More stories....

     Well it was unanimously voted by the general audience reading these letters that I include more stories, well here it goes.

     1.Monday we went to go and visit a sister who is investigating the church, when we showed up at her house and knocked on her door. When she answered the door we could see that something was up, she wouldn't look us in the eyes and kept looking at the ground. We asked her if we could still share a message with her. It took her a few moments to choke the words out, "No, no, I... I cant do this right now." After about five minutes of trying to figure out what happened we left. This experience reminded me that sometimes in our lives the answer to our problems is literally knocking at our door and for one reason or another we turn it away. But usually the answer doesn't just go away and give up (especially when the answer is the missionaries, we'll be back Carmen)

     2. On Saturday we went to the Riquelme family, man they are just the best. The wife and daughter of Luis are not members, but Elizabeth (the mom) recently told her Evangelical preacher Father that she is going to get baptized, and is trying to share the gospel with her brother and his family! She is inviting them to a Family Home Evening next week on Monday. Their two year old son Lucas got a drum set for Christmas so Saturday we taught the word of Wisdom rock style! That's how we do it. 

     3. Saturday as well we were out with Sergio (24 and going on a mission in February) all of the lessons we had planned fell through... and we were stumped for about five seconds when the spirit took over. A few weeks earlier Sergio had told us about a classmate he knew who might be willing to listen to us, so I asked him if we could visit with him. There was only one problem he had no idea where he lived and no way to contact him.... But again the spirit took over and we selected a street and once on the street we walked to a house and stopped and I told Sergio, welp, we are going to start here, lo and behold, it was his friends house. We went in taught him the restoration and set up a return appointment. The spirit will guide us if we allow it to.

     4. Saturday again (it was a busy day) At nine o'clock the other elders in our ward had a baptism (it started at 930) But it was the best attended baptism I have ever seen, it was incredible and powerful, as always. 

     5. This week for Christmas a family in our ward gave us chicken, but since we had an activity for the mission is went uneaten that day, sitting in the sweltering sun on the sofa in our apartment, but as nothing goes to waste in our apartment my companion elected to eat the chicken the next day. To make a long story short I have never seen someone have to make so many bathroom breaks in my life. We literally have been running from house to house, running because as soon as we leave the previous house once again he has to "drop the kids off at the pòol" if you know what I mean. But seriously I feel kinda bad for him, but that doesn't stop me from chuckling from time to time.

     I hope that is enough stories for this week, but stay tuned there will be more next Monday, and the next one, and the next, and the one after that as well, for about the next two years. I love each of you, please try to refrain from eating old chicken that has been sitting in the sun, it's not healthy. Follow the spirit, rock out, but most importantly listen and search for the answers and God is always trying to give us.

"Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you." 

It is God's character to give, let it be in our character to receive with a cheerful heart that which he is giving. I love each of you SOOOOO much! Especially my family Mom, Dad, Derek, Seur Hutchins, Hanners, Kevi, Jimmy, Moriah, X-man, Izzy, and of course the Luv bug Lavinia who loves me soooo much!!!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Hutchins

Latino

     First of all did you know that if you get bit by a stray dog that you then have to receive 5 shots for rabies? Why did I tell you this, well as it so happened that in my first week with my new Mexican companion (our second day together) that I landed him in the hospital, NEW RECORD! So what happened was we were just contacting peacefully down a street when all of the sudden I hear a blood curdling scream and my companion flies by me about five steps and collapses on the ground still screaming. So I turn around and right there about a foot from me is a huge burly beast sent from the devil himself in a foolish attempt to stop the missionaries from building up the kingdom of God  (I am not sure but I think it was a German Shepherd) the devils minion didn't just want one missionary, it wanted us both so for a good five minutes I have a face off one on one with the monstrous beast that had brutally mutilated my companion. And no one gets away with that (except for me) after a few solid blows the dog learned who was the boss and ran away with its tail in between its legs. My companion is okay now, on the bright side only three more shots until he can be declared rabies free.

In happier news this week we had our Christmas devotional for the mission and let me tell you WOW! it was amazing! I will tell you two of the things which struck me the most.

An early Christmas with departing comp.

1. The most important doctrine that we can share with people is that God loves us, that is the reason for literally everything. IT is because he loves us that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins, because he loves us he restored his church through the prophet Joseph Smith, because he loves us we have families and because he loves us we have the opportunity to live with them forever. Also because he loves us he will answer our prayers, if you think about it what would the point of all this be if we couldn't ask God, if it is all true? God loves us and wants us to be happy, it is his work and his glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, when we prayer he is going to respond because he is our Father. As a favorite scripture says "I am persuaded, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

2. Silence=good. I learned that as missionaries we are never in a duo. But that instead we are always and have to be in a trio. Two missionaries and the Spirit. As missionaries we can talk and talk and talk, but if we never give a moment to our dearest friend and companion, it doesn't work, everything that we say is pointless. And so after a powerful scripture or statement we need to give it a second or two and the Spirit will "Come to them and dwell {in their} hearts" 

3. You have probably heard this a lot especially during the Christmas season, but really it is better to give than to receive. I have always liked the scripture that tells us not to store up treasures on the earth, but to store up treasures in heaven. To give is ALWAYS better than to receive. 

Service cleaning a turtle cage

Companion-----Elder Cardona from Mexico, has been in the mission for 19 months, speaks no English, loves to eat, loves to sleep (don't worry I'm keeping his sleep schedule on line, none of that sleeping in late stuff), he is pretty animated, also he really wants to be here on the mission. His parents didn't want him to come (they are not members) so when he told them he was coming they kicked him out of the house and for four years he lived in the house of a member family. He is a good missionary with a strong testimony.

Merry Christmas!

I love you all- have fun playing in the snow while I get tan! Really though I love you all more than you can imagine keep on keeping on.

Much Love,

Elder Hutchins

Hard Work

Our Christmas Tree

     Fact: I am currently in Haulpen, it is the windiest city EVER!!! There are times when I am walking and the wind blows and my legs keep moving forward, but I go nowhere, it is pretty fun sometimes.

     But in others news this week is the week of cambios or companionship changes and I will be staying here in the city of wind (meaning I will be skyping 5 my time or 3 your time) but my companion is leaving and I will be getting my first native companion. Elder Cordona from Mexico!! I am excited because this will force me to speak a ton more Spanish and improve my accent a whole bunch. Elder Cordona has about five months left on his mission so hopefully I will learn a lot from him. 

 

     This week we had four investigators in church one was Ninoska she is nine and after sacrament meeting she came up to us and asked us if we could pick her up every Sunday so that she could come to church. Also we had The Riqulme family in church, they are awesome. The dad Luis is a less active member and Elizabeth (the mom) is amazing. After reading the lesson 1 pamphlet she told her husband that he was in apostasy and when her daughter Carla (15) told us that she would pray the next time we came her mom said, Carla make sure that you mean it because you are not committing to do it to these two Elders, when you say to them that you will do something you are making a commitment to God, so you had better keep that commitment. But after Sacrament meeting Luis told me that they were going to come the next week and I said "really, that's awesome" and he smiled and said hey we have to do it.

     Also this week while contacting at a house in our sector, in an area where no members live, we found four active families that go to different wards.... WHAT!!! it was crazy, but we are going to work that out. 

     In our apartment we have our little Christmas tree up with decorations on it and singing Christmas tree lights, but more importantly we are trying to share the Christmas spirit with the world.  It is slow and hard work, especially now that it is getting hotter, but it is moving forward as prophesied by many prophets. As Daniel said it is moving as a stone cut out of a mountain moving forward unhindered, or as Joesph Smith said in the Standard of Truth this work is moving forward boldly, nobly, and independent, and no unhallowed hand shall stop it. 

I love you all and hope that during this Christmas season you will be more sensitive to the whisperings of the spirit to share this great message of hope and of joy with your friends and your neighbors and with the whole world. I love you all and will talk to you soon.

Elder Hutchins

Proof they are energy concious here--looks ridiculous

its all about them

 

Making cookies

     Well another week gone by, they seem to go by so fast. Welp I'll try to write a little more next week......

 

     Just kidding, this week was a good one we are working hard and trying to do what the Lord wants us to do and more importantly to do it in his way. We are working with several people and I guess Ill explain a little bit about them:

 

John and Claudia: A Colombian couple who came to Chile about a year ago (Colombian immigrants in Chile are like Mexican immigrants in the USA) and are not married, they have one daughter and a second child on the way. Claudia wants to get baptized, she is going to church every week and knows the church is true, John on the other hand has a few problems, but the missionaries have a good relationship with him and we are going to help him. The first few times I saw him he would always wink at me so  I started winking at him every time I see him also I call him Captain, he thinks its hilarious and is beginning to progress slowly.

 

Juan: An older fellow who when we first met him told us that we couldn't come into his house because his brother told him that all Mormons were spies from the United States, after we explained who we really were he was a little more willing to talk to us and we will see where it will go from here.

 

Food for a party!

Alvero: Is married to a member and comes from a very catholic family and he is afraid to make a choice because he doesn't want to offend anyone, but we are going to overcome that with the promise of an eternal family that comes by living the gospel.

 

Ninosk and Alexi: Two kids who really just want to get baptized.  The first lesson we had with them Ninisok told her mom "mama dejeme a bautizarme" or 'mom let me get baptized already!'! so they are awesome and really have desires to learn.  I am learning a bit more about what the scriptures mean when they say that we need to become as little children. 

 

     So those are a few of the people that we are working with. This week I was pondering and reflecting on myself and the things I wanted to gain from my mission the experiences I wanted to have and suddenly it clicked. President Hinckly's father told him to "Forget himself and go to work" well, it finally hit me what that really means. It's not about me and really it never was.  I just didn't realize it. Its about THEM, all of them. About my companion and my leaders, about the members and the less actives, its mainly about those who are not members, but most importantly it is about and has to be about God. If we put him in first place, everything else will line up. We will be able to help more people and will be able to help each of them more. Also this is the only way that we can truly help ourselves. I have been teaching this to people saying it, but until this week I don't think I ever really understood it. I love each of you so much and I pray for you every single day.

Merry Christmas!!

Much love,

Elder Hutchins

Working hard, or hardly working????

     Oh man this week consisted of work, work, work, and also a lot of sitting down.

My companion and I have been trying to work more with the members to both improve our relation with them as well as to get them animated to participate in mission work. As we talked with the members this week these are some of their comments

"Last year the missionaries came to our house at midnight on New Years Eve and pretended to rob us, you guys are going to do that too right???

"Hey why don't you guys play pranks on us, all the old missionaries used to do it, like that time they put shaving cream in my slipper in the middle of the night..."

And my personal favorite

"What! The missionaries cant play Call of Duty with us anymore, wow you guys cant do anything!!!"

     But this week was a good one because we accomplished a lot! I love working with the members especially now that they understand our purpose as missionaries. We are working better with our leaders and currently are planning a movie night for this Saturday, we are going to watch the Other Side of Heaven and it is going to be an awesome activity, we are inviting less actives, active members, recent converts, and investigators. I have found that one of the biggest problems for many of these people is that they don't have any solid support systems in the church. Hopefully this will solve that problem at least a little bit.

     Also this week my companion and I were contacting on our way home at night and we contacted this catholic lady and it was hilarious because she kept nodding her head and agreeing with everything we said and randomly would sign a cross with her hand and say "yes yes, blessings, blessings" as she touched my companions arm and chest... we ended that contact a bit early.

     Also we went to the less active member who has a drug addict son and we actually met him for the first time this week in just a week of meeting with us I can clearly see that there are some changes taking place, don't get me wrong we have a long way to go, but God is helping him along. For example his old bishop who he hasn't seen for like 20 years stopped by to talk to him, another old friend of his did the same. He actually stayed at home all day for a few days this week (he hasn't done that for months) to spend time with his two year old daughter. I know that God is going to continue to help him, but also that it is going to be hard, but little by little.

     Lastly this week during my studies one morning something I had heard before hit me, Elder Holland told us that as missionaries we must "go where the investigators are before we can bring them to where we want them to be" it is a very interesting concept, but it applies to more than just missionaries work, it applies to life. If we want to be able to help someone, a close friend, a stray child, really anyone first we must look at things through their eyes and try to see things the way they see things and then we will be know what it is that they need to come back, or to come for the first time. Also when we do this it makes it a whole lot easier to love them, to love that drunk guy on the street who always offers a drink to the missionaries or to love the closed off atheist and also makes it easier to love you companion.

I love each of you and am praying for you "without ceasing"

Elder Hutchins

#baptizm

     Well as indicated by the title this week we talked a ton about baptism with our investigators, we contacted two references this week who were golden, we taught them both with a member present and in the first lesson we had with them solved every single big doubt they had, we conquered anything that could stop them from getting baptized. At the end of both of the lessons the investigator told that they are going to get baptized......And we also found out that both of them are not in our sector.... shoot!

But it is okay because as my companion likes saying the celestial kingdom doesn't have boundaries and that we played a key role in helping both of them (as well as a golden family of 4 we found two weeks ago) and that we will be blessed.

Entrance to a contact's home--no one home...

     In other news this week we had Family Home Evenings every single night (we even had two one night) each of them with an active family who invited a nonmember or a less active family member and it was awesome! But one of the Family Home Evenings got a little out of hand. It was the one last night and we had it with a really active family and the dad's less active little sister (19 years old) and her non-member boyfriend (also 19) but good golly gosh we had a lesson on Finding Faith in Christ and why he is important. After we watched a movie on it-I asked the question, "So how have YOU gained a testimony of Jesus Christ as your Savior?" to each of the active members... Well the dad of the active family is the high priest quorum leader and I could not tell you how but in response to this simple question he began talking about Christ's resurrected body and celestial beings and just other REALLY DEEP DOCTRINE... after that his less-active sister asked a question about how she could know if God really existed and how the scriptures seem to contradict themselves, just some doubts that she had and holy Cats her family members started just tearing her apart. My companion and I stopped it and told her that we would come back this week and that we would have the answer to her question. Moral of the story: we have to do everything in love, if the main or end goal is to get someone to come to church, doesn't work, we have to talk to people, but more importantly listen to them. (we have two ears and only one mouth for a reason), but when we help people to become converted that is when we will be able to see more growth in the church and it will be real growth.

An actual Trash Can

     Today my companion and I went to a hill in our sector and read the Book of Mormon for about 5 hours, it was amazing (pictures are coming), but any of you who have never read the book or have gone a while without doing this, my invitation for each of you is to read the Book of Mormon and then to sincerely ask God in prayer if it is true. It doesn't matter if you already have a testimony of it, do it again. As I read the first 100 pages of the book today and looking our over a valley here in Chile I could visualize everything that I was reading, it was a day to remember.

I love each of you, and remember while it is getting colder and colder where you are it is getting warmer and warmer where I am, so have fun!!!!

LOVE YOU

Elder Hutchins

Dogs.....

     Well as suggested by the title this week we (my companion and I) had quite the experience with dogs. To summarize the experiences quickly my companion almost died on about 5 different occasions this past week from huge, foaming at the mouth, rabid, scary dogs. It was hilarious because for some reason the dogs always go after him.

But In other news this week was another week of work. As mentioned in my last letter the members here in this ward didn't have the most respect for the missionaries, but I am glad to say that, that is changing very fast. I love my companion and we are working together to make plans on how we can work with the members better, about how we can help them to get the view that the missionaries are not here to do the missionary work, as a matter of fact we are here to help the members to do the missionary work. Of course we end up doing quite a bit of missionary work as well. 

Some neat experiences of the week were some of the following;

1. We were trying to go to a members house, but because I am fairly new in the sector as well as my comp. (he has been in the mission 6 months) we were not sure which house the member lived in so we narrowed it down to two houses, so we knocked on the first one....nothing, so we went to the second one and an old lady came out and my comp whispered to me "not a member" (because I still don't know all the members and so I try to contact and teach some of them) and so we contacted her and she let us in. We talked and testified about the Book of Mormon, and about a living prophet the lady told us that she loved to read and that if, while she was reading, she felt that the book was good that she would be baptized.... hmmm good, good. 

2. Last night we went to a Family Home Evening with a huge active family and an investigator, the actual meeting was fairly regular, but the "light snack" afterwards was out of this world, it was literally the most I think I have ever eaten after a Family Home Evening. After about a third of the way through my serving I felt like I couldn't eat anymore, but in the end my will power and the need to beat my companion won out and I finished. (The thing is as a missionary you have to eat everything that you are given whether you want to or not)

3. Right now I am living in a building in an apartment with four missionaries and one of the missionaries loves cooking and so at least once a day we have pancakes, needless to say we go through flour like nobody's business and so this week my companion and I bought and lugged a 50 pound bag of flour back to the apartment. If anyone asks we are following the prophets instructions and starting a food storage.

I love you all and am praying for you every day. Something I learned this week which is very helpful; Simple is better.

LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUU

Elder Hutchins

Someone's at the door....

     Well as I said in my last letter I got transferred this week and oh boy it is a difference. My new companion is almost as new as me and he is a gringo as well. Also he is the quiet type and so over night I had to change my attitude and actions to complement and become unified with my new companion. And I can testify to you that God really does qualify you for the tasks to which he assigns you.

     But in my new companionship we were tasked with opening a new sector, aka, start from scratch. IT WAS AWESOME, but at the same time a LOT of work. We are beginning slowly with the members because they have great relationships with the missionaries, but they don't necessarily see us as who we are called to be, namely representatives of Jesus Christ. And so let me tell you that is going to change and it already is.

    But outside of working with the members this week we also did a little work ourselves. This week we had a grand total of 234 contacts, (That is a LOT) let me just say the usual weekly contact number in a sector is less than 100. But God blessed us for our diligence. Let me share a few experiences with you:

     1. While tracking we found a less active member who is going through a very difficult time she is taking care of (at least trying to) her drug addicted son who is stealing from her and refused help of any kind. Also she is older and her health is failing and on the spiritual side of things she is not doing any better. She told us that she can't even pray, that she tries but nothing comes out and she just needed help. Short story is that after we brought two recently returned missionaries over each of us said a prayer kneeling down with her and after each of us said one we told her, "Try" and she did it and with tears streaming down her face she expressed the feelings of her heart to God.

     2. While tracking toward the end of the week at a random house a middle aged guy came out and said "Elders come on in" turns out he was a member who has been less active for 16 years. He wants to come back to church as well as his nonmember wife and 15 year old daughter. They told us they want to be sealed in the temple because they want an eternal family.

     3. We went to a daughter of an investigator (he told us not to go because they wouldn't let us in) so we went there knocked on the door and a lady answered (she just had a baby Wednesday) with cleaning gloves on and said "hey I'm really busy right now, but come back tomorrow at 6:30 and I'll be here" so we said okay and started to walk away, but we got no farther than their gate when I remembered we had another meeting at that time we stood there for about five minutes discussing what we should do when out of no where we heard "hey, hey come on in I'm not busy anymore" We went in, taught them, they said they knew we were representatives of Jesus Christ and that they would follow what we said. WOW!

     4. Last one-- We were contacting Sunday night at the edge of our sector we knock on a door and a lady answers it, before we can say anything she says 'come on in' like its normal. She and her husband commenced to tell us that a friend who was a member of the church had just called and was on the way over with the missionaries and they had thought it was us. Well about fifteen minutes later (after the family decided to be baptized) a yellow van pulled up beside the house and a member came out with our Zone leaders....apparently there are two streets in that area that aren't in our sector, but in the zone leaders sector...... those two streets don't even connect to their sector though, weird. But on the other hand us (my companion and I) showing up was a sign to them that this was the path that God wants them to follow....

I know that God blesses us when we work hard and diligently so do just that.

I love each of you very much.

Much Love,

Elder Hutchins

Vayase

     Well this is my last day in my first sector, tomorrow I am leaving to go to a city called Talchauano right on the coast. Apparently the main profession there is fishing, so I am going to eating (and smelling like) fish.

     But this week was an interesting one, a ton happened. Included in this mass of things I had one of my proudest and happiest moments as a missionary yesterday. Sean (one of the kids who got baptized last month and received the priesthood last week) passed the sacrament in church today. This kids is a miracle in and of himself, he and his younger brother, about a month ago, both didn't believe in God, now he is a member of the church and is among the most active of the youth. Also it is difficult because his dad, mom, and two older siblings want nothing to do with the church, but they are carrying on faithful. And they are both talking about going on missions with their family, we will see what happens.

     Also this week I was with another missionary and we decided to try and get into a house by singing, and it worked! At first when we asked if we could come in and talk to her for a little while and share a message with her she said no, so we asked if we could come in and sing her a song. She was speechless, she stood there for about thirty seconds and then just nodded her head with a huge smile on her face, it was awesome. 

     Also as all of you know this past Thursday was Halloween, well here in Chile it is a LOT smaller and the few kids that do go out get very little candy, but they go house after house yelling and screaming "HELLOOOO!!! HEY WE ARE HERE FOR SOME CANDY, GIVE US SOME CANDY!!!" but they rarely get any candy, so be thankful. 

     So yesterday we went to the house of a new convert, we are meeting with his non-member sister and pretty much the only reason she doesn't want to get baptized is because she doesn't want to go to church on Sunday. And so while we were talking to her about why we have church and the importance of living by God's rules and not our own rules her brother just stops us and he says to his sister, hey I have a scripture I want to share with you and he starts reading and says, "Repent ye, repent ye" and the scripture pretty much said that as people we are not perfect and that we need to repent, or to change, in order to follow the ways of God and to receive the blessings and help which he has for us. But it was pretty awesome and a little bit funny.

I love each of you a lot and pray for you every single night, press forward, work hard.

Much love,

Elder Hutchins

Una Semana LOCA

Happy Halloween!

Well this week was wack! We opened our new chapel this week and so Monday night our ward mission leader told us that we were going to be in charge hosting an open house, where we would invited everyone to come in and see the new chapel, every night from 7 until 930..... My companion and I went crazy with our crazy art skills.....and made a bunch of posters and hung them up around town. As luck would have it my companion (newly called district leader) had to do interviews and meet with other missionaries this week to get to know their investigators, so Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we were gone from our sector visiting other sectors and other investigators.

Lunch time Jack-O-Lanterns

And so with a schedule like this we did not have a ton of time to work in our own sector so this week could go one of two ways, really good (because the chapel was opening) or really bad (because we had no time to work). With this thought in mind may I just take a minute to say that when the scriptures tell us that God works in mysterious ways, they are not lying, he really does. And so this week where it seemed like we had no time to accomplish anything, we some how had time to visit all our investigators, all the new converts, and a lot of less active members. In fact Saturday, the only day that we had free to work in our own sector we had 10 lessons!!! That's a lot. God gave of the strength and the opportunity to accomplish everything we needed to.

Then came Sunday, let me give you a little back story: A few months ago the attendance for our ward was about 75-80 people, recently we have been getting roughly 100. This week was the first week that we would be in our own town with a brand new remodeled chapel. Plus it was ward conference. And so everyone was apprehensive as how many people would attend Sunday. Well in short it was a full house. 166 people, 16 less active members, 6 recent converts, and 4 investigators. God blesses his children.

Quickly other interesting things that happened this week

Jack-O-Banana-Lantern

-Sean (our new convert) received the priesthood and ordained to the office of a deacon

-We had a service project cleaning up a members backyard and it was pretty much a cliff, so I scaled up it with a hatchet cutting down trees and pulling weeds as I tried not to fall off, it was awesome.

-We had another service project taking down an older house, my companion and I almost died because of the amount of deadly spiders living there. (But we are both fine and the house is gone)

-The ward enlisted me to help them make popcorn at an activity this week, somehow they heard of my skills in that area...

-I ran into a guy from Canada, that was neat

Well that is not even a hundredth of the things I could have put, but it will suffice. I love all of you, keep trying to be better that you were yesterday.

Remember God loves you and that he does indeed answer prayers.

Much love,

Elder Hutchins

Workin 'em

Well this week we surpassed any previous goal that we had and completed a whopping 13 lessons with a member present. For those of you who are missionaries or who have been a missionary you know how difficult that is to accomplish, but we are seeing the fruits of our labors. Our teaching pool has tripled and our relationships are improving with the members. I love it when you get to see first hand the fulfilment of the promises of the apostles and prophets.

So currently we are teaching a 16 year old boy and he told us Saturday night when we were meeting with him that he wasn't going to be able to go to church the next day because his grandpa was having his 60th birthday party.... we were bummed for about ten seconds until we remembered that this week was stake conference. Meaning that there was a meeting at 8:30 that night (about an hour after we met with Ignacio) so we wishfully invited him to that meeting with us. And for some reason (probably the spirit working within him) he said "yea, I'm not doing anything else" and so he came with us that night to what turned out to be a priesthood leadership training session of the conference.... oh man. To set the scene a little bit: The first speaking was an older gentleman, who spoke in a low hushed voice for half-an-hour. That threw the two hour meeting off track. The three songs we sang were slow and quiet, and the meeting seemed to drag on forever. With topics such as home teaching and quorum presidencies my companion and I were having trouble staying awake and we were just hoping that Ingacio would still have a desire to meet with us after a meeting like this. Well let me testify that God does indeed work in mysterious ways because after this meeting which had bored two full time missionaries who have been members of the church all there lives, had done the complete opposite to our investigator. At the end of the meeting he told his friend (a youth we have been working with) that he wants to get baptized.... WHAT!!!!!! I know that he understood very little about what was said, but I also know that he felt something, he felt that this is the truth, and that he needs to follow it. 

We are told in the scriptures to seek and we shall find, to ask and we shall receive, to knock and it shall be opened unto us. Well we are also admonished to "seek out of the best" things not just anything. For example last night we were at a new converts house teaching his sister, my companion and I were both really hungry and the Brother must have sensed it because he brought us some bread with cheese. I looked at it and ate it right up seeking to fill my stomach. My companion on the other hand searched the food that had been given him and found that some of the cheese was a "little old" aka really moldy. So he broke off the moldy part and ate the rest which was still good. In this example my companion sought to fill his hunger with the "best" part, while I just sought to "get filled" Well I am now paying the consequences of my actions and cannot stray too far from a bathroom. But to bring it back around, Brothers, sisters, friends, and family, we must not just seek to fill ourselves, but rather seek to fill ourselves with things which are best. I testify that if we just seek to be filled, we will be filled, but not with desirable things and we will certainly pay the consequences later either on a toilet or more importantly in the eternities. So seek for the things which are best, search out the things which will fill you and keep you filled. Jesus Christ declared that he is the living waters, the bread of life and whosoever will come unto him shall drink and partake and shall never again thirst of hunger. Follow his admonition to "Come" he is waiting his arms are stretched out still.

I love each of you.

Elder Hutchins

(Stay away from moldy cheese)

Getting a little wet

Well this week was a good yet really hard week. It all began Monday evening. We had four baptisms scheduled for this Saturday and from the beginning Satan's influence here in Nonguen was more than obvious. Work schedules were changed so that we couldn't meet with people, others were offended at various aspects of the church, still others lost any sense of urgency to be taught or to learn about how it is possible to attain salvation...oh man, it was rough. I think we almost got kicked out of a few houses, got yelled at, called servants of the devil, and stepped in more than one pile of dog poop. But I have to say despite all of this I think this week was the best week of my mission so far. It was just an adventure.

One day we went exploring a new sector where we had never been before. We began at the bottom of a large hill, just at the edge of our view we could see a house so we said to ourselves "might as well go there", but the thing was when we got there we saw another house just at the edge of our view, when we got their another, then another. Eventually we were hiking through the woods winding back and forth finding about ten houses WAY up in the hills of Chile. (Pics to come).

For the first time since I've been here we are beginning to try to work as much as possible with the members, and we are seeing the results. We have a fifteen year old youth who has asked to go out with us almost everyday for a few hours. Heck, I'm not going to stop him, he is welcome. But through him we have found two new investigators, and about fifteen people who we have scheduled meetings to go back and see. But could you imagine that the first time he went out with us he told us that he had no one who he knew that we could go and see, and now look where we are. It is a testament to me that God works in mysterious ways, at times we think that we don't know anyone with whom we can share the gospel, the message of hope and joy that we have. Well just like the promise open your mouth and it shall be filled, I invite each of you and promise, go out with the missionaries and your mind will be filled. With the names of various friends, family, neighbors, and just people you know form regular day to day life. 

Nonguen Baptisms 10.13.13

Highlight of the week was Saturday. We has three baptisms here in Nonguen!! Officially doubling the number of baptisms for the year! It was a spiritual experience and I would like to invite each of you who has been baptized to reflect on the experience, and then to meditate on the covenants which you made and look for at least one

thing you can do to be more true to those covenants. For those of you who have not YET been baptized I would like to invite you to ask yourself why not, and then to pray and ask God if it is something that you need to do. And just for good measure and because of my standing as a missionary I testify to you that it is indeed something that you should do, it will change your life.

I love each of you so much, keep being awesome!!!!!

Much Love,

Elder Hutchins

ALOOO!

     Well for those of you who are wondering, general conference was AWESOME!! Doesn't even matter that it was in a different language, there is so much that we can learn from the living Prophet and the apostles. My two favorite talks were given by President Uchdorf (his first one) and Elder Oaks, they were amazing! Also I learned that they really do speak the words of God to specific people. We have a less active member in our ward and she is suffering from depression, it is very severe, but after our scheduled meeting with a different less active across the road fell we thought, 'well we might as well go to her' (because we had a member with us)  and so Friday night, right before the conference we met with her and invited her to the session of conference where Elder Holland directed his words directly towards her, unfortunately she did not take the initiative to come even after she had committed. Story number two, we have an investigator Nestor and he recently learned that while he is breaking the law of chastity he cannot enter into the waters of baptism, and this upset his greatly. This Saturday three of his children will be baptised and he said that while he can't get baptized he will do all he can to help his children to do it because he knows that it is something that will bless their lives and help them to be better people. He practically told us that he knew the church was true, but because he can't get married to his girlfriend for another year and a half because of the law he can't get baptized. He was angry and asked why the church can't change its stance because the world has changed so much since the commandment was first declared. He was offended and during the last session of conference he brought his children and told them to go inside, but that he would not be entering the church again until he could be baptized. We stood there as missionaries and representatives of the Lord and we promised him that if he came into the conference with us that his doubts and questions would be answered. For those of you who remember the last session of conference there was not one, but two talks that spoke as to 1.The importance of the Law of Chastity and 2. Why we must be clean before we enter into covenants with the Lord. Unfortunately yet again he did not take the initiative to go in and to hear two servants of God answer his questions.

Why do I tell you this? Well for two reasons 1. God fulfills his promises to us as missionaries and to us as children of God in general and 2. To advise and plead with all of you not to wait outside, but to take the initiative and to go in and listen. If we wait outside and then complain about not recieving an answer we will just be miserable,  we need to do our part and God will always do his.

Also earlier in the week we did a mini companionship exchange and I stayed in my sector and worked with Elder Garcia for the day (you might know him because he is on the front of the October 2013 Liahona) and for the morning plans my companion told me to take Elder Garcia to the only uncharted area of my sector with the instructions to "explore" and "find some good investigators" It was AWESOME!!! We went down the central road for about half an hour and came to the little populated area, the first house we knocked on, yea sure come on in, after a lesson we went to the second house, yea sure come on in. We tracked probably five or six houses and by the time we were done two and a half hours had passed. We are going back there.

I love you all and my invitation for all of you this week is to do all you can to take the initiative and to go in. If you haven't heard the conference talks go to lds.org and listen to them or read them, they will give you guidance and help you feel the sweet calming sensation that God, our Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of us. I love you all and will continue to pray for your success and happiness.

Elder Hutchins

Fun Fact about Chile

Here in Chile door bells and knocking on doors is really rare instead people yell 'ALOOO'

. Its weird.

Another Week in Nonguen

     Well, here we are another week gone by it seems like everyday I wake up and the next day is Sunday already!! Anyways some interesting things happened this week.

     First of all with Nestor, one of our investigators and his family, he has come to the conclusion that he can not be baptized for the next year and a half (because he is living with his girlfriend and because of things to do with the law they cant get married for the next year and a half), but the good news is that three of his four children are going to be baptized on the 12 of October!! We are super excited and they are as well especially their 16 year old daughter her testimony is strong and she knows and understands the step that she is going to take. 

     Also this week my companion and I were coming home late one night at about 10 or 10:15 (its okay we are allowed to be out until 10:30) and as we were walking down the road close to our house a group of three young gentlemen start calling profanities at us in English, my companion turned to me and said lets go contact them, I just wanted to get back to the house so that we could plan and also wanted to avoid talking with them, but after a while I turned to my companion and said, Hey you know what I am following you if you want to go contact them I am in. So we did and as we walked up to them you could see the change in their countenance as we talked to them and testified to them they were practically shaking. Later in our house we were relating the story to the other Elders in our house and one of them Elder Garcia (the cover of next months Liahona) started laughing and said well that's not even fair I mean they probably took one look at Elder Hutchins and wanted to run! It hadn't occurred to me up to that point that I am probably in the tallest two percent of the population in Chile and that I am an intimidating figure! Who would have thought, certainly not me! But now I know why my companion is willing to go and to talk to all the people who are rude to us, because they are all afraid of me!

     Finally this week I was studying and thinking a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, it is a very interesting and exciting topic to study. I learned that the way back to our Father in Heaven is fully paid. We will all go back to our Heavenly Father the only question that remains is how long we will stay there. We are working in this life to change and to help others recognize the need they have to change. So for this weeks invitation I would like to invite everyone to keep in mind something that President Monson advised us to do, Keep in mind that people can change. That includes yourself. We are here in this life to change. Let us all work however slow or fast to change. I love each of you and pray for you.

     Keep reading your scriptures and praying daily it is SO important.

     Also as suggest by my aunt here are some fun facts about Chile:

1.When the people here drink hot drinks they think they cant go outside because the change from breathing hot air to breathing cold air will make them really sick, but it is completely fine to drink something hot outside.

2. As missionaries people make all kinds of excuses not to talk to us, the weirdest one by far was "No I cant come out right not the baby is on the table and it could fall!!"

3. Here in Chile the Spanish is pretty weird they put 'po' on the end of everything they say, 'sipo' instead of 'si' etc. it means absolutely nothing, but it is fun to say.

last week's emanadas

en mass

obviously a close up

the finished product

mmm mmm good!

Well that's all for this week have fun in SCHOOL!!!

Much love,

Elder Hutchins

End of the first cambio

Well it looks like I will be staying here in my small rural town for another six weeks, YEAAA! My companion just got bumped up to district leader so that means during planning a lot of times it is just me. This week was the biggest holiday of the whole year for Chile the 18th or Independence day, it was four whole days of partying, it womped for missionary work, but we managed to find 6 new investigators this week.

Also the family we are teaching, Nestor and his kids are turning into a golden family, there is still a lot of work to be done, but he really wants to change his life. A week ago he was smoking 20 cigarettes a day and drinking a LOT of coffee, now he has practically stopped smoking and drinking coffee!!! Also he wasn't praying in the beginning of the week and Monday night he had a dream where pretty much he was told by a person with a big forehead that although he wasn't praying the thoughts of his heart were known and that he had to "break open the rock which is my gospel" we explained his dream to him and told him that it was an answer from God. Later at church yesterday he saw a picture on the wall of all of the modern day prophets, he turned to us and said, Elders they all have big foreheads. hmmm God really does work in mysterious ways because this served as another piece of the puzzle for him. And also during one of the classes Sunday he turned to my companion and said "I feel like I am swimming in sin, like I am just soaked in it" he wants to change and he is learning how to do that thanks to the spirit of the Lord. 

This past week we did not leave the house without a copy of the Book of Mormon in our hands I credit the six new investigators we found this week to that, the Book of Mormon has a very real power to it. 

On the 18th for lunch we had the opportunity to make our own lunch.  Empanadas: they are dough with meat, egg, onion, and other things inside either cooked or fried to perfection. Don't worry photos are coming. We made over a hundred of these delicious and fattening empanadas, they were goooood.

I would like to finish this weeks letter by telling each of you about a woman in our ward. This woman is probably around 80-85 years old, she is confined to a wheel chair. The house she lives in a falling apart. It has four rooms with cement floor and very few lights. With her lives her mentally ill son, he got into an accident some years back and can no longer do the things he used to do. He needs help to eat and to go to the bathroom, and occasionally he has tempter tantrums during which he breaks some of the few possessions that they have while she is forced to lock herself in the back room so she doesn't get hurt. Furthermore she is being kicked out of her house because her other son who "manages" her finances either is doing a terrible job, and/or is stealing money from his mom. o why do I tell you this story? Because each week we have the opportunity to take her the sacrament and it is a time which I cherish. When we walk into her house despite the humble and indeed sorry state of her life she glows. She welcomes us in and you can tell just by looking at the smile on her face that she is loved, by us and by a Father much greater than us. When we administer the sacrament to her you can tell that she knows what it means she truly understands that Jesus Christ suffered all things for us, that she understands no matter how bad the circumstances are there is someone that understands and that person is Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer. He lives and because he lives I can testify and promise that he has built for this beloved Sister the grandest and most glorious mansion imaginable up in Heaven. We may have difficulties in this life, but if this sister can press forward with so much faith then we can as well. That is my invitation this week to all of you, press forward with faith. As Jeffery R Holland once said "Lead with your faith not you doubt". Lead on my brothers and sisters, my friends and family. I love you all and am praying for each of you ever single night. Move forward, Come unto Christ and he will deliver peace to you souls.

Much love,

Elder Hutchins

La Pelota!

     Man, I just love being a missionary. This past Sunday in sacrament meeting the seventy who is in our ward spoke and he told us missionaries that we are good looking.  Ha ha, everyone was laughing and looking at us.

     Last week on P-day a miracle occurred. I live in a house with four missionaries, needless to say it is a mess, but little by little we have been cleaning it up. This past P-day I took on "The corner". It is a corner in the kitchen which no one has ever attempted to clean because there was literally an inch of mold and just gunk coating the floor. As we began our regular weekly cleaning I declared to my companion,'that's it I am taking on the corner!' For a second he just looked at me then his mouth dropped and he just said 'you are one brave guy Elder Hutchins'. About an hour later I brought my companion over to see the floor now clean of the mold and grease and whatever else was there (I am pretty sure it was at least partially alive) but the first thing my companion said was "Wow I never knew the floor was the same color as the rest of the kitchen!!" The corner has been conquered!

La PELOTA!

     Also funny story today we went to the beach (photos to come later today) as a Zone and some elders thought that it was a good idea to play soccer the short way on the beach (facing the water) and after approximately 10 minutes the ball was in the water floating away, well we had thought that ended a fun day of soccer on the beach, but after about half an hour a boat went by and the sand sweeper lady (her job is to sweep the sand on the beach) started yelling at the top of her lungs "La PELOTA!!!!!!!!" or "THE BALL!!!!" and some how they heard her, and even more surprising, they responded they turned the boat around got the ball. now about a mile out, and then brought it in to shore!! HOLY CATS! the miracles never cease.

Nicolos' birthday party

     So we are currently teaching a guy named Nestor and his family of four (plus his married, waiting three years to get a divorce girlfriend) they are awesome, but a tad odd. For example in their seven months here we are the first people aside from them to cross through the door of their house! And the dad doesn't even let his kids go outside to play because there are cad people in the world. Hmmmm, it makes me think, if they are so defensive and closed off what made them let us in the house??? Answer: The spirit. Also they came to church yesterday and they read a chapter in the Book of Mormon and they agreed to live the word of wisdom, except for Nestor who agreed to begin trying. He smokes and drinks coffee a lot, but he has agreed to begin to quit. Less than a month ago this family did not believe in God, now they are practically LDS, God knows his children. They still have a ways to go, but they have the desire and that is what counts. Also they love us, their youngest son, Nicolos had a birthday party Saturday and they invited us, it was the family and the missionaries. I love this family and I want to see them partake of the blessings of this gospel.

     Last and not least is the lesson I learned this week. We have to be prepared. The Lord sends his prepared children to his prepared servants. This week was rough at the beginning. about four days into the week we had one lesson with a member, 0 new convert lessons (only count if you bring a member) and 0 Less active lessons (only count if you bring a member), so during companionship study time we talked about what we could do and we decided that on Thursday  from then on we have to plan to plan. This includes making and setting  meetings several days in advance and then reminding the person everyday and calling and finding members to come with us, a lot of work, but two and a half days later we had 5 lessons with a member, and 2 New convert and 2 less active lessons, hmmm successful. If you have talent it will only take you so far and in sharing the gospel its not that far, in order to have success in ever aspect of our lives we need to have a plan. So that's the challenge I have for each of you this week, make plans. Begin small, what do you want to accomplish this week? This next month? this Year? How about where do you want to be in ten years? and then think about what you have to do now in order to get there. Without plans we don't have anything.                                                                                                             

Elder Hutchins with Companion

 For example if God never made the plan of Salvation think about where we would be...... not a happy thought. So be glad that God has a plan and then try to be a bit more like him and make plans of your own just make sure to always include him because he can help.

I love you all so much, stay safe, learn a lot, study the scriptures and pray daily it is so important, and make plans.

Much Love,

Elder Hutchins

Just Another Day.... Or Week

     Time really does go by so quickly here it's weird because days seem to take forever and then at the end of the week you look back and think WHAT its already Sunday again HOLY CATS!! Well let's review the highlights of the week, Dogs, Rice and Chicken every day, and what makes it all worth it (although the rice and chicken are pretty good) a flood of gospel doctrine study. I love the amount of opportunities that we have to learn. 

     This passed week I had my first companionship exchange with the district leader and the things I had heard about him were not good to say the least from the other missionaries in my district and so I went into the exchange thinking 'Oh boy here the new missionary comes and now I have to teach this missionary with three months left on his mission what's up'.... Well, I would like to advise everyone reading this to never have that attitude. Luckily for me we went straight to a lunch appointment and it was there as I was silently thinking what I was going to say to my leader that a wise saying came to my mind and it saved me. I thought if you look for the bad in a person (or if you are just looking for things to critic) then you will surely find a great many of things, but if you look for the good (and things you can LEARN) then you will also find them. And so I was saved, because the spirit brought to my memory a simple saying I had heard before. And I was determined not to look for things that my leader could improve, but instead to look for things that he did well and that I could do better in. And I stand here (actually sitting at a computer desk) and testify to each of you that I learned more than I could imagine that day. So never go into a situation trying to look for a problem to fix (unless its math) and instead look for what you can learn. 

    As for what else happened this week, I was reading a general conference talk entitled Knowing That You Know, and it is a really good one and I learned that in order to have a knowledge and in order to know that we have that knowledge much is required. The prophet Alma gained this only after many days of fasting and sincere prayer. So I would like to encourage each one of you, family, friend, teacher, or neighbor to try this. Whether you are a member and have been for 75 years or if you are not a member and just want to know what is true or where to find true and lasting happiness, well, this is the way. We must pray and ask and we must fast and we must study. It has always been this way and must be this way because a knowledge of this gospel is a pearl beyond price and where much is given much is required. So try and test God to see if his promise is true, if a man asks a question will God answer it, but ask in faith.

     In other news the Spanish is coming along so much faster than I could have imagined, of course, there is room for improvement, but I can communicate and I can testify what else do I need? (A lot)

     This week we had a family Home Evening with a less active family and an active one, for the activity we gave everyone a candle and turned off the lights and asked everyone how do you feel right now?---Scared, unsure, alone---We told them that this was the state of the world before the restoration, that the world was in darkness and it was scary and lonely. Then we lit a match and lit a single candle, just enough light to see a tiny bit. We explained that this light is the light of the everlasting gospel. But although it pierced the darkness, it was small and seemingly insignificant. But then I shared my testimony and we explained that as we share our testimony we share a bit of our light with those around us. I lit my companion's candle from mine then he bore his testimony and lit someone else's candle, this went along until everyone had bore their testimony and passed on the light to the person sitting next to them and by the end there was enough light for each of us to see clearly what was happening around us. We then bore testimony that this is exactly like life. Life is hard and many walk in darkness, but it doesn't have to be that way if we would just share what we know with those around us. We can pass on the light and we can help people to see, if we share our testimony once it gets a little brighter, but as we continually share our testimony with everyone around us, we and they, will be able to see clearer and clearer until the perfect day when the Savior shall come to reign. 

I love each of you and want to end with a challenge to make the world a little brighter. Sharing your testimony doesn't just help others see better, but it helps you as well.

I love you so much and am praying for your well-being. Keep up the good work and never forget who you are: a Child of God.

Elder Hutchins