Hellloooo familia!
So this has been a crazy week like always. I know I start the
same way every week but its because it really is! Missionary life doesnt change
much - its just consistently odd, bizarre experiences and crazy spiritual ones
too.
But first things first - i LOVE my new companion. Elder
Wray is from Salt Lake city, Utah, and is about 6´5. He is huge. He is super
skinny and tall, and can dunk, and is just awesome. Its crazy how different our
companionship is from Elder Ramirez and me, but its so good! Its just
completely different haha. Elder Wray is a bit quieter and thus our teaching
style is a lot different. Elder Ramirez was a straight up clown half the time,
and we always just messed around and joked with investigators and stuff. But
even with him I just kind of held back alot because it was my job to support
him since he was senior companion and had more time and spoke more spanish and
everything. but because i am the one who has more time in the sector, i have
had to do a lot of the talking this week and updating Elder Wray on the
investigators and calling people and setting up appointments and lessons and
planning lessons. Its actually been really cool. I have learned how much I love
Arauco and how much I love these people, and definitely have grown a TON in the
last 3 months. Elder Wray was a zone leader in Temuco for about 7 months and he
is only at 17 months right now, so he is obviously just a stud. He has already
managed to get to know everyone and is taking over nicely again so i appreciate
that. But it has been cool to see that when it was necessary for me to take
over a little bit, Heavenly Father could help me out and put some of the words
in my mouth to get things going! I have just been really happy though this
week. We have had a ton of success and really laid the groundwork for a great
cambio.
We have 4 fechas right now (fechas are dates...so baptismal
dates i guess. But ill probably forget and just say fechas so just get used to
it haha sorry). 2 are hector and cecilia for February 2nd after their marriae
on the 1st, and then we have Zayra for the 29th and Camila for the 29th. Idont
know if anyone remembers Zayra? We have worked with her about my whole time in
Arauco. But we had just been focusing solely on trying to get her to church or
resolving her doubts and hadnt really been focusing on baptism that much. but
when Elder Wray came we read a talk called "The vision to baptize"
and it kind of lit a fire in us a little bit. Haha so we focused really hard with
her on that and at the end she was like, when i asked her why she wanted to get
baptized, "If I want to find peace in my life i need to get
baptized". Haha umm YES that would be the perfect answer. SO i really hope
that she can keep progressing. Camila is a girl who is like 28 who is Karina´s
sister, dont know if you all remember Karina. Karina was Reinata´s mom, my
first baptism? So we have been teaching her and she is just so incredible too.
She has some problems to work through, but i know that Heavenly Father wants to
help her and we are going to be prayig really hard for her to keep going.
We are praying for 3 baptisms for December, so thats why im
dreaming of a white christmas. We have some other people who we are going to
put December 29th fechas with this week, so there is a really good chance it
could happen. it will take a TON of work and a ton of fasting and prayer, but i
know that the Lord wants to bless these people so I dont doubt what is supposed
to happen for them will happen.
Other people you might be hearing about soon....
Ana Del Rio. She is a lady we have been teaching for about a
month and also will have a date for the 29th! She is doing great and she has 2
kids who are of baptism age, Anita and Chupete (Sebastian is real name haha).
Chupete means lollipop by the way? So not sure why they call him that but the
kids name is lollipop. Then we also have Marcela and her son Diego, who live
right across the street from Valentin and Juliana, the two little ones who got
baptized a few weeks ago! Haha in a matter of 20 feet on both sides of the
street, we have Marcela and her kids, Paolina and Freddy and Valentin and
Juliana, and then Hector and Cecilia are their next door neigbors. Lets just do
a neighborhood pool party in the baptismal font, yeah? K cool.
So thats our main people for right now! We also have another
family, Miguel y Andrea, that we are working with. They have 3 kids and all
came to church this week. It was so cool to see them all there. Im tired of the
people in our branch not taking interest in our investigators, so this week as
we walked in I brought them ALL the way to the front pew, making a not-so-quiet
effort to sit them down, get them a hymn book, and then sit by them. Haha after
church EVERYONE was asking us who the new couple was, so it was about time! A
lot of times we just have them sit in the back so they dont feel uncomfortable
but i hate how a ton of members are just in their own little world and dont
even notice people new or different or sitting alone. So never again will my branch
not know that i am bringing people! Haha they´re going to know.
This week has just been so incredible. We have had a ton of
success, really involved the members more in the work, and are starting to see
the fruits of our efforts. We have a family home evening with Freddy and
Paolina and Vale and Juli, with the primary president and her husband and 4
kids, so we are trying to get these people integrated! OH! Speaking of primary.
Coolest thing ever. This week was the primary program!!!!! If you think the
primary christmas program is cool or cute in english, come to Arauco. It was
about the coolest thing i have ever seen in my entire life. First of all, all
of the kids are just the cutest thing ever and gave the best talks and sung so
obnoxiously loud and off key. Chileans LOVE to sing but arent really the best
singers, so i fit in perfectly hahaha. I am just as bad. But the kids were just
the cutest thing ever and they all had the best talks. Valentin and Juliana
gave talks too! I was so proud of them and was just smiling ear to ear the
entire time. Paolina came and was so proud of her little ones too. Valentin
talked about how we are happier when we follow Christ. Are there any happier
things for a missionary to see? Seriously, so blessed.
Lastly, Estefania has been incredilbe. SHe got baptized a few
weeks ago and has already been helping us a ton. She went on visits with us
this week (that visit with Zayra) and was so crucial. She shared her testimony,
invited Zayra (without us even telling her this) to church and said she would
pass by for her, and invited another one of her friends to take the missionary
discussions in her house. She invited her mom to church, did a contact at a
door, and is starting to think about going on a mission when she turns 19 in
about a year and a half. Haha seriously, SO COOL. I am just so blessed as a
missionary to have seen the great change that the gospel can bring in peoples
lives, and know that I will continue to see miracles this week.
Sorry there arent many funny stories this week. I have just been
so focused on these people and how I can be a better missionary and it has been
such an awesome week. But there is ONE story that is worth mentioning....this
lady we talked to. I think she might have been like 85 or 90, and was
completely gone mentally. Hahaha i dont even know why we stayed and talked to
her for more than 30 seconds but it was just so hilarious that i couldnt stop!
We walk in and she is like "Yes...yes....come in, please." So thats
just weird because no one says that. But then she proceeds on, and im obviously
paraphrasing, and says "You´re here to mock me, arent you! They sent you
here to mock me because they killed my son. You can pass by, but you cant
dance. They used to come every day and dance with my daughter, and I hated it.
They danced with my daughter!" She claims that missionaries came by every
day and danced with her daughter?! I was SO confused but it was just hilarious
and i was trying so hard not to laugh. So we very happily assured her that we
would NOT be passing by every day and very likely not at all. So...sorry Rosa.
We dont want to dance with your daughter.
I Love you all! I hope you are having a great christmas. Thanks
all for the letters, emails, and love. Thanks sister Brunson for your letter
and the Westerlunds as well! I will be sending out letters soon when i get some
more free time. I got your pre-christmas package mom and will be getting other
packages/letters the 18th. So hopefully it all gets there by then and if not we
will make a trip up to conce before christmas on the 24th to check again. Thank
you all for your love!
And happy birthday to Mary this week on Saturday!!! Turning 19
what what. Remember when you turned 18 and Ryan wrote that beautiful poem?
Hahaha hope its a great one. I hope you really enjoy it in the convent of nuns
that you´ve been in for the past 6 months.
Feliz Navidad!
Elder Tengberg
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