May 20 and 23, 2017

May 20
Today we went to the biggest flea market for like a couple hours around and it was dope. There was a ton of people and selling a ton of crazy things. I bought some soccer jerseys and a switch blade. Then we ate some empanadas and everyone loves to yell at us because we're mormon and gringos.

We wrote late today because we went to an open chapel to help out. I had to drive over there and it's in a place that is very hilly and I was driving stick shift, so my skills are getting a lot better. Google valparaiso hills. But it was a ton of fun today. Like always it was a busy week but I'm looking forward to this next week too.

As you can tell it's kind of late, so I gotta go, but I'm going to be writing Tuesday so I'll talk to you soon.
Love you a whole lot!

1. When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

[Chorus]
Count your blessings;
Name them one by one.
Count your blessings;
See what God hath done.
Count your blessings;
Name them one by one.
Count your many blessings;
See what God hath done.

2. Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings; ev'ry doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

3. When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.
Count your many blessings; money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

4. So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey's end.

May 23

(When he looks at emails) It depends on the week, so this week I write tuesday so I won't write again until next tuesday, unless something happens then it will be Saturday. 

This morning one of the Elders in the office, Elder Smith, lives on a ranch and can do some rope tricks. He showed us how to lasso a cow by the neck and also by the feet. We practiced a little bit and it was pretty fun. So we're going to all go to his house and be a cowboy for a day. 

It was a pretty good week, we're super busy as always and looks like we're going to continue to be busy for this week haha. This week Elder Packer is coming to the mission. The son of President Packer. So that'll be cool, he's going to do a couple of training and see how we're doing down here. That'll be next monday and tuesday. 

This week I was reading the scriptures and in 1 Corinthians 12 it talks about gifts that we can recieve through the spirit to bless other people. Like the gift of faith, of healing, of being healed, of profesying, of wisdom, and a ton of other cool and awesome spiritual gifts that we can obtain. And I was thinking and that's pretty great. That we can recieve those gifts and perform miracles. But then I came across the last verse in that chapter that says "But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way." So we should try to earn the gifts that are good and helpful, but there is something that is better than all of these gifts. What is it? In chapter 13 Paul talks about charity. He says that even though we have all the spiritual gifts that are possible to have, they don't profit us. He says "Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away." In the Book of Mormon there are a couple times when it says that if we don't have charity we are nothing. So that helps us to understand the importance of really loving our neighbor. We have to really love them, not just serve them, not just be nice to them, we have to have charity for them. It was cool to learn that because many times it's really hard to have charity for some people, but we have to try and ask for help to do it anyways, because it really is the more excellent way. 

Love you guys a lot!

Elder Cheney

 

 

May 9, 2017

Daniel didn't send a formal email, just a few thoughts and some pictures.  He said they have a light week this week because transfers were last week and they were super busy.  As the office elders, they have to do some training for the other missionaries and he sent some pictures of that. (He does passport training, thus the passport beard : )  I told him we were studying Revelation 7 in seminary, and he shared these scriptures:

In spanish the book is actually called apocalipses. My favorite verse from there is actually right before that one:

Rev 7

13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

It talks about how those that serve God in the temple have the victory over death.

Thanks for everything mom! Love you a bunch, talk to you Sunday!

May 6, 2017

That's cool that the Cheney's (A senior couple from our ward, no relation : )are coming down here. I think they will
be my boss's bosses. Something like that, but we might see each other
if things go really poorly (like an emergency or something). That's
cool that the elders baptized someone, sounds like a good family.
Sounds like you guys are killing it up there in the ward.
To motivate seminary kids? ( I asked him how to motivate my seminary class to read and memorize scriptures.) That's a tough one. In the mission we have
to try to motivate teenagers to read their scriptures and whatnot and
a lot of the time we're not successful. The textbook answer would be
teach them the doctrine and help them understand why they should do
it. But they're probably really stubborn so something that is really
important is support from the parents. If the parents don't verify or
help the kids to do it they probably won't do it. So get the parents
on board and then the kids will start to do it. No one can be too busy
in high school. It's impossible, they should drop classes or they'll
die from stress. There is no reason to destroy yourself in highschool.
Do you know the office of the mission there? What are they like? Our
office is probably cooler. We just had change week and I'm super
tired. From Sunday we went to sleep at like 12 or 1 and woke up at
like 6. On Tuesday we woke up at 4 to go to Santiago. It was cool to
go to Santiago and pick up all the new missionaries. We did some
trainings with them down there and then we came back up in bus. We did
the same thing that I did when I got to the mission and we left them
in Viña with a Book of Mormon and the address of the mission home.
Every day this week there was something to do with the changes so we
were pure working all the time in the office or taking people to the
bus station, picking people up, or baby sitting the new missionaries.
And it all ended with the Leader Consejo and I did a training for them
and then we worked in a while for the office and that was finally it.
We had to make 200 homemade daily planners because our mission didn't
get any. So we got a ton of missionaries to come help us and we
cranked them out in a day and a half.
Today in the morning we played soccer and we have had our pday. I'm
going to try and sleep a bit to catch up, but we'll see if we make it.
It was a pretty crazy week,I don't think I've had a busier week with
more to do. And it starts over every 6 weeks haha. But it was a lot of
fun too.
So now things should calm down, I'll have pday again on this tuesday.
Also now my companion is Elder McAllister. If the name looks familiar
it's because it is. He was my companion in the MTC and now we're
companions again so that it pretty neat.
A little spiritual thought: John 15: 10  "If ye keep my commandments,
ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s
commandments, and abide in his love." That's the key, to feel the love
and approval of God we have to keep the commandments.

Love you all!!
Elder Cheney