Hello!!
To start off, I would just like to share how the mission has pushed me in multiple ways and helped me grow a ton, but I think one of the biggest is that it's helped me be able to eat seafood. I'm not sure if you remember, but I can barely eat salmon without gagging hahahah. This week we went to a members house for lunch and they had prepared a really big bowl of this seafood soup thing. There was allllll types of animals in there hahaha. To name a few, octopus tentacle things, clams, shrimp, muscles, random bits of other fish, and who knows what else. I HAVE NEVER PRAYED HARDER HAHAHAHAH. It was really kind of them to feed us and I really did appreciate it, but it was hard not to show any sign of disgust. When I took the first bite I almost threw up, the second bite I literally almost started to cry, and I started praying on the third bite and was able to finish the whole bowl of soup without showing anything! MIRACLES hahah. The only noticeable thing was after Hermana Egbert told me she has never seen me so focused on eating my food before.
We had a Noche de Hogar (family home evening) with a less active member of the ward this week who owns a Hostel (kinda like a hotel where people just go and sleep for the night). We planned on doing some practices with her of how she can share the gospel with her friends, but before we even started she invited the people who were staying there for the night to come in and join us! They did, and soon we had 5 investigators, all really tall intelligent men from Santiago that were just passing through for their job. We just listened to the spirit and started teaching the Restoration to them. At first they weren't interested, but as time went on they all started asking sincere questions and wanting to learn more. We felt a little bit like the missionaries in the Book of Mormon who "couldn't be confounded before men" because the Spirit gave us "in the very hour" what we needed to say. It was one of the coolest experiences of my mission.
We also got to see a baptism this week! The girl is 8 years old so we dont get to call her our investigator and the baptism was counted as a ward baptism, but we were still instruments in teaching this girl and helping her get to the point where she could make covenants with her Heavenly Father. Hermana Egbert and I sang "As I have loved you" and it was a really sweet experience. After she was confirmed and recieved the Holy Ghost, she ran to sit by her mom who was crying, pointed to her heart and said "Mom! Mom, I feel something!!" That was really special.
Conference was SOOOOO good!!! After the first session on Saturday I felt like I had just come out of the temple or something. I was filled with SO much joy and I couldnt stop smiling for about 45 minutes after! That is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ does to us! After the last session on Sunday night, I left feeling an overwhelming sense of Peace. What a blessing it is to be able to have the Holy Ghost with us always! Every talk was full of absolute fire and I was just drinking it up the whole time. I especially loved the emphasis on Serving and lifting where we stand, developing a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon, our relationship with each member of the Godhead, and really Centering our lives on Jesus Christ. I think my favorite talks were by Elder Rasband and President Eyring. Also the very last talk by Elder Anderson really hit me hard. In that moment I felt such a strong overwhelming peace and the Spirit testified to me that he is really an apostle. I know those men are called of God! They are apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ on the earth today and and Jesus Christ is alive and guiding His church. President Thomas S Monson is the Lords prophet on the Earth right now and he is a virtuous and good man! What a blessing it is to be a Member of Christs church!! I love my brother and Savior Jesus Christ with all my heart and its so special being a missionary for Him!! I love you all so much and hope you have an amazing week!!
--Hermana West
p.s. I got to watch conference in English and Elder Fengai was there. He said that at his first conference he was watching it with Elder West, and I was watching it with him at my first conference in the mission so that was a really fun connection! I love you Jacob I keep finding random connections to you out here!
