I Don't Know What Week This Is, But This Is My 2 Month Mark - Week 9

¡Hola!

This day marks the second month that I have been here in Chile and the start of a third!!  This week has just flown by!!  

We did a lot of work, which was great!!  Yesterday we were with one sister from church who when we were with her brought us to about 4 different houses for us to talk to people!!  It was really cool!!  I really enjoyed it!!  She was so energetic to help with the missionary work!!  We also had a lesson with some less active members who were really awesome!!  They all discussed the scriptures we read together, they found cross references and just talked about it in general!  We didn´t really have to say much because they were all discussing it amoungst themselves!  

This week we had a lot of lunches with people, and they were all really good, but I always leave extremely full!!  It´s really funny!  And I taught my first lesson on my own, my companion just said "my companion needs to practice his Spanish, can he give a short version of the lesson?" And it went really well! The next day we taught the full lesson completely and together, and it went really well!!  The man, halfway through, turned off the TV of his own accord, and all of a sudden we could all feel the Spirit so clearly!!  It was really amazing!!  I was just bearing testimony that simple things can distract from the Spirit!  

This up coming week we have zone conference about an hour away that will take up almost an entire day!  It should be fun!!

I hope you all have a great week!!

Con amor,

Elder Forsgren

Week 4 (it´s flying by!!)‏

Dear Everybody,

So I´ve had a great week, but it´s gone by so fast!!  I said goodbye to the second group of missionaries here in the CCM!!  There are presently only 33 people here, but tomorrow we´re getting about 27 more people!  It´s so small, we know everyone!!  

So today my companion and I just went out and bought a bunch of cool things!!  We also got candy, which is awesome!!  We´ve become such good friends it´s so cool!!  

This week we´re transitioning into speaking only Spanish, and it´s honestly really difficult!!  But I´ve learned more in the past 4 weeks then I did all 3 years I took Spanish!!  I can talk to some of the natives... if they talk slow... and they all love missionaries!!  

This week we had some exercises to practice different aspects of missionary work!!  We all go ‘street contacting’ in the halls and just walk up to each other and start inviting them to church and such!  It´s a lot of fun!!  

My comp. and I probably had our best lesson ever yesterday!!  It was so spiritual, and we managed to prepare the lesson perfectly to answer the questions the lady had for us!!  Now of course it´s not real, but we are still glad we have the opportunity to learn like this!!

This next week is the start of a two week celebration for Chilean Independence Day, and so we´re going to the local festival and proselyting for the first time!!  It's going to be so scary, but we´re ready for it!!!

I can´t wait to leave the CCM, but at the same time I love it here!!  I hope everyone is doing well!!  I love you guys!!

Love,

Elder Forsgren

Week 3 - Halfway through the MTC/CCM

Dear Everybody,

This has been yet another great week!!  Not too much has happened but the spirit has been so present throughout!!  Yesterday my companion and I had a lesson and we invited the mission presedent to join us for our lesson and it went really well!!  I had this awesome lesson I had been translating for 2 days into Spanish and when we got in there the lesson changed so dramatically because she had a few questions about something completely different, but it was so cool!!  My companion was really awesome because he knows Spanish pretty well, and I managed to make it through!!  And afterwards Presedent Doll gave us advice for like 10 minutes!!  I learned so much!!

So While I don´t have too much to say, however I´d like to advise everyone on this one thing; look for how God helps you through your days.  I´ve never seen it as much as I have here, however now I feel the Spirit so often.  Look for small things, like when you help others, think about how God is helping them through you!!  That is God contacting you and someone else at that moment!!  It´s amazing to think of isn´t it??

I love you guys!!

Elder Forsgren

Week 2 - CCM

Dear Everybody,

Here in the MTC (CCM) we have a saying; 'the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days' and that is such a true statement!!  It feels like I just wrote to you all yesterday!!  I just want to say that while that saying sounds like just a fun little quote it is because of God's love for us that it is true!  I mean think about all the stuff you could learn if each day was a week!!  We learn A TON everyday!!  Yet all of it goes by in a snap!  We are given the time to learn, yet the time still flies!!  I love that!!

So last time I sent home mail I said I was rooming with 3 others; well sadly now the two Elders (Elder White and Elder Aurich) are leaving for the field!  It is truly a sad day!  In the two weeks I've known them they have been such amazing role models for me!!  It's weird to think they're my age!!

My companion, Elder Despain, and I have bonded so much it's insane!  I don't think there is anything I wouldn't do for him!!  And he has such a strong testimony! That's another great thing about it here; everyone has so much faith, and a testimony to go with it!!  We have on Elder (Elder Jackson) who has been a member of the church 1 year and 5 months and he has already devoted his life to the Lord for 2 years!!  He has so much faith it touches me everyday!!

So this past week (Friday-Saturday) my district fasted for the whole district and one companionship specifically.  This companionship is made of an American who speaks English and a Brazilian who speaks Portuguese and neither speak Spanish!  They really have it rough!  But immediately after the fast we could see changes in their behavior and confidence!!  It's amazing how much God helps us!!

So in lesser news this week we had our first noticeable Earthquake!!  It was really cool!! And I just can't help but love the people here!!  Today while we were out buying stuff this one girl walks up and asks if we are Mormon missionaries and asked how to get to the church and such!! And another guys told us how impressed he was with how we give up everything for Christ!!  It's so nice here!!

I love you all, and really miss you guys!!

Love,

Elder Forsgren

Week 1 - MTC

Dear Everybody,

Today is my first Preparation Day! It’s impossible to imagine that it has only been a week!  It’s probably been the longest week of my life, but by far one of the best! I never stop working; everything I do is devoted to learning Spanish and learning how to teach the gospel!  There is no time for the idle mind, which is good; we all know what the idle mind can do!

So I currently am rooming with 3 other people!  Elder Despain (my companion), Elder Aurich and Elder White!  Elder Aurich and Elder White are like my role models in the Missionary Training Center (MTC, or CCM in Spanish) They are such great people and so fun to be around!

So in one week I am already trying to speak Spanish as much as I can!  It’s amazing how good we are getting in such a short amount of time!  I can only explain it by saying the Spirit is helping us and God is watching over us!  

So the temple is literally out the front door of my building, so I pass through it´s garden´s every day at least twice!  And today I get to go through it with all the missionaries!  It´ll be so amazing!  One of my favorite teachers will be working there while we go through!  I can´t wait!!

Here I found out that ties can be considered currency, and letters are like priceless artifacts!  It´s so funny, people say things like "Hey Elder, I´ll buy that sweater for 3 ties!"  I think I need some more ties!  

So here we practice teaching people by the teachers acting as one of their investigators (people interested in the church) from their mission and we prepare lessons for them and then teach them. Completely in Spanish.  It´s so difficult, but so cool at the same time!!  I really love it!!  

Every morning we all run down to this park for exercise and we play soccer in this lowered soccer court!!  I´m getting to be ok at it! 

Sundays are the best days of the week by far.  They are so spiritual!  We all spend the week preparing a talk on a specific subject (in Spanish) and then they call up 5 of us to give the talk!  It´s so nice preparing and studying for a talk every week!! And we have two devotionals (often watching church videos, such as On The Lord´s Errand: Life of Thomas S. Monson!  So amazing and so spiritual!!  I recommend it to everyone!! 

Now I´m running out of time, so I´ll end by saying if you send me an email I may not respond within a week due to time constraints, however I take a picture of it and prepare to respond the next week throughout this one!  If you send me a letter, firstly I get to keep it with me at all times (yay!) and secondly I may end up responding in email because that´s faster for me!  So letters are good!  We love letters here!! (my mom has my address)

I love you guys, and miss you all!!

Love,

Elder Forsgren