Glad Tidings of Great Joy

Last Monday we had a family home evening with a new investigator, Florinda, and her daughter-in-law and granddaughter. She has been coming to church for a few weeks now and we've been trying to teach her for a while. It is difficult because she is single and lives alone. We finally got the chance to do it and it went super well. We were able to explain the authority that we have in a way that she accepted and understood. Now she is reading the Book of Mormon and absolutely loves it. She also loves coming to church and the classes there. If we can teach her more, I believe she will be baptized very soon. We set Constansa's baptismal date for the  16 of June ! She has changed so much in the time I have been here and worked with her. She is happier, talks to us more and appreciates our visits, and even her house is tidier and cleaner. She has been moving very slowly, but she has been moving. I believe that she can be baptized on that day and we are doing everything we can to h...

A day that will go down in Valdivian history forever occurred this week. Papa John's opened here just across from the terminal in centro. I am thrilled to report that their pizza is just as delicious here in Chile as it is in the States. The day after it opened a member shared some of their leftover pizza with us at lunch that they had gotten the day before. Until then I didn't know that there was a store here. We might be visiting there sometime soon. On a more important note, we started teaching 5 new people this week. Our goal was 4 for the week, and we over achieved it. The thing that made the difference was setting specific goals each day and working and making plans to accomplish them. It is something that we can always apply, making small goals each day to achieve the bigger ones over time. Focusing on accomplishing small tasks and not getting overwhelmed by the bigger ones. We receive line upon line, and we accomplish in the same way. 2 Nefi 28:30 I also had a c...

Another cambio come and gone here in Estanque. After the lack of a phone call last night, I will be staying here with Elder Price for another 6 weeks. I am grateful for the chance to continue working with the people we have. I hope we can continue to help them and help them progress. There are some great people here, and we are working and praying constantly for them. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support from that side of the equator. Winter is here, but the rain and cold are still just creeping in. It is pretty comfortable for the most part, and we stay relatively dry with our rain jackets and pants and umbrellas. Sometimes the wind makes it a little harder, but so far so good and our house is plenty warm and comfortable. God is helping and protecting us. We had zone conference this week and one thing they focused on was asking everyone for references. This is something we had started to slack on a bit so we've started it up again. We were visiting a few peopl...

Not much time this week, but I just wanted to check in and let you all know I am still alive and well- despite having to receive a flu shot this morning. That was arranged by President. You will all be proud to know that I took it without complaint and only shed a tear or two;) We met a man who followed the religion of Odin, it was a cool experience and his wife spoke English fluently so we had a nice experience and time talking to her and sharing our testimonies. I also carried a very heavy box about a 1/4 of a mile full of groceries for a couple of  Haitians we found one night. That was a quick service opportunity, and a humbling experience. Anyways, I hope you have a great week!! Love, Elder Brighton