This week was incredible and full of some of the biggest miracles that I’ve had in this short year here in Chile. It’s amazing to me to see the tender mercies that the Lord gives us to answer our prayers and give us strength. I have been praying every day for a month straight (since I left my last sector), and I know that HE answered my prayer.
On Saturday, we planned a temple trip with the ward with all the recent converts that we have. Attending the temple is a huge point of emphasis in our mission because we have the temple so close to us, and it’s such a spiritual builder for new people in the church to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead. In fact, President wants us to go within a month after their baptisms. So as a ward we left in the afternoon to go the temple and ended up arriving at about 5 o' clock. As we pulled into the parking lot, I looked out the window and saw there in the shadow of the Santiago Temple, the counselor of my old ward, Hermano Meya. We became good friends in the 5 months that we spent together. We greeted each other and began to talk, and he then told me the 3 of the people that I had been teaching Fernando, Jose, and Elizabeth (2 from the Familia Cortez) had recently gotten baptized!
To be completely honest when I heard that news, I started to tear up and my face burned from excitement and joy. The very people that I have prayed for every single day of the last month to keep their baptismal dates, achieved the goals that we set. I was very sad that I had to leave them before they could make that important step of baptism with me, but they weren’t ready in that time. It has been one of the hardest trials of my life to leave such great people and put all my trust in the Lord that he might help them because I was helpless miles away in another ward. I had to put all my trust in Him. It also hurt my pride to have to leave and have other missionaries come. I had gone 4 months without a baptismal date and the moment that God gave me success, He asked me to leave. That was hard. In this one experience, I’ve learned so much. In the temple I then saw and talked to the old Bishop as well. He shook my hand and told me all the good news as well. He knew my investigators by name and told me how great they were, which gave me such comfort. My heart was so full that day on the ride back, I even started to cry again...but just a little bit. Haha.
Right now we have a couple of great families of investigators. They are the Familia Monriquez and Gonzalez. I love them so much. We have taught them lesson 1, and they loved it. They have shared their desires to get baptized, but we need them to go to church, so pray for them. More than anything I have a testimony of prayer.
Working hard here in Chile. I love you,
Elder Walker
