2 Nephi 30:5-6 Help others rejoice through the Gospel

Hey Family!

   This week was amazing! First I will report on the health news of my companion.  He has practically returned to full stamina! Thank you for all the prayers for him.  We have seen miracles here in Con Con even with his recovery. As you can see from the photos, one of the miracles was the baptisms of Den and Iva.  Iva had always wanted to be baptized and was very emotional the whole baptism.  A happy emotional. She asked me to baptize her and it was amazing being able to do it.  She was incredibly happy once she came out of the water.  Den was baptized by his friend who introduced the church to him.   The baptism was held during the night so that most of Iva´s family could go.  The feeling in the meeting was one of the spirit and love.  The Gospel brings families back together.  We should never forget this, and we should exercise this with our faith!  

   This past week I had an amazing interchange with Elder Faught.  Our mission president has made a goal for us called the perfect day.  The numbers for a perfect day are really high but achievable with faith.  Neither Elder Faught nor I had accomplished a perfect day before our interchange so we decided that that was the day to do it.  We started the whole day with a prayer and let Heavenly Father know that we had the faith to accomplish this task.  We asked that He would guide us through the entire day, helping us acheive this goal.  I have never had an experience so amazing in my life.  Every contact was inspired by God.  Every lesson needed to happen.  Every minute was used in order to fulfill our purpose as missionaries.  By the end of the night, we had over reached our goals.  The Lord knew exactly where we needed to be at exactly what time.  This experience has changed my whole aspect about the mission.  The only thing that stops me from fulfilling my purpose is my own faith.  It isn´t the people that don´t accept the Gospel.  It isn´t Satan sending trials everyday.  It is my dedication to my Heavenly Father.  That night, after the interchange, Elder Faught and I were extremely happy.  It wasn´t a normal type of happiness.  It was one that I had never felt before in my life. One that can only come from the love of God.  What I want everyone to know is that with faith, everything is possible.  Our faith can turn disasters into miracles. Never EVER let Satan put a single doubt into your mind.  If he does, immediately cast it away.  Focus on the Will of our Heavenly Father.  Like it promises in the scriptures, everything will be given to you if you put God first in every little thing.  Now that you have read my little mind blast about faith, live it! Act on what has come to your mind while reading this! 

   I love and pray for all of you!

Elder Weidman

1 Nephi 15:24 - Listen to the Word of God

Hey Family!

   I don´t have much news this week.  We have worked only when we have appointments because last week we worked a little too hard for Elder Farnsworth.  We were told to lessen the amount of work.... Hopefully this coming week will result with more hours of work!

   Here is an update of our investigators.

Iva: She had her baptismal interview and passed it with flying colors! She want to have her baptism this past Saturday but her dad said that it was too quick.  He wants her to read more of the Book of Mormon. She was actually crying when he said that because she wanted to have it Saturday so bad.  It was sad to see, but we have to do what the parents say. She will have her baptism this Saturday night!

Den: He had his baptismal interview as well and passed it with flying cars! He will have his baptism this week.  The conversion that he has had is amazing.  He started with no interest in religion, and now his main worry is staying strong once he is baptized.  We continually promise him that the Gift of the Holy Ghost will be his guide once he is a member.  He told us that before meeting us, he had never felt the love of God.  Now it is all he thinks about... I love the Gospel!

Cam: She is a little scared to be baptized because she doesn´t know how her mom will react.  When her father got baptized, Cam´s mom reacted very badly.  It caused a little division in the family for a while.  Now they are back to normal, but Cam is worried that it will happen again.  We promise her that the Gospel and baptism will only bless her family.  Especially her mom.  She knows it´s true and should get baptized this week if she continues fulfilling her commitments.

Car: He had a very rough week.  A few experiences happened this week that caused him convince himself that our church has some rules made by men. Mainly rules of the mission.  He has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon, but this trial from Satan is testing his testimony.  We are supporting him and helping him all we can but he isn´t making the changes necessary for repentance.  He won´t change his view on the rules, therefore he can´t receive any more answers from God.  We are praying for direction for Car.

   We are very excited for this week.  We will spend a majority of the time contacting and finding new investigators for May.  We know that the Lord will place those that are chosen in our path if we are obedient with exactness.  

   I pray for all of you, and especially for the victims of the tragic attack at the marathon.  What a blessing it is to know the plan of God.  If we focus on His plan, we will find comfort in times of trial.

Elder Weidman

Alma 38:10 - Be diligent in all things

Hey Family!

  I have a lot to update you on this week!  I have seen a few changes here in Con Con and in the mission.  First I´ll start with the changes in the mission. President informed all the missionaries that we can now email everyone other than missionaries in the Viña Del Mission.  That means I can email to family, friends, missionaries in other missions, converts, and last, but not least, Priesthood Leaders!! That means that who ever reads this and wants to email me (which I know is about everyone) are allowed to write.  All emails will be accepted.

  This past week, we had changes and Elder Rivera left Con Con.  My companion right now is Elder Farnsworth from Orlando, Florida!  He is an amazing missionary who actually started in Con Con, the exact same area.  He served in Con Con for 5 weeks and then went straight to the Office due to his experience with computers and organizing before the mission.  He has been in Chile for 3 months longer than me and had been working in the Office until this week.  Something else about him that is very amazing is that he just took out his gallbladder the past week.  The month before Elder Farnsworth arrived to Con Con for the second time, he had been either in a bed or working in the office.  Throughout his whole mission, he has had periods of days where he was intensely ill.  He has had a very tough mission and at one point, a doctor told him that his only choice was to go back to the United States and figure out the problem there, but Elder Farnsworth firmly stated no.  He has a purpose here and will not go home early for any reason.  His determination to work is amazing and I am blessed to have him as a companion.  Finally the doctors found out what was wrong and they operated on him.  The past 2 months have been the hardest time in his life, but the most rewarding and gratifying time.  Right now, we have to take many breaks during the day to allow him to rest but he is recovering very quickly.  The work has not stopped here but instead has improved and quickened!  We are seeing miracles every single day, whether they be an amazing contact in the street, a spurt of energy for Elder Farnsworth, or a spiritual lesson with an investigator.  We know that the Lord is aware of our trials and weaknesses.  He will help us if we give all unto Him!

   Iva, the investigator from last week, was not able to get baptized yesterday due to her father having work. No worries though! She will get baptized this Saturday, hopefully with 3 other people from our area.  Like I said before, the Lord has shown His hand in our days.  At the beginning of the change, (last Wednesday), we set a goal of 4 baptisms this month.  We knew that it would be very difficult, but with assurance from the Lord, we felt it a high and appropiate goal.  Now we have the 4 potential baptisms and all are extremely close to the waters of baptism.  I will briefly describe the investigators:

   Cam: A young girl that is 12 years old.  Her father is a member of the church and he wants his daughter to be baptized.  She has been to the church 3 times and is currently praying to receive in answer about this Saturday.  She has other family members that are listening to us and are very interested.

   Car: An older man that is around 50 years old.  He has been an investigator for around 3 months but just recently told us that he desires to be baptized.  We have had many spiritual lessons with him that have led him to fulfill his commitments by reading the Book of Mormon and praying.  His testimony has grown strongly due to his determination to know the truth.

   Den: A youngish man that is 19 years old.  We found him through a member.  The member and Den have been friends since birth but Nic (the member) felt like now was the right time to share the Gospel with him.  Den has true desires to know the truth, which is amazing because at first, he had no interest in religion.  Last night he told us with tears that he felt the Spirit for the first time while praying at home.  He is praying for this Saturday.

   All these investigators are amazing and I have grown to love them.  Elder Farnsworth and I are beginning to realize that we need to start focusing on finding more investigators to teach once those written above are baptized.  The Church is true!  God performs miracles in our life due to our faith.  Let Him guide you!

   This morning we went to the dunes of Con Con.  Due to the enormous amount of sand, I decided that bringing my camera wasn´t the smartest idea but I am sure that you can find pictures on the internet.  We read our Patriarchal Blessings on the top of the Dunes and then ate Subway while looking over Con Con.  An awesome experience!

  I love and pray for you all!

Elder Weidman

Helaman 10:17 - Let the Spirit guide you

Hey Family!

   This week has been an awesome week! I don´t think I have enough time to write all the amazing things that happened this week, but I´ll try to summarize it with the key parts. Also to let you all know, this week is the week of changes.  I´m have a feeling that I will stay here in Con Con, but I don´t know about my companion.  Whatever the Lord says!

  First I´ll start with a little recap of last week.  Like I said in my last email, last week was a bit rough for Elder Rivera and I.  We worked very hard with no results.  Last Sunday, we were both a bit disappointed and we ended our nightly planning with a prayer.  Through that prayer, we received a reassurance from our Heavenly Father that everything was alright.  That we had overcome the difficult week and that miracles were in the future.  I will never forget that experience I had with Elder Rivera. 

 

 Throughout the week, Elder Rivera and I saw the hand of the Lord in many occasions.  He would place people that were ready for the Gospel in our path.  He would speak through us.  He would allow the Holy Ghost to testify to our investigators of the truth of our message. Through the guidance of the Spirit, we were able to find many children of God who were ready to receive the Restored Gospel. Right now we have many investigators that have shown true potential and interest in joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

   Now we come to the weekend.  General Conference.  The Christmas for missionaries! I was able to watch the 4 main sessions of conference here in Con Con.  The bishop connected his computer to the tv so that all the ward and our investigators wouldn´t have to travel to Viña to watch it.  The Priesthood Session was in Viña, in the stake center.  I only had to watch one session in Spanish (phew) but surprising I could understand a majority of the session! The miracles of the Gift of Tongues.  Every single person who spoke was inspired.  I can truly testify of the chosen servants of God.  

 

  We have an investigator named Iva.  Iva has been an investigator for while now but we have only had one lesson with her, about a month ago.  She is 16 years old, her parents are separated, and she is consistently moving houses between her mom and her dad.  They both are members. Due to the hectic schedule she has, we have not been able to meet with her for the past month.  This past Friday, we invited her to Conference and she came! After the first session, we had an amazing lesson with her.  At the beginning, there were only four people participating in the lesson: Iva, a member, and us two.  By the end of the lesson, 5 other people had joined the group: the other 2 missionaries and 3 members. At the beginning of the lesson, Iva was really timid.  She didn´t answer in depth to our questions nor did she want to be baptized.  She told us that she wanted to learn more about the church before deciding.  Throughout the lesson, Iva began to ease up.  We all began to feel a special spirit that I identified as the love God has for Iva.  I bore my testimony to her about this spirit that we felt and then the spirit spoke through me.  He said "God loves you.  He has performed miracles in your life so that you can be here at this exact moment." Once she heard this, Iva began crying.  She told us of an experience she had about 4 months ago.  She said that she was walking in the middle of the night and that a drunk driver, who was driving incredibly fast, hit her.  She flew in the air and landed on the ground a few feet over.  The miracle is that she stood right up without a single scar.  She testified to us that she knew that God had saved her. That He had a purpose for her on this life.  She began to realize that baptism was a part of her purpose.  She knows the Church was restored through Joseph Smith and that the Book of Mormon contains the words of God.  She has been to sacrament many times and felt the Spirit.  She knows most all of the members.  The testimonies of the members that were in the lesson brought more confirmation to Iva´s testimony.  We ended the lesson by inviting her to be baptized the 14th and she accepted!  The Lord knew exactly what Iva needed.  He made it possible for her to watch conference. Elder River and I (if we stay) have a big week ahead of us, but we are very excited.  

 

  Due to time, I will have to cut this email short.  We have a few other investigators that have goals to baptized in April.  I will explain about them in the coming weeks!  Miracles are happening here in Con Con!  

 

  I love and pray for you all

Elder Weidman

3 Nephi 28:9 -- Christ helps us when we have the same desires as he does.

Hey family!

   This week, I don´t have much news.  It is starting to get pretty chilly here in Chile. Also, I have been told that it rains a lot here in Con Con. I´m really excited to work in the rain! 

   Yesterday for Easter, we ate with the Bishop.  He is an ex seventy and is friends with Elder Holland! It was amazing to hear about all the experiences that he has had with the Quorum of the 12, and I´m sure he only told us a small part of his experiences.  His knowledge of the Gospel is amazing.  We could have sat there for hours, listening to his testimony, but we had to go work.  The Bishop wants to have General Conference in the church in Con Con so that all the members, as well as the investigators, can go.  I will let you know next week what happens. 

   This week has been a trial for Elder Rivera and I, but at the end of it, we had more desires to work.  We have run a bit dry on investigators right now, therefore we are working extra hard on contacting.  We have had a few confirmations from the Lord that our works with see results soon.  I don´t know when, but that doesn´t matter to me.  Everything happens on the timetable of the Lord.  Our duty is to understand why things happen to us at certain times so that we can grow from each experience.  The Lord sends us trials and difficulties so that we can feel his love.  So that we can grow and prepare to return to him.  I have grown a strong testimony of this on my mission.  I have also come to know that the Lord is always with us.  He will never abandon us.  It is impossible for Him to do that.  He has us face problems so that we can humble ourselves before Him and let Him change us.  Humility is the key to overcoming trials.  It opens the door to countless blessings.  Turn to the Lord and He will help you through.  Always.

   Sorry for the short email.  Next week will be longer!

   I love and pray for you all!

Elder Weidman