Hey Everybody!
Have any of you ever started out one day with an idea of how it was going to go, and then it turned out completely different from how you originally wanted? That very thing happened to me today.
P Days always turn out to be one of the most hectic days on the mission for a number of different reasons. One is that we are always going to get groceries, or we are running to get something we forgot or trying to scrape up lunch. So Yesterday I decided that we were going to have a completely chill day and nothing was going to happen so that we could go back to the pension and take a break. And that's exactly what happened until we went out of the pension for just a little bit to buy some bread.
We rounded the corner of Pedro Duarte and see that the sky seemed a little dark, like it was going to rain. It seemed odd though, because it was actually pretty hot outside, and rain was not predicted for at least a few weeks. That's when we realized what it really was: smoke. A house about a block down had caught on fire and was belching dark billows of smoke into the summer heat. We at first walked with an interested gawking sort of a way. Then as we got closer and we realized how the fire had just started not two minutes ago, something happened in my mind. A switch, a light went on that changed my entire basis of thought. We all started running over towards the house. Without thinking about anything else, we barged into the house and started yelling to see if anyone was there. Luckily, the family had all gotten out and people had started to take things out. The Firefighters got there at about the same time as we did, but the only difference there was the water pressure. To understand that statement, I need to explain something about Chile. In Chile, being a firefighter is an honor, but it is voluntary, not paid. So they didnt kick us out or anything, they just let us help them hose down the burning building. We took out a lot of the possessions, and tried to salvage as much as we could, but we had to leave because the roof was going to come down from the weakness of the wood from the fire and the weight of the water. The last thing the lady (the owner) asked me to get for her was a frame of the last supper. I kind of had to run through a bunch of rubble and fire house blasts to get it, but in the end, I got her precious heirloom. We were one of the last people to leave out of the volunteers, and we left as inconspicuously as any dirty gringos with ties, plaques and backpacks could.
The last thing we did before we left was give her a book of mormon, promising her that all true peace and happiness resided within the pages of that book. I learned today the true value of integrity and how selfless service is the fullest kind of blessing that we can ever hope to receive. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to serve. I hope I can continue to serve until the very end of my mission, o sea, when I die.
Thanks for everything guys, you really are a great support for me!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Dogs and Gratitud
Hola Everybody!!!
Things here in Tocornal have been going great, with the exception of Fi Fi, one of favorite family´s dog, who died yesterday. We came over and dug a whole and buried her. We sang God be with you til we meet again and I said a dedicatory prayer. It was nice, but very strange. We buried her behind the house, but there was still music blasting, kids running around everywhere, and it seemed almost impossible in that moment to give that dog a moment of solace.
Our other favorite family, Omar and Veronica, threw us a party. Unbenownst to me, it was a suprise birthday party. I felt so grateful for the effort and time they put in just for me! Me, a 20 year old gringo that struggles with spanish and just about everything else. I felt love that day. Love is getting over the faults someone may have, and caring for them anyway. That was something that I learned before the mission, and then had reinforced during.
I have been reflecting these past few weeks about my mission, and the progress everyone is making. There are a lot of people now that are younger than me in the mission but are now my district and zone leaders. Although we shouldnt worry ourselves about it, it is still something that is expected as you get older in the mission. I am used to be in a leadership position and I have the personality that will take a situation and command it, but here in the mission, all I have done is train. I felt for a while that my talents and abilities were being wasted a bit, but as I thought about it more, and especially after I read Mom's email, I realized that God puts us in the place where we will grow. I didnt realize how prideful I was until I got onto the mission and saw just how arrogant and puffed up I had been. I realized that God put me in a position to grow, as he does with everybody. Lift where you stand. Its good advice. Taking off the complicated vocabulary and fancy dialect and we can see a person for what he really is. I hope that down inside something is growing. Something that will help to shape me as a man and as a missionary. I have come to realize that true happiness lies in the simpliest of things. So why complicate it so? I realized how grateful I needed to be for my situation, my parents, and for everything else inbetween. I am so grateful for Grandma and Grandpa's consistancy with their writing and for always giving me the updates on the Utah weather. I love you guys and love to read your letters! Im grateful for Aunt Polly who even though its not a lot, she at least expresses her sincere feelings and really helps me out. I feel your prayers helping me keep my feet forward and my chin up. Thanks for everything guys!
Elder Westover
Things here in Tocornal have been going great, with the exception of Fi Fi, one of favorite family´s dog, who died yesterday. We came over and dug a whole and buried her. We sang God be with you til we meet again and I said a dedicatory prayer. It was nice, but very strange. We buried her behind the house, but there was still music blasting, kids running around everywhere, and it seemed almost impossible in that moment to give that dog a moment of solace.
Our other favorite family, Omar and Veronica, threw us a party. Unbenownst to me, it was a suprise birthday party. I felt so grateful for the effort and time they put in just for me! Me, a 20 year old gringo that struggles with spanish and just about everything else. I felt love that day. Love is getting over the faults someone may have, and caring for them anyway. That was something that I learned before the mission, and then had reinforced during.
I have been reflecting these past few weeks about my mission, and the progress everyone is making. There are a lot of people now that are younger than me in the mission but are now my district and zone leaders. Although we shouldnt worry ourselves about it, it is still something that is expected as you get older in the mission. I am used to be in a leadership position and I have the personality that will take a situation and command it, but here in the mission, all I have done is train. I felt for a while that my talents and abilities were being wasted a bit, but as I thought about it more, and especially after I read Mom's email, I realized that God puts us in the place where we will grow. I didnt realize how prideful I was until I got onto the mission and saw just how arrogant and puffed up I had been. I realized that God put me in a position to grow, as he does with everybody. Lift where you stand. Its good advice. Taking off the complicated vocabulary and fancy dialect and we can see a person for what he really is. I hope that down inside something is growing. Something that will help to shape me as a man and as a missionary. I have come to realize that true happiness lies in the simpliest of things. So why complicate it so? I realized how grateful I needed to be for my situation, my parents, and for everything else inbetween. I am so grateful for Grandma and Grandpa's consistancy with their writing and for always giving me the updates on the Utah weather. I love you guys and love to read your letters! Im grateful for Aunt Polly who even though its not a lot, she at least expresses her sincere feelings and really helps me out. I feel your prayers helping me keep my feet forward and my chin up. Thanks for everything guys!
Elder Westover
Monday, January 10, 2011
Just To Stop By
Hey Everybody!
I hope everyone is doing well! We are doing pretty good: We blew over changes again without any problems. This is going to be my fourth change in Tocornal, which means that I will have been in this sector for at least a fourth of my mission: wow! But its not something that I dread. In fact, I am very excited! In the short fourth month period that we have been in Tocornal, we have had 11 baptisms. Just to give you guys a perspective on that, in all my other sectors, we were lucky if got a baptism a change. that gets you about 12 baptisms in your whole mission. I am so thankful that I came here to see how amazing the mission work can run when the members do their part.
We have two fechas for the month. Nicole, the girl who believes in reincarnation. and Carlos, the long haired guy who is going to get married soon. They both are progressing great and all coming to church. Last week we had 11 investigators come to church. it was pretty cool.
I am so glad for this opportunity that I have been given to be a servant of the lord. I can tell from long hours of study and introspection that we are basically the sum total of what we do, think, and say. It is essentially an easy concept to grasp, but it has infinite consequences. I am so proud of my parents and for the exemple that they are in my life.
Gracias por todo lo que han hecho para la obra misional!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover
I hope everyone is doing well! We are doing pretty good: We blew over changes again without any problems. This is going to be my fourth change in Tocornal, which means that I will have been in this sector for at least a fourth of my mission: wow! But its not something that I dread. In fact, I am very excited! In the short fourth month period that we have been in Tocornal, we have had 11 baptisms. Just to give you guys a perspective on that, in all my other sectors, we were lucky if got a baptism a change. that gets you about 12 baptisms in your whole mission. I am so thankful that I came here to see how amazing the mission work can run when the members do their part.
We have two fechas for the month. Nicole, the girl who believes in reincarnation. and Carlos, the long haired guy who is going to get married soon. They both are progressing great and all coming to church. Last week we had 11 investigators come to church. it was pretty cool.
I am so glad for this opportunity that I have been given to be a servant of the lord. I can tell from long hours of study and introspection that we are basically the sum total of what we do, think, and say. It is essentially an easy concept to grasp, but it has infinite consequences. I am so proud of my parents and for the exemple that they are in my life.
Gracias por todo lo que han hecho para la obra misional!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Second Christmas
Hey everybody!
Well, it seems like Santa marked Chile as the last country on his list to get packages. I got three today. One was from grandma and grandpa, the other two were from the family (Christmas and birthday). I felt so happy and filled with gratitude for all the people out there! Alyssa, thanks for the letter, I can tell that your growing into a beautiful young woman (so can all my other companions). I had one offer of a wedding proposal to you already, if I hadn't already told you. I about socked him in the face. Andi, I love getting your letters. They are random and weird, and basically all the things I would expect out of Andi. Jeffery, I haven't really gotten anything out of Jeffery. That means he's turning into a guy. Good job Jeffery! I am also very bad at writing people, so I don't really expect much. Its alright though. I'll see you when I come back! Mom and Dad, I always like getting the updates about everybody. I know they seem like small minutia, but it helps me to feel included. I am so grateful for all the gifts you guys got for me. ALL of those things are going to go to use because I have a lot of shirts that are going to the grave, and some garments with staining problems. Basically all the wear and tear of a mission. The peanut butter will go into my collection. Now I have a bunch! I feel like if the apocalypse happened tomorrow, I could survive on my 72 hour emergency peanut butter kit. I also wanted to thank Grandma and Grandpa for all the gifts as well. Unfortunately, Christmas has already passed, so I might have to give the tree to some poor elder that's still going to be here next Christmas, or I could keep it for next year when I'm poor and in college again. The toothbrush was an ingenious idea, too. As a missionary, the best gifts are the most practical ones. So the utilitarian award goes to grandma and grandpa! I loved everything though. I really felt like you guys jumped out of the boxes and gave me a big hug.
Things are going great in the sector! we had the baptisms of Omar and Veronica last Sunday, which have probably been the strongest baptisms that we have aver had. I'm serious. I can see Omar being a bishop in a few years. Veronica shared her testimony after the baptism about the first missionary that can to her house: one of the members of the ward. They talked a lot about how you don't need to have a plaque to be a missionary. It was very nice and I really felt like they understood so much about the gospel after only haven been investigating for a very short period of time. It really shows the power of the members in the conversion process. A lot of members don't see their part in the process, but all in all, we are only teachers. When they talk about people going out spreading the gospel, I hope you don't think of the missionaries. It is talking about you guys! Missionaries should devote all their time teaching the gospel, not knocking doors. The time that missionaries waste knocking doors is the Lord's time. Missionaries go to teach, not find. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now. I just know that the best converts come from members.
We have another girl named Nicole that is going to get baptized fairly soon. She is progressing fairly well, but she believes in reincarnation and other strange things, so getting her to progress has been a bit of a slow process.
Yoselin, a 21 year old girl that got baptized a few weeks ago has also been helping us out with her family. her parents are pretty hard headed, but they like us and what we do. I think either in this month or the next, we will see a few baptisms from that as well.
Thanks for everything everybody! Your help and love has helped me out through all the tough times, and I am excited to see you all in the somewhat distant future!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover
Well, it seems like Santa marked Chile as the last country on his list to get packages. I got three today. One was from grandma and grandpa, the other two were from the family (Christmas and birthday). I felt so happy and filled with gratitude for all the people out there! Alyssa, thanks for the letter, I can tell that your growing into a beautiful young woman (so can all my other companions). I had one offer of a wedding proposal to you already, if I hadn't already told you. I about socked him in the face. Andi, I love getting your letters. They are random and weird, and basically all the things I would expect out of Andi. Jeffery, I haven't really gotten anything out of Jeffery. That means he's turning into a guy. Good job Jeffery! I am also very bad at writing people, so I don't really expect much. Its alright though. I'll see you when I come back! Mom and Dad, I always like getting the updates about everybody. I know they seem like small minutia, but it helps me to feel included. I am so grateful for all the gifts you guys got for me. ALL of those things are going to go to use because I have a lot of shirts that are going to the grave, and some garments with staining problems. Basically all the wear and tear of a mission. The peanut butter will go into my collection. Now I have a bunch! I feel like if the apocalypse happened tomorrow, I could survive on my 72 hour emergency peanut butter kit. I also wanted to thank Grandma and Grandpa for all the gifts as well. Unfortunately, Christmas has already passed, so I might have to give the tree to some poor elder that's still going to be here next Christmas, or I could keep it for next year when I'm poor and in college again. The toothbrush was an ingenious idea, too. As a missionary, the best gifts are the most practical ones. So the utilitarian award goes to grandma and grandpa! I loved everything though. I really felt like you guys jumped out of the boxes and gave me a big hug.
Things are going great in the sector! we had the baptisms of Omar and Veronica last Sunday, which have probably been the strongest baptisms that we have aver had. I'm serious. I can see Omar being a bishop in a few years. Veronica shared her testimony after the baptism about the first missionary that can to her house: one of the members of the ward. They talked a lot about how you don't need to have a plaque to be a missionary. It was very nice and I really felt like they understood so much about the gospel after only haven been investigating for a very short period of time. It really shows the power of the members in the conversion process. A lot of members don't see their part in the process, but all in all, we are only teachers. When they talk about people going out spreading the gospel, I hope you don't think of the missionaries. It is talking about you guys! Missionaries should devote all their time teaching the gospel, not knocking doors. The time that missionaries waste knocking doors is the Lord's time. Missionaries go to teach, not find. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now. I just know that the best converts come from members.
We have another girl named Nicole that is going to get baptized fairly soon. She is progressing fairly well, but she believes in reincarnation and other strange things, so getting her to progress has been a bit of a slow process.
Yoselin, a 21 year old girl that got baptized a few weeks ago has also been helping us out with her family. her parents are pretty hard headed, but they like us and what we do. I think either in this month or the next, we will see a few baptisms from that as well.
Thanks for everything everybody! Your help and love has helped me out through all the tough times, and I am excited to see you all in the somewhat distant future!
Con Amor,
Elder Westover
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