Elder Casper 7/22/2008

Dear Family-

Well it has been a crazy two weeks, we finished up zone conferences and they all went really well. President focused on Christlike attributes, Elder Oakes, and I on Chapter 10, Teaching Skills. It has been awesome the past few weeks because we have been getting to the sector early each day and teaching a lot. The best part of it is that we have been able to put into practice everything we are sharing with the mission. Yesterday was Elder Oakes birthday, we had an original Argentine BBQ, and it was delicious. On Friday night, President Henriquez called me and inviting me to go play in a golf tournament on Saturday, it was a scramble and he wanted me to play as his partner, it was funny but I had to turn it down.

I want to say that I am sorry for not writing you last week, the time just flew by and before we knew it, it was Saturday. This week was great and yesterday we had 3 investigators in church and they are all progressing. The Reyes Saavedra family is doing well especially the two daughters that are 18 and 12, they are attending all of the mutual activities and they are really enjoying everything about the church. We are working with a part member family named the Mora family. The son that is 19 is a member of the church and his name is Pablo, he just moved back up here to Rancagua from Concepción and he is great, really funny and a true light to all that know him. He and his younger sister Nicole are the only members in his family, his mom, sister and dad aren´t members so the other day at church he asked us to go visit them. He said, "My sister is inactive so let’s start with her and then we´ll get the rest of my family." Well we started with his sister and now she has gone two weeks in a row along with his other sister Aileen. The other night we taught Aileen, Nicole and their mom Sara lesson one, it went really well and Aileen is really getting close to accepting to be baptized. She was not baptized with her brother and sister when they were baptized about five years ago and she said the following: "I think that when Pablo and Nicole were baptized I didn’t understand what the missionaries taught so it wasn’t important to me…but now I understand and I think that’s why I feel the need to listen." The cool thing was that Pablo her brother was not even there for that lesson so it shows that she is taking little steps on her own.

We are excited and we are being blessed in the sector once again. It is amazing to me that when we make time for the sector the Lord always blesses us beyond measure. This week we plan to work hard on finding new investigators and teaching many new people. We have been doing two divisions a week now because our schedule is a little easier and it has gone well. The mission is starting to drop a little in the sense of our focus on inviting people to come unto Christ and it will be the first time in 4 months that we have not reached over 40 baptisms. In the past 3 weeks we have only had a total of 18 baptisms so we are doing all we can to help the missionaries to refocus and continue finding, teaching and baptizing. This week we will have a pair of divisions so that should be fun.

Thanks for your emails this week, it was great to hear that you are doing well and know that you continue to receive the blessings that God has prepared for you. I received a email from Kirk this week and it was great to hear that he is doing well; who is this chick he is dating? Fill me in because he did not mention much. It sounds like the boys are doing great and that they had a great year with baseball, tell them both great job in the UBBA tourney. Tell them that I love them and to keep up the good work, to enjoy summer and to be good boys. It made me happy to know that the shows are going well, It’s amazing to me how far you guys have come in that dad, and I know it will continue to grow and develop.

It will be good for Lauren to move out and live with Sharlee and maybe Emily, which should be fun for her. How is her work going? When does she start school? Tell her to write me if she get the chance. I know I don’t have much room to talk because I haven’t written her but she knows how it is. It sounds like Grams and Nana and Papa and doing well, send them my love and tell Grams thanks for all of the cards that she sent me, I still haven’t read them because I just received them today but please tell her thanks for that. Also send my love to Nana and Papa and let them know that I am very grateful for all that they do. Thanks so much for getting everything ready for school, just get my classes and stuff ready and inform me as soon as possible on what my schedule will be.

We started the dental work with President Jimenez this week and he will have just normal dentures next Tuesday. Elder Oakes and I took him up to the dentist today in Santiago and the dentist pulled all of his teeth and left him with nothing until next Tuesday when he gets his dentures. We were talking with the dentist and seeing a few other options of further work that can be done. He needs better work done so we are looking into some "ball abutment" dentures which have an actual support and something to stabilize in his mouth. As for now they are just going to be dentures that he just will put in his mouth to eat and stuff but there will be nothing to hold them in at all. The prices will be a little more for the " ball abutment" so if you could continue looking for ways of support we would be deeply grateful.

Well to finish I would like to share a story that I read this week from June´s Ensign that really impressed me and helped me to understand more about following the spiritual impressions that we receive. This is a story that President Monson had while serving as a young bishop: "When he was a young bishop, one night he received a phone call advising him that they had taken senior brother from his ward to a veterans hospital, in Salt Lake City, and he was asked if he could go to the hospital to give him a blessing. Bishop Monson explained that he was on his way to a stake meeting, but that he would pass by the hospital as soon as it was finished. During the meeting he felt antsy, in tranquil and received a strong impression, one that told him to leave the meeting and go directly to the hospital. But it seemed disrespectful to walk out while the stake president was talking, so he decided to wait until he finished and just before the closing prayer he got up and walked out the door. When he got to the hospital, he ran down the hallway. He recognized that there was a lot of movement near the room of the elderly brother and a nurse came out and stopped him. "Are you Bishop Monson?" she asked, warn out and he responded , yes. "I´m sorry" said the nurse. "The patient was calling you just before he passed away". When he left from the hospital that night, the young bishop made a promise that he would never again wait to do what the Lord asks when he received a spiritual impression from the Lord".

When I read this story during the week, tears came to my eyes, I can’t imagine how the Prophet must have felt but I know that is must have been a feeling of disappointment. It helped me understand a little more the importance of following the "still small voice" even if it seems to be something of very little importance. What will we lose if you follow every little impression? Nothing, but yes we will gain our heavenly fathers confidence and he will know that we are willing to follow even the slightest whisper and we will become powerful instruments in God’s hands. I have felt those whisperings of the spirit my whole life, I know how it feels to not follow them and I also know how it feels when we follow those impressions and do what the Lord wills. May we all give a greater effort day after day to follow the enticing of the spirit and do as the Lord wills. I pray that we may continue to recognize the spirit in our lives and the importance of the divine gift that we as members of the church have been given through the confirmation and the receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Thanks for all you do, I love you so very much and I am so grateful for your examples in my life. Continue in obedience daily, by studying the scriptures, praying and following the enticing of the Spirit. I love you and until next week, work hard, study hard and to what is right and the Lord will bless you.

1-4-3-4,

Elder Mason Casper