Week 30 - Farewell Chiloe and Hello Puerto Montt

written: 7/26/2021

Week 30

Crazy awesome week!! Too many things to even say, I will just summarize them super fast because it was such a great week!

First, last P-Day we had the opportunity to travel to Queilén, a town in Chiloé. As we were riding on the bus, another elder and I were sitting next to a man and we ended up teaching him on the spot and getting his phone number. After that, we had so much enthusiasm to talk to everyone! After this, throughout the day we ended up with 5 numbers after just talking to everyone! We had the chance to ride on a boat and go see dolphins and penguins, but it was kind of hard to see the penguins! The dolphins were swimming right next to us on the boat, jumping up in the air, and just chilling in the water. It was an awesome experience!

On Tuesday we had interviews and a zone conference, such a great day and the spirit was super strong. Wednesday I had exchanges with Elder Miller, the missionary who I was with on the bus when we did a lot of the contacting people. We took some time and went into the centro and we talked to a lot of people, received more numbers, and even gave out a Book of Mormon to a lady in the park and 10 minutes later we walked by and she was reading in the book! We are definitely seeing a lot of miracles this week and the Spirit has been super super strong! 

This whole week we could kind of feel like I was going to finally be leaving my area and getting transferred, so we were taking up any opportunity to see members and to get some last good times with them. On Saturday our suspicions were confirmed and I am getting transferred to Puerto Montt! I will be heading there tomorrow or Wednesday and I will be in a trio with Elder Pillpe and Elder Villcheres. I am sad to leave Gamboa and Chiloé after 6 months but I am excited to get to see new areas. Someone I am really going to miss is Hermano Benjamin, he has been like another brother to me. We have been in constant communication from the day I got here, he helps us in every aspect of missionary work, and we always play sports together. On Saturday we got together for our last morning soccer game and he had with him a small present he wanted to get to me. It was a brand new Chelsea jersey with his name Benjamin on the back. It is super super thoughtful and I will always cherish that jersey! 

I wish I could type more and explain more, but that's about it for now and just know I am having such a great time here and the time is FLYING by! I am very happy and this past transfer was definitely the best one yet.

Love, Elder Collin Steele

pictures include: Elder Baum and Me; Cold day on the water with the Zone; Dolphin Diving; Penguins! Penguins! Penguins in Chile!; Elder Pacheco, Elder Fugal, Elder Martin, Elder Gonzalez, Hermana Densley, Hermana Cartagena, Elder Baum, Elder Ronna, Elder Cruz, Elder Miller, Elder Alfaro, Me, and President Meek; Never too young to be introduced to The Book of Mormon; Hermano Benjamin;  Elder Alfaro, Elder Baum, Elder Ronna, Hermana Diaz, Hermano Diaz, and Me; and the Dynamic Duo companionship!

Week 29 - Christmas in July?

written: 7/19/2021

Week 29

A pretty great week! We received more great news that Castro will be moving into Phase 3, meaning that even more gatherings can happen, we have much more freedom, especially on weekends, and we may even be able to begin gathering on Sundays for Sacrament Meeting and 2nd hour classes! Our branch president mentioned in sacrament meeting yesterday that we are going to begin in person meetings and slowly but surely head back to the chapels! He said we could move back phases at any point in time but we are going to use the time we get now to start getting back to normal again! Exciting times!

We were able to have an in person lesson this week! It was only my second in person lesson of my mission and it was a very fun and interesting experience! We were able to teach an amigo from Haiti and a few months ago we had some contact with him and it is very hard sometimes to communicate, because they know Creole, and they are learning Spanish just like us missionaries are! Although there is a language barrier, we still try our best! We brought the Book of Mormon in Creole with him and beforehand invited a member to join us in our lesson. We were wondering who we should get to join us, and after some conversation we decided on one of our awesome members Ulises! Although he definitely doesn't speak Creole, he is super super friendly! We arrived at the house and BOOM, miracle! Our amigo went upstairs and brought back a Creole Book of Mormon he already had and inside was a name and a phone number of.... you guessed it, Ulises! Definitely not a coincidence! Ulises recognized our amigo and they started to have some small conversation. We were able to talk a little bit about the Book of Mormon and read Moroni's promise!

I also had the chance to have exchanges this week with Elder Ronna, our zone leader! It was a really fun experience and he has 22 months in the mission, so I got to learn a lot from him! We had an amazing in person lesson with someone they found on facebook advertising english who ended up asking if they do in person visits for our religion. We went to her house and she was SO ATTENTIVE, never taking her eyes or focus off of us, asking questions, and she kept telling us how she wants to grow her faith and how we can help her. Golden amigo! Elder Ronna cooked up some homemade pancakes for breakfast and we didn't have syrup so we used the next best thing, manjar, which is basically Dulce de Leche and it was super good!

Lastly, we had lots of struggles with our amigos this week and we unfortunately had to see some of our amigos go. It is a really tough experience to see them progress so much and then see the progression halted by doubt or clearly Satan's influence. Satan works incredibly hard on those that are trying to find out about the Restored Gospel and the true Church and it is evident he works even harder when they are super close to the truth or have already felt the Spirit. Elder Baum and I are choosing not to get super discouraged and look forward in faith and trust in the Lord's timing. When we talked to some of the members about this, they echoed the same thing, trust in the Lord's timing and just be there to support them! 

In the end, have FAITH!

I may or may not be seeing some penguins today for Pday, so be on the lookout for next week's email if all goes to plan!

Love, Elder Collin Steele

pictures include: Stumbled across Christmas Trees made out of bottles on the way to an appointment; In person lesson with our Haitian brothers; Homemade pancakes topped with manjar; Beans and Rice - we eat a lot of them, and they are actually quite good!

Week 28 - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

written: 7/12/2021

Week 28

Another great week in Chiloé! Still cold and rainy, but we are doing good here! Our week didn't really change all that much with the ability to be in phase 2, but we are hopeful to get a little more out and about this week, have a few lessons in person, and we are having companion splits this week with the zone leaders, who happen to be in our same area haha. 

This week we had some really fun and cool experiences! On Monday as we were going to the mall and shopping there, I ran into a member that I have been in contact with for a month or two, but we have never been able to meet in person! Elder Baum and I were waiting in line and someone came up to me and I recognized him from his pictures he had sent and we got the chance to talk and to finally meet in person! He said he didn't text us to let us know he would be in town and in the mall because he was only going to be there a short time, and we just happened to run into each other! Definitely super glad we could meet in person, and he was really happy too and we had to take a cool selfie with his signature peace sign!

We were able to play soccer in the rain with some members and amigos, and that ended up being really fun, but my shoes are incredibly destroyed and water soaked, but eventually my new shoes will make it in the mail. Soccer in the rain is definitely an experience but it was still super fun and we loved playing and not being trapped inside of quarantine life. 

This week we were able to meet two amigos in the plaza in the centro! It started pouring so when we got to the plaza, we saw a member and our two amigos standing and talking under a big tree! We ended up talking and chatting for 20 or 30 min, talked about the Book of Mormon, answered some good questions, and gave them both their Books of Mormon! A few days later, we received a message saying that our amigo could feel something different about us and that he felt that we had the spirit of God inside of us, and we loved receiving this text. He also mentioned that he felt something inside the Book of Mormon calling his attention and he could feel the power that it had. It was an amazing experience and we were able to testify it was the Holy Ghost and that the Book of Mormon really does have so much power! We are super excited to see the progress our amigos make! 

I am loving the progress we are seeing and the ability to talk about the Book of Mormon! It really is true and I love studying it everyday and seeing other people have the ability to study it and feel its power. 

Love, Elder Collin Steele

pictures include: Peace out, Amigo!; Soccer in the rain? You bet!; The Book of Mormon IS true!; Look Mom, I made my own scrambled eggs!

WEEK 27 - NO MORE QUARANTINE!

written: 7/5/2021

Week 27

A great week here in Chiloé!!! This week FLEW by and we had many good things and highlights of the week! 

First, we were able to have an in person zone conference! The 3 companionships here in Castro were able to travel 1 1/2 hours to Quellon, which is almost at the very bottom of Chiloé! The drive there on the bus was very peaceful, filled with MANY trees and beautiful green scenery, and a pretty sweet rainbow. Nevermind the fact that the buses are made for people 6 feet and shorter, I survived haha. We had a great conference, lots of good things discussed and goals and plans made! When we were getting ready to travel back, the other elders mentioned that there is a much bigger bus, with reclining seats, and 2 levels! We thought oh yeah, probably way more expensive... nope, only about $1USD difference. We traveled back home in luxury, reclining seats, second row, heat, and it was very relaxing!! 

Second, WE RECEIVED NEWS THAT WE ARE NO LONGER IN QUARANTINE!!!! Woo!!! Starting today, we are back in phase 2, which is what I was in for the first 2 or 3ish months of the mission here in Chiloé. We are able to go to peoples houses more often, we can receive food from members, and we can play basketball with our amigos and members in the church again! Exciting times and we have already been planning a lot to do this next week and upcoming weeks now that we are out of quarantine! 

Our awesome amigos are still progressing and it is really great to see! We are still working with the boyfriend and girlfriend who we received as references and they are really liking what they are learning! We were able to teach her the restoration of the gospel and talk about Joseph Smith. My companion boldly asked her if she believes what we are teaching and if she thinks Joseph Smith was a prophet. She took a few seconds and then told us that she thinks that it is true and it makes sense! We invited her to pray about it and we are going to be teaching her about the Book of Mormon really soon and we are excited to see her progress even more! The best thing was that she attended church!!! Afterwards, she told us that she thought it was a beautiful reunion and she was able to feel the spirit! 

Lastly, Elder Baum and I were able to celebrate 6 months in the mission with a massive Sushi celebration with the necessities of a Mango Loco, the best gummies ever and some Pinguiinos!! 

All in all, a very good week. Elder Baum and I have been working really hard every day, cleaning out our area book, trying to just have as many lessons as possible and fill our days to the brim so we stay busy and focused. We are definitely seeing the fruits of our labor and we are excited for what these next few weeks of the transfers hold! 

Love, Elder Collin Steele

pictures include: Zone Conference - Me, Elder Fugal, Elder Miller, Elder Ronna, Elder Alfaro, Elder Gonzalez, Elder Cruz, Elder Martin, Elder Baum, Elder Pacheco, Hermana Densley, and Hermana Cartagena; First time being the master chef of burgers; Best Purchase Ever... my pink blankie!; SUSHI! Celebrating 6 months on the mish!; Cooking hotdogs in a kettle?? Yup!; God Bless America! Celebrating the 4th of July!; Elder Baum and I keeping with tradition and burning a tie at 6 months!