Giving Thanks

Wild turkeys in Parral

Our whole district had a challenging week - few of us reached our goals.  Despite the rough patch, we had an inspiring Zone conference, and we performed a successful exorcism, which ended up blessing a family desperately in need.

I am grateful.  How appropriate that this week is Thanksgiving.

Giving Thanks

What do you say we mark this as the season to make it a habit of collecting blessings.  Let's catalog the Lord's kindness.  Assemble reasons for gratitude, and state it.  Daily.  This was the apostle Paul's advice to the Thessalonians.

Rejoice evermore.

Pray without ceasing.

In every thing give thanks:

 for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Look at the sum total of those terms:  Rejoice...when?  Evermore.  Pray...how often?  Without ceasing.  Give thanks...in what?  In every thing.

Gratitude is a conscious choice in all circumstances.  Good weeks and not so good weeks.  

Elder Sharp, Elder Aparicio, Elder Evans, and me

This is the Lord's work. The Church is True, and boy am I grateful to be a part of it.  Working 'til I drop.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving, Everyone. And, save me some turkey and stuffing!

Elder Connor Nef

Hats Off to My New Companion

We had such a great ward activity this week: Noche de Sombreros (Hat Night).  Check these guys out!  Just for the fun of it, they came in homemade hats, purchased hats, decorated hats. We played games and had a fun time.


Introducing Elder Evans
My new companion is Elder Evans. He hails from the midwest - Indiana.  This is his first week in Chile, and I have been given the privilege of training him, which wont be a challenge since he is a chill dude and very excited to work.

We've been focusing a lot on teaching with questions, which is a bit of a hurdle since he does not yet understand the locals (it'll take time), but Elder Evans has initiative.  For instance, during one lesson, I paused and was searching for the right words, when Elder Evans put his hand on my shoulder and began teaching in his broken Spanish. It was great.

We have four elders sharing our apartment. Elder Sharp, my previous comp, is still there with his new green companion, Elder Aparicio from Malaga Spain.  Elder Aparicio's accent is very strong and the branch loves it.


Second Time's a Charm
One day as we were out on the street looking for new people to teach, we came across a guy named Ivan.  Elder Sharp and I ran into Ivan about 6 weeks ago and he wasn't interested in our message.  But as we talked with him this time, he was suddenly very interested and even committed to coming to church.  That was cool.

Joaquin out working with Elder Evans and me

Things are moving along. In fact, it's getting pretty hot around here - 36 Celsius (that's about 96 Fahrenheit).  Whew.  Hopefully our work will be just as hot.  Already, Elder Evans is headed in the right direction.  This week's gonna be great.

Love to All,
Elder Connor Nef

It's All About Progress

with Branch President Erpel in Villa Baviera

It's been a good week. Hit our goals.  Investigators came to church.  Two families have set dates for baptism this month!  I'm not winking in the picture. The sun was mighty bright in Villa Baviera.


Villa Baviera
You remember the Book of Mormon in German I mentioned last blogpost?  Well, we handed it out. Yep. Our Branch President Erpel (very cool dude) took us to the German community, Villa Baviera.

While in this community we taught 3 lessons (not too bad for 1.5 hours of work).  The area here is beautiful and large - thousands used to live here.  Now there are probably about a few hundred.  The reduced population probably has something to do with its sketchy past.  Some Nazi officer moved here after WWII and started the community.  He also started a new wave of mistreatment of people. As a result, a lot of extreme abuse and secrecy shadowed Villa Baviera for decades thereafter.

We found people who are still mentally and emotionally scarred, but who want to heal.  One guy, Jorgan, kept saying, "But everything is better now. We are happier now."  "Everyone is now free to do what they want."  These people are very receptive and love to talk.

It would be a very redeeming story if the people of Villa Baviera accept the gospel.

Sheeeeeep!

Training

En route to Villa Baviera, President Catala called and told us that we need to prepare our house to receive two more beds.  We are going to have 8 missionaries in this branch, and Elder Sharpe and I will each be training two new missionaries!  Very cool.  I have 3 weeks to train the dude to lead the area.  Challenge accepted!

Manuel Quotes
One day while knocking doors, we found an alley where everyone is related to each other and receptive to our message.  One dude in particular was especially eager to talk religion - a Jewish guy with a beard named Manuel.  It was refreshing that he knew so much about the Bible, quoting Old Testament prophecies. "In Daniel, it says that the restoration of all things will come to pass two thousand years after Christ." 

That is exactly our message, Manuel!  Needless to say, our lesson with him was pretty great.

Caterpillars are everywhere here

It's All About Progress
In my studies, I came across the little gem in Moroni-

"Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him."

Moroni 10:32

Now, the word "perfect" scares a lot of people. It seems to be an unattainable standard - I mean, who on earth can be perfect? No one! But the word used for perfect here does not mean spotless, without flaw. The scriptural definition of perfect is related to maturity and growth - it's about wholeness. Completeness. Filling in any emptiness or unfinished parts of our character. So really, we're talking about progress and becoming better than we were yesterday.

The only way we can get to this valuable state is to do as the scripture directs: Come unto Christ. He fills in our gaps, and He completes what we haven't finished in ourselves. He helps us fulfill our potential and become better than we ever were. How? There's another scripture for that:

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness.

I give unto men weakness that they may be humble;

and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me;

for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me,

then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Ether 12:27

Weaknesses are a constant reminder of our dependence upon the Lord. When we take those  weaknesses to the Savior, we become effectively joined with Him in a great work. The work of becoming a little better every day.  It's about progress.  Moroni said as much. Here's the whole verse:

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him,

and deny yourselves of all ungodliness;

and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness,

and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you,

that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ;

and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. 

And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power,

then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God. 

Moroni 10:32–33

This is the message we hope to deliver to Manuel and our friends in Villa Baviera.  Change will start the moment we decide to Come unto Christ. 

Have a great week, everyone!
Elder Connor Nef