Tuesday, September 26, 2017

He Did This Time!

Headed to Stake Conference in Linares with this good-looking group
It may have been raining much of the week, we may have biked and walked until our treads were smooth, with days of cancellations and no one letting us in - but our spirits weren't dampened.  It was good work.  Yes, much of the week was slow-going, but Friday everything changed. We taught 12 lessons on Friday alone.

Pancho (ward member) and I were even able to teach an atheist who wants us to return. That would be the ultimate turn-around.  And then there is our golden investigator, Cristofer.

Cristofer, the Young Adult
One day on splits when I headed out with Leandro, we ended up going to Cristofer's house.  We pass by this guy a ton and he is almost never home, but he was this time!

Earlier, when he wasn't home, we would simply leave a pamphlet every time with hopes that he would read it.  By now he had a handful of them.  And, come to find out, he read all of them and said, "The material was really good. They answered my doubts."

Carved from
Fish bone
Later in the week, we taught Cristofer a few more lessons and found him so prepared, he was basically teaching us the principles.  I have discovered that if you teach the first 3 lessons well to an investigator and he/she has lots of member communication, he/she will understand lessons 4-5 perfectly.  This was the case with Cristofer.

Later still in the week, as my comp and I were planning our schedule, Cristofer's name came up - and his baptismal date.  I felt that we should change it to an earlier date.  He was ready.  Shoot, he even wants to go on a mission right away!  Elder Sharp hands me the phone and I dial.

Cristofer NEVER answers his phone, but he did this time!  So I ask, "Cristofer, what would you think about getting baptized this Saturday."
   
"I think it sounds great," he says.

I then phoned the branch president to get permission for the service.  Branch pres never answers the phone, but he did this time - and he gave us the green light.

[cue angel choirs]

Plus, this weekend will be General Conference!  So great.


Have a blessed week, Everyone,
Elder Connor Nef









Wednesday, September 20, 2017

It's Parraldice

with Elder Gonzalez at the entrance monument to Yierba Buenas
What can I say?  It has been another terrific week. Parral is simply a blessed area, and I am doubly blessed to be working here.

Yierbas Buenas
Mid-week, we had an intercambio (exchanges) with the zone leaders.  I paired with Elder Gonzalez and worked in Linares.  He's a really cool dude from Santiago, and as a Chilean, he was able to teach me a lot about how to teach even better.  We meandered into the campo for lunch (noodles with a mackerel and kelp salad), then headed into the farming town of Yierbas Buenas (Good Herb) [-insert favorite joke here-].  The town is newly open to missionary work so everyone seemed more receptive to our message.

Fiesta Patrias - El Dieciocho (the 18th)
It is Chilean Independence, folks, so nothing is open. From Saturday until Wednesday, the nation is in lock-down celebration in honor of Chile becoming its own nation.  So we celebrated with our ward.
The picture doesn't show it, but there were a lot of people there, and 13 of our investigators came!  There was great amounts of food, and games like dodge ball, cup pong, and tug-of-war. Performances of Cuaiga Paillas, a type of Chilean limerick poetry, rounded out the evening.  Kind of like these:

CHILE
by Bennie6 Haiku Poem

Chile ha sido
llamado la "Tierra de
Lagos y Ríos."
(Chile has been called the "Land of Lakes and Rivers")
Si tú estás en
Chile, y hace fresco,
¡prueba el chile!
(If you are in Chile, and it's chilly, try the chili!)


CROONER BRUNER
by Rajat Kanti Chakrabarty

Crooner Bruner loved his schooner 'Billie'
 He took a short holiday in Chile
 He went to Torres del Paine
Crooned across the terrain
And came back home with a robust chili 


It's More Chilean than Beans
I had quite the Chilean lunch: meat kebab, empenada, and mote' con huesillo (a beverage made from wheat and peaches). As they say out here, "It's more Chilean than the beans!"


Let's See Where the Spirit Takes Us
One evening when our appointments began to fall, my comp says, "Let's see where the Spirit takes us."  We started heading out, and think at-the-same-time MIRIELA.  Miriela was an investigator we dropped a while back.  So, we stop by her house and she invited us in. She admitted that whenever she felt bad, she would see us around town (hint, hint, girl, God is trying to get your attention).

We ended up having a great lesson with her. She felt the Spirit, though she has doubts about a living prophet and apostles. Let's hope that upcoming General Conference helps resolve those doubts.


Seba's Baptism
Seba was baptized on Sunday with his whole family present. All are inactive or non-members. He's a great example.
Elder Sharp, Seba, Roberto Espinosa (Young Men's President), me 

Dynamic District
Elder Sharp, Hermanas Vidal, Wendel (back), Rios, Contreras, me
At redimiento de cuentas, I learned that my district is the strongest one in the zone - probably the whole mission.  Doesn't surprise me.  These sister missionaries are dynamic.  Parral is a special area - a privilege to serve here with a district of hard working missionaries.

It's Parraldice!

Love to Everyone,
Elder Connor Nef








Friday, September 15, 2017

Hail Mary!

with Elder Sharp and Elder Lecheminant
We've had such a great week, everyone.  We bought a stove. Got our bikes fixed. Knocked doors.  Had some great visits.  Met goals, set baptismal dates, and have a nice group of investigators to-boot.

Give it Another Go
So, a couple of weeks ago while knocking doors, we visited a former Catholic priest who is now married with a family.  He told us back then to not return. Well, we decided that we'd ignore his suggestion and give a visit another go.  We returned on Tuesday. When he was about to send us on our way, my comp said, "Hey, we just want to sing a hymn with you."

They let us in.

We sang and talked which naturally led to our inviting them to a church activity. "Oh no," says the wife, "You try to get people to go to your activities and you are sneaky about it."

Sneaky!? We were a little confused.  "I know," she said, "because that is how I got baptized into your church!"

Whuuuut?  We ended up having a lesson WITH A MEMBER PRESENT. YESSSS!

Church Activity with the youth

Ana Maria, Missionary
We visited Ana Maria and taught about Patriarchal Blessings. She is doing great and so full of love for the gospel and her family that she's bent on seeing to it that her entire family is baptized.  Many of them attended her baptism (it is always great when there is family support for something life changing).  Anyway, we set up a family home evening with her family. Fingers crossed.

Maria and Maria
The other night my comp decides he wants some brain food, so we stopped by a place to buy him something, and as we were leaving the story, a lady calls out, "Hi Elders!"  A group of ladies are standing there, so we go over and introduce ourselves and my comp begins talking to one, whose name was Maria, and I make conversation with another, who also happens to be named Maria.

The Maria I talk with turns to her friends and says, "These guys baptize like Jesus was baptized - by immersion. And, I have heard that when you go to their church you feel a warm comfortable feeling."

Turns out, Maria had friends in another town who were members of the church. So we talk a little more and bear testimony.  The Maria that my comp talked to happened to be a less-active member who we had never met. SO WE HAD ANOTHER LESSON WITH A MEMBER PRESENT!

Sharp Dressed Man
Sometimes investigators feel the spirit strongly in discussions, but honestly have a hard time making it to church on Sundays. Christofer is one of them. Well, we finally caught up with him and were direct about needing to attend church. And, guess what?  He came - in full-on suit and tie!

People thought he was a member. Hermano Correa befriended him and stuck by his side for all three hours.  During church we taught him and he set a baptismal date.


Speaking of church - we had 5 investigators show up to church.  That was awesome.  Since we had reached our goals by Saturday, Sharp and I were able to spend Sunday visiting members for referrals.

Cinnamon Incentive
We set up a friendly competition between adults and kids. Whoever wins receives a cinnamon roll from me.  Hopefully it's an incentive. I mean, it is for me.

It's one of the reasons I look forward to General Conference.  My family's tradition is making cinnamon rolls every conference - a tradition I have continued out here. Though, I will need to be careful this time, because last Conference I ended up eating 25 rolls.

Like I said, the week has been fantastic. Hit goals.  People came to church.  Thank you for your prayers.  Parral is seeing the results of that, and I am blessed to be a part of it.

Love to All,
Elder Connor Nef










Thursday, September 7, 2017

"I Have an Invitation for You"

Linares Zone: Matching shirts are from Mission Conference
Like a Well-Oiled Machine
Received word on transfers: Elder Sharp and I are staying in Parral for my final 12 weeks. Exactly what we wanted. Sharp and I make a good team. We're working like a well-oiled machine and want to keep the momentum.


Baptism of Ana Maria
with Ana Maria and Moises (who did the honors)
It has been a pleasure teaching Ana Maria. She is so receptive (even wants to go out with the Hermanas to bear testimony) that it is proving to strengthen her 4-year old son, Gabriel.

During one of Ana Maria's final lessons, Gabriel enthusiastically interrupted so he could say the opening prayer (which his mom had already given). It was one of the most adorable things. He hopes to be a missionary one day, and Ana Maria can't wait to go to the Temple.  She's solid.  In fact, when Elder Hershberger interviewed Ana Maria prior to baptism, he was blown away by how strong her testimony was.  YESSSS.

Well, her baptism was really nice with many family members and investigators in attendance.


Scratch the Squash
What do you do with a Chilean pumpkin?  Why, you make pie!  My first.  From scratch. Check it out:
Isn't it cool looking?
Carve. The skin was real tough.
There it is, ready to bake.
Blend the pulp. Mix with spices etc.
Pour into homemade crust. Bake. Voila!

Since I didn't have an entire day to spend on this taste of home, I extended the process out over a 3-day period of time.  And, I think it was worth it.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it at District Class.  Yum.


"I Have an Invitation for You"
A weird thing happened when we returned to knock a door we had knocked before.  The daughter of the lady we talked with answered the door and said that her mom was not home.  After dragging out the conversation into a lesson (missionaries become expert in this), the mom pops her head out and says, "I have an invitation for you...that you come in and have dinner with us."

She explained that she had felt too busy to receive us and told her daughter to lie, but then felt bad and wanted to let us in.  We were greeted with homemade bread and a large salad with boiled eggs and fresh vegetables.  Good stuff.

What a fantastic twist of events.  The gospel is true!

Viva La Mision!!!
Elder Connor Nef