Crazy week!
Well this was my first week here in San Pedro and its been kind of crazy. Im
exhausted, having more fun than ever, and I am so beyond grateful for this new
challenge. I am learning a ton, progressing a lot spiritualy, and growing from
talking to a lot more missionaries and working with them. And BEYOND that I
learned how to drive stick shift! Haha remember those classes you gave me dad
and Blake? When you let me drive the mustang? Yeah it came in handy. Except for
now i am driving a HUGE truck thats a LITTLE bigger than the mustang. Its
awesome though. So yeah im driving stick shift on the chilean freeways and
yelling at the bus drivers who cut me off. All in a days work, right?
So i will be
writing on Saturdays from now on like i said, so just be expecting that from
now on! I sure love you guys. I hope you are all doing well. I dont have too
much to write about this week, but just a few lessons i learned on some
intercambios with some missionaries this week!
Maribel...Maribel
is a lady that actually is in Coronel, i went there this week to talk with her
and the missionaries and it was such an incredible experience. She is an
amazing lady who has passed through SO much, but her attitude towards the
future just showed me reallly what the gospel can do for us. She was so
unbelievably positive. SHe had two children pass away from cystic fibrosis, her
husband left her when she was 20 because he saw the kids were disabled and
wanted out, and she just moved away from her family in Chillan because of
problems there. She gets here to Coronel about 5 months ago...and the
missionaries find her. She said she couldnt thank God enouhg. WHen she was
about to commit suicide, they came and found her, and she said that the gospel
has just healed her. It was incredible to see someone, who has so
much reason to have darkness, with so much light. With so much hope! It was
honestly a huge spiritual experience and made me so happy to be a part of it.
Of course it made me wish she was MY investigator and that i had been able to
participate in the change, but still cool to see the end and to do the
baptismal interview for her! Very cool experience.
Another day
this week, i was with Elder Hansen. he is actually from the same group as me,
so he goes home in june as well, and i actually knew him at BYU because he was
in my book of mormon class and my mision prep class. It was our first time
working together though! He is a zone leader in the south of the mission and he
is such a quality person. From him i learned this amazing lesson about
attitude. It was his 2nd day in the sector, and his companion who had been
there for longer went with elder white my companion to do some visits with some
other sectors, so me and him were together. how easily he could have made
excuses..."Its my 2nd day here, i dont know where to go, i dont konw the
members." But no. He brought a member along with us, and we just knocked
doors the entire day. And i have never had such a happy day.
Haha its crazy. Like missionaries normally hate those days where there arent
any appointments but we just were all smiles and said "we are DEFINITELY
going to find a family today." we prayed in the morning to find a family
of 4, with mom and dad that were already married and kids that can go on
missions one day, so we just worked so hard all day knowing that we could find
it. And we did! Haha we found an awesome family that they are going to be
working with now. But what i learned was about attitude...Laman and Lemuel did
the same things as their brother. Literally the exact same actions. but how sad
that the results were so drastically different! The only difference was their attitude.
Pretty sure its 1 nefi 3:6 but it says "blessed art thou nefi because thou
hasnt murmured." Not becaus he went - but because he didnt murmur.
SO many missionaries and PEOPLE every day go out to work, go to school,
expecting life to be bad. Go to church EXPECTING it to be a drag and expecting
it to take forever. And how sad that their solo attitude is the thing that
impedes them from being happy. Even being on a mission means nothing if one
murmurs. Missionaries go outside every day and find no one because they murmur
and let their pride get in the way. I loved working with that elder and
together we just had such a fun day because we both had a good desire.
Like i
said...where i am now is a much different experience. A lot less sleep, a lot
more stress, but a lot more spiritual experiences as well. Im grateful to be
where i am...Its a blessing gigante.
I love you
all! Ill talk to you next week!
Elder Tengberg
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