written: 2/10/2021
Week 6
I don't know if all of you know, but I got my flight plans last week! I am going straight to Chile, no reassignment! I fly out tomorrow, and begin my journey in SLC, then to Atlanta, then to Santiago, and then one more flight to get to Osorno. It is going to be over 24+ hours for my entire journey to Osorno, but it will be so worth it. I am flying with 11 or 12 other missionaries to Osorno, so we have a pretty decent sized group.
I completed my online MTC on Monday and it was an amazing experience. It feels like just yesterday I was stressing trying to memorize Moroni 10:5 in Spanish and worrying about how I am going to get through this and when it was finally time to say goodbye, I wanted to stay and keep learning and being with my amazing district and teachers. We did a survey that asked us how our online MTC was and one of the last questions was along the lines of "if there were no health risks, how would you have liked your training" and to my surprise, I instantly selected all online. I loved online MTC and would not have wanted it any other way. It was amazing to feel so close to my teachers and district over zoom, I was able to spend so much time with my family at home, and I still learned a good amount of Spanish. Another blessing of being at home was I was able to celebrate my birthday with my family and it is crazy to think I will only be celebrating one birthday in the field.
I am so glad I followed my promptings and that I am here serving a mission and about to go preach the gospel to so many people in Chile. The biggest lesson I have learned, as you can see from the subject of this email, is to trust in the Lord. I was very worried about online MTC and serving during the coronavirus, and that was one of the main reasons I decided not to go this past summer. I see now that by trusting in the Lord, everything worked out. I actually loved online MTC when I thought I would hate it, I see the need for missionaries during this time, and I have practiced some of the work I will be doing in Chile, such as teaching lessons over zoom, Facebook messaging, etc, and I love it all and time flies because I get so into the lessons and interactions and I know it will be even better when it is real people with real needs that I want to help get closer to God. I think I told a few people this over text as they wished me a happy birthday, but my recipe for success is to just be positive, be obedient, and trust in the Lord. I have seen the difference a positive mindset can have and I know that even when things get difficult and if I have a positive attitude, I can get through anything. I have been told countless times to be obedient and that obedience brings blessings and exact obedience brings miracles. I want those miracles and I want exact obedience, so that is what I am striving to do as I immerse myself in Chile!
I know that if we put our trust in the Lord, things will work out. I know that this is the path I am supposed to be on and that there is nothing else I would rather be doing. I am so excited and ready to get to Chile and serve the people there and give it my all. Things will get tough, I will have bad days, bad weeks, but in the end, there is a positive in every day and trials build faith. I hope to tell all of you how amazing Chile is next week in my email and I can't wait to share my experiences with all of you these next two years! Adios from the great USA!
Love, Elder Steele
pictures include: Our final day as a Home MTC District
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