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