Preparation Days are now Wednesdays

The mission has moved preparation days from Monday to Wednesday to better accommodate temple attendance by the missionaries and to better allow them to take advantage of cultural activities in Santiago. According to the mission newsletter, since the temple and most museums and other cultural sites are closed on Mondays, Wednesday will allow the missionaries more opportunities to experience Chile. His emails will now come on Wednesdays, and blog posts will follow.

Ben did have an ingrown toenail removed last week and is doing very well. The procedure was performed by a missionary doctor from the U.S.  He says he hasn't missed any work and he has no pain.

From his email:

This week I started studying scriptures to use in the Preach My Gospel lessons and noting them in a pocket notebook to study throughout the day. I also copied in the scriptures I have memorized. The goal was to increase my knowledge and usage of the scriptures (obviously), but also to help myself be more diligent with my usage of time. If I find myself bored waiting for something I take out my notebook and study a little bit. I have found it to be a great tool, and it has helped me become a better disciple of Christ.

It was another productive week in El Pino. The family we have been working with is continuing to progress. Last Friday, we taught about obeying and honoring the law because we only had a little bit of time before correlation meeting and it was one of the few lessons that they still needed. I was surprised when the lesson ended with the mom asking when she could be baptized. We set the date for August 30 and did a practice baptismal interview immediately. We were very late to correlation meeting, but I think it was worth it. It amazes me how the Spirit can change any lesson to a baptismal invitation. We also had a reactivation this week and as one of the formerly less-active members that we had been working with accepted a calling as Relief Society Secretary.

We helped a less-active member move as a service project this week. Unfortunately for us, we helped him move outside of our sector. We already miss him, but it was a great service opportunity.