Nov. 29, 2010
Hola a todos mis queridos familiares!
This week was full of mixed feelings because I had a feeling I was going to leave Quimey this coming transfer but I didn't know where or what would happen....then the assistants to President MacArthur called me on Thursday: answer to my doubt. They told me there is a missionary who recently started his mission and needs help. They said he is not very focused on the work and is a bit to prideful. He has had a tough time with his trainer and they wanted me to help him focus more in his mission. Therefore, from Thursday until today, I've been thinking what will come of this coming transfer and how I will work this troubled missionary. A lot of those worries went away today when I met this missionary, Elder Moore. He greeted me friendly when getting off the train, but I was still skeptical so I was a little cold and short with him at first. But as we started chatting in the bus on the way to our sector, I found out that he is a good guy but needs to realize that everything that happens is the companionship's responsability and both missionaries work together to make things better and no one gets the blame alone. The way he thinks about how certain things work in the mission give me the impression the he hasn't had the greatest example. He may need guidance and some correction but I am excited to work with him because he is ready to work. I am in the sector of "Nancagua" IN THE SAME ZONE OF SANTA CRUZ WHERE I WAS BRANCH PRESIDENT IN PERALILLO. Haha! It isn't too commune that a missionary returns to a zone that he was in before so this is going to be interesting. Lol! I may have the opportunity to visit Peralillo where I once served before. Haha! I am happy to be back in the south of the mission. I love it here and have had more success here than in my other sectors so I am confident. Plus, I will be here in SUMMER this time, so there will be many produce, green vineyards, and gorgeous countryside!!!
All of this information DOES NOT mean that I will not miss Quimey AT ALL. I think that the Ward of Quimey is the sector that has taught me the most about leadership, dedication, support, and member-missionary work for after the mission. It is a very special place and the members love and take care of the missionaries so well. Ruben and Silvana, some recent converts from before I came, gave me a China glass incense piece that burns oil. The second counselor in the Bishopric, Hermano Soto, gave me a glass cup that I used every time that I ate linch intheir house because it has the Chilean flag and an awesome soccer team logo on it. One youth that helps us teach gave me a Chilean flag and another youth, Jorge. gave me a nice pen and tie. I first met Jorge in Progreso (my second sector) when I found and started teaching his Uncle's family. In fact, Jorge's cousin (Sasha) from this same family was baptized yesterday and they wanted me to go to the baptismal service but I couldn't go. :( But him and his family are incredible.
My last week in Quimey was a bit difficult because we didn't find many new people to teach and those who are progressing weren't in their houses much because of semester finals in the schools (their school year goes along with the calender year). But it was a blessing to see how many investigators we got to church yesterday. Maria (a lady that the zone did a service project for) came to church for the 3rd time and has a baptismal date for December 26th. She is so happy and has a little girl's personality. We love her. Haha! Also, after four long weeks, Catalina and Javiera came to church again with their mom, Magali. They will be baptized on December 18th. Woo hoo! The work is going forth and this is the Lord's Church. I am going miss Elder Urra. He is a great example and has a great humor and love for others. We had a fun and spiritual time together. We will keep in touch for the future. Well that's all for this week. I love you and thank you for your continuing support. Take Care!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Joshy Boaz
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The Forces of Nature Tried to Bring Us Down!
Nov. 8, 2010
Hola Familia y Queridos,
This past week has flown by but we have encountered various trials that really made me appreciate being persistent in the missionary work. The sun pounded down on us SO HARD for the WHOLE week and we were thoroughly burned through and through. I tried to protect myself as best as possible but my WHITE SKIN (thanks a lot mom, haha!) only held up for a couple days. It is ok, I got more tan than burned so I am happy about that, but it was a missionary tan (only the face, neck and forearms) Hahaha! I love being a missionary. I shared my testimony yesterday in Sacrament meeting on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the importance of it in our life here on earth. We taught a Buddhist named Mauricio these past two weeks and it has been a blessing to explain and express the importance the Savior in our life and the plan that God has for us to someone who has never believed in Him or understood fully who he is. I was able to focus even more on the simplicity of Christ's suffering in Getsemane, death on the cross, and resurrection. It just all fits in perfectly to the Plan of Salvation and is fully based of FAITH that it will have power to bless us. That was the main doubt of Mauricio, he felt that the plan was too perfect and not fully realistic, but I bore my testimony that GOD IS PEFECT and will not make mistakes. We will be blessed for having faith and believing without seeing that we can be forgiven, cleansed and exalted by Christ. We are virtually lost and don't have much of a purpose if there is no Christ.
I also bore my testimony on the importance of member-missionary work. We have an event called "Domingo de Blanco" (White Sunday) coming up on November 21 in the Stake Center. Elder Urra and I planned it. It will be a baptismal service that will take place in the Stake Center for the baptisms of all people in every ward planned for this day. So instead of being baptized in their separate wards, they will all be baptized together in white (14 people so far). It has motivated the missionaries to work together as a zone and with the members of their wards to prepare these people for their special baptism day. The members need to have a larger part in the conversion of someone or this Child of God will fall away.
I also learned a little better about the mindeset that we should have during the sacrament. What are we doing when the Sacrament is being blessed and passed? Are we reading, writing something, or actually pondering on the Atonement of Christ and our baptismal covenant? The last option should always be our action.
I love this thought!
I have a testimony that there aren't coincidences in life. The Lord guides us to HIs chosen ones! We had a FHE planned for Saturday night but the families who we invited weren't at their houses when we got there. Disappointed and a little saddened (because these people are supposedly going to be baptized on the 21st and still need help) we didn't know what to do. SO we started knocking a couple doors around the corner. The first people we talked to were a young married couple who were playing with their dogs in their patio. After a few minutes, we found out that they had talked to Elders about 4 months ago (right before I got to the area) and that now the wife (Evelyn) was 3 months pregnant. The husband (Eduardo) didn't believe much in God before but after the MIRACLE of their pregnancy, he believes but has trouble with having faith. We taught a bit of the Plan of Salvation and they are very interested in learning about the Gospel and the church. We never would have found them had the other families been in their houses for the FHE. The are no coincidences, only miracles!
I thank you all for you love and support. I am reading all of your emails and fully aware of what happens in your lives. Sorry for not responding to you personally, but I type slow and the time doesn't permit me. I will pray A TON for Rachel's recovery and Mom's and Dad's well-being.
Con todo mi AMOR,
Elder Josh Boaz
Hola Familia y Queridos,
This past week has flown by but we have encountered various trials that really made me appreciate being persistent in the missionary work. The sun pounded down on us SO HARD for the WHOLE week and we were thoroughly burned through and through. I tried to protect myself as best as possible but my WHITE SKIN (thanks a lot mom, haha!) only held up for a couple days. It is ok, I got more tan than burned so I am happy about that, but it was a missionary tan (only the face, neck and forearms) Hahaha! I love being a missionary. I shared my testimony yesterday in Sacrament meeting on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the importance of it in our life here on earth. We taught a Buddhist named Mauricio these past two weeks and it has been a blessing to explain and express the importance the Savior in our life and the plan that God has for us to someone who has never believed in Him or understood fully who he is. I was able to focus even more on the simplicity of Christ's suffering in Getsemane, death on the cross, and resurrection. It just all fits in perfectly to the Plan of Salvation and is fully based of FAITH that it will have power to bless us. That was the main doubt of Mauricio, he felt that the plan was too perfect and not fully realistic, but I bore my testimony that GOD IS PEFECT and will not make mistakes. We will be blessed for having faith and believing without seeing that we can be forgiven, cleansed and exalted by Christ. We are virtually lost and don't have much of a purpose if there is no Christ.
I also bore my testimony on the importance of member-missionary work. We have an event called "Domingo de Blanco" (White Sunday) coming up on November 21 in the Stake Center. Elder Urra and I planned it. It will be a baptismal service that will take place in the Stake Center for the baptisms of all people in every ward planned for this day. So instead of being baptized in their separate wards, they will all be baptized together in white (14 people so far). It has motivated the missionaries to work together as a zone and with the members of their wards to prepare these people for their special baptism day. The members need to have a larger part in the conversion of someone or this Child of God will fall away.
I also learned a little better about the mindeset that we should have during the sacrament. What are we doing when the Sacrament is being blessed and passed? Are we reading, writing something, or actually pondering on the Atonement of Christ and our baptismal covenant? The last option should always be our action.
I love this thought!
I have a testimony that there aren't coincidences in life. The Lord guides us to HIs chosen ones! We had a FHE planned for Saturday night but the families who we invited weren't at their houses when we got there. Disappointed and a little saddened (because these people are supposedly going to be baptized on the 21st and still need help) we didn't know what to do. SO we started knocking a couple doors around the corner. The first people we talked to were a young married couple who were playing with their dogs in their patio. After a few minutes, we found out that they had talked to Elders about 4 months ago (right before I got to the area) and that now the wife (Evelyn) was 3 months pregnant. The husband (Eduardo) didn't believe much in God before but after the MIRACLE of their pregnancy, he believes but has trouble with having faith. We taught a bit of the Plan of Salvation and they are very interested in learning about the Gospel and the church. We never would have found them had the other families been in their houses for the FHE. The are no coincidences, only miracles!
I thank you all for you love and support. I am reading all of your emails and fully aware of what happens in your lives. Sorry for not responding to you personally, but I type slow and the time doesn't permit me. I will pray A TON for Rachel's recovery and Mom's and Dad's well-being.
Con todo mi AMOR,
Elder Josh Boaz
Monday, September 6, 2010
What a Blessing I'm Living!
¡¡¡Hola Bendita Familia!!! Sept. 6, 2010
I hope all is well on the home front! This past week has been a great blessing for us in the missionary work and I feel truly blessed for being in the Lord’s work in this area. My time with Elder Coloma was a sweet and edifying time, but sadly ended very soon. When we had a Zone Leader Counsel meeting this last Friday, the assistants to the President were working with us to ways to better the mission and how to better the weaknesses we have been confronting lately. We were asked to part into our companionships to make goals to resolve the issues when, all of the sudden, Elder Guañuna (an assistant) starts naming us off in companionships completely different and says, “Now work out these goals with your new companions for the next change.” WHAT!!!!!!??? We were all taken by surprise. Hahaha! Only three Zone Leader Companionships weren’t changed. I was matched with another Chilean missionary named Elder Urra. He was serving as Zone Leader in Rancagua (my first zone) and I heard he is a great worker and leader. He is from Concepción, Chile (south) and his dad was recently released as the Mission President for the Chile Antofagasta Mission the same time that President Resek was released from our mission. I am super excited to start working with him. I don’t know him very well but I have heard good things about him. We’ll see how it goes.
Our ward truly has the vision of missionary work and many of the leaders are working to spread this excitement with the rest of the members. For example, we have a Missionary Work Commitee and every Auxiliary Organization has a missionary minute assignment to commit a member on Sunday to give out a Book of Mormon to someone during the week. Also, we have set up list with every organization in the church to write the days and times that they can come with us to visit investigators. What is special feeling it is to feel the love, support, and energy from the members for us. It is a feeling I can’t express but this is how Zion should be functioning on the earth today. We have many plans for the near future and I can’t explain them all but it is overwhelming to see how the Lord’s hand is functioning in this area. I encourage you to do the same with the missionaries in Murrieta Hills and wherever you go. That will be a measure of your testimony: how much you want to share it with others around you without embarrasement. Tonight, we have a lesson with our High Priest Leader’s cousin and her family. Brother Patricio Henriquez has been preparing her for some time now and we met her yesterday. I am so excited to teach them because it is a complete family!!!! Pray for us. Naiza and her kids are doing great. She comes to church every week about 35 minutes early and is ready to learn. I know she will get baptized soon as well as her kids. Patricio passed the sacrament yesterday after having received the Priesthood last week. He definitely will serve a mission and actually accompanied us to a few lessons last week. He is one of the Lord’s “chosen”. I love him like a brother.
I am aware of your difficulties at home and hope you know that my prayers are with you every day of my life. I thank God for my parents every day and fasted for you yesterday. My family is my life and I encourage you to see the recent Mormon Messages on lds.org. There is one on Forgiveness that will blow your mind away. Also, you’ll love one on parenting as well. I feel like I have had these messages in my life as a child and that means a lot to me. Thanks for providing that for me. We had a service project on Saturday where we built an extention on the house of a Sister in the Ward who has terminal cancer and was living in extremely small conditions. She was happy and her only question to us was to whom should she pay her tithing and fast offerings to. That is such a strong testimony to you and I that we should always put our trust in the Lord first and everything else will work out. She wants your prayers and is looking for a miracle. Please help. I hope this next week finds you all in better states than last week. Take care and know I think of you!
Con Amor,
Elder Josh Boaz
I hope all is well on the home front! This past week has been a great blessing for us in the missionary work and I feel truly blessed for being in the Lord’s work in this area. My time with Elder Coloma was a sweet and edifying time, but sadly ended very soon. When we had a Zone Leader Counsel meeting this last Friday, the assistants to the President were working with us to ways to better the mission and how to better the weaknesses we have been confronting lately. We were asked to part into our companionships to make goals to resolve the issues when, all of the sudden, Elder Guañuna (an assistant) starts naming us off in companionships completely different and says, “Now work out these goals with your new companions for the next change.” WHAT!!!!!!??? We were all taken by surprise. Hahaha! Only three Zone Leader Companionships weren’t changed. I was matched with another Chilean missionary named Elder Urra. He was serving as Zone Leader in Rancagua (my first zone) and I heard he is a great worker and leader. He is from Concepción, Chile (south) and his dad was recently released as the Mission President for the Chile Antofagasta Mission the same time that President Resek was released from our mission. I am super excited to start working with him. I don’t know him very well but I have heard good things about him. We’ll see how it goes.
Our ward truly has the vision of missionary work and many of the leaders are working to spread this excitement with the rest of the members. For example, we have a Missionary Work Commitee and every Auxiliary Organization has a missionary minute assignment to commit a member on Sunday to give out a Book of Mormon to someone during the week. Also, we have set up list with every organization in the church to write the days and times that they can come with us to visit investigators. What is special feeling it is to feel the love, support, and energy from the members for us. It is a feeling I can’t express but this is how Zion should be functioning on the earth today. We have many plans for the near future and I can’t explain them all but it is overwhelming to see how the Lord’s hand is functioning in this area. I encourage you to do the same with the missionaries in Murrieta Hills and wherever you go. That will be a measure of your testimony: how much you want to share it with others around you without embarrasement. Tonight, we have a lesson with our High Priest Leader’s cousin and her family. Brother Patricio Henriquez has been preparing her for some time now and we met her yesterday. I am so excited to teach them because it is a complete family!!!! Pray for us. Naiza and her kids are doing great. She comes to church every week about 35 minutes early and is ready to learn. I know she will get baptized soon as well as her kids. Patricio passed the sacrament yesterday after having received the Priesthood last week. He definitely will serve a mission and actually accompanied us to a few lessons last week. He is one of the Lord’s “chosen”. I love him like a brother.
I am aware of your difficulties at home and hope you know that my prayers are with you every day of my life. I thank God for my parents every day and fasted for you yesterday. My family is my life and I encourage you to see the recent Mormon Messages on lds.org. There is one on Forgiveness that will blow your mind away. Also, you’ll love one on parenting as well. I feel like I have had these messages in my life as a child and that means a lot to me. Thanks for providing that for me. We had a service project on Saturday where we built an extention on the house of a Sister in the Ward who has terminal cancer and was living in extremely small conditions. She was happy and her only question to us was to whom should she pay her tithing and fast offerings to. That is such a strong testimony to you and I that we should always put our trust in the Lord first and everything else will work out. She wants your prayers and is looking for a miracle. Please help. I hope this next week finds you all in better states than last week. Take care and know I think of you!
Con Amor,
Elder Josh Boaz
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Fruits of Our Labor! 8-16-2010
Hey everyone!!!!
This past week has been travel, conferences, travel, divisions, more travel, and more conferences. I just want to stay in my own sector and WORK now!!!!! But, honestly, the trips we took to Rancagua 2 times this week and once last week were well worth it. We went there on Thursday and Friday with the 2 District Leaders, 3 trainers and Elder Coloma and I as Zone Leaders to learn more about the 8 new lessons on better teaching. The Spirit was incredible and I felt so privileged to be surrounded by so many missionaries guided by the Spirit in the moment and ready to learn. We sat in a large half-circle and were taught about the lessons, one after another. President McArthur gave us so many new points of view that I had never thought about in teaching the Gospel. For example, if we teach an important truth in a lesson and have the attention of the person, we just need to wait a bit after stating it for the Spirit to manifest itself "in the Silence." I loved that aspect and have applied it recently. Also, when we ask open-answer questions and then help the investigator recognize the spirit, they will be able to follow that spiritual impression much easier. It was a buffet feast of ideas like that during 3 hours with a great lunch afterwards to top it all off. I made great friends with the other leader missionaries in the mission and really grew more confident as a messenger of the Lord's Gospel.
We had two baptisms yesterday of Patricio (17) and Ximena (9). They both invited tons of members of their family and the baptismal service had an amazing turnout. Patricio shared his testimony at the end of the service and truly presented himself like missionary material. I feel so privileged to have had a part of his conversion because he understands so much about the Gospel already and really taught me about humility and diligence. The ward is a truly chosen area and I feel so comfortable bringing new members into this ward because it really takes care of the new members in the church. From the Bishopric, to the Ward Mission Leader, Elder's Quorum Pres., High Priest Group Leader, Relief Society, and YM & YW Pres. This is how the church works: fellowshipping.
Ximena's baptism proves to have caused a spiritual chain action in reactivating all of her family and now we are working with her uncle, Jose Luis (20), to be baptized. He has a great heart but has been lost in the world. A great soccer player as well, so I think we be involving him in the Gospel through that alley. I have recently felt a great desire to help all those young men in my age group that need the Gospel but ar falling by the wayside. It is a tough task but this is the most important time in their lives to make good decisions.
We have recently put a baptismal date with a mother, Naiza, and her two sons, Carlos and Claribel. They have been easily able to recognize the Spirit thanks to our new way of teaching and should be baptized on Sept. 5. Pray for them to come to the church.
I have felt a little burdened with a little lack of confidence in this leadership position recently because I will feel at times that I am not good enough or effective enough for it but the Lord, along with Elder Coloma, continue to show their trust in me. I know I am worth where I am put to work because I have the desire to serve God, nothing more.
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR MY BIRTHDAY GOODIES!!! I have been sharing them and savoring them. Tell Edna Jenkins that she doesn't need to send me anything. Her love is enough!!! Thanks Rach and Bekah for your emails recently, I got emotional reading them. You two mean so much to me. Dad and Mom, your emails are incredible too. I love you all!!!! Sorry this email is short this week, we have a lot to do in the zone and area. We will be teaching our zone the new lessons this week and we gotta prep everything. Take care!!!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Boaz
Hey everyone!!!!
This past week has been travel, conferences, travel, divisions, more travel, and more conferences. I just want to stay in my own sector and WORK now!!!!! But, honestly, the trips we took to Rancagua 2 times this week and once last week were well worth it. We went there on Thursday and Friday with the 2 District Leaders, 3 trainers and Elder Coloma and I as Zone Leaders to learn more about the 8 new lessons on better teaching. The Spirit was incredible and I felt so privileged to be surrounded by so many missionaries guided by the Spirit in the moment and ready to learn. We sat in a large half-circle and were taught about the lessons, one after another. President McArthur gave us so many new points of view that I had never thought about in teaching the Gospel. For example, if we teach an important truth in a lesson and have the attention of the person, we just need to wait a bit after stating it for the Spirit to manifest itself "in the Silence." I loved that aspect and have applied it recently. Also, when we ask open-answer questions and then help the investigator recognize the spirit, they will be able to follow that spiritual impression much easier. It was a buffet feast of ideas like that during 3 hours with a great lunch afterwards to top it all off. I made great friends with the other leader missionaries in the mission and really grew more confident as a messenger of the Lord's Gospel.
We had two baptisms yesterday of Patricio (17) and Ximena (9). They both invited tons of members of their family and the baptismal service had an amazing turnout. Patricio shared his testimony at the end of the service and truly presented himself like missionary material. I feel so privileged to have had a part of his conversion because he understands so much about the Gospel already and really taught me about humility and diligence. The ward is a truly chosen area and I feel so comfortable bringing new members into this ward because it really takes care of the new members in the church. From the Bishopric, to the Ward Mission Leader, Elder's Quorum Pres., High Priest Group Leader, Relief Society, and YM & YW Pres. This is how the church works: fellowshipping.
Ximena's baptism proves to have caused a spiritual chain action in reactivating all of her family and now we are working with her uncle, Jose Luis (20), to be baptized. He has a great heart but has been lost in the world. A great soccer player as well, so I think we be involving him in the Gospel through that alley. I have recently felt a great desire to help all those young men in my age group that need the Gospel but ar falling by the wayside. It is a tough task but this is the most important time in their lives to make good decisions.
We have recently put a baptismal date with a mother, Naiza, and her two sons, Carlos and Claribel. They have been easily able to recognize the Spirit thanks to our new way of teaching and should be baptized on Sept. 5. Pray for them to come to the church.
I have felt a little burdened with a little lack of confidence in this leadership position recently because I will feel at times that I am not good enough or effective enough for it but the Lord, along with Elder Coloma, continue to show their trust in me. I know I am worth where I am put to work because I have the desire to serve God, nothing more.
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR MY BIRTHDAY GOODIES!!! I have been sharing them and savoring them. Tell Edna Jenkins that she doesn't need to send me anything. Her love is enough!!! Thanks Rach and Bekah for your emails recently, I got emotional reading them. You two mean so much to me. Dad and Mom, your emails are incredible too. I love you all!!!! Sorry this email is short this week, we have a lot to do in the zone and area. We will be teaching our zone the new lessons this week and we gotta prep everything. Take care!!!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Boaz
Monday, August 9, 2010
I Have Found the Fullness of Joy! 8-9-10
Hola Familia,
This past has been good. I am learning a lot in this new area with Elder Coloma as my companion. As you would probably guess, Mom and Dad, with more responsabilities, I am being late quite often but Elder Coloma is really patient with me. Since we knew each other beforehand, it hasn’t taken long for us to grow very close and love working together. I have a feeling that we will have a companionship that will be just as good as I had with Elder Caballero. We are working hard with the ward and I feel extremely blessed to be in an area that has so many members with worthy members and temple-goers. We even have a High Priests Group in this ward!!!! It is a miracle! Hahaha! The members have been recently excited to go with us to many lessons and we are progressing very well with the investigators we are working with. Next week, Patricio (17) and Ximena (9) will be baptized. All family members of Ximena are members of the church and the Mom of Patricio is less-active since 14 years old, but couldn’t be happier for the decision her son is making to follow this church on his own. And little but little, she feels some more desires to return to the church. Patricio is one of the most special people I have met here. He is so smart and understands the Gospel clearly. He told us that when he kneeled to pray about if the church was true, he felt a darkness around him…LIKE JOSEPH SMITH…but in a moment, still with his eyes closed, he felt his whole bedroom filled with light and a warmth and happiness that he had never felt before. It was an emotional moment and he knows this church is true. He even wants to serve a mission as well!!! He says that service is his hobby. Truly one of the Lord’s chosen. I love this work because it never ceases to change lives.
Even at home, I am sure that Rachel is strengthening her testimony in this time of trial with her head issues for soccer. I am praying that all is well for her and Rebekah while she is starting at BYU as well. It is great to hear about everyone at home, especially Austin’s first child and his great job offer. The Gospel is truly blessing our family and I pray that we may keep it firm in our lives.
I know that my mission has been a success just from one simple phone call that I received from President McArthur yesterday afternoon. We were in the stake center getting ready to have our Stake Priesthood Session yesterday and President McArthur calls me. He told me that Claudina, the 80 year old lady I baptized in Progreso, passed away in a accident explosion with her oven and that the letter I wrote to her this past week did not get to her in time. I was speechless…..this lady was the epitome of Persevere until the end. She went to the church early with her walker every Sunday that her health permitted her to. I know she will inherit the Celestial Kingdom and, therefore, her and my joy are full for that. That is what this mission of Preaching the Gospel is about: that God’s children may receive eternal life. I love you all and thank you for reading these letters and joining in my experiences.
With love of my Savior,
Elder Joshua Boaz
Soldier of the Lord
Hola Familia,
This past has been good. I am learning a lot in this new area with Elder Coloma as my companion. As you would probably guess, Mom and Dad, with more responsabilities, I am being late quite often but Elder Coloma is really patient with me. Since we knew each other beforehand, it hasn’t taken long for us to grow very close and love working together. I have a feeling that we will have a companionship that will be just as good as I had with Elder Caballero. We are working hard with the ward and I feel extremely blessed to be in an area that has so many members with worthy members and temple-goers. We even have a High Priests Group in this ward!!!! It is a miracle! Hahaha! The members have been recently excited to go with us to many lessons and we are progressing very well with the investigators we are working with. Next week, Patricio (17) and Ximena (9) will be baptized. All family members of Ximena are members of the church and the Mom of Patricio is less-active since 14 years old, but couldn’t be happier for the decision her son is making to follow this church on his own. And little but little, she feels some more desires to return to the church. Patricio is one of the most special people I have met here. He is so smart and understands the Gospel clearly. He told us that when he kneeled to pray about if the church was true, he felt a darkness around him…LIKE JOSEPH SMITH…but in a moment, still with his eyes closed, he felt his whole bedroom filled with light and a warmth and happiness that he had never felt before. It was an emotional moment and he knows this church is true. He even wants to serve a mission as well!!! He says that service is his hobby. Truly one of the Lord’s chosen. I love this work because it never ceases to change lives.
Even at home, I am sure that Rachel is strengthening her testimony in this time of trial with her head issues for soccer. I am praying that all is well for her and Rebekah while she is starting at BYU as well. It is great to hear about everyone at home, especially Austin’s first child and his great job offer. The Gospel is truly blessing our family and I pray that we may keep it firm in our lives.
I know that my mission has been a success just from one simple phone call that I received from President McArthur yesterday afternoon. We were in the stake center getting ready to have our Stake Priesthood Session yesterday and President McArthur calls me. He told me that Claudina, the 80 year old lady I baptized in Progreso, passed away in a accident explosion with her oven and that the letter I wrote to her this past week did not get to her in time. I was speechless…..this lady was the epitome of Persevere until the end. She went to the church early with her walker every Sunday that her health permitted her to. I know she will inherit the Celestial Kingdom and, therefore, her and my joy are full for that. That is what this mission of Preaching the Gospel is about: that God’s children may receive eternal life. I love you all and thank you for reading these letters and joining in my experiences.
With love of my Savior,
Elder Joshua Boaz
Soldier of the Lord
Wow, This is the Lord's Work! 8-2-10
Hey loved ones,
"Wow!" is all I can think after this past week of work that Elder Coloma and I had together. I thought of the scripture in Alma 26:28,30,31 various different times this week.
"28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.
30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.
31 Now behold, we can look forth and see the fruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are many; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us."
The ward in Quimey is incredible. It is the first well-developed unity of the church that I have been in while serving in Chile. All of the Priesthood and Auxiliary Organizations have their leaders and there is an average of 110 every week in church. It is a joyous feeling to serve here. The funniest part about our sector is that it is one of the biggest of all of the sectors in Santiago part of the mission and is EXTREMELY similar to Murrieta and Temecula neighborhoods. For example, there are many new neighborhoods that are being constructed with decent modern designs like the houses we have in home. Also, they are constructed in a somewhat country-side environment next to hills just like Murrieta is. It is so tough to not think about my house once in a while knocking these doors and entering them. The recent converts here are amazing and already work with us. Like a kid named Nicolas (14 years old) who wants to study at BYU and teach with us. Sweet action!!!!
I will admit that I was a little against the idea of my personal change to Quimey from Peralillo, but I got over it after a few days of work in my new sector. Actually, I now feel extremely blessed to be put in this area and confidence I am entrusted with from our mission president. I love serving with Elder Coloma and with this ward. There are so many dedicated members that want to help us in the missionary work and dedicate themselves in serving with all of their efforts. It is a refreshing change to know that I am not the one with my companion doing almost everything in the church on Sunday. I was able to relax in Sacrament Meeting and just bear my testimony of the Gospel. I will miss having a grand responsibility in the congregation where I am serving but I am even more excited to completely focus on the missionary work now.
We have various baptisms coming up in two and three Sundays (15 Agosto and 22 Agosto). We are working hard to have as many lessons with members as possible because the members are finally excited to help out in the Missionary work. The missionaries here have been trying to acheive that for some time now but just recently we are getting them to take more responsibility now. What a grand blessing!!!! We were going to have a baptism yesterday with a 19 year old named Rolando but his mom said that she was going to throw him out of the house if he got baptized. She doesn't like the church and wants him to wait but we are going to personally fast for him soon and fix the situation with the Lord's help. Lately, I have been more conscious about the example I set and how I can bless the lives of the other missionaries in our Zone. They are all great and I am so excited to work with them.
I am finally living with 4 missionaries in a house together and it is a blast. The other companionship is Elder Johnson (9 Months in the mission) and a newbie, Elder Berrio, from Colombia. They are hilarious, hard-working, fun missionaries. I love living with them and helping them. I will have to make room on my camera soon to take some pictures. Well that is all folks for this week. Take care all!. ;-D
Con mucho amor,
Elder Boaz
Hey loved ones,
"Wow!" is all I can think after this past week of work that Elder Coloma and I had together. I thought of the scripture in Alma 26:28,30,31 various different times this week.
"28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.
30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.
31 Now behold, we can look forth and see the fruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are many; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us."
The ward in Quimey is incredible. It is the first well-developed unity of the church that I have been in while serving in Chile. All of the Priesthood and Auxiliary Organizations have their leaders and there is an average of 110 every week in church. It is a joyous feeling to serve here. The funniest part about our sector is that it is one of the biggest of all of the sectors in Santiago part of the mission and is EXTREMELY similar to Murrieta and Temecula neighborhoods. For example, there are many new neighborhoods that are being constructed with decent modern designs like the houses we have in home. Also, they are constructed in a somewhat country-side environment next to hills just like Murrieta is. It is so tough to not think about my house once in a while knocking these doors and entering them. The recent converts here are amazing and already work with us. Like a kid named Nicolas (14 years old) who wants to study at BYU and teach with us. Sweet action!!!!
I will admit that I was a little against the idea of my personal change to Quimey from Peralillo, but I got over it after a few days of work in my new sector. Actually, I now feel extremely blessed to be put in this area and confidence I am entrusted with from our mission president. I love serving with Elder Coloma and with this ward. There are so many dedicated members that want to help us in the missionary work and dedicate themselves in serving with all of their efforts. It is a refreshing change to know that I am not the one with my companion doing almost everything in the church on Sunday. I was able to relax in Sacrament Meeting and just bear my testimony of the Gospel. I will miss having a grand responsibility in the congregation where I am serving but I am even more excited to completely focus on the missionary work now.
We have various baptisms coming up in two and three Sundays (15 Agosto and 22 Agosto). We are working hard to have as many lessons with members as possible because the members are finally excited to help out in the Missionary work. The missionaries here have been trying to acheive that for some time now but just recently we are getting them to take more responsibility now. What a grand blessing!!!! We were going to have a baptism yesterday with a 19 year old named Rolando but his mom said that she was going to throw him out of the house if he got baptized. She doesn't like the church and wants him to wait but we are going to personally fast for him soon and fix the situation with the Lord's help. Lately, I have been more conscious about the example I set and how I can bless the lives of the other missionaries in our Zone. They are all great and I am so excited to work with them.
I am finally living with 4 missionaries in a house together and it is a blast. The other companionship is Elder Johnson (9 Months in the mission) and a newbie, Elder Berrio, from Colombia. They are hilarious, hard-working, fun missionaries. I love living with them and helping them. I will have to make room on my camera soon to take some pictures. Well that is all folks for this week. Take care all!. ;-D
Con mucho amor,
Elder Boaz
Monday, July 26, 2010
July 26, 2010
I’m Glad They Called Me on a Mission!!!! July 26, 2010
Hola Mamita y Papita,
This week has flown by just like the week before it....and just like that, I HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED TO SANTIAGO AGAIN!!!! But I will get back to that at the end of the email. I haven’t really told you about the weather that we’ve been having lately, but it’s been very wet and cold lately.....NOT my favorite. There has been heavy rain about 3 days in the week for the past for two weeks and we have been keeping warm but VERY wet. We even had the wonderful opportunity of covering two “mediaguas” with nylon in the rain so theyS wouldn’t get wet and ruined. Mediaguas are mini-emergency homes made for the people who lost their houses in the earthquake. They were made for Eliana, our recent convert of 62 years old. She is so alive and active and reminds me of a female version of dad because of her energy. I love eating lunch with her every Tuesday. She is progressing really slowly but well. The majority people of older ages generally don’t have too much education and need more time to understand the Gospel, but it definitely is a blessing to see them grow. The Lord surely blesses the humble and willing of heart. I can stand extreme cold, snow, or heat...but rain? Never a favorite of mine. It is sort of fun working with an umbrella and Elder Osorio and I have a blast while we are knocking doors. We get along great but he has a few habits that bug the crap out of me. I guess we all have something a little annoying. He has a very strong character and is very direct with the people. That is what the members here need to change and become better. He comes from rough high school years where he was a VERY rebellious member but his change to follow the Gospel has allowed him to not tolerate iniquity now and really teach by the spirit. I am putting a little bit more love into his heart as well. Hahaha!!!! I have a little softer heart and perhaps didn’t use enough courage to tell the people straight forward what they need to be worthier but I feel that my love towards them helped them become more united and help out a little more.
The time in Peralillo has passed by much faster than I wanted it to, and I can’t help thinking that I didn’t do ALL that was in my power to help the Branch grow like it could have, but we worked earnestly. The country areas of Chile are my favorite and I have enjoyed being surrounded by small-town people, vineyards, little corner-stores out of houses, and animals (horses, cows, goats, etc.). Our area of Peralillo is pure country-side with many little towns. The plaza/park in the middle of the town of Peralillo is incredible!!! It has many humongous trees in it with park benches and a big water fountain in the middle of it. Our new house was a miracle because the house we were living in was a shipwreck and we had to move out fast. The electric sockets burned out, we didn’t have light or water in our kitchen, there wasn’t very much room, and the floor was never clean no matter how much we swept (trust me, we tried to keep it clean!!!!) The new house is two stories but we don’t use the second floor because there is enough room downstairs. The only thing is that it’s really cold at night. Surprisingly, I haven’t gotten sick this winter yet and (knock on wood) I don’t think I will either.
On Saturdays, we usually had Mutual with the youth and cleaned the church. Every Thursday recently, we traveled to Marchigue (another town in the sector) to look for less-active priesthood holders. We found Brother Beas (Elder) and Brother Yañez (Ex-Bishop) and their sons as well. Now, in two weeks we planned for a BBQ and soccer in the chapel with them and the other men who are coming to church. It will be good to reactivate the men and get some leadership into the Branch again. I realize I won’t see MANY of the fruits of my labors in Peralillo but I realize more and more eveyday that I am “laying the foundation of a great work;” and that gives me sufficient pleasure in what I’m doing. I love these people so much and only want that they can receive eternal blessings. I never thought I would get to that mentality before, but WOW...what a blessing to “see the people through God’s eyes.” That was one of my original goals from the MTC.
Alejandro, our first counselor’s son, was preparing himself to go into the army as a career instead of serve a mission for sometime. But I interviewed him the other week and we had a very spiritual time together in which I was able to help him see the need to “serve the Lord with all his heart, might, mind, and strength.” We prayed and he felt the need to pray personally about his mission. It was an amazing moment and I felt so happy to help him to see his life a little more through the Lord’s eyes. All of my converts are doing well. Yanett, Barbara, Javiera, Jocelyn, Giselle, Alexandra, Eliana. Sebastian still hasn’t been confirmed as a member with the Holy Ghost now for 3 Sundays. I am nervous for him. He has been passing trials lately. Pray for this humble 20 year old. He is incredible. I have learned how IMPORTANT it is to receive the Holy Ghost RIGHT AFTER being baptized in the water. If not, a person does not have a complete baptism. It is invalid until we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. I have a gained a large added importance in the influence of this gift after baptism so Satan doesn't have added power over us. It is necessary.
I know, leaving Peralillo was sort of a big bummer but I am excited to work with my new companion, Elder Coloma. He has the same time in the mission as me and is from Talcahuano, Chile (WOOHOO, my third latin companion in-a-row. 4th overall!!!). In fact, he was my Zone Leader in Santa Cruz one change ago (6 weeks back). Now we are Zone Leaders together in the most southern part Santiago called “San Bernardo”. Our ward is called Quimey. It is the biggest zone out of the Santiago Zones (16 missionaries) and we have our hands full with many baptismal dates in the Zone but I am stoked to work with this Loco (“Crazy”). He is a great guy and we got along great in Santa Cruz. Like I said before, I am going to miss SOOOOO MUCH being in Peralillo because it was an experience that I will never have again in my life. Welp, I explained some of the things that mom wanted and I hope that helped you get a better idea about how things and the work are here. ;-P
One last thing, I might need money for new shoes soon. I have only used one pair of the Ecco shoes this whole time and they have helped up incredibly!!!! I took them to a shoe workshop to get re-stitched and they are impecable now but underneath is wearing out a bit much. The other shoes have NO support and don’t help me with all the walking we do. Don’t send anything yet, but I will keep you posted. I love you all! Take care of yourselves too much. Lol!
Con amor,
Elder Boaz
Hola Mamita y Papita,
This week has flown by just like the week before it....and just like that, I HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED TO SANTIAGO AGAIN!!!! But I will get back to that at the end of the email. I haven’t really told you about the weather that we’ve been having lately, but it’s been very wet and cold lately.....NOT my favorite. There has been heavy rain about 3 days in the week for the past for two weeks and we have been keeping warm but VERY wet. We even had the wonderful opportunity of covering two “mediaguas” with nylon in the rain so theyS wouldn’t get wet and ruined. Mediaguas are mini-emergency homes made for the people who lost their houses in the earthquake. They were made for Eliana, our recent convert of 62 years old. She is so alive and active and reminds me of a female version of dad because of her energy. I love eating lunch with her every Tuesday. She is progressing really slowly but well. The majority people of older ages generally don’t have too much education and need more time to understand the Gospel, but it definitely is a blessing to see them grow. The Lord surely blesses the humble and willing of heart. I can stand extreme cold, snow, or heat...but rain? Never a favorite of mine. It is sort of fun working with an umbrella and Elder Osorio and I have a blast while we are knocking doors. We get along great but he has a few habits that bug the crap out of me. I guess we all have something a little annoying. He has a very strong character and is very direct with the people. That is what the members here need to change and become better. He comes from rough high school years where he was a VERY rebellious member but his change to follow the Gospel has allowed him to not tolerate iniquity now and really teach by the spirit. I am putting a little bit more love into his heart as well. Hahaha!!!! I have a little softer heart and perhaps didn’t use enough courage to tell the people straight forward what they need to be worthier but I feel that my love towards them helped them become more united and help out a little more.
The time in Peralillo has passed by much faster than I wanted it to, and I can’t help thinking that I didn’t do ALL that was in my power to help the Branch grow like it could have, but we worked earnestly. The country areas of Chile are my favorite and I have enjoyed being surrounded by small-town people, vineyards, little corner-stores out of houses, and animals (horses, cows, goats, etc.). Our area of Peralillo is pure country-side with many little towns. The plaza/park in the middle of the town of Peralillo is incredible!!! It has many humongous trees in it with park benches and a big water fountain in the middle of it. Our new house was a miracle because the house we were living in was a shipwreck and we had to move out fast. The electric sockets burned out, we didn’t have light or water in our kitchen, there wasn’t very much room, and the floor was never clean no matter how much we swept (trust me, we tried to keep it clean!!!!) The new house is two stories but we don’t use the second floor because there is enough room downstairs. The only thing is that it’s really cold at night. Surprisingly, I haven’t gotten sick this winter yet and (knock on wood) I don’t think I will either.
On Saturdays, we usually had Mutual with the youth and cleaned the church. Every Thursday recently, we traveled to Marchigue (another town in the sector) to look for less-active priesthood holders. We found Brother Beas (Elder) and Brother Yañez (Ex-Bishop) and their sons as well. Now, in two weeks we planned for a BBQ and soccer in the chapel with them and the other men who are coming to church. It will be good to reactivate the men and get some leadership into the Branch again. I realize I won’t see MANY of the fruits of my labors in Peralillo but I realize more and more eveyday that I am “laying the foundation of a great work;” and that gives me sufficient pleasure in what I’m doing. I love these people so much and only want that they can receive eternal blessings. I never thought I would get to that mentality before, but WOW...what a blessing to “see the people through God’s eyes.” That was one of my original goals from the MTC.
Alejandro, our first counselor’s son, was preparing himself to go into the army as a career instead of serve a mission for sometime. But I interviewed him the other week and we had a very spiritual time together in which I was able to help him see the need to “serve the Lord with all his heart, might, mind, and strength.” We prayed and he felt the need to pray personally about his mission. It was an amazing moment and I felt so happy to help him to see his life a little more through the Lord’s eyes. All of my converts are doing well. Yanett, Barbara, Javiera, Jocelyn, Giselle, Alexandra, Eliana. Sebastian still hasn’t been confirmed as a member with the Holy Ghost now for 3 Sundays. I am nervous for him. He has been passing trials lately. Pray for this humble 20 year old. He is incredible. I have learned how IMPORTANT it is to receive the Holy Ghost RIGHT AFTER being baptized in the water. If not, a person does not have a complete baptism. It is invalid until we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. I have a gained a large added importance in the influence of this gift after baptism so Satan doesn't have added power over us. It is necessary.
I know, leaving Peralillo was sort of a big bummer but I am excited to work with my new companion, Elder Coloma. He has the same time in the mission as me and is from Talcahuano, Chile (WOOHOO, my third latin companion in-a-row. 4th overall!!!). In fact, he was my Zone Leader in Santa Cruz one change ago (6 weeks back). Now we are Zone Leaders together in the most southern part Santiago called “San Bernardo”. Our ward is called Quimey. It is the biggest zone out of the Santiago Zones (16 missionaries) and we have our hands full with many baptismal dates in the Zone but I am stoked to work with this Loco (“Crazy”). He is a great guy and we got along great in Santa Cruz. Like I said before, I am going to miss SOOOOO MUCH being in Peralillo because it was an experience that I will never have again in my life. Welp, I explained some of the things that mom wanted and I hope that helped you get a better idea about how things and the work are here. ;-P
One last thing, I might need money for new shoes soon. I have only used one pair of the Ecco shoes this whole time and they have helped up incredibly!!!! I took them to a shoe workshop to get re-stitched and they are impecable now but underneath is wearing out a bit much. The other shoes have NO support and don’t help me with all the walking we do. Don’t send anything yet, but I will keep you posted. I love you all! Take care of yourselves too much. Lol!
Con amor,
Elder Boaz
"In the Shoes of My Savior" 7-19-10 letter
July 19th, 2010
Hey all my loved ones!!!
I hope this email finds you alll in great conditions and high spirits. I have consistently been looking for comfort and understanding from my Savior for the experiences that we are passing here. I won't go into too much detail but there are events that the Lord puts us in everyday to strengthen our testimony and to test it to see where it stands now. I love that because I am becoming more aware of my strengths, weaknesses, and points to improve so that the adversary doesn't squirm his way into mine or my family's life.
First off, I forgot to let you all know that the Zone Conference we had with our new Mission President, President James McArthur, and his wife, Sister McArthur, was incredible. If there was ever a moment in that the Holy Spirit bore witness that a leader was called of God, like our beloved Prophet, it was present in that Zone Conference two weeks ago. Our new president is so humble and really showed his desire to put all of himself in the Lord's hands. He trusted us as missionaries enough to make himself transparent. He told us ALL about his life aand family and expressed himself the best possible with his Spanish (even though he hasn't spoken the language for more than 40 years!!!). President McArthur was a profesor at BYU and a psycologist with 10 kids and 31 grand-kids. He is 62 and has tons of energy and love. A little quirky but I LOVE his personality and approach to leading. He says we are his friends, not servants; and is ready to work with us to grow the mission. The 12 apostles and the CES have introduced a new system of training in the mission-field worldwide into 8 catagories that will better prepare the missionaries to teach better. I don't remember them all now, but to help us learn and apply them better in how we teach the people, we will have less large Zone Conferences and MORE mini-capacitations and trainings by the assistants and our zone and district leaders. They will start to apply these 8 catagories of training in the MTC in May of 2011 (when I can teach it to the newbies as a teacher there!!!!!!!!!!! Wooohoooo!) Our Heavenly Father is definitely showing us His LOVE for us how he is uping the preparation of HIS servants to save souls. I feel blessed to be in this wonderful work.
We are more focused recently on the importance of attending church to feel the Spirit of conversion with our investigators because that is a vital key to their progression. It is the same with the less-active members as well. This first half of the month, we had been announcing a temple trip that we were going to do with the Branch on July 31st and planned Temple Prep classes on the Saturdays but it hasn't progressed how we have liked. The members aren't showing the desires yet and need more one-on-one teaching. We've post-poned the date until further notice but I am committed to helping these Saints receive eternal blessings. It gives me an unexplainable joy to help others enter into the Heavenly Covenants that I enjoy today by living worhty and keeping the commandments. The missionary work has been somewhat slow this past week to focus a little more on the needs of the members and recent converts. Many of our recent converts didn't come to church yesterday and almost all of them are facing grand opposition from Satan. It is painful to me to see that, by degrees, the devil will try to bring us down when we BEGIN to change and better ourselves in the path of our Savior. Elder Osorio and I have pondered about what is to be done and we realized we have to fix the root of the trial: PREPARE LEADERS. I have interviewed various of the members that SHOULD BE leaders this past week to help them overcome their "stumbling blocks" and serve the rest. I hope that it takes an effect. We are injecting a change of heart into their souls and hoping that they nurture it by themselves. Despite many who are willing to be better, there is one brother who has slowly hardened his heart in the past three months and refused to meet with me to repent. Yesterday, I offered to help in the most loving way possible and he pushed away more. I know the Lord has called me to be a Pastor over a lock of His sheep and He is strengthening me in the most difficult moments. We cannot alter the agency of one but we can be an anchor or helping hand in their decisions. I invite you to apply the following scripture to your lives and ALWAYS seek the Lord's help through HIM AND his CHOSEN SERVANTS. God Bless You!!!
Mosiah 3:19-21 "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
And behold, when that time cometh, none shall be found blameless before God, except it be little children, only through repentance and faith on the name of the Lord God Omnipotent"
I love you and wish that you are doing what the LORD would have you do. :)
Con mucho amor,
Elder Josh Boaz
Hey all my loved ones!!!
I hope this email finds you alll in great conditions and high spirits. I have consistently been looking for comfort and understanding from my Savior for the experiences that we are passing here. I won't go into too much detail but there are events that the Lord puts us in everyday to strengthen our testimony and to test it to see where it stands now. I love that because I am becoming more aware of my strengths, weaknesses, and points to improve so that the adversary doesn't squirm his way into mine or my family's life.
First off, I forgot to let you all know that the Zone Conference we had with our new Mission President, President James McArthur, and his wife, Sister McArthur, was incredible. If there was ever a moment in that the Holy Spirit bore witness that a leader was called of God, like our beloved Prophet, it was present in that Zone Conference two weeks ago. Our new president is so humble and really showed his desire to put all of himself in the Lord's hands. He trusted us as missionaries enough to make himself transparent. He told us ALL about his life aand family and expressed himself the best possible with his Spanish (even though he hasn't spoken the language for more than 40 years!!!). President McArthur was a profesor at BYU and a psycologist with 10 kids and 31 grand-kids. He is 62 and has tons of energy and love. A little quirky but I LOVE his personality and approach to leading. He says we are his friends, not servants; and is ready to work with us to grow the mission. The 12 apostles and the CES have introduced a new system of training in the mission-field worldwide into 8 catagories that will better prepare the missionaries to teach better. I don't remember them all now, but to help us learn and apply them better in how we teach the people, we will have less large Zone Conferences and MORE mini-capacitations and trainings by the assistants and our zone and district leaders. They will start to apply these 8 catagories of training in the MTC in May of 2011 (when I can teach it to the newbies as a teacher there!!!!!!!!!!! Wooohoooo!) Our Heavenly Father is definitely showing us His LOVE for us how he is uping the preparation of HIS servants to save souls. I feel blessed to be in this wonderful work.
We are more focused recently on the importance of attending church to feel the Spirit of conversion with our investigators because that is a vital key to their progression. It is the same with the less-active members as well. This first half of the month, we had been announcing a temple trip that we were going to do with the Branch on July 31st and planned Temple Prep classes on the Saturdays but it hasn't progressed how we have liked. The members aren't showing the desires yet and need more one-on-one teaching. We've post-poned the date until further notice but I am committed to helping these Saints receive eternal blessings. It gives me an unexplainable joy to help others enter into the Heavenly Covenants that I enjoy today by living worhty and keeping the commandments. The missionary work has been somewhat slow this past week to focus a little more on the needs of the members and recent converts. Many of our recent converts didn't come to church yesterday and almost all of them are facing grand opposition from Satan. It is painful to me to see that, by degrees, the devil will try to bring us down when we BEGIN to change and better ourselves in the path of our Savior. Elder Osorio and I have pondered about what is to be done and we realized we have to fix the root of the trial: PREPARE LEADERS. I have interviewed various of the members that SHOULD BE leaders this past week to help them overcome their "stumbling blocks" and serve the rest. I hope that it takes an effect. We are injecting a change of heart into their souls and hoping that they nurture it by themselves. Despite many who are willing to be better, there is one brother who has slowly hardened his heart in the past three months and refused to meet with me to repent. Yesterday, I offered to help in the most loving way possible and he pushed away more. I know the Lord has called me to be a Pastor over a lock of His sheep and He is strengthening me in the most difficult moments. We cannot alter the agency of one but we can be an anchor or helping hand in their decisions. I invite you to apply the following scripture to your lives and ALWAYS seek the Lord's help through HIM AND his CHOSEN SERVANTS. God Bless You!!!
Mosiah 3:19-21 "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
And behold, when that time cometh, none shall be found blameless before God, except it be little children, only through repentance and faith on the name of the Lord God Omnipotent"
I love you and wish that you are doing what the LORD would have you do. :)
Con mucho amor,
Elder Josh Boaz
A huge let down but a bigger uplift 7-12-10 letter
July 12, 2010
Hi My loved ones,
This week has been one of the most interesting weeks I have probably had in the mission. We only had 11 people (two were my comp. and I) in sacrament meeting yesterday and it was really tough to experience. It rained a bit yesterday and the rain, which was very little, is a sure excuse for Chileans to not come to church. After a little sadness, I remembered my Change of Heart and I'm so devoted to the work now. This disappointment in the church yesterday encouraged me to improve my service and know different ways of balancing the improvement of the branch with the missionary work. I'm glad that all is well with the family and friends. I am SOOOO JEALOUS that you were all together last week for the Annual Family Reunion. I bet it was AWESOME. You NEED TO send me pictures of the extended family. Haha!
Recently, I've been thinking about the influence that the Atonement has had on my life. It is a healing power that is unexplainable. As I kneel in my own garden of Gethsemane, I try to feel the feelings that Christ has for me and my investigators when He suffered for us. It is a great pain that is then drowned in the love that He has for us when we accept Him as our Savior. I am studying the meaning of "born of God" and a "Change of Heart" recently and that has helped me be more dedicated to his work and love people more.
Alma asks the question, " I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" (Alma 5:14)
In Mosiah, it is explained as follows: "Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God." (Mosiah 27:25-26)
What needs to happen to us is the following: "And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. [...] And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring upon ourselves a never-ending torment, as has been spoken by the angel, that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God. [...] And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters." (Mosiah 5:2, 5, 7)
I KNOW WITHOUT DOUBT that my mission is true and I am witnessing the complete veracity of the Savior. Need not serve more to have this .... I'm sure lead only to the love I have for Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father.
I love you all so much!!!! Take care! (Marcos 10)
Con mucho amor,
Elder Boaz
Hi My loved ones,
This week has been one of the most interesting weeks I have probably had in the mission. We only had 11 people (two were my comp. and I) in sacrament meeting yesterday and it was really tough to experience. It rained a bit yesterday and the rain, which was very little, is a sure excuse for Chileans to not come to church. After a little sadness, I remembered my Change of Heart and I'm so devoted to the work now. This disappointment in the church yesterday encouraged me to improve my service and know different ways of balancing the improvement of the branch with the missionary work. I'm glad that all is well with the family and friends. I am SOOOO JEALOUS that you were all together last week for the Annual Family Reunion. I bet it was AWESOME. You NEED TO send me pictures of the extended family. Haha!
Recently, I've been thinking about the influence that the Atonement has had on my life. It is a healing power that is unexplainable. As I kneel in my own garden of Gethsemane, I try to feel the feelings that Christ has for me and my investigators when He suffered for us. It is a great pain that is then drowned in the love that He has for us when we accept Him as our Savior. I am studying the meaning of "born of God" and a "Change of Heart" recently and that has helped me be more dedicated to his work and love people more.
Alma asks the question, " I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" (Alma 5:14)
In Mosiah, it is explained as follows: "Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God." (Mosiah 27:25-26)
What needs to happen to us is the following: "And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. [...] And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring upon ourselves a never-ending torment, as has been spoken by the angel, that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God. [...] And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters." (Mosiah 5:2, 5, 7)
I KNOW WITHOUT DOUBT that my mission is true and I am witnessing the complete veracity of the Savior. Need not serve more to have this .... I'm sure lead only to the love I have for Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father.
I love you all so much!!!! Take care! (Marcos 10)
Con mucho amor,
Elder Boaz
July 5th letter
July 5th, 2010
Hey Everyone,
This week's message will be a little short because we have had to do a ton in the internet today. The week was incredible and we prepared Sebastian really well to be baptized yesterday. Everything went great and I had the blessing of baptizing him. Sebastian has a different spirit about him. Ernesto didn't get baptized because his mother still doesn't feel he is prepared buit we'll be diligent with him. I love helping this Branch grow and teaching the members to be better in their commitments. That has been the challenge here and will continue being the challenge until they have a change of heart. So, to help them, we planned a trip to the temple at the end of the month on July 31st!!!!! I am going to do all in my power with the help of the Lord to help them get there. We are really excited and will be doing preparation classes every Saturday until then. I don't any more time now so I´ll just paste to you what I wrote to our NEW MISSION PRESIDENT today. That's right, President Resek finished on June 30th and now President McArthur is our mission President. We have a conference with him tomorrow and I'll let you know how he is. But take care everyone!!! Gotta run!!!
Hey Everyone,
This week's message will be a little short because we have had to do a ton in the internet today. The week was incredible and we prepared Sebastian really well to be baptized yesterday. Everything went great and I had the blessing of baptizing him. Sebastian has a different spirit about him. Ernesto didn't get baptized because his mother still doesn't feel he is prepared buit we'll be diligent with him. I love helping this Branch grow and teaching the members to be better in their commitments. That has been the challenge here and will continue being the challenge until they have a change of heart. So, to help them, we planned a trip to the temple at the end of the month on July 31st!!!!! I am going to do all in my power with the help of the Lord to help them get there. We are really excited and will be doing preparation classes every Saturday until then. I don't any more time now so I´ll just paste to you what I wrote to our NEW MISSION PRESIDENT today. That's right, President Resek finished on June 30th and now President McArthur is our mission President. We have a conference with him tomorrow and I'll let you know how he is. But take care everyone!!! Gotta run!!!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
True Happiness!!
Hola Familia!!!
First, I apologize for not having written in a few weeks. Peralillo is in good condition and we are happy with the progress here. I have become very close to Elder Caballero in time and it shows in our work. We had two confirmations on May 30 of baptisms we had on Sunday May 23. They are sisters named Javiera and Barbara. Their mother, Yanett, was baptized yesterday Sunday, June 13. The baptismal service was very nice and what added more joy was that Giselle, a recent convert from May 2, shared a mini-talk in the baptism. She did a great job and is progressing very well.
We were privileged to have the President Gaete from the District Presidency attend our meetings with us. He helped with some suggestions on the branch for assignments and order in the clases.Also, he stayed for the baptism after the meetings. I was very happy with the spirit that was present in church. We had an attendance of 30 with 10 investigators. It was a perfect setting to end my time as Elder Caballero’s companion. That’s right, Elder Caballero got transferred today to Santiago in changes. I truly feel that we worked together as Alma and Amulek did so many times. Since my recent trials, everything has improved. He had such a grand part in the growth of my testimony. I‘ve learned some very impressive principles lately about repentance, I feel more pure, I grew up in dedication to my Lord's calling, and I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ brings forgiveness faster when we get up out of the mud of sin and follow working on the Lord's work. It's like King David, he continued preaching for the Lord even though he had lost eternal blessings for major sins. I know I don’t need to be in his position to work so hard for the Lord. I thank you all for your help and examples of scripture.
Ernesto (15), who recently received permission from his mother to be baptized will be baptized on June 27 with another young man named Sebastian Days (19 years). In addition, Luis Salina (he was baptized in January) and Alejandro Arias will be advanced as Elder in the priesthood soon. Finally, we’re progressing in the priesthood of the Branch. I’m drowning in the Lord's hands now and I can not be satisfied until my full-time as a missionary ends.
I remember a verse in Alma 26:15 that says, "Yes, they were surrounded by eternal darkness and destruction, but behold, he has brought to his eternal light, yea, to eternal salvation, and surrounds the incomparable bounty of his love, yea, and we have instruments in their hands for this great and wonderful work. "
Take care everyone,
Con todo mi amor,
Elder Boaz
First, I apologize for not having written in a few weeks. Peralillo is in good condition and we are happy with the progress here. I have become very close to Elder Caballero in time and it shows in our work. We had two confirmations on May 30 of baptisms we had on Sunday May 23. They are sisters named Javiera and Barbara. Their mother, Yanett, was baptized yesterday Sunday, June 13. The baptismal service was very nice and what added more joy was that Giselle, a recent convert from May 2, shared a mini-talk in the baptism. She did a great job and is progressing very well.
We were privileged to have the President Gaete from the District Presidency attend our meetings with us. He helped with some suggestions on the branch for assignments and order in the clases.Also, he stayed for the baptism after the meetings. I was very happy with the spirit that was present in church. We had an attendance of 30 with 10 investigators. It was a perfect setting to end my time as Elder Caballero’s companion. That’s right, Elder Caballero got transferred today to Santiago in changes. I truly feel that we worked together as Alma and Amulek did so many times. Since my recent trials, everything has improved. He had such a grand part in the growth of my testimony. I‘ve learned some very impressive principles lately about repentance, I feel more pure, I grew up in dedication to my Lord's calling, and I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ brings forgiveness faster when we get up out of the mud of sin and follow working on the Lord's work. It's like King David, he continued preaching for the Lord even though he had lost eternal blessings for major sins. I know I don’t need to be in his position to work so hard for the Lord. I thank you all for your help and examples of scripture.
Ernesto (15), who recently received permission from his mother to be baptized will be baptized on June 27 with another young man named Sebastian Days (19 years). In addition, Luis Salina (he was baptized in January) and Alejandro Arias will be advanced as Elder in the priesthood soon. Finally, we’re progressing in the priesthood of the Branch. I’m drowning in the Lord's hands now and I can not be satisfied until my full-time as a missionary ends.
I remember a verse in Alma 26:15 that says, "Yes, they were surrounded by eternal darkness and destruction, but behold, he has brought to his eternal light, yea, to eternal salvation, and surrounds the incomparable bounty of his love, yea, and we have instruments in their hands for this great and wonderful work. "
Take care everyone,
Con todo mi amor,
Elder Boaz
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Joy in the Midst of Trials! 5-8-10
Hola a todos mis Queridos,
I write you all today because Elder Caballero and I went to Rancagua yesterday for an eye appointment that he had and were there for almost the whole day. Actually we arrived at the house at 10 PM so it was a long, tiring day. And what made it worse was that I had supposedly eaten something bad in the morning that made me sore and naucious for the whole day and night. I got little to no sleep last night and woke up with bad stomach and back pains. After being in bed all morning we went to lunch and I feel a little better.
Ths past week has been great and a test as well. Despite everything, I am so grateful and happy after the time I had to speak with my loving family!!! What a relief it was to hear your voices and know that all is well. I wanna thank you Mom, Dad, Austin, and Rebekah for your advice and the trust that Rebekah had to ask me for advice with her friend, Kay. I am going to remember this call for a long time and will not be as homesick as I was during the Christmas time call. Haha! I have a boost of spiritual energy from you all. I can't tell you what a relief it is to hear the voice of my mom and dad. It is like music to my ears! I only wish I could have spoken with Rachel, Aaron, Jeremy, Ren, Joy, and Marisa, But it's fine. I will catch them at Christmas time. But that also means that THEY ALL OWE ME A LETTER TO LET ME KNOW HOW THEY ARE! Hint...hint. Since I have let you all know the majority of my thoughts in the mission until now on the phone call, I will fill you in on some technical things from the past week. During splits that we had on Wednesday, my companion and another missionary found themselves with one of our investigators whom is progressing very well. We have tried to put a firm baptismal date recently but has not been able to put in the sacrifice with her job to come to the church. She knows the church is true and wants to be baptized but made the decision to stop learning with us for some time and she has said that it is difficult to take the time away from her family and her job to come to the church. It was difficult to hear that after her big testimony building experiences that she had shared with us, she wanted to just stop right there. I was bummed but had the comfort to know that the Lord has all of His children in their different times to receive the gospel. We continue working with other people towards their baptisms. We have two boys who are friends and participated in the Talent Show on Saturday who are really motivated. Ernesto (15) is the son of a family that we've been working with since we have been here. He has progressed the most out of his mother (Irene) and his sisters (Veronica and Fabiola) and was the reason we actually found the other boy, Pablo (13). Pablo is a great kid as well but needs the Parental Permission from his parents which will be somewhat difficult being that they don't want him to be Mormon. We have a big obstacle in front of us with that but I have faith that the Lord will provide a way.
I wanna let you all know how lucky and blessed I feel to be a missionary. I wish there was a way that I didn't ever need to take off my missionary plaque which calls me an Elder of Jesus Christ. I have also read a quote recently that I love which says:
"The most important of the Lord's work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes."
-President Harold B. Lee
I hope you can all apply this quote to your lives in some way or other. Take care!!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Josh Boaz
Chile Rancagua Mission
I write you all today because Elder Caballero and I went to Rancagua yesterday for an eye appointment that he had and were there for almost the whole day. Actually we arrived at the house at 10 PM so it was a long, tiring day. And what made it worse was that I had supposedly eaten something bad in the morning that made me sore and naucious for the whole day and night. I got little to no sleep last night and woke up with bad stomach and back pains. After being in bed all morning we went to lunch and I feel a little better.
Ths past week has been great and a test as well. Despite everything, I am so grateful and happy after the time I had to speak with my loving family!!! What a relief it was to hear your voices and know that all is well. I wanna thank you Mom, Dad, Austin, and Rebekah for your advice and the trust that Rebekah had to ask me for advice with her friend, Kay. I am going to remember this call for a long time and will not be as homesick as I was during the Christmas time call. Haha! I have a boost of spiritual energy from you all. I can't tell you what a relief it is to hear the voice of my mom and dad. It is like music to my ears! I only wish I could have spoken with Rachel, Aaron, Jeremy, Ren, Joy, and Marisa, But it's fine. I will catch them at Christmas time. But that also means that THEY ALL OWE ME A LETTER TO LET ME KNOW HOW THEY ARE! Hint...hint. Since I have let you all know the majority of my thoughts in the mission until now on the phone call, I will fill you in on some technical things from the past week. During splits that we had on Wednesday, my companion and another missionary found themselves with one of our investigators whom is progressing very well. We have tried to put a firm baptismal date recently but has not been able to put in the sacrifice with her job to come to the church. She knows the church is true and wants to be baptized but made the decision to stop learning with us for some time and she has said that it is difficult to take the time away from her family and her job to come to the church. It was difficult to hear that after her big testimony building experiences that she had shared with us, she wanted to just stop right there. I was bummed but had the comfort to know that the Lord has all of His children in their different times to receive the gospel. We continue working with other people towards their baptisms. We have two boys who are friends and participated in the Talent Show on Saturday who are really motivated. Ernesto (15) is the son of a family that we've been working with since we have been here. He has progressed the most out of his mother (Irene) and his sisters (Veronica and Fabiola) and was the reason we actually found the other boy, Pablo (13). Pablo is a great kid as well but needs the Parental Permission from his parents which will be somewhat difficult being that they don't want him to be Mormon. We have a big obstacle in front of us with that but I have faith that the Lord will provide a way.
I wanna let you all know how lucky and blessed I feel to be a missionary. I wish there was a way that I didn't ever need to take off my missionary plaque which calls me an Elder of Jesus Christ. I have also read a quote recently that I love which says:
"The most important of the Lord's work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes."
-President Harold B. Lee
I hope you can all apply this quote to your lives in some way or other. Take care!!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Josh Boaz
Chile Rancagua Mission
Baptisms, Confirmations....and time flies! 5-3-10
Hola Mi Querido Familia!!!,
I'm so happy to write to you all today. I am full of joy and peace because of the baptismal service and confirmations we had in the church yesterday. Although only 19 members came to the church, we had 11 investigators who attended to have an attendance of 30. I'd like to have more members in the church but I am more than happy to have 11 investigators at the same moment. The baptismal service of Giselle (16) was incredible and the spirit was very strong. Even her friend (who is not a member) asked us, "And I'm next?" Hahaha! Also, two of the three baptisms from last weekend were confirmed as members today. Eliana (62) and Jocelyn (12) were confirmed while Alexandra (10) had an emergency situation with her family concerning his sister. Next to that urgency, it was an awesome day.
OH!!! I almost forgot to mention!!! While I was reading the announcements in the beginning of Sacrament Meeting yesterday, an earthquake of 5.9 grade started to tremble!!!!! Obviously, we were in an anti-sismatic building so I tried to continue with the announcements but the people started to worry a little bit...especially after the first few seconds when it grew stronger. I paused for a second, looked at Elder Caballero, who was sitting next to some investigators, who signaled with the slight tilt of his head that we should leave the building, and then asked that the members oderly formed a line while filing out of the building. As I said that, Rodrigo (our most faithful and active member) said out loud, "It's calming down...it's calming down...don't worry." In fact, he never left his seat during the whole ordeal. I was impressed by his steel nerves. Everyone stopped and came to sit back down. We had the rest of the Sacrament Meeting without any other interruptions and it was a very good testimony meeting. But heck! was it a crazy experience. I got a good laugh out of the expression of the congregation. If only I could have recorded their reactions and sent them to you. Hooowee! My testimony of Heavenly Father strengthens every time I experience an earthquake because I know even more that God is in control and we just need to trust in Him.
I could not be happier with the missionary work here and to be with Elder Caballero!!!!!! He lifts me when I'm low in spirit and is a great support for what we are doing in the field. We have five more baptismal dates for May and hope to have even more. Most of them are youth, which is great because this Branch lacks youth and it also adds a great spirit to the church on Sundays. My comp does great as the teacher of the youth and I hope that my next comp will be able to keep up with him. Haha! We start a new change (6 weeks) together today and then I'm pretty sure that Elder Caballero will be going to another sector. We are going to enjoy every moment of it. For example, we're hittin up Pichilemu (the beach sector) again next Monday. OH!!!! That reminds me! The trip to Pichilemu last week was incredible!!!! We took some great pictures that are attached. Also the pic from the baptisms are there as well.
I'm still learning a lot on how to be a better Branch president, but I guess it's steady progress. Elder Caballero told me yesterday that he can't imagine the load that I might have in this sector after seeing the situation in Sacrament Meeting with the earthquake, the time in preparing classes on Sunday, the work with Branch budgets (Tithing, Fast Offering, and activites), baptismal service, planning out the schedule for mission meetings and baptismal interviews, and studies for missionary work. He was half-joking because he does help with a lot of it (along with Brother Rodrigo). But I realized that when I put my full attention in helping others and staying diligent in my duties, the Lord takes care of the rest. In fact, last night when I looked back on what all we did yesterday, I was astonished because we didn't even think twice while we worked. We just did thing after thing: Church, baptism, clean-up, lunch, lesson, lesson, meeting with the youth, lesson, lesson, mission dats to district leader, plan for today, and bedtime. Haha! I don't notice it in the moment but, afterwards, it makes me emotional to know how much Heavenly Father and Jesus are helping me. I have many obstacles yet to overcome, but I see more and more each day how helping others resolve their problems teaches me how I can avoid those problems. It is a hidden blessing that one has to look for. I have been listening to a lot of the General Conference addresses recently and it has served me a lot. Being a Branch President here has caused me to pay A LOT more attention to ALL of the talks even if they don't have anything to do with missionary work or young adults. Haha! Because I realize that EVERY aspect of the Gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ is important. Not having any other leaders in this branch, besides my companion and I, who are faithful and willing or members who are worthy to serve makes me EXTREMELY more grateful for the wards that have bishops, youth presidents...WITH COUNSELORS, priesthood leaders...WITH COUNSELORS, and other callings. I believe that the members of the church are ungrateful and unaware at times of the help and facility they have in their congregations to strengthen their testimonies and their families. I have seen it before and am grateful that I have appreciated the leadership I have had during my life in the church. I hope that you all can look around you and see what you have as a blessing in your life instead of seeing what you lack. The Lord with highly bless you if you see His love towards you by what He has given you. To my siblings, please notice what Mom and Dad do for you. Talk to them, try to understand them, OBEY them, look to them for advice, spend quality time with them, and most of all LOVE them more than anyone else besides your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I promise that if you do this, you will have a happier home and less sadness. I leave a blessing over you all and hope things are always getting better in your life. Take Care until next week!!!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Boaz
I'm so happy to write to you all today. I am full of joy and peace because of the baptismal service and confirmations we had in the church yesterday. Although only 19 members came to the church, we had 11 investigators who attended to have an attendance of 30. I'd like to have more members in the church but I am more than happy to have 11 investigators at the same moment. The baptismal service of Giselle (16) was incredible and the spirit was very strong. Even her friend (who is not a member) asked us, "And I'm next?" Hahaha! Also, two of the three baptisms from last weekend were confirmed as members today. Eliana (62) and Jocelyn (12) were confirmed while Alexandra (10) had an emergency situation with her family concerning his sister. Next to that urgency, it was an awesome day.
OH!!! I almost forgot to mention!!! While I was reading the announcements in the beginning of Sacrament Meeting yesterday, an earthquake of 5.9 grade started to tremble!!!!! Obviously, we were in an anti-sismatic building so I tried to continue with the announcements but the people started to worry a little bit...especially after the first few seconds when it grew stronger. I paused for a second, looked at Elder Caballero, who was sitting next to some investigators, who signaled with the slight tilt of his head that we should leave the building, and then asked that the members oderly formed a line while filing out of the building. As I said that, Rodrigo (our most faithful and active member) said out loud, "It's calming down...it's calming down...don't worry." In fact, he never left his seat during the whole ordeal. I was impressed by his steel nerves. Everyone stopped and came to sit back down. We had the rest of the Sacrament Meeting without any other interruptions and it was a very good testimony meeting. But heck! was it a crazy experience. I got a good laugh out of the expression of the congregation. If only I could have recorded their reactions and sent them to you. Hooowee! My testimony of Heavenly Father strengthens every time I experience an earthquake because I know even more that God is in control and we just need to trust in Him.
I could not be happier with the missionary work here and to be with Elder Caballero!!!!!! He lifts me when I'm low in spirit and is a great support for what we are doing in the field. We have five more baptismal dates for May and hope to have even more. Most of them are youth, which is great because this Branch lacks youth and it also adds a great spirit to the church on Sundays. My comp does great as the teacher of the youth and I hope that my next comp will be able to keep up with him. Haha! We start a new change (6 weeks) together today and then I'm pretty sure that Elder Caballero will be going to another sector. We are going to enjoy every moment of it. For example, we're hittin up Pichilemu (the beach sector) again next Monday. OH!!!! That reminds me! The trip to Pichilemu last week was incredible!!!! We took some great pictures that are attached. Also the pic from the baptisms are there as well.
I'm still learning a lot on how to be a better Branch president, but I guess it's steady progress. Elder Caballero told me yesterday that he can't imagine the load that I might have in this sector after seeing the situation in Sacrament Meeting with the earthquake, the time in preparing classes on Sunday, the work with Branch budgets (Tithing, Fast Offering, and activites), baptismal service, planning out the schedule for mission meetings and baptismal interviews, and studies for missionary work. He was half-joking because he does help with a lot of it (along with Brother Rodrigo). But I realized that when I put my full attention in helping others and staying diligent in my duties, the Lord takes care of the rest. In fact, last night when I looked back on what all we did yesterday, I was astonished because we didn't even think twice while we worked. We just did thing after thing: Church, baptism, clean-up, lunch, lesson, lesson, meeting with the youth, lesson, lesson, mission dats to district leader, plan for today, and bedtime. Haha! I don't notice it in the moment but, afterwards, it makes me emotional to know how much Heavenly Father and Jesus are helping me. I have many obstacles yet to overcome, but I see more and more each day how helping others resolve their problems teaches me how I can avoid those problems. It is a hidden blessing that one has to look for. I have been listening to a lot of the General Conference addresses recently and it has served me a lot. Being a Branch President here has caused me to pay A LOT more attention to ALL of the talks even if they don't have anything to do with missionary work or young adults. Haha! Because I realize that EVERY aspect of the Gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ is important. Not having any other leaders in this branch, besides my companion and I, who are faithful and willing or members who are worthy to serve makes me EXTREMELY more grateful for the wards that have bishops, youth presidents...WITH COUNSELORS, priesthood leaders...WITH COUNSELORS, and other callings. I believe that the members of the church are ungrateful and unaware at times of the help and facility they have in their congregations to strengthen their testimonies and their families. I have seen it before and am grateful that I have appreciated the leadership I have had during my life in the church. I hope that you all can look around you and see what you have as a blessing in your life instead of seeing what you lack. The Lord with highly bless you if you see His love towards you by what He has given you. To my siblings, please notice what Mom and Dad do for you. Talk to them, try to understand them, OBEY them, look to them for advice, spend quality time with them, and most of all LOVE them more than anyone else besides your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I promise that if you do this, you will have a happier home and less sadness. I leave a blessing over you all and hope things are always getting better in your life. Take Care until next week!!!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Boaz
Monday, April 19, 2010
Peralillo is Perfect!
¡¿Qué tal, todos?!
The week has been really well. We had 29 in church yesterday but could have had more people, but, because of rare occasions, some faithful members couldn't come. The past week was filled with interviews with members and preparing our investigators the will be baptized this coming Saturday. There will be three people baptized:Eliana (62 years old), Jocelyn (12 years old), and Alexandra (10 years old). Eliana has been coming to church for a long time now but hadn't felt prepared to be baptized because her retention of memory isn't the greatest. She forgets the details of the lessons we teach or thinks she doesn't know them well enough, but we have repassed the material with her and that has boosted her confidence. She finally said yes and feels comfortable being baptized. The other two girls are a grand-daughter of a less-active (Jocelyn) and a daughter of recent converts (Alexandra). I can't express to you all how good it feels to be back in the position of helping someone to the waters of baptism. It's been since December 6th since I experienced a baptism. I know the numbers don't matter but there an unexplainable joy in being present at a baptismal service.
My comp from Perú and I are getting along great right now and we are happy as we are working.
We had 9 baptismal dates until yesterday, when 3 did not come to church and dropped their dates. We are happy with the progress of all the dates but the thing that we have to improve is to find men who can have a baptismal date. I know that Peralillo needs more worthy priesthood holders who understand their role in the church. Now, the men most trusted are in the process of getting married so that they are keeping the law of chastity and can take leadership. My counselor, Brother Arias, has become more available recently to help with the branch. I called Luis, which was baptized here in January, as mission leader last week and he is very excited to serve. His daughter gets baptized this weekend and the family wants to be sealed in the next January. I COULD BE GOING TO THE TEMPLE WITH THEM IN 8 MONTHS!!!! How awesome! They are progressing very well and are a strong addition to the branch. Also, I called his wife, Pilar, to the primary program of "Faith in God." I know that will serve them well in their places. Elder Caballero and I have a good relationship and I feel more confidence when I am with him.
I'm growing in my learning of leadership in the church and I know the Lord is forming me in whom He wants me to be. I've been trying hard recently to seek the Lord´s forgiveness so I can be a better disciple of Him and, in fact, I spoke regarding repentance and His Atonement yesterday in church. I have to improve my studies in the mornings but plans for further improvement are there. Thank you for your love and support. It is a feeling of peace. I know the Holy Ghost is in my life when I am living in His pathway. I am learning to take wise decisions in my life thanks to a talk by Harold B. Lee. He once said, "Intelligence is using knowledge with wisdom." I love that quote! I hope this email finds you all in great spirits and receiving God's blessings and guidance in your life. Choose the right, when a choice is placed before you! ;-P
Oh ya, one more thing, MAIL ME PHOTOS!!!!! Not digital, developed please. Love you!
Con mucho Cariño,
Elder Josh Boaz
The week has been really well. We had 29 in church yesterday but could have had more people, but, because of rare occasions, some faithful members couldn't come. The past week was filled with interviews with members and preparing our investigators the will be baptized this coming Saturday. There will be three people baptized:Eliana (62 years old), Jocelyn (12 years old), and Alexandra (10 years old). Eliana has been coming to church for a long time now but hadn't felt prepared to be baptized because her retention of memory isn't the greatest. She forgets the details of the lessons we teach or thinks she doesn't know them well enough, but we have repassed the material with her and that has boosted her confidence. She finally said yes and feels comfortable being baptized. The other two girls are a grand-daughter of a less-active (Jocelyn) and a daughter of recent converts (Alexandra). I can't express to you all how good it feels to be back in the position of helping someone to the waters of baptism. It's been since December 6th since I experienced a baptism. I know the numbers don't matter but there an unexplainable joy in being present at a baptismal service.
My comp from Perú and I are getting along great right now and we are happy as we are working.
We had 9 baptismal dates until yesterday, when 3 did not come to church and dropped their dates. We are happy with the progress of all the dates but the thing that we have to improve is to find men who can have a baptismal date. I know that Peralillo needs more worthy priesthood holders who understand their role in the church. Now, the men most trusted are in the process of getting married so that they are keeping the law of chastity and can take leadership. My counselor, Brother Arias, has become more available recently to help with the branch. I called Luis, which was baptized here in January, as mission leader last week and he is very excited to serve. His daughter gets baptized this weekend and the family wants to be sealed in the next January. I COULD BE GOING TO THE TEMPLE WITH THEM IN 8 MONTHS!!!! How awesome! They are progressing very well and are a strong addition to the branch. Also, I called his wife, Pilar, to the primary program of "Faith in God." I know that will serve them well in their places. Elder Caballero and I have a good relationship and I feel more confidence when I am with him.
I'm growing in my learning of leadership in the church and I know the Lord is forming me in whom He wants me to be. I've been trying hard recently to seek the Lord´s forgiveness so I can be a better disciple of Him and, in fact, I spoke regarding repentance and His Atonement yesterday in church. I have to improve my studies in the mornings but plans for further improvement are there. Thank you for your love and support. It is a feeling of peace. I know the Holy Ghost is in my life when I am living in His pathway. I am learning to take wise decisions in my life thanks to a talk by Harold B. Lee. He once said, "Intelligence is using knowledge with wisdom." I love that quote! I hope this email finds you all in great spirits and receiving God's blessings and guidance in your life. Choose the right, when a choice is placed before you! ;-P
Oh ya, one more thing, MAIL ME PHOTOS!!!!! Not digital, developed please. Love you!
Con mucho Cariño,
Elder Josh Boaz
Monday, April 12, 2010
Just another week - NOT!!!!! I Love the Mission!
Hola del campo de Chile!
This past week has gone by in the wink of an eye and I am not sure of too many things to say. Haha, sorry!!! One funny thing that happened to start out the week was on Tuesday. We had to go to Pumanque for a couple appointments in the morning and didn’t have much time because it is so far out from where we mainly work. I’ll start out by saying that two weeks ago, we were going home from Pumanque and accidentally got on a bus that took another route than normal in the country side which took an extra 45 minutes (1 hour and 30 minutes in total) to get home. Pretty scenery but not fun. Haha! So, back to this past week. So we are in the Micro (bus) and as we pass by more stops, more people get off the bus until an old man and we are the only three people on the bus. We were almost to the town where we needed to be when the bus driver decides to pull off the road into a random auto-shop provided from a house. As he stops, turns off the bus, and leaves, Elder Caballero and I are somewhat puzzled in what is going on. Basically the bus driver completely disregarded us and got out to change a tire on the bus. Haha! It was pretty funny and we just sat there chilling in the bus while they were outside working on it. I filmed a segment on my camera of the experience to remember it and it should be something to laugh about after the mission.
It seems like the people in the south take all the time in the world to pass their days. I guess that is the speed of life here in the south if you are not a very busy person. Oh well. Last Tuesday, we had a Zone Training meeting with everyone in the zone together and Elder Caballero and I taught on companion unity. I felt good talking about this topic because him and I get along so well and we are not afraid to address something if it is bothering us. That has also helped us teach better and be more affective in bringing fruits to the work. We have up’d our baptismal dates to 9 and the majority of them will be baptized on April 25th and May 2nd. There is much work to do for these people and A TON of work to do in the Area Book concerning their progress and the area’s progress. Juggling that with the Branch work is somewhat of a daunting task but I’m up for it because I have a great companion. I suppose I am learning how I will be choosing my wife as well because she will need to be someone who works well under pressure and with others….and is very supportive and uplifting. That is what I need. Haha! Oh gosh, marriage. I can’t believe that it already passes my mind once in a while. It is a beautiful thing and I congratulate all of you who are keeping your marriages strong! We have Zone Conference with President Resek and another zone tomorrow. I am so excited to be enlightened by our mission president. He is incredible! I feel so blessed to have him guiding this mission where I am serving and will miss him when he leaves in June.
Ok, now that we have gotten a little off topic from missionary work, I must go. We have quite a few lessons tonight that we need to make it to and we’re a little behind schedule. I am learning a lot more Spanish from Elder Caballero and am teaching him some English as well. Even though he doesn’t want to very much, he is committed to learn because he knows that it is important. Haha, I love the language of the Restoration! Muahahaha! Anyways, I love touching lives and being an instrument in the Lord’s hands. I hope you all have a wonderful week and I’ll be praying for you all. Pray for me in respect to being Branch President. I need it for these members. God be with you til we [speak] again. Haha!
Mucho Cariño,
Elder Joshy Boaz
Mission Chile Rancagua
This past week has gone by in the wink of an eye and I am not sure of too many things to say. Haha, sorry!!! One funny thing that happened to start out the week was on Tuesday. We had to go to Pumanque for a couple appointments in the morning and didn’t have much time because it is so far out from where we mainly work. I’ll start out by saying that two weeks ago, we were going home from Pumanque and accidentally got on a bus that took another route than normal in the country side which took an extra 45 minutes (1 hour and 30 minutes in total) to get home. Pretty scenery but not fun. Haha! So, back to this past week. So we are in the Micro (bus) and as we pass by more stops, more people get off the bus until an old man and we are the only three people on the bus. We were almost to the town where we needed to be when the bus driver decides to pull off the road into a random auto-shop provided from a house. As he stops, turns off the bus, and leaves, Elder Caballero and I are somewhat puzzled in what is going on. Basically the bus driver completely disregarded us and got out to change a tire on the bus. Haha! It was pretty funny and we just sat there chilling in the bus while they were outside working on it. I filmed a segment on my camera of the experience to remember it and it should be something to laugh about after the mission.
It seems like the people in the south take all the time in the world to pass their days. I guess that is the speed of life here in the south if you are not a very busy person. Oh well. Last Tuesday, we had a Zone Training meeting with everyone in the zone together and Elder Caballero and I taught on companion unity. I felt good talking about this topic because him and I get along so well and we are not afraid to address something if it is bothering us. That has also helped us teach better and be more affective in bringing fruits to the work. We have up’d our baptismal dates to 9 and the majority of them will be baptized on April 25th and May 2nd. There is much work to do for these people and A TON of work to do in the Area Book concerning their progress and the area’s progress. Juggling that with the Branch work is somewhat of a daunting task but I’m up for it because I have a great companion. I suppose I am learning how I will be choosing my wife as well because she will need to be someone who works well under pressure and with others….and is very supportive and uplifting. That is what I need. Haha! Oh gosh, marriage. I can’t believe that it already passes my mind once in a while. It is a beautiful thing and I congratulate all of you who are keeping your marriages strong! We have Zone Conference with President Resek and another zone tomorrow. I am so excited to be enlightened by our mission president. He is incredible! I feel so blessed to have him guiding this mission where I am serving and will miss him when he leaves in June.
Ok, now that we have gotten a little off topic from missionary work, I must go. We have quite a few lessons tonight that we need to make it to and we’re a little behind schedule. I am learning a lot more Spanish from Elder Caballero and am teaching him some English as well. Even though he doesn’t want to very much, he is committed to learn because he knows that it is important. Haha, I love the language of the Restoration! Muahahaha! Anyways, I love touching lives and being an instrument in the Lord’s hands. I hope you all have a wonderful week and I’ll be praying for you all. Pray for me in respect to being Branch President. I need it for these members. God be with you til we [speak] again. Haha!
Mucho Cariño,
Elder Joshy Boaz
Mission Chile Rancagua
The Most Reflective Week Ever - Year 1!
Hola Mi AMADA, Familia, April 5th, 2010
I don't have much to say to you all. Many of the things that I have experienced this past week are very personal and spiritua. I prefer to just tell you that I have learned some extremely important lessons for my future in the mission, my companion, my testimony, my family, and my purpose as a son of my earthly parents' son and my Heavenly Father's son. I feel lucky and blessed to be in this mission of Rancagua,Chile specifically and in a mission for the Lord's church generally. I don't know if my life would be in order for the blessings from God as said in my Patriarchal Blessing or in His will if I did not choose to serve a mission.
I now have 1 year in the mission and it is extremely astounding to me how the time has passed. I have many memories to look back on and journals full of them to remember. Thank you President Tom Smith for always stressing the importance of having a journal to record my thoughts. That counsel stuck in my head for my mission and afterwards. I am over the hill now! Hahaha! I'm no longer young, but I know there is still so much to learn. We have 6 baptismal dates...pray for them to be comforted in their path to baptism. The branch here does not have much leadership and many positions are unfilled but there are a lot of great members and there is a lot of potential for the future. I had spoke in church 3 Sundays ago on the Armor of God and it was a talk that the Spirit of God had inspired me to share. I feel like an instrument of the Lord, but I must be more diligent in my actions.
This General Conference was the most important conference of my life. That is all I cansay about it because it taught and affectedme in SO many ways. Idon't havea favorite talk because there were so many of them that I love. I deeply urge you all to watch them AGAIN on the internet during THIS WEEK so you may have them inplanted on your hearts. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church of Christ on the earth. Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of God now and the BOOK OF MORMON is the true and living word of God. Most importantly, Jesus Christ LIVES IN THIS VERY MOMENT! I am praying for Luke and hope he gets better soon, but remember that all is in the will of God. :)
With all my love and prayers,
Elder Josh Boaz
I don't have much to say to you all. Many of the things that I have experienced this past week are very personal and spiritua. I prefer to just tell you that I have learned some extremely important lessons for my future in the mission, my companion, my testimony, my family, and my purpose as a son of my earthly parents' son and my Heavenly Father's son. I feel lucky and blessed to be in this mission of Rancagua,Chile specifically and in a mission for the Lord's church generally. I don't know if my life would be in order for the blessings from God as said in my Patriarchal Blessing or in His will if I did not choose to serve a mission.
I now have 1 year in the mission and it is extremely astounding to me how the time has passed. I have many memories to look back on and journals full of them to remember. Thank you President Tom Smith for always stressing the importance of having a journal to record my thoughts. That counsel stuck in my head for my mission and afterwards. I am over the hill now! Hahaha! I'm no longer young, but I know there is still so much to learn. We have 6 baptismal dates...pray for them to be comforted in their path to baptism. The branch here does not have much leadership and many positions are unfilled but there are a lot of great members and there is a lot of potential for the future. I had spoke in church 3 Sundays ago on the Armor of God and it was a talk that the Spirit of God had inspired me to share. I feel like an instrument of the Lord, but I must be more diligent in my actions.
This General Conference was the most important conference of my life. That is all I cansay about it because it taught and affectedme in SO many ways. Idon't havea favorite talk because there were so many of them that I love. I deeply urge you all to watch them AGAIN on the internet during THIS WEEK so you may have them inplanted on your hearts. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church of Christ on the earth. Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of God now and the BOOK OF MORMON is the true and living word of God. Most importantly, Jesus Christ LIVES IN THIS VERY MOMENT! I am praying for Luke and hope he gets better soon, but remember that all is in the will of God. :)
With all my love and prayers,
Elder Josh Boaz
Monday, March 8, 2010
A Letter from Joshua's Mission President about the earthquake!
Rancagua, Chile. March 7, 2010
DEAR FRIENDS AND FAMILY OF THE ELDERS AND SISTERS OF THE CHILE RANCAGUA MISSION:
As you all can imagine it has not been a week like any other in the Chile Rancagua Mission, or in the entire country of Chile. Saturday, February 27 2010, at 3:34 AM an 8.8 earthquake shook the central and southern zones of the country. On the limits of our mission, the tremor was much more than a level 7 on the Richter scale. About 2 hours after the original quake, a violent tsunami whipped the costal parts of central and southern Chile.
Without knowing exactly what happened, since most of us are not experienced with earthquakes, we started the task of finding out how our missionaries were.
The first few hours were anguishing moments. As you all know, the first things to cut out in these cases are the electricity and a grand part of communication systems. So the great task to contact every missionary started. The office missionaries, and the matrimony missionaries that also serve in the office, performed a superhuman effort to be able to contact many of you, in most cases without any luck. We were unconnected and we did not have a precise notion as to what was happening. We knew that the foreign countries and the northern parts of Chile saw with stupor what happened in the city of Concepción, the 8th region of Chile, and were left powerless, not being able to use a phone, internet or even the television.
Finally, Saturday night we knew with certainty that ALL of our missionaries were safe and healthy. Not only that, but not a single one of them had even a scratch. We gave thanks to God. We humbled ourselves even more when we found out that EVERY ONE of the Lord´s Anointed that serves in all of Chile were all fine.
But the great problem of not being able to communicate continued for hours, even days.
While we were receiving your e-mails and telephone calls, the needs of the members began to arise, focalized in a part of the mission, the Santa Cruz District, where the earthquake was devastating. As mission president, I set out to personally contact each missionary and verify the safety of their homes on those places where the earthquake was more damaging. A large part of the freeways and routes were un-drivable the first few days, and with many difficulties the days that followed. Nevertheless, we visited them. We hugged them in your name. We thanked them and encouraged them to press forward. Truly, they are incredible; and this vivid experience together with God´s Servants has marked my life forever.
Your children have been protected. The Lord has preserved them, but not by chance. They have been chosen “before birth” to bring the Gospel of Christ to the world. Now, their responsibility is even bigger; not only to preach His gospel, but also to bring hope, comfort, strength and courage.
Being so youthful, they do not cease to amaze me with their strength and determination to serve faithfully until the end of their missions with obedience. All of them had sufficient to endure the first hours when there was not drinkable water, vendible food or other very important items such as flashlights, batteries, following the instructions of Sister Resek; learning for the rest of their lives the importance of being prepared. The conclusion, just as Doctrine and Covenants 38:30 teaches, “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” They have been prepared both spiritually and temporally and for that, they have had no fear.
Your children are an example of courage, righteousness and Cristian love. I would hope that my own children were like them when they too are called to serve a mission. We love and care for them so much; we love you without knowing you personally!!!
Sorry for not having been more efficient in letting you know more quickly that your most precious gifts, your children, are fine. Know that we did all that was possible and even more.
May God bless your lives. Your children will not be the same after having endured this extraordinary event. They will not be the same, because they now know, more than they ever have known before, that the Lord of Hosts preserved their lives so that they continue, not only in their missions but also during the rest of their lives, to edify God´s kingdom on the Earth. That is, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I leave you my testimony, that this Work is true; that God, the Eternal Father, lives; that His son Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and that His Church is guided by Him and through living prophets.
With deep appreciation,
Presidente Esteban Gabriel Resek-Chile Rancagua Mission.
Esteban.resek@ldschurch.org
eselaresek@hotmail.com
054-072-211882
Ps: All around, miraculous stories are heard of how the Lord´s hand protected our missionaries.
Elders Mead and Joshua Fletcher serve in the coastal city of Pichilemu, the only beachside sector in the mission. After the first earthquake, they moved down to the first floor of the house to sleep. They heard desperate shouts from their neighbors, some of them running. They decided to offer a prayer so that God took care of them, and that is what happened. Just a few hours after, a Tsunami leveled a big part of the beach. I know that place perfectly, and was with them with my family a month ago. The great waves demolished Punta de Lobos just a few yards from their house, skipped the neighborhood where they live, and continued to fill other beaches en the center of the city, leaving them absolutely destroyed. But they were protected….Without a doubt, a miracle!!!
DEAR FRIENDS AND FAMILY OF THE ELDERS AND SISTERS OF THE CHILE RANCAGUA MISSION:
As you all can imagine it has not been a week like any other in the Chile Rancagua Mission, or in the entire country of Chile. Saturday, February 27 2010, at 3:34 AM an 8.8 earthquake shook the central and southern zones of the country. On the limits of our mission, the tremor was much more than a level 7 on the Richter scale. About 2 hours after the original quake, a violent tsunami whipped the costal parts of central and southern Chile.
Without knowing exactly what happened, since most of us are not experienced with earthquakes, we started the task of finding out how our missionaries were.
The first few hours were anguishing moments. As you all know, the first things to cut out in these cases are the electricity and a grand part of communication systems. So the great task to contact every missionary started. The office missionaries, and the matrimony missionaries that also serve in the office, performed a superhuman effort to be able to contact many of you, in most cases without any luck. We were unconnected and we did not have a precise notion as to what was happening. We knew that the foreign countries and the northern parts of Chile saw with stupor what happened in the city of Concepción, the 8th region of Chile, and were left powerless, not being able to use a phone, internet or even the television.
Finally, Saturday night we knew with certainty that ALL of our missionaries were safe and healthy. Not only that, but not a single one of them had even a scratch. We gave thanks to God. We humbled ourselves even more when we found out that EVERY ONE of the Lord´s Anointed that serves in all of Chile were all fine.
But the great problem of not being able to communicate continued for hours, even days.
While we were receiving your e-mails and telephone calls, the needs of the members began to arise, focalized in a part of the mission, the Santa Cruz District, where the earthquake was devastating. As mission president, I set out to personally contact each missionary and verify the safety of their homes on those places where the earthquake was more damaging. A large part of the freeways and routes were un-drivable the first few days, and with many difficulties the days that followed. Nevertheless, we visited them. We hugged them in your name. We thanked them and encouraged them to press forward. Truly, they are incredible; and this vivid experience together with God´s Servants has marked my life forever.
Your children have been protected. The Lord has preserved them, but not by chance. They have been chosen “before birth” to bring the Gospel of Christ to the world. Now, their responsibility is even bigger; not only to preach His gospel, but also to bring hope, comfort, strength and courage.
Being so youthful, they do not cease to amaze me with their strength and determination to serve faithfully until the end of their missions with obedience. All of them had sufficient to endure the first hours when there was not drinkable water, vendible food or other very important items such as flashlights, batteries, following the instructions of Sister Resek; learning for the rest of their lives the importance of being prepared. The conclusion, just as Doctrine and Covenants 38:30 teaches, “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” They have been prepared both spiritually and temporally and for that, they have had no fear.
Your children are an example of courage, righteousness and Cristian love. I would hope that my own children were like them when they too are called to serve a mission. We love and care for them so much; we love you without knowing you personally!!!
Sorry for not having been more efficient in letting you know more quickly that your most precious gifts, your children, are fine. Know that we did all that was possible and even more.
May God bless your lives. Your children will not be the same after having endured this extraordinary event. They will not be the same, because they now know, more than they ever have known before, that the Lord of Hosts preserved their lives so that they continue, not only in their missions but also during the rest of their lives, to edify God´s kingdom on the Earth. That is, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I leave you my testimony, that this Work is true; that God, the Eternal Father, lives; that His son Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and that His Church is guided by Him and through living prophets.
With deep appreciation,
Presidente Esteban Gabriel Resek-Chile Rancagua Mission.
Esteban.resek@ldschurch.org
eselaresek@hotmail.com
054-072-211882
Ps: All around, miraculous stories are heard of how the Lord´s hand protected our missionaries.
Elders Mead and Joshua Fletcher serve in the coastal city of Pichilemu, the only beachside sector in the mission. After the first earthquake, they moved down to the first floor of the house to sleep. They heard desperate shouts from their neighbors, some of them running. They decided to offer a prayer so that God took care of them, and that is what happened. Just a few hours after, a Tsunami leveled a big part of the beach. I know that place perfectly, and was with them with my family a month ago. The great waves demolished Punta de Lobos just a few yards from their house, skipped the neighborhood where they live, and continued to fill other beaches en the center of the city, leaving them absolutely destroyed. But they were protected….Without a doubt, a miracle!!!
We are left in the Hands of the Lord!
Hola a todos mis queridos!!!
I love you all and am so grateful to be alive and serving the Lord right now. This week has been different than any other that I have experienced on my mission and, possibly, my life. As most of you have heard, they has been a catactrophic earthquake that has mainly hit three regions (states) of Chile and has been felt and many other parts. The earthquake destroyed an entire section of Chile and has left too many people without anything and dead family members. Thanks to God, none of the missionaries have been hurt or affected physically by the earthquake. We ended up not being able to work for all of Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We sat in the house just studying the whole time. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we went out into the sector with our normal street clothes on and our scriptures to do some service where it was needed. Luckily, our area is pretty firm and they weren't really anybody who had ruins to clean up or repairs to make. We checked up on a majority of the members and important investigators in our sector and no one was a affected deeply. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were all normal proselyting days, where it was pretty difficult to work but we were able to teach a lot. The aftershocks in the beginning of the week were pretty significant and we have easily felt more than 20 in the whole week. They have ranged from a decent rumble to a little shake, but nothing to really worry about.
Last night, we spoke with a less active member, Luis, who had just got home from a 12-hour drive from Concepción that should have been 6 hours. He was there visiting his parents and helping out others that had lost everything. He said that everyone is just out in the streets all the time and that everything is in shambles. One comforting site to see, he said, down there was that pretty much all of the other buildings were destroyed except for ALL of the LDS churches. They are all still standing. He said it was a significant testimony-building experience...but then I asked him, "And so when are we going to take advantage of these church buildings that are standing to offer us the most abundant blessings on this earth?" Luis remained silent for a second and then said, "You're right Elder. We have to take advantage now." The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth to bless us and prepare us for the comeing of our Savior. Are we taking the fullest advantage of what our Heavenly Father has freely offered us or are we going along without a second thought.
I cannot tell you how much pain I feel for the children of our Heavely Father that are suffering so much in the south. I understand that God is in control and that we must go through these learning experiences to progress in this life, but that doesn't take away from the sorrow that comes with the circumstances. I earnestly hope you are all praying for these people and donating something to help their well-being because they are children of our Heavenly Father just like you. Your brothers and sisters.
We met with President Resek on Thursday with another zone where he told us that it is now our responsability to be the hope and the comfort that these people can turn to for an answer to what has happened. We are permitted to ask people if they would like a blessing of comfort or a prayer in their house to help them feel the spirit and love of God. I have noticed in the past days of work that the hearts of those that we encounter have softened. It is a sign that "except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him." (Helaman 12:3) In some circumstances, the Lord does this for the good of His children. He does it to give them a better opportunity to search and find them. In Jeremiah 29:12-14, it says, "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
"And I will be found of you, saith the Lord:..."
I love that scripture because those that search for Christ will find Him.
The family of Claudio and Ynez with their daughters, Sasha and Rosangela, didn't come to church yesterday because Ynez had a bad stomach ache and they woke up late. We yelled for them at the door to bring them to church but no one came. Sasha, the 9 year-old, told us during the week that she wants to be baptized as soon as possible. It was amazing to hear from her. She reads and prays the most out of the family and understands everything. We should be having the baptism of her, Rosangela, and Ynez on March 21st. Pray for them and also that Claudio may be baptized on March 28th. This family is so amazing and I hope they can remain firm in the Gospel after they enter into it.
Felipe, a 15 year-old we've been working with for some time, came to church with us yesterday and enjoyed it a lot. He told us that he prayed one night during the week to know if the Book of Mormon was true. While he was telling us this experience, there were a ton of distractions going on in the room at the same time. Someone walked in and was saying hi to everyone and their two cats were meowing for no reason. All of this didn't matter because I was trying to focus on what he was saying in the midst of everything. He said he didn't get an answer at first, and so he went to bed. And then, in the middle of the night,, he woke up to a loud bang in the living room. He left his bed to look out his bedroom door and saw and small white light that came and went quickly. When he got back into bed, he felt a calmness come over his body like never before. In that moment, he knew it was an answer from God that everything was true and he wasn't going to deny it. That, my friends, is what we call an "ATOMIC MOMENT." In the midst of all the distractions, we were able to catch the most important part of the environment that was happening in that moment. I felt the Holy Ghost very strong and it was a great experience for his mom and grandma to hear as well whom were there. He should be baptized on March 21st as well. We are struggling to find new people but I know there is someone out there waiting for us to visit them. Thank you for your support and we'll be talking next week. I would love to hear from some of you through letters!...Rebekah...hint...hint. Remeber, missionaries love hand-written letters!
Con todo mi amor y oración,
Elder Josh Boaz
I love you all and am so grateful to be alive and serving the Lord right now. This week has been different than any other that I have experienced on my mission and, possibly, my life. As most of you have heard, they has been a catactrophic earthquake that has mainly hit three regions (states) of Chile and has been felt and many other parts. The earthquake destroyed an entire section of Chile and has left too many people without anything and dead family members. Thanks to God, none of the missionaries have been hurt or affected physically by the earthquake. We ended up not being able to work for all of Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We sat in the house just studying the whole time. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we went out into the sector with our normal street clothes on and our scriptures to do some service where it was needed. Luckily, our area is pretty firm and they weren't really anybody who had ruins to clean up or repairs to make. We checked up on a majority of the members and important investigators in our sector and no one was a affected deeply. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were all normal proselyting days, where it was pretty difficult to work but we were able to teach a lot. The aftershocks in the beginning of the week were pretty significant and we have easily felt more than 20 in the whole week. They have ranged from a decent rumble to a little shake, but nothing to really worry about.
Last night, we spoke with a less active member, Luis, who had just got home from a 12-hour drive from Concepción that should have been 6 hours. He was there visiting his parents and helping out others that had lost everything. He said that everyone is just out in the streets all the time and that everything is in shambles. One comforting site to see, he said, down there was that pretty much all of the other buildings were destroyed except for ALL of the LDS churches. They are all still standing. He said it was a significant testimony-building experience...but then I asked him, "And so when are we going to take advantage of these church buildings that are standing to offer us the most abundant blessings on this earth?" Luis remained silent for a second and then said, "You're right Elder. We have to take advantage now." The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth to bless us and prepare us for the comeing of our Savior. Are we taking the fullest advantage of what our Heavenly Father has freely offered us or are we going along without a second thought.
I cannot tell you how much pain I feel for the children of our Heavely Father that are suffering so much in the south. I understand that God is in control and that we must go through these learning experiences to progress in this life, but that doesn't take away from the sorrow that comes with the circumstances. I earnestly hope you are all praying for these people and donating something to help their well-being because they are children of our Heavenly Father just like you. Your brothers and sisters.
We met with President Resek on Thursday with another zone where he told us that it is now our responsability to be the hope and the comfort that these people can turn to for an answer to what has happened. We are permitted to ask people if they would like a blessing of comfort or a prayer in their house to help them feel the spirit and love of God. I have noticed in the past days of work that the hearts of those that we encounter have softened. It is a sign that "except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him." (Helaman 12:3) In some circumstances, the Lord does this for the good of His children. He does it to give them a better opportunity to search and find them. In Jeremiah 29:12-14, it says, "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
"And I will be found of you, saith the Lord:..."
I love that scripture because those that search for Christ will find Him.
The family of Claudio and Ynez with their daughters, Sasha and Rosangela, didn't come to church yesterday because Ynez had a bad stomach ache and they woke up late. We yelled for them at the door to bring them to church but no one came. Sasha, the 9 year-old, told us during the week that she wants to be baptized as soon as possible. It was amazing to hear from her. She reads and prays the most out of the family and understands everything. We should be having the baptism of her, Rosangela, and Ynez on March 21st. Pray for them and also that Claudio may be baptized on March 28th. This family is so amazing and I hope they can remain firm in the Gospel after they enter into it.
Felipe, a 15 year-old we've been working with for some time, came to church with us yesterday and enjoyed it a lot. He told us that he prayed one night during the week to know if the Book of Mormon was true. While he was telling us this experience, there were a ton of distractions going on in the room at the same time. Someone walked in and was saying hi to everyone and their two cats were meowing for no reason. All of this didn't matter because I was trying to focus on what he was saying in the midst of everything. He said he didn't get an answer at first, and so he went to bed. And then, in the middle of the night,, he woke up to a loud bang in the living room. He left his bed to look out his bedroom door and saw and small white light that came and went quickly. When he got back into bed, he felt a calmness come over his body like never before. In that moment, he knew it was an answer from God that everything was true and he wasn't going to deny it. That, my friends, is what we call an "ATOMIC MOMENT." In the midst of all the distractions, we were able to catch the most important part of the environment that was happening in that moment. I felt the Holy Ghost very strong and it was a great experience for his mom and grandma to hear as well whom were there. He should be baptized on March 21st as well. We are struggling to find new people but I know there is someone out there waiting for us to visit them. Thank you for your support and we'll be talking next week. I would love to hear from some of you through letters!...Rebekah...hint...hint. Remeber, missionaries love hand-written letters!
Con todo mi amor y oración,
Elder Josh Boaz
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Monday After the Earthquake!!
Hola a Todos!!!
We are doing fine down here in Chile. This past week of work was a bit slow and definitely ended on a surprising note. The earthquake, that happened in Chile on Saturday at 3:45 AM our time, hit the hardest more south than my mission (in Concepción) so I am ok. We sure felt it but there were no injuries or damages in our house. Only the bottle of oil spilt all over the ground. Haha! Most of my neighborhood is without light and quite a few without power but there aren't really serious injuries. We were without power for all of Saturday until Sunday morning but everything is back to normal now. Our ward in church only partook of the Sacrament and then we went back to our houses. I'm sure you know more details than I do just by looking at the news anyways. There weren't really any serious damages in my neighborhood, thank goodness. When the earthquake started, I didn't really notice it until the end of the first big tremble cuz I'm such a heavy sleeper. I was on divisions in another house and we were up for an hour than went back to sleep. Haha! All of the missionaries are accounted for and safe, but we have to stay in our houses until further notice for safety. We already had to stay in the house for ALL of Saturday and Sunday so it is going to be a VERY long week until things get better. Apparently, since there still isn't power in some areas, it is not very safe to go out in the afternoon and night with the people. We won't be doing service unless it is organized by our ward so that takes out any option of leaving. I hope you are all praying for those who are deeply affected by this earthquake. Just remember, God is in control and we must focus on His Gospel to carry us through. I send all my wishes to Dad in the Easter Pageant and hope you all get Taylor Kunysz to go to it!!! Haha! Congratulations to Rebekah for getting into BYU!!! And I couldn't have had a better moment than talking to MOM for 15 minutes on Saturday. That was awesome! Don't worry, everything is fine here. Take care!
With a love and will to serve GOD,
We are doing fine down here in Chile. This past week of work was a bit slow and definitely ended on a surprising note. The earthquake, that happened in Chile on Saturday at 3:45 AM our time, hit the hardest more south than my mission (in Concepción) so I am ok. We sure felt it but there were no injuries or damages in our house. Only the bottle of oil spilt all over the ground. Haha! Most of my neighborhood is without light and quite a few without power but there aren't really serious injuries. We were without power for all of Saturday until Sunday morning but everything is back to normal now. Our ward in church only partook of the Sacrament and then we went back to our houses. I'm sure you know more details than I do just by looking at the news anyways. There weren't really any serious damages in my neighborhood, thank goodness. When the earthquake started, I didn't really notice it until the end of the first big tremble cuz I'm such a heavy sleeper. I was on divisions in another house and we were up for an hour than went back to sleep. Haha! All of the missionaries are accounted for and safe, but we have to stay in our houses until further notice for safety. We already had to stay in the house for ALL of Saturday and Sunday so it is going to be a VERY long week until things get better. Apparently, since there still isn't power in some areas, it is not very safe to go out in the afternoon and night with the people. We won't be doing service unless it is organized by our ward so that takes out any option of leaving. I hope you are all praying for those who are deeply affected by this earthquake. Just remember, God is in control and we must focus on His Gospel to carry us through. I send all my wishes to Dad in the Easter Pageant and hope you all get Taylor Kunysz to go to it!!! Haha! Congratulations to Rebekah for getting into BYU!!! And I couldn't have had a better moment than talking to MOM for 15 minutes on Saturday. That was awesome! Don't worry, everything is fine here. Take care!
With a love and will to serve GOD,
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Lord Shall Qualify Me!
Hola a mi increíble, amorosa, maravillosa Familia,
I have had many thoughts on how you all have been doing lately as my heart goes out to you often. I pray so much for each of you and hope you know that so my prayers can reach you and your needs. I love this mission of mine for Jesus Christ. I know I have said it plenty of times but I don´t get tired of it because I think each of you that has served a mission knows exactly what I am talking about. I have definitely felt qualified by the Lord this week and I love Him for His mercy and His support towards me. In the beginning of the week, I was feeling a little overwhelmed and stressed for not having the best progress in our sector and now being called as District Leader to be an EXAMPLE for other missionaries. It was not the best feeling. And on top of it, Elder Roundy and I were having some dumb little issues between us. I know there shouldn´t be issues in the companionship but we´re human. What do you expect? I realized that things weren´t going to get better unless I took a step back and solved it. I decided to turn to the Lord´s scriptures especially for me: my patriarchal blessing. It was such a relief to see that the recent situations I have been in about leadership and discouragement are part of this blessing that I was reading. It was as if the Lord was in the room speaking to me. I felt a great peace and spirit last Tuesday night and it seems like since then, there is a new energy and excitement in the work. We have found some great new people this past week including a family that we have put a baptismal date with. The parents are named Cludio and Ynéz. They have 3 daughters (Rosangela 11, Sasha 9, Ignacia 1 month). We found them through a reference given to us by Ynéz´s sister, Bernarda. If you don´t remember, Bernarda is the less-active mom of Bayron whom we were teaching to get baptized back in October but ended up not wanting to do it. There is always a better way to do missionary work when members are involved!!!!! The other family tie to them is that Claudio´s brother, Andrés, and all of his family are members and use to live in our ward but now live in another stake in the mission. In fact, the son of Andrés is going on his mission to Colombia at the end of March and knows Lehi, our ward mission leader, who is leaving for his mission tomorrow! It is absolutely amazing how the Lord ties in everything to bring people to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are absolutely no coincidences here!
Yesterday, our ward had a baptism in the Stake Center. His name is Gonzalo, he is 8 years old, and he is the son of the 1st counselor in the Stake Presidency, President Mujica. The baptismal service was a simple and very special experience for me just to see another child of God enter into His Kingdom through the waters of baptism. Elder Roundy, Bishop Ortega (our bishop), and I sang at the service and I enjoyed the whole thing overall. I felt a strong love in the family of this child during the service, especially when his parents and little sister stood up with him at the pulpit to bear their testimonies with him of our Savior and the power in baptism and humbling ourselves to follow Him.
Going on with the past week, a couple significant things I want to point out are that a lot of the youth here give the name "Gringolandia" to the United States. Haha! Just for the fact that all the Gringos come from the U.S. Go figure! Also, I tried pastel de Choclo (corn casserole) this past week. It is a popular dish in the south and countryside, but the Hermana Daisy, who cooks amazing, made it for me because she new I hadn´t tried it before. It is like the pastel de papas (potato casserole) that we had at the Pomar´s house before my mission but with mashed corn instead. I am not to much of a fan of it but we try new things all the time on the mish, so oh well. Another odd thing about Chile is that there are always guys riding around on normal pedal bicycles that have a l-cylinder engine attached to them. It is the funniest thing to see because you just need to pedal for a little bit to get it going and then you´re off to the races. Haha!
I want to finish with a trivia question that I´ve been curious about: The Star of David was the sign of the coming of the Messiah. How did the Star of David become the symbol of the Jews when they don´t believe that the Messiah has come yet? If anyone can help me out there, I would be able to sleep better at night. Haha! Thanks!
I love you all and want you to know that we can all be angels of the Lord in His work. Look up Alma 13:21-24 to understand your calling a little better as well as D&C 84:88. Until next week, I leave with a blessing and all my love!
Con un abrazo fuerte,
Elder Josh Boaz
I have had many thoughts on how you all have been doing lately as my heart goes out to you often. I pray so much for each of you and hope you know that so my prayers can reach you and your needs. I love this mission of mine for Jesus Christ. I know I have said it plenty of times but I don´t get tired of it because I think each of you that has served a mission knows exactly what I am talking about. I have definitely felt qualified by the Lord this week and I love Him for His mercy and His support towards me. In the beginning of the week, I was feeling a little overwhelmed and stressed for not having the best progress in our sector and now being called as District Leader to be an EXAMPLE for other missionaries. It was not the best feeling. And on top of it, Elder Roundy and I were having some dumb little issues between us. I know there shouldn´t be issues in the companionship but we´re human. What do you expect? I realized that things weren´t going to get better unless I took a step back and solved it. I decided to turn to the Lord´s scriptures especially for me: my patriarchal blessing. It was such a relief to see that the recent situations I have been in about leadership and discouragement are part of this blessing that I was reading. It was as if the Lord was in the room speaking to me. I felt a great peace and spirit last Tuesday night and it seems like since then, there is a new energy and excitement in the work. We have found some great new people this past week including a family that we have put a baptismal date with. The parents are named Cludio and Ynéz. They have 3 daughters (Rosangela 11, Sasha 9, Ignacia 1 month). We found them through a reference given to us by Ynéz´s sister, Bernarda. If you don´t remember, Bernarda is the less-active mom of Bayron whom we were teaching to get baptized back in October but ended up not wanting to do it. There is always a better way to do missionary work when members are involved!!!!! The other family tie to them is that Claudio´s brother, Andrés, and all of his family are members and use to live in our ward but now live in another stake in the mission. In fact, the son of Andrés is going on his mission to Colombia at the end of March and knows Lehi, our ward mission leader, who is leaving for his mission tomorrow! It is absolutely amazing how the Lord ties in everything to bring people to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are absolutely no coincidences here!
Yesterday, our ward had a baptism in the Stake Center. His name is Gonzalo, he is 8 years old, and he is the son of the 1st counselor in the Stake Presidency, President Mujica. The baptismal service was a simple and very special experience for me just to see another child of God enter into His Kingdom through the waters of baptism. Elder Roundy, Bishop Ortega (our bishop), and I sang at the service and I enjoyed the whole thing overall. I felt a strong love in the family of this child during the service, especially when his parents and little sister stood up with him at the pulpit to bear their testimonies with him of our Savior and the power in baptism and humbling ourselves to follow Him.
Going on with the past week, a couple significant things I want to point out are that a lot of the youth here give the name "Gringolandia" to the United States. Haha! Just for the fact that all the Gringos come from the U.S. Go figure! Also, I tried pastel de Choclo (corn casserole) this past week. It is a popular dish in the south and countryside, but the Hermana Daisy, who cooks amazing, made it for me because she new I hadn´t tried it before. It is like the pastel de papas (potato casserole) that we had at the Pomar´s house before my mission but with mashed corn instead. I am not to much of a fan of it but we try new things all the time on the mish, so oh well. Another odd thing about Chile is that there are always guys riding around on normal pedal bicycles that have a l-cylinder engine attached to them. It is the funniest thing to see because you just need to pedal for a little bit to get it going and then you´re off to the races. Haha!
I want to finish with a trivia question that I´ve been curious about: The Star of David was the sign of the coming of the Messiah. How did the Star of David become the symbol of the Jews when they don´t believe that the Messiah has come yet? If anyone can help me out there, I would be able to sleep better at night. Haha! Thanks!
I love you all and want you to know that we can all be angels of the Lord in His work. Look up Alma 13:21-24 to understand your calling a little better as well as D&C 84:88. Until next week, I leave with a blessing and all my love!
Con un abrazo fuerte,
Elder Josh Boaz
Monday, February 8, 2010
I'm working and happy!
Hola a mi amada familia, Feb. 8th, 2010
So changes came and......I am staying in Progreso in Santiago. Big surprise! Haha, Just kidding. The Zone Leaders had me convinced the whole night of change calls that I was going to another zone as a District Leader. Then, at bed time they called me at the end of the night to tell me that I am staying with Elder Roundy and that I will be District Leader now. We got a good laugh out of the whole situation because they got me REALLY good. Haha! I am excited to be able to help and support another companionship in the Zone. I know it isn't anything to extraordinary in the mission, just another responsibility that the Lord is having me fulfill in my calling to serve him. I don't feel very prepared for it but I suppose that the mission gives a TONS of experiences that we aren't ready for. I ask for your prayers that I might be able to fulfill what the Lord needs me to do and feel comforted in the process.
This past week has been yet another tough but satisfying week of work. I feel a big responsibility to raise my personal standards of excellence in the mission work. I know that I can show Elder Roundy how to work much more effectively in the missionary work. He is so supportive, outgoing, and driven. I know we will see baptisms and souls changed this next change. This past week had some pretty memorable mission experiences. First off, we had a lesson this week with a lady named Mareli. Her 45 year old son has been a drug-addict for some time and it is affecting her badly. She had been praying recently for a church to join and to strengthen her when we knocked on her door. She let us in and asked why God doesn't answer prayers when we know He exists. I felt bad for her question but reassured her that God ALWAYS listens and blesses us in His time. We taught her the Restoration and she said she would be baptized if she received and answer in the prayer. I knew that our message was an answer to her prayers. She didn't come to church yesterday but we will be visiting her this week to see how she is doing. It is moments like that that rejuvenate me in this work. I know that there is ALWAYS someone out there who is looking for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to bless them. We just have to keep plugging along and eventually will find them. Nevertheless, contacting on the streets and at doors is such a difficult part of the work for me and it's the majority of what we do here. I feel bad for European missionaries that have to deal with all the cold, closed people. South America is a little bit more open and receptive but even then, there are days when NO ONE wants to talk to you and everyone is rude. It is somewhat discouraging but we must just press on.
Alma 17:11 says, "And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls."
I have applied that much to this work when times are difficult because Christ always finds a way to show us that we are helping and serving Him. We just need to be in the right mindset.
Ok, so on Friday, we were suppose to have lunch with a member in our ward that is a decent chef but he got really sick at the last second. He called us and told us to go buy some food for ourselves and that he would pay us back afterwards. We knew that there are four Chinese restaurants at the top of our area so we hit one of them up. The Mongolian beef and springs with rice were INCREDIBLE. And on top of it, the restaurant was legit, not ghetto! But the best part of it all was that they were playing pure Coldplay songs during the whole time that we were eating. So here is the situation, if you can picture this glorious setting: Eating Chinese Food while listening to Coldplay songs and being in Chile at the same time. There is not a better triple-C combination that I can think of at this moment. That should wrap up the things that will interest you all this week in my mission and if they didn't, my bad. Haha!
I love you all and thank you for your support. I know this work is true with all my heart and know that the Lord guides and edifies us when we come to Him. May you all turn to the Lord more this week.
Con afecto,
Elder Josh Boaz
So changes came and......I am staying in Progreso in Santiago. Big surprise! Haha, Just kidding. The Zone Leaders had me convinced the whole night of change calls that I was going to another zone as a District Leader. Then, at bed time they called me at the end of the night to tell me that I am staying with Elder Roundy and that I will be District Leader now. We got a good laugh out of the whole situation because they got me REALLY good. Haha! I am excited to be able to help and support another companionship in the Zone. I know it isn't anything to extraordinary in the mission, just another responsibility that the Lord is having me fulfill in my calling to serve him. I don't feel very prepared for it but I suppose that the mission gives a TONS of experiences that we aren't ready for. I ask for your prayers that I might be able to fulfill what the Lord needs me to do and feel comforted in the process.
This past week has been yet another tough but satisfying week of work. I feel a big responsibility to raise my personal standards of excellence in the mission work. I know that I can show Elder Roundy how to work much more effectively in the missionary work. He is so supportive, outgoing, and driven. I know we will see baptisms and souls changed this next change. This past week had some pretty memorable mission experiences. First off, we had a lesson this week with a lady named Mareli. Her 45 year old son has been a drug-addict for some time and it is affecting her badly. She had been praying recently for a church to join and to strengthen her when we knocked on her door. She let us in and asked why God doesn't answer prayers when we know He exists. I felt bad for her question but reassured her that God ALWAYS listens and blesses us in His time. We taught her the Restoration and she said she would be baptized if she received and answer in the prayer. I knew that our message was an answer to her prayers. She didn't come to church yesterday but we will be visiting her this week to see how she is doing. It is moments like that that rejuvenate me in this work. I know that there is ALWAYS someone out there who is looking for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to bless them. We just have to keep plugging along and eventually will find them. Nevertheless, contacting on the streets and at doors is such a difficult part of the work for me and it's the majority of what we do here. I feel bad for European missionaries that have to deal with all the cold, closed people. South America is a little bit more open and receptive but even then, there are days when NO ONE wants to talk to you and everyone is rude. It is somewhat discouraging but we must just press on.
Alma 17:11 says, "And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls."
I have applied that much to this work when times are difficult because Christ always finds a way to show us that we are helping and serving Him. We just need to be in the right mindset.
Ok, so on Friday, we were suppose to have lunch with a member in our ward that is a decent chef but he got really sick at the last second. He called us and told us to go buy some food for ourselves and that he would pay us back afterwards. We knew that there are four Chinese restaurants at the top of our area so we hit one of them up. The Mongolian beef and springs with rice were INCREDIBLE. And on top of it, the restaurant was legit, not ghetto! But the best part of it all was that they were playing pure Coldplay songs during the whole time that we were eating. So here is the situation, if you can picture this glorious setting: Eating Chinese Food while listening to Coldplay songs and being in Chile at the same time. There is not a better triple-C combination that I can think of at this moment. That should wrap up the things that will interest you all this week in my mission and if they didn't, my bad. Haha!
I love you all and thank you for your support. I know this work is true with all my heart and know that the Lord guides and edifies us when we come to Him. May you all turn to the Lord more this week.
Con afecto,
Elder Josh Boaz
Monday, January 25, 2010
I Know that My Redeemer Lives
Saludes de Chile!!!!
I hope that all is well with you all in the home from the past week. I love being a missionary and have had a better week this past week. I am more at peace in my efforts and my work. Elder Roundy and I had to speak in church with our mission leader, Lehi, who is leaving for his mission to Colombia Barranquilla in 3 weeks! It was fine that we had to speak in church because I love learning about something deeper while I have to prepare to speak on it. We were asked to speak on the missionary work but I a decided to talk about the Light of Christ. Every one of us has the Light of Christ in us since birth as children of God. This light allows us to discern between the bad and good. The problem is that we won’t be able to use it unless it is “ignited” in some way. I spoke a little bit about D&C 93 that talks about us needing to keep the commandments to receive the truth and light of Christ in our life. This light is the instrument that the Holy Ghost uses in us to manifest and show what is right and wrong in this world. I thought, “How can we help others feel or see this light in themselves so that the Holy Ghost can manifest the truth of the Gospel to them?” ...I Searched and found John 1:4-9. It says, “4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”
I TRULY felt inspiration enter my mind as I was writing about how all of this tied into each other. We have to live like this light is alive in us so it ignites the light of others when they come in contact with us. The way to do this is to keep the commandments and share this light. It is so simple yet complex because not many people think about it. I felt that light as we progressed with our investigators this week.
Rosa, Matias, Jacob, and their family are moving back to their parents house to be able to take care of them in their bad health. It was tough to say bye because Rosa was crying as she told us. She didn’t have the most interest but her kids were a little more interested. It was just tough to lose contact with such good people. I am ok with it though.
Our other progressing family of Elizabeth with her two sons, Andrés and Felipe, and her parents, Rodolfo and Elizabeth, have a BAPTISMAL DATE! They are preparing to be baptized on February 14th. We hope they are ready by then. Rodolfo loves the Book of Mormon and says that it is so much more personal. Elizabeth, Rodolfo, and Elizabeth (the mother/wife of Rodolfo) came to church yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was so happy to be able to speak in church while they came. I feel like Elder Roundy is progressing well. At times, I am a bit impatient but I am working on that a lot and to be more supportive in his learning process. Some more great news is that Erick that got baptized in December was finally confirmed in church yesterday and I was chosen by bishop to confirm him. He finally came by himself and bishop felt he was ready to receive the Holy Ghost. Now he will be getting a calling with the young men in the ward, I am overjoyed for him. Holy crap, what a relief!!!!! Claudina, the grandma that was baptized in December as well, has recently had surgery on an infection in her heal and hasn’t been able to come to church. We take the sacrament to her and her testimony is as strong as ever.
Life in the mission is difficult but worth it. I just had my interview with President Resek that we have every change and I feel comforted and great afterwards now. He really knows how to give us good counsel. We have a zone conference tomorrow on Christ-like attributes and the visit of Christ to the Americas in the Book of Mormon. I am excited to see what else President has in store for us!!!! It is so fun to know new things about Christ and the Gospel.
One last note: Since MyLDSmail.org has made a new relation with Gmail in making a better mail for the missionaries, our email system is changing to Gmail. Therefore, my new email is: joshua.boaz@myldsmail.net. It isn’t too different from my old one, but make sure everyone knows the change in my email so they can send me things if they want. Love you MOM and DAD and SIBLINGS SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!! Christ is my Savior and I represent him right now. :)
Con todo mi amor a ustedes,
Elder Josh Boaz
I hope that all is well with you all in the home from the past week. I love being a missionary and have had a better week this past week. I am more at peace in my efforts and my work. Elder Roundy and I had to speak in church with our mission leader, Lehi, who is leaving for his mission to Colombia Barranquilla in 3 weeks! It was fine that we had to speak in church because I love learning about something deeper while I have to prepare to speak on it. We were asked to speak on the missionary work but I a decided to talk about the Light of Christ. Every one of us has the Light of Christ in us since birth as children of God. This light allows us to discern between the bad and good. The problem is that we won’t be able to use it unless it is “ignited” in some way. I spoke a little bit about D&C 93 that talks about us needing to keep the commandments to receive the truth and light of Christ in our life. This light is the instrument that the Holy Ghost uses in us to manifest and show what is right and wrong in this world. I thought, “How can we help others feel or see this light in themselves so that the Holy Ghost can manifest the truth of the Gospel to them?” ...I Searched and found John 1:4-9. It says, “4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”
I TRULY felt inspiration enter my mind as I was writing about how all of this tied into each other. We have to live like this light is alive in us so it ignites the light of others when they come in contact with us. The way to do this is to keep the commandments and share this light. It is so simple yet complex because not many people think about it. I felt that light as we progressed with our investigators this week.
Rosa, Matias, Jacob, and their family are moving back to their parents house to be able to take care of them in their bad health. It was tough to say bye because Rosa was crying as she told us. She didn’t have the most interest but her kids were a little more interested. It was just tough to lose contact with such good people. I am ok with it though.
Our other progressing family of Elizabeth with her two sons, Andrés and Felipe, and her parents, Rodolfo and Elizabeth, have a BAPTISMAL DATE! They are preparing to be baptized on February 14th. We hope they are ready by then. Rodolfo loves the Book of Mormon and says that it is so much more personal. Elizabeth, Rodolfo, and Elizabeth (the mother/wife of Rodolfo) came to church yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was so happy to be able to speak in church while they came. I feel like Elder Roundy is progressing well. At times, I am a bit impatient but I am working on that a lot and to be more supportive in his learning process. Some more great news is that Erick that got baptized in December was finally confirmed in church yesterday and I was chosen by bishop to confirm him. He finally came by himself and bishop felt he was ready to receive the Holy Ghost. Now he will be getting a calling with the young men in the ward, I am overjoyed for him. Holy crap, what a relief!!!!! Claudina, the grandma that was baptized in December as well, has recently had surgery on an infection in her heal and hasn’t been able to come to church. We take the sacrament to her and her testimony is as strong as ever.
Life in the mission is difficult but worth it. I just had my interview with President Resek that we have every change and I feel comforted and great afterwards now. He really knows how to give us good counsel. We have a zone conference tomorrow on Christ-like attributes and the visit of Christ to the Americas in the Book of Mormon. I am excited to see what else President has in store for us!!!! It is so fun to know new things about Christ and the Gospel.
One last note: Since MyLDSmail.org has made a new relation with Gmail in making a better mail for the missionaries, our email system is changing to Gmail. Therefore, my new email is: joshua.boaz@myldsmail.net. It isn’t too different from my old one, but make sure everyone knows the change in my email so they can send me things if they want. Love you MOM and DAD and SIBLINGS SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!! Christ is my Savior and I represent him right now. :)
Con todo mi amor a ustedes,
Elder Josh Boaz
Friday, January 15, 2010
I Love being a Dad to the new Elder!
What’s Happenin Fam?!?!?!
How are you all doing? I haven’t heard from you all this past week but I hope you are all in good shape. My prayers are with dad and the musical, Rachel and Rebekah in school, soccer, and band, mom in the home and her other super-tasks, Austin in school, Grandpa in his health, and everyone else. In return, I ask for your prayers because this week has been a tiring one. We have worked hard but started off a bit slow in the week. By Thursday, we started having a lot of lessons and put in practice the commitment our Zone Leaders had given us on Wednesday at Zone Meeting. They committed us to invite everyone to be baptized or pray about being baptized in all of our lessons if they hadn’t accepted the invitation yet. Honestly, I thought it was a little intense to begin with, but when they started to explain their reasoning a lot more I totally understood. My calling is to invite, teach, testify, and baptize to the people I encounter on my mission. More than anything is to baptize them because that is what will give them Eternal Life. The ZL’s showed us the last two verses of Matthew 28 and then showed us some verses in the Book of Mormon as well to help us understand what we are suppose to do with the people. Our Zone hasn’t baptized very many people recently so I feel like this bold lesson that we received from them was necessary.
I love working with Elder Roundy because he is so supportive of me and is ready to work his hardest. We are getting closer as a companionship every day and are both committed to being better. (Side note: I love the word “committed” because it makes me feel truer to myself and the things that I do in my life. I put the thought in my mind that I will not quit what I am doing until it is completed. Commitment is what bases everything that gets accomplished in this life.) Roundy is learning Spanish very well but I’ve gotta learn to shut my mouth a little more in lessons and let him talk a bit more because I talk a blue streak. He LOVES collecting and writing down quotes which reminds me a lot of Dad. Some of the quotes he has are awesome. We have the most random conversations in the street and it really helps us to relax with all that we have to do.
As for investigators, Susana and Patricio have had a very serious situation happen between them because Patricio gets drunk once in a while which makes him angry and depressed. That separated them for sometime. Susana was with their children at their house and it looked like their relationship was going to be finished so we invited Susana to pray about baptism. She accepted…hooray!...right? NO. At church yesterday, Patricio came to church instead of Susana because he apparently wants to change. He told us that Susana let him back in the house. I don’t know what we’ll do but I know the spirit will guide us to the best solution. There are also 2 other new families that are praying about baptism as of right now. The mom of one family used to house the missionaries in the house where her mom lived. That is how she first met them. We have been teaching her (Rosa) and her 3 kids (Matias (18), Jacob (13), and Pedro (6)). The husband Esteban is one of the nicest guys I’ve met but he doesn’t want to hear us. We’ll be persistent with him though. I am pretty stressed lately with having to be responsible for everything in the companionship as a trainer but I guess it is just part of the job. Elder Roundy helps lighten the mood and is really a stress reliever. I think this could be one of my funnest and best companionships. I am SO EXCITED!!! This church is true and I love you. The Book of Mormon is true and our Heavenly Father loves us. There is my uncoordinated testimony for you all in this letter. Take care until next week!!! :) Con muchísimo amor, Elder Josh Boaz
P.S. Mom, could you send me Cody Jordan’s contact info if it’s posible. Also Corey Wilkin’s mission info. Love you tons and I will get a little letter out to you and dad soon. Bye Bye!!! Oh! Btw, pic 21 is Elder Roundy and me. :)
How are you all doing? I haven’t heard from you all this past week but I hope you are all in good shape. My prayers are with dad and the musical, Rachel and Rebekah in school, soccer, and band, mom in the home and her other super-tasks, Austin in school, Grandpa in his health, and everyone else. In return, I ask for your prayers because this week has been a tiring one. We have worked hard but started off a bit slow in the week. By Thursday, we started having a lot of lessons and put in practice the commitment our Zone Leaders had given us on Wednesday at Zone Meeting. They committed us to invite everyone to be baptized or pray about being baptized in all of our lessons if they hadn’t accepted the invitation yet. Honestly, I thought it was a little intense to begin with, but when they started to explain their reasoning a lot more I totally understood. My calling is to invite, teach, testify, and baptize to the people I encounter on my mission. More than anything is to baptize them because that is what will give them Eternal Life. The ZL’s showed us the last two verses of Matthew 28 and then showed us some verses in the Book of Mormon as well to help us understand what we are suppose to do with the people. Our Zone hasn’t baptized very many people recently so I feel like this bold lesson that we received from them was necessary.
I love working with Elder Roundy because he is so supportive of me and is ready to work his hardest. We are getting closer as a companionship every day and are both committed to being better. (Side note: I love the word “committed” because it makes me feel truer to myself and the things that I do in my life. I put the thought in my mind that I will not quit what I am doing until it is completed. Commitment is what bases everything that gets accomplished in this life.) Roundy is learning Spanish very well but I’ve gotta learn to shut my mouth a little more in lessons and let him talk a bit more because I talk a blue streak. He LOVES collecting and writing down quotes which reminds me a lot of Dad. Some of the quotes he has are awesome. We have the most random conversations in the street and it really helps us to relax with all that we have to do.
As for investigators, Susana and Patricio have had a very serious situation happen between them because Patricio gets drunk once in a while which makes him angry and depressed. That separated them for sometime. Susana was with their children at their house and it looked like their relationship was going to be finished so we invited Susana to pray about baptism. She accepted…hooray!...right? NO. At church yesterday, Patricio came to church instead of Susana because he apparently wants to change. He told us that Susana let him back in the house. I don’t know what we’ll do but I know the spirit will guide us to the best solution. There are also 2 other new families that are praying about baptism as of right now. The mom of one family used to house the missionaries in the house where her mom lived. That is how she first met them. We have been teaching her (Rosa) and her 3 kids (Matias (18), Jacob (13), and Pedro (6)). The husband Esteban is one of the nicest guys I’ve met but he doesn’t want to hear us. We’ll be persistent with him though. I am pretty stressed lately with having to be responsible for everything in the companionship as a trainer but I guess it is just part of the job. Elder Roundy helps lighten the mood and is really a stress reliever. I think this could be one of my funnest and best companionships. I am SO EXCITED!!! This church is true and I love you. The Book of Mormon is true and our Heavenly Father loves us. There is my uncoordinated testimony for you all in this letter. Take care until next week!!! :) Con muchísimo amor, Elder Josh Boaz
P.S. Mom, could you send me Cody Jordan’s contact info if it’s posible. Also Corey Wilkin’s mission info. Love you tons and I will get a little letter out to you and dad soon. Bye Bye!!! Oh! Btw, pic 21 is Elder Roundy and me. :)
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
1-4-2010
Hola Familia y amigos,
Wow, what a tiring week that has passed us!!! I have had to kill Elder York (end his misión…MOM. Haha!) and give birth to Elder Roundy as my son in the mission. Yes, I have a son. I was in a trio on Monday with two other future trainers and went down with them to Rancagua on Tuesday to look for our sons. It gave me so many flashbacks going back to the house of president Resek where I started and now returned to be training.
Elder Blake Roundy is TIGHT!!! He is from Las Vegas, Nevada (just like Elder York) and he graduated in 2008. He played volleyball and ran cross country. He is a REALLY nice guy with a down-to-earth personality so we are chill. We get along great and have similar mindsets so I think we will have a great relationship. He is upbeat and we love joking around already. His spanish is already progressing very well and is willing to do what is asked of him in working hard. I feel like I have been so blessed with the companions that I have had on my mission thus far. I have not had to really deal with someone (yet) who has a major problem on the mission.
The thing about Elder Roundy that tops everything off with being my companion is that…HE KNOWS CODY LEHR!!! They went to high school together and played volleyball together. I asked him if he knew Cody Lehr because he is from Vegas as well and he said yes. The thing that they know each other from the most is that they both dated the same girl before they left for their missions. For a little drama, as of right now, “Kristen” was dating Elder Roundy last because he left for his mission later. Haha, anyways I got a big laugh out of that coincidence. We´re working hard right now and finding new people to teach. We should have some baptism dates next week if we put all of our trust in the Lord. I love this work and am constantly learning new things about the gospel that are making me be more grateful for my Savior Jesús Christ everyday. He is my hope and my support and I will serve Him through others until the end.
A couple side notes:
I just realized that we ate and are still eating SO MUCH Fruit Cake in the people´s houses here for the Holdays. They all buy fruit cake and I have sorta grown accustomed to it on my mission. Haha! Also, we have an apricot tree, avocado tree, and apple tree in the courtyard of our house. I am VERY excited for the summer that is coming. Take care to you all until next week!!!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Joshy Boaz
P.S. I will send more pics next week!!!
Wow, what a tiring week that has passed us!!! I have had to kill Elder York (end his misión…MOM. Haha!) and give birth to Elder Roundy as my son in the mission. Yes, I have a son. I was in a trio on Monday with two other future trainers and went down with them to Rancagua on Tuesday to look for our sons. It gave me so many flashbacks going back to the house of president Resek where I started and now returned to be training.
Elder Blake Roundy is TIGHT!!! He is from Las Vegas, Nevada (just like Elder York) and he graduated in 2008. He played volleyball and ran cross country. He is a REALLY nice guy with a down-to-earth personality so we are chill. We get along great and have similar mindsets so I think we will have a great relationship. He is upbeat and we love joking around already. His spanish is already progressing very well and is willing to do what is asked of him in working hard. I feel like I have been so blessed with the companions that I have had on my mission thus far. I have not had to really deal with someone (yet) who has a major problem on the mission.
The thing about Elder Roundy that tops everything off with being my companion is that…HE KNOWS CODY LEHR!!! They went to high school together and played volleyball together. I asked him if he knew Cody Lehr because he is from Vegas as well and he said yes. The thing that they know each other from the most is that they both dated the same girl before they left for their missions. For a little drama, as of right now, “Kristen” was dating Elder Roundy last because he left for his mission later. Haha, anyways I got a big laugh out of that coincidence. We´re working hard right now and finding new people to teach. We should have some baptism dates next week if we put all of our trust in the Lord. I love this work and am constantly learning new things about the gospel that are making me be more grateful for my Savior Jesús Christ everyday. He is my hope and my support and I will serve Him through others until the end.
A couple side notes:
I just realized that we ate and are still eating SO MUCH Fruit Cake in the people´s houses here for the Holdays. They all buy fruit cake and I have sorta grown accustomed to it on my mission. Haha! Also, we have an apricot tree, avocado tree, and apple tree in the courtyard of our house. I am VERY excited for the summer that is coming. Take care to you all until next week!!!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Joshy Boaz
P.S. I will send more pics next week!!!
Happy New Year! 12-28-09
FELIZ NAVIDAD Y AÑO NUEVO A TODOS,
I can express to you how happy I was to talk to you all on Christmas Day. Talking to everyone in the family and hearing your voices gave me such a warm feeling!!! I had such a good time hearing from mom, dad's personality, Rachel, Rebekah, Austin, Marisa, Aaron, and Joy. It was such a nice time....BUT totally made me feel "trunky" for home. Haha! I 'll admit, it was pretty tough to hang up but I am back into the mission work and will just be waiting for our call on Mother's Day. Also, just so you know, my eye is almost healed. It came really fast and ugly, but left equally fast with this ointment that I had bought. $30 bucks is CRAZY to buy a tiny tube of ointment, but I guess it was worth it and I will be getting a reimbursement from the mission for it so that’s good.
I hope everything else is going well in your trip in Utah with the family. I am missing the snow and snowboarding so much after talking to Aaron. He told me that Austin and him were talking about me while they were snowboarding the other day. I was like, “OH MY GOSH! Don’t tell me that! Haha!” Just kidding, I’m all good though. The rest of this past week was a bit tough to work for us. Elder York and I tried to work hard on Saturday for his last day of work and everything went well with various appointments that we had. We even found a new investigator just before going into the house Saturday night. We went out with Lehi, our mission leader, for some appointments in the afternoon to get him a little more prepared for when he goes out to his mission. I think I have already to you guys but Lehi got his mission call a couple weeks ago and will be going to the Colombia Barranquilla Mission. He leaves for the MTC in Colombia on February 17th. The whole ward is so proud and happy for him.
Elder York ended his mission on a good note. We ended on a great note together and had really grown close together. I killed him so good! Haha, just kidding. We wrote in each other’s journals on Saturday night while he was packing staying up late. He left me some great ties and some mission clothes as well. Elder York is so generous like that. His parents flew in Sunday early in the morning (yesterday) and they came to church. We were their translators and my mind was killing me trying to think in Spanish and English at the same time. At times I felt like I wasn’t understanding the Spanish but I was still. Don’t ask me how I did it, I just did (can you say “The Holy Ghost!!!” haha!). We had a great lunch with the Godoy Family that made empanadas, chicken, and rice for us. It was amazing and we had a spiritual time with them and the parents of Elder York. Afterwards, Elder York and his parents took me over to another sector to trade places with another elder for the day because he is finishing the mission as well and went down to Rancagua in the car with Elder York.
The last announcement that I want to make to all of you is that......I AM GOING TO HAVE A BABY SON!!! Haha, I found out Saturday night that I am going to be training a new missionary coming into the mission. CRAZY! I am way too nervous and unprepared but I know the Lord will help me to “raise” him in a good manner just like Elder Abrams did for me. The mission is receiving a HUGE group of new missionaries this change and next change.....and they are all from the U.S. (I think). I sorta wanted to train a Latin missionary but I am excited. I will just need to help him learn Spanish fast so we can focus on teaching with more power. It’s funny because my “grandpa” (Elder McAllister, the trainer of my trainer, Elder Abrams) started his mission in this same sector where I am going to be training. Coincidence, eh? Haha! Changes are crazy today, I am going to be in a trio today and then I head down to Rancagua tomorrow to get my son from the mission home. I’ll let you know who and how he is next week but not even I know these details still. I’m dying in my anxiety. Haha! :-P I know this church is true and that Christ lives. If we put our will and weakness in His hands, He will transform us to who we must be. I know I have already shared this scripture, but Ether 12:4 and 27 are so good to explain this principle to us. I love the Lord!!!!!!!!!!!! Take care to all and I will be letting you know how my “birth” is next week.
Con MUCHÍSIMO amor,
Elder Boaz
I can express to you how happy I was to talk to you all on Christmas Day. Talking to everyone in the family and hearing your voices gave me such a warm feeling!!! I had such a good time hearing from mom, dad's personality, Rachel, Rebekah, Austin, Marisa, Aaron, and Joy. It was such a nice time....BUT totally made me feel "trunky" for home. Haha! I 'll admit, it was pretty tough to hang up but I am back into the mission work and will just be waiting for our call on Mother's Day. Also, just so you know, my eye is almost healed. It came really fast and ugly, but left equally fast with this ointment that I had bought. $30 bucks is CRAZY to buy a tiny tube of ointment, but I guess it was worth it and I will be getting a reimbursement from the mission for it so that’s good.
I hope everything else is going well in your trip in Utah with the family. I am missing the snow and snowboarding so much after talking to Aaron. He told me that Austin and him were talking about me while they were snowboarding the other day. I was like, “OH MY GOSH! Don’t tell me that! Haha!” Just kidding, I’m all good though. The rest of this past week was a bit tough to work for us. Elder York and I tried to work hard on Saturday for his last day of work and everything went well with various appointments that we had. We even found a new investigator just before going into the house Saturday night. We went out with Lehi, our mission leader, for some appointments in the afternoon to get him a little more prepared for when he goes out to his mission. I think I have already to you guys but Lehi got his mission call a couple weeks ago and will be going to the Colombia Barranquilla Mission. He leaves for the MTC in Colombia on February 17th. The whole ward is so proud and happy for him.
Elder York ended his mission on a good note. We ended on a great note together and had really grown close together. I killed him so good! Haha, just kidding. We wrote in each other’s journals on Saturday night while he was packing staying up late. He left me some great ties and some mission clothes as well. Elder York is so generous like that. His parents flew in Sunday early in the morning (yesterday) and they came to church. We were their translators and my mind was killing me trying to think in Spanish and English at the same time. At times I felt like I wasn’t understanding the Spanish but I was still. Don’t ask me how I did it, I just did (can you say “The Holy Ghost!!!” haha!). We had a great lunch with the Godoy Family that made empanadas, chicken, and rice for us. It was amazing and we had a spiritual time with them and the parents of Elder York. Afterwards, Elder York and his parents took me over to another sector to trade places with another elder for the day because he is finishing the mission as well and went down to Rancagua in the car with Elder York.
The last announcement that I want to make to all of you is that......I AM GOING TO HAVE A BABY SON!!! Haha, I found out Saturday night that I am going to be training a new missionary coming into the mission. CRAZY! I am way too nervous and unprepared but I know the Lord will help me to “raise” him in a good manner just like Elder Abrams did for me. The mission is receiving a HUGE group of new missionaries this change and next change.....and they are all from the U.S. (I think). I sorta wanted to train a Latin missionary but I am excited. I will just need to help him learn Spanish fast so we can focus on teaching with more power. It’s funny because my “grandpa” (Elder McAllister, the trainer of my trainer, Elder Abrams) started his mission in this same sector where I am going to be training. Coincidence, eh? Haha! Changes are crazy today, I am going to be in a trio today and then I head down to Rancagua tomorrow to get my son from the mission home. I’ll let you know who and how he is next week but not even I know these details still. I’m dying in my anxiety. Haha! :-P I know this church is true and that Christ lives. If we put our will and weakness in His hands, He will transform us to who we must be. I know I have already shared this scripture, but Ether 12:4 and 27 are so good to explain this principle to us. I love the Lord!!!!!!!!!!!! Take care to all and I will be letting you know how my “birth” is next week.
Con MUCHÍSIMO amor,
Elder Boaz
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