Hello hello!- Email 12/2/13

Well its been another awfully good week. This week was a little slow and we are just seeing slow but steady progress, but heck we are working as hard as i possibly can. I like the fact that its blazing hot because it just gives me this desire to not waste a second. like its super easy to justify not working because its so hot and the sun just burns right away, but then that gives us even more desire to not slack off a little bit. I know that makes no sense but i don't know how to talk in english anymore so thats what you get.

Anyway, been a good week. The families are progressing slowly but they are progressing. But this week Cesar progressed a ton! he opened up a ton and really let us into his heart, and that was so perfect. He told us that his life has just gone downhill awful and that he is fallen apart right now. we asked him at one point "what will you lose in going closer to god?" and he said "there is nothing left to lose....after i lost my mom 3 years ago, nothing else could hurt me." and it just broke my heart. The poor guy just has gone through so much and he has such a humble heart. but we have #planCesar going on and we are trying to get him married with one o the young single adults of the ward too. Just picturing them in white, right? But he doesn't even know her yet but i swear they're marriage potential. If all goes well he will be baptized next saturday,the 14th. So thats going great.

What else....thanksgiving! i did nothing. Well not NOTHING but i did have a little chicken and french fires. it was about as close to turkey and mash potatoes i could get. i figured i was in the bird category o it counted. But for real this last two weeks i survived on about 4 dollars so I'm just glad i got to december. haha but this month we will have an awesome christmas. I actually am going to be getting a new companion...

Elder Kelly! obviously a gringo but i have no idea what state he is from. ill find out tomorrow though.i know him a little bit and he is young like me in the mission (i still consider myself new, oh well) and has one cambio less than me. So we are going to be together for a long time it looks like! but that makes me really happy because i don't want to leave here. He is super fun though, a goofy guy and i am sure we will be good friends. So be stoked for that! Elder Medina is headed off to Cañete so he is out. We have a couple goodbyes tonight and then he is leaving in the morning. It was fun being with him though, we had a really good time together. From every companion you honestly learn so much.I have learned a ton this cambio and really grown in some of my rough edges...my pride, impatience. Sound like a tengberg? yeah, thats me. but anyway thats whats going on in my life now. 

our zone is now even BIGGER. my ward will now have 6 missionaries, can you believe that? we already were at 4 and now we have 6, two hermanas are coming to barrio alemania as well. Like thats just ridiculous. I don't know what we are going to do to not run into each other all the time, but we will make it work. Utah wards have 2 missionaries in a whole STAKE and here we have 30 in our zone/stake. but the lord must need more out of barrio alemania! So we are going to be working on that this week. And its good timing because "Big-Idea-Tengberg" has now planned this over the top Noche en Gringolandia and has no idea how to make brownies, but we are expecting about 120 people. So like any tips? hopefully these hermanas know what they're doing. I'm great at ideas though.

Anyway i know my letters are lame and short, but i just have no time. haha i am tired, exhausted, constantly sweating, and never been happier. nothing like getting home at night and going directly to your bed and feeling the great satisfaction of knowing that heavenly father is happy with what you've done. Nothing worse than sin, and nothing better than confidence in the lords love for one. 

Anyway, love you all. Happy december!

Elder Tengberg

A Thankful Missionary- Email 11/26/13

hey just checking in to say sorry for not writing yesterday, we don't have time to write this week because we went to Concepcion and then today i had emails from almost all of my converts so i wont be able to respond too much. BUT i got your package mom! I got another one too that i think is for christmas and I'm not sure if I'm allowed to open it or not so i'll wait for that one for next monday to see what you say. it says it has Christmas stuff on it so i'm not sure. anyway this week was so awesome. yesterday we had our Zone leader meeting with president like every month and it was so good. we just talked about all personal consecration and what does Christ want from us for christmas and stuff,. love it. the mission goal is that every sector in the mission baptizes this month. That's it! so we are trying so hard to complete here in our zone and are stoked to see if it happens or not. anyway...

this week we had a baptism! so awesome. cecilia got baptized, and its a huge long story but another day i'll tell you. she basically is just famous among the zone now because at stake conference adult session, she called out all the stake for not helping the missionaries more...she said "I wish the women would help the missionaries more. i'm getting baptized tonight, and this process would have been a lot easier if women of my age were there to understand me and help me" haha WOW she gave it to them. president martinez gave us this look and then Elder Zevallos, of the 70, who was presiding during the stake conference saturday and sunday, LOVED it, and talked all about her the whole time. anyway, that was awesome. So she got baptized! Camila, her daughter, was awfully happy too. I wish i could send pictures but i am literally so rushed and i know i'm failing lately but i have a meeting in literally 5 minutes with our district leaders and we have so much to do!

Familia Perez is doing really well too. They are the family of 5...a super super slow progress, we actually have never taught all of them together. We are teaching the mom more right now because she is home, and the two boys of 13 and 9, but we are working! We just need to keep being diligent.

I was so touched this week thinking of all the things that I need to do. I realized that we have zone problems, elders who want to go home, companionships who fight, my companion leaves next week for  a new zone so I'm kind of carrying it all right now, SO much to do. But then I started thinking about Christmas. about the fact that I was way happier watching someone open up the gift I got them than receiving one, and how that if I apply that same thing, God must be so happy as he watches us take advantage of the gift of the gospel. He must be so happy when he sees us open up our newfound understanding of the atonement, examine it, smile, and use it just like little kids do with gifts on Christmas day. and I'm the same way. I am learning so much, seeing this whole new aspect of life, and really can say that the happiest that I ever have been is when I have not a single second to think about myself. It's just so hard to help people see that if they stop thinking selfishly, but see that if they SERVE God and OBEY his commandments, they will be happy - because thats the vey characteristic that he is. He is service and selflessness. Anyway, I love you all, have to go but I will write a good one next week. Promise that!

Elder Tengberg

La Cosecha- Email 11/18/13

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