Week 75... Service with a Smile!!!

Wow, this week has probably been one of the busiest weeks in my mission!! Elder Woods and I have been not stopped running. It has been a really great week for us with a lot of ups and downs, and lots of twists and turns. But, at the end of the week, we look back and can’t help but to feel the love for each and every person we teach, and for each and every experience we have.

Tuesday: On Tuesday we had a Zone Conference. We combined Zones with Lebu and Coronel. Pres. Bluth and Hermana Bluth came and talked to us a lot about the importance of Repentance and Baptism. It was a great conference and it was so good to see everyone. I love the conferences; I always learn so much.

Wednesday: Today we had a mission broadcast. We were able to listen to Elder David A. Bednar. He was in Argentina giving a conference. He was able to talk to missionaries in all of South America. I learned so much from him and from his teaching. I know that he really is a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator. 

Friday: We had a conference for all the leaders in the mission. When we got there I was able to see all my friends. It was a really great conference until Hermana Bluth got up and told us that they would be returning home. Pres. Bluth has gotten sick and the doctors say it is better that he goes home and gets the problem fixed. They each gave their testimony of the missionary work and they each bore their testimony of Christ. There was not one dry eye in that room. It was amazing to me to see how even through trials, these two amazing people could be testifying of their Savior Jesus Christ. They have taught me so much through their example and love of our Savior

Saturday: We had an amazing Zone service. We got the whole zone together and we pulled out algae from a river near the church. It was the best service I have done on the mission. They had tractors and trucks and everything. We even made it on the news. 

We got to take a picture with the main guy on the news… #MORMONHELPINGHANDS  

Sunday: We saw so many miracles today in Church. We have been working so hard this week and it paid off. We had 6 investigators in church. Margarita, Camili, Maria Paz, Camila, Yasna and Wanderleia. We are so happy to see all of these people progressing.

So, that was what happened this week. It was a really busy week but so full of great learning experiences.

For my spiritual experience, I want to share a story of a conference talk that I read. It was of a little boy who went out with his friends and got all muddy and dirty. As he tried to walk back into his house, he was met by his Mom, and his mom said, "You can’t come back in you are dirty." 

I started thinking about the significance of that. Like the scriptures say... "No unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God". 

I started thinking about how important the sacrifice of Christ was for us, and how we should apply it each and every day. Christ paid the price and suffered all... SO THAT WE CAN CHANGE. 

Like it says in Alma 42:27: 

 "WHOEVER WANTS TO COME… CAN COME!!!!"

 We must accept our Savior and we must love Him. I am so grateful for the repentance process.  I know that repentance should be like soap...we should use it every day!!

And as we do so, we will become closer to our Savior and we will have our garments clean. And in the last days, we will stand before God and he will say “Enter, you have been cleaned.” 

Elder Boyer and Elder Woods

Week 74... Margarita's Miracle!!

Well everyone… this week has been one of many crazy miracles and many crazy experiences. I don’t have much time to tell them, but I will write of one. 

So over this last week, Elder Woods and I really went out looking for God’s lost sheep. Last week I wrote of a lady named Margarita. She had an accident about four months ago and is in a wheel chair. Well anyways, over the weekend, Elder Woods and I were in charge of doing an activity for the Zone. All 28 missionaries here in San Pedro came to our church and we had 2 hours of practices where we practiced our teaching skills. We thought it would be a good idea to invite a few members and even Margarita. So we did. She was so excited that we invited her and she accepted our offer. On Saturday morning we went over and picked her up. We wheeled her in her wheelchair all the way to the church. The whole way she was smiling ear to ear.... she had no idea what she was getting herself into.

When we got to the church she was greeted by 28 missionaries. The power that you could feel in that room was amazing. Each missionary took turns greeting her and talking to her. She was super happy. She had never felt so much love or attention ever before in her life. We then took her into a room and missionary after missionary got a turn to go in and teach her. At the beginning she had many questions, and by the end of her time she was smiling and loving every second. After all the missionaries had their chance to talk to her, we had her and a few members bare their testimony of what they had learned or what they had felt. This little old lady wheels herself up in front of everyone and delivers a heartfelt testimony. She said, “I am not part of your church YET, but being here today was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I could feel the love from each one of you. I have never seen such caring people before in my life." 

As these words left her mouth, my heart began to throb with emotion. I realized that there is no better work than that of missionary work. 

Oh, how many people are out there in the world just like Margarita; just waiting for someone to bring them this message?

 I love this work. I know this is the work of salvation. It was a great week for me and for everyone here. 

Week 73... A week of many changes!!!

Wow, this week has been a crazy week: New cambio, new area, new companion, and a lot of new faces. 

For those of you that don’t know; I changed sectors. I have been called to serve in the sector Boca Sur. My new comp. is Elder Woods.... so crazy because he is literally from my same city. We graduated together. I never thought in a million years I would be with him, and let alone kill him. He will be finishing his mission here in 6 weeks. But I know it is going to be an awesome transfer. He is a really awesome kid and we get a long really well. 

As far as our sector, it was really crazy what happened. There was actually a white wash in my sector. For those that don’t know; that is when they take the 2 missionaries out and put 2 new missionaries in that sector. Elder Woods and I are both new to that area. So when we got there the first day, we had no clue what we were going to do. We started calling members and tried to get out and work with them. We started working whit the ward missionary leader and he helped us get to know the people we are teaching. At the first of the week I felt like we were running around with our heads cut off. But as the week went on, we kept seeing more and more miracles. We found so many people. Boca is a really great place. It is a really poor area. We are in the slums. There are a lot of apartments full of people who don’t really live to the highest of standards. But as we have been teaching, we have noticed that everyone is willing to listen to us and come closer to Christ.

This week we saw so many miracles. I will tell you about two of them. One was super awesome. Elder Hatch, one of my buds, told me of a lady he was teaching and so we went over there and starting teaching her. We taught a lot of baptism and why she should do it. She was very receptive and accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 27th of Feb. She was also able to come to Church and she loved it. She is so excited to be baptized on the 27^th, so we are so excited for that day. I will let you know more about her as we teach her.

Another miracle that happened is that as we were leaving with a member we were talking to her and she said she was going to bring one of her friends that isn’t a member to church and that we needed to make her feel comfortable when she was there. On Sunday she walked in with a lady in a wheel chair. I ran over there and was talking to her... she was the nicest old lady ever. She had a huge smile on her face. She stayed all 3 hours of church and loved it. After church we went over to her house to talk to her. She totally loved our message and also accepted to be baptized on the 5th of March. She was so awesome. I know that God is putting people in our path. I know that He has His hand is this work. I love my new sector and my new comp. 

As for my spiritual thought, I found this scripture I love… I will share it with you. 

If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in perils by land or by sea; 

If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder... 

And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit , or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep ; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine...

8The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?

Through trials we grow. Everything we suffer through is for our own benefit.

Decorating Valentines Cookies!!!

Week 72....TRANSFERS and saying Goodbye to friends!!!

I loved serving with these Elders!

Elder Boyer didn't write much today, other than a short little blurb about his transfer. He will be getting transferred tomorrow to Boca Sur.

Boca Sur is a suburb of Concepcion. It is on the coast near the southern mouth of the Bio Bio River, hence the name Boca Sur or "south mouth".

He will be companions with Elder Hunter Woods, who just so happens to be from Mapleton too, and Tyler knows him from school. He is really excited to serve with him! Two Mapleton boys serving together in the South Mouth! 
Tyler will be "killing" Elder Woods...this will be his 5th Missionary that he has killed!

He sent a lot of pictures of saying good bye to the friends and families that he met in Los Angeles. He served there for 6 months and made many friends and had many great experiences there!

      

Week 71.... Our Race to Exaltation!!

This week was really a spiritual high for me. We were able to go to Concepcion this week and have a Mission Conference. In this Conference, they showed us a video that really made me think about our lives, and the role our Father in Heaven has in it. 

Here is the link... Derek Redmond: 1992 Olympics

 As I watched this video, I could not help but think about our lives. Each and every one of us are participating in our own race. According to our mom’s… We are the favorites to win this race. Everyone is the best in the eyes of their mom ;) Thanks mom!!!! But as we begin our race, sometimes things happen that aren’t expected. Sometimes we hit bumps in the road. Sometimes we fall down, sometimes we come up with an injury. All these things slow us down. In real life it may be things like death, temptation, or any type of sadness. We may feel the weight of the world on our shoulders. We may feel down at times, but just as the Dad of Derek;

Our Father in Heaven will be there to pick us up!!!! 

Together, FATHER AND SON… we will finish our race. No matter how hard it is, no matter how injured we may be, if we are diligent and faithful, God will be there to pick us up. Salvation is not a race, it is a journey. In this life we are participating in the invitation to BECOME MORE LIKE CHRIST. I wanted to testify to each and every one of you that our Father in Heaven loves us, he is there for us when we fall. We will finish our race. We will be the Champions. I hope each and every one of us can be like Derek and finish our own race… Our Race to Exaltation.

Another story I wanted to share with you this week was something super special. We have been teaching an investigator for over 8 months now. His name is Pablo Muñoz. He has been ready for baptism but just hasn’t felt a specific answer from God. Many missionaries have passed by trying to help him make the decision to be baptized. He has talked with members of the 70, our Mission President and even our bishop. We have worked so hard with him because he really is a special man. This week after praying a lot for him, we decided to buy him a Triple Combination book and give it to him. Pablo is a man that does not have many friends. When we gave him the book he was left in tears. He had never have someone give him a gift like that. He literally broke down and could not say anything. The next day in church you could see that his spirit had changed. I felt the urge to talk to him after church was over. I pulled Pablo into a classroom and Elder Christensen and I began to talk to him about all that has happened in the last 8 months. I cannot remember what was said in that room, but I will tell you that the spirit was definitely guiding us in that room. I have never been led by the spirit like I was in that room. Words were just flowing from my mouth, and later after talking to my comp. he said that same thing. After about an hour and a half talking with Pablo, you could see his eyes glowing. I looked at him and said “Pablo will you be baptized this Saturday?” HE ACCEPTED!! Pablo will be baptized this Saturday. We are so excited. We will be passing by him every day this week to help him with his decision. I ask each and every one of you to pray for him. #prayforpablo

Thanks for all your love and support.