September 27, 2017 - They think they are so funny

Woohooo this last week was a great week because we got to go out of the house and finally get back to work on Saturday! I still have the broken ribs, it is not too bad, but we can finally get back out onto the street. I never in my life thought that I would miss the smell of dirty roads covered in dog poop and garbage, but it is the most magical smell in the world because that means I am not stuck inside the house. Ok deep breath, lets begin.

So as far as our people go, they are progressing well. After the week of being in the house, we lost contact with alot of our investigators, so the last few days we have been repassing by their houses to catch back up with them and teach them and see how they have been. Yesterday we went to the house of a Haitian investigator named Dezama and after a week of not seeing him I knew there would be changes in his house. But I was not expecting him to have a child! He told us his wife gave birth to their daughter early, and when we passed by yesterday Dezama was holding her in his arms, it was so cool. We then taught about the Plan of Salvation and testified about the value of eternal families, it was a great lesson. On Monday Elder Atkinson and I were in the street on our way to a lesson and since we cannot use our bikes now, we decided to do a few contacts in between every appointment, and we contacted an elderly man on the side of the road. He was going home and we found out he lives really close to us, we were able to talk and fix an appointment. We then started doing that in between every lesson, and we have had a ton of new investigators! Overall it has been a good past couple of days. 

Ok so the funny story of the week. so on Sunday we showed up to church and I saw the young men in the ward dying in the back corner of the chapter, so I went over there to ask them what was going on. They had found out I fell off of a roof and they found a video on youtube of a bunch of little Argentinan kids on the roof of a shed and they were filming themselves. Then they fell off as well, and teh young men did a video edit and put my face on the faces of the people that fell off. They think they are sooooo funny. So now everytime that I see one of them they start breaking out in laughter and cannot control themselves. Well, I can check off getting bullied by a bunch of Chilean teenagers from my bucket list. 

I am loving the mission and everything that we are doing and the work that we are putting in. I would not rather be anywhere else. I hope everyone back at home is good, have a good week!

Love,

Elder Tilghman

1 Nefi 13

September 20, 2017 - Bring the House Down ... Ouch

Well ok my email will be pretty much one big story this week because I know my mom is dying to hear it, and it was the majority of my week. 

Long story short, I fell off a roof and broke 2 ribs.

See you all next week!

Love,

Elder Tilghman

No just kidding I could not do that to my mom. Ok so lets get down to talking. So on Saturday we went to a service as the entire zone because there was a giant house in someones ward that got burned down in the night, so we went to go rip everything out. They wanted us to take apart everything and destroy it all so that they could start from the ground up and rebuild everything, so basically my job was to take a hammer and go smash everything to little tiny pieces. Awesome. So about 8 of us Elders got onto the second story of the house and started to break stuff up and throw it down onto the ground. We threw out all of the furniture, the bathroom, walls, toys and everything else because it all got burned. Well once we had the walls and roof off, I went over to a corner of the house to go and take out a beam of burnt wood so that we could take the roof between the second and first floors out. But, I forgot that I was in Chile and they build some parts of their houses with styrofoam. So right as I got to the edge, I thought I was going to step on a secure part of the roof, but my left leg went straight through a patch of burned styrofoam and I started to fall to the ground. Luckily, I threw my leg up on a piece of wood that was jutting out and I stopped my fall, but I slammed my back against the wall super hard, and thus I broke 2 ribs. Woooohooooo. So Saturday was a fun day we went to the hospital and they had to give me some medicines and did some exams and then sent me on my way and told me to wait a week or two and heal up and they I should be good to go. I am definitely very blessed nothing else happened, I could have broken way many more bones, but I am glad I did not. Once again, I know that God protects His missionaries. 

So, the rest of my week was basically staying inside all day because I cannot leave so that I can get better. Elder Atkinson has been doing diviisions with people so that he can go out and work and not go crazy like me inside all day. We have played a ton of Uno and Monpoly and I have never studied for so much and so much time in my entire life. But, on Saturday I should be good to leave, so we will hope for the best!

But that was my week, I mean what is a mission without a trip to the hospital am I right? I just always thought it would be because I was mauled by a dog, but who would have thought that it would be my ownself that brought about my fall? But hopefully nextweek we will have some great news, love you all and let me know how you are doing!

Love,

Elder Tilghman

Helaman 5:12

September 16, 2017 (from President Gwilliam) - Elder Tilghman (no worries)

Brother and Sister Tilghman,

First and foremost your Missionary is fine, in fact, he is remarkable!  He did however take a fall while helping in a service project.  To be safe, we sent him to the emergency room at an excellent clinic here and they determined that he has a small fracture of two ribs.  Not much he can do but take some medicine for pain and rest, which I’m sure will make him crazy.  Under the direction and watchful care of our mission nurse and the Area Medical Authority who is based here in Santiago, we will be watching to make sure there are no other complications. If there are, we will reach out to you immediately.

I like to make sure the parents know if there is ever a trip to the emergency room.  The doctor feels that within a few days he should be back to working, as he loves to do.

He really is an excellent missionary, and is respected by all who work with him.  His Spanish is very strong as well…and very Chilean.

Thank you for sending us such a mature and capable young man.

President Gwilliam

Douglas J. Gwilliam, Presidente

Misión Chile Santiago Sur

56.9.9439.4240

September 13, 2017 - Plan: Relax and Live

Ok so this week was a pretty different week than what we normally do here on the mission because on Monday was the Purge down here in Chile. But, more about that later, for now we will jump into the blood, sweat and tears that were shed this week in the work of the Lord. (Well without the shedding blood part, we were safe, it is cold so we did not sweat and the only tears that were shed were when we had some really strong fish floating in lemon and salt.)

Ok so with the people. Elder Atkinson and I have had some great experiences and miracles this last week. So we have been teaching a less active family who wants to come back to church and the dad wants to baptize his daughter, so last week we started teaching them, and she committed to a baptismal date at the end of this month! We are very excited for them and they have already shown their desire to change and they are very excited for all of these blessings that vendrán! As usual as well we have been in the process of finding and teaching new people the gospel so taht many more people can hear this message. Last week we taught and met a lady who had reciently been in Miami for a conference and we talked about the Hurricanes over in the US. We testified of teh Plan of Salvation, and it gave me peace to know that the trials of this world are not the end of our existence, this life is only the gateway to an eternity of love and peace if we live by Gods commandments. Overall we have been working very hard and we have been able to feel and have spriitual experiences with the Spirit!

Ok so fun story of the week. So every year in Chile they have a national riot day because why not? So it was this Monday and we had to stay in our house just for safety reasons because we did not want anything bad to happen to us. So what Elder Atkinson, Grau, Murphy and I did was genius. We asked permission and we got approved something awesome so that we could enjoy our time inside. We got a projector, Blu Ray player, some good chilean BBQ and spent the afternoon and evening inside watching the Lord of the Rings. Best, Day, Ever. Elder Grau and I are huge nerds of teh Lord of the Rings and when the opening music came on we looked at each other and started to tear up. So yes, there were some tears shed this week. So that was my great and epic story this week, and I owe it all to the gangsters for wanting to riot in the street all day. 

I love you all,

Elder Tilghman

Mosiah 1:7

Letter from the President

Dear Parents,

We would like to inform you that your son has been called to be a Trainer in the Chile Santiago South Mission. The calling to be a Trainer is no small one, and carries with it many responsibilities. President Gwilliam has high trust in the abilities of your son. He has called him through inspiration, and is grateful for the willingness he has to serve and sacrifice for the new missionary to which he has been assigned. He will serve as a guiding light to his companion as he follows the inspiration that will come to him, and as he leads in the ways of the Lord, with love, longsuffering, humility, and charity.

We thank you for the effort you have put forth to raise a son worthy to serve a mission, and to receive this special calling of added service to his new companion. He will undoubtedly move the work forward, and help in the progress and growth of Gods Kingdom here in the Chile Santiago South Mission. We thank you for the service and sacrifice you have rendered and pray that you may be able to recognize the many blessings you are, and will yet receive because of the faithful service of your son in the Lords Vineyard.

With gratitude and love from all those serving in the Chile Santiago South Mission,

Elder Christensen

Secretario de Registros

Misión Chile Santiago Sur

La Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de Los Últimos Días

Celular: 974783056

Oficina: 022-980-3611

Attached PDF:

8/14/2017

Dear Elder Tilghman:

Thank you for accepting the call to be a Trainer in the Chile Santiago South Mission. You have proven yourself to be a trustworthy missionary in obedience, diligence and urgency in sharing the gospel. By way of inspiration, and because of your faithfulness, you will now have the opportunity to strengthen and train a fellow missionary as he begins his service.

There is no other calling extended in the mission that has more impact on the culture and success of the mission than the calling of a Trainer. Likewise, there is no other calling that has such a great capacity to influence the individual life of a missionary than that of Trainer. This is a sacred trust that requires your best effort and commitment to excellence.

Remember that your most powerful teaching tool will be your example. Demonstrate the blessing of being strictly obedient. Be bold in declaring the message of the restored gospel, and inviting all to come unto Christ. Model for him the type of missionary that the Lord wants him to become.

We have confidence in you and know that the Lord will bless you with the abilities that you desire as you pray to him in faith. Love and encourage your new companion as he adjusts to the rigors of missionary life. Watch over him and reassure him when you become aware of signs of stress and discouragement. Be patient and forgiving and he will turn to you for counsel and guidance.

We will always be grateful for your loyalty to the Lord and for your willingness to accept this most important calling. We love you and have every confidence in you. We look forward to working with you and stand ready to help and support you in any way that we can. 

Sincerely,

President Douglas J. Gwilliam Sister Stephanie Gwilliam

Chile Santiago South Mission

LA IGLESIA DE JESUCRISTO DE LOS SANTOS DE LOS ÚLTIMOS DÍAS

Misión Chile Santiago Sur, Francisco Aranda 530, San Bernardo, Santiago Chile, 8070868

September 6, 2017 - I can ride my bike with no handlebars

Alright so we got some big news this week. I can now ride with no handlebars. I was pretty proud of myself. The other day we were riding around and a little girl saw us riding with no handlebars and stopped in the street and just looked at us with her mouth wide open in shock until we left. As well as learning how to ride with no handlebars this last week was a great week for us.

We have been able to find a ton of new people to teach the gospel to. There is a ton of potential here in our sector and we are very excited! Last week we went to a park in our sector and chained our bikes up and decided we were not going to leave until we got new people to teach and taught a lesson. We walked over to a group of teenagers playing ping pong and we played for a few minutes and then they all listened to us as we taught a lesson, and we have continued to teach them this week! We are so excited because it means a ton of potential for our ward with not a lot of young men and young women. On Saturday we also had a good experience. We were contacting in a diiferent park and started to talk with a young family. We had a great talk about eternal families and how to have one, and we found out they are from Venezuela and are really eager to learn the gospel. I know that under proper Preisthood authority and the convenants we can make with God we have the opportunity to have eternal familes and to live with them forever. 

Ok so funny story of the week. We had lunch yesterday with some members and as we were talking and eating ice cream their little 8 month year old son started to cry and scream. So the mom did what I would have done and took a spoon of ice cream and gave it to him. It got real quiet as we watched to see what was happening and the little kid started smiling with the biggest smile ever on his face. But the funny part is he stayed with the same smile on his face for 20 more minutes. I can relate to the little guy, sometimes icecream is the best part of my day too. 

Ok I have just decided to throw in a part on my email everyweek about my dog stories. I honestly hate these things. I am sorry to all you dog lovers out there, but you have never met Chilean street dogs. These things need their own page in Wikipedia. So last week we went to do a service with some other elders. I had a shovel in my hand as we were riding and a dog decides to come run at me from a side street. I let it get close and then hit it on the head as I was riding. The dogs ran away. I was happy. One day they will learn obedience. Like I have said before, one of us is not leaving here alive.

Overall it has been a great week. I love the mission and I love the work and I love the Lord! Keep writing!

Lvoe,

Elder Tilghman

Alma 6