Easter

Hi!

Here in Santiago the temperature is changing, it’s starting to get pretty cold in the morning while at the same time, it’s still hot in the afternoon. Winter is coming in the Southern Hemisphere. There was a lot of fog this morning, and I couldn't see more than 20 yards. As the climate changes, we keep working. Last week went by fast and was full of success. We confirmed Ivonne and Emiliano in sacrament meeting and are now getting ready to baptize the sister of Ivonne, Veronica. The gift of the Holy Ghost is so special, and it reminds me of the talk by Elder Bednar about actually receiving the Spirit in our lives. The significant phrase that was said on Sunday, "Receive the Holy Ghost,” is something that we have to do every day of our lives. That’s what keeps missionaries safe, and inspires and converts people to the Gospel.

Even though you can’t really tell because these are just words on a computer screen, I’m more than a little excited to listen to General Conference this week!!! We’re planing on setting up a room to watch conference in Creole (the native language of the Haitians) so that they can enjoy more the messages of the Prophets. It’s incredible to see the missionary work with the Haitians because they are so humble. Something about being a foreigner makes people more humble and open, and we spend a lot of time teaching them. 

At church we had to teach a class in French because a lot don't speak Spanish. Elder Bradley can speaks good French, and so I would say something in Spanish, he would translate it into French and then a Haitian would translate it into Creole. Only in the true church of God does that happen. The message goes beyond language, cultural and other barriers. Like I’ve said before I feel the the Celestial Kingdom is going to be a lot more diverse with many more different cultures and traditions than we sometimes realize in the U.S. 

To finish up, I also learned the another family that I taught in my last area with Elder Moreira, the missionary that I trained from Brazil, got baptized yesterday. I love the mission! Love this work and hope to stay strong for the next 3 months!! 

Elder Walker

PS My companions say thanks for the Easter gifts. Here is a picture of us wearing our Easter ties on Easter Sunday. Love you!

March: A Month of Trials and Miracles

Hello family!

First things first, I haven't gotten any packages, but I could get one this Wednesday because the mail comes that day. 

This last week was a blast. I'm not sick anymore!! I’ve enjoyed the mission more than ever these last few weeks, and I think that it’s something best explained by Elder Bednar. We had a meeting on Tuesday with the whole mission, where I feel like I know fewer and fewer people as more of my friends leave, and Presidente showed us a clip of a devotional with Elder Bednar. He was recently in Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay, in a devotional with the youth. A future missionary asked what he could do to prepare for the mission. He said that a lot of missionaries get out to the field and say, "The mission isn't meeting my spiritual needs right now,” or, “I'm so obedient and humble why don't I have more success,” or, “What's wrong with my investigators?” It’s a hard trap not to fall into, and when we think more about me and I instead of the people we’re serving, our chances at peace or happiness go down exponentially. Elder Bednar helped remind me why I’m here and what I’m doing. It was never about me. What we do without modern day prophets!? 

My companions are some of the greatest people I know. Elder Hunter has an incredible work habit and is always trying to do things better. He is focused and determined, and surprisingly he says he was a beach bum before the mission in the sense that he surfed a lot. He’s kind of an interesting combination of super hard worker and laid back at the same time. Then there’s Elder Bradley, he is a smart, witty guy who has us laughing during the day. He studied for a year in Virginia in the small university there supported by the church. He's easy to get along with, and we three have a great time teaching and baptizing. This last week from our balcony we could hear concerts going with bands from the U.S. The stadium/arena is pretty close to our apartment building so we go to hear some of the bands we know. It was an interesting interruption to our day. 

I’m happy to say that Ivonne and her son Emiliano got baptized yesterday.We felt like they were ready and after teaching Ivonne and seeing her diligent study of the scriptures and prayers, we interviewed her. It’s miraculous to see the spirit of understanding work in the people when they open their hearts. Sister B taught us about the difference between having a knowledge about something and understanding it. Understanding comes from an open heart. A good example is Abinadi when he taught the evil king Noah and said,

32 And now, did they understand the law? I say unto you, Nay, they did not all understand the law; and this because of the hardness of their hearts; for they understood not that there could not any man be saved except it were through the redemption of God.

Our understanding depends on our ability to open up our hearts. The baptismal service was after church, and a lot of the ward attended. The service went according to plan without any problems, which is a miracle. I’m so grateful to see the miracle of conversion in the mission.

Ready for another week.

Elder Walker

Hey Hey Hey

Well,

This last week was an interesting week of work and record breaking. We broke my personal record of lessons and new investigators found, and were able to bring some of those new investigators to church. We have been teaching a bunch of Haitians, and they are so receptive to the gospel. They almost always let you in to teach. Anyway, we are teaching a Haitian couple the man is named Philip, and he is so great. We found him last week, he speaks more Portuguese than Spanish so it was fun to speak in Portuguese to teach him. I don't speak perfectly, but it’s good enough to be understood. When they went to church on Sunday they loved it! It’s always a little nerve racking to bring an investigator to church for the first time, but it was a success. We got to watch a special Satellite transmission from Salt Lake for all of Chile. President Nelson directed the meeting. Elder Bradley looked at Philip and his wife when Elder Nelson went to talk and said this is an apostle of God...the spirit was so strong. 

We’re also teaching a sister called Ivonne and her sister Veronica. They’re amazing as well, and have listened to us for the past month. I love to teach them because they have a real desire to learn and to try. When we went to teach her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we asked her what she understood from the pamphlet that we left her to read. Her response was perfect. She said that baptism really called her attention, and that she felt the need to get baptized before it was too late to repent. We've been trying our best to turn that desire into faith. She worked a few Sundays, but we’re optimistic about the future and are confident that she’ll get baptized. 

Other than that I got a cold, but I’m getting better now, so no worries. I’m really enjoying being here with Elders Bradley and Hunter! It’s been really entertaining, and we spent most of the day teaching and laughing. It’s not always easy, but it is fun to be a missionary and a lot of that fun depends on how well you get along with you comps. In that respect, t I feel like I’ve been really blessed here on the mission. Thanks so much for all the support. Love you guys lots!

Elder Walker

OCHAGAVIA

Hi all,

Today we had changes, and out of no where we got a new companion!!! His name is Elder Bradley, and he's from Utah. He's a great friend who actually started the mission with me in Talagante. Elder Hunter and I are happy to be in a trio again and to be able to enter any house. It's also great because Elder Bradley speaks French, and in our sector there are a lot of Haitians. In Haiti they speak Creole, which is a French based language. Now we'll be able to communicate better with them. Many of them speak Creole and Portuguese, but not much Spanish.  I've been trying to learn a little Portuguese for a few transfers now. I'm going to try to learn a little French as well, so maybe I'll get back speaking Spanish, French and Portuguese.  haha. I love the mission. Things are great, and I've been learning a lot. Sorry don't have much time. Love you lots! 

Elder Walker