Greatandbusyweek!

 This week was great! I don’t have much time today, but everything has been going well!

This week we have been working and using most of our time with prepping the ward for missionary work. We had a ward missionary activity Saturday and so we were passing by the members house a lot is week to get them to actually come out. One of the APs taught in a training that to feel more of the spirit, and to have more spiritual learning experiences, we have to do three thing; Prepare, Participate, and Practice. So we have been passing by the members houses passing along a talk for them to read so they could "prepare" and have a better experience. We gave them one of the coolest talks ever according to missionary work given by President Hinckley in the 1999 Ensign called "Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep". And if you are a member, or missionary I would suggest to READ the talk and pray for missionary opportunities. I promise it will bless your life more than I can say. There is a saying that "Spiritual Experiences create friendships for the eternities". And we have really been trying to help the ward here see that we do missionary work, because these experiences will be recorded in the Heavens, and in us FOREVER.

I remember there was a time when our Stake President, at home had us write down three people we knew that we could share he gospel with, and I think I wrote down one person. I didn't know how, or when, to share the gospel with my friends and so I didn't even try. And if you feel in the same boat, then you can talk to the missionaries. Every missionary would love to help you share the gospel, because every member is a missionary, and our coolest lessons ever have been won a member. And so at this activity we taught the members more of how to share the gospel with their friends, and we gave them a list of specific ideas they could do each month to share the gospel. Then they chose like 5 new hints from this list every month and we pass by and do practices and help them if they don't know how to complete their goals. So we will see how it goes. I am really excited for this ward, because we know of the blessing that come from sharing the gospel with others!

And as for investigators, they are all doing well. We did a fast with Fredrick, and tried to take him to see a baptism but in the end we may have to drop him. He knows these things are true, but he won't come to church or complete with our commitments. So it's sad but we will see this week. And we could meet with the Venezuelan family his week, but they are doing well. And Julian is progressing immensely. He really was a blessing to find because there are times when we are teaching him that I almost forget he is an investigator and not a member he is so prepared! But we are excited.

Thanks for all you guys do and I hope you have an awesome week!

And share the gospel win a friend! It will bless you forever! If you want, email me and I can send you a whole list of ideas.

-Elder Chandler

Monkeying Around

Well, this week has felt like one of the hardest weeks working wise, and strangely one of the best as well. Every week just gets a little better because I feel like I am learning and changing little as every week goes by. This week was rough lesson wise, because almost EVERYONE failed us. Haha yesterday we had to plan splits with members and the other Elders because we had so many people to teach yesterday afternoon and all of them but one family called us right before and told us they couldn't meet. Or some just didn't even answer their doors or their phones when we came for the time we planned. Haha it was pretty rough, but through it I feel like I have learned a lot. A ton of people failed us, but at the same time there were some amazing people just put right in our path to find. People that we just talk to in the street, and after like 5-10 minutes of talking to them are already interested in coming to church. It's like the Lord is directing us out of our way of doing this work into his way and to the people he wants us to find.

But not everyone failed us. We had some really cool lessons this week where the Lord has really helped us out. We taught Diken  and Alejandra and their family this week and it was super legit. They fed us arepas and Venezuelan food and we taught another lesson of the Restoration with them because they were all here this time, and to answer questions. They are super cool. When we read a scripture, Diken will close his eyes and put his hand on the bridge of his nose to understand more of the scripture and they always have lots of great questions. We also brought Juan Manuel with us, and they are all really good friends which is cool. And this is the family that we challenged to a game of basketball to get to teach them! They are really cool and I am excited for them.

We have also been working a lot with the less actives here. One in particular is progressing immensely. When we met here about a month ago, she told us she was even sure if there was a God, or if even the Bible was true. But we met with her this last week, and she just had the greatest light in her eyes that wasn't there before. I wish I could describe the change we have seen in her but I can't. It was a miracle we even got contact with her at first because she was leaving her door right as we walked up, and now she texts us to see when we can meet next. And next week she has an interview with the bishop to get her Patriarchal blessing! We are super excited for her, and I have been able to really see how much this Gospel changes lives. 

I have been studying a lot about the power of the Book of Mormon and there is SO much power in this little 2 inch thick book. A quote from President Benson I like:

It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance. (Chapter 10: Flooding the Earth and Our Lives with the Book of Mormon)

I hope you all have an amazing week and I love you all!

Ciao

Elder Chandler 

It's Summer!!

So this week has been really good! Things have slowed down a little,
but we still had some good lessons, and it has been a fun week! 

 We sat down and talked with Edu and she decided that she wants to be
baptized in July, on Gran Canaria so that her boyfriend can do it. It
was kind of sad, because we may not get to see it, but she has grown
so much and she is doing well. We asked her to share her testimony and
she is SO ready! It is amazing to see the change in her and in the
people we get to help. 

 Fredrick is also doing really well. We met with him yesterday, and and
he said he knows that these things are true. He as well is seeing some
great changes in his life and I love him a ton. My favorite part of
the work is when they realize and can feel a change in their lives. 

 Something I have been learning this week is that we really need to
feast on the Words of Christ. We need to really be getting something
out of the Book of Mormon when we read, and I feel it every time I
study. We really need to start with a prayer, a desire, and a
question. And we will get much more from the scriptures. I have been
studying Hope a lot this week, and it says in the scriptures that we
must have faith, hope, and charity, but what really is hope? Hope is
what helps us through our trails, what gets us through those hard
times. Hope sometimes is the blessings of our faith (Alma 22:16). And
it can only come if we have faith. Faith in our Savior Jesus Christ,
and in his Atoning sacrifice for us. I have been studying Alma 22 and
Ether 12 together this week, and learned some cool stuff. 

 We also found a family from Venezuela this week who seem really cool.
We were walking down the street doing some passbyes, when we saw a guy
and his wife playing basketball on the court next to us. So we went
and challenged them to a game, and if we won, we would get to share a
quick message. And if we lost, we would go. Haha so we played a game
of around the world with them, and when we won we shared the message
of the Restoration with them. We are really excited for them, and they
are really cool so we will see! 

 Um.. Something funny this week. I was standing next to the heater
during studies and I was just standing there reading, when I smelt
something really bad. I then noticed smoke coming up around me, and
when I looked down I saw that my pants were on fire because I was too
close to the heater! Haha but it was all good, I got it out pretty
quick haha I just lost a pair of pants.  

 But it's has been an amazing week! I hope everything is going super
well and you guys have an awesome week! 

 Love, Elder Chandler 

 Here is a video from the ward activity. 

They are using guitars hand made by the guy in the gray sweater!