Hallelujah

Hallelujah—Hebrew for “Praise ye the Lord.” But what does it really mean? As we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ this Easter, discover how this ancient exclamation of joy, hope, and love is a fitting summary of Christ's incomparable mission—and His promise of new life for us all

This Sunday I was assigned a talk on the atonement of Jesus Christ. This was probably one of the most enjoyable Easters I can remember. Though there were no Easter bunnies nor any Easter dinner, we were reminded why we are really here. We have been called to spread the blessings of the gospel with all people. This Easter wasn’t focused on gifts or chocolate, but celebrating what happened over 2,000 years ago. I am very grateful to be out here and to be able to serve a mission. I love this gospel.

The attached photos are of the Elders of our ward and our blind ward mission leader, the other photo is of our investigator Rodolfo. Also a photo from President’s office and lastly with Elder Wertner mesmerized by my wood chopping and fire making skills. 

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Elder Haddad

Abide in me

Today's email comes with some quotes from a talk given by Elder Holland when he came and visited our mission. 

“Abide in me” is an understandable and beautiful enough concept in the elegant English of the King James Bible, but “abide” is not a word we use much anymore. So I gained even more appreciation for this admonition from the Lord when I was introduced to the translation of this passage in another language. In Spanish that familiar phrase is rendered “permaneced en mi.” Like the English verb “abide,” permanecer means “to remain, to stay,” but even gringos like me can hear the root cognate there of “permanence.” The sense of this then is “stay—but stay forever.” That is the call of the gospel message to Chileans and everyone else in the world. Come, but come to remain. Come with conviction and endurance. Come permanently, for your sake and the sake of all the generations who must follow you...

 When we join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we board the Good Ship Zion and sail with her wherever she goes until she comes into that millennial port. We stay in the boat, through squalls and stills, through storms and sunburn, because that is the only way to the promised land. This Church is the Lord’s vehicle for crucial doctrines, ordinances, covenants, and keys that are essential to exaltation...To new convert and longtime member alike, we declare in the spirit of Nephi’s powerful valedictory exhortation: “Ye have entered in by the gate; … [but] now, … after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; … press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, … and endure to the end, behold, thus … ye shall have eternal life.” 

 - Elder Holland

What I have come to know over this last year is that the purpose of this mission is not only to bring others unto Christ but to convert yourself. To stay, not by stubbornness, but guided by the truth and the light. To remain, not by reluctance, but through joy and pain. And to endure, not by barely making the cut, but always trusting that someone else is walking along the same path as you, pushing you along. This is not a one time experience, this is not 2 years and then we get a break. It is not "when you feel like it", or because someone is making you do it. This gospel is eternal, and I push that meaning to all its significance, it is bigger than me and a lot bigger than you all. And we will stay until the end.  

Full talk: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/04/abide-in-me?lang=eng

Elder Haddad

Eating Armadillos

This week one of the members showed us their stuffed pet..it's an armadillo. 

We had an excellent week here in the sector.  What I really love about Overjería is that it is so peaceful and honestly beautiful. It goes from swamp to river to forest to plains to suburbs. This has been one of my favorite sectors and we have been blessed greatly by the Lord. About 5 weeks ago we found someone helping with some service. His name was Rodolfo and we helped him enter his wood (everyone in the south of Chile uses wood to heat their homes, so you buy the wood and they dump it on your porch, then you have to enter it in the house). We helped Rodolfo and then shared a little message with him. He was extremely interested and told us to come back the following week. We came back the following week and talked with his wife, however, Rodolfo had disappeared for several days. We thought it a bit strange, he had quit his job and taken all of his belongings and left the house. His wife Rosa was taking it pretty rough, so visited her for about a week to see if we could help her through this trial with the the gospel of Jesus Christ. She prayed that Rodolfo would come back, and though my conscious told me he was long gone, I couldn't help but admire her faith. 

Well he came back, 12 days later. Out of money, out of clothes, destroyed shoes. I don´t know what happened to this man for the last 12 days. When we knocked the door again and we saw him come out the door my heart dropped a little. I couldn't believe it. Rodolfo has now received almost all of the missionary lessons, he has come to church 3 times, and is the smartest and most prepared investigator I have ever taught. He understands that the Lord saved him from hitting rock bottom, and now wants to turn his life around. He demonstrates real intent and faith by always studying the lessons and coming prepared. Elder Shobe and I are very excited for Rodolfo, we are so grateful to of been there to pick him up from rock bottom and push him along. He has hit the ground running, he is a testimony to me and to our entire ward of the power of this gospel. 

Photos of Rodolfo to come. 

Attached photos are of an abandoned house we found and our little trip out to the campo. Some dog just started following us along the way...

Have a good week everyone!

Love,

Elder Haddad

Chaiten

Work hard, Obey with exactness

Miracles, miracles, miracles. Man we have worked hard this last week and we have really seen some fruits. Pure miracles. We have people coming out of nowhere wanting to get to know the church. When I got into Ovejeria everyone just said you will be teaching less active people who don't really want anything. I´ve kind of heard that in all of my sectors, welcome to your new sector, don't expect to baptize. We put in the faith, the sacrifice, the hard work, and we have seen the fruits. My companion and I set some goals, put in the time, and we were obedient. We just opened up a new sector and now we had 3 people come to church this Sunday. I am often reminded of the words that Elder Kerby (the missionary that taught me the lessons when I was investigating the church) wrote on a tie he gave to me, "work hard, obey with exactness." I love this work! 

Elder Haddad

Success without Seeing

A Ward Mission Leader is a member of the church called to help the missionaries with what they do. We report weekly to our Ward Mission Leader to find ways we can get the ward more active and how we can use the ward to help people progress in the gospel. Here in Overjeria, our ward mission leader is Orlando and he is blind. Never have I met a member with so much dedication and diligence in the gospel. He is willing to accompany us any day we need him, leave in the heat, walk all day, do contacts, what ever we need help with. He shows us where old investigators live, and he has the most positive attitude I have seen. I'm not sure how, but he cooks for the missionaries as well. Orlando is a great example of service and sacrifice, and I am grateful that he is in our ward. 

We have seen so many miracles this week, I love this work and I love these people!

Elder Haddad

Exploring Overjería

This week we got plenty of time go get a good look around the sector. Our sector has a lot of old western style homes and even some river shacks. It has a lot of character, and years ago with the railroad it was quite a popular town. Though the train is rarely used now, it has left a big impact on the sector. We took a couple opportunities to explore the abandoned buildings of the sector, the abandoned trains, and even down by the river. 
There are a lot of photos this week! 

Love,

Elder Haddad