¡Hola, todos! 

Soy Chileno ahora... (translated, "I'm Chilean now")

(He looks SO serious...but I'm sure they told him NOT to smile, like they did for all of our passports & official Canadian documents, like permanent resident cards, health cards, driver's licenses, etc.)

I finally got my ''carnet'', as they call it, which is just my Chilean identity card.  That was really exciting, but other than that, this week was very tranquilo.  We set new baptismal dates, and continued to meet with and support those getting prepared for marriage and baptism as well.  This week, the chapel was completely full, which was awesome to see, since it doesn't happen a lot, and we continue to meet new members, and have continued to get to know the ward.  

Something I noticed a while ago, that I thought I'd share, is a principle I am able to better understand, thanks to the Spanish language.  One of the most used scriptures by missionaries is Moroni's promise in Moroni 10:3-5.  The last verse promises that by the power of the Holy Ghost, we can know the truth of all things.  It is interesting, because in Spanish ''know'' has two translations. One is ''saber'', which is used when refering to information, such as knowing the answer, or knowing how to do something. The other word is ''conocer'', which means to know, in the sense of being familiar with something, such as knowing a person, or knowing the city.  With this in mind, it is interesting that Moroni's promise in Spanish says ''podréis CONOCER la verdad''. While it is important to know the truth, in the sense of understanding the information... it is important to remember that a testimony is more than knowing the facts. A testimony is understanding and feeling of its truth. A testimony is being familiar with the Holy Ghost, and the message He brings into our hearts.  And to truly know the truth of the gospel also means that we know God, and Jesus Christ, and that we are familiar with His Atoning sacrifice, and how we can use it to improve our lives.  

I hope everyone had a great week, and that they were also able to grow closer to the Spirit.  Talk to you all next week, and have a good one!

-Elder Checketts