Zachary's final letter

This last week was just amazing. :) We saw so many miracles it was incredible. We had another baptism and it was one of the most beautiful baptisms that I have had in my whole mission. It was so cool to see all the members of the branch involved and helping and supporting Caroline. After she was baptized, she bore her testimony. It was amazing. So powerful. It just amazes me the power of the atonement and how it literally frees us. Her grandma is also one of my converts and she also bore her testimony.

Fabian, our friend who was baptized last week said the prayer and it was seriously just a great experience that I will never forget. Fabian’s family also came to church, and they love the church. They stayed all three hours and then went to the baptism of Caroline. Actually Fabians sister is going to get baptized next week. Woahhh. :) My last week in the mission!! It’s amazing how blessed we have been during this last transfer. I really feel that God has blessed me and a lot of people here in Los Vilos for the decision I made to stay. Actually Fabian’s sister shared with us that before we met her and shared with her she was really bad and she had no purpose in life, She didnt believe in God and she had hit rock bottom. She told us when we started to share the gospel with her everything started to change in her life. She prayed to know if God was real and she received an answer and now she wants to get baptized and start a new life in Jesus Christ. Isn’t that awesome? I love hearing that!

I have fallen in love with the way God works, It’s sooo perfect. He has everything perfectly calculated in the world and he totally sent us to one of his daughters who needed the Gospel so badly in her life.

These last two years I have been able to serve as a missionary and be an instrument in the Lord’s hands and it has been the most amazing experience of my entire life being able to be that window between God and the people here in Chile. I really have been able to come to know my Father in heaven and my savior, Jesus Christ. I know they live and I know they love every single one of us.  They know us and understand and are always there for us.

I will truly miss the people here in Chile, I love these people and I feel honored to have able to serve them. This church is true, Everything about it, its true. It’s designed exactly how Jesus Christ did it. The Book of Mormon is the most correct and true book in the world, I have been able to read it every day for the last two years and its teachings have brought me closer to Christ and have allowed me to feel the power of repentance. It has taken a place in my heart.

I’m sooo grateful for you guys and the support you have given me throughout my journey. ;) I love all of you guys and I’m really excited to see you guys next week. This is my last letter. I can’t wait to share everything about my mission with you guys in person!  Alma 26:1-5

I love you guys sssooooo much!

Elder Frampton

To the familia de Morris

Dear Melanie, Emma and Lizzie,

    

I love you guys so much. I’m sooo deeply sorry about the passing of Chad. I heard about it on Friday. My President called me and let me know that he had passed away.

I just want to let you guys know how much I love you guys and how truly grateful I am for Chad Morris. I can honestly say that Chad is and forever will be one of my heros. He played such an important role in my life and had such a huge impact on my life. I’m eternally grateful for his example of love and charity. I can honestly say if it wasn’t for him I don’t know if I would be out here on the Mission. I love him so much and will never forget the kind of man he was. When I heard that he died I began to think about all the memories that I had had with him and there are so many that I wouldn’t have time to write them all. He was like my second dad. He was always there for me, he always believed in me, he gave me work and he took care of me and our whole house. It’s an endless list of sacrifices that he made for me and my family.

I’ll never forget the time I ran into his brand new truck when I was riding on the 4 wheeler and dented it pretty good. I’ll never forget how he reacted. I thought he was going to be really mad but instead he just told me "Don’t worry about it, it’s just a car." He taught me an important lesson that worldly things don’t matter and that the things that really matter are our family and the gospel. That is just one of many different things that Chad taught me.

It was amazing how the Lord prepared me to receive the hard news because that same Friday before I found out I had read Alma 12 in my studies where it talks about the resurrection and how thanks to Jesus Christ and His atonement we will all one day be resurrected. That morning I felt the spirit sooo strongly as I read that part, which was interesting because it was something I already knew, but the spirit gave me a confirmation and prepared me to receive the news. Also that night I was able to teach a family that I really love and who have struggled and suffered for years over the loss of a cousin. In that lesson I was able to share my testimony about what God plans for us and what he has in store for us after this life. I felt the spirit so strongly as I shared my knowledge and testimony with this family and I know Chad was there with me. He had to have been because it was exactly what that family needed to hear to be able to overcome the loss of their cousin.

Before I left on my mission I remember that last night when I went over to your house and said goodbye. After 2 years I don’t remember anything from that night except one thing... that after I said goodbye I got into the car and said, "wow, I love that family and I love that guy. I KNOW THAT I WILL SEE HIM AGAIN." In that moment when I said that I thought it meant after my mission, but now I know what it truly meant when I said those words and I stick by them. I know I will see him again one day and you guys will too.

Know that I have been praying for you guys and I love you guys and I know that I’m far away from you guys, but I hope you know that I love you guys a lot. It’s interesting because I was originally planning on being home on the 20th of July and I would’ve been there but after a lot of prayer and fasting I decided to stay and finish my 2 years. I wasn’t quite sure why God needed me out here still, but now I know.

I know God has plan for all of us. I know Christ overcame death when he was resurrected. I know that God loves us and so he gives us trials so that we can grow and draw nearer to him. I’m grateful for the hard times that I have had in my life, not because they are easy or desirable, but because they have allowed me to get to know my savior a little more and love him.

I love you guys and I share this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Words and Pictures

This week was absolutely great.

Lately I've been really striving to always see the Lord's hand in my life and it's been truly awesome to be able to see and feel how he is blessing the families that we are teaching. One of the families that we are teaching has a single mom with three kids that are young. It's been so fun to teach them and see their progress.. It's cute to see them do their family prayers at night and read the scriptures. It's really been a blessing for me  to see how doing those little things really makes a huge difference in the family!

We are also teaching a kid named manuel. He's  17:) He's like my little bro and it was a little hard this week because he was preparing to be baptized but his parents said no. He even fasted with us and he comes out with us more  than any other member even thought he isn't even a member yet. 

My comp goes home this week and so does Elder Hendersen, who was my comp for six months. We have changes in two weeks.. It's crazy how fast this change went by. We are trying everything and anything to keep finding people and get the members involved! We have basketball classes and English classes and its been a lot of fun. I've started reading the BOOK OF MORMON again and I love the story of Nephi and his family. Really you can learn so much from the example of Nephi and it has helped me a lot of become a better leader and person. 

I'm just excited for another week. I've really just gotten lost in the work and it's been great! 

But I love you guys! Have a great week! 

General Conference, Zone Conference, and Ping Pong

Hey family, 

Thanks for all the letters it really means the world to me to read your letters and know that my family is always there for me. This week I really felt and learned about the importance of the family as I listened to the prophet and the apostles speak and testify about the family. I had a great conference experience once again, and I am very grateful because I was able to receive many answers to my question through the Holy Ghost. 

We also had a zone conference here with the president of the mission and the assistants, and it was fun to see the president again and my old companions, but it was good to be on the other side. I got to listen and watch and not be too stressed trying to do everything and be in charge of everything. ha ha ha. But the president was so nice. He brought me a gift  too. I learned a lot at that zone conference about the calling that we have as missionaries and the power and responsibility that it brings.  

This week I think I got  a bit overwhelmed thinking about all the decisions that I have to make so soon in my like, but it was great to feel the holy spirit and hear the prophet, and I felt calm knowing that I will make good decisions as I strive to keep the commandments. 

Ana came to Conference.  She is too great.  She is like my bestie even though she is 82 years old! ha ha And also her friends came to church too, so that was awesome. We are teaching a great family right now that are progressing very well. There are five people in the family and they want to get to know the church. Lesss gooo! We are seeing miracles here in our sector! We are still going strong with the English classes which has helped us a lot to find people to teach. That has really been a big blessing to us! I know why God sent me to this small branch here in Chile and it is because I need to bring families and more youth to the branch. We have been doing everything to find more youth--playing basketball and soccer and ping pong and trying anything and everything to help the people here come unto Christ! 

This week was awesome. I feel really blessed to know the gospel. I have had a great experience teaching of Jesus Christ this week too! I'm learning a lot and having a lot of fun and just enjoying the mission! I feel powerful in the sense that i know I can help people because of this calling that I have! I have given a lot of blessings this week to many people, and I'm learning  a lot about how the spirit inspires in each blessing!

 But really family, I'm grateful for all the support and love! I love you guys. Know that I pray for you guys always. 

Have  a great week!

I'm freakin' tired, but freakin' happy!

Hey Mom, I had a great week. I’m freakin’ tired. I didn’t even get a p-day this week and we have not had a lot of time to sleep, but we are doing super good! We are doing way good! We are super happy and it’s been so awesome. We have been helping a lot with the Christmas choir, which has been fun, and we are also getting ready for the Christmas actividad de la navidad. I’m just hanging in there and trying my best! Our family of investigators came to church. We hope everything is okay with them because we haven’t been able to see them due to how hard we have been working! I don’t have any more time left! I usually have more time but I’ve got to help with the choir! Just know that I love you guys and that God is blessing us and that I’m doing great! Love you, Mom. P.S. We are making a Christmas special of The Office, btw!

Busiest week of my life . . .

I would say that this week has been the busiest week of my life!!! All the conferencias . . . like I honestly didn't stop working once like week. 

We woke up at 6:30, showered, read the scriptures for 15 minutes, packed up the van with all the tables and things we need for conferencias, then take off at 7:15. We set everything up--tables, chairs, projector, screen, lunch--and then the conference starts and 9 a.m. We make a presentation, the president teaches, we play games, read scriptures, have a great conference and then it ends at about 5 p.m. We then take everything down and get out of there by 6 p.m. Then we have to get everything ready for the next conference. We buy lunch and breakfast for the missionaries and we get back to the house at 10:30, change, brush teeth, pray, and then hit the sack. Then we get up and do the same thing all over again! Non-stop work this week. It was crazy! 

So that is basically what happened this week! It was a great success, and everything went really well! We had a killer presentaciòn! it was awesome to see all the missionaries, that was for sure. the best part about all the conferencias--plus eating pizza every day for a week. ja ja 

It's hard to write these letters. It's not the same, you know? I mean when I was a normal missionary I was always out in the street teaching people and every day was a new adventure.  As the assistant it is a lot different. Sometimes I'll have moments when I'll think, "Man, I've been here in Walmart for an hour now buying these things for the conference." And I'll think, "Gosh, I should be out teaching the gospel," you know? But I really try to remember that what I am doing is really important for all the missionaries! If I didn't love the missionaries so much, this job would be a lot harder! But I'm super grateful and happy and I'm excited for the next battle this week! 

Let's take it on! Lesssss go! l

Love Elder Frampton

P.S.  When we went up north for the conferencias, we went by the Parte Alta to say hi to a few of my converts. I saw Francisa. She's doing great. She was soooo excited and she told me that she went to the temple like four times and right now is reading the D&C! I was sooo happy. Ii didn't get to see Christina. I tried to call her but she didn't answer. I did talk to  Alexander and he is doing awesome too! He is really excited to get the priesthood! but ya, it was such an amazing experience to see them again! So cool because now I can speak really well in Spanish and stuff,  you know! 

I also got to go to Valpo and it was as super sweet to see my converts there too.