So Much Has Changed (Week 52)

Week 52....that is wild. 52 weeks ago, today, I got off a plane and was confronted by a guy named Russ who didn`t believe we were true Christians, accusing us of mocking The Savior by claiming that His Sacrifice doesn`t bring us all to Heaven. Wow. So much has changed since that morning!

We have 2 baptisms this Sunday, I`m pretty excited for those! Scarllette is super super super ready, along with Jorge. I`ll be baptizing Jorge! And the other Jorge (from Venezuela) will baptize Scarllette. Yesterday a lot of our appointments fell through, so we went around contacting our neighborhood, and actually found 2 people who seem really prepared! It was kind of interesting, here´s the story:

We started contacting our neighborhood, starting with a guy named Luis who I have said hi to every day since I got to the mission. To be blunt, this guy is a weirdo. He sits criss cross applesauce out on his porch, all day, every day. When I give him knucks he hits my hand way too hard, has a lazy eye, he`s a little strange! But we`re friends, he knows my name and recognizes when I come back, so I consider us friends! That was the first door we knocked yesterday, and as we were contacting him, a lady walked by with her little kid, apparently fighting about something. The lady was yelling at the little kid who was crying, and I looked back as they walked by and felt the impression to talk to them. Okay, after the contact we`ll go catch up to them. I didn`t even finish the thought when I remembered what I had read in the scriptures that morning, in Alma 31.

...5 And they came unto Alma; and the one who was the foremost among them said unto him: Behold,what shall these my brethren do, for they are despised of all men because of their poverty, yea, and more especially by our priests; for they have cast us out of our synagogues which we have labored abundantly to build with our own hands; and they have cast us out because of our exceeding poverty;and we have no place to worship our God; and behold, what shall we do?

 6 And now when Alma heard this, he turned him about, his face immediately towards him, and he beheld with great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word.

 7 Therefore he did say no more to the other multitude; but he stretched forth his hand, and cried unto those whom he beheld, who were truly penitent,

Yep. I nudged my companion and starting following the lady who was now just a little ahead of us, shouted "Bye Louis!" and we starting jogging over to talk with her. 

.....and she quickly rejected us. We pushed a little, because I was sure she was prepared, but nothing! As Chilenos would say, she didn`t fish us. A little confused, we started walking back to the street where we had contacted Louis, going to another neighbor from whom we buy brread from sometimes in the mornings, and caught him just before he closed shop. We had never tried teaching him before, but Elder Hair wanted to try, so we tried, and were able to teach him the whole Restoration! He accepted the folleto and the invitation to read and pray, and we look forward to seeing how it went. The next door we went to, another neighbor named Solange that we have talked to a few times, also listened to us as we were able to teach her about The Plan of Salvation. We have an appointment with her and her husband on Monday! It was a golden hour for that street, or really, a golden 20 minutes for those 2 doors. 

That was one of the many miracles we were able to see this week here in Los Olmos. Obispo Moroni, who has been pretty sick for the last few weeks, was feeling a lot better this week as well. Which was a miracle as well....imagine how the Nephites would have been without Captain Moroni! That`s our ward without Obispo Moroni, really. Nice to have him back.

Anyway, this Friday I complete a year here in Chile, and that is pretty wild. Time really does fly (even though it does feel like an eternity ago when I first came to this ward haha...). It`s kind of sad to think that a year has already gone away, I can honestly say that I feel like Ammon, willing to be here for my whole life if that was what The Lord wanted. I love being here, in Los Olmos, in Chile, serving these people and teaching (while also learning myself) more about our Savior Jesus Christ and His Plan for us. I am grateful for that plan, and I am grateful for the time I have had to be here sharing it! I hope I can always share it with the world, wherever I am, because there isn`t a happier thing to do. 

I love you all,

Elder Hixon