July 31, 2011

Hey!
How's everyone doing this week? It has been another great week here, full of surprises and miracles. We have seen the hand of the Lord extended down from the heavens, blessing us with people to teach and great spiritual experiences. This last week we had the opportunity to see a girl from our ward get baptized and tomorrow we will have another one! The girl that is getting baptized tomorrow is named Tania and it is truly a miracle that we found her. She is an 18 year old from a native tribe in Ecuador that came down to Chile with her friend about 2 months ago to get away from that culture. She has been really good and coming to church every week but her only problem has been that she didn't want to commit to something that she wasn't ready to do. I think that she might have felt a little pressured by us and for that reason also it took her a little bit of time. We had been teaching her every other day for about 2 or 3 weeks and she wasn't progressing so we decided to "drop" her for a week. We went by on Thursday and she wondered why we hadn't been by in a week to see her and she commented that she really liked church on Sunday and that she had been praying a lot. After teaching her the lesson that we had planned to teach her she told us that she couldn't wait for Sunday and we asked her why. Then she responded, "I am getting baptized on Sunday!" Both me and my companion were shocked and couldn't believe what we had just heard but we kept our composure and told her that we would set up her baptismal interview for the next day. She had her interview yesterday and she will be getting baptized tomorrow. O yea, and we also have someone named Franklin that we are teaching who has the goal to get baptized a week from tomorrow....PRAY FOR HIM!!!
On a lighter note, today for P-day we did some service in the morning , went over to President Humphrey's house, made tacos and played pool. Oooo and I remember something funny that happened this week. About 2 months ago some of the missionaries in my district made a video for me where they sang this song that was really funny and this week in our mission conference President played it in front of the whole mission on the projector during lunch. So the whole mission saw it and now I am famous here in the mission. Also, I got put in charge of planning a soccer tournament for all of the Zone leaders of the mission on Monday that we will be playing before the leadership conference the President is doing (I put myself on Elder Kellers team haha). Another cool thing that will be happening this week is that Elder Tueller is coming back to the mission (he broke his ankle and left for surgery). He will be here on Thursday and I will have to have him ready to take over the office and our sector when I leave for my new sector on Tuesday.
It sounds like all is well back in AZ and up there in UT. I love the pictures that you guys sent me in the email and it looks like everyone is doing awesome. It is crazy to think that Austin is engaged already and that so much has changed back home. I miss you guys a ton and love you more than you will ever know. Also, I am soooo proud of David and the decision he has made, I know he will never regret his decision and that he will be one of the best missionaries in the entire world. It is sad that he doesn't have the support of everyone back there in AZ but I know that the reward will out way the sacrifice and difficulties that he has and will experience in these next 2 years. I love you guys all a ton.
The one and only,
Elder Cody Dastrup

July 23, 2011

It sounds like not too much has happened around the house this last week, but that is definitely not the case here! This last week in church we had 5 investigators in church and the blessings just keep coming. This week we are having 1 baptism and we are hoping to follow it up the next week with another one or 2. We are really excited about the work and the blessings that God has placed upon us and we are really grateful. This week has been another rough on in terms of the work and in terms of drama...it has be DEMASIADO ESTRESANTE! (really stressful). My companion received his flight plans and unless something changes he will be leaving 2 weeks from Monday. Although he is kind of sad about finishing the mission and all, he is working his butt off and we have seen the fruits of our labors. President also tole me in our meeting on Monday that it would be very likely that I leave this transfer and go somewhere else. I really love this ward that I am in and all the people that I have grown close to but it will be nice to get away from the city for a bit.

I don't really talk about any of the fun things that we do so...I guess I could talk a little about that. Today we woke up at 6:30 and played basketball with the Zone Leaders from Concepcion and the Assistants. We played for a while, but it wasn't that great because it wasn't light until about 7:30 and by that time we had to leave. After we played basketball we decided to go to this place in a city called Penco. There is an old Spanish military fort that we went to and explored a little bit and then after we had explored it we went down to one of the most beautiful beaches that I have ever been to. I took some pictures and will attache them to the email. After we did that, we go permission from President and went and ate lunch at a restaurant right outside of our mission boundaries with a member. It was the nicest restaurant I have been to here in Chile and maybe in all my life! It was an all you can eat mexican food restaurant but it didn't have a big buffet, instead they just brought you food as often as you wanted...it was awesome. We normally don't do a ton on our p-days but today was definitely one of the better ones that I have had and I really did enjoy it.

I am glad to hear that everyone is doing well and that you all survived the dust storm in AZ. It was also good to hear from Dallin and to hear that he hasn't changed too much, but at the same time he came home a different person and that the mission really meant a lot to him. I can testify that going on a mission is the best thing that any young man could choose to do and by doing so you will push yourself in ways that you never thought you could be pushed and that you WILL change the lives of hundreds of people if you just accept the call from the Lord. I am grateful to be serving in "Gods Army" and I will never regret the decision to come out here. I hope all of you are having cool experiences and that you have all been able to do some kind of service or missionary work this week. Love you guys with all my heart.

The one and only (thanks to Dallin),

Elder Dastrup

July 16, 2011

Family Home Evening with 10 Investigators

Hey everyone how is it going!?

Once again I had another action packed week. Last week I felt like we really struggled to find investigators and to get out of the office. We have had a lot of things going on here in the office between my companion and his back problems and the new missionary that we received last week...it has been tough. Yesterday we found out 2 things. 1st off Elder Hinojosa will be needing back surgery, and he will be leaving in 3 weeks to get it. It is really sad and has been really tough but we are trying to be positive and I am really trying to help him enjoy his last 3 weeks in the mission. We also received bad new about our other missionary companion (the one we received last week), he will also be going home this week. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't kind of bummed about all that is going on around here and not being able to control the situation the way I would like it, but I respect all of the decisions that have been made by our leaders and I just hope that all goes well for the both of them.

In term of the work, all is well. We had a miracle Sunday and ended up having 4 in church! Maria (the lady we found like 4 months ago), Yessenia, Tania and Melani all came this week and we were really glad to see them there. It is funny to me that the other missionaries from the sector have been finding pure young men and all we can seem to find is women, but all is well, women are usually way more humble and in tune with the spirit haha. I have had a really good week and I think I will be speaking in church tomorrow which I am also excited about. The work is going well and although things are kind of difficult around here right now, I feel at peace and feel really good with the work that we are doing.

I can't think of much more to say so I guess it's time for me to finish up. I hope everyone is doing well and that you guys are all enjoying the AZ summer (it's like 65 or 70 here right now:)

Yours Truly,

Elder Cody Dastrup

July 2, 2011

HEY!
This week, as always has been full of ups and downs but I feel like once again I have grown from the trials that I have faced and I am looking forward to this next week. This week we had transfers in the mission but I am staying put. For those of you who don't know, I am working here in the mission office and also in a sector and I am over a small district of missionaries. I have a lot to do everyday and for that I am thankful but on the other hand sometimes the heavy workload gets to me and I crash the second we get home at night. Also this last week I lost a lot of good friends who ended their missions and went home and Elder Keller (one of the other assistants) went to a sector far far away and more than likely I won't see him again until we are back in the states. I feel like all of the changes that we made were...necessary, but none the less they have made the situation that I am in a little more difficult.

I was helping Elder Keller pack his bags last night here and we had an interesting conversation. He told me of an Elder who is also a good friend of mine and had a rough patch in his mission. This Elder went about 5 or 6 months with 0 maybe 1 baptism in a ward where he didn't have a lot of support. He struggled and struggled, did his part and at the end he just couldn't get things going the way that he wanted in the sector. After a while he was transferred to a new sector as a zone leader with a really good companion. They baptized a ton in his first transfer there and continue baptizing. Elder Keller told me that in those cambios where he had struggled, he learned how to be a celestial missionary and that those tough times where his "Personal Gethsemane" (where Christ suffered for the sins of the world) I don't want to sound like a whiner or a drama queen or in any way compare my suffering to the suffering of Christs, but I feel like I am in my personal Gethsemane and that when I get out of it I will be such a better missionary and if I can just learn from it now I have the potential of being great when I leave this place. We are still struggling and with my companions health problems it continues to be hard to get out and work but...I am ready for a pedal to the metal kind of week and hope to see some real miracles in the sector!
How is everyone else doing? I got a few letters from some good friends this week and that was really nice. It is always good to hear that everyone is doing well and that nobody is getting married still! Have to have some options when I get back haha It was also nice to here that dad made it home safely from Israel.
Yours Truly,
Elder Cody Dastrup