Copiapo: Companion trained. New Companion coming.

Hey Everyone!

Sorry, it's been a couple of weeks since I've written something and I'll just do a quick recap of what's been happening:

-BAPTISM!!!! Jesus Daniel finally got baptized! His baptism was awesome even if it started about an hour and a half late. The other people who were going to get baptized with him live a little bit outside of the city. They had some trouble getting here but they got baptized in the end! All in all it was a great week for the Chañarcillo ward with 3

Baptisms! Jesus asked me to baptize 

-Cambios!!!! In a strange twist of events I'll be staying here another transfer and my trainee will be heading up north to Iquique! It's been great to have been able to help Elder Alcántara start out the mission and I know he'll do great things. In other "Cambios News" my papito is going to be one of my new zone leaders so we'll be able to do intercambios and remember old times. 

- Bienvanidos al Sector mas gigante de Chile. The two sister missionaries are being taken out of our ward leaving us with a HUGE sector. We're acutally going to have to take a bus about 30 minutes to teach some recent converts and investigators. It will be a challenge but I think it will help me learn how to better manage my time.

Other than that, not a whole lot has been going on here. I'll have more news next week with regards to the new stuff that's happening in my life (new companion).

This letter is pretty short so I'll leave you guys with a spiritual thought. I'm 95% sure I've shared this scripture before but I'm going to share it again.

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

There are many times when we feel fear in our lives and it's not always the typical "scared of the dark" kind of scared. It could be an uncertainty about the future or memories from the past. It could be the fear to take a step forward or make a big change in life. When all is said and done their are many fears and all of them come from the adversary. This scripture embodies perfectly the love that Christ has for us. When we feel his love for us, fear vanishes. If we really understand the power that he has, and that we have through the extension of his Holy Priesthood, The seemingly insurmountable fears that are ever present in our lives suddenly aren't that scary.

I have a strong testimony of the atonement and the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. I invite everyone who might be reading this to take a moment and read the scriptures and then pray to Heavenly Father for a better understanding of the Atonement. I know that peace and comfort are within our grasp.

I love this gospel and know that we have the restored church here on the earth today.

Love you all!

Elder Walker

Copiapo: Life in the Atacama Desert

Hey everyone! This week was another week in the Atacama Desert!

This week started out being a little bit hard. I kind of got a pretty bad head cold but we kept on working! I only had one night where I had trouble sleeping but now I'm almost back up to full working capacity!

This week we worked hard with the members to help a family that we are working with feel more comfortable in the ward. I'm just going to throw down the story of the Ibacache Campos family really quick. We met them through their kid named Joey. We were walking in the street one day and sometimes the kids in the street will just start talking with us, usually to say bad words in English and ask us what it means (Thank you modern video games). Joey was different though. He told us that he wanted to go to church and get baptized!!! He took us to his house and introduced us to his family where we gave the lesson of the restoration and it was super powerful. Turns out the family was about to get baptized in another ward but moved about a year ago and quit going to church. This Sunday the Mom and Joey came to church! The dad had to qork and was going to attend next Sunday but got out early and came to the third hour! When we saw him walk into the church grounds through the window I practically jumped out of my seat in excitement!

We've been working alot with another one of our investigators, Jesus Daniel of 13 years. He's got things pretty hard. He and his mom are from Bolivia and she came here for work a little more than two years ago. She was sending money back to Bolivia for him where supposedly his grandma and aunt were taking care of him. Long story short he ended up living in the streets for two years. His mom found out and went to bring him here. He was about to get baptized a couple of weeks ago but we had a couple of problems and had to postpone his baptism. We're working hard with the Young Mens presidency to get him integrated into the ward.

In other news we hiked "Cerro La Cruz" last P-day and took some nice photos of the Desert city, Copiapó! It was pretty cool to see the whole city and do something outdoorsy for a change.

Spiritual Thought:

If you haven't already started to "ponderize" a scripture weekly, get to it! I'm taking up the challenge that Kevin G. Durrant gave us in General Conference and can already see the blessings in my life! I ponderized 2nd Nephi 32:8-9 and really have worked on making my prayers more meaningful and personal!

Love you guys so much! Keep on Being awesome and hastening the work!

Elder Walker

Copiapo: Earthquakes & Chilean Independence Day

Hey everyone!

So the good news is that I'm still alive! There have been lot's of little earthquakes lately but really nothing too strong. My companion tells me that in the night there are some more that are happening but I just sleep through them.

This week was pretty crazy though. The first thing that happened is that Chile Celebrated it's Independence day on the 18th. It was pretty crazy. Basically we just walked around and got handed lots of meat and empanadas. We ate reeeeally well that day. We also spent alot of time in the bathroom afterwards. So that was fun too. Here the national dance is called the "Cueca". Pretty much everyone knows how to dance it and we got to watch ALOT of cueca.It was a rough day as far as having lessons goes but pretty fun. Everyone goes all out and the decorations are pretty cool.

I took some pictures of the traditional food that people eat here on the 18th. "Asado" and a drink that's called "Mote con huesillo". The Asado is basically grill done Chilean style. In a grill with coals. SUPER RICO. The Moté con Huesillo is a dried peach that's been soaked over night (preferably two days) and these grain like things called mote.

Today we also went to a park and played "Trompo" with one of our investigators. It's basically like a top but way cooler and way harder. I shot some pictures and a video of it for you guys :)

Spiritual Thought:

The work is progressing here and we're seeing lots of progress in the ward. I read Alma 32 a couple times this week and had some pretty powerful revelation about faith. I really can say now that I KNOW the church is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of god. No matter what phase of life we're in right now, our faith can still be tested. It's important that we press forward dilligently and keep growing our trust in the Lord. Every day is an opportunity to grow and an opportunity to serve.

I love you all and am so grateful for your prayers!

Elder Walker 

Copiapo: Training a New Missionary from Spain

Hey Everyone!

It's been a little while since I posted so I'll just give a quick update on what's going on in the mission!

I said goodbye to Elder Pineda about a week ago and was with him when he got onto the bus that would eventually lead him to his house in Panama. It was really emotional and I got pretty trunky with all the home talk that was going on. I then ended up without a companion for a couple days because I ended up having to travel to Antofagasta to pick up my new companion.

I showed up in Antofa with 14 other Elders from different areas in the mission. We talked amongst ourselves and the greenies who were going to start their missions. We then had about 4 hours of training in which President Dalton basically told us that we had the life of a person in our hands. It was pretty intense but I learned a lot there as well.

We then all sat in a circle and the newbies one by one opened a letter that contained their first sector and their trainer. One by one the newbies were greeted by and then went to sit with their trainers. Finally, the time arrived and Elder Alcántara started to read his letter " Your first area will be in the city of Copiapó. Barrio Chañarcillo. Your trainer is.....ELDER WALKER" Immediately I let loose a giddy scream and sprinted to give my companion a hug, accidentally shouldering him in the nose in the process. We then got on the 8 hour bus ride to Copiapó and here we are.

My new companion is super awesome. He's from Spain and is super excited to be here in the mission. It's a humbling experience to be able to be someone's first companion in the mission and I'm learning really how much I don't know. I can feel myself being strengthened by the Lord though every day and I know that through him week things become strong!

I love all of you guys and know that you are doing all you can to help the missionaries back home! Not alot this week but next week for sure!

Love,

Elder Walker

Copiapo: Acknowledge God even in the Dusty, Dusty Atacama Desert

Wooh! Another week in the life! Not that much happened this week actually so this one's going to be a bit short.

Becuase of the dust that has been so thick in the air lately, they spread this substance on the major roads that looks a bit like oil. It smells pretty awful but at least the dust isn't all over the place any more.

We had a pretty powerful lesson this week with a pair of new investigators. They were really receptive and the Husband committed to be baptized! It's a big step for them because almost all of their extended family are members. After almost 50 years of being in contact with the church they're taking the important steps towards the waters of baptism!

Our Recent Convert Nataly is doing great! This week she testified in church of the power of faith to an investigator we brought to church! It's amazing the progress that we're seeing in her and the desire that she has to keep on learning and progressing in the Gospel!

My companion heads back home on the 23rd of this month, so I'm in for a pretty emotional ride!

A quick spiritual thought:

Alma 10:5

 5 Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power. I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people.

 6 Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.

I love this scripture and it's so true in our lives! God is always manifesting his power and we only need to humble ourselves and we can see his hand in everything we do! I know that the Lord works miracles and if we look for opportunities we can, just like Amulek, become powerful tools in the hands of the Lord to help bring others to salvation!

Love you all so much!

Elder Walker

Copiapo: New Beginnings

Greetings from the Atacama Desert!

This week was another week in the life! But with one more alma (soul) saved!

That's right, this week we had a Baptism! We've been working with Nataly  and she made the important decision forward to be baptized and recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost! She's super excited to keep moving forward in the Gospel and learn as much as she can! Some parts of the city were hit hard by the floods that happened a couple months back and as a result, the hot water heater in the chapel, well, lets just say that the baptismal font wasn't exactly a jacuzi for the Baptism. Remarkably though, afterwards, she told us that she didn't even feel the water when she went into the font! Small and simple miracles!

We've been working with some investigators this week who live in what are called, las tomas. They're houses that have been constructed on the side of a hill and are pretty far out from the city. The way that the electricity is hooked up to these houses, they are really susceptible to damage from rain. In a place where it only rains once every three years, usually we're fine. Unfortunately we've been having a bit of a wet spot lately. I uploaded some fotos we took from the top of las tomas this week.

My companion goes home in 4 weeks now, and is getting trunkier and trunkier by the day. We're working hard to have success stories here!

Spiritual Thought:

1 John 4:18 : There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

I've probably shared this scripture before but it's one of my favorites. If we really understand the love that our Savior has for us, we won't have any fear in the world and we can have the faith to accomplish miracles!

Love you all!

Elder Walker

Copiapo: Transfer - 22 Hour Bus Ride

 Hey Everyone! Greetings from the lovely city of Copiapó!

So for those of you who are wondering what happened to Elder Walker and why he hasn't been writing anyone lately it's because I got transferred and have been working hard in my new sector!

Two Saturdays ago we got a call from the Asistants to the President that I would be changing from Arica to Copiapó and that my new companion would be Elder Pineda! We then ran around Sunday saying goodbye to all of our investigators and the members of the ward. We went back to the pension and packed up all of my stuff. Then, at noon Monday I hopped on a bus and started my 22 hour journey to the southern end of our mission. The nice part about traveling in the buses here is that I finally had some time to think about my mission and myself a little bit more.

We finally arrived in Copiapó at 6 in the morning where I met my new companion! He's from Panamá and has been in the mission just under 24 months, which means I'll be killing him this transfer. For those of you who aren't up to date with all the mission slang, don't worry, I won't be commiting homicide anytime soon, but I will be sending my companion home to his family!

When we arrived at the bus station the Ward Mission Leader picked us up in his truck, we ate a small breakfast at his house, then went to unpack. When I showed up in Copiapó it was raining a bit. This is huge. We're in the driest desert in the world. Let's just say that there was a lot of mud in the streets. Copiapó a couple of months ago was hit HARD by some floods that came through. There are tons of homes that were effected and the city is still working to rebuild itself. One of the side effects that we are still dealing with write now is dust. The floods brought in tons of mud, which then dried up, and now is being blown every direction by wind and cars. It's also alot colder here in Copiapó than it was in Arica.

The ward here is awesome though! There are always members that want to teach with us and we recieve tons of references from the members! This Saturday we're going to have the baptism of Natali and she's really excited! She's SUPER prepared and is studying the lessons that we give her. I know that the Lord is always preparing people to recieve the gospel and all we half to do is find them!

Yesterday we had a special conference with Elder Zeballos from the quorum of the Seventy. We had about 70 missionaries grouped together in our Stake Center and it was pretty awesome! After the conference we left spiritually and mentally recharged and ready to work. In our first appointment after the conference we challenged an investigator to be baptized and he very enthusiastically said yes! We put a date and he's excited to be baptized now!

We then went to our next appointment and talked to them in the doorway. They live in the part of our sector that is way up high on a very steep hill with a dirt road. While we were talking an Abastible truck passed us. Here in Chile there isn't gas in pipelines like in the US, so to take hot showers or use a gas stove you have to hook up a propane tank. There are these trucks that you can call and they'll deliver gas when you run out. 

So one of these trucks passes us and we're all wondering if they're crazy for coming up on this hill where there is such little space. A couple minutes later we hear someone yelling "Mormones! Mormones!" Turns out, the little truck got stuck and we ended up going and helping them. We tried everything to help the truck get traction and get out of the ditch, but nothing was working. Finally the thought came to my mind, "Hey, we're servants of the Lord, just like Ammon was. (see Chapter 17 of The Book of Mormon) Why don't we use this opportunity to show the power of the Lord?" So we gathered everyone together and said a prayer, before giving it one last attempt. We then prepared to give it our all and what do you know happened? The truck broke free of the ditch! We then gathered everyone together, offered a prayer of thanks, and gathered phone numbers from the group of people so that we could teach them in the future.

I know that the Lord still works miracles today and that he is here to help us when we ask him! I know without a doubt that the Gospel was restored on the Earth and that we have an amazing opportunity to share it! Don't let it go to waste!

Love you all!

Elder Walker

Arica: The Gospel Blesses Families

Hey Everyone!

This week was another week in the life of a missionary!

Some fun things that happened this week:

We found bags of goldfish SUUUPER cheap in Líder, the Wal-Martish store where we do all of our shopping. Let's just say if we have a zombie apocalypse, we're good for a couple of weeks.

We've been practicing all sorts of magic with some members. Not the black arts stuff, more slight of hand and cool card tricks!

We went to part of the Birthday Party of one of the members here. It's a tradition that the birthdayee has to take a bite of the cake without using their hands. Something that happens alot is that the birthdayee goes in for a bite and will have their head shoved in the cake! Fun Stuff!

Now on to some progress that we've been having:

We've been working alot with different families. I have a strong testimony that the gospel brings happiness into families! If we live the gospel in our homes, I know that we will have more love and happiness in our homes! We're working with a mother and her son who has aspergers. They've been coming to church for a while now, and the difference is amazing! The son has been calmer and more social; he even is getting along great with one of the young men in our ward!

We've also been working alot with the less active members in our ward. We have a ward of about 400 members, but only about 80 regularly attend church. A lot of the less active members, even the ones who haven't come to church in 15 years, still have a strong testimony of The Book of Mormon and of the church. They've just fallen a little bit of the path. We're working hard right now to get the members excited about befriending and helping them come back to church!

And now for a spiritual thought:

In the mission field, something that I'm learning alot, is how to be humble. I've been called to serve the Lord but I have to remember that I've been called to teach by the spirit. Sometimes I lose my focus and teach from myself. I have to focus on letting the spirit do the teaching. There is nothing I can teach without the spirit. To steal a scripture from an e-mail from my cousin, Elder Kenison "yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times."  (Alma 38:14)

I know that the church is true, and if we search diligently, we can find and strengthen our testimonies of Jesus and his Gospel.

Love you all!Elder Walker

Arica: Birthday in the Field - What better place to be?

Hey Everyone!

This e-mail is being sent to you by the new, the improved, the one year older, ELDER WALKER!!!!

I had my official birthday party in the mission! Which involved waking up like normal, getting handed a slice of cake, then proceeding to study. WOOT!!!! SO EXCITING!!!

I did end up getting a really good birthday present though! One of our recent converts, Andrew from Maryland, recieved the Aaronic priesthood! He's really motivated to follow firm in the faith and I've been learning tons from him. He is dilligently attending church even though it's in a language that he doesn't understand (albeit he has me whispering a somewhat butchered translation) and wants to keep progressing forward! We were teaching a lesson with him and we talked about prayer. I, just asking one of the regular questions asked, "How are your prayers? Are you praying every morning and every night?" He just gave me a wierd look and said, "We shouldn't only pray when we get up and when we go to bed, we should be praying in every moment! I'm praying when I'm out in the field working. Many times I'll just take a quick moment and say a prayer during the day." It's amazing to be able to see the progress of recent converts and be able to take part in such a marvelous work!

Quick Scripture-- Mosiah 26: 29-30

29 Therefore I say unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed; and if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also.

 30 Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.

It doesn't matter what we've done, who we are, or who we have been; The Lord is here with us. I have gained a stronger testimony here in the mission that if we will accept the help of the Lord, we can recieve true happiness. The mission isn't always easy. There are many times when I feel more than a little frustrated, but when I kneel down and offer a sincere, heartfelt prayer, I always can recieve peace.

I love all of you guys! The best birthday present anyone could give me is to further the work back at home! Invite a friend to church and look for opportunities to give the missionaries back there some work!

Stay Frosty,

Elder Walker

Arica: Staying Put in Arica

Saludas del Ciudad del Eterna Primavera!

This week was crazy but was an awesome week at the same time! We just had transfers, and I'll be staying in Arica with Elder Sepúlveda for another six weeks!

Highlights

The sister missionaries were taken out of our ward this week. They've been having some problems with some guys that have been harassing them, so President Dalton took them out. This means that we're going to have to take over their sector while maintaining ours. This means A LOT more walking. We're also going to have to manage our time really well as we take over the investigators of the sisters. This cambio is going to be one that involves a lot of humility and faith in the Lord!

We've been seeing a lot of progress with some of the families that we're working with. This cambio we're expecting to see many baptisms, and we're super optimistic! 

This p-day we played a little bit of guitar at the house of one of the members! He has a sick Gibson and was playing tons of cool riffs for us! Turns out, I can still pick out one or two things, haha!

Spiritual Thought

In all of our lives we're going to have the opportunity to teach. One of the greatest examples of teaching is the missionary Ammon in the Book of Mormon. One of my favorite passages of scripture is when he is teaching to King Limhi. One of the things that Ammon does to start teaching is that he starts to question King Limhi. In Alma 18:24 he starts to ask Lamoni questions. Specifically he asks if Limhi Believes in God. Limhi responds that he doesn't know who God is. 

What many people would do here is proceed to explain about Heavenly Father. Ammon though, being a good teacher, and led by the spirit, asks another question! The key to good teaching, I'm finding out, is asking inspired questions. 

I have a testimony that the Book of Mormon is a true book and that through it we can recieve TONS of wisdom and be blessed in many ways!

Love you guys!

Elder Walker

Arica: Short message & Random Pictures

Arica District

Hey guys! Not a lot of time this week but things are going great! We're working really hard right now on getting the members energized and getting people to come to church more consistently! We've been having powerful lessons and are going to see some more baptisms real soon!

Love you all!

Elder Walker

Andrew baptized last week

Arica: Life is Good

Cuanto tiempo no vemos!

Sorry for the Lack of an e-mail last week, but I'm back again this week stronger than ever!

Highlights:

Baptism!

This past Saturday we had the baptism of Andrew! He's from Maryland, and it's amazing that he came to Chile and found the gospel here! He honestly has so much faith that the Lord will provide for him it often leaves me awestruck! We taught him the lessons in English, which was an amazing learning experience for both me and my companion!

I've been translating for him at church and have also gained a renewed testimony of the Gift of Tongues! After the baptism the Bishop was giving a welcoming speech to Andrew, and I was translating. The words were just flowing through me, and it was amazing! I was honestly just a mouthpiece for the Holy Spirit, who was translating and speaking through me! It was honestly miraculous and I can't even explain how cool it was!

This week a Deacon from our ward has been helping us out a lot! His name is Nefi (Like Nephi, but in Spanish) and he's been playing with Aaron, who is part of an investigator family. While he was playing with Aaron, he suggested that they take break from playing Call of Duty and read some verses from the Book of Mormon! Aaron accepted and they read the Book of Mormon together! Even more awesome, Aaron and his mom came to church and are super motivated right now!

Some other stuff:

My companion is learning English and I'm having alot of fun teaching him English phrases that include, but are not limited to: Are you pickin' up what I'm throwin' down? (his favorite), pimpin' , and yo dawg, wassup?

It's finally cooled off in Arica! It's now only warm and humid, no longer hot and humid.

We ate at a Subway today!

Spiritual Thought-- Alma 7: 17

 17  Sí, en verdad, en verdad os digo que si todos los hombres hubieran sido, y fueran y pudieran siempre ser como Moroni, he aquí, los poderes mismos del infierno se habrían sacudido para siempre; sí, el diablo jamás tendría poder sobre el corazón de los hijos de los hombres.

Basically Just be Like Moroni and you're all good!

Love you all! Keep going hard in whatever it is you're doing!

Elder Walker

p.s. Special Shoutout to Maria Luz, who is dilligently reading these posts!

Arica: Teaching an American

Hey everyone!

This week has been pretty miraculous! I'm not sure if I told about one of our investigators, so sorry if I repeat anything, but here is the story, we'll take it way back to when I was in the MTC!

When I was in the MTC something pretty sad happened, I lost my English Book of Mormon! I was devestated! It was a gift from my Grandma and had my name etched in it and everything! I prayed to find it, looked everywhere, checked the lost and found every day for a couple weeks, but to no avail. I was more than a little frustrated and wondered why this would happen. Grudgingly, I went to the MTC store and bought the only English Book of Mormon they had, one with the blue cover, like the kind that the missionaries normally give out.

A couple of months passed. I didn't really think much more of this. I started to read the Book of M
ormon a lot more in Spanish, which I now do exclusively. A couple of weeks ago we got a reference from some other Elders in our city. We went to contact this reference and were surprised to find out that it was a gringo named Andrew, who spoke little Spanish. We started to talk with him and he was eager to listen. So we set an appointment for the following day.

When we were in our apartment preparing for the day, I remembered that Book of Mormon. Here in Chile, it's a little bit difficult to get ahold of English Book of Mormon's. We gave this Book of Mormon, which I had by miracle and by the Hand of the Lord, to Andrew. Andrew has been reading it daily and told us that he has gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of the Church! His baptism is scheduled for the 16th of this month!

The Lord works in mysterious ways. But he has a plan for all of us! We just need to be patient and he will reveal it!

Stay strong in prayer and read the Scriptures daily!

Love you all!

Elder Walker

Arica: New Comp & Teaching in English

Hey Everyone!

This week was a week full of changes! The biggest change was that my first companion, Elder Aleluya, left for Calama and was replaced by Elder Sepulveda! Elder Sepulveda is awesome and I am continuing to learn tons in the mission! Elder Sepulveda is from Chile from a city called Temuco. He's super energetic and we're working alot right now on motivating the members to do missionary work!

Another change that we had is that they started to do a renovation of our chapel. It's fomé (Bogus) because we now have to walk almost a half hour to church and it starts at 3 in the afternoon. The walk isn't that bad but we lose some proselyting time during some of the key hours of the afternoon.

One of the most interesting things that happened this week is that we started to teach a man from Maryland! He only speaks a little bit of Spanish so we're teaching him in English! It's a little bit wierd but He's accepting everything, reading the Book of Mormon, and wants to be baptized!

Some Chilean Stuff: We've been eating alot of fresh bread here. It's super cheap and we can buy it fresh from literally so many places.We can buy a round for about 25 american cents. Super Cheap.

Spiritual Thought: 1 John 4:18

I'm pretty sure I've shared this scripture before but it's one of my favorites. With this scripture I leave a challenge. I challenge anyone who reads this to have perfect love for  your friends and family and share the gospel! You can change a life and have an eternal impact!

Love you all tons!

Elder Walker

Arica: PICTURES & New Companion

Hey Everybody!

This week was crazy! I'm officially done with training (not done learning though!) and I said goodbye to my papito! He got on a bus this morning to Calama and we said our goodbyes; Somewhat sad, but also super exciting. The baptism this week unfortunately fell through. It was hard for my comp because the next day we got a call saying that he was going to Calama. My new companion is named Elder Sepulvera and is from Chile! I haven't met him yet but I'm super excited! Another Eldder from our pension, Elder Swett, also left this week for Vallenar. It's super sad t see two elders that have had such a big impact in my life go, but to quote my ninth grade English teacher, Mr. Reeves "Variety is the spice of life!"

It's hard to believe that I already have 4 and a half months out in the mission. In the mission you blink and it's already gone! I'm working hard to change who I am to become the best missionary possible out here! One of the greatest things about the atonement is the power that we have to fall on our knees, repent, then stand right back up again and have more strength than before.

--Spiritual Thought--

Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a talk in Santiago to the missionaries of Chile. We watched it by broadcast. One of the things he talked about was the meaning of "asking with a sincere heart and real intent". Our main purpose as missionaries is to invite people to come to Christ. We invite them to read the Book of Mormon, to come to church, and to ask God if these things are true. They need to have this real intent though. Elder Oaks talked in great detail about this and many other things. The thing that stood out to me though, is the word COMMITMENT. When we have real intent, if we recieve an answer to our prayers, we will act on that answer. For our investigators, that action is often baptism. If we don't have this commitment to act though, why would we recieve an answer? What good would it do us? When Lehi recieved a DREAM in the Book of Mormon, he had the commitment to act on that prompting. He had the commitment to recieve grand answers. It's that kind of commitment to the Lord that I am trying to develop on my mission and that we all should strive to develop in our lives.

--Some Chilean Stuff--

I'm like super addicted to empanadas. I think I have a problem. No, but seriously, the empanadas here are super delicious. Every empanada comes with half a hard boiled egg inside, lots of delicious meat and sauce inside, and an aceituna (It's an olive, but with the pit still inside and WAAAAAAY more potent). We can buy them fairly cheap here, and I can't describe how much better they are than a dollar burger at some fast food joint in the U.S. THEY ARE SOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!

Love you all!

Stay Frosty,

Elder Walker