January 14, 2013 Lomas Coloradas

Well I am with an Elder Hess from Utah. He is a farm boy!! really nice and we are in Lomas Coloradas. It’s a really big sector with lots of work to do!

We have a couple of families we are working with. One - her name is Carola and she has three kids and they all want to be baptized but her husband read stupid stuff on the internet about the church and is very angry. But something happened yesterday when she left for church. She used to fight with her husband a lot in the morning when she tried to go. But this week she got up and he asked her are you going to the Mormons? She said yes and he said well have a good time then. So there is progress!! We are hoping to baptize her soon.

I really like the ward. We have a big ward. So we are getting to know the ward and trying to find more people to teach. Me and my companion are both new to the ward so we don’t know where anything is.. but it’s all good.

Sorry it was short but there is not a lot that has happened yet. I love you all and hope you don’t freeze to death cause here I am sweating haha!!

Letter to youth of the Spanish Fork 14th Ward

January 14, 2013

Hey youth!!!

I want to share what I think is the most important thing in preparing to serve a mission. Read the Book of Mormon every day and every night get down on your needs and pray to know if it is true. One of the biggest things you will be doing is testifying to the people that the Book of Mormon is true and asking them to read it and to pray about it.

You need to have your own testimony. After you have gotten a testimony, study that book to know how to help other people know about the Book of Mormon. This book answers the questions of the soul. Your investigators will have many doubts and questions about this gospel. If Joseph smith was a prophet; if the word of wisdom really is a commandment from God; etc. Lots of doubts but in reality they only need to answer one simple question. Is the Book of Mormon true? Because if it’s true, then everything that we teach is true.

I testify that if you want success in your mission and in life you need to be constantly studying this book. I know now more than ever that it is true. Read it. And ask your Father in Heaven if it is true.  Then prepare to share that testimony with the world.

Elder Butterfield

January 7, 2013 Lomas Coloradas

Hey family!!

So my new sector is really big and cool. We have a lot of members that are active like 160 came to church on Sunday.. wow! and we have some cool investigators that we need to baptize. We have a family of four and they are great. The mom’s name is Carola and she is really nice and wants to get baptized but her husband is against the church. But he is leaving for six months. So we are going to try to get his consent but if he doesn’t get it she might just get baptized anyway... she really wants to. Her husband owes it to her. He is not very nice to her about stuff.

It’s been really hot and humid!! My companion is from California. He is really cool and we have a lot of fun. We have this investigator that is trying to quit smoking so for the new year we did some goals. One of them is that we get up at six thirty to run with him every day. I am kind of addicted to running now... and it’s really fun. We went to this little pond thing about a mile and a half away from our house. He has twin boys and they were swimming and we talked a little about baptism. He asked if someone could be baptized in a lake and we said sure if you can get dunked!! I think he liked the idea of getting baptized in a lake. We have a lot of work to do with him but we won’t give up.

My toe never got un-swollen so I have to go back to the doctor again... It’s all big and red. But it doesn’t hurt as bad as last time. Oh mom, there is a Columbian here who really, really wants beef jerky so in my next package if you could send some!! I love Columbians!! They are really cool people. There are a lot of families from there in this sector.

I am doing really well here and am really going to try and work hard. We may struggle finding some new people but it’s not like I haven’t seen that before... any way that is about all for this week. I hope all is well there and don’t freeze to death.

New Year's Eve in Chile

So I am going to another sector with an Elder from California. I am glad cause it just gives me a chance to go and work like crazy. I hope someday I will be a seminary teacher helping others gain real testimonies. I am about to go to my new sector.  They say it’s hard but I am going to share the gospel with everyone!!

I KNOW there is a God and that this is his Son’s church. I can’t deny what I have felt or the power that went shooting through my body when I blessed that man. And my biggest desire in life is to help people and have a happy family.

So for new year’s we can’t work for two days. Tomorrow we are just going to be with the zone planning for the new year and studying and stuff cause they get crazy here on new year’s. So I will not get to teach anyone in my new sector for a while but that’s ok Ï will get over it. I love the gospel and honestly I have been more happy than any other time in my life with the gospel.

Christmas Eve Skype with Elder Butterfield! 12-24-12

We got to skype with Elder Butterfield for about two hours.  It was so fun to talk to him.  These are the people that were there: Mom, Dad, Jessie, Rachael, Allie, Corey, Savannah, Lily, Grandma Beverly.  These are some of the things that he told us:

More details about the knife attack in Los Angeles.  After they told the guys to leave the girl alone, the girl ran away and a couple of the guys started chasing his companion one direction. Another guy tried to cut Nate's face but he got away and a couple of guys chased him.  He got back to their house and his companion wasn't there yet.  Soon his companion made it back and then all the missionaries prayed (there were four that lived there). The guys left and the missionaries didn't see them again.  One of the neighbors said that one of them had a gun.

Lupe's sisters are getting baptized.

More details about the man that was healed in the hospital.  After he left the hospital he told his sister that the man that healed him was in white and was shining.

He asked about Elder Corliss. We told him we talked to him and we are going to take him to lunch in a couple of weeks.

He was really happy about Miguel because he had to change the most and he is happy.

 

They got a cat for a day.  Someone asked them if they wanted a cat and they said yes and then they got home and said, "What are we doing?  We can't have a cat..." So, they went back out to find someone else who wanted it.  They found a home for the cat. He told us that was a p day.

They live in a little house behind a member family's house. They were calling from this family's house. They were going to have dinner with another family at 9 pm and then were coming back at 11 pm to open presents with the family. They have a little boy who is about 5 years old. They will work on Christmas day. Christmas eve is really the holiday there.

He got a letter from president Uchtdorf.

He will come home either mid October or the second or third week of November.

He's been bitten by dogs a lot.

 

Tell Kayla that a dog ate her letter. He is writing her another one. In Chile "the dog ate my homework is a legitimate excuse..."

 

The bishop of their ward told them that soon President Monson is coming there to talk to the members about the temple because they have been waiting so long for the construction to begin.  He is excited about that.

December 10th - 17th San Pedro

From 12/10/12

I lied my comp is from Chile!!! from Viña del Mar. He is a convert of a year and he is really cool. This area is like the richest in our whole mission and it is really hard to work there. But we are trying to help the members get helping us and find somebody to teach. I am kinda scared for this area but we will make it work. I don’t have much time today to write but pray that we can find more people to teach!

From 12/17/12

Well let me tell you about our week. It was pretty good. We have been trying to find people to teach and we have found a couple. It’s really hard cause everyone is leaving town and they are rich and too cool for missionaries. We have been working with the ward more often too and starting to get them more excited. My companion is an English professor so we are going to start up summer English classes to help kids that struggle and help families that way. We are really excited for that!!

Like every day here it rains and then the sun comes out really strong and I am like dying from all the changing of weather!! I sound like a dying toad when I talk!

And everyone here is freaking out about the end of the world.. Its kind of funny sometimes what the people say to us. I get along really well with my companion! He is really nice and loves everyone so we have been really good together.

Lupe is going crazy cause I cannot be with her for Christmas.. sad day but it will be good here too. Miguel is doing really good. I will let you know when he gets the priesthood. It is really tough here but we are getting better. We made really good friends with the bishop and this Sunday we are making a mission plan for the ward so that the work is more organized and the ward is actually involved. Our goal is to serve a lot and teach the members. So the work might be a little slow but in the end it will be permanent. So that’s about it!! And I will be talking to you in a week!!! yay!!!!! I love you all!!

 

 

December 3, 2012 Leaving Talcahuano

Hey family!!!

I am doing really well. The baptism of Miguel went really well. I just felt a little silly cause I forgot one word in the baptism prayer and I had to re baptize him.. But he was really happy and we went to his house after.

I am kind of sad too cause I am leaving this ward. I have had more time here than any other area and right before Christmas I have to leave... Lame.. But I am going to a cool place called San Pedro. It is a really rich sector. I mean like mansions everywhere. So I am excited and my companion is a Mexican named Elder Arraya. Or something like that... But I am really excited and sad at the same time. Today I have to say goodbye to Lupe... Sad day but it’s all good. There is not much other news.

And hopefully I will meet some cool people and have a good Christmas in San Pedro even though I would rather be here. And dad that is so funny about the camels. I see dogs people everything doing that here... Its kinda bad... hahahaha I love ya man take cool pictures at the football game!!!!