Oh my gosh!!! This week was awesome!!!

First off, my companion and I talked to the mission president and we got permission to go to the temple on Thursday!! Poor Elder Lizarraga hadn't been in 16 months, and the only time he`d gone through was for his 1st time before the mission.  We woke up at 5:30 and took the subway to central Santiago, and got there early for the 9am session. That was honestly one of the most spiritual times I´ve had in the temple. Afterwards, I don t think I’ve ever seen Elder Lizarraga so excited haha!  He was so pumped after the session that I thought he was going to take on the world.  For him, the nearest temple in Argentina is 18 hours away. Yeah, we are soooo blessed in the states to have so many temples available to us.  So take advantage of it!!  Most of you live within 1 or 2 hours of a temple, so make the commitment to go there often, even if it`s just to walk the grounds.  When we make the temple a priority, everything will turn out a lot better, I promise!!

AND YES, I DID GET TO SHAKE THE HAND OF AN APOSTLE!!!!

Elder Nelson and his wife came and talked to the Santiago west and south missions (And for those of you who are wondering, I did see Elder Harrison and Elder Allowas!!  When I first saw them my first reaction was "Kyle!" and "Jon!" but afterwards, I repented :P). Everyone formed this huge line and one by one we went up and shook Elder Nelson and his wife's hand. It was sooooooo awesome!!  Elder Nelson gave an amazing talk about how we are gathering Israel and how the work truly is rolling forth!  He is absolutely a man of God, I have no doubt. The spirit was just sooo incredibly strong!!  Then his wife got up to talk, and let me tell you, I was blown away!  She talked about our premortal selves.  She said that if we could see ourselves for just 5 seconds of how we were in the premortal existence, we would be able to overcome any trial with ease.  She told us that we made promises to our Heavenly Father of things that we would do when we came down here.  This premortal "list" is something that we have to rediscover for ourselves.  She said that if we are not completing the things that we promised to do, we cannot be happy.  Take a moment to think about that.  Who were you?  Who are you supposed to become?  These are things that I know will bless us as we seek to understand them.

Then we had one of the most successful days on the mission. I couldn`t believe it!  We found 5 new investigators within the space of 3 hours. We contacted 9 people. That ratio is unheard of in my sector.  Just to compare, we`ve found 3 new investigators this whole transfer up until that point, and now the Lord has blessed us so much.  The ward we have to work with needs a lot of work, and a lot of help, but I, the 3 other missionaries in the ward, and the Ward Mission Leader have a vision, and we`ll do everything in our power to make it come to pass.  It`s not easy by any means. fatigue, differences with your companion, a loss of focus, and a million other things try to bring to down, but you just have to press forward with steadfast faith in Christ, and all will work out.

Love you all and until next week!

Viva la Roja!

Elder Pomar 

I see your son often living just above us.  He is a happy young man and so cheerful.  Took this picture yesterday.  Thought you might enjoy.  Elder Bertagna

It has been a great day to hear Elder Nelson talk to us.  Tonight your son stopped by my apartment  and I took a picture.  They are having some good experiences.  Elder Bertagna

Hey hey hey, its mon-DAY!

Oh no. I´ve already completed 2 months. This is terrible!! The time goes by way too fast!

So on Tuesday I had quite an adventure with my fellow trainee Elder Banks. My district leader told us that we were going to go on splits, but it wasn´t until the morning of that he told me that I was going to have to direct everything in my sector for the day. SURPRISE!!! I've got to be honest, I was scared at first. Two Elders with less than 2 months field experience didn´t seem like a good idea at first, but after we got into the groove, we just got on a roll!  Elder Banks is such a stud. His Spanish is really scarce, but he has no fear in talking to anyone and he is just willing to work as hard as any pace we set. We talked with EVERYONE. Even though we didn´t really find anyone to teach, the feeling of just having worked all day and giving your all is unmatched. It´s one of the best feelings you can have out here! 

On Thursday we had a lesson with Gabriel, but this time we brought our secret weapon: the ward mission leader. Gregorio is the most hardworking man I´ve ever seen in my life! He´s dedicated so much to the study of the scriptures and developing his testimony that when he speaks, its unbelievable. There were points in the lesson when I honestly felt like I was dreaming haha! Gabriel is almost there!!! We´re going to visit him again today, so wish me luck!!

Sunday we had stake conference, presided by one of the 70 named Elder Viñas. In 1st Nephi it says that the wicked take the truth to be hard, and man do I have to say that a lot of people were hurting after he talked! It was one of the most honest, straightforward talks I´ve ever heard. One of the biggest points he had he brought up using a scripture from Moroni 7:

 6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.

 7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.

 8 For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.

 9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.

Intent has everything to do with our lives. If we do everything right, but don´t have our heart in the right place, it doesn´t do any good. It's not easy, but when we strive every day to keep that desire to just do good in our hearts every day and strive to keep all the commandments, we will be immensely blessed. 

I know that this Church is true. The Book of Mormon, when we give it the attention it deserves, will be our most loyal companion throughout all the daily struggles we have. We will receive knowledge. We will receive strength and if we do it with real intent, then the possibilities are endless. Keep up the good work everyone! Love you all and God bless!!

Love, 

Elder Pomar

P.S. I got to visit with my family again yesterday!!!!! I´m so blessed to be here in chile!! :D 

Oh no. It's already Monday again! The time honestly flies so fast out here!

This week, I´ve been trying really hard to push myself out of my comfort zone. I´ve been talking to more people on the street, being a little more bold with my questions and just trying to be the missionary the Lord wants me to be. I still have a long way to go haha!

On Tuesday (or at least I think it was Tuesday) we had a lesson with Marcos, an old investigator that the hermanas had prior to Elder Lizarraga and I showing up. It honestly is incredible to see how the Lord prepares people to receive the gospel and I mean prepares. We were talking about the plan of salvation with him as his father had recently passed away.  Suddenly, I decided to change the course and read 2 Nephi 31 and I challenged him to baptism. He declined, saying that he has to do a little more of his own searching but his beliefs are so close to ours, that I have no doubt that he´ll take the leap of faith. I can´t even express my joy to you guys after I invited him. I felt completely overpowered with this happiness and energy that I haven´t felt anywhere else. I honestly felt on top of the world haha!

Then we have Ninoska. She passed through a really scary time on Thursday. She almost died because of her low sugar levels. To give you an idea, the normal sugar level is 120. She was at 20. She told us of how in almost a dream she heard her son Vicente yelling "Eat! Eat! Eat!" as he stuffed crackers in her mouth. We were so shocked when we found out, but the weirdest thing is that later that day when we passed by, she seemed the happiest and healthiest I've ever seen her. We talked a little more and we asked her to send us off with the prayer. In the prayer, she PROMISED the Lord that she would make the necessary steps to make it to baptism because she knew it was what He wanted. The Lord works miracles, I promise.

One of our less actives that we visit is named Marcos (different from the one above) and as he is getting married to his girlfriend in November, we stopped by to talk about the Temple and Temple Marriage. Elder Lizarraga has the sweetest magazine with pictures of a ton of temples around the world, so we brought it to share with him. As Marcos flipped through the pages and as we talked about the blessings of attending the Temple, the spirit was palpable. Talking about being married for the Eternities, about our life after we die and the absolutely breathtaking potential we have, it was just amazing. Oh and if you were wondering, no, I was not trunky during the lesson haha! ;) The Spirit just keeps manifesting itself in ways stronger and stronger, it´s unreal. I´ve never ever felt the spirit so much in my life as I do now.

We were contacting on the street later that day without having any luck. Then as we pass this teenager, I decide "why not?" and started talking to him. This kid is golden. His name is Julio, and we talked for quite a while about the nature of God, who he is to us and why He plays such a vital role in our lives. And you know we got his info!!!! Unfortunately, he lives in the other sector so I won´t be able to teach him :´( But I´m just glad to get him started on the path.

Ok, now this Sunday. It was really interesting, because on paper, Sunday should´ve been a disaster. One of our really strong investigators came to Relief Society and Sunday School, but had to go home before sacrament meeting (which is the most important part!!!! oh, and by the way the schedule is flipped here in our ward), and later sent us a text saying that she can´t meet with us anymore because of some family complications. Ninoska wanted to come but couldn’t because there was no one to accompany her from her family to help load her into the car from her wheelchair. After church, every single plan fell through and we had only a handful of contacts throughout the day. It was a little rough. But you know what? A miracle happened. As we were walking at the end of the day, I contacted a couple of guys on the street on a whim and asked them about their belief in God. One of them quickly slipped away (which no one would if they knew why we´re talking to them in the first place!!! Agh, missionary probs) and left us with a middle aged man named Andres. At first he was very reserved, telling us he was an atheist but as we talked he began to pour out all the pain and trials he´s been experiencing in the past few years. The man is separated, has been kicked out of his house and has a drug addict son who was recently hospitalized. He´s lost all hope and says that he just doesn´t know what to do and he doesn´t understand why life won´t let him have happiness. I looked him in the eye and recited 2 Nephi 27:23 which says 

"For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith" 

With all the power I could muster I looked at this man, feeling a complete love and compassion that I can never understand and said, "I know that God is a God of miracles. Every challenge, EVERY challenge you are facing, whether it be with your ex wife or with your beloved son will be resolved as you turn to him." He thanked us with true gratitude for our words and we got his info to continue teaching him. He doesn't live in our area, so we´re going to pass him off to the other Elders again (gosh darn it!!). That moment made everything worth it. He needs the message that I have and when I have the chance to share it with the power and authority that I´ve been given, it’s unreal. I´ve come to learn that really, charity is everything. As it says in 1 Corinthians 13:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Learn now to develop this love. It is the key to absolutely everything in life. I know that Christ is my savior, that he lived, suffered, and died for me. The least we can do is try to show him our love by following his commandment: Love thy neighbor as thyself.

God Bless you all and catch you next week!

From the ¨land of my inheritance¨ (and with love),

Elder Pomar

It's transfer day!

Yep, you heard!

Except I´m not going anywhere. Nor my companion, nor the other two missionaries in my ward, so we´re set!! However, my district leader did get transferred. :,( The guy was a just a stud. A Colombian named Elder Dussan. Now he´s a zone leader out in the countryside, so good for him! 

We had some really awesome experiences this week. First, one of our investigator´s family all came down with the cold, so they asked us to give them all priesthood blessings. I got to bless the father, Gabriel (the investigator who just happens to be from Pasadena!) and the mother Cindy, who is less active. Let me tell you, the spirit was soooo strong when I gave her a blessing. Every word I dictated was totally guided by the spirit and it was a powerful experience for the whole family. We´re aiming to invite Gabriel to baptism this week, so keep him in your prayers!

We also had the opportunity to teach a man named Pablo, a gatekeeper at the apartment buildings where the other missionaries live. I´ve never met a man so honestly seeking the truth. He knows the bible front and back and is convinced that the only church he will join is one exactly like the one Christ established in his days. He really is incredible. He has so many questions and we can't wait to teach him again!!

The Zone meeting we had this week was amazing as well! The zone leaders brought in one of the most stalwart return missionaries I've ever seen in my entire life. His name is Gregorio Rojas, and he served in the Chile Osorno mission a while back. Man, he just has this fire burning within him! The spirit feels like it's smacking us in the face when he tells all his stories and principles he learned from the mission. Whenever he talks you just feel so empowered! He really sets the bar high for us missionaries!

Which brings me to my next good news. GREGORIO´s NOW THE WARD MISSION LEADER!!! I´m telling you, I can´t even begin to tell you how blessed we are to have him. We met with him yesterday to start the process and his vision for the work is just fantastic. This transfer we have a lot of expectations. Now we just got to put our shoulder to the wheel, right?

Now this was the miracle of the week: One day we had visited a few families and I had left my Book of Mormon in one of their houses. I was going to leave it and pick it up the next day but Elder Lizarraga felt like we should go look for it at a certain less active´s house, but it wasn´t there. Then he felt like we should go to an investigators house nearby and as we were in front of the house, we said hi to a Haitian across the street. He proceeded to cross the street, talk with us about religion, asked for our number and told us he wanted us to stop by his house another time. Yeah. Miracles absolutely happen out here. His name is Lionel and it honestly was such a tender mercy. He´s one of the only new investigators that we´ve found this transfer, so we are so stoked to teach him! 

The Lord is teaching me a lot of lessons. How to be patient with other people. How to love other people. How to humble myself before him and realize again and again that without him, I´m nothing. 

" Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever" (Alma 26:12)

You have to focus on changing yourself first before you can help anyone else.... whether it be the ward, the investigators or even your own companion, it begins and ends with you. Attitude determines your altitude, like you always said Mom! Please keep my investigators and me in your prayers so I can receive all I need to be the missionary God expects me to be. I love and miss you all and I know Chile is where I´m supposed to be right now. Catch you in another week!

Abrazos y Besos, (hugs & kisses)

Elder Pomar

Time just seems to disappear, and its really hard for me to remember what we did yesterday, much less what's happened in the whole week! I went on splits with my zone leaders Elder Pyfer and Elder Sharapata (who happens to be from your friendly neighborhood Oakland haha!!). This is 3 times in 3 weeks I've done splits.  If there is one thing I've learned, missionary work is the same but there are so many ways and attitudes to go about accomplishing it. Ultimately, you´ve got to find your own path and learn from everyone! 

The other day we finally found a less active couple named Moises and Isabel. We were going to give up because we called them every day this transfer and passed by their house, but we could never find them. Turns out that both their phones were stolen and Moises is only home 1 day a week, so we were very happy we caught them. We gave a blessing to their little boy Gael. That was fun! Trying to anoint and bless a sickly one year old that keeps thrashing his head and screaming was difficult, but the next day he was completely fine!!! It worked! We´re going to work hard to get them back to church. 

Another miracle was with Vicente and Ninoska, 2 of our investigators. Vicente claims to be atheist but we got him to pray during an English lesson!! And he came to church yesterday! His mother Ninoska has a very hard time getting places since she´s bedridden with a paralytic sickness. It´s so heartbreaking. She needed a lot of encouragement this week and we gave her a powerful lesson on faith. The spirit was so strong and we committed her to come to church with the help of Vicente and she did it! 

But the best experience of all: I MET 2 OF MY AUNTS!!!! Technically, they are the nieces of my grandma, but still, they´re family!!! Aunt Juanita and Aunt Alejandra. They live in Independencia an hour to the north. We talked for 2 hours and we set Nov 2nd as the day when I will get to meet all my cousins and relatives!!!  I was seriously on cloud 9!  Being here in Chile is like a dream. I pinch myself sometimes to remind me that I´m really finally here! 

My companion and I have been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy, trying to finish the whole thing in 10 days before transfers. It´s been such a blessing. I can feel of the spirit of this Book even more! I´m so glad to be here! Like everything there are good and bad days, but its so worth it. I know this is the work of the Lord and that he leads this church. Because it has blessed me so much I need to share it!  That´s why I´m here. Love you all, and God bless you!!

From Heaven, 

Elder Pomar