February 18, 2013

Well we sure had a terrific week!

First off, today way P-Day and it was Ballin´. We went bowling at ¨Japi-Max¨ (the J is silent, therefore it funcions phonetically) and it was a blast. It was a lot of fun to go bowling, I bowled a solid 60! At times it´s hard to enjoy myself, but I´ve been really working on (and I´d say Improving) with simply taking a step back, having fun, enjoying myself, living in the moment, and being a kid. All too often we let imperfect situations stress us, and diminish the joy that our Heavenly Father truly wants us to have. We´ve got some terrific zone leaders, Elder Chase and Elder Glade who are great examples, not only because they´re terrific missionaries who strive to give heed to the Holy Ghost, but because they´re so happy and lighthearted! They frequently simply act like children and do funny stuff, which is always great, considering Jesus suggested that we be as little children. Well, in short it´s something that I´m working on. 

We´re working with some great people right now, who are all progressing in their respective ways. Lidia is awesome! She´ll be baptized the 27th, although I think to be honest it will be a tight squeeze with her date, we still need to teach some commandments, but she *Shouldn´t* have a problem with any of them. We will probably fast tomorrow for her to have the faith to be baptized when it´s apropriate (the 27th) and that with her current job situation, she can find the time to focus on Christ, feel free to join in. Please continue to pray for Lidia, her son Fabian, Leda, Gabriela, Lidia, the Rodriguez Family, Kyle and Natalia, and Claudio and Baraba. And the ward Clara Estrella! And the Retencion, ha!

I´d say the biggest challenge right now (well, A challenge, maybe not the biggest) is to to find the people with whom we´ve been teaching and helping, both with their schedules, and ours. Also becuase there are going to be more missionares here in Clara Estrella, (2 more!!) in a week! And we are looking for a house to rent like crazy! As of now, we´ve had some interesting nibbles, but just nibbles. So pray that we find a house THIS WEEK as well. 

In divisions, we had an awesome lesson with a recente convert named Ruben. He LOVES so so much the LDM, is very intelligent, and reads it all the time- in the morning, at lunch, in the afternoon, before he goes to bed. He´s got a truly inspirational testimony and shares it a lot. He actually helped me to realize that I, as a missionary, have a powerful, happy testimony of the gospel as well as of Jesus, of the BOM, etc. 

The power of the members is astounding. They are amazing, and are willing to support us, with lunches, and help us teach our investigators. We had a great experience with that, when 72 year old Hermana Sandoball accompanied us to an appointment, walking in the dusty streets of Santa Olga with 33 degress of heat (Celsius). She really helped Lidia, feel the importance and gain more testimony of the church, and is helping her have the courage to make the social change that is required, that is, a shift from Evangelical to LDS. It was a great lesson, and we could not have had near the spirit, nor influence without her. 

I got to play the organ/piano again this past week, it was awesome. Keep up musical studies!

Love you all, 

The Church is true, Jesus lives, The BOM Changes lives, God is our father, and the Restuarcion is continuing through the prophets that we have and have had. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Elder Tasso!

January 11, 2013

Dear Family!

We had a wonderful week! Lidia is really really progressing. I haven´t been able to teach with her for about a week, I was in divisions, and she has been working a lot, but she is doing very well and will be baptized the 27th. She has a wonderful desire to repent and be baptized, to leave the world behind, and to change her life. Her son Fabian is progressing as well, but has been on vacation a bunch, but should also be ready for his baptisimal date. 

We found Gabriela this week, she´s twenty years old, and asked us, ¨How can I repent and Draw closer to Christ?¨, Which of course to be honest, isn´t the most common question from the people. It's wonderful to see how prepared she is, and her desire to leave behind the world. She´ll be baptized the 16th of March. We´re working hard to help these people really have friends and support in the church, because if they don´t, they´ll just inactivate themselves, but the Ward here is ballin´and progressing, and has desires to help these people. 

We´ve really felt the spirit, and felt our teaching experiences change and improve by teaching who really is Jesus Christ, Why he is important, etc. To ask you all a similar question to what we´ve used in teaching, How do you feel about Christ? 

We shared the above with a sister in our ward tuesday(ish). We then asked her to pray everyday to have the opportunity, to share her testimony with someone whom God has prepared for her. She accepted and we asked her about a neighbor or friend that would be prepared as well. She told us about her neighbor, and in that moment, her neighbor walked by! She got up and went to talk to him, and invited him to an activity that we had friday. He accepted and it was awesome, although acutally worked that night and so couldn´t come, but we´re going to track him down. But that experience as a whole, was a huge miracle!

I had the opportunity to play the piano in church sunday in divisions. It was freakin´ awesome, and although I really haven´t practiced steadily for, give or take, 2 years, God blessed me with the ability to play well, to concentrate on the notes, and to bring a little more spirit into the meeting. I also played with the ¨fake organ¨ feature, which was sweet. I want the calling of Ward Organist when I return, officially, but I´ll have to practice a lot!

I´m/We´re teaching English a ton! I´m teaching to my comp. and Elders Alonso and Guevara, with whom we live, and we, as companions, are teaching to the ward and the community saturdays at 12. If you all want to come, your invited. The church is next to Gasco. 

Ha, it really is so fun to teach and disect English. It´s hard work, and gratifying to varying degrees, but it´s a process that we go through as missionaries. For us Gringos, to learn Spanish, and for the other Elders, to learn English. But we all do pretty well, and it´s an excellent opportunity to develop Charity, Knowledge, and patience, which are VITAL. Because, well, Jesus had them. 

Peace out, Love you all, Thanks for the love, support and letters!

Elder Tasso!

February 4, 2013 Dearest Family!

I love you all!

Experiences!

As we all know it´s easy to get caught up in the day to day errands, tasks, and junk that aren´t important and to forget to love the people. That happened to us sunday, right before the sacrament. For example, there wasn´t bread for the sacrament, so we went looking for some from a neighbor by the church. I ended up asking a lady to borrow some ¨marraketa¨ for the sacrament, she was really nice and we got everything solved and working smoothly quickly. That was funny. 

But anyway, I was really concentrated on what WASN´T. What wasn´t to standard with the States, I suppose. 

During the sacrament, I prayed as always, but especially first gave thanks for all of the good things. For the new church, for the efforts of the Relief society, for the bishopric and his counselors, for the hymns and music, for the bread, for the cool air, Sister Moena, etc. 

After, as always, I prayed for forgiveness- for my weaknesses, for a lack of energy or enthusiasm, for judging people unjustly, and for my negative thoughts. 

The end result was that I was able to have one of the most significant experiences ever taking the sacrament. And throughout the church services, I was happy, relaxed, and able to focus more fully on helping everyone else. 

I´m not sure what was very different about that sunday, but It was awesome and wanted to share that with you, and the spirit, especially from the testimonies of the members, was very very strong. 

Also the Church is true becuase Patricio, a member who recently moved from Argentina, has the following testimony. 

He wanted to come closer to God, Investigated the other churches, but was denied becuase he wasn´t to their standard. The Catholics told him that he was too old to be baptized. He said that Jesus was baptized at 33. They said that Jesus is the son of God, and you aren´t. That´s actually a lie! The others didn´t turn out either, excecpt for ours, because he prayed to God to find HIS chruch, and the missionaries in Argentina found him. 

Lidia is progressing very very well. She´ll be baptized the 27th, and really wants to repent and change. She also always gives us lots of fruit or bread, that´s awesome. It´s a miracle to see how prepared she came for us, I remember when we contacted her, it was a thought that came to us. We came over to talk to her, her son and friends. Turned out that she really wanted to change, and was, and IS sick of a life of sin. 

Fabian, Her son, is also progressing well, buutttttt it´s probable that he will be going to the beach for like 3 weeks and so really won´t be ready or prepared, but in the near future will be baptized. Updates to come on when and how long he´ll be gone. There's a cool concept here, to ditch and go to the beach for long periods of time, even up until the whole summer, in a beach house. 

Pray for Edith. She´s very, (way too) socially comfortable in her Evangelical church. The ward is going to visit her and help her, but she´s probably not ready to be baptized in the near future. 

Pray for the Zone Ochagavia, that we can achieve our 12 baptisms set as goals for the month of Febuary! 

Our home ward, with 22 missionaries, really has soo much impact in the world. The small things that all of my leaders have done for me, have helped me arrive and become at where I am, and where the other young men and women are, today. Alma 37:7. 

Mom and Dad, please send my love and thanks to your parents, friends, etc.  for their letters, especially Grandma Ethella, for the lovely consistent Dear Elders! Thanks for your testimonies and support! 

It´s really hot here in Chile. But not too hot. 

With Love!!

Elder Tasso

January 28, 2013

Dearest Dear ones!

This week was especially special. Cool experiences.

A sister in our ward, Hermana Eva Moena, is awesome. She gives us lots of refernces, of her friends and neighbors, etc, and is more and more converted every day. Yesterday, sunday, we had shared The Restaration with her friends Rosa and Nancy. They´re interested and progressing, but it´s especially wonderful to see the courage that Sister Moena has to share these things, without fear of losing friends, or rejection. We were walking home yesterday, and she passed by to talk to us on her bike. She told us how truly happy she was, and how a month ago, she was depressed and discouraged, but that something had changed. Well, that change was to turnoutward, to share the gospel, to strenghten her testimony, serve, and help her family! She was more or less, brimming with happiness! 

The Lord blessed us with a baptismal date with Edith. She´s evangelical, really nice, 73, and loves the religious life style, but lacked important docrtine. She had told us a couple of times, to NOT COME BACK, because she was comfortable, essentially, being evangelical. But we read 2 nephi 31:11-... and Mateo 3:... with her, and pretty much told her that, to follow christ she had to be baptized, recieve the holy ghost, look for HIS church, etc. She accetped a date, came to church for the 2nd time sunday, and is progressing well. That was neat. 

I also want to repent! I feel that I boasted in my letter last week. The Lord blessed us with many miracles 2 weeks ago, AND this past week. 

Stuff that is happening.

-Im teaching English to Elderes Manzano, Alonso, Guevara, and the Ward (starting saturday). There´s a lot of demand, they can learn to communicate gospel truths to even MORE people, and it´s a crazy language. But it´s a fun and gratifying experience every time to help them learn to communicate in English. 

-The pianast was at the beach, so I got to play the piano with the fake organ sounds these past 2 sundays. It was dope! I really want to be organist when I return. Although I sure do need to practice, ha!!!!!!!!! 

-We regularly talk with the funniest, craziest people in the street. Old people are funny, and like attention. Do something nice for an old person this week. I know there are lots at church, say hi or something. How´s Brother Weibell doing? 

This is the church of Christ, Jesus is our savior, and lives today. We can come close to him,and come to know him, by studying his life. 

With Love, 

Elder Tasso!