Oh man, I've been so excited for this PDay, you have no idea! So much I wanted to read and write, and a ton of stuff I wanted to do! And I was so excited to see the pictures of baby Mae again!!! But it sounds like you guys are having a great holiday! I'm sure that was an awesome surprise of Caelan just showing up! Who knows, maybe I can surprise you like that! ;) Haha no, but I'm super happy that you spent it together! I'm super jealous that you all got to hold little Mae, but oh well. I guess I just have dibs for when I get back! But you are so right, Mothers Day needs to comes really quickly.
Yeah, everything is going well in Pozo! The work is really different, like you thought, because it is so much smaller than Alto Hospicio, which was already small compared to other cities! But there is a lot of service. We are working hard to fix what the past Elders in Pozo have done. Apparently, this sector used to be the ''sector de castigo'' (punishment sector). Terrible missionaries were sent here, and they ruined everything. They were super slacked off, and basically destroyed the relationship with the members here. So we are rebuilding those, and trying to become good friends with them. Elder McKinlay has been working on that the whole six months that he's been here, too, so he's made some headway. But we're also just trying to give the name of Elders a good connotation with all the people here. And I feel like it's working. When we contact people, they have already heard of us, and our service, and are a little more inviting to us. And, we've had an inactive come up to us and tell us that he wants to return to the church! We were like, uhhh Yeah!!! His name is Miguel, and he's been inactive for a long time. So we are teaching him and his wife. But as I'm writing this, I'm getting the feeling that I've written it all before. So, what's new with them, is that they have invited us by more and more, and are getting more interested. Hay bautismo!!! (There is a baptism) We are also continuing teaching Fani and Cristina. Fani works 24/7, so it was kinda hard because she was gone this week, but if we can get back in touch, she is so ready to be baptized. Especially, because she has a ton of friends in the branch! Which is always so helpful. We're also trying hard with the members here and having them accompany us in our lessons. They are way more helpful than they think they are, especially if they are conversos (converts), and can relate their own experiences that were similar to the investigator's! So, we're carrying them with us more and more.
One of our investigators is called Lily. She is really... interesting. Usually when we invite to be baptized, and the people aren't into that idea yet, they're kinda tentative. We invited her, she just flat out was like 'No.' Which was kind of surprising, but then she explained that she believes what we are sharing is true, but she wants to ''conocer mas la iglesia" (to know more of the church). Then she tells us that she has this dream that has been in her head for a while that she had a long time ago. She was with her newborn baby, and she was running in Pozo. All the people were after her, or rather, her baby. She felt like they wanted to kill her baby. So she runs away from them, trying to find somewhere to hide, a safe place. She ends up running to Iquique, which is almost 2 hours away by car. But she finds there, as well, the people want to murder her baby! So she runs back! All the way back to either Alto Hospicio, or to Pozo, I couldn't tell, and everything is pitch dark, and she can't see where she is going, but is still running from the people. She then sees a man up ahead, and he holds out his hand to her, saying "Tranquila! Tranquila. Camina con fe, nada mal va a pasar. Camina con fe" (Calm, calm. Walk with faith, nothing bad is going to happen. Walk with faith.) So then she walks toward him, still wary, and when she reaches his side, she disappears. Then she wakes up. So then she started asking us what we thought her dream meant! Haha it's like, lady, I didn't even know you were talking about a dream, I certainly can't explain it! But we told her we'd think and pray about it. And so we did! And when we returned, we had an answer. She was with her baby, which represented her family. And all the people, the world, wanted to kill it, wanted to 'destroy her family'. And we know this is happening in the real world today. The family is under attack. So she ran, and searched for a way to save her family. And she was willing to go crazy distances, even to Iquique and back, to save it! But when she returns, everything is black. She doesn't know where she's going. So this, of course, represents that, in her life, she might be lost for a bit. But then she'll find this man, who of course, we know to be Jesus Christ. And He beckons her, and asks her to walk with faith, and not to worry! And she still has some work to do, she is still in a place where she can lose her family. And it is not until she comes side to side with Christ that she disappears from those trials. So we told her this interpretation that we had, and she was just quiet. And she just looks at us, and says, "I want to know your church more. I know this is true." So yeah, I was basically Joseph for a couple minutes haha! ;)
The work is going forward, though. It's super hard for me because I kind of just got yanked out of my other sector without warning. I also have no idea what's going to happen to me in a week. It's possible that I stay, that I leave to Los Condores again, or go to another city completely! It is also possible that I become a trainer, because I am finishing my training. (With three different trainers haha!) So I am kind of apprehensive. Especially because Elder McKinlay has been in Pozo for 6 months. So it's almost certain that he will leave. And if that's true, I'm again leading a sector that I do not know... but oh well, it's all part of God's plan, I guess. What can you do but push forward! I always have the song 'Put your shoulder to the wheel' in my head, especially when it says, 'We all have work, let no one shirk'. That part is stuck with me, and helps me keep going, because I know that I am certainly not the only missionary working, and we all have our work to do. We cannot shirk away from it. The Lord needs me, specifically right now in the things I am doing here in Pozo. I can't let him down and not work, especially out of laziness, or not trying. And so we keep going. We are doing a lot of contacting, and that's helping us get new people, but it still feels like not enough. I don't know what we need to do more, but I feel like there is more to do. We must simply keep at it!
Life is kind of different living with only one other person in the pensión. It's a little more lonely. It's also having an impact on my spanish. He's a gringo. And he doesn't really have much more time than me in the field. His Spanish is... mas o menos. He can understand everything perfectly fine, but he really can't speak. His accent is way gringo, and his grammar is off. So when he teaches, the people don't understand him. I guess it's lucky for me, though, that I had Elder Crabtree. He taught me basically how to have a Latino accent, and when we talk to people here, they honestly think I've been here for almost two years. It's kinda wierd to have them look to me for a translation, but they do! I guess I've learned a lot more than I feel I have, when it comes to language. I tell people here that I carry about 11 weeks in Chile, and they are really surprised! They compliment my Spanish, which feels super good to me, because I was with Latinos before, or somebody who was about to go home after two years of Spanish, and so I always thought my Spanish straight sucked. But apparently, I have very definitely been blessed with the gift of toungues. Which is a relief, because I have been asking and searching for it so much! I am so grateful that the Lord is helping me out in this! It is honestly one of the biggest struggles of Chile. Next step, just straight memorizing vocabulary.
Now, question answering. Nah, I haven't gotten my camera yet, becuase we haven't had the oppurtunity to. We are so far outside anywhere where I can buy one, and every PDay that I want to, everyone in the Zone wanted to do something together. And I can't really drag my companion away from that, that wouldn't be fair, just so I can buy myself something. But next week for sure, I'm going to. My camera is out of battery, and the cord input on it doesn't work. So now, for the moment, I am camera-less. So I'll be hopping on that real soon. Haha, yeah, the other elders are now on their own with their bills! Hehe, it will be fun to watch them flail for a little. But yeah, the language is coming along well, and I'm getting more used to everything. I still have my bad days, where working in general is a lot more hard, but then I have the really good days too. Now it's just a matter of making every day good. Anyways, I love you all so much! I am trying hard not to count down the days of my return, but it's kinda hard when you have it pasted on my blog! ;) But take care! Este Evangelio es verdad! Yo amo cada dia en lo que yo puedo servir, y trabajar en el nombre de mi redentor. Espero que todos ustedes tienen una buena semana! Cuídense! (This Gospel is true! I love each day where I can serve, and work in the name of my Redeemer. I hope you all have a good week! Take care!)
Les amo a todos!
Elder Schmid
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