January 17 update

This week's update on work with less active members:

Yup still passin by and still working with some of them. We've been talking to the Famlia Armijo (ar-mee-ho) they're awesome! Kinda just slipped away from the church because they live kinda far and they changed branches so it's kinda hard to leave all of your old friends behind and try to make new ones. They told us that they want us to pass by more. We told them that we would but only if they go to church and stuff. Because we don't want to be spending a lot of time with them and have nothing come out of it. haha They assured us that they would work hard and attend church.

That sounds encouraging!  Meanwhile, some additional progress:

We found two new investigators. AMAZING investigators. haha We received a reference from Hermana Espina (the hermana we ate dinner with on Christmas eve) and we passed by for Carlos and Alejandra. Alejandra has LOTS of questions and has kind of bounced from church to church so she asked a lot of questions. Carlos wasn't a part of really any religion so he was just kinda chill. he told us that he just wanted to listen. So we taught the first lesson (La Restoracion) it was awesome! With Alejandra's questions we told her that we would clear them up one by one, but over time. haha Because I've had the experience when you try to teach them and answer all of their questions all at once. It's impossible! So we're trying to go step by step in the process. So hopefully all works out with them. We've passed by for a couple of other people but they haven't been home.

I love that "Chilean" way of expression - "passed by for" someone!  haha

The mission recently had a visit from Elder Lawrence E.  FirCorbridge, a member of the Area Presidency and of the First Quorum of Seventy.  This was Matt's report on the content of his message, and of an application that soon came:

The spirit, the spirit, the spirit, the spirit, the spirit, the spirit, the spirit, and more about THE SPIRIT!!! It was cool because he asked,"If I was an investigator and I asked you, right after you had taught me a lesson, yeah well, why is this important? Why do I NEED to change my life? Why do I need to change religions?" (Which was interesting because Carlos asked us the same question later that day, and we replied just the same as Elder Corbridge told us to)

"Because in your life you can receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, which gift, is the greatest gift of God that we can have in this life."

Carlos then asked us, "But I've already been baptized." We then reminded him that we had talked about the authority to do so. It was pretty cool. So really Elder Corbridge told us to focus on the MIT the Most Important Thing. (he said it in English too haha) and so, for example, in the lesson about the restoration the most important thing (in most cases) would be the spirit, a gift that we can receive that helps us feel "peace, love, and every good thing"

We'll hope for continuing progress in these efforts in weeks to come!