Week 35 - 1st Baptism

written: 8/30/2021

Week 35

This week was a GREAT week! First, we were able to have the baptism of our amigo Joel!!! We have been working with him this entire transfer and we have seen him grow so much and he has been attentive and ready to change with everything we present to him. It was super awesome to have my first baptism here in the mission and to see a true conversion take place. As I had time to really reflect on the baptism, I was able to really feel true happiness and joy for being here in the mission and knowing why I'm here, and it is to help find people like Joel and help them change their lives!

We were only able to have one baptism, as there were some problems with our other baptism, but all is well and we are pushing forward with her and she is super super strong through all of these challenges and adversity. Satan is working really hard but we are helping her so much and she is really amazing and seeing changes in her life. God always wins, and we are going to work hard with her and help her through everything! 

Fun side note, we were able to visit a members land and see all of their creations in their land including Shrek bathrooms, a hobbit house, and much more. We got to have a big barbecue with them and enjoy the countryside. One of the members of the family, Eduardo, who is a returned  missionary, has been helping us a lot with our lessons, driving us around, and being there for us. He never disappoints with the food either, always a chorillana or barbecue haha. 

All in all, I have just been incredibly happy and I have been seeing a ton of blessings here in this amazing area. I hope I have the opportunity to stay here after transfers so I can work with our amigos and continue to see their progress. I am working hard, having the best time, and making the best memories. All I can say is #TrustTheProcess 

Love, Elder Collin Steele

pictures include: Elder Vilcherres, Joel, Elder Pilpe, and Me; Elder Vilcherres, Joel, Me, and Elder Pilpe; Authentic Chilean barbecue; Serious men holding a bow and arrow; The Shrek Bathroom; The Hobbit House

Week 34 - Puerto Montt is the Chosen Land

written: 8/23/2021

Week 34

An amazing amazing week!!!! I don't even know where to start! 

We have been able to progress even more with our two amigos with baptismal dates and time is ticking, their baptisms are this Saturday!!!! It is going to be my first baptism of my mission and I couldn't be happier for our two amazing friends. I have been able to see a true desire to be baptized by our amigos as they overcome their challenges and as we are able to help them along with the Spirit. They are going to become the best members and be on the lookout in Facebook for a Zoom link if you want to watch the baptismal service! 

This week we were able to meet our awesome new friend Maria Soledad! She is BEYOND prepared. She is part of a less active family and has been reading the Book of Mormon on her own and we were super excited to meet her. We went in with the focus of the Book of Mormon and the Holy Ghost. We all said things we didn't plan and all shared experiences with the Holy Ghost and it was a super spiritual lesson. At the end, my companions and I were able to extend a baptismal date and she accepted! We continue to meet prepared souls and we are beyond happy for these chances. 

This week we also had the opportunity to have Zone Conference and it was an all day event! We were able to be with all the other missionaries in Puerto Montt and learn, share, and grow together and hear lots of good advice from President Meek!

Lastly, we were able to help a youth in the ward prepare for his mission in 2 weeks as he spent 24 hours with us and followed the entire missionary schedule. It was awesome to see the excitement he had and it's crazy that I was in his same position almost 8 months ago, time really flies. 

Things are progressing, I am happy, and I am doing all I can for our amigos. I hope to continue to give it my all and always trust the process of everything in my life and in the mission as I grow.

Love, Elder Collin Steele

 

Week 33 - Busy, Busy, Busy....

written: 8/16/2021

Week 33

Time continues to fly by, and we continue to see great results and I'm really happy! We continue to absolutely fill our schedule as much as we can and it makes the day go by so fast and I love having a full day because we can really accomplish a lot. 

We are continuing to progress with our awesome amigos with baptismal dates and we are really hoping we will be able to have our baptisms in the coming weeks! This week we were finally able to meet our awesome amigo Hardy. We have had a few phone calls with him and we had an awesome lesson about the Book of Mormon in which we read a few parts and he told us 2 times that he felt the Spirit. At this point, I had a feeling we were going to invite him to be baptized, and 2 minutes later one of my companions invited him to be baptized and he accepted! We had a chance to play soccer with a few of our amigos and I'm still terrible, but definitely getting a little better. 

Trio life is really fun and we are always laughing and we have been working really well together as well. I barely speak any English now which is way different than my last transfer with an American companion, but it has been great to speak lots of Spanish. 

Love, Elder Collin Steele

pictures include: Just taking a picture on a sidewalk in the middle of a highway!; Celebrating a member's birthday; Closest thing to Dr. Pepper I can find for now.

Week 32 - A Progressing and Amazing Work

written: 8/9/2021

Week 32

Another AMAZING week here in Puerto Montt!!! We are seeing so much success and I am incredibly busy (which is a good thing!) This week we had 2 lessons with an amazing amigo named Joel. His girlfriend is a member and introduced him to the church and on Monday after pday we taught him about the Restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon with our testimonies and showed him an amazing video by Elder Holland where he talks about and gives a powerful testimony about the book of Mormon, the spirit was incredibly strong! Later in the week we had another lesson and we asked him if he received an answer to his prayer and he said yes and he believed there was only one church, Christ's church. We taught him about the gospel and faith, repentance and got to baptism. We invited him to be baptized and the spirit at this point was one of the strongest I have ever felt. Joel, his girlfriend, his girlfriend's mom were all crying and my companions and I were all very emotional and I felt tears!! He is going to be baptized at the end of this month and we are so excited, I am feeling so blessed to be in this area, we are seeing so many miracles and blessings. 

We are getting to know so many members and we are using this time to get to know them, share messages with the members to strengthen their faith, and we use the in person time to have phone call lessons with our members and we are seeing so much success with this as well! 

I don't have the time to write everything, but the work is progressing crazy here and I am super happy. Things are amazing!

Love,

Elder Collin Steele 

pictures include: Puerto Montt; and Me, Elder Vilcherres, Elder Pilpe

Week 31 - So Much to Tell, So Little Time

written: 8/2/2021

Week 31

Another awesome week here!! Transfers happened Tuesday and I made it here to Puerto Montt and my new area Portal del Mar! The trio life is awesome! Elder Pillpe was my zone leader for a long time and this is his last transfer in the mission and Elder Vilcherres is Chilean and has 3 weeks less in the mission than I do, so we are definitely all learning from each other!

We are in phase 4 here in Puerto Montt and it is a HUGE blessing! We are able to do so much, visit members, eat with members, meet with our amigos in person, it is the best. We have been able to work with the members everyday and I am definitely learning how to work with members, teach lessons and practice, and the ability to ask for references and invite the members to share with everyone. 

Two days into the transfer, we visited an awesome amigo. She had been invited to pray to see if she should be baptized. We got to her house, shared with her and at the end decided she wanted to be baptized! We are going to be working very hard for this baptism to happen and I am super super happy and excited for her and her decision! 

Lastly, I was finally able to have in person church after 7 months in the mission! It was awesome to be in the church, take the sacrament, and hear the testimonies there! I'm hopeful I will continue to be able to attend church in person!

That's about it, things are going great, I'm happy and working hard :)

Love,

Elder Collin Steele

pictures included: Me, Elder Pilpe, and Elder Vilcherres; Playing games with members; Being fed very well in a member's home; Being fed very well in a member's home; Beautiful Puerto Montt; and last basketball game in Chiloe