I got to use my email time to write up some post mission goals and send them to the office, so I'm sorry that this email is going to be short. Next week I promise I will write more.

You just start to see how merciful God is with you. I think the most incredible thing is to see how God has given me all that I`ve asked for. There have been so many times in my mission where I ask something from God, and He gives it to me. So much so that I feel so very indebted to Him. It’s crazy to think about how God really has everyone before his eyes and how He is in the details of our lives. I really love Him, because He loved me first.

The miracle of the week:

On Sunday, we went to go look for an investigator who had a baptismal date for this Saturday. He had committed the day before to go, and he had to attend "si o si" if he was to be baptized on the 30th. We got to his house and no one opened the door. He didn't answer his phone. Sad and frustrated, we had 5 minutes to get back to the chapel before Sacrament meeting started. We caught a taxi and as we are going, I start to talk to the girl next to me. On a whim, I asked her "You wanna come to church with us?" and after repeated invitations on my part and my companions part, she accepted! The taxi let us off at the church building, and we entered the chapel right on time. She stayed for the whole sacrament meeting. Afterwards, she told us "Before, I was feeling really down, but after the meeting I feel a lot better". We invited her to baptism on August 6th, and she accepted!!! We`re going to visit her today. Blessings literally raining from the heavens! I've never had an experience like that before. God knows what he is doing. 

Love you all!!

Elder Pomar

This week ended on a bang with the Baptism of Talhia. Her story is incredible. One day, Elder Montero and Elder Moura were in church during sacrament meeting when they looked over at one of our recent converts, Kathy. She started making signs and told the missionaries "my friend here at my side isn’t a member." The Elders went and talked to her afterward and when they mentioned baptism, Talhia said "Yeah, I heard you are going to have a baptismal service in a few weeks." Obviously a little stunned, my companions asked, "so then will you prepare to be baptized?" and she said yes! There was a ton of opposition. Last week her twin sons were hospitalized and we had to delay the baptismal service. But all went well and the baptism was a very spiritual experience.

The rest of the week was fun as always. We met a taxi driver who speaks really ghetto English and knows the whole story of the Book of Mormon. He started talking about Nephi and Laman and Moroni in such a funny way. Every once in a while he would drop an F bomb while he was narrating. I cracked myself up. The guy can't be baptized because he´s working on Sundays but he knows the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet, so AGUA NO MAS!!!!

There's been so much rain and wind lately. I’m so glad I kept my winter boots cause we’ve had to cross a ton of muddy hills. It’s a lot of fun. No Chilean can believe that we still do missionary work in these conditions, but it just adds variety.

I think the hardest thing that happened this week was a homecoming talk from a missionary in the ward. As he talked, just a huge wave of sadness came over me. I almost started crying at the thought, that I must do the same. I got out of the chapel cause I just couldn't listen anymore. I know I’m going to cry when that day comes. I'm scared to go back. But that's life. I just got to go forward with faith and not worry about what will come.

I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he is my Savior. He suffered every human pain and hurt so that He might understand us. Following him is the only way that we can find peace. So many people think that by following God in their own way makes them happy, but they can’t imagine the love and comfort that comes from following God in God´s way, having faith in Christ, repenting, being baptized in the true church of God, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. After more than 1700 years of confusion, God restored his church through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that this is all true because I have prayed and felt by the holy spirit that it is true. To all of you who are not members of our church who read this email, I invite you to listen to the missionaries and see what causes so much joy for us. Do an experiment. Pray to God to know that what we share is true, and I know he will answer you. I know that my Redeemer lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Pomar

It's hard to describe my feelings. I don't know why. I think it's cause I just need to take a long needed nap today haha! What I know is one thing:

God gives us according to our desires

I had always wanted to get to know my Chilean family, and God made it happen. Last Friday, I got to meet my great uncle Jorge and his wife Olga. It was incredible. With Presidents permission, I gave them both a big hug and a kiss and we got to know eachother after a long 20 year wait. They recieved me with a lot of love and to my surprise, they had a picture of my family on their dresser from when I was 14. We talked and ate a few sandwiches, and when I started to talk to them about the gospel, I realized how prepared my family was to recieve the gospel. When Olga was a young girl, the missionaries lived in her house. They shared with the missionaries, but when they moved, they lost contact. She had not had the missionaries knock her door in over 40 years. My Uncle Jorge had never recieved the missionaries in all his life. As we started to teach the restoration, they payed close attention. From all the nerves, I messed up a lot. It was one of the choppiest lessons Id ever had. I got all emotional and started to cry because I knew that for so long we had waited that my family would accept the gospel. I gave them a personalized Book of Mormon, and invited them to be baptized. Jorge was really open and willing. Olga as well, but she wanted to read and be more sure. I challenged them to read mosiah 3 and pray to know of its truthfulness.

Now, overtime I've had contact with my Chilean family, and Ive tried to teach them, I felt like I fumbled. Ive felt awkward in my teaching because of all the pressure, but Ive come to be comforted in knowing that God does this work. He didnt send me all the way here to Chile to fail. Even though I am weak he makes up the difference. I just pray that they, as well as my Uncle Jenaro, can come to know the joy I felt and enter into the waters of baptism. I just have to trust and work hard.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. The computer doesnt read my sd card :( Ill try and make some arrangements for next time.

I've been doing a ton of divisions all over the place. On saturday, I literally traveled the whole zone doing inspections of missionary pensions. Ive seen many many miracles. I know that these last 4 weeks can be the best weeks of my whole mission if I just work hard and endure to the end. In Cartagena, after talking with my uncle and aunt, we had to travel a large distance to the next appointment. When we got there, the person wasnt there. It was 8:45 and the pension was far away. We decide to knock 1 door, and we did. There was a man washing his car outside who let us in to bless his house. As we entered, we saw that he had a big family, and we had 6 people around the kitchen table listening to us. The man told us "Elders, Ive never let the missionaries in. I always made excuses saying that I was too busy, but for some reason I let you in this time. I just recovered from a grave illness and I know we need to get closer to God." As we shared, the spirit filled the room and they accepted everything, from praying to know the truth, to attending church, to being baptized on July 30th. It was I miracle. I know that God prepares people.

I know that Christ lives, and that he extends his arms to all. We have to accept him through baptism, because it is the only way to peace happiness and harmony. This is His Church and His Work. He called Joseph Smith to be a prophet, and He guides His church today. 

Love you all!

Elder Pomar

Dear Pomar family,

Greetings from Chile! 

Late last week, our family arrived in Santiago to begin our new assignment overseeing the Chile Santiago West Mission. We feel very honored to follow in the footsteps of President and Sister Barreiros who guided the mission with wisdom and love for the past three years. Their influence will be felt by the members and missionaries with whom they served for many years in the future.  We are deeply grateful for their dedication to the work!

This week, we had the privilege of meeting Elder Pomar.  We want you to know how blessed we feel to have the opportunity to get to know him and guide him during his missionary experience.  We already feel a great love and respect for all our missionaries and we are thrilled to see the progress they have already made toward becoming more like Christ in their service to the Lord.

We want you to know that we are praying for our missionaries many times every day and we know that you are doing the same. Our greatest hope for our missionaries is that their missionary experience in Chile is one that they will always cherish and that it will help sustain them spiritually throughout their entire lives. 

Thank you for your ongoing support and prayers and may the Lord bless your family.

President Woodward

Cause I've been traveling "mas que ocho" as they say in good chilean. Since I've gotten here, I've done 3 divisions, 1 in Cartagena and 2 in El Quisco (my former sector). I've worked more in El Quisco than in my own sector here in San Antonio haha!! I´m so convinced that God is so incredibly intelligent and so organized that he just gives us incredible opportunities in the most needed moment.

Well, to tell you about San Antonio, there are ALOT of hills. San Antonio is basically a huge bowl with the port in the middle. I`ve got a half of the bowl as my sector. It is so dang huge, oh my gosh. So many people live in my sector. It is a missionary`s paradise. I love it here sooooo much. I honestly think its the best sector in the whole mission. On the coast, tons of people, lots of flaite apartment blocks, suspension bridges, green vegetation... What else could I ask for? God has been blessing us a lot and we have an investigator that will be baptized this weekend. She is so unbelievable. God prepared her so well. We didn't have to do anything practically, just invite! I look forward to working this sector very well.

But the biggest miracles were in divisions. El Quisco was in a rough spot. The missionaries are practically in whitewash and one of the missionaries is a new Elder who is really good, just that its really hard for him to learn spanish. During more than a year since Ive been gone, various members of the church for different reasons had gone inactive, and no missionary knew them since the sector is so big and the members live so far away. The poor elders who are here were so lost when they got here. They needed a lot of help and orientation. I know that God put me here to be able to help them. In 3 days that I was in divisions with them, I connected them with 3 less active families who were more than willing to help (and they have cars, which is a big deal for the elders). I got to visit 3 convert families that had fallen away since I had left. With the Lopez family, I had a very spiritual experience. Our visit to them was a sign that Heavenly Father remembered and loved them for that family. Sandy, the first person I baptized, had not let the missionaries come in in over a year, and obviously had weakened in her faith. While I was there, I invited her to start everything over and begin praying, reading the book of mormon, and going to church, and she accepted! I pray that she will keep on the path. Gustavo Ibarra, an investigator who was baptized 2 weeks after I had left, also let the missionaries in for the first time in months. After talking with him, he promised to go to church again and begin to accompany the missionaries on visits. His mother is so sweet, I just know she will be baptized.

A lot more has happened, but this is what I can write for now. Love you all and see you next week!!!

Love,

Elder Pomar :)