the end of my first cambio!

So Im not technically in training anymore! Yes!!! Im ready to do some major growing. My new companion is coming tomorrow and I dont know too much about him. Hes a gringo and his name is Elder Stole. He was trained by one of the assistants who is an ace missionary. So, Im excited to meet him! Elder Davis is headed to a zone on the otherside of Concepcion to be a zone leader. Hes got a whole lot of responsibility coming for him. Every companionship in my zone has a new person as of tomorrow. So, lots of changes but Im so excited.

I would love to tell an experience that I had this past week during a lesson with an investigator but I would feel bad typing it because it wouldnt nearly give the feeling that it deserves. Its just one of those stories that Ill have to save for when I get home! But, Ill just say that out of my close to 3 months here in Chile and my 2 months in the MTC, it was the most Spiritual moment of my mission and possibly my life. So right now, I am doing everything in my power to be worthy of the Spirit of God and teach with it during the lessons. But the end result of the experience is that we have an investigator who is dead set on getting baptized this month. He is really in his conversion process and the Spirit testified to him of the truth of our message.

This experience actually happend when I was in a mini cambio with someone else who only has a month and a half more than me. I have been doing a lot of mini cambios with people in the zone this past week. I stay in our sector and others come. It sort of served a double purpose. First, Elder Davis was a district leader so he wanted to meet the other investigators of different sectors in the district. The second reason is that he wanted me to get a feel for leading the planning and what we do that day because Ill have a new companion who wont know anything or anybody of the sector when he gets here. So, I feel pretty prepared and am grateful for the mini cambios that I have had these past two weeks and what Ive learned.

Now, a quick spiritual thought. In Alma 5 in the Book of Mormon there are a lot of verses that made me think a little bit. One says how the Lord says that his arms are spread open to us as in welcoming us. He asks us to come to him and repent. This doesnt come across so much as a chastisement to me but an invitation. He pleads with us to accept his sacrifice and repent of our sins. We all could use a little reminder that we mess up in this life but there one person in whom we can be perfected. This person is our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sorry, I dont have the verse numbers but Ill do better next time! Chao y Cuidense mucho!

Elder Gregory

Last week of August!

We just got back from Concepcion and we´re back in our sector! About an hour of P-Day left! We visited old investigators and converts of Elder Davis in his old sector today because its most likely that he will be leaving next week. We´ll know next Sunday. But, he could stay another cambio! Who knows! Ive learned a lot from him and hes been a great trainer.

Yesterday, Maria Jose was baptized! She is a twelve year old girl that is really smart and inteligent. She has a really strong testimony and reads the Book of Mormon a whole lot. Im going to attach a picture of her family, Elder Davis and I, and the fellowshipping family that gave us the refrence. Her mother, Jaqueline, is there and she is a huge reason that Maria Jose was able to be baptized. She was so extremely supportive. She wants to get baptized more than anything but there are a few things she needs to do before she can. In South America its really common for people to be living with someone who they arent married to. We are going to keep working with her and hopefully one day she is able to get divorced and married to the man she is living with. (He wants to get baptized too!) We´re going to keep working with her and anything is possible with the Lord´s help!

Ill attach a few more pictures of the sector. There is one of all the dogs that sit around at this one corner sometimes close to our house. There was a whole lot there at that time but there arent usually that many so close. They are all pretty much scattered around the side walks. They call our zone ¨Jurassic Park¨ because there are high mountains to one side of the city and high gates around the churches. Ill attach some pictures of that too becuase I thought that was pretty funny and accurate when I heard it!

I want to share a little spiritual experience for my spiritual thought. It doesnt end with a baptism, a family reactivated, or even a lesson. But, it ends with a good lesson that I learned...

Yesterday we were contacting references for a large part of the day. We walked past a house and I had peaked in and seen that people were eating dinner together as a family and watching television. I heard a little prompting tell me that I should contact that house but I sort of brushed it off and told myself that we needed to go to this next appointment we had after we were finished with references. Each step we walked further from the house, I felt weaker and weaker. Once we got to a corner of a street that we were about to turn and walk down, which was about twenty steps later, I said, ¨sorry Elder Davis, I need to go contact that house¨ because I was almost so weak I couldnt walk! We went back to the house and I talked to a person at the door step and he said they were busy but pass by another day. After that I felt like my strength was back and I was fine again. I thought about it and knew that the Spirit of God had prompted me to contact them and I turned it down until a few seconds later. Maybe we planted a seed, maybe we will pass by another day and they will be ready for the message, or maybe it was just simply a test from the Spirit. I dont really know, but I do know the importance now of being spiritually sensitive, especially to those that have the greatest gift a person can have- the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Thats it for this week! Love yall and yall are in my prayers!

Elder Gregory

Update for the 23rd of August

Its real nice outside and Im wearing short sleeve which is pretty nice. Some days in the afternoon we can wear short sleeves for a few hours but nights and mornings are pretty chilly.

Anyways, the work is going good. We definentely keep busy. This past week we had conference with the President and his wife for two days. We had it at the mission home and ate some amazing lunches. We learned of 8 things, simplified. Like starting a lesson, the basic doctrine of Christ, explaining the Book of Mormon, the importance of asking good questions and things like that. What it all really comes down to is relying on the Spirit once you do all you can to prepare. Elder Davis and I have been working hard to do better in these categories and I've already seen the amazing change when you can ask good questions that make them think. Its easy to run through a lesson but it takes a lot of help from the Spirit to adjust a lesson to the needs of an investigador.

I was reading in Jacob this past week and I can,t even count how many times Jacob gives credit of his ability to speak to the power of the Spirit. This goes exactly with what we learned in conference with our President and I've been thinking about it a lot lately. This is why its so vital for missionaries to be worthy and to be exactly obedient to all the rules. The Spirit wont be with someone who is not keeping the Lord´s commandments and serving all that he can. It's hard sometimes to recognize when the Spirit is present so I was challenged by one of my teachers in the MTC to write of how the Spirit felt that day and it will start to get easier and easier to recognize. This has helped me a lot and if being more Spiritually sensitive is something you desire, this is a suggestion of something that may help.


For P day today we played soccer in the morning. It was going to be our zone playing together but everyone had a reason or another to not come except us and the zone leaders. It was still really fun though. We cleaned up and went to Concepcion after that. We had some huge ¨completos¨ in town. They are pretty much chilleno mayo (which is a little different than American) and other toppings with a bun with a hot dog thrown in there! Ill add some pictures.

Time´s short but I love yall! A little message to close things up...


Con amor!

Elder Gregory

August 16

This past week was the four month mark! Through the week I see the date at the top of my planner and every time I think ¨Is it really already (date)?¨ It is so crazy. But I know every week I probably say how fast the mission goes by. Oh well, I guess thats just a different way of saying ¨its flying by!¨

I love the Chileno culture. Some of it has taken some getting used to but it isnt so drastically different from the States. Here are a few things that I like and think are funny...

One is that when having a meal and there is a salad, they just put it in the middle of the table and everyone pokes in the same bowl with their forks to eat the salad. I was a litte wierded out the first time I saw that but now I think its so much easier! Also, the salads are mixed with a whole lot of salt and lemon juice. They never really have dressing unless the family is a little American.

Another one is that a lot of Chilenos sort of have a hard time with small talk. For example here is a conversation that happens a lot...

Hola.... Hola
Como esta?..... Bien, usted? (How are you?... Good, you?)
Como le va?..... Bien, Gracias. (How is it going?.... Good thanks.)
Como le ha ido? .....Todo Bien. Gracias. (How has it been going? ...All is good. Thanks.)

I love it! Its pretty much asking ¨how are you doing?¨ three times! But again, I love the Chileno culture so I dont think its wierd and I enjoy it.

The work is going great. Im still sort of learning the life of a missionary a little bit. One morning this week I woke up and told my companion that we were going to work extra hard that day becuase I promised Heavenly Father in my prayer that morning that we were going to do our part to find a person who has been prepared. I just knew that there was someone waiting to hear and that day was going to be the day. But, we didnt find any new people to teach that day as we did contacts and I was so wiped out that night that I went straight to bed after planning. Later in the week we went at our normal pace and we found four new people to teach! I was a little confused as to why we found the four new people when we werent going as hard as the other day but Ive been thinking about it a lot. What I have always known but have just now actually realized is that the Lord doesnt expect us to go all out all day, every day. He expects us to work hard but to not go faster than we can handle. So, Ive learned that I just need to keep working, keep focused, keep obedient, and the Lord will trust us with the people he has prepared!

My planner is filling up with Spanish words that I hear throughout the day and when I get home I look them up and incorperate them into my conversations and lessons. We have been talking a lot in Spanish so Im pretty used to it and I can converse but I just need more vocabulary and to talk quicker! I have a lot of improvement to do and I love learning the Spanish language.

Well, I love yall a whole lot! A little spiritual thought I have for yall is something that hit me hard the other day. I read atleast a chapter of the New Testament everyday when I wake up and I was reading in Mark. I was able to gain a stronger understanding and testimony of how amazing it is that Our Savior, Jesus Christ, overcame both spiritual and physical death. When the angel says ¨He is not here.. He is risen!¨ It really impacted me of the significance that the Atonement (suffering, death, and ressurection of Christ) was. We can never really fully understand in this life the significance of what Christ did for us but what we can do is try to understand it a little bit better every day. I love my Savior so much and I know that he provided us a way to live in eternal joy and happiness. We just need to do our part!

Again, Love yall! Chao!

Elder Gregory

This past week..... August 9, 2010

.. feels like it was a day long! Ill report on a few main things... As of last Friday, Elder Davis and I have erased English from our vocabulary! As I have been told from a few people, the best way to learn is just do it 100% and thats what we decided to do. Its difficult for me to transition from English to Spanish all day so if I just stick with one language its a whole lot easier. Scripture study and journal writing are still in English (even though I catch myself writing Spanish in my journal on accident a lot) but its 100% as far as conversing. Over these four days that has been only Spanish I can already see a huge leap that would not have been possible without the help of the Lord.

There were a couple more of the Lord´s baptisms that we were able to be apart of yesterday. It was of a couple that showed up to church about 4 weeks ago and asked us how long it takes to be baptized! They are thinking about the bigger picture now because they are having a baby in a few months. They were prepared to be baptized before we even taught them. We just sort of walked beside them along the path I guess you could say! Marcello was having a few second thoughts before baptism but in the end, he was really joyful. Marissa was wanting to get baptized a week earlier than she was! But, we needed to teach them a couple things and they needed a certain amount of church attendances. Its amazing how we were able to be apart of that.The Bishp baptized them.

We had breakfast as a district this morning. We made some french toast and chorizos! There are 5 gringos and an Elder from Argentina in my district. So the Elder from Argentina was the only one that had never had French toast but he enjoyed it. We went to Concepcion after that and took care of our VISA´s. There are 3 steps to it and we finally finished the last step. Some sad news was that we went to the office to pick up mail and for Elder Davis to get reimbursed for some bus tickets for interviews and someone from the office told us something concerning an Elder we know. An Elder that just left my district, Elder Law, is now a zone leader with barely a year into the mission. I had the opportunity to go on splits with him a couple times and I look up to him so much. He testifies so strongly and really loves the people. But anyways, the sad news is that he has to go home and end his mission early because his spine has something wrong with it from all of the walking. It runs in his family and his sister, who served in Concepcion also, went home early for the same back problem. I feel for him because he was a natural leader and just a good person. It really makes me count my blessings of my health.

Here a picture! I love yall and thank you so much for the letters!

Elder Gregory

Segundo de agosto- August 2, 2010

Hermanos mios! So, for a follow up on last week, Manuel got baptized! It was amazing and Im so happy for him. His wife was baptized months before, his son a couple months back, and now him! The whole family now! President Humphrey and his wife came for both the baptism and the confirmation. They are amazing. Im so grateful that I was able to be apart of one of the Lord´s baptisms!

Anyways, I think this week I'll do less words, more pictures. The work is going great and Im so grateful for this opportunity. We went bowling as a zone this morning and we all had a great time.

Here are some pictures of Manuel´s baptism, my first zone, and me talking with one of Manuel´s daughters in their house.

So a few Chileno words... Babys are called ¨wa wa´s"! A boyfriend is pololo and a girlfriend is polola! Nobody says adios and its always Chao. Just a few little Chileno things about the language down here in Chile.

Well, Im working hard and loving it! I was telling somebody the other day that I love my mission more and more each week! The language is coming along but like one of my brothers told me, the Spirit doesn´t have a language. It can touch everyone in their own way. Im glad for this knowledge because its really comforting when I have a hard time saying what I want to say in lessons! But, like I said, this Spirit is really what matters.

Love yall! Chao!

Weekly Update! July 26, 2010

Well, this week was an emotionally, spiritually, physically draining week. But somehow I still wake up each morning with enough energy to make it all the way through the day with a strong drive and desire! I can definentely testify that the Lord works miracles for his missionaries to continue the work.

This week started out with me getting sick for the first time on the mission! I ate some bad sandwich meat before we went out to prosylite. A few hours after I ate it my stomache wasnt feeling too good and we were knocking a door. I started feeling a litte dizzy and I said a quick little prayer for Heavenly Fathers help through whatever was going on. I thought through what I was going to do if I passed out and there was a brick wall fence that I decided to lean on. I planned it all out and next thing I knew I was on the ground with Elder Davis and the less active talking to me to see if I was all right! I had passed out! But, I had a really good landing from just sliding down the wall so Heavenly Father guided me down to keep me safe for sure. Anways, we went back to the house, I rested for a day and a half, and I was perfectly good to go out after that! So, my first time of being sick in Chile! Im really careful about that sandwich meat now!

Presidnt Humphrey and his wife came out with us to meet an investigator, Manuel, who is trying to stop smoking. His wife is a recent convert and he said that he would be a member no doubt if he could stop smoking. We went over last Thursday and President gave a really good spiritual thought and committed Manuel to baptism. He set it for a week and two days away. We went back over on Saturday all together and President Humphrey gave him a blessing and the count of 7 days started! (To be bapitized, you have to stop smoking for atleast seven days before being baptized.) So, President gave him gum to chew when he gets the temptation and committed him to read a verse in the Book of Mormon everyday. It was really strong.

So, Sunday came around and we were waiting and waiting for him at church but he never came. He already has three church attendences so he can technically be baptized fine if he doesnt go but we really wanted him to go for the Spiritual strength. We left sacrament meeting to go get him. We got to his house and we rang the buzzer but nobody answered. The lights were off and we looked inside. The table was covered with beer bottles and the patio was covered with cigerettes. They had a party the night before for a birthday party with their family. We wanted to believe the best but it wasnt looking too good. We tried not to not think of it too much to get us down that day but we had it in the back of our minds. So, we went to the appointment with them, which was the last one of the day. We walked in being prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. After talking for a little bit, they told us they didnt drink at all! A huge wave of relief went over us. Then we asked Manuel how he was doing with the cigerettes. He gave us a thumbs up! He didnt smoke at all! All those wine and beer bottles and cigerettes were from the company that they had the night before. It was amazing.

I might be writing this story a little early because he hasnt made it throught the week without smoking yet but I wanted to share this story because Manuel withstood the temptation and we are so proud of him. I know he has 6 more days to go but we know he can do it!

We talked about how Satan always tries to tempt us before strong spiritual experiences, like Joseph in the grove, but he also tempts us after to try to belittle the spiritual experience. We might not be hand to hand combat everyday but this war is so real. We are in a war with the advesary and he knows our weaknesses. The Lord will strengthen us to overcome all the temptations if we have faith in him and show our faith.

This is what I wanted to share this week! Everything else is going amazing. We have cambios today so I made it through my first cambio ( first 6 weeks.) I fogot the cable for my camera so Ill post a picture of my first zone next week!

I love yall and keep praying to our Heavenly Father and he will give you the strength through hard times and temptation!

Elder Gregory

Week Update! July 19, 2010

Hey everyone! Its been beautiful here and its heating up a little bit. Maybe I´m speaking a little too soon because we aren´t technically out of winter until next month but I´m enjoying the clear sky and sun. Its still chilly but its real pretty.

Our investigator pool is becoming a lot more defined. Its really nice to have a few of your main investigators progressing and going to church. One of the best feelings and sights is to see an investigator you have been working with all week, walk through the doors to the church on Sunday. Its almost like all your hardwork has paid off. Of course, the ultimate goal is more than church attendance but its still a really amazing feeling.

On Sunday a member in the ward asked us to go up to the Bishop after Sacrament Meeting. We went up to him and a couple were talking to him. They asked us "how long does it take to get baptized?" Those words are amazing to a missionary. We told them it would only take two weeks because they had already attending church once. So, things are looking really good next month. We have a lot of work to do these next couple weeks so that we can see through all these baptismal dates that we have next month.

I think I´ve said before how amazing our Bishop is. He does so much and he´s so loving and serving to the ward. Something that I really thought was awesome this past week was that we saw his room that he makes his own bread! Chile consumes so much bread and the people who make them are kind of secretive about their recipies. So, the Bishop (Bishop Chavez) is testing out different recipies and we buy bread from him each time. I think it's so awesome because its really something that I couldn´t see happening too much in the States. He lives about 2 minutes away from where we live and we all live really close to the Church. I´ve said it a lot but I´ll say it again... this ward is amazing. Everyone is so willing to give us references and love treating the missionaries to lunch. Elder Davis mentioned the other day that you would find more people willing to give lunch to the missionaries here than you would find someone who wasn´t able to. I appreciate it so much.

We did service again this past week and this next week we are going to do a Mesa Missional. This is where we set up a table with copies of the Book of Mormons and pamphlets and talk to as many people as we can about the Gospel. We are doing it with the Elder´s quorum and there are tons of return missionaries so it should be really good.

Here´s a few more pictures! Love yáll! Chao!

Elder Gregory