60 Something weeks I have been gone!

I am finally getting how tough it is to be a mother of a missionary. The tough part is not being able to get an answer to a question directly. It is the worry that the missionary is not well and knowing I could make it better. It is the worrying of mental health, physical health, and then just realizing I have to leave it in God's hands. How can a mother care for their child everyday for 19 years and then not be able to even ask the simple questions like, "How are you?, "Are you eating enough?, "Do you need anything?, and "Do you know how much I love you? Being a missionary mom is so hard and I cannot even imagine not having the help of prayer and knowing I have to rely on Heavenly Father to make sure those things are being answered. I don't think I really understood how tough it was going to be. I am not really looking forward to doing this again. Even though I know it is a good thing for the missionary. No wonder all missionaries look back and remember their missions so vividly! I guess I just really wasn't ready to let my son go. Is anyone ever really ready?


Pretty normal week. Not going to lie. I had a crazy bad sty that almost kept me from working. Elder Burk got sick for a day. Our investigators are still good. They didn't make it to church, though. Blast.

Let's think.

Last monday we bought food. Okay.

Tuesday was super, super normal. It was the sick day. So it was normal until 6, and then it was rest and putting hot stuff on my eye.

Wednesday I gave a lesson about "How to begin teaching" in lessons with new investigators. It was not terribly good. I was very distracted with my eye thing so no one minded. It was so big and gross that I think everyone just looked at it and didn´t listen. The thing is, sometimes the zone leaders give a very specific tiny wierd class for me to do. And that's how the lesson comes out in the end. I usually do a good lesson. It was the eye!

Thursday and Friday and Saturday were obscenely hot. Didn't help the eye thing. At all. Thursday we had another great, though very difficult lesson. It was difficult because my Spanish was taxed to the limit in explaining the plan of God from a more... intellectual point of view than usual. I've noticed that over time we learn to teach on an average-person level. When we run up against intellectuals, like these people, we have to think a lot more like ourselves.

This guy's doubts are very similar to mine. His big problem is essentially the Church. The doctrine he knows is right. He just can't stand yet the idea of a church. Not to mention baptism. As we talked, though, he started to see the purpose of it. We then mentioned how God gives blessings for obedience. He said, "I don't like the idea of obeying just to get something."

That's just it, though. We obey because we love God. We explained that to him. I have never understood what it meant really when it says in the Bible that "They were astonished at his doctrine." Not until then did I understand. No one had ever presented such a docrine to him, or to his wife. They spoke little after we taught. It seems we certainly gave them a lot to think about.

I think it won't be long before we see baptismal dates for them.

Wierd thing related to the five-month conversion of Brother Calloway - the average person is baptized three changes, or four and a half months, from their first contact with missionaries. We hope for faster, but it doesn´t always happen. I know people who investigated for a year. As long as they progress, it's never a waste. Speaking of that, I just heard that like five of the people I taught in Melipilla have been baptized now too. Not bad. One was the one I knocked the door of on a Spirit whim. Not only that, his whole member family is active as can be. I just need some of the same success here.

I wish I had an apple comptuer. This one makes me mad.

And and iPhone.

No, let's just focus.

It's really hot now.

Well, have a good day and stuff. Faith is not the Force, even thought the Force is cool.



Vocal Point

Do you think Regina Speckter has any acceptable songs? I know The Call would be okay. (Can someone find it?)

I also with I could have a fountain pen here. Oh well. I heard there's a cross or something pen that takes refills that aren't that expensive and you can just get the refill and stick it in a Pilot G2 pen and it has the same exact amazing expensive feel for like eight dollars, not a hundred.. Maybe you can find that article. That would be cool for Christmas.

I found a shaver thing here because I couldn´t just keep using the old belt sander... it seems you got one too... I guess if it's nice you should send it, but if not maybe Jake would like it...

Vocal Point?

There's this multicolor pencil in the BYU bookstore I'd really like. It's Pentel. It has a bunch of leads in the barrel and you can eject them one at a time. They had them in the MTC Bookstore. They're cool.

I think for Christmas I would like a new set of socks. Mine are t-rashed. Maybe synthetic ones? I don't know. But mine are trashed.

Love,
Elder A. Conrad Crist

Two Elder Crists'

I had been praying all week that these two missionaries could at least see each other while they were in Chile. We also learned there would be a huge celebration in Chile that the missionaries could be at. So we were praying extra hard and it payed off. They did indeed get to see each other but not for long enough. Is it ever long enough? This will be one of the stories they tell their children and it will become more and more precious over the course of their lives. Yay, I am so happy it could happen!
Alex does not explain this very much in the letter and I will still have to figure out the attaching audio part. It was very cool to hear him speak about it though!


This week was very... different. We only had like three lessons the whole time, but they were good. We have some really good progressing people, finally. I really got shanked this week because my computer was being dumb and now everyone wants to leave without me. I hope you enjoy the audio - I did.

I think if I could put a name to this part of my mission, it would be "getting better at contacts and finding people." I've always been pretty good at teaching, but contacts have never been something I've wanted to do. I got up one morning and decided to be more personable in doing them. I don't know why it took so long to arrive at the conclusions to which I arrived that morning.

It's helped a lot. Suddenly I learn lots of random stuff, and almost ever person with whom I talk is a pretty decent investigator. We can go out at talk to ten people and get three to listen. That's just unheard of to me. It came from something I have relearned several times in different areas of life - think less, not more.

Elder Mann, my trainer, (who's now the assitant to the President, by the way) talked about how once there was a man who sold strawberries. He had a large cart full and he never sold very many. He thought to himself, "I think I know what I can do - I haven't been working hard enough."

So he bought a truck and filled it with strawberries.

Sometimes it doesn't need to be harder to be better. Take Jesus Christ, for example. Do you remember about the crazy flying fiery laser serpents that bit all the people in Israel? And what did they say to the cure of looking up at Moses' hastily forged snake stick thing? Whatever, man; ¿adónde la viste?* That's ridiculous!

So they died.

Anyway, the pension is still fun, for there are still four super white people in a house in the middle of south Santiago by that good bread place. Elder Tyler, who replaced Elder Lowry (whom was known by Kelsey from a church history trip - confirmed)(who has since gone to the most flayte-ganster part of the mission, Ochagavía) is from about sixty someodd miles from our house toward Logan. He's new, and cool. So life is still fine.

Our ward mission leader has completely disappeared from existence, unfortunately. The entire ward is looking for him, and he will not answer any phone calls. He arrives at eleven and leaves at nine so we are absolutely unable to get him. Elder Van Dyke says that it says one thing to him: sin.

Just a note here, isn't it ironic that people run from God when they sin? Can you see a guy missing a hand running away screaming from a surgeon? "No!! I like it this way! It's better because my hand won't ever get hurt again!"

Anyway, that is our fear. I'm not sure what to say to him when we meet him. But that's what the Spirit's for, right?

Well, carry on. Listen to my audio. It's about Elder Crist. The not-me one.

Listo, chau,
Love,
Elder A Conrad Crist

*"Whatever, man!"

I also just realized I now have 13 months done.

I love the letters home! I love hearing about Alex's day to day activities. It really gets so inspirational to just read of the things he is doing and the things he is working on. He will have so many stories to tell and these are the things that are going to pull him through during rough patches later in life. I think we have all gotten to that place that is just accepting. I really hope Alex makes the most of the rest of the time. It really isn't that much.



Firstly, much thanks for the music. I passed through a more or less boring music time there. It worked seamlessly with my ghetto blaster mp3 stick thing like the one I had before iPods came out. I really could only ask for "The Lower Lights". You've done a great job.

Well, there's no changes for me this time. I'm here for another change at least. I also just realized I now have 13 months. Not exactly a slow change that just passed. We worked and stuff and then it was over. That was it. We have some amazing people, finally, that we'll surely have baptized before too long. I was scared of being changed out and not being able to see it, because it is basically a sure thing.

Here's an excerpt from my weekly report so I have more time to write other things:

"I'm quite glad I don't have changes, because this next change is going to be a great one. Fernando and Natalia are going very well. We managed to have our first MAC of the change with a great member with them, in which he gave excellent testimony and allayed some doubts they had. The lesson started to get a little of track, for Fernando had always been taught that God was a Spirit. As we talked, though, he started to see more reason in our being here and living our lives. He is reading and praying - we know he reads because he always comes with questions, and because when we asked him to pray to end the lesson he did it without hesitation, and did it absolutely correctly, having prayed so starting only three weeks ago.

Needless to say we're fairly excited for their progress. We are going to work as hard as possible for those MACs. They really count when they do happen. What's more, the brother who came out with us talked about it in his testimony, which can only help excite others. Immediately several other people who had evaded it before asked us when we could go out."

It was a very good week. We had a ton of meetings that kind of messed up our plans many times, but we ended up being able to get to a lot of super cool investigators.

I'm now finding myself at a difficult language situation. I understand word-for-word every person, I read the same speed in Spanish as in English, and several people have noted that I use some grammar that most people disregard correctly. Now I have two problems. I'm not satisfied with my accent, nor am I with my vocabulary. The thing is, it's hard to do anything to make it better with four gringos (one is going, Elder Lowry, who Kelsey knows, from our pension, and Elder Van Dyke is training a gringo, so it's all gringo again).

Improving your accent from 0 to 75 % is really easy. The next ten takes as long as the last 75, then five, then you start getting to a point where you just can't quite do anything noticeably better, even though you still have an irrepressible accent. Unfortunately, unlike in English (especially at BYU), accents are not attractive. I like pretty much any accent in English. They just don't get the coolness of it here.

I think of this because we went to a member's house last night and his daughter of perhaps 19 came out and said they were all in bed almost because it was Sunday. I asked her if she was studying or working to be friendly. English. As a classic test I immediately asked, "So then you'd be fine if we just spoke English?" She came back, "Actually, that would be good so that I could practice it."

Looking at a Spanish-speaking face and speaking English is extremely difficult, but we proceded to talk about how she'd learned it and how she'd use it. Super interesting. Her accent was cool - and slightly British. Apparently her school has Britains teaching it. After telling her to do a Study Abroad at BYU, we went home. And all I thought about was how to become that good at some point.

Anyway, beside that, there's a huge event coming up in Chile. The missionaries first arrived fifty years ago, so they're having a huge thing in a stadium. Supposedly the Prophet will be there... Could be. Looks like our mission is going to sing in it. I wonder if you'll be able to see that. Saturday.

There's another random letter. Enjoy if you can.


Love and stuff,
Elder AC Crist

Glorio

I realized just after Conference that Alex only has 1 more Conference to go without us. Or us without him!! I am very grateful for all that he has learned and for all he has come to realize as he is becoming a man. It is a rough thing that these boys do for the two years they are out. I am very proud and I can only imagine the homecoming. I am sure that our Heavenly Father also feels the same for us as we are are here struggling and trying to become worthy to be in His presence. What a homecoming that will be as well! For all of us! I, too, glory in the work of God.

This has been a cool week.

Conference for missionaries is pretty much the biggest holiday there is. Christmas gives us about three hours of monkey-painting non-working time. Conference gives two whole days, because the place we watch conference is far away so we can´t come home to work between sessions. We barely got in a lesson after Sunday sessions.

We didn´t have a ton of lessons, but one we had was super good.

Quote from my week report:
"We met again with a man who is buried waist-high in the Book of Mormon, this time with his wife. He had read (and noted a few questions) the assignment from our last visit and a chapter we gave him in our first contact with him that he hadn´t read. We talked of what the Book really means, including baptism. He said that it was difficult for him to accept a new book after the Bible, but also that he had a difficult time not believing the truths he found in the chapters. We re-explained a little to his wife so that they could read and pray together.

Fernando, for that is his name, is a psicologist and is fascinated by the question of whether human beings are basically bad or good. We showed him Mosiah 3:19 and he read with his mouth slightly open. "Ah, si," he said."

There´s a big motion in the mission right now to do everything about the Book of Mormon (that was echoed in conference), so we do, and it works. The Book seems to attract people who are interested and scare off people who aren´t ready. My trainer, now the assistant, said once that the Book of Mormon is the "Great Filter." If you think about it, it is as much for us as for personal people at home. If they read it and accept it, they will not get filtered out.

On the shaving front I´ve been now secretly mootching off my companion and Elder Lowry, and using my own super old blades that are only slightly better than grinding the hair off your face with a band saw. My face has been happier. At least I have no acne. There´s not enough intact skin.

That was a poor place to put that part.

We have also been watching some DVDs the Church has made to show what good missionaries are like and how to plan and all that. These missionaries are states missionaries in Texas or something who have super-packed all-reference car-and-bike missions. One starts seeing them and thinks, "Wow, we are not that good. We don´t have twenty people in church every week. We definitely do not teach fourteen lessons with members in them a week."

Then comes up this scene where they do a contact. They barely knew how to do it. All at once I started to become really grateful for where I am. We fight on the ground level here, with getting our ward mission leader to come out with us and go to meetings, to doing hundreds of doors and contacts on the street. I love my mission. Elder Burk and I work like fiends all day at 95 degrees, usually only spending an hour or two indoors a day. I glory in that I was counted worthy to work so for Him. My trainer once said that he thinks sometimes that you shouldn´t freak out if you have no baptisms for a while - perhaps that span was neccessary and some missionaries may not have been able to handle that stretch without success.

The Apostle Paul says "glory" as a verb a lot. In Spanish, verbs are always one word. My word this week is "Glorío" - I glory. Glorío that I can be here making this happen.

Our investigators that we do have are also very delicate and difficult. Keeping just our attendence up is a full-time work. Let me tell you, though - how great is our joy for one who is baptized, or reactivated, or finally in the temple? Better than any other.

I just found out today that one of my favorite investigators (through a Melipillan member I ran into on the Metro... somehow) was married and baptised and now is the secretary of the Young Men´s program. That is something, isn´t it. You´d have to be me to get that entirely, but it is something.

Have you ever watched Mormon Messages? They´re good. The music from Moments that Matter Most I would like to have if it´s an artist.

You really should find The Lower Lights. I think you´d like it. It´s pretty folksy. This song I put in is an offering. Maybe Jake and Abby can sing it someday.

I really am doing a lot better. As long as I can eventually resolve my face issues I think I´m fine. The only worry now is there´s a shortage of Zone Leaders in the mission. That scares me a little. Did you know that there are only three groups of missionaries after this change ahead of me? Frightening. I´m afraid my generation is going to have a lot of leadership responsiblity.

Elder Burk and I are finally starting to find a sane medium. Everyone does stress differently, and his was being insanely intense. Mine is being very quiet. So things were just uneasy. But we´re figuring it out.

I´m now working on a highlight audio reel of the Book of Mormon for people who can´t read. I need to work on that.

Trust God. Love each other.
Elder A Conrad Crist