Week 102 - Christmas Week

This week was good.  We had two baptisms.

The baptism with "A" was really hard.  We needed two priesthood holders to act as witnesses in addition to the person who baptizes, so we needed another member.  We looked for a member at his work.  This member was having his best day of the year and really needed the money.  He told us that he didn't want to help us but a memory of us passing by came to his mind. He said the night before he had a dream that we were going to pass by his stand and ask his help. It helps me a lot to know that God is looking out for me and the people I teach and that He is going to make his work move forward.  The baptism went forward and "A" is now a member of the Lord's church.

On Christmas, we went to a house in the middle of nowhere.  We left the house at about 7:00 pm.  We waited for a bus for 30 minutes and I felt we needed to go down to another place were more buses would pass by.  We walked for 30 minutes and found the place where the bus passed by.  When the bus arrived the driver said he was the last bus that was going by there that day and that he wasn't going to go where we had been waiting. If I hadn't felt prompted to walk down we would have been stranded.

Christmas Eve Dinner

Week 101 - Old Friends

This week was alright.

One AWESOME thin that happened this week was that a new member I helped teach was SEALED in the TEMPLE!!!  My last Saturday in the mission will be in Salamanca with Elder Cheney.   This is something most missionaries don't get to do -- return to their first area -- but I will have this great opportunity and will get to see my former investigator!!!

One of our investigators had some setbacks.  There is much going on in their family.  We hope all will go well going forward. 

I saw Elder Cheney, Elder Palilla, and Elder McCallister this week.  It was really fun.  I had an exchange with Elder Larson.  We bought two pizzas that evening.  It was pretty fun.  The day didn't go well for the missionary work, but he's pretty fun and it was awesome to be with him.

The activity today was fun.  We played water balloon volleyball and some other games.

Week 100 - Rejection.

This week has been good.  I get along well with Elder Soliz.  He's a good guy and has a strong testimony.  I'm a little worried he's sad due to all the bad contacts we had this week.  We literally were kicked out of one house.  We started talking with a woman and then her boyfriend got mad and began yelling at us.   He didn't want us there so we tried to set another appointment and he just flipped out.  I don't think Elder Soliz is used to rejection.

We have a baptism towards the end of this week.  "A" is ready for her baptism and we are still teaching a family we hope to help!

Last night we had an activity in a place called La Ligua.  After we finished the activity there wasn't time to return home so we went to the La Ligua missionary home.  We threw the mattresses on the floor and slept there.  It was pretty fun.  I brought the toys you sent for Christmas and we played with the sumo wrestlers.  It was pretty funny.

Today we played soccer in the morning but it was pretty boring.  Then we ran around La Calera trying to find a place to write.  Also, I got to see Elder Ormond and Elder Navarro on Tuesday and will see Elder Padilla this week!

Week 99 - Elder Soliz

This week has been busy.  I said goodbye to Elder Brown which was really hard.  I noticed some of my favorite companions resemble and remind me of good friends from home.

Elder Eyre - Ammon
Elder Palilla - Ethan
Elder Brown - Brenden

It was weird when I realized it.  Then I went down to Viña and picked up my new companion Elder Soliz.  He's from Argentina and he's 24.  He has four siblings and they're all members of the church but his parents are not.

I'm still grateful we are teaching a family.  We are also teaching a girl named "A".  She should be baptized on the 17th.  Her stepdad is a member and his wife is listening to us too.  She is progressing.  Other than that we need to find some more people to teach.

This week I've been trying to write essays for an application to BYU.  Since the only time that I have is about 30 minutes in the morning, I think it will be nearly impossible to finish them anytime soon.  I'll ask my mission president if I can write during language study and try to make some progress.

I'll be traveling to Viña again tomorrow.  I'm going to Viña for a conference with the district leaders. It should be pretty fun.  I should be able to see friends.  Next week we should have an activity where I will see Elder Palilla!  I'm really excited.  It's been along time since I've seen him.  I'm going to see Elder Navarro too.

A random thing that I saw was a wild sea lion from really far away.  It was just a wobbling lump on a rock but I saw some while in Viña.

Week 98 - A New Companion

So a lot has happened this week!  One highlight is we have a baptismal date for a young ten-year-old girl who's step-dad is a member.  The father's wife is also receptive to our message.

We were also able to help "M".  He's super humble and he even brought his wife with him to church. They both seemed to like it.  This week was the primary program.  Primary is the name of the program for the young children in our church.  The children give very short talks and sing during the program.  It helped a lot because they talked about parent's responsibilities to their children -- something they were interested in.  The mother even said she wants to bring her two daughters to church.  When she found out that Elder Brown was being transferred to another sector she jokingly said she wasn't going to come anymore.  At least we hope it was a joke.

This brings me to my next announcement.  My last six weeks of my mission will be spent training.  Woo Hooooo!  I'm kind of nervous about training again but we have a lot of people coming into the mission now.  Hopefully, we will continue to have a lot of success together.  My companion's name is Elder Soliz.

Avocado tree

Week 97 - The Family: A Proclamation To The World

We taught one of our investigators The Family: A Proclamation To The World.   He and his spouse are not married.  He asked us when he could be baptized.  He didn't understand when we taught him about the Law of Chastity that he would need to resolve that first.  It was kind of awkward.  I hope the proclamation helped.

We also found another family where the mom and dad are not married.  The dad is a member and the daughter wants to be baptized.  The mom wants to get married so that's pretty cool!

Elder Brown fell off his bike this week.  There was a bottle on the ground and when he went to ride over it his bike slipped on the bottle.  He hit the ground hard and probably should have at least been cut up or had a broken bone or something.  But, he got up without a scratch.

I spent a lot of the week trying different combinations with my shoe's souls because the shoes I have are really good but I stretched them out until there was enough space to have my feet shift a little bit. It ended up destroying my soles and giving me two blisters but I think I've got it figured out now.

There's a woman in our ward that likes the missionaries and has us over for lunch every Tuesday.  She doesn't ever want to come to church. She finally went this week because her husband was speaking.  It was a little uncomfortable because he just cried through his talk about how grateful he was that his family was there.  I hope his family will come with him in the future.

That's my week.  We played soccer today and we are about to go to an all you can eat pizza place.  It has good Chilean pizza.  They do pizza a little different here.  It's not like the Dominos or Pizza Hut I grew up on.  I look forward to going when I finish writing everyone.

Week 96 - New Investigators

This week was pretty good.  We found ten new investigators.  They couldn't get to church so we had some baptismal dates change but it seems like we may have several future baptisms in the mix. We also had six Haitians attend.  Hopefully, they all had a good experience and liked it.

"M" went to church again!

We had one man tell us that we weren't helping him and he didn't feel the spirit.  I bore my testimony to him.  It seemed to help.

I had an exchange with Elder Larsen.  It went well.  We walked a lot.

Today we cleaned.  Our mission president will be coming Friday.  He will be interviewing.

We are playing ping-pong at the church today.

The avocado trees here produce so many avocados. I see boxes of avocados and they are so delicious!!!

I am going to play for the primary program here.  I will play four or five songs and I have only played some of them yesterday.  It'll be interesting since I can't really practice, but thankfully my sight reading has gotten a thousand times better in the mission.

Week 95 - Finding Investigators

This week has been a lot better.  We found quite a few people willing to listen and be taught.

We found a man named "G" who decided to talk to us because he's upset with his church.  Their religious leader is coming to Chile and the church and people are spending millions on the visit.  (See this news story for details)   Some are becoming disillusioned over the cost and are leaving.  It's opened up teaching opportunities for us.  "G" started talking with us and we taught him about the restoration.  He likes what he has learned.  We might have a problem getting him to church though.  He works at a fish stand on Sunday.  He gave us several fish and we ate them Saturday night.  Now our apartment smells like fish.

We also found someone who works at a nice soccer field.  He wants us to come and play while he makes us a grill.  We'll probably take him up on his offer in two weeks.

"M" came to church again.  We went to his house to teach him and watched The Restoration video. After, he wanted to show us a movie on Christ he likes to watch.  He was showing us bits and pieces and he showed us the part where Jesus is baptized.  His entire family has committed to listen to us.

Today we played soccer on artificial turf.  It was pretty fun and we had almost everyone there.

Week 94 - Seeking Investigators

Not a lot has happened this week.  We spent most of the week walking around trying to find people.

This week our district meeting was changed to another day.  I forgot to tell the sister missionaries of the change but the zone leaders said they mentioned it to them.  I called them after waiting ten minutes and they asked: "What do you mean the district meeting is right now?"  They said they didn't know about the change.  In the end, the district meeting was held without the sister missionaries this week.

My bike broke again so I had to have it fixed.  This used the last of my personal money. Hopefully, this will be the end of the infamous bike repairs.

We´re also about to have the missionary in charge of housing come by and I'm going to talk to him before he gets here.   There are two broken windows in the house (I didn't break any by the way. They've been broken for a long time now).

Yesterday we taught a super good investigator.  He's cried in front of us.  I think the only thing we may have a hard time helping him see is that living with someone outside of marriage isn't okay.  The Chilean system is messed up and it's hard for couples to want to become legally married.  It's often a hardship on the family.

We're not going to do anything too crazy for p-day today.  We're just going to play ping pong.

Week 93 - A Humble Investigator.

This week has been pretty good.

We had one of our investigators go to church.  He is one of the most humble people that I have met.  He has excepted pretty much everything and he's seeing the blessings of the gospel in his life.  He says his family is coming together and we've got them to pray with us!  I hope we can help the entire family.

I went to Cabildo.  It was nice.

We found six new people to teach.  It's always nice to find new people.

Today I went to Viña to get my Chilean license again.  I look way too skinny in the new picture.  I also got a haircut.  Then we made up and played a game similar to handball.

Week 92 - Transfer Week and Good Friends.

This week there were transfers Monday.  Usually, they would be on Wednesday but our mission president needed to be in Buenos Aires for a Tuesday conference.  To have interviews and oversee the transfers he changed transfer day to Monday.  P-day this week is Wednesday. This explains my late email.  This past week literally feels long with the extra days between p-day.

"D" got baptized this week!!! It was really spiritual and his dad started crying during the baptismal prayer.  It made me realize how much he has probably been praying and fasting for this moment to happen.  "D"'s mother initially didn't want him to be baptised but she finally gave him permision.

This week I was with Elder Brooks on his last day.  Elder Larsen had the interview with "D".  I felt sad that Elder Brooks was leaving.  I went around with him as he said goodbye to everyone.  I realized yesterday that Elder Braithwaite left too.

Elder Brown and I are staying together.  I'm happy about this.   It will be good and he is a great help to me.  Some of the changes that were made in the district could keep us busy.  One missionary was transferred in that is notorious for having problems with his companions.  Another is training.  Hopefully,  all goes smoothly.

Saturday night we received a random call from someone that Elder Brown didn't know.  Elder Brown said the man just asked: "Where is Elder Hammond?"  He told him where we were and the man told us to wait.  We were kind of confused and then I see Brother and Sister Muñoz and their daughter get out of a car.  They are from my old Las Maravillas area.  It made me very happy.  I love that family so much!!!  They told me about some of the things that have happened in Las Maravillas since I was transferred.  My investigator, "F",  goes to seminary every day.  "A" is going to church even if she has to walk and walking is very difficult for her.  "C" continues to attend church.  It was wonderful to see and talk with them!

Week 91 - Searching for Investigators

This week I got really tan.  We are mostly starting from scratch to find new people to teach.  I have been getting tanned while walking around.  All is well.  We are finding new people to teach.

We had to drop one of our investigators this week.  We went to her house and she said that she wouldn't live a commandment.  It became really uncomfortable.  Her boyfriend came out and starting yelling at us and then she started saying some negative things about the church.

While disappointing, it's okay.  We all have our free agency.  The Lord never compels anyone.  It is our choice if we want to follow Him.

We also have "D".   He's the son of a member.  Originally, his mother didn't want him to get baptized. Now she's given him permission and he has set a date for this next Sunday!

This next week is going to be crazy good!!!  If everything works out I have six interviews to give and then the baptismal interview for "D".

My second to last transfer possibility will be this next Monday.  We will see if they change me or not. I hope to stay with Elder Brown.  Many people think I will be leaving which would be interesting.

Today we played soccer in the morning and I made seven goals.

Week 90 - "I give unto men weakness that they may be humble..."

So this week was better.  I still was pretty sick last Monday. Tuesday after eating dinner I started to feel a little better but continued to need to visit the restroom often.  At least I wasn't dying from pain. My state remained the same going into Wednesday so we went to the doctor.  He asked, "you were going to the bathroom 30 times a day and you didn't go to the doctor?"  He then prescribed for me something that turns out to be the same pill I had already been taking for the last four days. There really wasn't anything else he could give me but he prescribed a powder to help with my stomach.

Something interesting about this story is that I had withdrawn personal money from the bank, but wasn't able to spend any of it because I didn't find the cool stuff I had wanted. The sister in my ward that was going to help me said that she couldn't find anything either. The cool thing about this is that with all the expenses I had with the doctor, medications, and the trips to Viña I wouldn't have had enough. Thanks to the fact that I didn't spend anything on gifts I got by.

Oh, my bike broke too.  Now I have a flat tire.  I don't think it's worth it to bike anymore.

This week I taught my first Haitian investigator.  Her name is "L."  I worry about how much she understands but she said after teaching her this week she wanted to be baptized.

I loved General Conference.  We got to watch it in English.  I teared up a little bit with President Uchtdorf.  I honestly don't remember exactly the words he used but it was what I needed to hear. I didn't even go into conference with the question he answered for me.  (See President Uchtdorf's Talk)

He talked about how we all have disabilities and weaknesses and that even with these God uses us.
I don't know if I've told you but I've been trying to be more positive with my emails.  I think I have focused too much on my shortcomings.

Speaking of my weaknesses, this sector has been the hardest on my Spanish. I've had so many people destroy my confidence in speaking.  Many are members and investigators.  Even some of the sisters in my district have put me down.  Yesterday, one made the comment "You know elder, sometimes I really don't understand you."  I wonder if maybe this just makes me stronger after President Uchtdorf's talk. Perhaps it's my trial and I literally need to open my mouth more.  Maybe I need this to help me increase my faith and develop spiritual gifts.

I definitely felt better afterward.  I know that God has his representatives on the earth and that they receive revelation specifically for us.  

I guess Conner is in good company.  Enoch and Moses both stated they weren't good at speaking. Moroni stated he was poor in writing.  These are just a few thoughts that come to mind.  Look at how the Lord used each and what was accomplished.  (See Ether 12:23-29, Moses 6:31, Exodus 6:12) -- Conner's dad

Week 89 - Sick

This week can be explained by one word:  SICK.

I have been sick since Sunday night!  I've probably lost ten pounds or more. I need to stay close to the restroom, so we have been staying in the house most of this week.  Anything I eat goes right through me.

The mission nurse has been telling me things I can do but none of them have worked.  I'll go to the doctor on Wednesday.

We did leave Thursday which was kind of a miracle.  I haven't had too many problems today but I have only eaten saltine crackers.   I wasn't willing to eat anything and have problems on the bus.

I went to Viña to do my paperwork for my last Chilean ID.  It will be valid for another year so unlike my brother, I might have an option to extend if I choose.

The USB on the computer is not working again so I'll try to send photos next week.

Week 88 - Old Friends and Baptisms!

This week I got to go to Viña and see pretty much all my friends in the mission -- Elder Palilla, Elder Ormond, Elder Navarro, Elder Cheney, etc.  It was awesome!

In Viña, I heard some great news from the elders in my old area.  My investigator, "F", from Las Maravillas is going to be baptized this next Saturday.  That's awesome!  I might even be able to go. I'm hopeful.

Also, I learned that "R" from La Serena got baptized and that they are still working with a family that I taught.  One of them is really close to getting baptized.

I baptized a lady named "F".  She had been taught by the sister missionaries and had asked me to baptize her.

This week we mostly just searched for new people to teach.  Oh, and another funny experience happened.  My bicycle wheel broke.  So I probably have more expenses.  Ugh.

I bought some trompos for gifts.  I also bought another toy.  These are toys that come out during Chile's independence celebrations.  A member is going to Viña today and she said she would try and find me some special Chilean things there too.

A trompos (we think)

Today we are grilling meat for the holiday.  Another funny experience we had during this giant planned activity was that a member took the grill so we are having to grill without a grill -- but that's pretty much my life.

Week 87 - From Bad to Good

This week started out bad but ended really great.

We started this week by talking to lots of people.  The people kept telling us that our Spanish was poor.   They said Elder Brown wasn't terrible but Elder Hammond's speech was horrible.  So I was really stressed out and concerned.  This went on for three days.

Then we talked to one of our investigators.  She told us that she thought it must be a miracle.  And we asked "what?"  She said "that she could easily understand us" and that if we talked so bad then it must be a gift from God that we could communicate.  After that our week got better.

We  talked to "J" and she accepted a date to be baptised. She also commited to following a plan to quit smoking.  She went to church and we are getting close.   The sisters in my district showed a picture of me to one of their investigators.  The investigator said, "That's who is going to baptise me!"  So this week I should have a baptism!!!

Also, a young man came to church with his dad.  He's been wanting to get baptised for a while now but his mother didn't agree.   Now she is on board and we have a date with him too.

Next week is the independence day for Chile.  It sounds like we will have a party as a zone but I don't think that we'll be able to write very much.

Pictures from the mine (see last week's message)

Week 86 - Dressing Up

One of the converts in our ward used to be a Hindu monk.  He let us dress up and put on his monk clothes.

The last p-day we hiked the big hill in the town and I have lots of pictures. We even found some of the mine shafts.  I still don't know what was mined, but it was pretty cool and it was fun to do something different.  Now it appears that all the sisters want to go up so we will probably go up again next Monday. 

Elder Brown and I have been playing soccer in the morning for exercise. Today we played soccer on a grass field.  It was nice but my team lost.  If scores were kept we probably lost 20 to 2 so it wasn't that great -- ha ha ha.   My soccer ball broke too.  :(  

This week has been okay.   We've been teaching various people.  I don't feel confident many will progress.  I feel this is a weekness of mine. I need to trust in others more.  We have one investigator, "J", that came to church two weeks ago and for the first time read Book of Mormon.  She said when she read it she received a peaceful feeling.  I am grateful to be teaching her.

Elder Brown and I will continue as a companionship through the next transfer cycle.   Almost everyone in my district other than Elder Oliveira will be staying together.  It's too bad Elder Oliveira is leaving, but I got to spend some time with him on exchanges which were fun.

Sadly, I feel my piano skills are diminishing.  Our bishop prefers to use a cd player rather than use a pianist so I'm loosing pratice.

Week 85 - A Rough Week.

This week we had a great zone conference. I got a package but it was opened.  If you sent me anything more than candy and the Liahona magazine I didn't receive it.

This week was kind of rough, to be honest. We lost many people.  "CF" didn't show up to church yesterday.  We received word that she didn't want to be baptized and that she didn't want to talk with us.  This saddened us.

Other news is that Chile is gearing up for their Fiestas Patrias celebrations on the 18th and 19th of September.  There's a lot of Chilean things I may only be able to get now.  I would like to get some before my mission ends and I return to the United States.  It may be my last chance to get certain items.

We are going up the hill with the cross on it today.  Supposedly, there's an old mine up there. We're going with two other elders.  I'm not sure what they mined.  My guess is copper, but I'll see if there is anything on it when we get there.

Elder Yaress was with my zone leaders today so I got to talk to him again.

Week 84 - Funny Story

This week has gone well.

We had two investigators in church Sunday.  One named "CF" and another named "C".

"CF" I think may get baptized next Monday.  We had a lesson with her and she told us after that she would let us know when she wanted to be baptized. Then Sunday came and she said,  "Elders I have a problem.  I don't know when I'll be able to be baptized because my dad is never here on Sundays." She thought she had to be baptized on Sunday. We explained she could be baptized whenever she wants.  She told us that she thinks her dad gets back next Sunday.  So pretty soon I think we may have a baptism!!!  I'm excited.

"C" is young, comes to church and is really funny.

I got the bike fixed.  Then on Thursday, it broke in the exact same spot.  The mechanism that changes the gear on the back wheel fell into the spokes and ended up bending some metal backward.  I had to take money out again.  The guy at the bike shop just laughed and gave me a deal.  He also told us he hopes we are never are hired to watch over the nuclear bomb button.  This week my companions tire has been going flat and yesterday my pedal fell off so the bikes are a mess.  I'm almost at the point that I don't want to fix them again.

On the same day the bike broke, we came back home and I gently set my glasses down.  The frame broke.  That day was honestly kind of rough.

A funny but freaky story this week:  I'm sleeping and I wake to my companion moving around.  My companion then talks to me and says "Elder, elder!  Go get your scriptures.  We need them."

I instantly jumped up and freaked out.  I looked at my companion and he's asleep.  He was talking in his sleep!  I woke him up.  He was very confused.  I told him what had just happened and we have been laughing about it ever since.

I taught the Hatian man from last week.  Turns out he is a member.  He taught me how to say "I am" in Creole.

Week 83 - Finances and the Bike Accident

Finances are becoming stressful to me.  I'm still not sure if I'm supposed to pay to fix the bike with my personal money or if the mission helps.  Either way, I think I'm going to need more personal funds.  I think I have to pay for the bike and I'm just naturally eating more.  I think part is stress eating.   I'm just hungry all the time and because of that, I have been buying more food than usual. Normally it would be fine but with the bike I'm worried.

Speaking of bikes I flew off my bike this week.  We were riding next to a train track and there was this area where there were two logs.  In between the two logs, there was a space just big enough for a bike tire to fall through.  I was biking super fast and my tire decides to go down into the hole throwing me over the handle bars about a good five feet.  I cut my hand and leg. I actually thought that I was going to need stitches in my hand.  It looked like a deep cut and the members that I showed it to felt it needed attention so we almost went to the hospital.  We even called the zone leader, the mission nurse, and Sister Diaz.  We told them we were going to the hospital.  I ended up going to the bishop's house because the members couldn't take me.  The bishop's son just happened to be a paramedic and looked at my cut.  He kind of laughed at me and said yeah it's an ugly cut but not big enough for stitches.  Oh, and because of the crash, my handle bar got bent.  Two days later my pedal fell off, so let's see how much money I get to spend on the bike now.

I also had an exchange with Elder Brooks. I had an exchange with him a long time ago at the beginning of my mission.  We talked about our missions and how the time has passed.

Elder Brown and I are doing good. Honestly, he's probably the funnest companion I've ever had.  He is a fun companion.  My last two companions were really serious.  I think the only problem is we should probably be a little more serious.  We also like food and together we end up eating more.

We had a investigator come to church today named "C".  He's a good kid and I could see him getting baptized.  His brother is a member and served a mission.

Week 82 - A Broken Bike and Avocados

This week was better.  I feel like I'm getting used to being a district leader a little bit more.  I felt the lesson went better this week.

I went on an exchange to Cabildo.  It was interesting.  We lost the phone on the bus.  We ran back and forth to the bus station hoping someone found it and turned it in.  Cabildo is supposedly the leading producer of avocados in the world according to the Chileans.  There were avocado trees everywhere. I really wanted to eat a couple of them.  I love avocados.

Elder Brown and I have been having a blast!  One of our investigators came to church.  "C", our investigator with a baptismal date,  didn't come to church but a group of Haitians did!  I'm actually thinking about learning Creole even though I'm still learning Spanish.  There are so many Haitians here.  All I've met are super humble and try to keep the commandments -- including the law of chastity which can be a stumbling block for many in joining the Lord's church.

Sunday we had the coach from the local American football team try to recruit us to his football team. Ha ha.  That's not why we are here.

We have bikes in our sector and mine broke.  I might be on the hook for repairs.  The gear shifting mechanism broke.  The bike shop said it would be about $15.00 to replace.  Our sector is huge and flat, so bikes work great.  It's fun to ride and not have to walk all the time.

By the way, La Calera is pronounced as La Ca-lead-da.  It is a hard Spanish rule that a single "r" pretty much gets pronounced as an English "d".

Week 81 - La Calera

My new area is pretty cool.  It has the feel of a big town because it has all the nice places to go shopping but it also has a nice rural feel outside of the center.  I love that most areas have grass and not dirt.

The house we stay at is pretty nice.  It's spacious.  There's not to much stuff in it so it doesn't look to hard to clean.  The bathroom is not like most mission apartment's bathrooms which are ugly.  It is nice.

The wards pretty interesting.  It's small.  I hear normally 30 people attend church. The bishop has had his calling for nine years.

Our teaching pool has a good number of investigators.  We have two people that have set baptismal dates this week and they both went to church!  We also had a confirmation this week.  "K" has a date for the the 13th and is pretty cool.  She made us a ton of food.  That's always a plus!  "Y" has already been to church three times.  She has a baptismal date set for the 20th.

My companion, Elder Brown, is pretty cool.  He's got a great sense of humor!  He played lacrosse in high school so we talk about lacrosse and sports quite a bit.  He's also really good with starting conversations which is something Elder Cerrón and I really struggle with.  Elder Brown is from Utah.  He's been out for eight months.

This week on Tuesday I went and said goodbye to a lot of people.  Every single one gave me food. By the end of the night I had eaten - pasta, macaroni and cheese, oranges, cake, and pizza. The people are so nice, but I wasn't doing so well by the end.  I started throwing up around midnight.

I woke up the next morning, drank a little bit and ate one piece of bread. I bought a Gatorade then went on a really long bus ride to my new area.  I got here without an appetite.  Ever since I haven't wanted to eat very much but I kind of want to today. It was pretty sad saying goodbye to Elder Cerrón. And it honestly is weirder not being near Elder Palilla after so long. Being district leader I wish I could ask for his advice and help.

It has been pretty interesting being district leader.  It hasn't been easy for me.  I have to communicate a lot and dislike talking over the phone.  People always talk on speaker phone and I can't understand them -- ugh. My first district meeting was kind of a wreck but it will be better next week.

And that's it for my week.

Week 80 - Bittersweet

This week and the one approaching are bittersweet.

First the sweet side.  This week we had several investigators come to church!  The family we are teaching came.  They are progressing rapidly.  We have a few baptismal dates now...

But, the bitter side is I will be moving on.  I'm being reassigned to La Calera and will likely miss the baptisms.  I will miss the people I've come to call friends in this area.  Elder Cerron is a really good missionary.  I feel confident leaving the sector in his hands.  I will miss his help with my Spanish.  He helped me improve a lot.  I feel like I can get around by myself if I had to.

La Calera is in the Quillota zone.  It is in the country between my first area, Salamanca, and the mission home.  I hear it is cold in the winter and hot in the summer.  It's our winter now and I have my warm clothes I used in Salamanca with me.  La Calera is inland and I think there is a lot of farming in the area.  I hear they have really good pastries and look forward to trying some!

I've been told that I'll be serving with an Elder Hunter Brown.  I don't know him, but will meet him soon, if the information on our missions website is correct.  Elder Palilla said that he has heard good things about him.  I'll also be serving as a district leader.  I hear Elder Aguilars will be in the district.  I served with him in Salamanca.  It will be fun to be together again.

My mission is quickly passing.  I have come to realize that my time is growing shorter.  This could be my last area.  I fear I won't accomplish all that I want before my mission finishes.  I don't have a problem with that, but would like to reach all of my goals.  I've grown a lot spiritually.

Week 79 - An Answer To Prayer

After writing you last week we went and ate lunch with a member that made completo's.  A completo is a hot dog with lots of good things on top.  After, we returned home and got ready to go to work. Our only appointment fell through and we just walked for two days straight searching for someone to teach.  I was very disappointed and discouraged.  I prayed silently.  I poured my heart out to our Heavenly Father.  I told Him I was so tired of walking around all the time.  My feet were bruised and I desired to find someone to teach.  I asked Him for help in finding someone.

We knocked on a house where we never found anyone home.  This time a man came out!  His name is "D".  We started to talk to him and his dad soon joined in too.  After that we've taught them almost every day.  The mom unfortunately lost her job but now she has time to listen to us.  It's a FAMILY!!!  The dad is so cool!!!  He reads the pamphlets we leave and he just eats into them trying to understand everything.  As we discuss the gospel, he cites things from the pamphlets.  They didn't go to church this week.  It's a little complicated why.  They live eight houses down from the church and they're progressing rapidly!

We had an "open chapel" activity. It went well.  Quite a few people showed up and entered the chapel. We gave them a tour and we have several references now!!!

We also had a guy named "R" come to church.  He has a date for baptism so we are pretty excited.

Our Heavenly father answered my prayer.

"L" didn't go to church this week.  She's really good, but isn't doing the little things.  I don't know if she'll get her answers until she puts in more effort.

Today our zone played basketball.  I started playing with Elder Pace.  They quickly broke us up as we dominated.

We have transfers this next week.  I'm not sure if I'll stay or not.  I'm guessing I will be moved.

Week 78 - Thinking of Grandpa

This week I have been pretty good.  Friday, Grandpa's death set in again. It was weird how thoughts of him came to my mind.  I was putting sea salt on my food and it made me think of aquariums and then I remembered the time I went to the tiny Salt Lake City aquarium with Grandpa. Thoughts of him set in again.  I will miss him but am fine.

This week I finally got my scripture covers!  I'll send a picture.

This week I had an exchange with Elder Navarro.  We watched the Cokeville Miracle as we ate a lot of fries.  It was night and I had a good time.  Elder Palilla asked me that night how my family was and I decided to tell him what happened.  He made me feel better and has been calling and talking to me quite a bit recently. I think tomorrow we should be doing exchanges together so that'll be fun.

This week has been okay when it comes to the mission.  We took "L" to a Family Home Evening with a member.  It was fun.  I don't know if she'll continue to progress. She didn't go to church this week and hasn't read in more than a week.  Her excitement seems to be dwindling.

Other than "L", we don't have anyone else we are teaching at the moment, so we've been walking quite bit.  My new shoe's soles are coming apart in the front.  I'm sure I can make it for awhile.  The shoes are not too bad yet.  The soles are just starting to separate.

Today we played soccer in the morning and a bunch of Latino kids showed up.  They pretty much ran the show.

This week Elder Gould, who is in charge of the housing, came by and gave us an oven!  I bought two brownie mixes to break it in!

Week 77 - The Plan of Salvation

This past week Elder Hammond's grandfather, Reuel McPhie, returned home to our Heavenly Father. He will be missed.  We know he is happy and with loved ones.  

We lived with our Heavenly Father before we came to earth Jeremiah:1.5.  We are his spirit children Romans 8:16-17, Acts 17:27-29, Hebrews 12:9 and as such are all brothers and sisters.  When we die our spirit returns to the spirit world or paradise Ecclesiastes 12:7, Luke 23:43 and our physical body returns to the earth Genesis 3:19.

Our Heavenly Father loves all His children and knew not all would hear the gospel in this world.  In the spirit world, the gospel is taught to those who didn't find it here on earth 1 Peter 4:6.  Someday we will stand before our Savior to be judged 2 Corinthians 5:10.  Because of the Savior, all of us will be resurrected.  Resurrection means our spirit will be reunited with our physical body, but our body will be a perfect, immortal body Acts 24:15, 1 Corinthians 15:20-22.  The glory of this immortal body depends on the choices we make in life 1 Corinthians 15:40-42.

We believe families can be eternal -- that we will again be reunited with loved ones.  -- Elder Hammond's Father.

When did Grandpa die?  I wasn't told.  I'm OK.  This would have been much harder if I didn't have the gospel and know where he is.  It hasn't sunk in yet...  I know he's in a better place.

The mission president called me and told me he was sorry for our loss.  He talked about how he knew I would miss going fishing with him.  That hit me pretty hard.

-=-

Other comments from Conner's past week:

I taught "L" with Elder Vaterlaus.  She said that she was indecisive because she wants a testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith.  She also went to church which was cool. She wants to bring her mom to an activity.

Then I went to a zone conference.  I ended up playing the violin.  The conference was good.  There were some great talks on the Savior and the prophet Joseph Smith and some of their traits and attributes. We also discussed how we can become more like the Savior.

I had an exchange with Elder Palilla which was fun. We started off by locking ourselves out of the apartment.  After trying to open several windows we decided we would just shatter one of the cracked windows.  We found a stick and shoved it through a window that needed replacing.

We made Oreo truffles that night.  It was a good day.

Yesterday was a huge soccer game between Chile and Germany.  Good thing Elder Cerron and I had studies during that time.  It would have been terrible walking the streets during the game.

Week 76 - Chile's Big Game.

This week has been okay.  I had an exchange with the former assistant and we found a family that was pretty cool. They didn't go to church so we will see this week if they're actually interested or not. But then again nobody went to church.  Chile's team was playing right during our sacrament meeting. It was sad seeing how many people didn't come or left after the sacrament just to watch the game.  It's ironic to me that members will take the sacrament and renew their covenants to keep all the commandments.  Then as I understand them, immediately break one.

We taught "L" this week too.  I really hope she chooses to be baptized this coming week.  She has a date for the eighth.   She is still searching for an answer to prayer.  I think she may have received one but doesn't realize it.  We hope to help, but it is hard.

Week 75 - Chilean Neighborhoods

Today for our p-day, I'm going to make tacos with Elder Palilla and play some basketball.  The zone didn't do anything special this morning.  The zone leaders are off buying a bed for a tall elder.  The beds here are really small.  This elder is 6 feet 4 inches tall.  I have to have my pillow right against the wall or my feet stick out.

This week we had some successes.

One of our investigators seems to be progressing pretty well.  She's very careful about things.  She didn't go to church this week, but she went to a baptism which was good.  I think it kind of scared her as Elder Palilla baptized someone.  She's read the Book of Mormon and understands a lot.  She asked a great question about what it means when it says they were baptized by fire.  She also started looking up things and asking questions.  On one visit, we had a recent convert with us. She said she knew a lot of what others said but didn't really care.  She knew the gospel was true.

We taught another lady.  She's older and studies with the Jehovah's Witnesses.  She wasn't feeling well.  We gave her a blessing and her health was restored.  She is really grateful and has become more receptive to our message.

Chile played yesterday at the perfect time.  It was during lunch.  We didn't contact during this time because the entire country was inside watching the game. I heard Chile won 2 to 0!

The man that is making me scripture covers has started!  I'm guessing he will be done in two or three weeks.

Houses are smaller here.  People live close together.  They don't need cars to get around.  Homes are built around businesses that are close by.

Week 74 - My Birthday

My birthday was pretty good.  I had an exchange with Elder Palilla in a different area.  We went around and ate food all day.  Elder Palilla bought everything.  He was super nice.  He probably spent 20 dollars by the end of day.  We ate around 20 slices of sushi and a bucket about the size of a KFC tub filled with fries, egg, onion, and meat.   An investigator chose to get baptized and set a date for the baptism.  We helped him realize he received an answer to his prayer.   It was a fulfilling day in every aspect.   Elder Cheney called me and the entire office sang happy birthday.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!  My father sent those posted on Facebook.

One of our investigators came to church for the second time.   She's set a baptismal date for this coming Sunday!  She also said that she might take a job in Antofogasta which would mean she would move out of our mission.

Elder Cerron did weekly planning and we went to a shanty home this week.  We found two people there!

Our zone is getting another former assistant as a zone leader and Elder Palilla, Braithwate, and Navarro are staying.  I'm pretty happy!

Oh, I like it a lot!!!  - Conner's birthday present.

I haven't gotten a package yet but this week or next people will be going up and down for meetings or exchanges so I should get one if it has arrived.

Week 73 - The Work Continues!

This week was pretty eventful.  We found six new people to teach!

At the end of last week, I had eight baptismal dates.  No one came to church yesterday and now I only have three on date, but we will see what happens...

We taught the investigator that came two Sundays ago -- the one that was figuratively feed "meat" by the speakers, not "milk".  She remembered teachings on family history which was so cool.  The mission wants us to talk more about family history.  Even though she didn't go to church yesterday she said that next week she would.

This week I'll probably have two exchanges.  I think I'm going to be with Elder Palilla on my birthday!  That will be fun.

Training is going well.  I feel really tired sometimes but Elder Cerron is progressing well.  He is quick to jump in.  When he first got here, I counseled him not to fear others and to invite them to be baptized.  He does it often and has this down.  He's a good missionary and we don't have problems.

This week I shot a pellet gun. A member who lives in the middle of nowhere invited us in.  He was pretty cool.  He was the best boxer in Chile for a while.  He must be good.  It was fun.  It reminded me of how much I like shooting guns.

I got to the soccer court today and everybody was expecting me to bring the football.  They must have enjoyed playing last week.

I called the mission president today.  I lost my name tag.  He must be sick and didn't sound anything like himself.

He asked me "Who was talking?"

I said "Elder Hammond" and I followed up with "Who am I talking to?" thinking it was an assistant.

He just said "President" and I felt so dumb.  Ha ha.

I heard that the rumor is Elder Holland is going to be the apostle that comes.  That would be wonderful if true!

Week 72 - Teaching and Conference.

I met with the man who creates scripture covers.   He will make Peter being helped up out of the water by the Savior as his faith wavered and the garden tomb with the folded burial cloths for the Bible.  The Book of Mormon cover will have Captain Moroni and an image of Jesus with the Nephite children.   The hymnal cover will have an image of Jesus hugging a man and a image of the Salt Lake Temple.

This week I had an exchange with Elder Navarro.  We contacted all day.  I was really tired afterward.

We found four new investigators this week!  We add these to two that we are actively working with.

One investigator went to church with us!  She has a baptismal date for June 11th.  Going to church was a little rough for her.   Her dog followed her the entire thirty minute walk there.  It also tried to get inside the church the whole time she was inside.  She visited on a tough day for an investigator. The topics speakers discussed that day were more gospel "meat" than "milk".  I almost died and worried about what she was getting out of the meeting.  After, we asked her what she thought.  But she liked it and didn't seem to care much.  She had several knowledgeable members at her side during the meeting.

We are started teaching another man.   He is almost always at his house which is cool because we can teach him a lot!

Today we played soccer and went to a museum.  The museum was really small and not that cool but they did have a horse skull that was dated before Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas. I enjoyed seeing it the most.

We also went to a Japanese garden which was cool.

Yesterday was fun.  For conference we met Elder Packer.  He had decent Spanish and we ate pizza!  I enjoyed his wife's talk the most, but both were good.  He encouraged us to set higher goals and study Preach My Gospel.

One of our zone leaders let it slip that an apostle is coming to our mission in November!

We had two Jehovah's Witnesses contact us again this week.  They asked me some questions that I answered.  They told me I was wrong and shared their beliefs.  They asked me my name, and I showed them my name tag that was under my jacket.  The one woman got really nervous.  Then another woman who had more experience got closer and helped the nervous woman.  (It can be scary at first to do missionary work).  I thought about sharing some of the scriptures I knew that supported my answers, but felt it wasn't the right time.   We exchanged cards and went our separate ways.

Week 71 - Moving dirt

Sorry this is late...  Elder Hammond's father has been busy this week!

This week we taught one of our families.  They are progressing!  We also taught a teenager whose parents are inactive.  He has desires to be baptized and his parents have a desire to come back to church!  One of our investigators is on dialysis and wasn't able to meet with us.

Tuesday, I had exchanges with Elder Feliz [sic?] and that was fun!  We did several things together and I enjoyed the exchange.  We had a service project.  We moved a giant hill of dirt.  It had just rained, so it wasn't the funnest.  I've moved a lot of dirt now on my mission.

Wednesday, the Palmers came to our district meeting.  They are a married couple that are doing missionary work.  They brought cookies!  It rained again, but not much.

Friday, I had interviews with the mission president.  He told me our house has had more problems with it then any other in the mission.  He congratulated me on its appearance.  He liked what I had done with it and said it had previously looked ugly.  

Saturday I practiced in a missionary choir.  We have a general authority coming.  I probably won't have p-day next Monday, because he is talking to us then, so you might not get email from me until Tuesday.

The high priest assistant over missionary work talked with us.  He wants us to help him get missionary work going stronger in the ward.

I've been doing a lot of cooking.  Here is a cake I made.  

I am also seeing a man today who will make me scripture covers.  He has several ideas and pictures he will show me.  I have some ideas too.  I would like to have one of the scenes be of Peter when he walked on the water to the Savior.  I would like the scene to be of when he started to fall in and the Savior helps him up. Another idea is of the garden tomb with the entrance open and a cloth on the side. 

Week 70 - Teaching and Flooding.

We found four people to teach this week!  We are teaching a 13-year old.  His family are members, but they are inactive.  We found a couple that used to investigate the church.  We have started teaching them again.  They are doing great and have a baptismal date.  We found another couple.  She is not a member and he is an inactive member.  Teaching is picking up!

It has been raining a lot which is unusual.  It is a desert and the water is causing problems.  The mission wants us to get boots to be better prepared to help those around us.