Week 13 - Just Do It!

written: 3/29/2021

Week 13

Hello everyone! This week was a very enjoyable week and a week of just trying different ways to serve and do the Lord's work!

I am very thankful that basketball is popular here, as I have been able to enjoy my favorite sport and incorporate it into meeting new people to teach and growing closer with members! This week we had another basketball activity with a young man and all his friends! We gave all of them copies of the Book of Mormon, and we hope to begin a night of sports to try to find and meet even more people. I love basketball and I love the gospel, so it is a great combination! 

This week we also tried finding service opportunities! We were able to help a member pick blackberries and another day pick apples! He loves that I am so tall and can reach the blackberries he was unable to. He loves to talk to us and he loves to help missionaries! He has already given us two references and he seems to just remember everything and have such a strong memory, as he still relies on little papers and notes but is thinking of making the switch to a smartphone! All of our meetings with him are in person as we cannot videocall or use whatsapp, but it gives us a chance to chat in person, serve him, and again he just loves helping us! 

Something about this week just made my appetite bigger than it ever has, and I am constantly hungry. What I am not a big fan of, still trying, but still not there, are vegetables. For anyone that knows me, I do not like vegetables. We had the opportunity to have a meal on Friday with missionaries and an amiga in teaching, and we had amazing Lomo Saltado! I chowed down the meat, french fries, rice, and made a nice little pile to the side of the massive tomatoes, onions, and peppers. I can typically manage if they are small and I just combine them with my other food, but these were gigantic. All the other missionaries cleaned their plates and I was the only one with anything left... so as everyone was looking and we were all joking saying "ahhh elder steele" I took my fork and just kept scooping all the vegetables until there were none left and that plate was clean. Now did I like the vegetables, ehhhh no, but I am glad I continued my tradition of finishing everything on my plate.. just needed some encouragement. Sometimes you have to do things you don't really like, but JUST DO IT! 

My last thought is how excited I am for general conference!!!! I am so excited to hear the prophet, living apostles, and other church representatives speak on subjects that we all need and how we can be better in this life! I know something in conference is waiting for me, and I know something is waiting for each one of you! So go find it! Prepare! 

Love you all!

Love, Elder Steele

pictures include: Picking blackberries; Messy hands, full heart!; Service Smiles; Basketball buddies; Lomo Saltado; and Elder Bennett, Elder Pillpe, Elder Calderon, and me

 

Week 12 - Let the Good Times Roll

written: 3/22/2021

Week 12

This week was not what we expected it to be, but we have learned to expect the unexpected! We had lots of lessons planned with new people, we were finally going to get new amigos and be able to teach! Well, we had 9 appointments fall through and we just had to keep pressing forward, knowing eventually we will be able to teach! A cool experience was one of our amigos loves basketball, I am sure I have mentioned him in past emails. We set up a time to play basketball with him and he ended up inviting 3 friends with him! Before we played, I knew we needed to at least share 1 scripture in the Book of Mormon and I thought why not give all of them their own Book of Mormon. We shared our scripture, gave them all their own Book of Mormon and explained a little, and began with a prayer. We enjoyed our game and set up a time for this upcoming week to play again! Our amigo called us yesterday and he told us his friends loved that we shared before we played and loved that we prayed before as well, so hopefully this week we can get their numbers and have the opportunity to share more with them!

This past Sunday I was able to give a talk in my branch! Now let me begin by telling all of you... it was in English. Let me explain. The president of the branch a week and a half ago gave me a talk and told me he wanted me to deliver a talk in English which will then be translated by another missionary into Spanish. Confused, I accepted and was going to figure it out. I get to the chapel to begin working on my talk and search for the talk given by Elder Bednar. Now the funny thing about this talk was that it was given in Peru, so as Elder Bednar spoke in English, it was dubbed in Spanish and only published in Spanish! Now how was I supposed to write a talk in English over a 27 minute talk in Spanish? Well, I had to do some thinking, as again there was not even a written transcript I could find on a church website. What I ended up doing was opening up YouTube's time stamped transcript, copying that into a translator, realizing the formatting will be 4 words per line, and then realizing it repeated phrases almost every line or two. After finally getting the format complete, the repeated phrases deleted, and the talk translated, I could finally actually write my talk. On Sunday, I delivered the talk by reading a sentence, followed by the male senior couple speaking that same sentence in Spanish, and we continued line by line, english then Spanish. In the end, it was a great experience and it was a great talk! The process truly went from English to Spanish, back to English, talk written in English, then delivered to the branch in English then Spanish. Hope that all makes sense, but anyways, it was a cool and unique experience!

Lastly, to begin the week I was a little stressed out over small little things and I was losing focus. I continually remembered some words from a family friend in which he told me that his mission was amazing as he did not worry about things and he was able to focus solely on one thing, others. It really changed my perspective and I had to choose to stop worrying about the little things and realize I was thinking only of myself in those situations as well. Once my mind was able to de-stress a little, I felt so much better. Just let the good times roll!

I love all of you!!! Thank you for all your support!

Love, Elder Collin Steele

Week 11 - Rollercoaster Week 🎢

written: 3/15/2021

Week 11

ONE MONTH IN CHILE! Friday marked one whole month in Chile and wow do weeks and months fly by! Days at times can be slower, but when I look back on weeks and the entire month, the time flew by. 

This week was a rollercoaster ride of a week. We received news that we would be receiving more missionaries to Chiloé, along with many changes of companionships here as lots of Elders who were reassigned to the States are beginning to arrive here to Chile. My companion and I were tasked with preparing the new house for some of the new elders and we had our hands full almost all of Thursday and Friday, communicating, moving things, and preparing. I am thankful the mission is beginning to go back to its original size, although it can be hard a times as it requires lots of flexibility and quick changes, but that is what is required of a missionary so I am definitely learning patience and the need to be flexible.

This week the work was much slower than other weeks. We had two amigos in teaching who moved to the area right next to us, and we had another tough situation with another amigo going through some very hard struggles. It was very hard to not be able to teach a lot this week, but I am beginning to understand that being a missionary is not solely sitting down and teaching someone, it is service, helping other missionaries, being there for members, and just TRYING to contact and teach others. I was able to witness the blessings that come from the church and the generosity the church has towards others this week as we were able to help someone really in need, and it was great to see how our help allowed for happiness to grow and for feelings of despair to shrink in the life of someone who really needed a helping hand. Another thought I had was that although it is hard losing these people in our area, the work still continues with these amigos and the other missionaries will have just as much love and information to share and hopefully progress. It isn't about me, our wants, our goals, it is just about helping others and working together as missionaries. 

I hope to continue to develop a greater perspective, greater patience, and most importantly grow my faith in Jesus and just the process in general of being a missionary. Sometimes I expect results immediately, but that is 100% not the case. I have really been studying christlike attributes even more this week, and I love that I have the ability to develop these attributes. I hope my emails bring joy to all of you and I wish I could just capture all of Chile and my work and adventures every week, but I hope what I share inspires all of you and gives a little insight into my day to day work here! Love all of you!!!

Love,

Elder Collin Steele

pictures include: One Month in Chile; Elder Calderon, Elder Bennett, Elder Tobar, and Me; Elder Calderon, Elder Bennett, Elder Tobar, and Me; Me, Elder Calderon, Elder Tobar, and Elder Bennett; My companion and Me; and Arroz Chaufa

Week 10 - No Longer a Picky Eater?

written: 3/8/2021

Week 10

This week flew by! My time in Chile is going by very fast and we are enjoying the work here!

This week has been a week of change for sure! Starting on Tuesday, I have barely written out what I am going to say going into a lesson. Let me explain, when I first got to Chile, I was writing down every single thing I would say in the lesson before hand. This was because I did not trust my Spanish and didn't want to make mistakes. On Tuesday, we went around with the senior couple in the mission to appointments with members and amigos in teaching. I wrote 0 things down and just spoke what came to my mind. Of course I made some mistakes, forgot some words, and didn't have perfect Spanish, but I was able to try and see what I could do. Moving forward, every lesson this week I have had about 2-3 short bullet points in english of what the main idea we want to convey in our lesson and nothing more. My companion usually starts the lesson but will occasionally turn to me and I know it is my time and I just speak and hope to form correct sentences relating to the topic and further the discussion. I feel nervous for sure, but I know I will always use my notes as a crutch, so I might as well stop getting used to them and allow the spirit to choose what parts of my knowledge to speak. 

We were able to have in person interviews with our Mission President this week! It was my first time really getting the opportunity to talk with him in person. I just want to comment on the love I felt from him as we had interviews and he was able to just look at us and show empathy and care. I know he is called of God and that he receives inspiration for me and for all the other missionaries in the Chile Osorno Mission! It was an awesome experience and I look forward to more meetings and discussions with President Meek!

In my personal studies to end the week, I was really focused on Christlike attributes. I have loved studying these attributes and seeing where I fall short and where I can improve in my life. We have a perfect example to follow, Jesus Christ, and we must do all we can to follow that example. We can follow His example by developing these Christlike attributes! I have already seen how studying them positively affects me, and I look forward to seeing how when put into action, the great results that will come. I invite all of you to study Jesus Christ, and especially Christlike attributes and you will feel closer to Him and gain a greater appreciation for those around you!

The food here is amazing and thank goodness I walk so much everyday. We went to a restaurant and had a dish called, chorrillana which is basically french fries, meat, fried eggs, and onions. I also got massive completos with my companion a few days ago (completo is a giant hot dog, tomatoes, avocado, mayo and more sauces if you want). Not the biggest mayo, avocado OR tomato fan, but let me tell you... it is GOOD. I need to keep walking so I don't come home in 2 years as the Michelin Man haha, but I love the food here and this is all coming from a very very picky eater. Another quick note, I have eaten potatoes smothered in mayo, pizza covered in onions, peppers and ham and my mindset and goal is eat everything put in front of me with a member or an amigo! 

To make a spiritual tie in to food, someone who is never picky is Jesus Christ. He will accept anyone and everyone that will come unto Him and choose to follow Him! So I must choose to not be picky in food but more importantly with showing love to others. 

Thank you all for reaching out and I love hearing all about you and your thoughts on my emails! Your emails really motivate me! Love y'all and I can't wait to share the amazing things that will happen this upcoming week!

Love, Elder Collin Steele

pictures include: President Meek, Me, Elder Calderon, Elder Bennett,Elder Tobar, Elder Pastene, Elder Repol, and Sister Meek; Me, Elder Calderon, Elder Bennett, President Meek, Elder Tobar, Elder Pastene, and Elder Repol; Me and Elder Calderon; completo and chorrillana; and Beautiful Chiloe

Week 9 - Spanish, English and CREOLE?

 written: 3/1/2021

Week 9

I am officially in my area! The process to get here was very confusing as we originally thought we were leaving Monday, and then we for sure thought Tuesday, but we didn't leave until Wednesday afternoon! This caused me to be very stressed out because we had not bought food on Monday, as we had thought we wouldn't need to if we were driving to our area. Thanks to Papa Johns, we survived a few extra days (yes there really is Papa Johns here and it  really hits the spot)! Luckily, our journey to Chiloé went smoothly, and after about 4 hours, we had made it to Castro/Gamboa! Our house is at the top of a giant hill and our view overlooks a good majority of the city. The house has major cabin vibes to it, as it is all wood. We have all the necessities, including a washer AND a dryer. 

The coolest thing about this week was we spent a majority of it outside of our house! On Thursday and Friday, we were outside of the house for almost the entire day. We have had the opportunity to have lunch with a member already and we had dinner with an amigo in teaching. I had no idea I'd be able to do this anytime soon, so it is a major blessing that I am able to get out of the house and truly interact with people! Every single person wears their mask, and it is very uncommon to see someone without it, which is weird coming from America haha. The hardest part about the masks is walking. As I mentioned, we live on the top of a hill. To go just about anywhere, we have to walk down a giant hill, walk alongside a busy street then walk up another steep hill and then we're in the main city area. The chapel is about 30 min away from our house and most members homes are about the same. It is great exercise for sure, I just can barely breath with that mask on. I'll take walking all that way with a mask to be able to interact with our members and amigos! I hope things continue to progress and we are able to continue to interact in person! 

There are two experiences I'd like to share that happened this week. The first was our dinner with our amigo in teaching. Before we had our dinner, I prayed that I would be able to understand what I needed to and be able to communicate what I needed to as well. As we ate our food, our amigo had lots to talk about and is going through some tough times. After we had lots of conversations, I testified that he will be able to get through his struggles if he leans on the Lord, prays daily and just show effort by reading the Book of Mormon. We have been working towards getting him to read on his own, and afterwards he was really thankful for what I had said and lets hope he is able to continue progressing!

The other experience is our teachings in Creole! I think I mentioned last week that it was a possibility we would be teaching in Creole, and it became a reality. We have had two lessons with our amigo and in both lessons we have read in the Book of Mormon in Creole. We then discuss in Spanish. As I am still learning Spanish, I have to think and translate my English into Spanish while also reading in Creole. It is difficult but it is a really cool experience! I have no idea if I say any words correctly, but our amigo seems to understand when we read :) 

One quick note, the yogurt here is amazing and my companion loves to tell everyone how much I love the yogurt :) 

I always love reading emails ya'll send to me and even if I don't get the chance to respond, I 100% read every one! Love y'all!!!

Love, Elder Collin Steele

pictures include: Chiloe; View from where I live;  Elder Bennett, Elder Pastene, Elder Tobar, Elder Chaparro, Elder Calderon, and Me; and The Book of Mormon is true! No matter what language!