Hope everything is all good back in the states! I heard Donald Trump is the new president so that kind of surprised me. I hope I don't have a hard time getting back into the states now! Haha, just kidding.
Things here in Copiapó are going pretty well. My companion and I are still seeing a lot of success. I think the homesickness might have caught up with Elder Jones a little bit but he seems to be doing a lot better now. I started to think about how weird being here must be and how different it is from the US. When we got of the bus to Copiapó it was about 3 in the morning and there was a man playing a base drum and spinning around in circles while getting chased around by a pack of about fifteen dogs. Elder VanNatter (another Elder who lives with us) and I had to argue with the taxi driver a little bit and get us to where we live. All of this in a foreign language could be pretty confusing. I guess there are things I've gotten used to over two years.
Some highlights for this week:
We went to an appointment with Edmundo and Patricia, two of our investigators who ARE married. They had a baptismal date for this 26th but were a little bit unsure about how soon it was. We passed by their house and they were super excited. We asked them what was up and they told us that they had decided that they were all in and wanted to get baptized! They told us that ever since we started passing by again they have been calmer, fighting less and just happier in general! We passed over the baptismal interview questions with them and they are SUPER prepared! Their baptismal interview will be this Tuesday evening. Awesome!
We were able to get a few people to church this week, which was a bit of a miracle seeing as how we weren't able to attend. We were getting ready for church Sunday morning when I sneezed and it felt like something exploded in my lung. I was left a little bit immobilized for a bit and then called Sister Ferreira. She told my to just lay in bed all day and do the sacrament in our apartment. I'm feeling a lot better and we have an appointment with the doctor later today so we'll see what's going on inside my body. The cool part about all of this though is that Luis, a member a talked a bit about last week was super worried and even came to see us while I was in bed. He and his family were worried about me. It's cool to have investigator families that care as well!
I'm trying not to think too much about home but it happens every now and then. I haven't straight up told my trainee that I'm going home in three weeks and I'm pretty sure he hasn't figured it out yet, haha. It's helped me to not get "trunky" talking a lot about home though.
Spiritual Thought:
We watched a satellite broadcast from Buenos Aires, Argentina from Elder Rasband who was with our Area Presidency. One of the things that he said was that the more we learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ, the more we will love him. The more we love him, the more we will want to serve him. I have a strong testimony that when we read the Book of Mormon, we learn more about Christ than any other way. As one reads the Book of Mormon, there love for the Savior increases and there desire to serve him will grow immensely. If anyone is struggling with their testimony or feel like they lack a desire to serve, they should read this sacred book and it's stories about this continent's ancient inhabitants.
I love this gospel and the change it has brought about in me. I love you all and am super excited to see you soon!
Elder Walker
