WOW am i
tired! It seems like i just wrote you all yesterday but at the same time it
seems like its been forever. I guess thats just time in the mission, it just
doesn't exist! Days seem like years, and weeks seem like minutes. Crazy stuff.
Anyway, this
week had a lot of traveling because it was the mission conference! It was my
first time since i have been here in San Pedro, so it was weird having to put
it on and stuff. Anyway that was really fun though. It was definitely
intimidating having to teach and train 125 missionaries in each conference but
it was exciting! Good stuff. We talked a lot about working with members and
made it really fun and stupid, so that was nice. President thought we did a
really good job so i was happy with that. It kind of made me feel stupid though
because we go up there and give this little cheesy presentation, and then
president just comes in and gives the best discourse I've heard him give since
I've been here. it was just incredible. haha like seriously?! it had to be the
one where elder white and i have to teach too. But here's what he talked
about...
President was
baptized at age 18. Elder Barton and Elder Galvez were opening up the area, the
Chileno training the little American kid. They found Osvaldo (my mission
president) and he took 6 months to get baptized. In the beginning, he would run
away and sneak out the back window to avoid them, but they kept persisting and
persisting a ton and eventually it worked. President had talked a lot to his
Chilean missionary but had never talked to or seen Elder Barton again since his
baptism. Anyway, a couple months back president invited the two of them to come
for a mission conference - so they did! They both flew in for the two
conferences, and the whole mission knew people were coming but they didn't know
who. So we made up a bunch of lies and just said "prepare yourselves"
to everyone - everyone thought it was either Holland or Monson haha. BUT it was
an amazing experience. As president talked about his conversion experience,
showing the baptismal photo he had (that he had actually never seen until
Tuesday morning when the American showed it to him) and then his mission photo,
temple photo, and setting apart. It was so cool to see the change that he took
in his life and the steps that he took to come to where he is now. It was so powerful
to talk to the American missionary, because he said when he got off the plane,
he had the task of looking for this man who he baptized 28 years earlier
(president martinez is only 46, isn't that insane?!). he said that when he saw
him, he knew he was a man of God and just felt this incredible joy
come over him. As i talked to him personally afterward, he said its what he
imagines the celestial kingdom being like - all of us recognizing those we
helped and rejoicing that we have made it. ANYWAY, as president presented them,
he broke into tears, and there was honestly not a dry eye in the audience. It
was so emotional. Just crazy to see the fruits of ones labors so far in the
future. He said, "These men changed my life. They saw in me what i never
saw in myself, and wouldn't let me go until i started working toward it".
It was so cool. Basically his whole message was about working and seeing beyond
the moment. As missionaries we don't always see success instantaneously, but we
often work hard. People make their decisions and choose not to accept, a lot of
seeds are planted. but every person we see has a divine potential and can
become great things in the future. We are often wrong to judge people or write
them off too soon. Anyway, for many of us it was a life-changing moment. How we
all wish that many years later the people we taught and knew will thank us for
everything! Anyway, that was a cool experience.
In other
news...the two families are doing great! Elder White and I actually decided we
wanted to share them with the two other elders who work here in the office, so
last night we scheduled them at the same time and asked for their help. It went
so well. Lili has a ton of questions like usual, but is progressing so fast.
Haha i felt like i hadn't taught so poorly in such a long time, but she somehow
managed to learn still with her two kids and they said they are going to go to
church tomorrow. Elder White went with Elder Jones, the person who is in charge
of all the mission equipment and tables and name tags and books, etc. to
Rodrigo (the bread-maker) and Lorena. Elder White and i were thinking all day
and we came up with a fun lesson for the two families based on chocolate chip
cookies. Sounds like a very Elder Tengberg thing to do, huh? Anyway it was
awesome. We made some ones that were full of salt and then some good ones, and
the idea was that God has a recipe for his church and for success. It includes
prophets, apostles, the authority, revelation, etc. and it has to be exact. If
one thing isn't there, then it wont work. We gave them the bad ones first and
they obviously hated it (the sweet mom said "These are so good! Thanks
elders!" and we were like hermana, we know they suck, its a joke."
and then she spit it out and literally ran from the room to go get
juice. haha so funny) and told them that after Christ died, many people started
to "change the recipe", doing things that weren't right, and because
there were no apostles to maintain the doctrine pure, those unwarranted changes
resulted in false churches and false teachings. Or really salty cookies. Haha
anyway it was really fun and both families loved it. Rodrigo and his family
said that they are going to go to church next week, so that is a miracle.
Missionaries have literally been working on them for years and just finally are
things starting to turn around. It's amazing how the Lord prepares people for
certain moments. Things are just right in the kids lives and the parents are
seeing changes they don't want to see in their teenage daughter, and there
comes the need for the gospel. We are very blessed to be teaching two families!
Anyway, that's all for this week. I'm so grateful for being out here and seeing
all these miracles every week. Sometimes i feel like there is so much more to
be done that we don't do, but i just remember what President Martinez said and
be patient that time will show us what we really have done. I love
you all!
Elder Tengberg
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