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

Jacob 5:72 - ¨The servants did go and labor with ALL their might and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them.¨

Hey Family!
   Sorry for not telling you last week that I would be online on Tuesday this week.  Yesterday started a new change (transfer) and nothing has changed! I´m still in Limarí with Elder Crist.  We are really excited to continue working here in Sión (as the members call it). It´s still hot here but that doesn´t ever stop us from working.  We beat the heat each day just like the Mavericks beat the Heat a few years back. I thought you would all enjoy the photos I have included.  Watermelon is a big hit here in Chile during this time of the year.  It´s so juicy, sweet, and gigantic.  The family we ate with yesterday gave us a fourth of a huge watermelon for ¨dessert¨.  Dessert here is usually fruit with creme.  Delicious and healthy at the same time!  I dominated my 1/4 of the watermelon without a problem.  As you can see.
   I feel inclined to share an awesome experience I had yesterday.  For the past few weeks, we have been lacking in new investigators.  There´s fault on our part for not talking to more people in the streets but also it´s tough when we have no copies of the Book of Mormon.  But the Lord gives us challenges so that we learn and grow.  Anyway, I had been praying continually throughout the day yesterday that we would find those who are prepared to receive the Gospel.  At times I would become discouraged when those on the street would reject our invitations to here a message, but then I remember a paragraph in Preach My Gospel that says something along the lines of this - don´t become discouraged when people don´t accept your message.  Don´t let their rejection effect your work.  Have sadness in your heart that motivates you to continue working.- This message would help me keep working throughout the day.  So yesterday we were really putting our efforts into finding new investigators.  We passed by a family who, about 2 months ago, had accepted a Book of Mormon, but had never been home since then.  Yesterday they were home and they told us something that brought comfort to me.  They said that they had read a little of the book and also they had talked to a friend of theirs who is a member of the church.  They caught interest in the church and for the past day they had been praying to God so that He would send us back to their home.  And there we were. Standing on their doorstep with a message that they needed.  They had visitors, therefore we weren´t able to enter their house but we set an appointment for next Monday and invited them to continue reading. To know that I was led by the Lord to this family´s home has brought unexplainable happiness to me. 
   One more experience I want to share.  One day this past week, we had an appointment with a man who tried to prove that our religion was wrong.  We had no idea beforehand that this was his overall purpose for inviting us into his home.  We bore our testimony to him and left with a word of prayer.  While we were walking away from his home, we were both a bit frustrated.  What made things a little worse was that some teenagers were yelling profane words at us when we were walking away.  I prayed for comfort from the Lord, and He gave it to me in the form of a man.  A man in a wheel chair stopped us in the middle of the road.  He asked us how we were and made conversation.  He then asked us for money, which we couldn´t give to him.  Instead of getting mad at us, he then offered to say a prayer.  In his prayer, he prayed for everyone in the world.  He prayed a little for himself but the majority of his prayer was centered around his loved ones, the missionaries, and everyone living in the world that has problems.  A feeling of comfort and love overwhelmed me when I heard this man´s prayer.  He has a disablilty that has limited his life, but instead of focusing on the bad of his own life, he focuses on the bad of others.  He is a true example of Jesus Christ.  This experience reminded me of how Christ mainly ministered among the poor.  How he described the poor in life but strong in heart as being disciples of Him.  This son of God who offered a prayer to us is a disciple of Christ.
   To answer your question about Spanish, Dad. My Spanish has improved tremendously.  Everyday it seems to improve.  Not because I am working, but because the Lord is helping.  I try to speak as much as possible and to use the time during language study very effectively. I´m sure Danny, Marshall, and Ren knows the power of the Gift of Tongues.  And Mary with Sign Language.  And Taylor and Nina with all the languages they have picked up in their travels.  And Dad and Mom with the MTC.
    I love and prayer for all of you!
Elder Weidman