September 26, 2016

Something I've been thinking about as a missionary sometimes we gotta straight up tell people that they're sinning and we need to be direct even though it might hurt their feelings or it's hard. 

(In response to me wondering if taking naps is wasting time.  I'm a wimp, but seminary is very early : ) Haha, maybe just take one less nap a week and study 30 minutes more of the scriptures. Actually something that one of the teachers in the MTC told us that really stuck with me was something like "Waste is sin. Sometimes we waste our time, talents, and potential with things that don't have eternal significance." So if you feel like you're wasting potential that you have then it's probably bad, but also you gotta take breaks and enjoy life. It's a balance. There is too much to accomplish haha. 

This Sunday we had a lady, Anita, go to church. She is a reference from a member and her husband died a month or two ago. Her parents are Japanese but she is really Chilean so it's pretty funny. We're going to have a couple lessons with her this week to invite her to get baptized. SO pray for Anita!

Also we found a couple Constanza and Claudio that are so awesome. Have you seen that parody of Hello with the missionaries? It was pretty much exactly like that. We actually had an appointment with them at 6 and they weren't there. And around 9 We were walking around and no one was home and we were contacting. So we decided to go back to them and she came out and was like "Come in!" And we went in shared about the book of Mormon and they agreed to read and pray about it and she said a prayer at the end. Then as we were leaving they were like "Oh wait!" And then they gave us each a bag with juice, cookies, homemade bread and a banana that they had prepared for us. We're going to have another lesson with them tomorrow so pray for them that they come to church!

And we're working with other cool people but right now they're the coolest. 

And the drink thingy with oats and a peach is mote con huesillo, it's a chilean drink and it's pretty good. Besides that this week a house got robbed while we were there, my companion got bit by a dog, and we got changes coming up.

Love you guys! ¡Pórtense bien!

Elder Cheney

September 12 and 19, 2016

September 12:

That's sweet about Tyler, good luck to him! (Daniel's cousin Tyler just left on a mission, his first cousin to serve a mission!)

I just finished John and am starting up on acts, I want to finish in September the new testament so we'll see how that goes. 

BYU is still awesome (in reponse to the football loss to Utah), so I'm already over it. 

This week we have been on the search for people to teach and we're still in the process of finding people that are interested. So en eso estamos. 

So I'll just share a quote from Elder Holland: "Christ has overcome the world... Our fundamental requirement is to have faith in Him and follow Him- always. When He bids us to walk in His way and by His light, it is because He has walked this way before us, and He has made it safe for our own travel here." 

I know that Christ is the perfect example and the only way for us to return to our Heavenly Father. He is willing to help us, we just need to let Him. 

Hope you guys have a great week!

Love,

Elder Cheney

September 19:

That's awesome about Nathanael, he'll be great out there. (Daniel's friend who just received his mission call) And that reminds me, I finished 8 months this week, the time is flying by. I don't want to think about it. 

I really like the talk (The Inconvenient Messiah by Elder Holland), it is amazing to think about how he overcame all of the trials and they were made by the best tempter ever. He knew where it would hurt most and that's where he tried to tempt Jesus.
Wow, Dustin is doing a lot. Something that adds a lot of pressure is having older siblings that have done it before. That's something I like about the mission, I'm Elder Cheney, I'm not anyone's brother, son, or anything, but I'm judged exactly for what I do, so I like that. Obviously, I love you guys, but sometimes there is a lot of pressure added to be like your family. Just tell Dustin to keep doing what he's doing. It's hard to see how unimportant the people are (apart from a couple) in high school until the day after graduation. But he's a good kid and it seems like he's doing the right things. 

If people ask how I am tell them to write me and figure it out. Haha just kidding, I'm doing really well. Even though I haven't written much about what we are doing here I love being a missionary (I can say that now without lying- we always lie at the beginning) and I'm learning a ton, all the good stuff. Being with Elder Carter has been really cool because I have 100% of the responsibility and it's scary, but I have also seen the most growth in myself in this past month. He's been having a tough time lately so I've had to help him out and try to comfort him haha, but he's a good kid. 

Yesterday was the 18th and that is when they celebrate the first national meeting of chile( pretty much independence day) and they eat a whole lot of meat, empanadas, and other stuff. So we joined in and ate a bunch. It was really cool, they really go all out and put flags up everywhere. I'll probably still celebrate it when I go home, it's a good time, but I need to learn to make empanadas.

That was pretty much our week, love you all!

Elder Cheney

September 5, 2016

This week was a good week. Elder Carter is my new companion from New Mexico. He is right off the boat and got to Chile a week and a half ago because he did the MTC in Mexico. He's a good guy and I'm excited to work with him.

I just really want you all to know that writing stresses me out and I don't like it. It's too much pressure to write too much. But I'll do it because I love you. 

The baptism was for a kid that his mom didn't want to get baptized for a while and then last week she decided that he can make his own decisions so he decided to get baptized. We just helped set up the interview and teach him a little, but the guy is a machine. His name is Benjamin and he is ten years old. 

Other than that I have had a cold all week but I'm finally getting better, which is lame because it's supposed to be getting warmer. 

But we're doing pretty good, the people are feeding us a lot so we're not going to starve. 

Love you guys!

Elder Cheney

 

(Note, we got an email from the mission president that Daniel is now a trainer!)