Hello fellow Zach lovers! Or as Elder Van Pelt began his letter this week: "Wowwicazowwi!"
This was Elder Van Pelts first week as a certified, out in the field, doors slammed in your face, I don't know your language Missionary and I am not going to lie, I had quite a few laughs at his expense in this letter. I know, I am a mean sister. He let us know that he is NOT living in a hut, being bit by monster insects or drinking soda instead of water (we were told that the water was undrinkable in Chile and that he would be drinking a lot of soda instead). His first area is in Victoria, which is located at the southern most part of Concepcíon. The only things that are noticeably different to him than living in the USA is that there are wood burning stoves in the houses for heat, which make them all smell like campfire, and that he has not seen any McDonalds yet. What a bummer...
He had a few challenges getting to Chile like almost missing his flight and the airline lost his luggage, but he kept a good attitude and on his connecting flight was able to talk with a woman in Spanish named Mary, who he actually gave a Book of Mormon to. He spent his first night in a hotel and woke up not knowing where he was and thought he was here at home in his own bed. There was a 5 hour bus ride to Victoria where he met his trainer, Elder Murphy from California who is the district leader. He has been out for 17 months so he has a lot of experience and understanding for Zach. His roommates are both zone leaders also, so there is a high expectation for him. They wasted no time, went grocery shopping and then straight to teaching. Zach had a hard time understanding and communicating with the people and was able to comprehend about half of what was said, however he was very confident when he bore his testimony to a few different people that day. Familia Sotos, who are converts to the church, heard a message from them and after Zach bore his testimony Hermano Soto prayed for Zach, which had a large impact on him.
Contrary to what I would have thought, Chile is cold, especially in the morning according to Zach. The water in the faucet is also freezing so he has to look forward to his shower for some warm water. He wakes up at 7 AM and goes to bed at 11 PM.
On the fateful day of August 14th he met "the snappy grandma and her yappy dogs". Apparently Zach tried to speak to this snappy grandma in Spanish and she ended up stopping him and telling him that she couldn't understand him and that his Spanish was bad, to which he reacted with not speaking in her home anymore. Good thing his companion is great and kept his spirits up by giving him a hug and telling him everything would be OK. But I found the snappy grandma to be the highlight of the letter. The other highlight of the letter was the story Zach told about him and his companion setting up an appointment with a lady for the next day. When they showed up to the house, the ladies 3 or 4 year old son answered the door. When they asked if they could talk to his mom, he replied saying his mom was hiding in her room. They asked if he would go get her and after about 5 minutes he came back and slammed the door in their faces. Zach found that upsetting, but I was laughing my butt off (I know, again I am the mean sister).
Another day he and Elder Murphy went to a home where the mother was a member but her husband apparently wasn't and HATES gringos. Elder Murphy was talking to the husband and Zach wasn't able to understand most of it, but it sounded mostly like he really didn't like Zach. Oh well, we like him and that is all that matters. After that while tracting Zach randomly started talking to a 14 year old boy on the street and asked him if he would be interested in hearing their message, he felt that Heavenly Father guided him toward that little guy, so that was pretty cool! They also committed an act of service by helping without asking, a young boy and girl load wood from a truck. From that they were able to teach a lesson to their mom, her daughter and her son-in-law.
One other cool thing that happened this week is that Zach and Elder Murphy were teaching a family who they had been in contact with. I believe the name of the father was Guillermo. Anyways, they had lost their son a few days prior and their hearts were just broken. Elder Van Pelt was able to share his experience with our cousin Jacob, who passed away a couple years ago. He expressed to them that he knew he would be able to see him again because of the Plan of Salvation. Zach said they were very receptive to the lesson, so we will see how that works out.
Well that was all for this week, which I would say sounds pretty productive. Keep Zach in your prayers as he learns this foreign language and searches for those who are ready to hear his message.
Hasta luego!
Elder Van Pelt and Elder Murphy have had a rough week in the area of getting people to listen to their message. He said that left and right, people are telling them "no" or ignoring them. It has gotten them pretty down, but Zach is trying to keep his head high. The only baptism that they had scheduled has backed out of it after they helped him to quit smoking. That hurt Zach knowing that the investigator was denying happiness after what he had felt through the spirit. Walking to the bus that day, he broke down and prayed to Heavenly Father, asking that they would be sent one person to listen to their message. At the end of the night they taught a family who invited them into their home and they challenged them to read the Book of Mormon. Elder Van Pelt and his companion gave each other blessings of comfort and woke up with the "clouds parted". They contacted 17 different people and 7 potential investigators. He said it felt like it went from people saying "no" to listening to them and saying "yes". Zach attributed his success to prayer and hard work, which goes perfect with the quote he sent along, "Do all you can do and when you have done all you can, pray and do more."
