Antofagasta: Learning new role and finding balance

This week went pretty well for me. I think I'm kind of getting back into the swing of things. Office life is pretty calm. Not a lot happens here. My companion (the old financiero who is training me) has some pretty bad back problems and it looks like he possibly could be heading home early so we really haven't been out to work that much. I've had lots of time to meditate and to study and then meditate some more and I think it's helped me out a little bit. I wish I could say more that's going on but there's really not that much going on so I guess I'll just explain what I do.

My job as Financiero:

1. Reimbursements- Any time any missionary that buys something that can be reimbursed I have to deal with it and/or tell them no.

2. Living Quarters- I am in charge of setting up contracts with landlords, paying landlords, arguing with landlords, arguing with missionaries when they do wierd things (i.g. some sister missionaries stabbed their refrigerator with a knife and let all the frion gases get out. Don't worry, they were trying to get the ice build up out so it's not AS bad as it sounds. Still not the smartest thing to have been done.) Landlords can be some of the most frustrating people in the world. Also all of the missionaries have to send me their pension inspections. 

3. Medical Payments- I help missionaries get money to go to the doctor.

4. I pay people- Literally every payment that the mission does goes through my hands.

5. Zone Conferences/When the newbies come in/When the old ones go out/Leadership Conference- We are in charge of getting all the food ready for all of these meetings and making sure all the stuff runs pretty smoothly. All of the Zone leaders come to Anofagasta once a month and we have to get everyones mail sorted and recieve mail from missionaries going to other missionaries and that kind of stuff. We also travel when we have zone conferences and help set them up in the different parts of the mission. President Dalton and Sister Dalton usually take the assistants and we take THE MISSION VAN. It's this brand new minivan and it's pretty legit. I will be getting my international license here pretty soon. (Thank you mom for making me get a new copy of my license a week before I left). The process is pretty easy and I don't have to take a driving test or anything so I think I'm safe.

6. Anything else in the office- We help each other out alot and are pretty tight here in the office. If something big goes down we've got each others backs. We basically run the mission because President Dalton spends the majority of his time travelling. I'm in here with Elder Gonzalez-gringo (my companion and Financiero Trainer who will be with me the entire transfer), Elder Spanbauer-gringo (The mission Historiador/Comisario), and Elder Morales-Chileno (Secretary of Travel and Visas).

7. Being a normal Missionary- On top of the aforementioned responsibilities and a bunch of other small stuff I do that I didn't really feel like explaining I am also a missionary. At five o' clock every day we shut down the office (returning later sometimes for emergencies) and leave to teach in the streets of Antofagasta. It's really wierd combining the two worlds. I feel like I have a full time job in addition to being a missionary. This part is probably the hardest to focus on because my mind is often times still so involved in the business aspect of things. 

So that's pretty much my life in a nutshell right now. Get up. Study. Go to the office. Go work. Sleep like a rock.

So now here's something I've been thinking a lot about.

Spiritual Thought:

2nd Nephi 2:27- Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

We have the ability to choose whether we want to be free and happy or in captivity and miserable. There are many things that can captivate our attention in this life and take alot of our precious time. If we don't choose wisely after a bit of time the things that we have chosen won't leave us feeling happy. Many times in my life and in my mission I've had to take a step back and re-orient myself so that the things that I'm doing are things that will edify me and in the end give me more freedom and happiness. I can also testify that studying the scriptures - In particular the Book of Mormon - and sincere prayer are two things that bring happiness and will always be of great worth.

I love you guys and miss you tons!

Elder Walker

Antofagasta: Transfer to Mission Home

Halo, Misión Chile Antofagasta, en que le puedo ayudar?

I am now the mission's newest FINANCIAL SECRETARY!!!

I got a call about two weeks ago from President Dalton asking me if I would be willing to serve in the mission office as the "financiero". My job basically entails anything that has to do with money in the mission. All of the money that the missionaries receive weekly, reimbursements, anything that has to do with the missionary living quarters and all other money spent by the mission runs through my hands. It's really not that hard though. The hardest part (as explained by Elder Gonzales, the Elder training me) is when we have to argue with the landlords about details in the contracts. 

We're going to rewind in time a bit. Last Sunday I had to leave my zone at 2:30 in the afternoon to get to the office before transfers to help out. Church ended at 1 so I had to be there, run to the apartment really fast and pack in about 15 minutes and then go to the bus terminal. It was kind of sad because I didn't get to say goodbye to hardly anyone in the ward. They also didn't let me speak in church because an area seventy showed up. All-in-all I just kind of disappeared. Luckily some of the members came to say goodbye to me at the bus terminal and I lost it and got kind of emotional.

Because of the special assignment I traveled alone and showed up in Antofagasta alone in the bus terminal with three suit cases. The office elders had given me the direction of my new apartment and told me to take a taxi there once I got into Antofagasta. As I got into the Antofa terminal at about 10:30 some random person who was taking lessons from the missionaries took pity on me, helped me with my bags and gave me a ride! Score one for humanity!

I got to the apartment and two of the Elders helped me get my bags up into the apartment. We have probably the nicest apartment in the entire mission and live with the four office elders and the Assistants to the the President. The Office Elders are all super cool and friendly. My companion's name is Elder Gonzales and he is from Colorado. He is my first "gringo" companion and I'm still in shock about speaking so much English.

We for the next couple of days were running around helping missionaries finish the mission and then start the mission with their trainers. We didn't have that much time to work in our sector proselyting but the time that we did have we had some amazing lessons and the people here are amazing! Our ward is named Quito and we share it with the Assistants and two other elders. One of the "other" elders serving in Quito though is my good friend Elder Giadach. We lived together six months in Arica and we both kind of freaked out when we heard we were going to be together again another six months.

Now that I'm all caught up here's a quick:

Spiritual Thought:

Luke 17:32 - Remember Lot's Wife.

Now watch this video - http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/new-years-look-not-behind-thee?cid=HP_MO_12-28-2015_dPFD_fMRMN_xLIDyL1-A_

I recently hit my year mark in my mission and it's been a time of serious reflection for me. There are tons of miracles that I have seen and tons of things I wish I could have done better as well. The beautiful thing is that I can keep moving forward. I've repented of my past mistakes and I have made the resolve not to look back, but to keep moving forward. 

I know that Jesus is the Christ and that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us.

Feliz Año Nuevo

Love,

Elder Walker

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