La Primaria & Bulnes - Two weeks of posts!

Week of 12-11

So this week was really interesting. I was really happy with it. I had the opportunity to preside over all of the church meetings this week. I was left alone up on the stand. haha The branch president couldn't come and his first counselor decided to go up to Santiago. I was surprised to find that out this Saturday. I looked at my comp and was like, ¨how am I going to lead the church meetings this week?! I don't know what to do. I am just Elder Brown¨ So Saturday I make sure that everything is going good and that all is ready for the church, also going by our investigators to make sure that they are going to go to church the next day. So the next day comes and I get up and my comp and I start to get ready for the day and we are out the door by 8:55 to get to the church to make sure everything is all set up and ready to go(because generally we have to set up chairs). We get there and I start looking for the things to do the schedule. I couldn't find them anywhere. Finally I get some keys(that luckily Miguel our first counselor left, because the branch pres still hasn't given me my own set) and I open the closet with the computer and that stuff and start looking for the schedule thingy and finally I have to print one off the computer and I start filling it up. Well it is about 9:50 and there are 3 members in church. I am at this point really worried and sad. Shoot, my first time taking lead and no one comes haha I go up to my spot and calmly sit down and start praying my heart out. Please lord, help them get here fast. haha I sit there and pass the longest 7 minutes of my life. Then just like in a AYSO soccer game the members come pouring in as if the just all got out of a huge mini van. It was the greatest assistance that we had but a good 37 members came and we had 3 investigators from those 37. :) It was really cool to see them all get there and we start the meeting and I start giving the announcements and we start singing and praying and sacrament and all of that jazz with the spirit in great abundance. We get to the best part, the testimonies. As I stood up there, in front of my fellow Chilean brothers and sisters a godly love swept over my heart and I near started to cry as I expressed the love I have for them and for my father in heaven. I let them know of the surety that I have now developed that this is the church of Jesus Christ and that he didn't just die for us but that he lives for us everyday. He fights for and with us every step that we take on the path to return to live with our omnipotent and omniscient, eternally loving heavenly father. I closed my humble testimony inviting them to do the same, share their love and testimony for our father in heaven and for his son. The meeting was amazing. The testimonies that were given brought the spirit so strongly. Between us, 37 people, we feasted on the spirit and felt the love of our heavenly father and the love that we all shared for one another. It was a very beautiful experience that I will never forget. Thanks to the members the rest of the meetings went well and the spirit accompanied us the entire time.

(In response to his dad's email about who teaches in the young men's)...Brother Waddups is so dang smart. I just want to get home and spend a good 2 hours talking to him about everything that he knows. You are very fortunate to have such good leaders in the church. They are really strong and very spiritual. I know that it is now necessary to have good dedicated men in leadership positions or they will just hurt the members and the church and the community that corresponds the that church. It is amazing the effect that we have on the world and the people around us. Even if we dont think we have such an effect we really do!!

 Dad, I built a freaking bridge!!!! Like literally built one! We did it as service for some members. We went out to the CAMPO!! Or, country I think is how you call it. I got tree trunks and carried them over and threw them over a river, crossed it to lift them up and went back and forth all day carrying and lifting. It was so cool. After we got the main trunks on we got some planks of wood and nailed them to the trunks and then did some other things. It is just like the gospel. You have to do everything in a structured manner or the bridge ends up being crooked. If one thing is wrong the whole bridge is obsolete. It makes tons of other parts compensate for that little mistake or thing that is wrong, and eventually the whole bridge will have to pay the price; or a big part of it. But when you make it firm taking time to finely tune every part, your bridge become strong and nothing can break it. The gospel we believe in is this bridge, god has carefully re-built his bridge and now we are here to maintain it and keep it strong. If we do not do our part we could hurt a big part of our bridge. I know that that doesn't make much sense. I am sorry I have a good analogy written down that I will write you next week. :)

Week of 12.04.12 -

So this week was really cool. We had and activity for the primary. I(because I am the counselor) had to help them plan it all. It was really good! We did a good job. The kids loved it and we just had a blast the whole time. So what we did is we started out with a little spiritual message given by the little kids and then after that they all did a little walk down this little runway that carlos sandra and we did. It was really cool! It all looked beautiful and as you can see even we got dressed up and got into it! I had the opportunity to be the comedian and do the introductions and jokes for all the kids as they walked down. It was really funny because some of them really got into it and started dancing and doing really funny things I felt like bill cosby on kids say the darnest things. It was a blast and the members loved seeing their kids like that and we got a great reference from it too!! We worked really hard this week. We didnt have anything really great happen. I actually cant remember this week to well. It passed so dang fast. So we had stake conference here this last yesterday haha and it was interesting because I had to be in chillan and hour away at 8:30 in the morning for a meeting with all the counselors and leaders of the branches and wards. It was cool because my mission leader and I went and elder white stayed with our new convert ivan and when I got to the meeting of course it was us to and our pres. The other counselors didnt show up. They actually went to the church and at the last second before all the members left at 10:00 decided he didnt want to go so he did. It was sad, we had near nobody at the conference, from our branch. But we got 2 investigators. The only thing that was kinda crappy is that one of our investigator named Ruth is VERY shy and doesnt like big crowds at all and carlos our mission leader takes her into the church and puts her in the middle of everyone!!! She ends up getting up and walking out saying she is going to the bathroom and just disappears. I was super sad because she is so cool! But at the end of the conference I walk out and I see her walking down the hall and I ask her what happened and she said she went in the back of the gym and was just watching alone. I was like oh... ok.. .Well she goes and gets on the bus and I take carla(investigator) and I take her to talk with our president of the mission and they (he and his wife) just are SO nice and just start talking to her and telling her not to let anything get in the way of her and her baptism. AKA GET MARRIED! They promised her so many blessing saying if you get married you will not lack anything. Get baptized. SO cool. Then getting on the bus I get on and look towards the back and see Ruth sitting alone. I was like come on members!!! Why are you not sitting by her. Well I go back and take a seat right by her. I sit down and smile at her and just say hi. As we start to leave I have a feeling to get out my scriptures and show her the photos that I have in them. So I do it. I pull them out and start showing her my family and my friends and explain a little about them. I start talking to her and asking a little about her. I find out a few things really interesting and important about her. We had a good talk for an hour almost without any breaks. It was weird for the first time in 16 months I talked with someone one on one. It was interesting but it was really good for her I think. We talked about the gospel and why its important for me. What she likes about it. Her likes and dislikes her dreams and what she wants to be and mine also. It was really cool. She is now alot more open with us. I cant wait to see her progress alot now.!!