This week was really good. We planned last week that this last week of the transfer was going to be our ¨miracle week¨ and in many ways it was. We decided to just have the determination to teach all about the doctrine of the atonement and repentance and baptism, and invite any that would listen to be baptized. We found several really great people. One´s name is Alejandro. We were doing a lot of door contacts and not seeing too much success, when we arrived at a huge house with a nice yard, cars, etc. I told Elder Conley that we were going to enter that house no matter what. We knocked and a younger guy came out and was talking with us for a while, and he asked us to come in. He was really nice and gave us drinks and took us up to his room, because they recently had moved there and didn´t have furniture for a living room. Anyways, we entered his room and the first thing we see is a huge plasma screen TV, every movie you can imagine, and the best part...every video game console that you can imagine: The old Nintendo, SEGA, N64, Two Wii´s, the New XBOX 360, Playstation 3,....I thought i had died and gone to video game heaven (which is missionary hell cuz we can´t touch them.) Anyways, we talked for a while about his family and his life. He´s 25 and works with his parents, and is Catholic. He told us that with work, and his previous studies, his whole family had really fallen away from God, but that he had desires to get close again. He was really interested in the message of the restoration, accepted a baptismal date right away, and when we gave him a book of mormon he couldn´t believe that we were given it for free and promised to read it. We both left there with huge eyes and mouths hanging open haha. We also found a few other people who are related to members in our ward that were really nice. While I was on a mini cambio (I don´t know how to call that in English, I think it´s inter transfer, something like that) in Dichato, Elder Conley and Elder Hafen found two new investigators that are really cool and accepted baptismal dates, then gave them a ride home. Not much more you can ask from an investigator! Isaías is doing well. He and his family all came to General conference and said they really liked it. The thing i loved about conference was that it seemed to be directed at how to gain a strong testimony of the restored gospel, which is exactly what Isaías needs. We´re going over there tonight to see them again, and give them that awesome picture that dad drew. That leads me to the big news of the week:
I was called by our zone leaders on Thursday and told that Friday i was ¨invited¨ to attend the Leadership council in Chillan that´s only for zone leaders. I went with Elder Pierce. What we did was get together, about 20 zone leaders and about 6 others who weren´t zone leaders like myself, and we listened to president for a bit about what he feels the mission needs right now. And then for about an hour and a half we have a council to decide how we´re going to accomplish certain goals this month and what we need to improve on. It was a pretty cool experience being able to be there and add my input. Elder Hadfield later made fun of me saying that i wouldn´t shut up haha. Afterward I had a meeting with the Assistants and they told the 6 or so of us that we were being made Zone Leaders this transfer. Afterward we had lunch at a Peruvian restaurant that was way good. Anyways, I’m leaving Tomé now after only 3 months here. It´s a bittersweet feeling. I´m going to miss this city and the people, especially the members. I feel that I wasn´t here long enough to really make a big difference, but we did do some good things with José and Wenceslao, but the branch needs help that I wasn´t able to provide, but Elder Conley and I already made plans that he´s going to implement with his new comp.
I´m going to the zone of Chillan Ñuble to be with another latin, I can´t remember his name right now, but he got here with Elder Conley and I’m going to finish up his training. President´s doing a new thing by calling zone leaders and having them train, where before he had the two zone leaders as companions, now we just live together but have different comp´s. I´m pretty pumped cuz I’ve never been to Chillan before, but Elder Hadfield and I were bummed cuz we were certain that I was going back to Talca to be zone leader with him, but it wasn´t meant to be haha. It´s going to be a new and exciting experience for me, and I´m going to learn how to be humble and serve the other missionaries instead of just being focused on my own sector and a couple others. The other zone leader, in my zone, name is Elder Nelson. He´s that Elder I was telling you guys about several months ago that´s on Mormon.org on the mormon messages called ¨two brothers apart¨. He´s the older one, and seems like a chill guy, but we´ll see how things go. I´m leaving tomorrow and didn´t really expect it, so I’m goin to have to go around today and say goodbye really fast to everybody. I made several copies of dad´s drawing, so I could give several away cuz it´s freaking awesome!
We´re on the last stretch of the mission and it´s kind of freaking me out. Elder Pitcher´s on his last transfer, and I only have 4 more. I gotta keep working hard to the end, but i need your continued support and prayers. Thank you all sooooo much for the prayers, fasting, temple worship, and service you all are giving for the Lord and His work. I know we can do miracles if we, as a whole, work for the salvation of others. We missionaries can´t do it all, and they talked about that in conference, so we all gotta get going to prepare the world for Christ´s coming!! That will be a glorious day, and we should make sure that as many as possible will be able to participate in the joy that He´ll bring to the earth.
I love you all and thank God daily for my family and friends that He has given me, because I feel like the most blessed person in the world.
Love,
Tanner