¡Hola!
Whoa, this week has been loco.
First things first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD :)
Thanks for being the greatest!
This week we had the super incredible opportunity
to have an apostle visit our mission! There was a huge conference, and
all the missionaries traveled to Osorno to listen to Elder Russell M.
Nelson. Those of us in Punta Arenas y Coihyque (probably didn't spell
that right) didn't get to go to Osorno because we're too far away, but we did
get to watch the conference via Skype. Woohoo for modern technology :)
Elder Nelson talked about a ton of really awesome things, but I'll just
share a few short things that he talked about.
1) DON'T WASTE TIME! Time passes quickly
and we should always live in such a way that we can look back on life and
think, "Yeah, I did everything I could with the time I had."
Here in the mission specifically he counseled us that when we finish we
should be able to look back without thinking "I could have helped one more
person." Even if you aren't out serving a mission the idea of not
wasting time is applicable in every facet of life. As one of my coaches
always said, "The pain of discipline is better than the pain of
regret."
2) Smile :) Life rocks. It's a
time to be happy. We should all try to smile more. We're all going
to pass through hard times, it's a fact of life, but we should do all we can to
smile in the good times and the bad times. Appreciate what you have
around you.
3) Don't waste time thinking about the stupid
things you've done in the past. I know I've made a lot of mistakes in the
past and done a lot of stupid things, but when we dwell on these mistakes we
aren't helping ourselves or anyone else. Resolve to do better and be
better, but don't dwell on mistakes of the past.
He talked about a lot of other really great
things too, but these points were the ones I wanted to share specifically.
We had intercambios this week as well.
Hna. Zeballos and I were together in my sector for the day, and it was pretty
fun to direct the sector. Scary too, but fun. I learned a ton that
day. One thing she said really hit me. She asked me how I would
define a successful missionary, and how one gets to the point of being
successful. I don't remember exactly what I said, but it was something
along the lines of that a successful missionary trusts in the Holy Ghost, knows
what they're doing, and gets to this point with time in the mission. She
told me to throw away the idea that to be successful we need time and
experience in the mission. Someone with one day in the mission can be as
successful as someone with only one day left if he/she is following the guidance
of the Spirit. When we trust in our own experience we are turning away
from the help of the Lord. It's really true. In the lessons where
we've had the most success, it's because we're being guided by the
Spirit. It's hard to explain, but it's a really cool experience. I
still have a LOT of room to improve in this area, but I also know that our
Heavenly Father doesn't give us responsibilities without divine aid.
As for other things that have happened this
week, JORGE GOT BAPTIZED :D He said he's never been happier :) It
was a super awesome baptismal service, and it's been really cool to watch his
progress over the past few months.
One miracle this week was that Evelyn came to
church!! This was seriously a HUGE miracle! She is
incredible. She really wants to keep learning more, and we've seen a huge
change in her life. Everytime we visit she seems so much happier.
They call Chicago "The Windy City,"
but boy oh boy, I have never experienced wind like here in Punta Arenas.
It's super fun :) The other day the wind was so strong! We were
struggling so hard to walk. hahaha it was super funny :)
Sorry this email is kind of long, but I hope
you all have an incredible week :D
Keep on keeping on,
Hermana Coombs
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