First off...
¡Feliz
cumpleaños JJ! So glad to hear everything is doing well there and to always get
pictures of the girls. Hope you have a great thanksgiving coming up soon and
that Christine likes her first one. Love you so much!
This week has
been so awesome. I'm finally starting to hit my groove here in Angol and to
really get going a little bit more. Maybe it's the fact that my face is
literally BRIGHT red and the fact that my EYES are sunburned. Literally I think
my eyes are sunburned. And no, dad, I can't use Maui Jim´s but thanks anyway!
haha we just cover our faces with our Libro de Mormón and try our best to have
set lessons in the afternoon. but if not we just keep going and burn. But that
has been one good thing, that we are finally seeing the success. We have been
working SO hard these past 4 weeks, literally finding new people every day. We
have found about 50 new investigators in 4 weeks, which is way more than
normal, and we are just working hard to get them all through the church now.
But here's the run through of the main group!
Marcelo and
Pamela are still just in the beginning. They work a ton -_- so we are still
trying to find time to actually teach them. They are still awesome but we just
need a little bit more consistent effort with them.
Fernanda is
getting baptized this Saturday! She is so ready. So excited, reading
everything, doing everything. Beyond ready. Gladis actually can't get baptized
still because we found out she technically isn't married (i mean just a minor
problem, right?) so we have to wait for her for a bit longer until that goes
through, but for now Fernanda is getting baptized! SO you'll see photos of that
next week.
Cecilia! She
is taking such strong steps. She also is going to be getting baptized this
saturday if it all goes well. She is super excited but we have a couple things
to go over again and we will see if that changes anything! But honestly an
incredible story. This week when we went over tithing, she mentioned to us that
she feels like she owes so much to God for doubting him when things went rough
in her life. She said "i promise I'm looking for a job right now so that i
can pay tithing!" haha she really wants to pay tithing. I guess thats the
kind of faith that it takes to have miracles though. So we are really really
excited about her.
Ramiro! Ramiro
was kind of dying off but this week I got to do an intercambio with Elder
Ramirez, and THAT was so fun. Real quick, him and I being together again was SO
fun. We played the same stupid games in the street kicking rocks at each other
and it was so fun. He goes home in January so it might be one of the last times
we work together. Anyway that was a blast, and we talked with Ramiro that day
together. We re-placed his baptismal date for December 21st right before
Christmas, and Ramiro really responded differently this time. He realized that
he can't keep slacking on this stuff and has to show God that he's changed.
Crazy when someone like him actually UNDERSTANDS how fragile life is, their
ability to accept the gospel augments incredibly. So often our pride and our
own confidence in our abilities impedes our ability to accept God´s will for
us. When we are brought to the face of death like he was, one realizes how
fragile life is and how much we really need God. Its a cool experience to teach
him because he always has something funny to say. This time I said "Ramiro
can we close with a prayer? Yeah! Is it okay if you say it?" "Elder
Tengberg, whose idea was it to pray?" "mine" "Well then say
it for heavens sake! I'm listening." Hahahaha thanks Ramiro, ill be sure
to say a nice heartfelt one -_- He is super funny. he went to church this
weekend and loved it. He said he is going to go in a suit next time! I'm okay
with that.
Cesar is the
same. Cesar is a contact that I did last week, last Sunday actually, a guy we
saw coming towards us in the street. He was wearing a football jersey and
looked pretty bad because he had just played a soccer game, but we talked to him
anyway and wow he is a miracle. Cleaned up he looks a lot different! He
accepted a baptismal date right away for the 14th of december so we are just
thrilled, he really loves the church and the members are already flocking
around him. He is a professional and has a great job, but just lives alone and
is like 30 and doesn't really know what he wants. A super super classy guy and
has a great heart. A joy to teach.
Claudio, Paola
and Lucas. Our new little golden family! The other day we were walking in the street
and I saw a guy outside doing yard work, and I thought at first "No you
shouldn't bother him" and Elder Medina was on the phone with the zone
leaders, so I didn't think twice about it. SO we kept walking but I looked back
like 3 more times and I felt so strongly that I had to talk to him. So we
walked back, he stopped pruning the palm tree he was working on, and came over
and talked to us. And then we went by the next night and found out that he is
married, has an 8 year old son, and another little girl on the way. Haha UHHH
okay. They are literally perfect. Like 32 or 33 years old, not active in any
church, feel like when they were baptized as babies that that shouldn't count
because it should be as an adult like Christ, wanted to know why we believe in
eternal families. The mom even said to the son "Can you go turn off the TV
upstairs so there is no distractions as we listen to the missionaries?"
hahaa like WHAT?? thats what WE ask. They all sat down together and listened.
Such a perfect family. And Lucas is 8. Such a blessing. That actually happened
Saturday (the contact) and then yesterday the lesson, but they accepted a
baptismal date for December 21st as well:Haha they were awfully prepared.
Little promptings and big miracles!
Anyway, there
are a thousand miracles more but I just feel blessed. It's easy to look around
and see that the Lord is in charge of this work. We try our best, but heck, I'm
just trying to not get sunburnt half the time, and then we end up with these
people actually changing their lives and becoming truly converted. It's awesome
and I'm just grateful to witness the Lord do his work. Makes me so excited to
talk to all of my friends and future friends about the gospel, and about why
they should follow Christ´s restored church, because I have the strongest
testimony that its true. They all need it! And all your friends do too.
Also learned
an awesome word this week. Cachiporriar...cool huh?
Elder Tengberg
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