Alma 26:22 - Exercise faith through good works

Hey family!

   Wooh! First week of 2013! I´ll just dive in talking about the week.

   Monday night was New Year´s Eve.  We spent the night with the same family that we spent Christmas with.  We had a good barbaque and the food was delicious, as usual! I´ve included a few photos of the food.  I don´t know if I told you all this last week, but for new years Chileans burn life size dolls that represent the past year.  They burn the mistakes of the year before in order to start fresh for the new year.  It was really interesting seeing all these life size dolls burning in front of all the houses. We had permission to stay outside of our pension until 1230 that night!! WOOH PARTY! Not really though.  Once 11:30 rolled around, our bodies started shutting down on us.  It was passed our bed time and our bodies knew it. But it was a fun night all the same!

   This week we have been working really hard to contact all the references we have obtained. One reference we went by really enjoyed our message.  Let´s call her P. P is a single mother of 2 kids and she wants the absolute best for her two sons.  She knows that she must set a strong example for her them.  She has already had many experiences in her life where God has shown his love for her. We started talking to her outside her house and next thing we know an hour had passed by.  She told us a lot of her life stories and all of them provided a Gospel principle that we could teach about.  By the end of the conversation, she had tears in her eyes.  She apologized for sharing her life story with us and said something that really caught my attention.  She said something along the lines of ¨trust radiates from you.¨ I have been thinking about this statement and have come to the conclusion that this ¨trust¨ is the Spirit.  I pray everyday for this Spirit.  Without Him, I am nothing.  Without the Spirit, I cannot become the servant Heavenly Father needs me to be. P is beginning to progress very rapidly.  Her eyesight is terrible, but she has such a strong desire to read the Book of Mormon so she uses a magnifying glass to read it.  I love her dedication to know the truth. Her desire to read has helped me have deeper and more meaningful studies.  

   Sorry this week´s letter is slightly short.  The mission has no copies of the Book of Mormon to give out to people right now. We haven´t been able to have much progress with investigators due to this.  I am really grateful to Mom and Dad for sending me an extra Book of Mormon for Christmas.  I gave this copy to P because I know she earnestly seeks to know the truth. Mom and Dad, you both gave out a Book of Mormon this past week. Congrats!!

I pray for and love you all!

Elder Weidman