Incredible Week!

2/5/2007

Thank you so much nana and papa for your package!! Loved it. The people are loving the popcorn with salt and butter because they are used to popcorn with caramel or powdered sugar. Asi que, they love it and I have shared it with many people. It is fun to share things from different countries.

Happyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy birthday papa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One year younger and stronger! Hope you have a great birthday and I am thinking about you!!

So we finalyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy got a new bishop yesterday!!!!!!! After three months they finally called another bishop!! We were soooooooooooo pumped!!! It is such a relief. We had a conference with elder pratt on Friday, the pres of chile…finally I met the man with my name and yes he is from parley but the pratt´s that moved to mexico, a helaman and his family, I don’t remember the man’s names in our family. But finally I met the man that everyone asks if we are related. And yes, I have become the chorister in all of the meetings, always!! I don’t know way!! Que vergüenza. Seriously. But oh well. So our bishop is awesome and all gun ho on helping with the missionary work and our first counselor, now, always helps us to. So we are only on our way up! We are so pumped with that.

So we had some awesome lessons this week, we really saw a lot of god’s miracles this week in his work. It was awesome. We went to visit the lady we found last Sunday in despair, the second lesson with her she was doing awesome. She was so happy and she had an amazing experience with reading the book of Mormon and had a really spiritual experience as the book brought the spirit of the lord in her life and the love of god. It was so awesome. The book of Mormon really is the key stone to our religion. This book brings the spirit into our lives more than any other book and on every page it testifies of Jesus Christ and his divinity and atoning sacrifice. If the people can take the opportunity to read the book and feel of it’s spirit, they can’t deny that it comes from god and if it comes from god then Joseph smith really was called as a modern day prophet like moses and noah anciently. It is so clear. This book is amazing. My testimony grew a ton of the book of mormon this week. It really brings the consoling power of god into our lives.

So we had an fhe with Javier and romina, they are awesome, members 1 year, going to temple this week, and alejandra and patricio. It was awesome. We talked about eternal marriage and the temples, how we can have our families forever and what we have to do. With out the baptism of jesus cristo we can’t enter into his kingdom, we need the exact same baptism, by authority, by immersion, and with an age of responsibility. We challenged them to get baptized and patricio accepted and alejandra was a bit more reluctant. Finally I just laid it out, do you know the bom is true, then everything else is true, joseph smith, the church and then this is the one and only baptism that will save us. She accepted too!!!!!!!!!!!! We were seriously on cloud nine, after like 5 months of working with them!!!!! It was the best feeling in the world. We felt this load lifted off of our shoulders, it was like we had a burden because we were always worried about them and how we can help them. It was the best feeling to have this lifted and to know that they are doing to get baptized. I had never felt happier, it was amazing. And it was all for the testimonies of romina and Javier because they were catholic too and went through the same process, something that I can’t relate to. They are so strong in the church and have such strong testimonies. It was the best experience ever. They wanted to get baptized the 10th so that I could be there, because cambios are the 14th and most likely I will be leaving, we extended the date for the 17th so we were going to do everything we could to get them baptized this week.

But let’s just say that nothing ever works out perfectly does it. The next day romina and I went to teach the word of wisdom, they accepted and were ready. I went into their kitchen and through away all of their alcohol, dumped it down the sink, took out all of their tea and coffee and we got rid of it all. I was shocked at how bold I was. She was a little hesitant but I felt the spirit tell me to be bold and do it, it shows my love and my testimony and that I know it is a commandment of the lord. So we through it all out. But then she started talking about her doubts and how they want to go to the catholic church to see the difference because it is hard for her to change her religion and she still doesn’t really feel the need to get baptized.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. But they can’t deny that the book of momron is true, they know it is true and they say it is true!!! It has changed their lives and everyone can see there is a hugeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee difference in their lives because they read almost everyday and they say their prayers as a family every day, and all on the behalf of their testimony of the bom and how they have applied the teachings in their lives. On top of it all we went on Saturday and alejandra was the old alejandra, pessimistic and everybody hates her and life sucks. We were so bummed. Satan really works in the people’s lives, always. After we left her house, I felt something I have never really felt before outside of the mission. I felt this immense pain in my heart that I can’t explain. The entire day, I have never quite been down quite like this before. I guess the love I have for them and the desire I have for them to have their family forever and to take this step into the celestial kingdom, to save their souls al final. I couldn’t shake it at all. Seriously, I can’t express the pain I felt for them, knowing that they were doubting and take huge steps backwards. I couldn’t think of anything else but how I can help them to accept, to have their faith grow and to trust in the lord and in their answers from their prayers. I searched for help in todos lugares. I fasted a ton, I have thought and tried everything, talked with everyone, read everything. Al final, we are going to wait a few days, they need to walk on their own and we can’t hold their hands forever. They didn’t go to church yesterday, they aren’t doing anything now, 180 degree turn around. But I am okay now, we are doing our part and we are trusting in the lord. We don’t want to baptize them if they are going to be weak and become inactive. That is not our purpose.
Afterwards the lord blessed with another family, we found an amazing family yesterday and we found the cousin of alejandra and already read her bom and had her answer that it is true and came to church. The lord blessed us on the flip side. So we ended the week well, we improved a tonnnnnnnnnnnnnn. We taught a tonnnnn of lessons!! Way better than we ever have done. We are on our way up. It has been really cold, windy and rainy all week. The wind sunk to the bones and we are getting drenched today and the other day soaked. We are doing awesome though. My comp and I have fun together now and talk a lot more. We laugh a lot more and things are going great, she teaches great and I am learning from her as well. We try to compliment each other with our strengths. She is strong being the only member in her family. It is tough for her with her family but she is great really. I just took a long time to realize it unfortunately. We laugh, she thinks I am funny. What can I say.

So this family that I always talk about, romina and Javier. They are absolutely awesome, seriously. I am sure that I knew them before. I know that we were friends in the life before. They are so awesome. I learn so much from them, and I tell them and they get all embarrassed because they have only been members for a year but their dedication to the work of the lord and their testimonies are amazing. So here there is a tradition that when the bus leaves to go the to temple, because once a year the stake gets a bus and all goes together, all the other members go to see them off and congratulate them, it is kind of funny. So Saturday they are leaving to the temple. I will miss them a lot when I leave. I will come visit them one day, I told them when I finish my mission they have to come to the temple when I am there and so they are going to set a goal to be able to try to do it! It would be awesome.

bom schedule
339
348
358
368
397
386
397
406
417
427

i hope everyone is reading, these are the page numbers.

Remember that cambios are on the 14th and so I won´t be writing on Monday. If you here from me in the morning I am still in punta arenas. If you hear from me in the afternoon I have arrived in my new sector after I have traveled by plane and bus and maybe boat, who knows, and if you don´t hear from me at all, I am in osorno and will write that Saturday. Who knows what the lord has in store for me, wherever it is I will gladly accept, I can go anywhereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Oh yeah, tell matt that we can’t wear sunglasses on the mission! But rain coats, siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.

Remember that the spirit talks to each one of us differently. It is not all the same, the lord speaks to us in the way that we need and is best for us to learn and understand. I can’t change the way the spirit talks to me to have the same experiences as the other people, it is only in my way. Every time I teach the gospel, I feel this peace and comfort in my soul and know that what I am saying is from god and that we have the power as missionaries to promise blessings from the lord. I did that this week and it was the most powerful feeling, I truly knew it was coming form the lord the things I was saying, the power of the true spirit of the lord in incredible. I know the lord will hold up on his end as I promise things to the people that he has prompted me to say. The power is remarkable truly incredible.
that is it for me this week, i don’t´ know what else. i am doing great and if i have to leave this next week it is really going to be hard to say goodbye to some of the people here. like romina and javier. i have really grown close to them. and javier speaks English really well, romina no but that is okay, they are awesome.

hope you all are well, saludos a todos. cuidense y nos vemos la proxima semana. tell everyone i said hi. read the bom, seriously!!! love ya all, hna pratt