Elder Travis D. Johnson: June 18, 2012 - To Las Aguitas and Back!

Hey how about it! One week came and gone!

Well here we are again in good ol´Concepcion Chile! It was a great week! Full of everything!

Monday we bought some stuff in Centro and we taught Sara Jennifer and Franchesca a family that we are teaching so it was great!

Then Tuesday we had District Class like usual! I had Elder Glazier give a little lesson on planning and it was sweet! It helped me out to become a better planner, because if you plan good you plan for success! Then I had a mini exchange with Elder Wade our Zone Leader. It was epic! We saw a bunch of miracles. We were walking down the street to go to an appointment, and we decided to ring a doorbell to an apartment complex, and the door opened and we walked in and two ladies walked down the stairs and started yelling at us that we couldn’t be in there, and while that was happening I shook the hand of a college kid that walked in, and he went to a door and was talking to a girl , and then as we were walking out after being yelled at he yelled and said hey come in here! So we walked in and there was 2 girls and him. So we taught them a lesson about the Plan God has for them, and the blessings that come by living the gospel. And we asked them about being baptized, and it turned out that that kid was an inactive member of like 6 years. So we used him to teach the lesson with us. It was sweet! Heavenly Father always leads us to his children if we are looking for them. So that was a way cool experience. Then later on we taught Sara and Jennifer and Franchesca about the Word of Wisdom. With Brother Labrin the 1st counselor. It was great they accepted to live it. And then we were walking around doing contacts and then we were on our way home, and Elder Wade rang a doorbell and a college kid came out and let us in. We started teaching him, and then all of a sudden a lady walked in. And we invited her to share with us, and she sat down and we put a baptismal date with her. She is from Paraguay. And she knew a little bit about the church, and was ready to hear the gospel. Her name is Olga! So it was a sweet day! We got a lot done.

Then Wednesday we did some work in the morning, and we ate lunch and then we went to the office and switched back. And all of Tuesday it was raining off and on. Well the whole week it was raining off and on. Then we went home and got ready to work. We went and taught Daniela and Fernanda again. The 2 girls that we found the night we were walking to Olga’s house and right as we got close a member stepped out of a taxi, and we invited her to come help us teach and she came! It was so cool! It was great! And we did a bunch of contacts also.

Then Thursday came around, and we did our studies in the morning, and Elder Aranibia and I had a good talk about desires, and being diligent. And we taught a bunch of lessons on Thursday! We were both super animated to work, and talk to everyone so it was cool. And with Sara Jennifer and Franchesca we shared with them the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. Because her daughters are 13 years old. So it got them really excited, and that is something that Sara wants for her daughters, good morals and values! So it was way cool, and we committed them to reading it.

Then Friday we did weekly planning, and that was great. Now we have a bunch of people to teach so we were able to plan what we are gonna be teaching them in the upcoming weeks. So we did that all morning, then we had lunch with Sister Salazar! (not the one who lives down the street! hahahaah) Lunch was good and we went with her to teach a less active family but they were busy, so we said a prayer and left. Then the rest of the day we did contacts, and we weren’t able to teach anybody so that kind of stunk, but at the end of the night we had our meeting with the Mission Leader so that was cool. And then we went to English class, and we got there a little late because the meeting took a while, and we walked in and we didn’t see anybody there for it, so we went to the bathroom and we came out and the 2nd counselor said Olga was there! So she came to English class. I taught them how to say a prayer in English so it was pretty cool. And we shared a little bit about the Book of Mormon with Olga because she had some questions so that was cool! And then we went home and planned for the next day.

Saturday came around and we went early to Olga’s house at like 11 with a member to share with her. She had forgotten so she had to go change because she was in her pajamas. So we shared about the Book of Mormon and how it can bless her life and bring more life into it. It was way cool, and she was able to meet a member. Then we spent the rest of the morning doing contacts, then we went to lunch and lunch was good! We had chicken and mashed potatoes! My favorite! Then the rest of the day we taught a bunch of lessons. We stopped by this one house of a kid that came to one of our sport nights, and we knocked on the door and the grandma came out, and she said they weren’t home, so we left and went and knocked on a door in front of the apartment, and the dad came out and yelled hey come over when you are done over there! So we walked over, and we started teaching them. They are real nice, the dad said he wanted help to stop drinking and smoking. So we taught them about the Restoration and Atonement. And we put baptismal dates with them! But they had a lot of questions, and we had to be super direct with them. I think the dad had been drinking that morning also. But we were way stoked to finally be able to find that family! It’s much more easier to teach a family then a bunch of single investigators, and it’s what God wants. Eternal Families! So it was way sweet. Then we taught Sara at night and shared about the Atonement and The plan of Salvation. It was great! She has had some pretty hard challenges in her life and with her daughters. People that live in their part don’t treat them very nicely. But she was feeling better after a hymn, and that lesson. She is so great she and her daughters are so special. We found them one day when we were walking up a hill to contact, and Sara was working in her garden and we offered to help her, at first she wasn’t very receptive but we convince her to let us in and say a prayer. And she wasn’t really feeling it at first but we kept coming back and they felt the Spirit as we shared the Restored Gospel, and now they want to go to church and be baptized! So it’s so cool how Heavenly Father works!

Then Sunday I had to give a talk in Sacrament meeting. I talked about Capitan Moroni and the title of Liberty, and the baptismal covenant. And how we make covenants to have a better life, and receive blessings! And as I was sitting there singing with Sara I looked out of the corner of my eye and Olga had come and sat down next to me! So it was a way sweet Sunday! Sara’s daughters went to the campo with their dad for the weekend so they couldn’t make it to church. But it was way cool. And Elder Glazier gave a great Gospel principles class about the Restoration. So all in all it was an epic week!

And now we are here on Monday with our P Day taken away because our house failed the clean test. I can only assume that everyone is laughing right now! But hey I tried my best to do my part. Our oven had like Ghost Buster Goo on it and I annihilated it with some steel wool. And the bathroom had mold and fungus and I destroyed it with a brush and everything. But in the end everyone’s gotta give their part in keeping their rooms cleaned. So I hope they have learned their lesson. And we also got news that we are going to be moving in with the office Elders and the Assistants today! So no more cold showers! So we’ll see how it works out. Wish us luck!