Dearest family,

Hey hows it goin? Thanks for the letter Dad. Interesting idea about repairing shoes. I dont think they use airplane tire tread anymore, at least here in Chile. I didnt throw them away but i don't think their worth repairing anyways. Thats good that little Clayton found himself a house already. I bet he's just itching to get in there and be on his own but after he moves in in March he will be bored after 2 days. Thanks for the stories from your mission Dad. I really like to hear about them so if you have more, you're invited to share them with me! Oh and to answer your question, I made that poster but my companion drew the little missionary faces.

Another week has gone by... yesterday I was remembered that it was the one year anniverssary of the huge earthquake last year. We've been lucky to not have any big aftershocks here in Santiago for a while but I've heard that we should have aftershocks for up to 5 years. It was a pretty wild experience as I'm sure you guys remember but wow, its been a year since then. Thats pretty crazy.

This last week was really great! We now have more than a few investigators progressing. We had a cool experience finding investigators. I learned a lot about being diligent. So on about thursday, a plan failed and we had another appointment in 30 mins without anything scheduled. So we decided to knock a street close by and felt good about it. We were working hard with whatever time we had. And so we knocked a door and talked to this lady that was a member of the church that wasn't on our ward directory. She was inactive basicaly because she didn't know where the church was and didnt really make an effort to find it. But we started teaching them and one of her daughters that is 15 hasn't been baptized. And we're teaching her other daughter's boyfriend. They all came to church on Sunday and really liked it. Also, one member's cousin and his girlfriend came to church also, and they both aren't members but we taught them this week and want to get baptized at the end of March. We actually are preparing a lot of people to be baptized in March and all of them have been to church. I'm way excited for that. We actually have transfers in 2 weeks and I really hope they don't transfer me because... I love this area and the members and the people and we're having success but I'll go where the Lord wants me to go. But I know that this is the Lord's work. After seeing the miracles that happen here in the mission, I know that His hand guides us here and prepares the hearts of His children to listen to the message. We're just responsible for finding those people.

I've learned a lot about the Holy Ghost and how we need to recognize him always. The Lord has blessed us all with the best gift he can give us in this life, which is the Holy Ghost. I'm so thankful for the ability to recognize His Holy Spirit and use it to bless the lives of other people.

Well as you guys know... I love the mission!! I'm really thankful for this chance to be here. I don't wanna waste any time and I don't think I will. I love you guys heaps. Les amo mucho, y espero que tengan una semana llena de experiencias inolvidables. Chao,

Elder Webb

Dearest family,
Hey thanks for the letter mom. I hope you guys are enjoying the nice weather up there. Its cooled down a tad down here but the sun still fries everything it touches. I hope you guys dont stress out too much for Clayton's wedding. Just hire other people and then relax haha. Wow 25th anniversary. Congrats! I don't know if you would go on half the rides at magic mountain mom but that would still be pretty cool.
Anyways we had a pretty awesome week! Missionary work is the best. I'm starting to feel like I've been doing this for my whole life and its impossible to think what life is like outside of the mission. Well I don't have to worry about that for a while! We had some great things happen and also some tough stuff. We were able to find some great investigators. Also, we were able to talk to Marcelo, a friend of a member that was less-active, and we had some spiritual lessons. We asked him if he was willing to make a covenant with God and be baptized on March 13th. He told us, absolutely. We're really excited for him. Also we talked with Maria, and she is set on getting baptized but has had problems with work and hasn't been able to make it to church. We also got to teach Cyntia, a columbian lady, and help her with her problems. Its pretty cool how every south american country has their own distinct dialect of spanish. I've gotten used to almost all of them but chilean is probably the weirdest of them all now that I think about it. We also were able to reactivate a family of 4 and all are coming to church now. Their son is way pumped. Yesterday he got the priesthood and last week he opened up a bank account for his mission and started saving money. He's dedicated. We keep putting up our little stand in la feria and it keeps giving us results. Its quite awesome. We do also work a lot with the members which have made a big difference this week.
I've learned a lot this week about the Holy Ghost. In my personal studies, I've made it a goal to be able to feel the spirit strongly every time I study. I've realized that if we are worthy and really focus, we can always feel the sweet promptings of the Spirit. I hope you guys can feel the spirit often, it is a good sign of our personal progress. I know I still have a lot to improve but its easy to know how because its when I don't feel the spirit.
Well I love you guys a lot!! Los momentos más dulces de esta vida son cuando sabemos que el Señor nos confia. Les amo, chao =)
Elder Webb.
ps, Oh Presidente May told us today who the new mission president will be when they change this June. His name is President Essig from Utah.
Oh and the picture is of our little sign we put in la feria.

Hola Familia,

Hey thanks for the letter! I'm glad that you guys had an exciting week with lots of things to do. So to answer your question, I'm pretty sure that I'll be getting home on October 11th but I'm not sure. You guys can plan accordingly. This week has been pretty nuts. On wednesday, we went to a member's house and we were teaching a spiritual lesson about forgiveness when we started hearing some big rattling thunderbolts. They got pretty close. Its the first time in Chile that I've seen lightning. It doesnt happen that much. But something really nice is that it rained for about 2 days and that never happens here in the summer. I'll send you guys a picture of the Andes with snow. Oh and about the earthquake, we did hear a lot about it but we didn't feel the tremor here, it was pretty weak and I think we were walking. But Chile is a country the never holds still, its always rocking and rolling around.

Anyways, about this week, it was actually a great week. Yesterday Ronald got confirmed and he's getting ready to receive the priesthood here soon. He's thinking about serving a mission already even though he's not so sure yet. He's a great kid, he's an example for me seeing how much he's changed. Also, his parents came to church and his dad is slowly opening his heart to the gospel. His mom is more than ready to get baptized. We committed her to talk to her lawyer here soon so that she can finish her divorce and get married to her partner. We had a lot more investigators committed to come to church and everything but they didn't show up for various reasons. One had a legite excuse and she is still really excited to get baptized March 6. But after we found out that they weren't gonna make it, we were praying for help so that the Lord would bring someone to church. We basically had a miracle. We've been teaching a less-active member called Hermano Jara. He's been giving excuses of why he doesnt want to come to church and we had lost faith in him. But I've always felt like we needed to visit him. I had made it a goal to reactivate him this transfer. Well on Sunday he showed up with a big smile, excited to be there and brought a friend with him that isn't a member and wants to investigate the church. We're gonna teach them tomorrow. What a blessing we had. We had a zone conference with Presidente May this week and I've learned a ton. One thing I've learned here in the mission is that diligence and hard work are key to success. I've learned how to work hard and be diligent in a lot of aspects and I know that through hard work, with a mind focused on your goal, we can reach our goals. I know that Jesus Christ lives and governs this Church. I know that this is His work. Thanks a ton for all the support and everything! I love you guys. Os amo por todo lo que hacéis. Que tengáis una semana llena de caridad y amor para que seáis discipulos de Cristo. Chao,

Elder Webb

ps. The other picture is of my shoes that are oficially dead and I no longer use, dont worry

Dear Family,
Hey hows it going up there? Sounds like you're freezing up there. I heard the other day the the roof at the dallas cowboys stadium caved in or something because of the cold. I'm not sure if its true because we always here some crazy stuff. Anyways while you guys are cold up there, I'm burning up down here. The sun is so powerful, I'm using sunscreen like crazy. I actually cut one of my long sleeve shirts to make another shortsleeve because basically after one day, your shirt is so dirty you can't keep using it. But I'm fine dont worry. Anyways this week was awesome. Elder Saenz is great! He's like a latino version of me. we're working really hard. This week we found two new investigators that have a baptism date for the beginning of march and so we're going to be preparing investigators. We're finding a lot of new people. Also, Ronald got baptized yesterday!! Woo! That was great. Both his parents came and said that they felt an incredible feeling after their son got baptized. Ronald's mom, Carmen really wants to get baptized, we're still working with them. This week I had a pretty cool experience with Ronald. He started doubting a little bit his baptism and didn't want to do it and he wouldn't tell us why because he said he was embarrassed to say it in front of his parents. So we went by with the bishop and had a lesson but his dad was still there. At the beginning of the lesson I started praying so that his father would leave for a bit so we could discuss his problem. I was praying that he would leave after the first vision of the movie of the prophet Joseph Smith so that the Spirit would already be strong. So we started watching the movie and right after the first vision, his dad poked his head in and said the he had to go pick up his wife from work. Then we were able to help him with his problem and the bishop helped a lot and committed to get baptized on Sunday. It was an awesome experience. I really have amazing experiences everyday. Its great learning how to trust in the Spirit and not worrying about doing that which is wrong because we're doing God's will. We've been setting some goals that we want to accomplish here this transfer. I'm pretty excited for the things that'll happen.
Anyways thanks so much for all the support. I really appreciate your letters and everything. I hope you have an amazing week! Look out for them scandels haha. Chao, les amo,
Elder Webb
PD Gracias por el ejemplo. Recuerden que las acciones siempre hablan más fuerte que las palabras.

Dearest family,

Hey thanks for the letter Dad. I'm glad that everything is ok with you guys and your health. Wow Khodie got his mission call already. Wow thats pretty awesome that he's going to the deep south. He will have a lot of success there with some hard work. Tell him congrats for me. Tell jarem that I want to hear some stories from his work and see some pictures if he can send me some :)

Well let me update you about whats going on in the mission. So we had changes today. Elder Clanton got transfered to another zone close by and is gonna be with a latin missionary which will be great for him. It was a good experience training a missionary. I probably learned more than he did. He's a great missionary and a good guy. He will progress a lot. So I'm still here in Lo Prado 2 and my new comp is Elder Saenz from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He arrived in our mission about 3 months after I did. I'm still district leader here also. Elder Saenz is really great. We're gonna work really hard this transfer and have a lot of success I know. I'll send you some pictures. Also Elder Coats, my companion from the beginning of the mission who's the red head is now in the same house as me, he's companions with Elder Petersen. It'll be great to be with Elder Coats again also.

As for this week... it was really good. We found a lot of new investigators. We found 2 Columbians that are really receptive. Ronald had his baptism interview and decided that he wanted to wait another week to be baptized. He's very sincere because he still came to church yesterday. His mom came with him like usually but his dad also showed up. That was a great step for him. His mom, Carmen, said that what she wants most right now is to get baptized. Now we just have to work on getting them baptized. We are preparing some people here for February, and we know that there are plenty of other people waiting for us to be baptized. We're gonna find them, through a lot of prayer.

So yesterday, for the first time in my whole mission, I was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting. It was really awesome actually, I enjoyed it a lot. I gave a talk about how we can gain the confidence of God. What I realized is that God has a lot in store for us, a lot of opportunities. We need to deserve them. In my talk I mentioned that I was a lifeguard and everyone seemed to pay more attention. I related how we need to gain the confidence of our boss so that he can give us better positions and jobs. How as a lifeguard I had more opportunites my second year because my boss saw what I did the first year and gave me a better job. I know that we need to gain the confidence of God. How can he trust us with so many important things especially the souls of His children if we cant be trusted. God requires faithfulness, consistency, and obedience. If we show that than he will trust us with more. We don't need to aspire for anything just to have the trust of God, and know that if He wanted, he could call us to do anything. I know that its the best feeling knowing that the Lord trusts in you. I love this Gospel and I love you guys. No se olviden que Dios les confia mucho y les ha escogido para cumplir con una gran obra. Chao,

Elder Webb

ps, pictures of us in the cyber cafe here. I thought you would enjoy that. Also of our zone and leadership from San Pablo

Querido familia,

Thanks for the letter mother dearest. So little Clayton is gonna get married in April? Man... tell him thanks for nothin for waiting haha jk. Hmm You could cook up some chilean dish for them, that would be pretty cool. And the food here is pretty dang cheap so you could save some money haha. Well I do have a suggestion. Here they make something called papas rellenas, or stuffed potatoes. They are really good and easy and fill you up. Look up the recipe. You could make that with some meat or something. But anyways I'm sure everything will turn out fine. And with work, the Lord sees your sacrifices, with working in the temple also and will never fail to bless you and fortify you guys constantly.

This week was pretty great! Franco didn't end up getting baptized this week. We were all ready, we talked with his dad and he was excited and signed the form and everything then about 20 seconds later, his aunt that always takes care of him walked in and started making them doubt by saying he was too little and doesn't know how to make decisions... that was a trial of patience. But in the end we talked and they decided in two more weeks he can get baptized. Hopefully I'll still be here but we have transfers next monday so I dont know what´ll happen but at least I´m sure he´s gonna get baptized. Also, Ronald has been progressing really well. He actually asked if he could get baptized on Jan 30th because his birthday is the 31st and we said of course! Really, he is an amazing investigator. We're so pumped for him. I'm pretty sure my companion will be dressed in white this sunday with Ronald. His mom also wants to get baptized but she has to wait longer because she's not married (thats a problem that exists everywhere in Chile). So for now we have two investigators or maybe 3 that for sure will be getting baptized in February. If i'm not here I'll found out soon how that goes. I love founding out that old investigators get baptized. I dont know if you remember but 4 people from Recoleta that I've taught have gotten baptized. Its exciting to know that the Lord really uses you to influence the lives of many many people. I love this work. Every day is a new oportunity to go out and show Heavenly Father how much you love Him and how dedicated we are to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that my mission has been the greatest priviledge so far in my life. Thanks for the sacrifices that you guys make. I love you guys!! Les amo, y espero que llenen sus pensamientos con cosas virtuosas para que sus vidas sean consagradas al Señor y para que tengan el espíritu santo. Chao,

Elder Webb

Dearest family,

Well sounds like you guys have had plenty of exciting news this week. So Clayton is finally engaged?? Man isn't that a miracle haha jk. Felicitaciones!!! Congrats Clayton! You better print out a life size poster so that I'm included in your wedding! Sounds like you guys will be kept busy for the next couple of months.

Down here this week we had some success!! We had quite a few investigators come to church. One of them is going to get baptized this Sunday and so we're excited for him. His name is Franco. He is a nine-year-old that is dang smart and knows the lessons back and front. We talked to his family and they're happy at how excited Franco has been by coming to church. Also the family we found last week in la feria are amazing!! Wow. Ronald and Carmen came to chuch. We visited them after church and ronald said... "To be honest, I didn't really like church... I loved it!!" His mom also loved it. They already have made their decision to be baptized. We're really excited for them. The Lord has blessed us a lot. Also we are still making our little stand in la feria and finding a lot of people. One lady just walked on up to us and said, Hey, I really like the story of Joseph Smith. I asked her, "Are you a member?" She said, "Nope." Haha but she doesnt live in our area. She lives across the street in another area. But we've definitely seen success as the Lord puts us in the path of his children. I've also been realizing how blessed we are to study the scriptures everyday. I read a scripture today in 3 Nephi 17 : 8 that says

8 For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your afaith is bsufficient that I should heal you.

Now we need to be able to have sufficient faith for miracles. If we are looking for any type of sign from God in order to have more faith then it will never happen because faith is power and miracles are manifestations of the power of faith. Miracles are nothing more than the natural outcome of obedience to God's commandments. I know that Jesus Christ heals our lives and provides us the means to become clean. My faith is increased everyday as I realize that faith yields miracles. Thanks for everything!! Have an amazing week. Chao

Elder Webb

ps: Nuestro mente es un teatro y solo una cosa puede mostrarse a la vez. Concentren sus mentes en cosas que animen a si mismo y a los demás. No pierden el tiempo y enfóquense en lo que quieren más. :)