Put God First

Sector- Lampa, Santiago
Companero- Elder Gonzalez
Carta- #81

Wow! sounds sweet, your new calling Dad! Your gonna be the bestttt man! Haha Bobby was just telling me all about his wedding plans and stuff..its gonna be crazzyyyy mom!! so crazy!! haha it's so weird how he's already engaged and stuff. he's probably changed so much since I've been home.

Well anyways, this week was SUUPERRR busy the whole time. As a zone leader we always have things to do. Planning classes we have to give and just doing everything so that other missionaries can be better!! haha its kind of hard, but still we are having a LOT of success in our sector, and we're having a baptism this week, between the sessions of conference and that's gonna be amazing!!! My first baptism in Lampa! Me and my companion have put ourselves with some pretty big goals as a companionship, but we've prayed about it and asked Gods help so that we are able to complete with these goals,  I know that as we work as hard as we can God will bless us with success and I KNOW He will show us MIRACLES. because God is a god of miracles. He is a god of love, and I know through our diligence and Gods hand in the work, we´ll be able to see amazing things in this sector. That's something that I've learned on the mission, is the importance of goals, and how when we have Goals God really sees our faith in action. And he can help us complete with those goals, as long as they are righteous and we have the right desires in our hearts. 

 
There's been so many things I've learned, but really nearing the end of my mission, its amazing to look back and see all the challenges I've gone through, and how I've grown and been able to depend on God. How I've been able to really put him first and see the miracles. I'm so blessed as a person. And I'm so grateful for that. I really feel like the most blessed person in my life because God is so amazing and loving. Especially the blessing I have to have a family that's so amazing and strong in the gospel, that loves me is something amazing, and also to know that afterwards I;ll be blessed with my own amazing family overwhelms me with gratitude. I hope you guys have a good week, and that you realize how much I've changed on my mission. At the beginning, when I was on the plane, I was literally thinking in the plane that I was gonna go home after 4 months because I wasn't even sure about my decision, and I was scared. But I can say that I jumped with my faith, and even though I was dead afraid, exercised at least some faith, and now I can see the miracles. Yes, there's been so many trials, but there's always the light at the end. And really it's just a miracle what I've become, and everything I have. Its amazing. I hope that in these next five months, I can give those blessings to other people. My goal in this last part, is to be a better missionary than I've been my whole mission. Because something I've realized is that missionaries at the end stop working and give up a little bit and start to be disobedient. But when I see that, I can say that they really didn't learn ANYTHING or they re just not applying what they learned, because we as missionaries are the most powerful at the end of our missions, and I know in these next five months miracles will happen. Just watch ;)

I love you Family Thank you for everything!!!

Love
Elder Nate Dirkmaat

We Are Blessed

Sector- Lampa, Santiago
Companero- Elder Gonzalez
Carta- #80

MOM!

Your new car looks sickkkk!!! That sucks the Audi is gonneee :( I wanted to race that thing when I got back!! hahaha

Here in Lampa it's been really good!! We have some investigators that are seriously soooo Amazing!! We found one that is from America and he speaks mostly English, and we shared the first lesson with him, and when we were sharing the first vision, we really could feel the spirit soooo strongly in what we were saying, and I could really tell the spirit was also touching him. He started to cry afterwards and said, it looks like I've finally found what I've been looking for, and started talking about how he was like Joseph Smith and had been looking for the right church and where God wanted him to be and he had finally found it. 

It was really an amazinggg lesson. Its helping people like that that gives me the happiness to be here. because its so amazing to be able to see how happy people are to finally find what's true. And we really are SO blessed to have these things in our lives. We are so blessed to have the sealing power here on earth. We are so blessed for all of these things, and I never realized that before my mission. That is what the mission has done for me. I really really feel like if someone does not have the desire to share the gospel, they really aren't truly converted. Because like Dad always explained, when we find a truth and it makes us happy, we naturally, as people have the desire for others to be happy as well. So if we really are happy in the Gospel and happy for what God has done for us, I really know that all of us would be sharing the gospel ALL the time especially with the people we love.

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
Sorry I didn't have much time today!
I LOVE you guys!

Love,
Elder Nate Dirkmaat

Be An Example

Sector- Lampa, Santiago
Companero- Elder Gonzalez
Carta- #79

MOMMY and DADDY!!

Well, this first week in Lampa was fullll of miracles! We know NOTHING of the sector, and it's in the country so there's not even addresses half the time!! haha and we've just been lost!! but somehow God has blessed us soooo much this week with success. I was just surprised, because either God was blessing us, or the people here are just SUPER receptive. We did like 28 contacts, and found 15 new people!! That NEVER happens!!! haha! it was amazing, and some of the people are soooo ready to here the message and accept it!! I was so happy! Everyone was just letting us into their house!! crazy"! We have some people that will probably be getting baptized in this next month. There's one who's name is Alexandra and her whole family are members but she's the only one who isn't. We got to their house, and basically she was like hey, I'm not baptized, and I want to be baptized and a long time ago the missionaries were giving me the lessons, but they just stopped coming!  hahaha, I was like what!? she went to church on Sunday with her family, so she's progressing really well!! We will be helping her a lot!

But here in Lampa has been cool! My companion is seriously super cool. He's from Peru, his name is Elder Gonzalez and he has like 3 months left in the mission, but one thing that's good, is that he's like suuuperr focused on his mission, and that helps me to be focused also. So I'm glad about that. Also he works really hard and teaches really well, It's been a while since I've had a companion like him. So I'm sure we`ll have a ton of success and see a lot of miracles, through working hard, and having faith. The zone has been a little bit slow in baptizing these last months, but we have put goals for them to have 5 people with baptismal dates every week, and 5 new people at least, and we're seeing the results. But first, us and the leaders have to be the example so we're working really hard every day to work as hard as we can and help as much people as we can. I know there's so much potential in this sector, and that we can make miracles happen. It might be my last sector, I have to make it GOOD!! I know I'll be sooo blessed for my service also, that's what makes me happy to see other people accept this wonderful message. My favorite part about the missionary work is bearing my testimony, because the spirit is there to testify right along with it every single time, and that strengthens my testimony soo much. 

 
Thanks for the pics. looks like those double over head waves were siiiiiiickk at Rincon hahaha!  I can't wait to shred the gnar again. Its gonna be SICK.

I love you guys!!!
I'll get your package this week!!
And yes, Wes is in Batuco!! where I was!! haha and I call him every night!!! we're gonna do exchanges this week! craaazzyyy!! hahah

Love,
Elder Nate Dirkmaat

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Vision + Faith = Miracles!

Sector- Lampa, Santiago
Companero- Elder GonzalezCarta- #78

WOW! we had transfers!! and they transferred me OUT and gone. haha It's not as hard for me this time, because really, I'm used to it now. The only sad thing is that Eduardo wasn't able to be baptized Sunday :( he smoked the day we did the interview so he has to wait two weeks. But the important thing is not that he gets baptized with me, but that he gets baptized so I'm happy for that. I'm glad that I could go there. And that going there could teach me a lot of things about the gospel and about missionary work. First of all, that God is always preparing people. And one important thing that I learned is the power of thought. The power of the vision you have. If you arrive to a sector with the thought that the sector sucks, and leaving in the morning thinking we're gonna find no one and be in the street alll day, that's whats going to happen. But if you have the vision, and having that vision also gives you the FAITH, miracles will happen. Everything depends on us. If we work to have success we will have success. It also goes the same in real life, if you think your going to be mediocre, then your going to be mediocre, and if you think your going to be outstanding in all that you do, then you will do it, as you put yourself to work. That is the power of thought. And your thoughts is what Satan works with most. If he can get you to doubt, fear, or think badly about yourself, then he wins. We as people when we control our thoughts, we will be able to be the master of our actions, of everything we do, and we will be successful in everything that we put our time in to do. Its amazing!!!

Well, they transferred me to Lampa!! Its like right next to Batuco, where I was before!! It's in the country and its SUPER hot here!! Its a branch. And they also called me as Zone Leader!!! crazy!! Me and my companion are both new here haha!! When we got here we had no idea where our house was. Hahah, so crazy. So this is going to be interesting starting to work, because we know nothing. We have no idea. But it will be sweet. And I've heard a ton of good things about Lampa so I'm excited!
We just got here like an hour ago so I don't know anything. But the crazy thing is we were carrying our suitcases to our house, and a lady started talking with us and said she wants to go back to church and baptize her daughter hahaha crazy!!! 

I LOVE YOU FAMILY!!!!
Have a great week!!!

Love,
Elder Nate Dirkmaat

Saying Goodbye to Renca

 Ahahahaha!

 Me and my companion!

 Renca la lleva

Investigator Juan carols. He has baptismal date for 29 de Marzo.

Maria Teresa!! She's a less active that gave us ice cream EVERYDAY we went by her shop hahah!

Victor Crisosto. Hes cool. He always gave us food.

 Saying bye to members

Bye!

Washed Clean!

Sector- Renca, Santiago
Companero- Elder Millerd
Carta- #77

WHAT!? That's craaazzyyy they made a whole new ward!! Is chandler and Jared still in our ward? weird!!! and prob the Wibles are in our ward now too! that's cool! Weird that its changed so much!!

This week for us was great!! We had a tonnnn of lessons and we found some sick investigators, we're really seeing sooo much progress in our sector...and the biggest news of it all...is that we're having a BAPTISM this Sunday!!! SICKKKKKK, Eduardo is gonna get baptized!!! Wow! it's a miracle!!! I never thought we were going to be able to baptize but its a miracle :) I'm so happy and really having lessons with him you can just see the change he's been through. Because he used to do drugs like crazy. like a drug addict to the worst ones and he has changed so much, gone through so many trials, but I'm so excited to see his face as he comes up from the water, leaving all his past behind and starting a new life. It will be amazing. I'm so excited. this is why we come here to change peoples lives. And when you see it really happen you can really see the beauty of the gospel. And we are more and more converted also. That is the beauty of the mission.

This Sunday I bore my testimony in the sacrament meeting, and I feel like it was one of the most sincere from the heart testimonies that I've ever born, and I could feel the spirit sooo strongly confirming that all that I was saying was sooo true. It was an amazing feeling. I bore my testimony all about how much I know God loves me, because He has shown it through my family that can be eternal, and being able to have an eternal family with my future family. I really am so grateful for that. I'm so grateful that the sealing power has been restored here on the earth and that we are able to be sealed for alllll eternity. That is such a blessing, and it brings me so much joy everyday of my life to know that the people I love here will be able to be with me for all eternity. That is my biggest blessing, and the people who don't have these blessings are missing out soooooo much. And I feel like they really need to know that the power to seal is HERE. and they aren't taking advantage of it. It's sad to see so many people who don't know, and I really want to bring the blessings I have to the other people. that is my motivation. And I'm so glad to see that some people are already being able to do that.  My converts from Quilicura are strong in the church, especially Christopher, he's doing his family history and going to the temple to do baptisms and they're preparing for their sealing in December. they want me to come. hahaha I don't know if it will be possible, but that would be a sick Christmas present for me mom and dad....right!? hahahaha

I love you Guys!!! thank you for being such a great family. I LoVE YOu GUYS!
Cant wait to see you guys again and go to Bobby's sealing. It will be amazing!

Love,
Elder Nate Dirkmaat