Martina Gaete y Pilar Varas

 Well I wrote out a great email and it got deleted as I fumbled the phone🤦‍♂️ without further adieu, here is the spark notes version of my week!

Manuel: 

Venezuelan indriver we had a week ago. He was originally interested in us because he wants us to contact "our friends in Canada" and get someone to give Manuel an endorsement to move to Canada, because he doesn't have the best quality of life, but we explained that the joy he feels has little to do with where he lives, and everything to do with his focus and how he lives. He loved the message of the Restoration and came to church! We're excited about him.

Baptisms: 

Martina Gaete and Pilar Varas were Baptized!! They have both had long roads to get baptized, they were actually like, the 2 families that I first met when I entered Alerce. Pilar has been married to a member for 10 years, and Martina's parents are members, and so it was special being able to participate in the end of their journey. 

We had the font filled and ready before hand, but as Elder Rolfson opened the doors to the baptistry to enter, he looked at me with panic, because the water was lower! It was below out knees, and Pilar is a large person, so we were a little nervous for how it would go. She got baptized on the first try, which is a miracle because she has a deathly fear of water. 

Last night, I continued my reign as king of Skull King. Elder Bartholomew is staying with us, and Elder Gorringe had Swedish fish sent from the states, and so the stakes were high. 

Love y'

all!

J.D.'s doppelganger

 Greetings from Alerce, Chile! This little nook at the bottom of the world has recieved a spiritual outpouring this last week. Instead of using his usual measuring cup of blessings, God dumped a bucket out on Alerce.

Last Monday: visit with less active that we met through a spirit led re-routing to a lesson last week. Her name is Margarita, she's really dope.

Tuesday: visit with Natasha, this adorable girl with asburgers. She didn't want to talk with us, until we started speaking cat. Needless to say, great lesson. We convinced her to come check out some member's cats on Sunday... during Sacrament meeting...

Wednesday: after 7 years of being married to a member, Pilar Vargas made the courageous decision to be baptized on the 15th! Huge miracle. We had seafood empanadas afterwords.

Thursday: intercambios with the Frutillar Elderes. I was with Elder Aguilera in Alerce💪

Friday: had a call with Shayne Littlefield, who works for the missionary department and visited our mission on Sunday and Monday for another mission-wide conference. It was cool to see where we as a mission lack and what we can achieve through some concentrated hard work. That night we had a huge lesson with the Aedo family, we taught about the plan of God. Yanara and Solange and Namuri want to work for baptism! Prayers for them are appreciated, there's some large acts of faith ahead of them to be baptized

Saturday: yet another spectacular lunch with the Gorostiaga family. That night we found ourselves with another less active family that God just kinda put in our path, Carolina, Mauricio, and Juaquin. Gustavo committed to baptism baptized after his marriage, on June 6th.

Sunday: most people I've seen in Sacrament for a long time. Like 120, it was awesome! Great pascua de la resurrección, Easter Sunday! Taught Pilar every commandment that night. 

Monday: Zone conference and Leadership Conference with Shayne Littlefield, which is why I had pday today. After he saw me in person, he got all excited and asked if JD Jeppson was my dad. Imagine serving in THE SOUTHERN MOST mission in the world and being recognized MORE THAN ONCE as JDs son because I look like him😅

Tuesday: Olympics as a Zone! It was rad. Also, Skull king with the Alerce boys🧜‍♂️🚣‍♂️

Anyways, love y'all!

Greengo is preparing to serve a mission

 President Nelson and Elder Bednar and Elder Oaks popped off at General Conference.

Aedo family: 

Alrighty last week I mentioned our friend Nelson. This week, we got to know his family, like 4 other people who are interested in learning more! We've been by like 4 times this week, they are reading the Book of Mormon, watching the videos, and watched general conference. They are what we call los escogidos, "the chosen" people that God has prepared. It's been a cool miracle teaching them. A few months ago, I wrote about the first time I entered the house, and I think I described that lesson using the words "fever dream." It was full of incense smoke, cigarette smoke, other... smoke, and literally had a hindu mantra playing on an old tape recorder. This week, we've cracked down on the house's Spirit, teaching about God's light and the eternal nature of families, and the house is 100% different. Anyways, they are preparing to be baptized!

Had intercambios with my boy Elder Gorringe in the other half of Alerce. They were rad🤘

Miracle! With the Gaete family!

This week I read in Jesus the Christ about how Caiaphus, the chief priest, a wicked Sadduccee, prophecied about Christ. He was able to do so not because he was worthy, but because of the office which he held.

Right after, we went to this family we've been working with for a while, the Gaete family. To sum up a large story, the dad of this family is a member, but has some bad habits and so he doesn't go to church ir help his family at all. He was under the influence when we arrived, along with the three other adults in the house, and the 4 little girls were left without responsible supervision to fend for themselves and they were distraught. These little girls are angels on earth, and it's hard to describe just how much anguish we were in to see thus scene.

Anyways, the hermano then told us to give him the book of mormon we had, because he wanted to "see where his soul was." He then went through the book, and pointed out 8 versus. Every single one of the versus explained the responsibilities of a parent, the consequences of son, and the condemnation that awaited him who did not repent. It was actually very beautiful, in a sad way, to see how the Lord showed us exactly where he was with God, and where he was heading. He was not 100% lucid, and so we noted the versus and told him about the experience later, as we watched conference with his family. He committed to come to church, support his family, and be better.

April 1: April fools day! (And Gen Con.)

For April fools day, we smuggled the Elderes that live above us' key, and throughout the day, we:

- hid the various parts of their shower around the house

- set the fridge up in their bathroom

- stole the piping for the washing machine and shower

- And actually, I probably shouldn't go into further detail, but it was good😅

General conference was phenomenal! For the first time in my mission, I watched the conference with 5 different families with friends that we're teaching, it was incredibly special. I also realized that it was my last General Conference in the mish😶

Gen Con miracle: Pilar Godoy, who we have been working with since I have been in Alerce, is like a cow. That is not a joke about her physical character, she's like a cow in the sense that she doesn't like being led or pushed around, and resists it. (I think I've heard that cows are the same?) Anyways, she knows the church is true, but for 10 years has been married to a member, talking to missionaries, and not been baptized. After the session, we were talking with her, and she let us know that she would be baptized THIS MONTH. We are pumped, it's been a long road with her😅

Sorry for the longer stories. Love y'all!

Ok actually one of these photos requires backstory. A while back we had a family home evening with the Cárdenas family and the Gorostiaga family, and the Cárdenas family adopted a cat from the Gorostiaga's, because they had 6 babies. The Cárdenas family named the cat Greengo, and they call it Eldercito (little Elder)😅

The text says "Greengo is preparing himself to serve a mission," with them watching General conference😂 They are literally my favorite family, Bárbara actually let us know she wants to serve a mission!