February 27, 2012 Lebu

From Nate's mom:

Last Thursday I answered the phone and I heard "Mother". I said, "Oh, my gosh, Nathan!" I was very surprised! He had lost his wallet on a bus and it got stolen so he had to call me to have me cancel his debit card. He told me how excited he was about the upcoming baptisms and that Luzgarda's family was also interested in taking the lessons from them. Then he said, "Mi Companiero -oh sorry I'm forgetting how to speak English..." Then he said, "I love you." I told him that I was sorry about his wallet but it was really nice to hear his voice. He sounded so good and so happy. We only talked for about 2 minutes but it made my day.

This is a short email he sent today:

"The first baptism we had last week was Anouchka. She got baptized on the 25^thby my companion and I did the confirmation for her. The baptism of Luzgarda went really well. I did the baptism and I didn’t mess up. Yes!! I was kind of nervous but it is all good. The baptism went really well and yesterday we taught her daughter who is like thirty something and she accepted a date for baptism for the 24^thof March! So we are really excited about that. 

This week might be a little lame because my comp has a meeting in Concepciòn tomorrow all day and then on Thursday and  Friday we both have to go back to Concepciòn which is like three hours away from Lebu so we have like two days in our sector. Lame!! But it's all good stuff we have to do."

From Elder Butterfield's Mission President

Some kind words from Elder Butterfield's mission president from an email he sent us:

Dear Sister Lori Butterfield:

I am very grateful for and have great love for Elder Butterfield, he is a wonderful missionary. Elder Butterfield is a young person with character, is enseñable (teachable) is a fighter, is very intelligent and has great leadership.

Osvaldo E. Martinez C.
Presidente
Misión Chile Concepción Sur

February 20, 2012 Lebu

So we had a couple of miracles happen. Remember Luzgarda? Well we had a lesson with her and she told us how much the gospel has changed her and she isn’t even baptized. She said after we would leave her house she would be so happy. She said she would never ever accept the Mormon Church but she never knew how it would change her; how God changed her. After years of rejecting her friends' invitations to come to church and listen to the missionaries, she finally did and she is getting baptized this week in a river in los Alamos.  I really love her and am so happy to have the chance to see her change. It’s amazing. 

And then we got a call from another investigator that was progressing but leaving for school and was not sure if she wanted to get baptized or not but she called us and she also will be getting baptized on the twenty fifth. So ya missionary work can be soo difficult but when we work hard and push through, miracles happen and we keep working.  So that was some pretty awesome news. I am doing really good; just working and enjoying my time here in Chile; starting to adjust more and more every day. Love you all!

Happy 20th Birthday! - February 13, 2012

Hello family!

I am twenty today. Kind of weird… I am in Concepciòn today and we are just kind of hanging out around here. So we just had cambios (transfers) and me and Elder Corliss are staying in Lebu and we have two more missionaries coming into the sector because it is growing. 

This last week has been pretty good! We are finding new people to baptize and have really been blessed.

We had another big tremor. It was really strong and lasted for like five seconds. In February there is a lot of
little tremors. It’s kinda crazy. So we have a new investigator named Luzgarda. She was a reference from member and she is really awesome. We just had our second lesson with her really recently and she said that she felt so much happier after we brought the message of the restoration into her home. She told us that someone had told her that we don’t drink coffee and she had a huge jar of it. She said that she wants to do things right and she threw it away!! She is amazing and I don’t have a doubt she will be baptized really soon. She is so prepared from the Lord. 

Being here on a mission is very interesting. You get to see things from a different perspective. Everyone is literally searching for more happiness. And as a missionary and member of the Church I get the chance to give them that happiness. I hope all members of the Church realize what they have and use it to help others. Everybody has friends or know people that need this gospel and more divine help in their lives. So give it to them! You have that answer in your hands that they are searching for. They may reject it but at least you tried to give it to them. 

This gospel is real because already I have seen people change. I only have a cambio here and I can see the blessings in their lives. 

Oh, and me and my compañero made a goal that for this second cambio together we are treating English as a bad thing. (don’t worry mom I will still write you in English…maybe...) but ya it’s going to be hard because we are really good friends and like a lot of the same stuff but we are both native now. Yes!! But I am doing good. Just working and being grateful for this time I have to serve the Lord with all I have which is not easy to do. But I am learning. 

Thanks for all the love and prayers.  You guys rock!!

-Elder Butterfield

February 6, 2012 Lebu

Super sorry but I don’t have time to write a long one this week but I am going to try putting pictures next time. Today we went to the beach and we walked through this tunnel to the most pretty place I have ever been to in my life. It was a beach surrounded by hills with trees and huge rocks and cliffs. Amazing! We will go there someday!! 

January 30, 2012 Lebu

Hello family!

So this week has been pretty cool!! So the very first lesson that I ever had was with a lady named Maria Magdalena. She is really nice and my comp tracted into her about one cambio before I came. So my very first lesson I challenged her to prepare for baptism but she was not interested in baptism at all. She has a fear of water and other members of her family think it’s weird. She loves going to church and believes everything but baptism was not something she was going to do. So last week like my fourth or fifth lesson with her. We taught her about the importance of baptism. Then she told us that she already felt the spirit and didn’t need it.. ya... anyway in our next visit we taught her again and it was a very powerful lesson. We promised her that she would feel a change and a difference in her life. We told her that her date for baptism was the 28 of January. She said she would pray about it and tell us the next visit. Well when we asked about Saturday, she asked what was Saturday?... and then she told us it was a joke... but she accepted!!!!!

She was baptized this last Saturday and yesterday was confirmed a member of the Church. She was beaming. She walked up to us and said you were right Elders. I changed. And we saw that change in her and it was amazing to see it. I am glad I got to see that because it makes all this work worth it. Because missionary work is not easy at all! But the Lord does change people and I am a witness to that! So that was pretty cool.

Other than that it was kind of a normal week. This week we should have a fair amount of new progressing investigators. We are going to work hard for that. But any way thanks for all of your support and love. Bye!

-Elder Butterfield

 

January 23, 2012 Lebu

I had my first earthquake today!! It was like a seven and it lasted for a couple seconds and we were on the fifth level of a building in the church office in Concepciòn and the building swayed like crazy!! It was awesome!!   Ya it was really crazy for me. I kinda want to have it happen again… it was fun.. Man I was freaked out at the time! It was just kind of a swaying city for a little bit there. Everybody in the office was laughing at me because it was my first time. My companion thought it was pretty funny!!!Everyone else is used to it because I guess that’s normal. But it was weird!!! Way fun though. Que pacan!!

Well family it’s already been another week!! Crazy!! So funny story happened this week. My comp and I were out tracting and this guy rides up on his bike and asks where we are going. We said to share our message with people. He asked who we share it with and we said everyone and he said vamos!! And we went into his house. Well I thought that God was giving us someone to teach but actually he was just kind of drunk… so we are trying to talk to this guy well actually my comp was cause I don’t understand the people sober… so drunk – ya, not working.  Anyway he goes off on this rant about how religion is like politics… and then we finally said a prayer to leave and he demanded that we stay sitting and he asks if we want yogurt or watermelon. And before we could answer he says oh I know! You want watermelon. Me and my companion at this point are laughing super hard and then he walks in with a half of a water melon cut in half for us!! Then we were dying and I was like what do we do? And my comp says do we really have a choice and he starts eating. But we finally got out of there.  Super funny!

And then yesterday we were trying to find people. Again! And we were sick of people not answering their door when we can see them watching their tv… and it was funny because this next door had a lock on the outside. And they were being super rude cause they knew we were there and wouldn’t answer the door.. And i know this is bad but we locked the door from the outside… and then we moved to the next door and then the last people tried opening their door.. .and we felt really stupid and didn’t want to get yelled at so we hurried and turned down this street.

Well it turns out that the first house we come to the door is wide open and we contacted them. Well her name is Georgenia. She started talking to us and she started to cry! I was really confused because she spoke so fast but apparently she all of a sudden has all these crazy problems with her house and husband and didn’t know what to do. She was seeking help from God that very day and then we showed up. We assured her that God loves her and that’s why he sent us. And that she could find all the answers to her problems. She said she will prepare to be baptized on the 18 of February. So we hope she will actually decide to accept it. That’s the problem. God can send us to them but they don’t always accept. But we know that she was prepared. I really hope she will get baptized. But that story was super crazy cause she really needed help. I hope that she will progress. People have a really hard time showing up to second appointments here. It’s really annoying. But I think she will be there.

But anyway it’s still hard but I am trying my best to get adjusted and work hard. I love you all!! I hope all is well!!

 

January 16, 2012 Lebu

Hey family,

So this last week was tough but good. We worked really hard and taught a lot but nobody would show up for the second appointment. We contacted all week and not much happened.

But on Saturday around nine (and we go back home around nine thirty) it started to rain and our day had been sooo hard. Well I said I bet if we contact one more door the rain will stop. My companion started for a door and knocked on it. Well it started to rain harder and no one was answering the door. Then a man opened the door and invited us in without us saying a thing to him. He was sooo nice and his name is Francisco. He is originally from Argentina. Well basically we taught him the first lesson and he was very attentive and said he would read the pamphlet we gave him that night and pray about it. He then asked us if he could come to church that very next day! We said no. Just kidding… we were like freaking out.  And he came. We teach him again on Tuesday and we think that he has been prepared and will accept the gospel pretty quick and hopefully we can baptize him and his family. But it was nice to have that blessing at the end of a hard week.

And then after church yesterday we had to do service because this lady had builders coming over to build a new house today.  So yesterday we had to tear the rest of the old house down and clean it up. Interesting day of rest… anyway off to another long week of working hard and hopefully find the people we need to find!!

Love you all!

January 9, 2012 Lebu

So it is my first p day here in Chile so I will tell you what happened. My companion is Elder Corliss and he is from Highland, Utah. He loves BYU so that is a plus and he is a really good missionary who is helping me out a lot. So my first area is called Lebu. It is about three hours away from Concepcion and it is on the coast. So basically it has a whole lot of hills with tons of trees and forests, like you can’t see the hills cause there are so many trees. Then in the West the hills open up and it is just ocean. So it is really beautiful here. I have not been down to the beach yet but I think we are going to go there next week for p day and play football with the zone. I will send more pictures soon.

I do not get letters as much, like only when we have trips to Concepcion that is when I get letters. So it might take a little bit longer to write but that does not mean that people have an excuse to stop writing me...

Any way so my first couple days of work have been hard. I feel like Elder Calhoun (from the movie "The Best Two Years") when he said this was not the language they taught him in MTC… because they speak soooooo fast here but I am getting to the point where I can actually understand some of the people.

We have this investigator that I want to tell you a little bit about. His name is Roberto. He is like thirty five and lives in an unfinished house that he is building. We taught him on Friday. Well we know that he has an answer and can get baptized. In fact he goes to church all the time. But I feel close to him because he has a lot of doubts like I did. During the lesson I had no idea what was being said but I felt prompted to say something so I did (not really knowing if it was what was being said..) Well it turns out that it was right. My companion said that I said exactly what he needed and said he thinks it helped him a lot. We are trying to help him see that this will bless his life. He just needs to know the Book of Mormon is true.

I met some of the people in the ward and luckily only had to give a testimony my first Sunday instead of a whole talk. But I am sure they will make me give a talk soon enough. So anyway this has been a crazy, crazy week. But I am learning. Some people have told me I don’t have an accent so the Spanish is coming along. The important thing is that I follow those promptings that I receive because they are the spirit. But I can speak pretty good for five days and I think that I will eventually learn this. It’s scary because right after my training they might have me train... scary.. I hope I don’t have to do that.

This mission is great. It’s hard but it’s awesome. My companion is way cool. So I am lucky that I have a good trainer.
Guess what’s awesome? We can watch Disney movies on P days!! like we have a list of awesome movies we can watch!! So my mission is pretty cool. I have been able to meet a lot of great people and am learning slowly. I hope everything will not feel so overwhelming after a while. But I am good.

Here in Chile we don’t eat dinner at all. Just a huge lunch with members or others that almost kills me. This is a very different place but an awesome one. Oh and there are perros all over!! They don’t have a pound so dogs are literally everywhere. Man I wish you could see all this. They do a lot of funny things here. For example when they see us gringos walking down the street they always try and say hello!! how are you?? and it is sooo funny. And on Fridays we play soccer with the youth and investigators. It is pretty awesome!!

So here I am trying to learn how to do this. Well I love you all!

-Elder Butterfield

January 3, 2012 Arriving in Concepcion

I am here in Concepcion and it is the most beautiful place I have ever been. The mission president just gave us a really great dinner and they are letting each one of the new missonaries write home and say we made it.

And you wouldn't believe it here. Pictures can't do it justice. I think we are going back to the hotel soon and tomorrow I meet my trainer. But I am here and safe and I think instead of you coming to pick me up we should all save up and come back when the temple here gets dedicated. I haven't been here a day and can't imagine not coming back for that.

I love you and I am off to work!!

Christmas 2011

Hello family! Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Since it is lame and we don't get to call home we get to email home! Better than nothing. Anyway so I just got out of a devotional with Elder Bednar. What an amazing man. We had a whole MTC sacrament meeting - the first time the MTC has ever had all the missionaries together for a sacrament meeting. And me and my companion got to pass! It was cool.

Thank you for all the gifts. I love the ring. It will be a constant reminder to trust in the Lord on my mission. And Jessie and Rachael thanks for the buttery rounds. I love those!!!! I think the greatest gift that I have is my loving family. A lot of elders and sisters here do not always have supporting parents. What strong people. But I am grateful that I do have my family backing me up. Thank you.

The only gift I can send to you is my love. I hope all is well with you. I would like to share one thing that Elder Bednar said. Satan will try to get you to deny who you are. He will try to tell you something you are not. Please remember who you are - Children of God. You have that knowledge when most of the world does not. And I am lucky enough to be an instrument in having God show them who they are.

Well now I am off to have a lunch and the rest of the activities of the day.

I love you all.  Voy con dios.

-Elder Butterfield

December 20, 2011 MTC

Hello everyone!!!

Well I am winding down to the last two weeks that I will be here in the MTC. Crazy! I can’t wait to leave and start to help the people of my mission! But I have learned so much from the MTC. And this week will be really cool because the Christmas we get here is really cool. I am so blessed to be a messenger of God and be here at the MTC during such a wonderful time of year.

I am still slowly learning Spanish but now I don’t worry about that as much. I have total faith in the Lord. He will help me as I work hard.

Thank you everyone for the letters and encouragement and prayers. They help me. And as I struggle to be a good representative of Jesus Christ, I need all the help I can get. So thank you.

I think the most significant thing that I have learned here is that it’s not about what people hear. It is about what they feel. I have grown to love the people of Chile already and I don’t even know them. But I know if I am worthy that they will be able to feel the spirit and the love that God has for them.

Another thing that I wanted to share with you all: If something doesn’t effect your eternal salvation it doesn’t matter. Let it go. I think one of the biggest things that we have to learn in this life is to not let little things bug us. I realized here on the mission how many stupid little things I let get to me that I really don’t need to let do that. And let me tell you it makes life easier. And I feel way more happiness. Please remember to love each other this time of year. I am so grateful for all of you. You have all helped me in some way and have helped me get here. Have a wonderful Christmas and remember Him who we remember on this day, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I love him and I know he lives.

Los Veymos- Elder Butterfield

December 6, 2011 MTC

Hello family and friends!!

I hope all is well with you! Well I am just starting to wind down till I leave to Chile. Only four weeks now! Pretty exciting stuff. I like the MTC but not the same exact day in the same exact classroom all day. But I am very thankful for the experience. I am learning a lot and starting tomorrow I am only speaking Spanish. Muy deficel!!! Pero yo agrdecido por la ouprotunidad. I can’t wait for the day when I get to start teaching and working in the real world.

I had an experience I would like to share with you all. So here in the MTC your teachers pretend to be someone else and you teach them as if they were real investigators. So this investigators name is Filipe. He had committed to baptism and was doing really well. Then we received a letter from his wife who is a member that he came home very drunk and made his family upset. So the next appointment me and my comp knocked on the door and he answered and said hung over and that he could not have us teach him that day. He was very sad and upset with himself and felt like God could not forgive him now. And of course we told him he was wrong. Then, the most crazy thing happened. My companion and I felt an overwhelming feeling of compassion. It is not like anything else I have ever felt in my life. The spirit overcame us. And even though it technically was not a real investigator we didn’t even think about that at that time. He was real to us in that moment because God was trying to show us the love he had for his children and that is why it felt like that to us. We literally felt the love of God and the compassion of Jesus Christ. We both left that appointment in awe - because it was real.

Everyone: I know that Jesus Christ lives. I have literally felt his love for each and every one of you. I promise you he lives and that he will come again. Please live worthy of his spirit because when you feel God’s love you just know. You know that all the effort into reading the scriptures praying and your callings at church are all worth it. I want to testify as a messenger of Jesus Christ that he lives and loves you. Remember that.

Any way I love you all and hope you are all doing very well in life. I love you all!!

-Elder Buttefield

November 29, 2011 Thanksgiving

Well, Thanksgiving in the MTC was really cool. That week we heard from two apostles, Todd Christopherson and on Thanksgiving morning we got to hear from Russell M. Nelson. So that was pretty cool to hear. They were not as serious as they are in conference. In fact they were pretty funny.

After the devotional we got to eat Thanksgiving food. I ate a lot.. and it was good.. and then we got to do a service project where we put together 4,000 injury kits. They got sent to some small country in Africa I think but I do not remember what the name of the country was. Then we had a little program and got to watch Seventeen Miracles!! Yes!! and when we came outside when it was dark they had put up a whole bunch of Christmas lights before and they turned them on on Thanksgiving night.

I really liked it but I have been pretty homesick. I love the holidays around our house. One of my favorite things is holidays with family and friends. Two years seems like an eternity away from here. But then again I am already about half way through the MTC. Before ya know it I will be calling home from the Airport on my way to some country called... oh what was it.. oh that’s right Chile!! I think I will enjoy the field more than the MTC. I know the field will be just as challenging but in the mtc I get stir crazy all the time because I stare at the same brown buildings and sit in the same old classroom day after day. The MTC is a really great place but I will be glad to be a missionary in the real world. Spanish is coming along slowly. We are now to the point where we speak only Spanish if we know how to speak it. We always have to try in Spanish first. I hope I will learn this language.. I am more settled in here now but I am still feeling like I need to work harder and be a better missionary. I am going to try my best to do that.

I hope everyone who reads this is doing well. I hope we are all remembering what time of year it is and who we remember during this time. Nuestrtos Salvdor y Redentor JesuCristo. Well I must be off! Tell everyone you know to send me letters!!! I love you all!

　
-Elder Butterfield

November 15, 2011 MTC

Hello family and friends and whoever might read this.

So tomorrow we get two new Spanish speaking districts in our zone. Chris very well might be in my zone!!! That makes me so excited. Anyway I am feeling a little more settled in to the MTC now. These last two weeks have been the hardest two weeks of my life but I have learned a lot about myself. I have had to put all my faith in our Heavenly Father to not just want to give up with speaking Spanish. haha... It is really hard but I am slowly learning and progressing, even if it is really slow.

The MTC is mostly hours of classes but we get to do some pretty cool stuff to that help us stay sane in here. On Sundays we get to walk up to the temple and hang out for a while and Sunday night we get to watch a church movie which is pretty cool.

I am really glad I am here though. It is great to be serving the Lord and I am grateful for the struggles and blessings it has provided for me. I hope all is well in the real world.

My companion had to go to Rite Aid to pick up a prescription so we got to ride in a shuttle there and go get it. It was weird. I know it's only been two weeks but not everyone had a suit on with a black name tag... and then after our short little adventure we got put back into our little kennel of spirituality. And Spanish - don't forget the Spanish. But other than 16 hour days and being tired all the time and getting excited to go to Chile, there is not to much else to report. I got a letter from my mission president today saying how excited he is to have the new missionaries come and serve in the mission.

I encourage all to strengthen their testimony of this work by prayer and scripture study. If you do not have a testimony I promise that you can obtain one. I love you all and hope all is well. And thank you for the letters. They help more than you know!!! Keep them coming!!! 

-Elder Butterfield 

November 8, 2011 First week at the MTC

Hi family!!

So, it is my first p day and it is my favorite day of the week!!! But all the days are pretty good.  My companion's name is Elder Moss.  He is from Layton. He is pretty cool. Learning the language is really really hard for me but I will learn it in the Lord's time, not mine.  My district is really cool. Two elders and one sister in my district are actually going to the same mission as me so it is pretty awesome!

It's really hard here but I am working through it. The food is really good though... I like food... like a lot... I hope all of you are doing well.  I miss you guys but am getting m ore used to being gone as time goes on. And, tell Jessie I won't forget her. How could I with all the hearts I keep finding in every little thing I open...

So, I decided that I am supposed to speak Spanish even though I am very slow and not very good at it like some of the others but I know I will be able to use it when I need it most.  I can somewhat pray and bear my testimony! I can say I am grateful for my family! Want to hear? Estoy agradecida por mi familia!! Yay! I say that a lot because it's one of the only things I can say. Start telling everyone you know to write me! Letters are really really nice. Corey wrote me a good one that really helped me a lot so tell him thank you and that I love him and miss his little family. And Rachael, thanks for the pictures.  They made me smile. Tell Dad that his letter was really nice and has helped me.

Well the first week was very stressful and difficult but I am now settled in ready to work really hard to learn this language so I can share this gospel with others. I know it is true.  It is the truth and I know it more than at any other time of my life. I love and miss all of you.  I am glad you all have testimonies and have strengthened  mine.  I know I am supposed to go to Chile. I will go and work hard and be an instrument in the Lord's hands.  What a blessing! Remember to read the Book of Mormon everday for at least 15 seconds. I promise you will want to read more.  Well until next week - bye!!!

I love you all!!
Austa luego!!

-Elder Butterfield

Saying good-bye! October 30th - November 2nd

Farewell - October 30, 2011; MTC - November 2, 2011

 

 

 

 

Receiving the Call! August 4, 2011

August 2, 2011

Dear Elder Butterfield:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Chile Concepcion South Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, November 2, 2011.  You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president.

You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president. As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As you serve with all your heart, might, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are prepared to be baptized.

The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place our confidence in you and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary.

Sincerely,

President Thomas S. Monson