Weekly summary

     Every week I try to think of a subject for this blog that will be about something interesting in the mission, yet also uplifting.  Hopefully, I achieve that goal more often than not.  Unfortunately, by this time I have covered many of the activities we have so it is getting harder.
     As we have just finished interviews, I finally remembered to take a few pictures.  The elder on the right told me his mom would be very happy to see his picture and I'm happy to include it.  Overall, I was very happy with the progress of the missionaries who are learning English.  Many of them are working hard toward their goal of speaking fluently by the end of their mission.  We also hope that the  English speaking missionaries will keep working on learning Spanish throughout their mission.  I have realized that I will need to keep studying as long as I am in Chile and even after.
     On Friday of last week, we held what we call "news training". Basically we bring all the new missionaries and their trainers back for another meeting after five weeks and tell them again many of the same things we told them the first day, since we figure they were too excited or too tired to take it all in.  It is also a good experience for us to see how they have grown in confidence as missionaries and with the language.  They have a chance to reconnect with friends from the MTC, ask questions during a session with us away from their trainers and do a practice that shows us their progress in Spanish and in teaching.  President always tells them they are almost done being the newest missionaries since the new ones come this Tuesday.
     What I have come to realize and the new missionaries begin to see is that the time of a mission passes very rapidly.  Each transfer period seems to pass by ever faster and I realize I must work harder to learn to be more effective and more worthy of the Savior's blessings.  In the beginning of a mission, the time seems to stretch out, but that feeling doesn't last long.
     Tonight we are giving talks at the Santiago MTC, which we do every three months.  We like seeing the missionaries who will be coming to us on Tuesday.  When I stand at the pulpit and look down into the faces of these amazing young people, I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve.  They are truly representatives of Jesus Christ and I look up to them, try to help them as they serve, and learn from them.  
     If this post seems a little disjointed, sorry about that, but hope you enjoyed it anyway.  Until next week...

The assistants always teach a class during interviews

I included this photo because this is such a common sight in our mission.

Hi, Mom!