the week where your companion is your valentine

Hola Hola como estan todos??? I hope you all had a greatttttt week and im reporting to you live once again from Santiago. This past week has definitely been a memorable week and not for anything ridiculously awesome or weird, just the lessons and experiences that ive been apart of this week. Without getting into any details, this week my companion have been involved in a lot of probelms and issues that others have been suffering from.

To get more into it you have to understand as a missionary you leqave behind all your personal issues and challenges and you take on the burdens of the hardships of others. And sometimes its a heavy load to bear but it needs to be done. Ive grown to love so many people in my sector where im serving and when they are happy, im happy, but when theyre hurting...so am I. I want to make a few observations about some lessons that ive learned this week. 

An investigator asked me if God created the bad in the world, and if so why. My answer: no He didnt create the bad, man does. From our own ignorance and mortal imperfection we create the bad in the world and because God loves us so much, He allows us to endure and perservere through them, and through the hardships is when we grow and learn the most.

Another lesson to be learned was the Atonement of Jesus Christ, when He took on the sins and afflictions of the world for each and every one of us, is infinite and we can always use it to change and become better. Whatever challenge or temptation we're facing, He can help us overcome it. The sickness might be different for each of us, but the remedy is always the same. 

How we choose to live our life here on earth will determine our eternal potential. and the decisions we make all depend on our eternal perspective. So if some of you ask yourself like I often ask myself, How can i achieve eternal happiness and how can i become a better person? The way to answer your question is by asking yourself two more questions: Where are you? And where do you wish to get? 

Im sorry that this email is e bit deeper than usual but its been a deep, meditative week for me and i wanted to share this with all of you. I love you all very much and im doing good down here. Stand by we will be baptizing a girl named Sofia Kayiza this coming sunday and she is more than ready and excited to take a step closer to following Jesus Christ. 

With much love, Elder Carlos Cabrera

facts about Chile:

1. Valentines day barely exists down here and ive come to realize that Americans will find any excuse to celebrate something, that's fine by me haha

2. Chileans hate to eat foreign food, quite unfortunate since half the country are foreigners cooking foreign food. 

3. When someone is of a different country in blood and lineage but born in Chile, they are considered Chileans, not like in the states where we focus on the part of us that isnt considered American