Crazy, i mean CRAZY week!! - July 8 2015

Dear Family.........

I honestly dont know how to start out this email. There is alot of stuff i want to write about so buckle up and hold on for the ride. Because its gonna be a bumpy one!! Please keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times, and in case of emergency the exit is to your left. But always make sure you have your exit buddy!! Let the craziness BEGIN!!

So to start out i couldnt remember if i told you guys last week that we ate lunch with Carlos, the recent convert of Elder Thompson last wednesday and it was fun to get to know him. He is a cool guy and went through a really big transformation to become a member of the true church of Christ. Then we had a lesson with Eugenio. He is a man who has visited with just about every religion there is. So he knows the Bible and has his own mixed in there. But we taught him about the Apostasy and he understood perfectly and even agreed with us. It was amazing! And then when we went back yesterday and taught him the rest of the Restoration he accepted it and understood what we were telling him. He told us he would pray and read because he is looking for the true church just like Joseph Smith was. It was amazing. Especially since we almost stopped passing by because we couldnt find him. I guess every person has his or her time. 

Then on Saturday Chile played in the Final Game for the Copa America or American Cup. We were allowed to watch it and it was intense. They played the whole 90minutes without scoring one goal. So then they had two sets of 15 minute overtimes. And by the end, neither one had scored yet. So they finished off with penalty kicks. Each team had five chances. Chile got 4 and Argentina only got one. So Chile won as CHAMPS for the first time in history on the Fourth of July!!!!!! We got to see fireworks and enjoy the celebration up in our 17th floor apartment eating empanadas and making noise with all of our Chilean brothers!! It was actually the best 4th of July ive ever had!! Chileans are crazy for soccer games. I have some pretty funny videos of the members when Chile won. With people jumping and screaming and almost crying. But hey, thats the game. Blood, Sweat, and tears!! 

Then on Sunday they changed the hour we start. So now it starts at 10 in the morning with sacrament meeting. And it was a miracle. 3 Less actives showed up. Mario, Doris, and Hon Tapia Espinoza. They are amazing people. And to see them in the church was just incredible!! Let em tell ya, there is nothing like the feeling one gets to see children of God come back to the redil.

Some more news is that on Monday Chile passed a law saying that it is legal to grow up to six pots of marijuana on your property. So now everybody can have it!!! Then we walked in the street with a man that is deaf and mute. We couldnt really communicate with him. And to make matters worse he was drunk so he would pay attention. But we wanted us smoke and drink with him. He actually was trying to go and by cigarettes and beer to drink. But luckily we got away. Then we had a member accompany us to 2 appointments and we got 8 new investigators from one of the families. It was amazing and another miracle to put in the journal. In fact the father was raised as Jehovah's Witness but is very interested in our message of a prophet and the restoration. It is super cool!

Then on tuesday we got word that we are no longer allowed to use bags. So now we walk around with our scriptures in our hands. And we had a district breakfast too. WE ate breakfast burritos. It was really good. Then i got to teach a little bit about urgency in our Zone meeting. And i told the story of the Starfish. Its about how a young boy was walking on the beach throwing the starfish back out to sea after the tide went out. And as he was doing this and older gentleman came up to him and asked "What are you doing?" the boy said, "Tossing the starfish out to sea." The old man asked "Why?"

And the boy answered, "Because if i don't they will die." The old man then looked at him and said, "But my boy, the beach is very long and you have a lot more to go before sunset. You cant do it all. So what does it matter?" The boy stopped, crouched down and picked up a starfish and tossed it out into the waves. He then looked at the man and said, "Well, it mattered to that one."

And so we see that we have to constantly work because there are many people that need to be cast out to sea or find the gospel and those that we help it might not matter to any one else but them. But thats ok because that is our purpose here on the mission. To save souls and bring them back to their Heavenly Father.

Then to end it, i cant remember if i ever told you guys how Evangelists pray. Well during the prayer they start to chant and talk saying things like: Lord, bless us Lord, Blessed Lord, I love you Lord. It is very hard to stay focused but a funny experience that first time it happens. 

Then today we went to a museum of a poet. His name Pablo Neruda. It was cool. It was an old house of his and i learned alot. Also took lots of pics. But those will be seen at another time. Well thats all that i have for this week. Hope you all have a great one too!!

Love you all,

Elder Ashworth

¡¡¡¡¡JULIO!!!!! - July 1 2015

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

Wow, how time flies. We are once again in the cold weather months will ok days and cold nights. But hey, thats winter for ya. But at least its the 4th of July this weekend and we will most likely be spending it in the house because Chile is playing in the FINALS!!!!!! They have made it to the finals of the Copa America or American Cup. They play against Argentina and we will see what happens. If they win there will be celebrations and fireworks. If they lose i heard its forecast to rain, because they will all be crying. But i guess only time will tell ;)

This week we were walking down the street and we passed a man with a hook for a hand. That was interesting. Also we found some really cool new people to teach. We got two from a reference. Their names are Jose and Gloria. The other is from an old investigator thats not progressing and he is her son that just came to live with her. His name is Carlos. So we will now see what happens with them. They all want to go to church so we have high hopes. 

Also we had the Fireside for the Birthday of the Mission Chile Santiago Sur!!! Its now 2 years old!! Its amazing. The devotional was good. There were testimonies from converts and from returned missionaries that served here years and years ago. And then the normally amazing messages from President Cook and his wife. He talked about our Kirtlands and our Nauvoos. And how we have to remember our Kirtlands (or good experiences) during our Nauvoos ( or bad experiences or times) to help us along. Because the church had a great experience in Kirtland and not so great a time in Nauvoo. It was good talk. 

Also this last week Elder Thompson and i had a day that was just very depressing for us. Everything we had fell and nobody wanted to talk to us. Everybody rejected us and we ended up walking all day. And i believe some other things happened but i really dont remember. In fact a Christian lady gave us cookies, and Elder Thompson said that was Gods way of telling us "Enjoy it now, because you guys have a ruff day ahead of you." Anyways, by the time we got to the house we were just tired and done with the cold dreary night. But as i was sitting in the house i happened to open my Book of Mormon and it opened to Alma 8. In the exact same spot where Alma felt the same way. he was depressed and felt like it was worthless because the people rejected him and chased him out of the city. So he prayed and expressed his feeling to the Lord. Afterward he received a vision and returned and had success with Amulek. Well, that night i prayed long and hard just talking with God and expressing my feelings and the trials we were passing. And no joke, the next day was our best yet together. And we have started to see more progress here. Its amazing what the Lord will do for us, if we continue faithfully and really communicate with him the desires of our hearts. I testify that miracles exist. We found 2 new people the next day and had some amazing lessons that helped people to understand to Gospel. And i know that God answers prays. 

Then to finish it up. On saturday there was a baptism in the ward from the sister missionaries and tehn a ward activity. It was a talent show and we participated. It was a blast. We danced as missionaries and sang karaoke to Ghostbusters just to help the members enjoy themselves. 

Well, i hope you all have a great week and i love you all,

Elder Ashworth

New Pictures June 24 2015

TWO MONTH MARK - June 24th 2015

Wow! i dont know about you guys but the sky here is super smoggy. They just told us we are in an ambiental alert. It means that there is so much smog it can be bad. And because of that we are not allowed to do exercises outside of the house this week. BUMMER!!!

But oh well. The temps are dropping and its getting cold. Everyday i can see my breath. But that doesnt keep the Chileans from celebrating the victories they've had in the Copa America!! We are playing again tonight and we are going to watch it. We got permission and we are going to watch them play Uruguay. It will be fun. But anyways. This last week was normal. Not much happened really. 

I did get sick on Sunday and Elder Orchard and I, he is from Ririe, stayed in the house. I am now once again down to 207 . But know things are back to normal. 

Also yesterday a brother told us some funny jokes. They had to do with the twelve apostles. But here is one. What was adams last name...........perez. because when they were cast out god said, pereceran but the joke is its Perez seràn.  which means you will perish or Perez you will be!! It only works in spanish so its a dud in english but the other ones were funnier. 

Well, i hope you all have a great week and dont get into too much trouble without me. I know how you are all trouble makers!!

Love yall,

Elder Ashworth

A Great Week! June 17 2015

So...........

Im tired of starting every email the same way. i dont know about you guys but when things are the same i just get BORED!! So im going to try and change things up a bit today. Try and give it some FLARE!! Because sometimes i feel like i run out of things to write, but im sure there is alot more going on then i tell you guys, but usually i get to writing you guys and i forget everything that happened in the week. But wait, before we go any farther i would just love to send a shout out to my favorite dad on this wonderful Father´s Day Weekend coming up. 

¡¡¡¡¡¡HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!

I have also decided to change up the color scheme. This last week was a great week. It involved alot of walking and tracting, but thats normal. But in all of that we did find an amazing inactive family. Their names are Luis, Veronica, Pualina, And Anotonia. They arent on the registers that they live in this ward because they moved her a few months ago and have been inactive for 7 years. So we found them knocking doors and its actually the second time we have knocked their door since i have been in this sector. But we got inside and shared a really good first lesson. We got to know who they are and the father voiced that he wants to reactivate himself but he will need support to do it since its been so long since he was active. And they have a daughter that is 10 and is not baptized. SO we are hoping we can help them become an eternal family. The father was very moved because he recounted a story that happened to him recently about how his father in law was deathly ill and they asked him to give him a blessing but since hes been inactive, he didnt feel worthy. So he couldnt do it even though the family specifically asked him. You could tell he felt some remorse for not being active and worthy in the moment. But we told him that we would be here to help along the way and that he will be happy with his family once again in the church. It was an amazing experience.

Then, we were contacting at 9:45 at night and we knocked this door. Out walks a man and he talks to us in the cold air outside of his house. We tell him we are here to share a message with him and his family. He says, "Well, come right in!" And we went inside and talked with him some more and found out his name in Juan. He is a great guy and we got a return date to go and teach him some more. I guess its true when they say God is a God of Miracles. All we have to do is pray for them!

On sunday we had a great ward attendance even though some of the normal members didnt show up because of illness. But we are excited to keep going!! Then today we went to the temple. Once again a great experience! After the temple we went to The Costanera Center Mall. There we ate at a three story Wendy´s. It wasn't cheap but it was really good!!!! Lets just say that Dave did good here in Santiago. It was an amazing Wendy´s. The best i have ever seen. Then we walked the mall a bit and one of the elders bought a jacket. Speaking of clothes, Do i have any clothes to come home to??

Anyways, it was a great week and we are looking forward to another one!!

Love you all and i will send pics the next week, 

I promise!!

Elder Ashworth 

¡¡LA COPA AMERICA!! - June 10 2015

Dear family,

So this last week was a little of a bummer. Elder Thompson got sick and we were in the house for three days so i really dont much to talk about. Sorry about that.....hopefully this week will be better.

But today we went to central station and i bought a few recuerdos and we saw a protest in the middle of the street and some security guards had gas masks just in case. There are also tons of things for Chile because the first game of the American Cup starts tomorrow and Chile plays!!

Well thats all i got for today. Sorry its lame. 

Love Elder Ashworth

New Comp, Same Life - June 3 2015

Hey Everybody!!

So me and my comp had changes yesterday. Elder Skabelund when to another sector and im now again with Elder Thompson. He is the missionary i trained about a year back. I was his first comp and he is my last comp. Its amazing how the tables turn. But this week was good. We did lots of contacts but our spirits are high and we are ready to roll. We set a baptismal date with Pamela for June 20th. We are helping her to fulfill her desire of being baptized. 

Im glad to hear that everything is going great and that everybody is doing good. Keep it up and have a great week. Sorry this email is so short but the computer cut out on me and i forgot everything i was going to write to you guys. 

Love yall, 

Elder Ashworth

Photo is what we eat for lunch normally. Beans and noodles. I put the rice with it.