Over
these past 16 months my comps and i have worked hard in each sector to fulfill our purpose as missionaries which is to teach people and prepare
them for baptism. its taken a lot of patience, we gave our all in lots
of sectors. we practiced, studied and searched the scriptures, preach my
gospel and every other missionary book/tool we have to fulfill our
purpose, but up until saturday the 5th of december, i was not able to
baptize. finally (por fin) i was able to see alfonso danilo celis muñoz
walk into the waters of baptism after me and i was able to baptize him
at 7:30 saturday night.
we listened to two good talks from the elders
quorum president, and a sister missionary from argentina and then we
moved into the font room to the baptism. while changing in the
bathroom i was scared and nervous, so was danilo, but as we stepped into
the font together, and after he came out of the water, a feeling of peace
and pure joy and happiness came over both of us. i gave him a huge
soaking wet bear hug after he came out of the water and we stood there
for a good 10 seconds hugging it out.
we started teaching danilo 2 months
ago and he has progressed so fast and everything seemed to work out
perfectly. 30 or 40 members showed up to support danilo and danilos mom
haydeee, his dad jaime, and both his sisters barbara and javiera came as
well. we took tons of pictures before and after and as we came out of
the font together and it is an experience i will never forget. it makes
me think of the niños baptism and my own baptism. the spirit was felt by
all those who were there in that chapel and it turned out to be a great
night. on top of all that, danilos family invited us to a barbaque
after the service and we got to hang out and enjoy some time with the
muñoz family.
the day after in sacrament meeting,
elder salinas confirmed danilo, and danilo was also ordained to the
office of a teacher and recieved the aaronic priesthood. after the block
ended, branch president urzua interviewd danilo for a temple recomend
so that he can go with the branch youth on tuesday morning. in the end,
danilo was baptized, confirmed, got the priesthood and will go do
baptisms for the dead in the santiago temple and it all happened in the
space of 4 days. so awesome. i couldn't be happier.
that
was obviously the highlight of the week and now we need to keep working
hard to find more people that want to do the same thing as danilo.
questions:
did
you get your christmas package? it was supposed to be in chile last
wed.
yes i did thank you guys! ill send pictures when i open it!
what
scripture are you ponderizing this week?
ive been studying the bible a
lot this week and i have been thinking a lot about juan 3:16-17 and the
love that god has for us
did you get to watch the 1st presidency devotional?
no it started at 10pm here...
on a scale from 1 to 10
how much do you like tomatoes? with other foods....6
how
did you figure out that elder schlink was a cousin of dan and jen?
small world!
we got talking one day and i only know one schlink family
so i told him i had neighbors named dan and jen and he goes no way they
are my aunt and uncle!
what is your very favorite christmas tradition with our family?
sharing the whole day of the 25th with all the family
what
is the biggest difference in the ym/yw programs in the us and in chile?
there are no set mutual, instead of 40 youth there are about 10 in a
strong branch, there aren't real strong presidencies here either. its
kind of sad, but it got me excited to get home and work with the youth. i
want to be a quorum adviser or have a calling that deals with the youth
for sure. i always think of my great leaders like bro olsen, bro
layton, trent, bro brandon and bishop moore and how they helped me so i
want to do the same.
tell us about danilo's family. Are they
happy he is joining the church? does he have siblings? what are his
parents like? they are way cool,
danilos mom, haydee is a less active
and is super happy for danilo, his dad isnt a member but he is pleased
with the change that danilo has made and the two younger sisters are
super funny and love the church and the missionaries.
does the
ward teach new member lessons after a baptism like they do here?
the
missionaries are in charge of reteaching the missionary lessons here in
chile
what is the most effective tool for retaining new members
in South America?
getting them a good friend group, reading the book of
mormon and praying with them everyday, good home teachers, and a calling
or assignment, no matter how small.
things
are going good here in san feña. elder salinas and i are so happy to
have seen danilo get baptized and confirmed and now we are going to keep
working hard. changes are already coming this saturday so ill let you
know what happens this change!
thanks for everything guys, love you all!
love,
elder pacheco
