Thursday, September 8, 2011

July 21, 2011

Dear Pearson Family,
First off to answer Mom´s many questions that I am happy to answer, we went to Santiago on P-day, it´s about a 3 hour drive from our house to there (we woke up early), yes we took a car but we no longer have a van we have a Toyota Hilux a truck not allowed in the states, but we took President´s car because the truck didn´t have enough seats. When we email we always email in the office when we can find time, I just wait until you email me. We also have a full P-day when we can and if not we do P-hours when we need a break. Brad, I laughed too the first time I heard that. And last of all, I have 3 more weeks with Elder Lydiksen and then I will be the one who supposedly knows everything... yikes. But it will be fun. I´m excited to see who my new companion will be.
So anyway, this week nothing too significant happened. Life goes on in the office. It has been a great experience with President because he really trusts and confides in us, even if we aren´t the assistants. He asks us what we think and likes to involve us in things when he can. He as such a great vision of what missionary work should be. He is very much against excess, he is taking a way a lot of things that I have thought twice about in the mission since the beginning. He just always talks about how if the manual doesn´t instruct us to have a meeting we shouldn´t have it because 100 meetings can´t make up for just being missionaries. He is going on a lot of divisions and getting to the roots of the work to have the engine function how it should, making sure everything from the bottom up is functioning so that a lot of the stress and pressure is taken off of the leaders. Everything he is doing I´ve agreed with and it is great to see that he just gets missionary work and has a real love for it. It really is an example when he and his wife come in from a taxi ride or something with a referral for us to give to the missionaries. They are great people.
As for the work in the area, Elder Lydiksen and I have found a few investigators that have promise of progressing, but nothing certain yet. It has been slow but I really feel like we are more focused now than were before. He´s a great companion because he let´s me know how I can improve and listens to me if I have something to talk about. When I wanted to talk spanish when we were working in the area so I didn´t lose too much of my spanish he just said ¨lets do it!¨ and has done it with me since. He really is a good Elder with good intentions. The Hernandez Estrada Family is still not progressing, President Brough wants to do divisions with us to see if he could help the situation, but I will let you know how that goes.
I´ve been thinking a lot lately about the quote by Boyd K. Packer where he says that doctrine understood changes behavior faster than a study of behavior changes behavior. This is something that is so apparent in our investigators. There is a stark difference between those who understand the need for a restoration, the need for an atonement, etc. and those who just go to church because they feel good there or because they like the missionaries. It is incredible to see somebody really see the goodness that our message contains. When they are humble and willing, how could they not see it? It´s true. Teaching that, really strenghtens my testimony that it is true and I just hope we can help somebody to see that to the point where they want to start on this path that will make them happy.
I have to end with what happened this morning at the bus stop. So we got off one bus and were going to the next bus that was one of the nicer city buses that you have to go through one of those counter gate things that they have at an amusement park. My companion and I got off after the other companionship and so we were running to catch up. I was digging in my pocket to find my coin because you can´t pass by the gate with out it and the bus and all the other elders were waiting for me. I was the last one onthe bus platform. Anyways I found the coin in the pocket feeling and feeling quite triumphant about that fact I too quickly tried to get through that counter gate that spins. As I pushed one of the rungs the other rung started to go up and caught my leg that was behind. I couldn´t really get out beacuse those things only go forward not backward and I slowly but surely ate it in front of a bus of about 50 latins and 3 northamericans who needless to say started to laugh mercilessly. I got up, said, I´m good, and got on for the bus ride of shame. I feel that it was a situation that was much funnier because of the fact that I was a gringo. I´m glad I provided them with a good laugh. If anyone gets that security camera footage and puts it on youtube let me know, I could be famous.
Well, I love you guys and hope all is well.
-Ben


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