Acts 20:29, Alma 5:60 - The good shepherd will never allow wolves to enter

Hey Family!

   Surprise! I´m writing you all today because changes were change (haha) this week due to the large number of new missionaries coming.  Changes will be on Wednesday and I will be leaving Limarí! Elder Crist will be staying here with a new companion.  Usually changes happen on Monday, but this week is different. I´m sad that I will be leaving Limarí because I have had many good memories here, but that is how the mission is! And the best part is that I got to end my time here with a baptism! C was baptized yesterday and practically the whole branch went to her baptism. I have two experiences that I would like to share. 

1.  On Wednesday, we had the vital appointment with C and her mom.  Like I said last week, C´s mom did not aprove the idea of her daughter being baptized so quickly. Before the appointment, we did everything possible to prepare. We studied many hours in the days prior, fasted, and sought the inspiration of Heavenly Father.  We knew that we couldn´t accomplish anything without the Spirit guiding us. When we arrived at C´s house, her mom was in a different room taking care of the kids.  Once her mom came out, the Spirit took over.  Seriously, I am happy that I could have been an instrument in the Hand of God during that appointment.  We were inspired to begin the appointment with a discussion about our church.  Just some basic principles and commandments so that C´s mom would become comfortable and familiar with us.  It was amazing how the conversation led to testimony and then to baptism.  C bore her strong testimony to her mom, and then we bore our testimonies about testimony.  Once we could all feel the Spirit, we asked her how she felt about baptism.  Due to the testimonies that she had heard and the Spirit that she felt, C¨s mom had developed a new opinion about baptism.  She told us that if her daughter was 100% sure about her decision, then she would support her.  C excited said that she was more that 100% sure about her decision due to the answer that she had received from Heavenly Father.  She truly knows that this church is true, and her mom fully supports her! Her mom then signed the baptismal paper and then 4 days later we saw her again at the baptism.  She has invited us over for ¨once¨ tonight so that she can say goodbye to me before I leave.  I am glad that we have earned her trust, but more importantly, I am glad that my companion and I could be in tune with the Spirit!

2. The second experience happened without neither my companion nor me knowing.  Since C is usually home alone, we always ask different men or young men to accompany us in order to enter her house.  We try to ask a different person each time so that she meets more members of the branch.  For one of our visits, we invited a 17 year old young man to come with us.  Little did we know that he had just had a mission interview with President Kähnlein that morning, but had not passed due to his failure to pay tithing.  At times, President can be very ¨harsh¨ in order to have someone repent.  I know that the ¨harsh treatment¨ works for some people, but for others it just makes them feel even worse.  After the interview, this young man didn´t feel worthy of God´s love.  He had been badly effected by the chastisement from President and had thoughts of not going on a mission in his mind. That night, when this young man went with us to an appointment, we taught about tithing.  C asked ¨What happens to those who can´t pay tithing?¨ We answered that no matter what, God still loves them but also they need to sacrifice for Him.  He has given them everything, as well as promised countless blessings to those who obey this commandment. Do the Will of the Father, and then the rest will be given unto you. We left the appointment without realizing how much our answer had helped, not our investigator, but this young man. Last night he told us that after the appointment, he went to his room and prayed for forgiveness from Heavenly Father.  At that exact moment, an overwhelming feeling of love and peace came upon him, and his desires to serve a mission returned. He knew that God loved and forgave him.  His story is one of true repentance.  True action in order to receive forgiveness. At all moments in our lives, we are surrounded by people.  We never know when our words or actions will effect someone.  That is why it is crucial that we follow the example of Christ at all times, as well as bear our testimonies at all times!

  I pray for all you! 

Elder Weidman

3 Nephi 27:21 - "That which you have seen me do even that shall ye do"

Hey Family!

   Mom and Dad!!! Congrats on the mission call.  Like you both told me, I too believe that this assignment is inspired by God.  There are missionaries there who need you.  And it seems that California needs you both! The mission call only changed cities, not states. What a blessing it is that we will have you both close to us.  I know that we all would have accepted your call if it was to a different country, but there is a reason that you are staying in the United States. The Lord knows that reason.  Also, you both will have to start learning a bit a Spanish! What a day that will be when about half of the Weidman Family will be able to speak Spanish to each other. Like you always tell me, right now is a exciting time for missionary work.  It is no coincedence that you will be Mission President and Wife. 

   This week has been great, especially with our investigator C.  We had a lesson with her everyday, and everyday she always surprised us.  She reads our assignments every night, and not only reads, but meditates and understands what she is learning.  During our lessons, we don't teach her. She teachs us.  Her testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ has grown tremendously! During one lesson, she told us of a problem she had.  It was actually the first problem that she has had.  All her life she has grown up worshipping The Virgin Mary and she wondered what our view on that was.  We bore testimony that Mary was a wonderful women who sacrificed much for Christ, but that the real one we should worship is Jesus Christ.  He sacrificed His life so that we could return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father.  And then C amazed us again.  She said "That totally makes sense.  Without His Atonement, we would not be able to acheive anything.  It will be hard to stop worshipping Mary, but I know that God will help me."  Just like that she stopped.  She also did the same thing with coffee. She has a strong testimony of Joseph Smith therefore she truly believes that the Word of Wisdom is direct revelation from God.  She had no problem leaving coffee behind. Since she is 16 years old, we left her with For the Strength of Youth.  She read the whole pamphlet in one night!! I don't have sufficient words to describe how prepared she is!  But there has to be a trial in all things.... C's mom doesn't approve of her baptism.  She says that it is too early and that C doesn't know enough about the church.  We respect her mom's worries, and have encouraged C to pray for help and support.  She had her baptismal interview yesterday and the only problem is that her mom needs to sign a sheet before her baptism.  I truly believe that, with faith, her mother's heart can change.  C's testimony is amazing and can help her mom understand this amazing step that she is making in her life. We pray that C will be able to be baptized this coming Sunday.

   We are preparing Limari for sisters.  It's sad to know that I will be leaving here, but I will go where the Lord sends me.  4 sisters will be sent here so Elder Crist and I have to divide the area into 2 different sectors, and then organize the information of each side.  We have a lot of work ahead of us this week, but it's really exciting to do it! President Kahnlein upgraded the Standard of Excellence this week.  The goals are very high, but it gives us determination to work 100% everyday.  Our faith will be tested, and I believe that as long as we give our all, Heavenly Father will be proud of His servants. Next week's P Day is on Tuesday and by that time I will be in my new area.  I still have no idea what will happen, but I am excited to find out.

  I love and pray for all you!

Elder Weidman

Joshua 1:9 - ¨Be strong and good courage, be not afraid....for the Lord thy God is with thee¨

Hey family!

   To start off this email, I want to share some exciting news I found out this morning.  Every new change the mission receives fresh missionaries from the MTC.  For the next change in two weeks, 17 sister missionaries and 16 elders are arriving in Viña!! The zone leaders also told us that sister missionaries are being sent to Limarí (where I am serving now) next change.  Due to the rule that elders and hermanas can´t be in the same sector, the zone leaders informed us that we will be opening a new area next change! Well we still don´t know if I will stay here in Ovalle or leave, but we do know that missionaries will be sent to open an area and that sister missionaries will replace them in Limarí.  I will know in two weeks if I stay or not! If I stay, I will start my 4th change here in Ovalle, which isn´t unheard of but also isn´t common.  Whatever happens, I will work where the Lord sends me.

   This week in Limarí has been amazing.  We found a 16 year old young woman named C who is very interested in the Gospel.  We were ¨yelling¨ at doors when we first met her.  She was very eager to read the Book of Mormon, therefore we left her with one.  When we taught her about the Restauración, she had perfect questions that guided the lesson.  We focused everything on prophets because she was really interested in the fact that we have a modern day prophet.  She asked how we know that President Monson is a truly called prophet of God and not just an ordinary man.  We answered her by sharing about the Apostasy and then about Joseph Smith.  To end off the lesson, we testified to her that she can come to know the truth through praying to God. What amazed me is that she said ¨I don´t need to pray about Joseph Smith or President Monson because I know it´s true. While you were talking, something confirmed in my heart that it is true.¨ This caught us off guard a little bit, but we testified that this confirmation came from the Spirit and still encouraged her to pray about our message.  She went to church yesterday and the branch really welcomed her in.  All the Young Women introduced themselves to her and C really enjoyed it.  The Lord knew that she was prepared and that is why we found her that one day knocking on doors.  He is aware of all of our needs.  We should never be afraid but rather trust in our Heavenly Father. Especially if we are doing His will.  

   On Saturday night we have a ¨Noche de Cine¨ at the church.  We watched ¨17 Miracles¨ and, like always, this movie motivated me to work harder.  I strive to show my dedication and love to God just like the pioneers did.  I encourage those who haven´t seen that movie to watch it.  Even those who have seen it, watch it again! 

   Have fun with life! I pray for all of you!

Elder Weidman

Moroni 8:3

Hey Family!

   The weather has been a lot better this week!  We actually had one day where clouds remained in the sky all day!! WOOH! I don´t know if this is just a week long thing and then the heat will return, but we shall see. I have included a few pictures from a hike I did this morning. Here are the descriptions of each: 

1. Representing The Cougars.

2. A friend we met on the way to the summit.

3. I tried to make it look like I´m falling. How´d I do?

   It was a great hike with amazing views.  I took a lot of pictures so I can always remember the sight of the ¨campo¨.  Chileans call the agricultural fields that they work in The Campo. The weather was perfect as well.  Sorry today´s email will be a mixture of emails so I can include more pictures.  Here´s the 1st email!

2nd Email.

I just received my birthday package!! I´m going to wait till I get back to the house before I open it, but thank you everyone for helping out with it!!

1.  The mountains that we climbed.  We walked a good 30 minutes from our house to get to the base of the first mountain on the left.  Then we hiked to the top of that one.  After reaching that summit, we walked along the top of the mountains until we found ourselves on the summit of the higher mountain.  It was amazing to see all the creations that God has placed on the Earth. 

2. I had another battle with the watermelon.  I won yet again. 

3. Sorry it´s a weird looking picture, but this is my neck tan line!

I realized that I have a good amount of pictures that I´m sure you would like to see, so today´s ¨letter¨ will focus on the wonderful scenery of Ovalle!  Limarí is doing great though! We are organizing a movie night for the branch as an activity for missionary work.  We will be watching 17 miracles, and we have encouraged everyone to invite their friends.  We pray that this activity will motivate the members to help the Kingdom of God grow even more!

1. Ovalle from a distance. 

2.  A happy servant of the Lord.

Whelp, those are all the pictures I have for today.  I hope you enjoyed taking a little look into my life! I´m really excited to open the package!! 

This past week, President Kähnlein came to our house to interview each of us.  I could tell that he is truly inspired and called by God.  He says hi to all the family, and also he is very excited for you Mom and Dad!  He testified to me of the blessings that his family receives from his own calling as mission president, and I believe that we all will be abundantly blessed as well.  Don´t ever doubt in Heavenly Father´s mercy.  His Son came to this earth so that we could have the opportunity to live with our family for eternity. The Gospel truly brings joy and everlasting happiness to our lives.

I love and pray for you all!

Elder Weidman

**note from Mary (Elder Weidman's sister): sorry, but these pictures are not uploading to blogger. I'll keep trying!

Moroni 10:23 - "If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me."

Hey family!!

  As I have already told some of you,  the weather here is beginning to change.  The mornings and nights are getting a bit colder, while the days are continually scorching hot.  But that doesn't stop Elder Crist and I! It gives us more desires to set more appointments with people so that we don't have to be walking outside during the harsh hours.  And in order to set appointments, we need to find those who are willing to listen.  That has been our main focus this past week.  Finding the chosen.  Our only progressing investigator from the week before stop meeting with us.  It was hard to hear the truth, but we knew that it was coming.  We will continue to visit her and pray for her but now we need to move the focus to others.  This week, Heavenly Father heard our prayers.  We found 4 new investigators that are awesome! And three of them are in Bicentenario (the little neighborhood across the valley that I've mentioned before).  I want to share two experience about these new children of God that we have met.

   The first is a women who I will call L.  When found L while looking through the "futures" section of the binder.  Her husband is never home therefore we cannot enter, but her desire to know the truth is so strong that she agreed to have the lessons at her door step.  In the seering sunlight!  She has shown me true dedication.  She revealed to us that she has a fear to prayer to God about the true church.  Her brother once told her that Satan can answer prayers, and she still has a fear that he will answer her instead of God. We promised her that if she had "true intention" while she prays, Heavenly Father, and only Him, will answer her prayer.  We read with her the introduction of the Book of Mormon, and the Spirit was truly present.  She read Moroni 10:4-5 and now understands that her Heavenly Father wants her to pray.  He wants to communicate with her and tell her the truth.  He wants her to receive joy and everlasting happiness that comes from the Gospel.  We pray that she will have strength and courage to pray for an answer. 

   The second new we found is woman who I will call M.  We found M while walking in Bicentenario.  One of our appointments had fallen, therefore we were a bit down trodden. A random women happily said hello to us, and walked past.  After a few seconds, my companion and I looked at each other and we knew instantly that she needed the Gospel.  We ran back to her, and found out that she truly is prepared for the Gospel.  She shared with us that her first child died somehow, and she blamed the death on herself.  She is pregnant again and she began crying when she testified that this new baby is a gift from God.  She told us of the change that has occurred in her life since the death of her first child.  She has already begun the repentance process, and now needs guidance.  The gift of the Holy Ghost can offer her that guidance.  Her desire in this life is to be the best mother possible for her future children.  We testified to her that she can accomplish her goal through baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost.  She accepted to be baptized once she found out that these things were true.  This experience made me realize that the troubling things that happen in my life shouldn't effect my appearance.  Both my companion and I were a bit frustrated due to the people who weren't home.  If M had not said hi to us, we would have never talked to her.  I'm greatful to Heavenly Father because He prompted her to address us.  

   I hope these two experiences help with your lives.  I pray each week, that myexperiences that will better your lives one way or another. I love you all!

Elder Weidman

Moses 6:32 - ¨Open thy mouth and it shall be filled¨

Hey family!
   I saw rain for the first time in Chile this morning! My companion says that in his previous area, he saw rain all the time.  It never rains here because we are in the bottom of a valley.  The clouds always pass around us, but not this morning.  The fresh smell of rain was awesome to wake up to.  It gave me more determination to work out, which sometimes is very difficult to do every morning.  But all that matters is that I do it in order to be obedient. It is still fairly hot during the day here, but at night times the climate is fresh.  The best time to walk around is at this time due to the amazing air and also the fact that a lot of people are walking on the streets at this time.  
   Here´s a neat experience that happened this week.  Last week we set up an appointment with a woman who we thought was not a member.  She believes in Reincarnation but come to find out, she is a member of the church!  When we entered her house this past week, we had no idea that she was a member.  We got to know her a bit, told her our purpose as missionaries and what she should expect from us, and then introduced the Book of Mormon to her.  We ended the lesson by extending the baptismal invitation to her.  She answered the question by telling us that she was already baptized into the church..... She told us that the looks on our faces were priceless when she told us that.  After uncovering this surprising news, she excited told us that she wants her kids to take lessons with us.  She knows how much the Gospel will change their lives.  None of them were there at the moment but we set another appointment with her and left. On our way to the next meeting, I saw a man sitting on a wall.  He looked alone and sad, therefore the Spirit prompted me to talk to him.  To my surprise, this 20 year old told me that he was a member of the church as well!! He has been having a lot of trouble in his life, and at the moment doesn´t want anything to do with the church, but he agreed to meet with us.  He said for ¨talk no more¨.  We´ll try to include a Gospel Principle in the conversation somewhere. After talking with this man, I told Elder Crist that we had just found 2 lost sheep.  2 of God´s children who had already found the correct path, but now need to return to it.  I felt overwhelming happy after these two experiences. 
   This past week, we have been working really hard on finding new people who are ready for the Gospel.  President Kähnlein has told us many times that there are the ¨chosen¨ on the street who are simply waiting for a heavenly messenger to awaken them.  I need to have faith throughout the day that the people I talk to could be the chosen ones.  I need to act as this heavenly messenger at all times, in all things, and in all places.  I have realized that everyone notices missionaries.  How can they not.  This is a prime reason that we are dressed so nicely.  In order for people to notice us as good.  Some man this past week told us that he loves seeing us walking in the street because it always reminds him of God.  He said that the more one thinks of God throughtout the day, the better their day will be.  I am glad that I am worthy enough to be a representative of Jesus Christ.  I must always strive be the example Christ has set.  Heavenly Father knows my true potential.  Only with him can I achieve it. Many times through the day, thoughts of frustration (that result from rejection) or thoughts of fear (that result from talking to strangers) run through my mind.  These are thoughts from Satan.  I must replace these with thought of hope and love.  I don´t know who is in need of my message, but my Heavenly Father does.  If I seek and truly work for it, I can become a true instrument in His hands. What a marvelous work this is.
   I love you all and pray for you!!
Elder Weidman