Letter from the Mission President

La Misión Chile Rancagua

Casa de la Misión,  Los Girasoles 1720, Rancagua, Chile

Oficina de la Misión,  Alcalde Eduardo Melero 883, Casilla 2-C, Rancagua, Chile

February 25, 2015

Dear Family of Elder Kix Vernon Conger,

Sister Warne and I just finished welcoming the missionaries that arrived this week to serve our Lord in the Chile Rancagua Mission. Here is a photo for your family.

It is clear that these missionaries are very dedicated, that they love Jesus Christ, and that they have desires to share the gospel with the Chilean people. This work will make them happy, and the Lord will bless them for the service they give.

The people here in Chile are very kind, and the missionaries have opportunities to share the gospel every day. Thank you for the support that you provide, it is very important to your missionary.

Sister Warne and I love the missionaries and we will take care of them during their time here. We ask for blessings from the Lord for all of you.

Sincerely,

President and Sister Warne

First day in Rancagua with President & Sister Warne

Made it to Rancagua!!

Hola!! Just got to my first area in the field and I´m so excited!! My trainer´s name is Elder Silvestre and he is from Spain. He´s got 11 months in the field and I can tell that i´m going to learn a lot from him. I´m a bit nervous obviously ut that´s normal I think haha. Hope all is going well, I´ll talk to you more on Monday between roughly 12:00 and 3:00 my time! Adios

Elder Conger

Semana 6!!!!

   ¡¡Hola!! ¿Como están? Este tiempo aquí en el CCM solo va mas rápido cada semana, y es increíble yo ira a el campo del misión en el próximo  semana. Espero que todo ustedes son bueno y que sus vidas son el major. 
    I´m not a fan of these Spanish keyboards, so sorry this turned into two messages. This last week has been fairly interesting and ecome incredible starting from right after my email last week. During P-day last week my companion and I were out getting lunch and some things for the week, and a man ran up to me saying that God had answered his prayer. His name was Raul, and he was having a lot of trouble at home with the woman he lived with, and the morning before he saw us he had prayed that God would send him someone that could help him. As soon as he saw us he was overcome with emotion and only wanted to walk with us and talk for a short time. He is currently unemployed but is trying to become a drummer. I told him that I had done a little bit of drumming when I had lived in the United States and he got a big smile on his face and pulled some drum sticks out of his back pocket that I had not noticed before. He asked me to teach him, and although I couldn´t really teach him a lot on the street he was able to get some basic rythyms down that will hopefully help him in the future. We continued to talk and he said he knew a little bit about our church because he had aquired a Restoration pamphlet at some point earlier that he didn´t share with us. We ended up being late back to the CCM by about 20 minutes but as we were leaving I got his adress and contact information, and when I looked back in the taxi he was on his knees crying. I wish that I had taken everything I possibly could that would have helped Raul that day, but I sincerely hope that the missionaries that are in this area will find him and give him the help that he needs.

    In our classes this week we have had two of the same maestros two weeks before and one new maestros. However we are now only being taught in Spanish and some of the missionaries are struggling a lot with understanding everything being taught. At times I run into words that I don´t recognize and I need explained to me but I´m definitely progressing. One of the best things I read this week would have to be a scripture that was shown to me by Hermana McNevin, who is in my district, and it´s pretty much all of Romans 8 but from verse 17 until the end of the chapter Paul says some pretty great stuff that I think can help us all out. My scripture study has become so much more in depth and meaningful since I arrived here at the CCM, I enjoy reading all the scriptures at every available opportunity that I have (which isn´t very much) and finding verses and lines that strengthen my testimony and can help me teach more effectivelyl. There is an answer for every question that we have in the scriptures, all we have to do is put forth the effort to look for it and ponder the message in our hearts once we find it.

    My companion is getting better with the language, but I still do about 75% of the talking in the lessons if we include translating. And our relationship has been pretty good other than at one point last week he refered to me as a "robot missionary" because I guess try to follow all the rules with exact obidience. We didn´t really get into an argument but we debated over it for a couple minutes. I tried to explain that a "robot missionary" is not a missionary who obeys all the rules it´s exactly the opposite. A real missionary obeys all the rules and commandments because he loves his God and Savior and wants to please them, and when he teaches he doesn´t teach a lesson or phrase that he memorized from a book he teaches a message that will help people and it´s with sincerity and love from all of his heart and soul. I don´t think that he completely agreed with me because he never really responded, but we were back to normal routine within the next ten minutes so I wasn´t really bothered by it.

    I don´t have a lot more time and the computers and being kind of stupid today so I´ll have to leave it there and send some pictures. I´ll try to reply to as many of the personal e-mails as I can but can´t promise I´ll get to them all. I hope that you all are doing well and that you can feel God´s love in your life, because I know tha he truly loves each of us intimately and knows what it is that we need help with and how we need strengthened. I love you all and pray for you each day.  

P.S. I don´t know what exactly the plan is for my P-Day next week cause that the day I leave for Rancagua (CRAZY!!!) but if I don´t get the chance to email it´ll be two weeks until my next email, so I guess we´ll see how all that pans out. Adiós.

 

Elder Conger

 

Only three pictures this week. So I don´t know if this is real but that´s David Archuleta´s name under a bed in our room haha, someone has to Google what CCM he went to. The other is the way we run for exercise each morning, and then two missionaries in another district that are some pretty cool guys. their names are Elder Mathews and Elder Blake.

 

 

 

Uno mes en el libros

 ¡Hola mi familia y mis amigos! ¿Como están? Aquí en el CCM vida es increíble, porque todo las personas aquí son muy feliz y quieren ayudar otros personas a venir a Cristo. Today another group of missionaries is leaving to head into the mission field. It´s incredilble how fast the time has flown by. Already I am one month into my mission and I will be leaving the CCM in only two weeks! Each day I realize truly how short of a time these two years are, and I need to focus all of my time and effort on improving my work and study habbits so that I can be more prepared to help all the people that I can once I leave the CCM. 

   My week has been a good one but not a lot of exciting things have happened. However on Sunday, (and some of you prolly won´t know whoo these people are but they´re a few of the leaders from our church), we had three surprise visitors that gave a devotional at the CCM while they were waiting for their flight back to the United States. They were Sister Marriott (of the General Young Women´s Presidency), Sister Burton (the General President of the Relif Society) and an Elder who´s name I cannot pronouce or spell, but he was the President of the Area Seventy in Chile. It so great to hear from each of these speakers and their spouses as well, and my sense of diligence was strengthened so much.

   Also, Sunday night got very interesting for me haha. Here at the CCM there is a ritual for the Elder who is in charge of carrying all the sports equipment every morning for the exercise. My district knew nothing about it since the last time it had happened was before we got here. But this Sunday I was chosen to be the new carrier of the sports equipment, and let´s just say that it was evident during this ritual that Missionaries definitely are for the most part still 18 and 19 year old guys that like to make things aa lot more intense than many people wwould think is necessary. However it was a fun time and it brought me closer to a lot of the missionaries that are here with me.

    My companion is begining to make some significant progress with the language and it is very good to see. A lot of times during our practice lessons he has to have me translate a lot for hime, but yesterday he only needed help a couple  of times. Neither of us can speak anywhere near perfect Spanish but I feel much more capable of my ability to communicate in Spanish than any time before.

    I would have to say that my favorite part of the day here has to be personal study. A lot of times I study the scriptures lokking for verses that will help me in my practice lessons. Usually I find that the scriptures i study will help me throughout life in general rather just during that day. It is amazing to me how much my desire to study and learn have increased and changed in only four weeks. I know that this work I am doing here in unlike any other, and that if anyone is seeking comfort or guidance in their life they can find answers through the scriptures and Jesus Christ. Although life is difficult at times, there is always a way for us to find peace and joy in what we´re doing. I love what I am learning and doing here in Chile with all my heart. I know that I am going to be ten times the man that I was because of how much I have already grown up. I knoww that God knows and loves each of us personally, I have felt his love in my life so strongly since ariiving here, and I know that he wants each of us to lead the happiest life that we possibly can. 

    I hope and pray you are all safe and well, and I´m sorry that my schedule here is very consisitent. Next week will be my last P-day in the CCM, and I´m going to miss this place very much. I love you all , and pray for blessings in your lives each day.

Elder Conger

First Missionary Selfie!  :)

Pictures of Santiago

Tres Semanas en el CCM!!!

 ¡¡Hola amigos y familia!! ¿¡¿¡Como estan?!?! No se que este fue el corecto via a escribe pero me gusta a habla y ecribe con mucho felicidad haha. I have been loving here in the CCM and I cannot believe that it has already been three weeks. Today marked one day past the halfway point of my arrival her and it feels like I´ve been here my whole life and for hardly a day at the same time. The food isn´t that great but the people are amazing. All of our maestros are amazing teachers and have amazing stories from their missions. The more stories I hear about the mission field the larger my desire is to learn more Spanish and go start teaching.

    One of the coolest parts of my week was that yesterday I met my Mission President! He and his wife were going through the temple with a group of missionaries that are leaving our mission the same week I will be getting there. It was great to see how happy and loving each of those missionaries were at the end of their missions, and I know that they have been very successful in their teaching. throughout the course of my time here in the CCM I have three opportunities to go to the temple with my district and we have now gone twice. I only have one more time while in the CCM to go through the temple!! That is insane!!

    The language is coming along very well, my companion however is still struggling. I try to get him more motivated to study a little extra and work just a little harder to get a firm grasp on the lessons in Spanish but he seems fairly content with where he is at. It saddens me but all I can do is love him and keep trying to motivate him to work a little harder. It is interesting to see how much other missionaries see the maestros and missionaries in the field as some sort of unattainable state of righteousness and light. My companion always talks about our teachers in a way that makes it seems as though they are legends and no other missionaries can match what they´ve accomplished. When I hear the stories of our teachers, all I can think about is the amazing experiences that I am going to have in the field with my investigators. I am not recognized in my District as an amazing source of gospel knowledge or the best speaker of the language, in fact I think many missionaries in my district don´t really know how strong my conviction is to share the gospel. However our District Leader Elder Peterson, who I have come to love and respect very much, has told me several time that I am one of the hardest working missionaries he has seen. The several times that I have heard this from him have been times I am frustrated with myself for not understanding the language or a couple times when my companion has taken a lot of time to get ready for the day and made us late for class. It reassures me that I am not slacking off, and that if I keep faith that the things I don´t understand now will come in time the Lord will bless me with the gift of tongues and the ability touch other people lives in ways I cannot comprehend.

    My favorite day of the week here is Sunday. Every Sunday we get an extra fifteen minutes of sleep in the morning and then have Devotionals, Sacrament Meeting, Priesthood, District Meeting, and FHE. All of these are filled with great spiritual messages. My favorite this week was a devotional from Elder Holland to all missionaries in 2009. The talk was filled with tons of great advice for missionaries and I´m working on making a small poster of all the great quotes here to hang up in my room, but one part in particular really hit me (don´t take this too literally but it might happen) : COME HOME ON A STRETCHER. As soon as I heard these words I knew what my mission is going to require of me. I will spend all of my energy each day seeking out those who need help and to hear the message that I have to share. I am not going to be the same person when I come home and I have already changed so much in the last three weeks. The impact of giving every part of my being to my mission is going to be hard, but the rewards that the Lord promises us in return are far more than that which we are giving up. Each of us needs to live every day, searching for someone who needs our help, because they truly are everywhere. And if we put forth just a little effort to find them, we will find that we can help them in more ways than we thought were possible. I know that this is true, and each of us has the ability to love and help others. I love you all and hope this message finds you well and happy!

Love,
Elder Conger

Pictures from the CCM