Week 39 - God's Hand in the Work

written: 9/27/2021

Week 39

I continue to think the ward and area I am in right now is the promised land. Every single day we are witnessing new miracles and every part of this area is amazing. 

This week was a crazy busy week, we had interviews with the mission president, zone conference (where we receive lots of advice about how we can improve in the mission) and going from house to house meeting with members, meeting new people, and teaching. 

This week we had two really awesome lessons about temples. One of them was with one of our awesome amigas that was recently baptized. We went to visit her house and we went with the intention to minister to her and see how she has been since her baptism. I had the feeling to share about general conference and to invite her to listen. She said she is not going to do anything but listen to conference next weekend and she said she is so excited to listen to the words of the prophet. After, another feeling came that we needed to share more about temples and how this needs to be her next goal. We shared a video about temples and explained even more about how she can be with her son forever. After we finished the video, she told us she has to go to the temple and she will go no matter what. The joy that she had seeing the temple was something super special. The bishop told us he has never seen someone so excited to receive their temple recommend than her. I told her I can't wait to see pictures of her and her son outside the temple next year and she has the goal in her mind and I know she is going to reach her goal. 

Another miracle actually happened as we were walking to a lesson. We were rushing from house to house and we had 0 time. We were walking super fast and we walked past a house when we heard an older lady say "hola" and we responded back and were going to keep walking. At this point, she asked us if the chapel was open, and this caught our attention. We came to her fence and started talking to her. She explained how she is all alone and she recently got bit by a dog and after this, she explained that she was receiving lessons from missionaries 2 or 3 years ago, but lost contact when she moved houses. She told us her husband was a Jehovahs Witness, but their message never reached her heart. At this point, we asked her if the message the missionaries from our church shared with her touched her heart. She told us yes and she wants us to visit her house another day. Miracles like this are happening more and more in this area and I am so glad that my companion and I are being able to witness the hand of God day after day. 

I think honestly that God blesses us every single day, we just need to be on the lookout for his blessings. I have been able to personally witness the perfectness of His plan and my testimony of that has grown so much. 

Love, Elder Collin Steele

pictures include: Zone Conference September 2021

Week 38 - Dieciocho

written: 9/20/2021

Week 38

This weekend I was able to have my first "Dieciocho" which is basically our 4th of July!!! We had a giant barbecue with an awesome member family and we ate a ton of meat and empanadas. We also made homemade empanadas twice and I don't think I'll be doing it many more time, it is a very very long process, it's easier to just buy them already made. But a great experience nevertheless!

With all of the festivities this weekend, this week was a little tough on the work side because so many people were busy preparing and didn't have much time to talk or have lessons or time in person. But we had an awesome Sunday! We were inviting a ton of people and less active members to church and were having 0 success, no one was responding, and we thought we were going to have a really tough Sunday. Then, 15 minutes before church, the messages came flying in! We ended up having 5 awesome amigos come to church, along with many less active members who hadn't attended church in a very long time. It was awesome to see all of them at church because they could feel the Spirit and progress!! 

As a companionship, we continue to prioritize growing our relationships with our amigos and our members because without our members we are nothing. I'm thankful the pandemic has calmed down a little and we are able to leave all the time and build in person relationships because it is so different in a good way. Members of the church here in this ward are so awesome, it is such a blessing. 

Love,

Elder Collin Steele

pictures include: Making empanadas

Week 37 - Not 1, but 2 Baptisms!

written: 9/13/2021

Week 37

This week was one of the best weeks!!! We had the opportunity to have 2 baptisms!!! 

On Saturday we had the chance to baptize Alejandra, who has gone through so much to get here and I am so happy that she finally was able to be baptized. I was able to be the one to baptize her, and it was my first time doing the baptismal ordinance here in Chile. A super cool experience my companion and I had happened as we were confirming Alejandra and giving her the Holy Ghost. As we were confirming her, we could feel in our hands and head a burning sensation and my hands were super super warm. I was about to tell all of this to my companion, but before I could tell him, he told me that he felt the same sensations. Afterwards we had a small dinner to celebrate with her and she told me she feels like all her troubles and sadness were lifted away. I was super happy to hear all of these things from Alejandra and I know she made the best decision to be baptized. 

Our second baptism of the week was Maria Soledad, and she is just amazing. She is only 15 years old but has so much faith and is doing all of this on her terms and no one else's. Throughout the week we were worried with a few things that could happen at the baptism, but thankfully everything went very very smooth, 0 problems. I had the chance to give the gift of the holy ghost for the first time in my life, and although I was super nervous, it also went super well!!! After the baptism, we enjoyed a massive bbq with all of her family and we are continuing to try and activate all her family and her relatives. 

This week was definitely a spiritual high and I'm hoping to continue with the energy and happiness that I've gotten this week to keep working. Every day that passes continues to confirm for me that I'm where I need to be, at the exact time. Things are pretty awesome :) 

Love, Elder Collin Steele

Week 36 - Trust + Love = Success!

written: 9/6/2021

Week 36

And just like that, this transfer is about to be over! We said goodbye to Elder Pillpe Saturday morning and Elder Vilcherres and I are staying in Puerto Montt for another transfer!!! The transfer flew by and we saw so many miracles and had so many great experiences and I know 100% we are going to see even more this next transfer. 

This last week was Elder Pillpe's last week so we focused a lot on member visits, but we made sure to also prioritize our lessons with people with a baptismal date. We are seeing lots of progress with almost all of them and we are confident! This week we are scheduled to have 2 baptisms!!! One on Saturday and one on Sunday if all goes to plan. They are amazing people and I am so excited to see their progress this week and for this amazing weekend we have planned. 

This week we also continued our focus on building our relationships with the members and we continue to see nothing but success with our members. A formula that I recently wrote in my journal is: trust + love = success. The members here trust us so much because we listen to them, we help them in any way we can, and we are able to talk with them in a loving way allowing them to open themselves up and for us to as well, and in return they help us with lessons, give us references, give us amazing food, and I am just having the time of my life here. We are constantly going from house to house and we just continue to see willingness to help us in every moment and the people in this ward always have their door open to us in every moment. I have just been able to focus a lot and think about the love I've been able to develop for these people and for the love they have been able to develop as well. 

One last quick thought I had, something I never thought I'd say a few months ago, was if this was my last transfer, and things were going like they are now, I would not want to leave. That really struck me when I thought that because now I really know my purpose and I'm having the time of my life and doing an amazing work. 

Love, Elder Collin Steele

PS - I have found Dr. Pepper! Best. Day. Ever!

pictures included: Just what the Dr. ordered!; Ward Missionary Group; L-R: Elder Robinson, Elder Saari, Elder Pilpe, Elder Vilcherres, member friend - Eduardo, and Me; Me, Elder Vilcherres, Elder Pilpe, Ignacia, Hermana Patricia, and friend