June 23, 2014

Hola Everyone

Well this week was okay for us. We are basically in a whitewash like I said last week so we were in the street for quite a while. But we are trying to work with the less-active members to find families where not everyone is a member. It hasn't really worked quite yet but we're not going to stop doing it after only a week. I know that it is the best way to work so we are going to just keep trucking along. Elder Santos is pretty cool, but he is SUPER quiet! Way more shy and bashful than I am (imagine that) haha. This week was kinda crazy with soccer. We have to stay in the house during the games that Chile plays and when they beat Spain (defending World Cup Champion) things were kinda nuts. Luckily we just had Coorelation meeting afterwards but it was still pretty intense. We had a few less-actives come to church that hadn't gone during my time here with Elder Arriola so I was pretty excited. We just have to help them progress and become active again. We are praying hard and trying to find the people that are waiting for us and I know that if we are obedient and diligent, we will find them. I love and miss you all so much! I hope you have a great week!

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

Remember who you are and the family name you bear

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June 16, 2014

Hola Everyone

Well this week was pretty rough. It rained 4 out of 7 days and we were in the street most of the day for 2 of them. It was pretty miserable to be honest. We have really struggled with finding people lately. And the World Cup started so that has been pretty interesting to deal with as well. All I want to do is find someone to teach. I get pretty tired of being in the street all day long with nowhere to go. But I know that things will start to click soon. We had to divide our sector with the sister missionaries. We were just kind of working everywhere without any problems but President Warne wants all of the sectors divided. So we lose basically everything we had and we have to go to the part of our sector where there aren't really any investigators. We have changes this week and my companion is heading down to Curicó. My new companion will be Elder Santos. He is from Uruguay. I don't know him but everyone says that he is pretty cool but that he is really quiet and shy. Kinda reminds me of someone but I don't know who....I guess both of us will have to break out of our shell. We are basically going to be in a whitewash so it will be interesting for sure. I saw on the mission website today that Ignacia (the daughter of Yilda from Licantén) got baptized this last week! I'm super excited for her! And I also found out that the mom of the soccer prodigy family from my last sector, she wants to get baptized as well. I'm super excited for her as well. It looks like most of my work as a missionary will be planting the seeds and being able to watch from afar as those people choose to accept the gospel. I don't mind it because I know that I did my part. I love and miss you all. Have an awesome week!

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

Remember who you are and the family name you bear

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Remember who you are and who you represent

June 9, 2014

Hola Everyone

Well this week was pretty slow for us. I wasn't even in my sector for 3 days this week because my companion went to Santiago with some other missionaries for his visa stuff. So I stayed with some other elders in their sector on Monday and Tuesday and then on Thursday I did divisions with an elder from my district. But basically everything that we have had lately, is gone. We don't have investigators. The family that we taught last week told us to not come back because the aunt (owner of the house) is super catholic and doesn't want us there. So that was kind of a blow to the stomach. And on top of that, it rained for like 3 days straight. We got absolutely soaked. And what made it worse was the fact that basically nobody let us in those 3 days. I'm not gonna lie, this week was pretty difficult to handle with all of the stuff that happened. But I know that the night is darkest just before the dawn so I know that soon things will start clicking for us. Well for all of you who are reading this, I completed 18 months in the mission this last Thursday. The last 18 months have been super hard, full of happy moments and not so happy moments, struggles, challenges, and triumphs. I have finished 3/4 of my mission and am in the last leg of it. I can't imagine how quickly these next 6 months will go by (if it is true like everyone says). I know that this is it. This is my last chance to work in the Lord's vineyard as a full-time missionary and I'm not going to let it pass by. It's time to dig deep and finish out the game. I love and miss you all a ton! I hope that you all have an awesome week!

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

Remember who you are and the family name you bear

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Remember who you are and who you represent

June 2, 2014

Hola Everyone

This week was kind of a struggle. We didn't get into very many houses so we were in the street quite a bit. But we did teach the family that we found last Sunday. We taught them about the Book of Mormon and the role that it plays in our conversion. The lesson went really well. The dad said he won't get baptized but that didn't surprise me very much. It will take time for him to really recognize the Spirit and feel the need to be baptized. But his kids are really, really receptive. We have a FHE planned with them and a member family for Saturday so hopefully it goes well. Elder Salas (70 from Argentina) came to our mission this last weekend. He and his wife talked to us. It was awesome to be able to listen to them and their advice. Elder Salas said that we, as missionaries in general, lack faith. And for that exact reason more people aren't getting baptized and joining the church. I agree with him 100%. I honestly feel that I lack faith but I've put some goals down and I'm trying to increase my faith. I'm really excited to see what this next week has in store for us. I love and miss you all! Have a great week!

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

Remember who you are and the family name you bear

Return with Honor

Remember who you are and who you represent

May 26, 2014

Hola Everyone

Well this week we weren't able to teach the family that we found last week because the parents were working alot. So hopefully we will be able to teach them this week. But yesterdy we found another family of 5 that were super receptive. They straight up told us that they are Catholic and aren't going to change but the Lord and the Spirit work in mysterious ways. During the First Vision I could not only feel the Spirit working, but I could see it in them as well. They said that they would pray about our message. It really is amazing to me how the Lord works. I had to go to Santiago to renew my carnet (chilean ID) and I was waiting in line for over 5 hours and didn't even finish. But while I was waiting with Elder Doyle (from my room in the MTC) we taught a guy from Columbia. He was super receptive and had never really heard of the Church. He wants the missionaries to pass by his house, so we gave his address to the mission up there. The bishopbric in our sector put on a "mini-MTC" for all of the young teenagers and invited us and about 6 other companionships to help. It was pretty cool to see the young kids interact and teach. It reminded me so much of my time in the MTC teaching in spanish and my first few changes when I didn't know what to say. It brought a smile to my face and made me laugh a little. The mission is full of so many memories, more good than bad, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love being a missionary and sharing this message of Jesus Christ with the Chilean people. I love and miss you all! Have an awesome week!

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

Remember who you are and the family name you bear

Return with Honor

Remember who you are and who you represent