Decided to Knock One Last Door

Horse and her new foal

What a great week. We had one baptism with 2 others in queue, 3 investigators came to church, an inspiring Zone Conference, lessons taught, families found, goals met. and I've got an awesome companion.


Chilean's Don't Horse-Around When Speaking Slang
Fun Fact:  I realized that Chilean slang phrases have a lot of animal references.  For instance -

-  If a place is ghetto, it's "Where the lobster pinches".
-  If you don't have money, you are a "Walking duck".
-  If you are stupid, you are a "Turkey".
-  If you are angry, you "Throw the seal".
-  If you are small and scrawny, you are a "Small chicken".
-  If you collect money from friends to pay for something, you "Make a small cow".


Justin's Baptism!

Elder Sharp, Poncho (Justin's brother), Justin, and me

Adios, Leandro!

Elder Sharp, Me, Leandro, and the Hermanas

After telling us for so long that he needs to look for work and a wife, Leandro finally had to let go of his calling as Ward Mission Leader.  Sad to see him go. He was such a great mission leader that Parral was being used as an example of how things should run, but....all things must end.

Our new mission leader is a really great ward member/returned missionary, Miguel Munoz.  It'll certainly be difficult to fill Leandro's shoes with his lovable, gung-ho energy and awesome business organization, but I have full confidence that Miguel will be great.


Zone Conference

Movie Poster

Zone Conference was great.  Pres started off the conference talking about la espada de Espiritu, which is to teach clearly and in a way that people will understand and want to commit.  After talking about Faith, he zeroed-in on urgency in the work, showing us a clip from the movie Hacksaw Ridge starring Andrew Garfield.

Hacksaw Ridge

The film focuses on the true World War II experience of American medic, Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield), who won the Congressional Medal of Honor despite his refusal to bear arms in his service (due to religious beliefs).  Doss was drafted and found himself ostracized by fellow soldiers for his non-violent stance, but went on to earn great honor and respect for his bravery and selfless compassion after risking his life to save 75 men in the Battle of Okinawa. All without firing a shot.

The brief movie clip we saw showed Doss in the middle of battle, staying behind in hopes of finding one more life to save, praying for God's guidance the whole way.

President drew the comparison between Doss and us. In the thick of battle over souls, we too must search for one more life to save, praying for God's guidance the whole way.

Friday, we did just that.


We Found Waldo!
Friday was difficult because our members canceled and after a while, we found ourselves in a part of town that has, in our experience, been very unfruitful.  Tried working there in the past with absolutely no success. BUT, before we retreated to another part of town, we decided to knock one last door.

A 25 year-old dude named Waldo answers the gate (Success! We found Waldo, guys).  We talked a bit when he decides to let us in to his front yard. After starting to teach with our scriptures, he then invites us to come inside where his wife, Roxana and 4 year-old daughter, join us.  We teach Lesson 1 and they like it - so much so that when we conclude, they invite us to stay and have dinner.  They had never spoken with missionaries before.

That was a weirdly awesome experience.

One last door. One more life to save. If we keep mind and heart open, and ask God to guide our steps, He can certainly lead us to those ready to be saved.

Love to all,
Elder Connor Nef