Hola!!! This last week went by too fast! It was definitely a great one though! I have officially been here just as long as i was in the MTC haha. Thats wierd to think about. Things are going Great here in Coquimbo and in specific Tierras Blancas. Elder Saldivar and I are working super hard and having some success. He is a great companion and is very patient. There is definitely no companionship that will be exactly the same, and in specific, this companionship is So different from my last. haha I have already learned something unique from both of them.
This week, i had the opportunity to go in interchanges with the zone leaders in La Parte Alta. I went with Elder Sebreros and we had a great day. This place is so cool, right by the ocean, Huge cliffs and rocks, Really steep, the coquimbo cross on top of the hill, colorful houses everywhere... it is beautiful. Best of all, i learned so much from Elder Sebreros. I´m starting to feel more comfortable with teaching lessons. It really just comes with practice. At first, that was one of my biggest fears but now i´m a little more comfortable with it.
So this last week was my first BAPTISM!!! Such a great experience! So it was Sat at 5:30. We say five thirty so people will be there by 6:30 haha. Lets just say that the Chileans are not the most punctual people you will ever see. haha Anyways, We got there at about five to help joselin find a tunica (clothes) that will fit. Her whole family came as well. Her mom that has a fecha for the 7th of Nov, and her two sisters. We also had a couple other investigators show up as well. We took some pictures outside then we started the meeting. There were a couple of talks, one on baptism, the other on the Holy Ghost. Then i had the opportunity to give a musical number. I played and sang ´´where can i turn for peace´´. After the song, Joselin and i were the first ones to walk out of the chapel into the baptisimal faunt. Everyone followed. She was so excited, yet nervous at the same time. I walked into the faunt and the mirrors were all fogged up so i had to wait for a little bit while they went to go get a little squeegy to wipe off the fog. After the mirror was all clear, we were ready to go. They announced Joselin´s name and then she walked in. The water was nice and warm and it came up to her shoulders. I was focusing on speaking slow and clear and with power. Started with her full name which is 4 names, then did the prayer in spanish. Right after, there she went into the water. I made sure she was submerged all the way, she basically touched the floor ha. when she came up out of the water, it was a powerful moment. I felt so good and so excited for her. The spirit was so strong as it always is at baptisms. After the baptism, we talked to the investigators that came and they loved it. They felt good and they now have more enthusiams and excitement for the gospel. Joselin´s little sister, 7 years old, said,¨´´ i want to be baptized´´. From being on a mission, my understanding of the importance of baptism has become more clear. It is the gate by which ye should enter. I loved my first baptism experience.
This week we had the uniqe opportunity to bless a house. Oscar, a guy a little on the wierd side, said that he has been seeing some wierd things happen in his house, so he asked us if we could go over and leave a blessing in the house. I have never blessed a house before so that was cool.
So here i am, saturday at lunch, eating at the ward mission leaders house. Our ward mission leader is amazing by the way. He is completely blind, and walks around with a cane, but he is still a devoted servant and magnifies his calling. So many members here are great examples to me of magnifying their calling and the importance of doing it. Right after we were done eating, he asked us ´´so has pres Valencia asked you elders to give a talk tomorow at church?´´ we said no... and you know what that means, he is going to ask two of us to give a talk. Yup you guessed it, he asked me and Elder Mackay. My first talk in church on my mission. I was pretty nervous because i have never given a talk in spanish before, and with 0 preperation. So sunday rolls around and i have little bullet points to talk about. I talked about how all of us have the calling to do missionary work. I talked for about 8 min then it was over. Phew!! glad thats over with haha. It was good practice. It was kinda funny though. I was too tall for the pulpit so i had to bend over the whole talk. haha
I love you all! Until next week.
Elder Millard
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