3 Nephi 7:25 -- Baptism to show Repetance

Hey family!

   It was great being able to see all you shiny happy people a few days ago.  The Cortez Oporto family loved hearing your voices even though they didn´t understand a single word.  They say that we all look alike.  Good looking. A short email today, due to all the forms that we had to send today it being the end of the year and all.  My birthday was great yesterday!  All the members found out so they made sure that we didn´t return home hungry at night.  Also a miracle happened.  We saw Pablo while walking in the street and started asking him about his baptism.  He admitted that he thought he was going to be baptized yesterday morning but when nothing happened, he was to afraid to say something.  We excitedly apologized and invited him to be baptized next Sunday.  He quickly accepted and walked into his house smiling.  A good man who has true desires.  Next week I´ll write a summary about his conversion.  I hope that everything is going well in the family.  Don´t party too hard in the New Year (especially you Mom and Dad).  I love you all!

Elder Weidman

Matthew 10:16 - "Wise as serpent, Harmless as dove"

Hey family!

How is everyone doing?  I bet that all the houses are decorated and all the presents wrapped (in the Weidman home we all procrasinated until Christmas eve to wrap the presents).  I seriously can´t believe Christmas has come again, or that it is a different day for the world.  We have already started setting up many appointments for Tuesday and Wednesday, but we do it without realizing that they are special holidays because they are normal days for us.  Many investigators and members have said ¨Come on Tuesday or Wednesday¨ and we accept the invitation without realizing that they are inviting us to celebrate Christmas with them.  Our minds are set in missionary mode where all the days have the same schedule and purpose.  It´s actually hilarious to see the peoples reaction when they try to understand the life of a missionary.  Those who have a strong testimony and conversion understand the importance of serving a mission with all heart, might, mind, and strength. 

I know that we will talk in a few days so I just want to give a quick update on the investigators.  Pablo still has the same problem with his wife.  He is afraid to tell her that wants to be baptized into the Church but he is gradually mustering up the courage by praying and reading the Book of Mormon.  We have a few new investigators that have a lot of potencial now!  There is a family that Elder Sosa and I contacted a few months back who have now reactivated themselves into the church.  Everyone in the family was baptized a few years back except for the dad because he didn´t want anything to do with the church.  He recently told us that he has seen a huge change in his son, Javier, due to the church, and now he has accepted lessons from us.  We are also teaching the boyfriend of Javier´s sister, who´s name is Cristian.  Yesterday we had an amazing lesson with him and Antonio and they shared their opinions about baptism and the church.  Antonio believes that it is the church that he and his family should participate in.  Cristian has a past full of mistakes and he loves the feeling that he has when he talks with us about the Gospel.  He wants to change his life and already knows that the Church is the key.  He says that he wants to be baptized when he know 100% that he will continue in this path for the rest of his life. They both have true desires to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know the truth.

Elder Sosa was called to a different area in Viña which means that I received a new companion.  His name is Elder Brown and he is a great, hardworking missionary from Orem, Utah.  We have already seen miracles here in Quillota and know that more will come as we obediently work. 

I hope that everything is good with the family!  Talk to you in 2 days!

Love,

Elder Weidman

DyC 33:8 -- "Open your mouths and they shall be filled"

Hey family,

This might be the shortest email yet.  I seriously only have 1 minute to write this but I didn´t want to leave my weekly email out.  Chrismas is coming and kids are having fun.  I´ve been talking with Mary and you all can ask her about the Christmas video chat.  My investigators are doing great, as well as those of the missionaries in the zone.  Now we have 3 who have true potencial to be baptized this month.  With prayer and fasting!  I´m happy and working hard! The package arrived from Rach and I´m excited to open it!  Transfers are this week so we will see if Elder Sosa and I stay together for another 6 weeks or not.

Love you all!

Elder Weidman

Matthew 5:19 - "Do and Teach" the Commandments

Hey Family!

    Well the holidays are starting to fly by.  Everyone here is anticipating the night of the 24th because like I explained last year (if anyone remembers), Chileans celebrate with the family, eat the big dinner, and open the presents on Christmas Eve instead of Chrismas morning.  Santa Claus (el Viejito Pascuero) sneakily enters all the houses at 12 o clock midnight while the children play outside with their parents, and to then all the kids run into the house, knowing without a doubt that Santa has made a quick stop to the house yet again.  This year, President Kahnlein has informed us that we will need to be in our houses at 10 o clock Christmas Eve, which is 2 hours earlier than last year but I trust in his judgement and the revelation he has received.  For the New Year, we have to be in the house at 11, but are allowed to watch the fireworks from the windows. On the 18th we will have transfers therefore we have no idea if we will be here or not.  Elder Sosa has been here for 4 changes and I have been here for 3 which means that anything can happen!  He could go, I could go, or we could stay together for another change. Whatever the Lord needs.

   Were you all able to see the Chrismas Devotional yesterday?  President Kahnlein thought it best not to watch the Devotional because it started pretty late in the night but I want to know how it was!  If I have time in the next few Pdays, I´ll try watching a few segments.  Any talks in particular that would be best to watch?  

   The Lord has been blessing our zone a lot this month.  We set the baptismal goal of 15 baptisms for the month of December (the highest goal I have set yet) and we have literally seen miracles as we have strived to accomplish this high, yet possible goal. Elder Sosa and I have around 5 investigators who could be baptized this month which means that this week is crucial.  One of the investigators is Felix´s wife, who only wants to have her legs be healed so that she can be baptized.  We have the faith that her wish will be granted this Christmas Season so that Felix can baptize her.  The other 4 investigors are all referrals from members which is the best way to bring about Mission Work. We have a firm trust that the members will be sure to stop by and help the investigators have true conversions! In the next week I will be able to have a more updated summary of each investigator. 

   16 Days till Christmas!  The Spirit of Christmas or as President Monson said ¨The Spirit of Christ¨.

Love,

Elder Weidman 

Mosiah 28:3 -- "To Every Creature"

Hey family!   Sounds like Thanksgiving was a great experience!  I´m glad to hear that you all enjoyed the little trinkets that were sent.  Many countless nights without sleep were spent while trying to think of gifts that would please the family. I included a photo of Felix´s baptism.  Yesterday I confirmed him member of the Church and now we are working with his wife so that he can baptize her in December.  All depends on her health condition because she has true desires to be baptized but can´t attend the Church Meetings until her legs heal a bit more. We lost a bit of contact with some investigators this week due to school exams and preparations for summer vacation here in Chile, but it worked out perfectly because it gave us more time to work with the members.  The South America Area Presidency has asked all the missionaries to share an invitation made by Elder Ballard in the past General Conference with the members.  Here is the invitation: ¨We are not asking everyone to do everything. We are simply asking all members to pray, knowing that if every member, young and old, will reach out to just “one” between now and Christmas, millions will feel the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful gift to the Savior.¨ The members reactions to this invitation have been spectacular and many have accepted the challenge to give a Book of Mormon or dvd of the church to a friend before Christmas, while others have set Family Home Evenings with us where we can be introduced to their friends.  This invitation is also present for all of you and I know that many will be benefited if we can fulfill the wish that Elder Ballard has placed on the table!     Sorry for the shortness of the letter.   I´ll send another picture to make up for the lack of information!Love,Elder Weidman

I'm a Avacadoer

Success!

Luke 22:42 -- "Not my will, but thine, be done"

Hey family!

   I imagine that everyone is preparing for the vacations of Thanksgiving, and I can´t even believe that it´s that time of the year again.  I have not eaten turkey for a little more than a year now (in the MTC we were given turkey) but chicken and rice always makes a good Thanksgiving dinner.  Signs of Christmas are starting to appear, but that doesn´t throw out the fact that it´s summer here.  My second hot Christmas will be amazing!  Here in the plaza of Quillota, a huge blow up Santa Claus popped his head out of no where and is staring at everyone that walks by. His huge head (brother Callister) is creeping over the top of one of the super markets here and I feel insecure with him watching. I will take a photo and send it your way next week.

   Yesterday Felix was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We held his baptismal service in a small classroom because his wife can´t climb the stairs that lead to the sacrament room.  Man was it hot in the classroom and I´m sure Felix was grateful when he entered the cool water.  I have a photo of the baptism but left the chord in the apartment.  You will have to wait till next week to see it.  The conversion story of Felix is amazing and I will always remember the faith he showed when he prayed for the truth to arrive to his doorstep.  An unforgettable experience!

   Yesterday Nico ( the joven that was baptized around 3 months ago) passed the sacrament for the first time and his parents, who aren´t members, came to watch him.  They arrived late and weren´t able to see it but they still were able to be spiritual uplifted with the talks and classes given.  We had an amazing Gospel Principles class where Nico´s dad shared how we had changed his life when we began teaching Nico.  He confessed to us that he had never taken interest in religion nor in God until recently.  The whole family was passing a hard time and for the first time in his life, he prayed to God for help.  The next day Nico met us and 4 weeks later was baptized.  Now Nico´s dad is sharing many deep personal feelings with us and we are able to apply the Gospel to every one of his needs.  An unknown miracle.  

   Yesterday we had 6 investigators who arrived at church (a new record for me) and they all have good progression.  The Lord has seen our dedication and work and we have been trying to humble ourselves so that the Spirit can whisper promptings to us. 

Have a good week!  Don´t distract the missionaries too much this week because I´m sure that Thanksgiving is a hard week for missionaries in the United States. Maybe some of you could even go with them to a few appointments!

Love,

Elder Weidman

I forgot my agenda in the apartment...

Hey family!

   I don´t have a scripture for today because I accidentily left the agenda at home and I have shared a photo to show my embarrassment.  I don´t know if I have already sent this photo before but I´m sure you will never get old of the attractiveness that radiates. The food was delicious. 

   Our investigator, Felix, is progressing very fast.  He is the man with 70 years who prayed to the Lord one morning to find the true Church and that same evening we knocked on his door. He is 100% certain that we were an answer to his prayers and I feel very blessed to know that.  Before the mission I had always heard of stories like Felix, but never thought that I would be the Lord´s instrument in one of these stories.  Miracles will always occur with exact obedience. He´s a funny yet amazing experience we had with him.  On Friday, we stopped by Felix just to drop of the Restoration dvd (a short video about Joseph Smith and his amazing quest to find the truth).  He promised to watch it before the appointment we had the next day.Saturday arrived and he excitedly let us in.  He told us that he had watched the video two times and had loved it, and then, while speaking, he began playing the video again.  When we heard the actors speaking in English we realized that he had not understood a single word from the video because he had watched it in English! That, however, didn´t stop him from feeling the Spirit testify to him of the truth of this miraculous event.  A feeling of love for my Heavenly Father came to my heart as I realized how much He had answered Felix´s prayers. We watched the video and Spanish and he loved it even more!  Yesterday he arrived at church even though the President Elections of Chile began in the morning.  He told us that going to the true church of Jesus Christ was more important than being the first person to vote. He will be baptized on the 24th of this month (next Sunday). 

   Thank you for your prayers in my behalf.  Let us pray for those who have suffered from the recent natural disasters.  What an amazing knowledge of the Plan of Salvation we have that has been revealed by a true prophet!

Love,

Elder Weidman

John 15:16 -- I have chosen you

Hey Family!

   I hope that everything is going well.  I bet the temperatures are starting to drop but here they are doing the exact opposite.  Hotter and hotter each day but that means that I´ll be getting a nice tan soon.  Excited for Thanskgiving Break in a few weeks? 

   This week was a week full of contacting and knocking doors until the last second.  But seriously, all day long in the sun we were happily knocking doors because we literally had no progressing investigator when we started the week. After many hours of dedication and sweat, we were guided by the Lord and found a family Saturday night at 8:30. I was acually in another area on a split but my companion told me that the family was literally waiting for God to knock their door.  He invited them to church and, even though they had to cancel plans, the whole family (mom, dad, son of 9 years, and little girl) arrived at church the next morning and loved the sacrament meeting.  Another investigator that we found named Felix also was able to make it to church.  These 4 investigators are our prime focus for the month of November and we are constantly seeking the inspiration of God to help these investigators and find more.  Another awesome experience was being able to give talks in sacrament meeting with 20 minutes anticipitation (does that word even exist?). 

   I expect a good number of photos of when the family gathers together for Thanksgiving!  I can´t believe that it´s already that time of year again.  The Christmas Music started about 2 weeks ago and it pumps me about so much that I am excited to work in the heat!

Love you all!

Elder Weidman

D y C 61:3 -- Contact all!

Hey family!

   Sorry for the shortness of this email.  Like you know, time is limited on the internet.  We have transfers on Wednesday and we will accept what happens.  Elder Sosa and I have been together for 12 weeks now so anything can happen, but it´s not too common that a companionship is together for more than 2 changes.  We will find out where the Lord needs us to be.  This past week I had a division with an Elder I lived with for 2 changes in my first area.  Now he is going home tomorrow and I had the opportunity to do his last division.  We shared many experiences and changes we have had in our lives since Limarí but more important we worked extremely hard.  This elder had 5 days left in the mission but it seemed as if he had just began the mission due to the excitement he had for the work.  He set me a great example of how to end and continue after the mission.  He is a true servant of God who has been made into a new creature due to his obedience and complete dedication to Heavenly Father.  

   We are lacking a bit in investigators but this week will be crucial in order to have a baptism in November.  The Lord knows the desires of our hearts and we must be greatful for the results whatever they are.  I love you all!

Elder Weidman

D&C 130:21 -- Obedience to each commandment

Hey Family!

   Well the major event that happened this past week was the baptism of the family that we have been teaching!  As you can see in the photo that the father (Jaime), mother(Silvia), and son(Cristobal) were baptized Saturday night. The youngest (Pia) will be baptized on the first weekend of December because that is when she turns 8 years old.  The baptism was pure Spirit and I will never forget the joy that was felt there.   I baptized the dad while Elder Sosa baptized the mom and son.  Then we switched yesterday and I confirmed those that Elder Sosa baptized while he did the same to the dad.  The ward was very excited to see this family make a huge step in their life and many told us that this gave them more desires to share the Gospel with others.  I don´t have much time left, but just wanted to let you know about and see the family that has helped me realize more and more that the Lord needs me here in Quillota.  This is truly His Work and He always knows where we need to be.  This week we need to work very hard in finding new investigators who are waiting for us.  The days are getting hotter and hotter here while I imagine that where you all are it is getting colder and colder.  Have a good Halloween!  The Chileans also celebrate Halloween but not as amazing as the United States, but that´s ok because it means that more people will be available to listen to our message!  

Love you all!

Elder Weidman

Romans 10:14 - "How shall they hear without a preacher (missionary)"

Hey family!

   October has flown by, just like every month in the missionary.  Each day gets hotter and hotter and my companion and I are preparing ourselves for the summer that is coming. The good part about the change in the weather is now that it is warm enough to play basketball or run in the morning for the 30 minutes that are given to us.  We take advantage of it as much as possible.

   A little update on my investigators. The only set of investigators that we have who have signs of progression is the Cortez Family.  They are a family of 4, 2 parents and 2 children, 3 of which are able to be baptized because they are older than 7 years old.  We have seriously seen miracles with this family.  I know that I have mentioned experiences with them in the past emails, but since I have more time this email I´m going to try to give the whole history of them.  Everything started with the Zone Conference we had with President Kähnlein around 5 weeks ago, which happened on aMonday.  His main focus during the whole entire conference was on finding the chosen families who are ready to hear and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ into their lives.  Immediately after the conference, my companion and I made a goal to find one of those chosen families.  1 hour later, while looking for a less active family, my companion accidentally knocked on the wrong door, thinking that it was the house of the less actives. Out of embarrassment, he started walking away when I told him the truth, but than I told him that we should wait and see what happened.  He happily agreed and we excitedly waited there.  2 seconds later, the dad of the family, Jaime, opened the fence door and excitedly told us to come in.  During this first visit we met him and his son, Cristobal.  They explained to us that their family had met with missionaries once before but then they never returned to the house and the contact was lost.  We quickly explained our purpose and set a follow up appointment for when the entire family would be home.  

   The next appointment was with the entire family, on the following Saturday.  We were able to meet the mom, Silvia, and the daughter, Pia.  During the second appointment, we watched the Restoration video and shared about the importance of our message.  We could tell that the son, Cristobal, was interested in the message and wanted to know more but the parents didn´t have the same desire to learn but they still wanted us to continue coming over because we were nice and funny. We invited them to church on Sunday but they didn´t have enough time to clear their schedules in order to go.   Throughout the next 3 appointments, we began to focus a lot more on Cristobal and the following Sunday he came arrived at church for the last hour.  We were very worried because this was the 5th Sunday of the month which meant that all the members were together for the last hour.  For the 3rd hour, all the adults in the ward had a little conference about who would clean the chapel for the rest of the year.  Instead of settling the matter very peacefully, the members started arguing and contention was there.  Cristobal wasn´t too impressed but luckily we had a baptism (for Nico) right after the meetings and he felt the Spirit there.  

  The following week, we met with the family twice and taught only about the importance of prophets.  They accepted our invitation to attend General Conference and the whole family arrived for the session when President Monson talked! They absolutely loved his words and immediately gained a testimony.  After conference we had an amazing lesson that was centered on the covenants we can make in the temple in order to be sealed for time and all eternity.  They accepted to invitation to be baptized the 20th as a family, and every lesson since than has been pure Spirit.  Whenever the family has a doubt or fear of being baptized, they begin reading in the Book of Mormon and then it disappears.  Due to lack of teaching, we moved to baptismal date to the 26th and they will for sure be baptized as a family that day.  They committed to live each commandment that we taught them and tomorrow they will have their baptismal interviews.  Pia turns 8 in December and her dad or brother will baptize her.  In one year from now they will all be sealed in the Santiago Temple!!!  Due to time, I haven´t been able to include more details but I want you all to know that every aspect of Missionary Work (ex. work with members, videos, commitments, family home evening, prayer, EVERYTHING)  has been used to help this family and now I have a strong testimony of the divine power of Missionary Work.  

   Well I included a few photos so that you can tell how happy I am.  I hope everything is going great in your lives!

1. A Primary kid who came with us for a few hours this week.  

2. Posing in front of the Reloj de Flores (Clock of Flowers)

Love you all!

Elder Weidman

I'm not disobedient

Hey family again,

   I´m not disobedient because my companion and I received permission to spend 1 hour on internet in the night time.  I´m sure that you all are dying to know if my companion survived his deathly wound.  The truth is yes and he didn´t even have to get a shot.  We went back to the hospital for another hour of waiting and then they confessed that they had no supply of this shot.... Patience is a virtue and the Lord will bless us for the 3 and a half hours that we waited! I´m sure that someone saw us in the hospital sitting against the wall so that the tv wasn´t in our site and now they have a desire to listen to the message.  Keep the faith!

   One more thing. Nina mentioned in her life update that everyone would be together for Thanksgiving and maybe we could all tune into Google Circle to have a video chat.  I was actually thinking about that and wanted to know if everyone will be able to access internet on Christmas for the family video chat.  If not, I could ask President for permission to do my ¨family time¨ on Thanksgiving instead of Christmas, but I would only be able to do it if someone in the family isn´t able to on Christmas.  I need to know within the next week so that I can call President soon and ask. Does that make sense? If not, ask Mary.  I´m sure she understands. (If you don´t understand Mary, let me know now.) 

   The Lord is hastening His Work!  Did everyone give a reference to the missionaries this week? If you didn´t..... I´ll send Banjo to make sure you do it. 

Have a good week! Love,

Elder Weidman

Alma 37:36 True Consecration!

Hey family!

   Quick update.  I'm only on for 5 minutes today.  Maybe a bit later I'll get back on but who knows.  My companion got bit by a dog yesterday so now he needs to get 5 shots.  The first one is today and we were waiting in the hospital for seriously 2 hours.  They told us we could go take a quick break but now we have to return.  The size of the bite is TINY yet he needs those shots just in case.  Just in case I don't get back on - The investigator family went to church yesterday.  They are preparing for the 26th for their baptize.  Dad - Elder Lopez was in my zone last change! That's awesome that you were able to meet him.  A great elder who ended his mission working till the last second.  If anyone else has questions, send them my way!

Love you all!

Elder Weidman

Mosiah 28:3 - ¨Salvation...declared to every creature¨

Hey there family!

   Well I don´t know about everyone else but I´m quite sad that this weekend has come to a close.  It´s worse than when Christmas is over and you realize that another long year awaits you until you can wake up to the smell of Dad´s famous pull aparts.  Heavenly Father talked directly to me and I was able to obtain a handful of answers to my questions.  I hope it was the same for you and know that we still can receive answers due to the amazing internet that we have at our fingertips.  

   I barely have anytime to include this email.  We had a District Activity today and in order to do our usual P Day chores, we need to cut a little time out of Internet. I hope that you all have the same response that Mary had ¨Das aight. We understand, dawg¨. I´m glad that her amazing ability to make me feel good about myself hasn´t changed :)  

   Conference did miracles for our family of investigators.  Before conference, only the son wanted to be baptized.  Now all 3 members of the family who are over the age of 8 have desires to make this covenant with God.  MIRACLES!  They were able to be taught by the world´s best teachers and the Spirit testified to them of the truth in their words.  What an amazing work this is.  

   Let´s put the things we learned in conference into action by giving a reference to the missionaries this week, whether the reference be in the city where we live or in another city. I promise that the Lord will bless you all with VISIBLE blessings.

Love you all!

Elder Weidman

P-S- The photos will come next week!!

D&C 88:6 -- He Comprehended All Things

Hey family!

   Today is the last P day of the month, which means that we have to fill out a million forms for the zone.  This month it´s my turn to fill out the most complicated one so I won´t write a too lengthy email.  I´ll mainly include pictures and explain how to use a Trompo.  

Update:  Yesterday Nico was baptized and what a great experience it was.  Both his parents who aren´t members came and when he came out of the water, they both began crying.  His father told us that he was so proud of his son because he had made his own decision to be baptized. We are working hard so that they whole family can have the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  My companion and I have seen a huge change in Nico that only comes from the application of the Gospel.  I´ll include a picture later on in the emails. 

   This week we had changes or transfers (whatever you want to call them) and my companion and I will have another 6 weeks together.  Most of the missionaries in our zone stayed here in Quillota but we welcomed 2 sisters into the zone who are going to reopen an area that was closed last change.  We were given the duty to help those 2 missionaries arrive to their sector and it was great being able to go to the Change Meeting and see old companions and other missionaries. Our focus this week for the zone is preparing ourselves, the investigators, and the members for General Conference this weekend.  I´m anticipating this Conference a lot and know that if we all come prepared, we will receive the exact revelation that is needed in our lives.  

   I hope that everything is going well with the family!

Love,

Elder Weidman

Ok the photos will have to wait till next week because my camara just ran out of batteries.  Gosh and I even took pictures of myself throwing a trompo!!  Well... Keep the excitement until next week!  

Moroni 9:6 -- "Let us Labor Diligently"

Hey dearest family,

   How is the life of everyone?  You all missed out on the delicious asado (barbeque) that I ate this week.  You know how in the United States the barbeque only lasts for July 4th and maybe leftovers the day after?  Well, here in Chile the meat started cooking on Monday and didn´t stop until last night!  I´ve had more share of meat for the year and am content with no more meat until Christmas. (Is anyone as shocked as I am that Christmas is only 3 short months away?)  I´ll describe how each asado goes.  The man of the house starts the whole meal by cooking Chorizos (sausages).  Once those are cooked after 5 minutes, he throws on the slabs of meat (cow or chicken) and then we begin eating Chorazcos (Chorizos in bread with ketchup and mayo) while we wait for the meat to cook.  During this whole time that the meat is being cooked, the woman are inside making the salad and potato with mayo mix. Depending on the family, there can be more vegetables if desired.  Once everything is prepared, we sit down and have a delicious meal until we can´t fit anything else in.  That is when the fruit comes out.  A little something to top everything off.  Or that´s what I thought until I saw the ice cream!  Those are the usual details that are including on a holiday meal here in Chile.  Usually there are empanadas as well full of meat, boiled egg, and olives (bleh).  To make things short, I ate this food practically everyday this week.... but don´t worry because the amount of walking that we did burned off what was eaten.  

   We weren´t able to find 15 new investigators this week, but we worked extremely hard to try to accomplish it.  The hard thing was that most Chileans spend the rest of the tarde after lunch sleeping until the nighttime.  Then the whole night is spent drinking and having a good time in the eyes of the world, something that we try to avoid at all costs.  Nothing bad or dangerous every happens to us, but every once and awhile someone will yell Gringo (the Chilean word for white person) at us and try speaking in English, but that never works because they have no idea what they are saying.  We wave our hand with a happy smile and continue walking.  

   A little update on our investigators.  Remember Nico?  He had his Baptismal Interview yesterday and will be baptized on Sunday!  We had an amazing, spiritual lesson with him last Friday and in that moment he made the decision to be baptized.  His friend, Seba, will baptize him and he has asked me to confirm him the Sunday after.  We have changes this Wednesday but I believe that I will be staying here after only 6 weeks.  Nico is now more comfortable with the members because we have focused a lot on having the members come with us in order to make a friendship with him.  Our other baptismal candidate for this month is a boy name Dav.  He was the joven that went to church last Sunday without us inviting him, and stayed for all 3 hours.  He has a baptismal date for this Sunday as well but we will need to work really hard so that he is fully prepared to make this covenant. We had the chance to meet his mom yesterday and she is fully on board with his baptism.  She is very interested in the message that we share and knows that it is the best thing that her son could learn. Dav´s dad died a few years back and he has been taking care of his sick mom ever since then at the young age of 13. He loves the church and has attended all 3 hours the past two Sundays.  Due to this weeks of Independence, we weren´t able to have much contact with him but his desires to be baptized are still present. Hopefully in the next email I send, those 2 will have already made their baptismal covenant.

   This week our ward had an activity to celebrate the dieciocho.  We were given permission to spend 2 hours there just to watch and we enjoyed every second of it.  I´ll try to explain all that we saw.  We came after the asado because we had already eaten enough meat for the day.  Some of the members were playing with trompos, toys that look like dradels (spelling?) that you wind up with a rope and then throw down at the ground to make it spin.  The Chileans play an awesome game with these twos.  They begins by placing an old trompo in the dirt in front of them, and then everyone makes a circle and begins throwing their trompos at the one in the center.  The person who breaks the old trompo with the tip of their own trompo wins.  (Last Pday, a member gave us 2 trompos as gifts and we practiced for a bit.  It took me many tries to get the trompo spinning but I had no hope in throwing it where I wanted it to land.) The other activity that we saw was kite wars.  Each person would deck out their own kite but putting a point on the tip and then, once the kite is in the air, they would try to cut the line of the other kites. Hilarious.  The rest of the activity was spent playing musical chair and dancing The Cueca (a Chilean dance that every Chilean knows).  That is a short summary of the activity!

   Have a good week!

Love you all,

Elder Weidman  

Alma 29:2 - The pains of the world only come from sin

Hey Family!

   I´m writing on a Tuesday because yesterday was a zone conference with President Kahnlein.  His main focus for the mission right now is working with the members in order to find the chosen families who are waiting for us. Yesterday we were able to see the true revelation that President receives for the mission because immediately after the conference, we found our first family in Quillota.  It was amazing and we are very excited to find more who are in need of the truth about eternal families.  This week is the week of independence for Chile and in the past missionaries spent September 18th (the actual Independence Day of Chile) in the homes of the members for many hours.  This year, President has shared with us that he feels we need to be outside proselyting and finding more investigators.  I know that this thought and inspiration has come from on high and that if we follow the counsel and command of our President, we will see the fruit of this revelation.  We are working really hard with the missionaries in the zone so that they all are 100% obedient to what our Mission President instructs us to do.  My companion and I have set the deciding that this week we will work extra hard in order to find 15 new investigators.  15 new investigators is the standard of the mission for each week and I have never been able to accomplish it before. President Kahnlein has promised that if we find 15 new investigators every week, we will have one investigator enter the waters of baptism every week.  Both my companion and I left with more excitement and determination from the conference yesterday, and now we KNOW that we can accomplish this faith driven goal during the ¨hardest¨ week of the year for missionaries.  

  This past week we received true tender mercies from our Heavenly Father.  Nico had a few troubles in his home therefore he didn´t have approval to be baptized this past weekend but we know that it will happen in the near future.  The tender mercies all started with a 12 year old boy who wanted to know where we were from.  On Friday, Elder Sosa and I were walking down the street when this boy, Mario, ran up to us to ask us where we were from.  That RARELY happens here in Chile.  Usually the people are running away from us.  We conversed with him for a few minutes and he invited us to his house that night.  When we entered his home, we invited all that were there to listen.  He and his 14 year old friend were the only ones there, so we shared with them.  His friend, Mat, shared with us that he had been taught by missionaries years before but had never been baptized because his parents said no.  After teaching about baptism, they both accepted baptismal dates for the 29th of September.  They eagerly asked us when the meetings were and we happily invited them to the meetings for Sunday.  At this moment, Mario´s Grandma enter the home and told us that he couldn´t go to church because had to get his daily session of soccer in during the morning.  At this point, Mario nearly began to cry because he wanted to go to church so bad.  With much persuading on Mario´s part, the Grandma finally allowed him to go to church.  On Saturday, we saw both Mario and Mat many times in the day while walking in the street and they both informed us that they had invited another friend to come to church.  All three of them arrived at church Sunday morning and they loved it.  About an hour after the lunch, we passed by all they houses to pick them up for a lesson in the Chapel.  On the way to the church, Mario yelled at one of his other friend, named Rob, and he followed us as well.  By the end of that lesson, all 4 of the youngens had baptismal dates and we had set up an appointment to meet all of their families!  These experiences with the jovenes and the conference yesterday has made Elder Sosa and me extremely happy and determined to find more!

   When the Lord commands us to complete a task, He will always provide the way if we seek His guidance.

I love you all!

Elder Weidman

Matthew 4:19 - http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/follow-me-and-i-will-make-you-fishers-of-men?cid=HPTH090513080&lang=eng

Hey Family!

   Before reading my email, watch the video that I put as the subject! I ran across that video today and loved it!  The apostols left everything that they had and that they were doing in order to become fishers of men.  And they did it immediately!  I hope that we would be able to do the same.  Actually we can do the same right now by dedicating our time to becoming true disciples of Christ. 

   First I´ll start with an update with our investigators.  Nico, the young man of 15 years, will be baptized this coming Sunday.  We have met with his mom and she approves of his baptism without a single problem.  His friend Seba, who was baptized about a month and a half ago, is helping Nico prepare for his baptism.  We are all excited for this step that he will be taking and we feel blessed for the chance we have to help Nico.  

   Satan has been attacking out other investigator, Nacho.  He has had many trials with his girlfriend and we are helping him realize that all he needs to do is find guidance in the Book of Mormon and prayer and then everything will be fine.  He still has desires to be baptized but it might not happen in the near future.  We. however, are not losing the faith and will continue working with him with a lot of excitement so that he doesn´t lose the desires!

   On Friday, President Kahnlein had a Mission Leader (Zone Leaders and Sister Leaders) Conference in Viña Del Mar.  He does these meetings once every month and we look forward to receiving more revelation from our President.  This month he focused the whole conference on Honesty in the Work of Salvation.  His focus for the mission right now is the work with the members and he was able to connect that with Honesty. We were all enlightened with inspiration as we listened to the words of our Mission President, his wife, and the Assistants. 

   Last night we had a really neat lesson with an inactive who´s husband was baptized 8 months ago.  They don´t go to church because she doesn´t want to.  Last night we were able to find our the reasons why through the Spirit.  The Lord guided us and we were able to know what questions we needed so that we understood her needs and she understood our purpose as missionaries and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  She confessed to us that she felt very distraught when she went to church because she realized how much her life wasn´t in line with the Gospel.  She had no one to turn to, except for her husband, therefore she decided that the best way to avoid those feelings was by not going to church.  We comforted her through words from the Book of Mormon and she again developed desires to go to church.  She realized that the Lord doesn´t expect us to be perfect all at one point, but He does expect us to try with all our power even when we fall.  

   I hope that everyone is doing great.  I heard that BYU destroyed UT the other day.  That´s how the Cougars roll. Making me proud to be a BYU fan from Texas. Love you all!

Elder Weidman

Here's the video in the title:

A great experience

Hey Mom and Dad,

   I wanted to let you both know about an experience I had this past Friday.  The morning started with us sending all of the District Leaders of the zone off to Viña Del Mar for a meeting of District Leaders. The companions of them were left in the area of one of the District Leaderr, the area closest to ours. We had around 7 planned appointments for the rest of the day, 5 of which were in the nighttime after 6 o clock.  At around 6:30, a sister companionship called us to tell us that they had an investigator who was going to have a baptismal interview in 30 minutes with one of the elders who was in Viña.  Through much calling, we realized that this Elder wouldn´t arrive back to Quillota in time for the interview, therefore we needed to do it.  At that moment, the minutes on our phone for calling investigators and members ran out which meant that we had no way to call our appointments for the nighttime. We told the sister missionaries to push the interview till 8 o clock because it took around an hour to travel to their sector.  We arrived to the interview, were able to pull it off with no worries, and returned to the apartment at 9:59. (In our mission, the rule is that we need to be back at the pension at 10 o clock if we are in an appointment).  I was a bit stressed out due to the lack of contact we had with our investigators and all the unexpected things that we had to do that night, therefore I offered a little prayer of help and opened the General Conference Ensign of May.  I turned directly to President Monson´s talk about obedience and began reading.  Immediately one phrase caught my attention.  The prophet said ¨Young men, I hope you appreciate the sacrifices which your parents so willingly make in order for you to serve.  Their labors will sustain you, their faith encourage you, their prayers uphold you,. A mission is a family affair. Though the expanse of continents or oceans may separate, hearts are as one.¨ I felt that President Monson was talking directly to me.  In that moment I felt the prayers that you both, and the family, always make for my behalf.  My mood immediately changed and I realized that I had no reason to be stressed out or frustrated for being a missionary and helping others.  The Lord has called me to be here and the prayers of my friends and family are continually supporting me.  What made things even better during this moment was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir ¨Called to Serve¨ started playing while I was reading the talk.  I sweet experience that I will always cherish.  Thanks for all your prayers!

Have a great week!  Love you all!
Elder Weidman

Alma 17:2-3 Teach with Power and Authority

Hey family,

   A quick note this week.  Quillota is awesome!  My companion and I have been running every other morning and doing other exercises the other days because of the great weather in the morning.  I have met most all of the active members in the ward, and they are all willing to work with us.  This past week, a recent convert who was baptized about 2 weeks ago gave us a reference, who´s name is Nico.  Nico is 15 years old and is very interested in the Church.  During our first lesson, he confessed to us that he wants to serve a mission even though he isn´t a member.  His mom already gave him permission to be baptized and now his is only waiting for the 8th of September.  Yesterday he came to church 20 minutes early and loved every second of it.  I feel very blessed to have an investigator like him because we really didn´t do much to find him and he doesn´t have any problems that will stop him from being baptized.  The second investigator with a baptismal date is Nacho.  He is the boyfriend of one of the members and recently returned from Spain.  He shared with missionaries before leaving for Spain and didn´t have much interest, but now that him and his girlfriend, Coni, are going to get married, he is thinking a lot more about baptism.  He came to a ward activity we had on Saturday and then to Church yesterday.  During church, we talked to him about a baptismal date and he accepted for the 8th of September as well.  This morning, we went with him and Coni to set a date for their marriage. The Lord is blessing us tremendously.

  I had an interchange with Elder Gatica this week.  I don´t know if you all remember him but we shared the ward of Con Con back in April.  He helped me improve and live up to my potential as a missionary back in those days.  Now he is Assistant and we were able to spend a day together in his area in Viña.  The Spirit was amazing that day and I was, yet again, taught many things by him.  I know that Presidente Kahnlein calls the mission leaders by revelation.

   That is all for this week.  I heard that school is starting this week.  Good luck everyone!  I still can´t believe that the past school year has already ended.  Oh well.. Have a good week!

Love,

Elder Weidman

D&C 68:5-6 Don't Fear, Be of Good Cheer

Hey Family!

   First, before anything, I want to congratulate Lyle for his mission call to Rio, Brazil!!  He´ll be a great missionary and friend to those waiting to receive the Gospel from him. WOOHOO!

   A quick update on my life.  Right now I´m a Zone Leader in Quillota, therefore I won´t have as much time to write every week due to all the forms and numbers that we have to send to the office.  I´m still going to try to send an update of my investigators every week, but sorry if the emails are a bit smaller than usual.  We are in charge of 18 missionaries here in Quillota and all of them are amazing.  They all have desires to serve their Heavenly Father and are always looking for ways to improve.  I pray that I can be an instrument in the Lord´s Hands as I serve with these missionaries for the next few months.  If anyone has a few tips or pointers on how to be a successful leader, feel free to send them my way!  I´m always trying to improve in the roles that Heavenly Father has given me.  

   Tuesday morning, I was informed that I would be leaving Parte Alta.  Even though I was only there for 3 months,  I was truly a bit sad when I had to say goodbye to the members and investigators.  They have become my family and we have shared many spiritual moments together that I will never forget.  My companion was very nervous when he heard I was leaving because that meant that he was left to direct the area.  I know that will do great because the Lord always will help when He commands us to do something.  The truth in that statement is unbelievable.  This is His Church, therefore He knows what is needed in every aspect of the Work of Salvation.  Whether it be with missionaries, young men, Primary, Priesthood quorums, Relief Society, or simply raising a family in the house,  everything we do should be directed towards bringing about the Lord´s Work.  I have seen the blessings that come from true dedication while on the mission and know that each of us can equally consecrate our lives to serving the Lord.  If you don´t know how,  pray to Him and you will receive a quick answer.  

   On Wednesday,  we took a 6 hour bus ride to arrive to Viña Del Mar for the transfer meeting.  Right when I got off the bus, we were put to work by helping unload the suitcases and arranging things for the meeting.  Once everthing was ready,  the meeting started and I was informed that I was going to Quillota as a Zone Leader.  Usually Presidente Kahnlain extends the leadership assignments by phone the night before the transfer meetings, but he was sick this time and wasn´t able to, therefore I found out on the spot about being a zone leader.  My companion, Elder Sosa, was my zone leader for a change in my previous area but now we´re together here in Quillota, working to save a few more souls through baptism and temple covenants.  Elder Sosa is from Uruguay, but lived in London for a few years of his life so he knows a bit of English.  He is a hard working, yet hilarious missionary and I am blessed to have him as my companion.  Quillota is very different from Parte Alta but the spirit of the work is the same so we will continue working no matter the circumstances.  I don´t really know the investigators or members to well right now due to the little time I´ve been here but I will give you a better update next week on what is happening here in Quillota.  

     This morning I Jimmered it up in basketball.  I still got skills.

I love and pray for you all!

Elder Weidman

D&C 132:50 -- He has seen our sacrifices

Hey Family!

   This week was a great week as well.  The week flew by like most weeks and Ed was baptized yesterday!  The main change that I have noticed this past week was the unity that the ward and missionaries had together. The first change I realized was the amount of references that we were receiving.  We received so many that some days of the week we had no time to proselyte for ourselves because the members were loading us with names.  The Quorum of the 12 have testified that that is how God wants the Missionary Work to be.  All appointments from members and no time for knocking doors.  From experience, I can testify that is a very effective way to bring the Gospel into more people´s lives.  Of course as missionaries, we still have to do our part in finding new investigators because there are millions of people out there who are ready to hear the Gospel, but the Lord has commanded that every member be a missionary.  Why would we not want to share the happiness and joy we have that comes from the Restored Gospel?!  As missionaries, we are promised power and authority in our words if we strive to teach with the Spirit but this promise is extended to all children of God.  Just this week a member named Cesar told us of his first contact with the church.  He said that he was talking with a friend who wasn´t a member but had a little knowledge about the Gospel.  His friend explained a little bit about the Restoration through Joseph Smith and then bore his testimony by saying that he approved of the message.  This little chat impacted the heart of Cesar and he continued looking for more until he found the missionaries.  The little and simple testimony that a non member gave to his friend lead to the conversion of a child of God.  Now this member is always looking for ways to share the Gospel with his friends.  Like it says in the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord recognizes our sacrifices and will provide the way for us!  Our joy will be tremendous if we share what we know.  I challenge all who read this letter to share their testimony with one friend who does not have the same beliefs as you.  One little sentence of how the Lord has blessed you in your life.  I promise that the Spirit will give power to the words that you say.

   Wow.  Well enough of that. I just exploded what was in my mind onto the email. I hope it makes sense.  Ed was baptized and around 58 people attended his baptism!  He asked me to perform the baptism and I was more than happy to do it.  His mom died a couple years ago and while we were stepping into the water, he said ¨I know that my mom is happy.¨  That simple truth almost brought tears to my eyes.  The branch has done an amazing job of extending their love to Ed and he will now stay active in the church.  

   Wednesday are changes.  Tomorrow we will know if I leave or not.  I´ve been here for 3 months, so there is a possiblity that I leave, but only God knows.  Mom and Dad, you have changes this week too right?  I bet that it is very stressful right now.  You are in our prayers!  You´re a Weidman.  You can do it!

Love,

Elder Weidman