December 27, 2017 - Soccer and Santa

Hey hey everyone I hope you all had a great Christmas! I was so happy to be able to see and talk with my family and see how they were all doing, I love those guys so much! Ok so excuse the bad grammar in this email it will probably be bda, it is like 100 degrees out side and my fingers are wet with sweat woo hoooo!

Ok so lets start with the people. Last week my companion and I had a ton of succcess in getting out and finding some new people to teach. One of our new people is a family with the dad is a lessa active member and the mom is not a member of the church. They are pretty deep down into drogas, but they want to change and get out so we are going by to help them out and to see that the light of Christ reaches down even to the deepest of the hole they are into. However the crazy thing is, I actually taught these people before. In one of my old wards, Condell, I taught the dad of this family, his name is Freddy! I taught him for a couple of weeks right when I got to my old ward, but then he moved and left the house where he was living with his mom and we never heard anymore from him. But then last Wednesday we went to go to an appointment with a man my companion had met beofre and he told me "Oh yeah his name is Freddy and he lived in another area a few months ago and we just met him last week". We walked in the door and it was the same guy I taught before! He came up and gave me a hug and we talked a little bit about life and caught up, and the whole time my companion was thinking that we were best friends, Freddy and I. That was a cool moment lat week! We also found lsat week a kid named Nico. He used to listen to the missionaries antes, but he decided it was not right for him so he stopped listening about 4 months ago. We stopped by last week, he invited us in and he told us he was ready to make changes in his life! This week has been a week of miracles for sure!

As well here in our mission we can play soccer with the people on the street as a way to contact them and then to began to teach them, and we have been doing a lot of it. On Friday we had a ton of kids at the chapel and we played a game with them out back. Yesterday we did the same thing, and all of the members have bveen bringing their friends, so we have been able to teach them all the Gospel, play soccer, and get a return appointment, it is so sweet. Love soccer. 

Well I am going to say the same thing that you have probably already heard from the other 15 missionaries whose emails you get everyweek. I know that Jesus lives, and I know he has His Gospel. Thanks to him we have what we have, and he gives us the greatest blessing of all, the opporotunity to lifve with Him and our families forever. He is the Reason and the Word.

Love,

Elder Tilghman

Lucas 2

December 20, 2017 - I´m dreaming of a Crazy Christmas

Hello everyone this past week was great! My companion Elder Lindow and I had changes ... sort of. I was called to a different area, but we live with those Elders, so all I did was move rooms and change all of my stuff around, but I am living in the same house! It was a little crazy but really funny recieving that change call! My new companion is Elder Bellido, he is from Argentina. I have known him for a long time here in the mission, we have lived together, worked together and he used to be my District Leader down in San Bernardo, so it really is not like I have a new companion because I already know him pretty well! This past week was a little different, but really fun, I enjoyed it a ton.

So the people. I was sad to leave my last sector, Los Limoneros, we saw a ton of miracles and success there and I know that they are in good hands and will continue to progress. I am now in a new area called Los Robles, and the area is massive, it is the biggest sector I think I have had in my mission, but we do not have bikes so it is all walking. We have a few baptisms lineed up and we have been focusing on talking with new people and getting the message of the restored gospel out there for everyone else to hear, so it has been some great work! I do not really know anyone so far because I just got here, but I will keep you all updated on the situation. But of course, we already have some Haitians that we are teaching wooohoooo!

So this email is going to full of a bunch of funny stuff because that is all that I have to talk about.

Ok on Sunday we were walking back home from church from a rough week. Something happened last week and some flite said something to us that was pretty rough and word got out to the ward members. One of the members who is getting reactivated came up to us after church to talk to us. When he was younger (and he still is) he was a big time gangster and he heard about our situation that we had. He came up to us and said and I quote "Elderes, who did that to you? You tell me right now and I will go get my boys and that person will no longer continue to exist. I will take a Book of Mormon and put it through his head." It was hilarious!!!!!!!! Like I always say, the flites are our best friends so they always have our back. But no we did not tell him who it was, we do not want anyone to get hurt.

Ok so yesterday Elder Bellido and I were walking in the street and we walked down a nice little alley way with lights strung across the street to decorate for Christmas. But then I realized that they were not lights, they were all beer cans. The people used their empty beer cans as decorations for Christmas hahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahah.

so that was my week, overall pretty good. Have a great Christmas everyone!

Love,

Elder Tilghman

Alma 26

December 13, 2017 - Dog Fight

Hey everyone this last week was a great week, the days keep flying by so fast, it is insane! Our sector is really progressing and we are seeing a ton of progress it is awesome! This past week at church was the primary program and all of the kids and the leaders sang and gave talks, it was so awesome to hear from them and to hear the powerful testimony that even little gives can give about the Gospel. 

So last week we saw another miracle. On Saturday we were doing some door to door contacting in our sector when we talked with a nice lady in her door way. She politely told us that she was not interested in speaking with us, but then told us that her neighbor would love to learn and talk about Jesus Christ. We crossed the street and knocked on the door. We entered and taught Jose and Rosa Medina, a dad and his daughter about the Gospel. He has reciently gone through problems at work, is a single dad and is looking for peace and relief in his life, so we shared with him about the Plan of Salvation and the glorious Plan that God has for us and the blessings that come from our obedience to the gospel. As we talked and testified we felt the Spirit, and they felt it too, and because of that they want to get baptized! It is amazing what the Spirit can do and the way he can work in our lives.

On Saturday as well we had another good lesson, Saturday was a great day. We went and passed by a future investigator named Rene, we had contacted him the week before and we went by to go and speak with him on Saturday. We talked and shared about the Restoration of the Gospel and then he said he would read and pray as well to know if these things are true, boom another miracle. And on top of that, his dogs like us and do not try and bite our pant legs off, boom another miracle!

Ok storytime! So today for PDay we went hiking on a hill in our mission with some other missionaries. As we were walking up two dogs started to join us. But, they hated each other, the whole way up they were fighting and biting each other and when we got to the top they let it all out. It was Fight Night, and we stayed back because we did not want to get our skin ripped off. Once again another dog story!

Overall the work is awesome, we are really starting to find success. Everyday I feel myself learning and growing and understanding more about God and His Gospel, and I can feel that change taking place in me.

Love,

Elder Tilghman

3 Nefi 21.22

December 6, 2017 - One Mans Trash is Another Mans Treasure

Well this week we got another opporotunity to go and clean a hoarders house! This one was massive, it was one of the highlights of the week, and we found some weird stuff down there in the trash, it is crazy the stuff that lives down there! This week as well we had some more miracles down in Santiago, the people are amazing and loving and I am so grateful to be serving with them!

Ok so the people. Fernando is progressing great, he could not go to church on Sunday becuase he went out of town with his parents, but he is ready to come again this week. He has been inviting his friends and family members to listen to us because he loves the gospel and the chance that he has to share it, and I am grateful for the chance to teach Fernando! During our time working with Fernando, it has been amazing to see the power of the Holy Ghost working and teaching while we present the message, I have had the priveledge to see the change in Fernando and the way in which he is coming to trust more and more in his Savior. On Monday we had a huge miracle. We contacted a man named Luis in his house a few weeks back and we felt on Monday that we should go and visit him again. We decided to go straight to his house and to teach him the message of the Restoration. We arrived at his house, and a few weeks ago when we met him he was impatient and did not want to listen to us, but on Monday that all changed. He answered the door happy to talk to us and even invited us inside to teach him more about the pamphlet that we had left him to read, and he read it! He had great questions for us and was very receptive and accepted a baptismal date for the first week of January! Once again, if we listen to the Spirit, He can guide us to the prepared people to hear the gospel. I am humbled for the chance to be an instrument in the hands of God, that he would choose someone like me to be His missionary humbles me to the core. That He would trust me with the salvation of His children is the greatest and most wonderful challenge I have had.

So on Monday as well in the morning with other missionaries we went to clean a hoarders house. This one was full, but full of trash to the brim. So we started to pull out stuff and in the stuff I found a jewel. I found a lightsaber! I got someone to take a picture of me in my biohazard suit so I will be sure to send that to you guys. 

Overall things are on fire in our sector, they are going great! It has been awesome to see the difference in the ward from when we got here to today. From an unanimated and sad ward and investigators to a vibrant, funny community is the best, people are finally starting to warm up enough to laugh at my lame jokes!

Love,

Elder Tilghman

Moroni 10:14

Alma 13:24