Sorry everybody!!

I didn't have time to write my big long letter that usually isn't that long i am going to try and get better at that! please know i love you all and pray for you all see you next week!!! and i will write a letter all about this week and send it next week how does that sound? Chow!!!

Love Elder Groen!!!!

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(I asked Ethan about the Iguana in the picture posted in the last blog.  Here is his answer:)

we went to a house that Elder lopez said they contacted before i was here. they hadn't been in before but we were going to try! they let us in and we went to the back yard! there was two guys about 28ish and a girl too! the investigators name is Felipe! we just spend about a half hour getting to know them and then they started asking about the church. when they did they asked about the word of wisdom. then he said " I love nature and everything to do with it including my lizard and marajuanna." it was wierd but then he went and got his lizard and thankfully not his marajuanna. now we have taught another lesson and he said he would read the title page of the Book of Mormon and pray about it! I know he felt something which is why he lets us come back! his name is Felipe!

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(And here's the treat of our week.  Ethan didn't send it to us.   I got it from the mom of one of the other Elders in the song. Enjoy!)

Hey Guys!

So this week we had the most amazing chance to hear from Elder Vinas, Elder Christensen, and Elder Nelson! they all spoke about wonderful things! but Sister Nelson and Elder Nelson were absolutely incredible! Sister Nelson told us of our divine heritage and the spirts that are with us helping us everyday of our lives! she said we need to be constantly praying to realize where we came from and what we have to do! and that we need to pray always to know of the spirits that are with us always! Then Elder Nelson spoke of The Abrahamic covenant and our divine lineage in this earth and the gathering of the 12 tirbes of israel! both were amazing but what happened at the end of the Meeting was a miracle! 

      Elder Nelson had a translator the entire time and spoke in English because he doesn't know spanish! but at the end he said now i am going to give you an apostalic blessing! but he said that in spanish! then he gave us an apostolic Blessing in PERFECT spanish!!!! I don't know if he was or wasn't to the others in that room but when he gave that he was literally glowing!!!!! right then i felt the spirit so strong and i will never be able to deny that he is an apostle of the Lord! i know without a doubt that the Lord sent him to Chile to help us help the people! it was INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!

       other than that the week has been good! We are finding many many new people to teach we are tring to have faith that the Lord has a plan and prepared people for us to teach! President Cook sent Elder Lopez and I this letter! 

I am doing great and i hope all of you are too! please remember to have faith in all things!!!!

 Love Elder Groen!!!!

*Note from Mom - we finally got some pictures. The date happens to be the same and was way before he left for his mission, but hey, they are pictures!!!!    We're not sure about all the people so we don't have names on some. 

Elder Groen & new companion Elder Lopez

Elder Groen & Elder Burt and trick-or-treaters?

Elder Fernando (Fernandez?)? and Elder Groen 

I recognize Elder Burt and Elder Groen

Elder Groen and Elder Burt

I just don't know about that tie.... He sure is enjoying his huge tie purchase. 

hello everybody!

i was changed this week to a new ward with my new companion Elder Lopez from Columbia! my new wards name is Progresso! Elder Lopez and I have the same time in the mission but are super excited to work hard together! we are super excited! I am super excited to find new people in the ward and learn all about these new people! At first i was sad and didn't want to leave Covarrubius! i thought that it had the best people in the world! but this week i learned so much about the plan that Heavenly Father has for me! He knows where others need me and what i can do for them! and I need to submit my will to his will and show him that i am willing to give my life to him!!!! Sorry it is so short! but next week i hope to have more information on this new ward and these new people!!! 

I love you all please have a fabulous week!!!

Love Elder Groen! 

Family Search

     So this week was a good week! first of all we are back on the streets again without sickness working hard! and we are one week away from transfers! stay tuned for next week to find out who will be my next comp!! 

      Now to the work! we have an less active named Oscar and we are trying to help him overcome some problems right now! i have been praying for how to help him for a long time now and i think Heavenly Father is opening a new door for him! this week i got the idea or prompting that i needed to do some family history with him! so we talked about temples with him and in our next visit we are going to teach him how to use the family search website! we are almost positive that we will have a name to take to the temple for him so all we need now is that he gets a temple recommend!!!

We have another less active family the Meza Family and the Dad is really great we talked with him about baptisms for the dead and then we helped him do some work on Family Search and this sunday he has an interview for a temple recommend!! 

     I am literally seeing the hearts of the children being turned to their Fathers! i am seing revelation happen before my eyes! i can't wait to go to the temple with them!!! Family Search is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      if you are feeling sad or down hearted. i have a solution! please take the 20 minutes to make an account and do some family search! you can do your own work or you can index! either way it will belss you more than you could know!!

                                                   With all the love from Santiago to Home!

                                                                Elder Groen!

Wow another week in the Lord's vineyard!

     WEll first of all this last week on friday we got a new investigator that moved into the ward! she is absolutely incredible! i think she has been prepared in so many ways for us to teach her! i can't wait to teach her again on this friday! her name is Arielle! super pumped about that one!

      

 Then the plague hit our house! my comp got sick last friday and had to go in the house early and couldn't go out all saturday... so the other three elders and me did divs all those days and tried to get to visit everybody! Then on monday Elder purnell and my comp were both sick again and they stayed home all day so i went on divs with Elder Mellado all day long! then yesterday Elder burt said he needed to come in early because he was sick... Then yesterday he told me he didn't study at all in that whole time he was sick!!! i coulnt believe it!! he was inside for somewhere around 30 hours and didn't study at all!!!!!!!! i was trying to be patient with him and have some sympathy for him but it killed me! i felt sick all of those days too but i knew that if i didn't go visit the people they wouldn't get visited! and i knew that i wasn't that sick so i could go and do it! but then it just about killed me because he had stayed inside and i felt like it was all a big excuse so he didn't have to work hard... i just feel like if we look for excuses to not work we will find them but also if we try to give everything we have we will be blessed with the strength to do anything! sorry everybody that was very pesimistic of me but please do not look for excuses!!!!

                

then on monday we had our Zone conference and it was absolutely incredible!! President told us that our faith is not where it should be and told us that we need have more faith in baptisms and in the power of the spirit! so I am giving everything i can to listen to his words and give more room in my life for faith! After all when we have faith we can move mountains!!!

                          With all the love in the world,Elder Groen

Back to normal

             This week we are back to the normal! After busy General conference and stake conference we are going into a regular sunday! so we finally get to go out and work our week normally! this week we are shooting for 20 lessons and 6 lessons with members! Numbers are kind of a hard thing to fugure out on the mission! we can't let our lives be dominated by the thought of numbers, because then we forget that each number is a person and that person has specific needs and a specific life! but on the other hand numbers show us how important records are in this church! Heavenly Father cares so much about us that he wants to know exactly who is a member and who is doing what! when we realize this love that he has it makes sense that we record the numbers! also numbers help us to measure what more we can be doing! when we see that we didn't reach our goal for the week it motivates us to do more and to try harder to teach more people!!! 

           We are working especially with Francisco and Pato right now! both of them are great people but they are just missing the action part of the gospel! The prophets teach and have always taught that we must act and when we do we recieve! so when we give a scripture or ask them to pray and they don't, but then they say why can't i feel the spirit like you always say i can. we tend to get a little frusterated. but we always try to rmemer that to help them we need patience and love and we look for any possible way that we can help them keep their commitments with us!!!!

           Here in Chile we walk almost all day everyday but i am learning that walking is really fun! if you don't believe me try it! instead of driving somewhere try walking its a great time to talk with someone and learn more about them!!! 

Remember that somewhere else in the world someone is always smiling so why shouldn't you smile!!!

                                         Love the practically chilean Elder Groen!

Miracles Happen TODAY!!!!

      so before i talk about the rest of the week i have to tell you about Monday!!!!! we had district meetings in the morning but then after we had lunch pretty early. so we left early and walked over to our lunch appointment! it was with Nicole and Patricio, Nicole was just reactivated and is awesome! but Pato is out of a job and looking for work. so he had a interview for a job and couldn't be to lunch. so we invited a ward member named oscar to come with us so that we could go in the house! she made lasagna while we all sat around and talked with her (mom i tried to help her she would not let me, i promise!). then Pato got back from his interview about an hour after we got there and he said it went really well! then what happened next was amazing! Pato doesn't talk a lot with us usualy. but all of a sudden him and oscar just started talkin about everything and they were instant friends. I am so glad for that because that is what Pato needed most right now! that was the first miracle of that day! then we all ate lunch and thought nothing of it! then after lunch Nicole told us the story of a woman in the bible who only had enough food to feed one person and fed the prophet Elias with it, but after she fed him their was more food in the pot and so she fed her children and then their was more for her! Nicole told us that usually one pan of lasagna barely feeds thier family of her, pato and little Maxi. they usually only have one square left. but she fed 7 people 4 missionaries, Oscar, her, Pato, and their son Maxi!!!!! she said everytime whe went back for another scoop their was more food!!!!!!! she wasn't even planning on eating that day and got worried when oscar came and when pato got home!!!!! Then Pato Said he didn't know why or how but that everything she said was true and that it shouldn't have happened!!!!!! Miracle number 2!!! then Pato said he would come to FHE this week with Oscar's family!!!!!! Miracle number 3!!!!!!!

              then that night we visited with oscar, because he has a smoking problem and is still techinically not an active member until we can help him overcome that! anyway we visited with him and shared a scripture, then i said the closing prayer and i thanked heavenly father for his good heart and service and asked that he would be blessed for his service. then when the prayer was finished he was crying and thanked us again!!! Miracle number 4 (he doesnt ever cry! EVER!!!! his words!) 

              this week has been such a great week! i promise when you pray for something and then work for it you will recieve that thing, as long as it is Heavenly FAther's will!!

                 we do a lot of walking and working but i love it all so much! i have never been as happy as i am now on my mission! i hope all is well with all of you!!!

                                                Love Elder Groen!