June 29 - July 5, 2026
We started off this week with Mission Leader Council on Monday. Our group of leaders is always changing with missionaries coming and going. This is the last transfer for six of the leaders, and then we have nine new members of MLC this transfer, including some who are just out of their 12-week training but are already stellar missionaries. We love learning from them as they share their testimonies and insights. We ended the meeting by signing the hymn, "This is the Christ" and Monica caught the eye of several missionaries who will be ending soon including Elder Kaufman who served in the office with us for about ten months. They were both tearing up and had a sweet moment feeling the spirit together.
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Back Row (L to R): Elders Bórquez, Dangl, Nance, Wilson, Hales, Fabrizio, Jackson, Kauffman, Spencer, Viana, Descalzi
Middle Row (L to R): Elders Smith, Brady, Hermanas Halls, Heap, Buer, Perez, Saraiva, Peterson, Joyner, Dorado, Elders Hassey, Kulbacki
Front Row (L to R): Hermanas Platt, Mercado, James, Zapata, President & Hermana Bartholomew, Hermanas Andersen, Sloane, Del Toro |
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| Monica with Hermana Del Toro and Hermana James |
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| Elder Fabrizio & Elder Dangl (he makes his own ties!) |
Wednesday we had our new missionary orientation with those that arrived a couple weeks ago and it was great to see them again and help them understand more about how the mission works. Wednesday night, Monica went out teaching with Hermana Soelberg and Chowen, who just arrived in the mission. They visited multiple families, including some that are preparing for baptism soon. She also had the chance to go out teaching with some of our elders this week - Elders Dangl and Fabrizio. She's been able to teach with all the sisters except for one, so now she'll accompany some more elders moving forward too. It's an experience she really enjoys being in the homes of the people and seeing the love the missionaries and the Lord have for these children of God in Chile.  |
New Missionary Orientation
Back row (L to R): Elders Marchena, Burgon, Vargas, Bastow, Walker, Sowards
Front (L to R): Lázaro, Bruno, Soelberg, Chowen, President & Hermana Bartholomew, Cranney, Michaelson, Ataucuri, Córdova |
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| Teaching with Hermanas Soelberg & Chowen |
Saturday, was America's birthday! We sent out the following message to our missionaries in the morning:
Good morning! Today is a very special day as the United States celebrates 250 years of freedom. What began with a declaration of independence in 1776 continues in 2026 with liberty and justice for all.
No matter where we are from, we can all celebrate this historic anniversary together because the freedoms established in the United States have blessed the lives of *all* of us.
The founding of the United States was not an accident of history. It was a necessary step in our Heavenly Father’s plan to have a place of religious freedom where the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ could safely take place.
President Dallin H. Oaks explained this important connection when he taught: “Without these great foundations of the Constitution, the United States could not have served as the host nation for the Restoration of the gospel, which began only 30 years after the Bill of Rights was ratified.”
The religious freedom that was born there allowed the restored Church to take root and eventually spread throughout the world, bringing the blessings of the gospel to each of our home nations.
In the spirit of this celebration of freedom and the blessings of the Restoration that we all share, EVERYONE can take 30 minutes tonight to call home and talk with their families. Happy July 4th!
We had our preparation day and had 2 gatherings/BBQs that day to celebrate the 4th of July! The first was in the early afternoon with our 5 office elders - Elder Koppa, Elder Espinosa, Elder Larson, Elder Olivera, Elder Crowfoot, and one senior missionary, Hermana Moore. I took the elders to play a sport called padel that is very popular here in Chile. It's a cross between tennis, pickleball and racketball. You play with a specialized racquet called a paddle, typically outdoors on a large court with glass walls on the back and along part of the sides that you can hit the ball off. We had a great time (we don't have any pictures of it, because Monica wasn't with us 😂) When we came back, we ate some hamburgers with Monica and Hermana Moore.
That evening, we drove over to the Ellsworth's home - they are the mission leaders of the Santiago East Mission. They had invited all the mission leaders of the 4 missions in Santiago to their home for a party to celebrate the 4th of July, and to welcome the Bakers to Chile. President and Sister Baker (Santiago North Mission) just arrived here this last week. He and I served together in the Santiago North Mission when we were young, so it's fun being back here together years later (we won't say how many years though 😉). It felt a little weird having cooler weather and no fireworks on the 4th, but we had a great evening together still. It's great to swap mission stories with people who fully understand what we are experiencing in our callings.
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Back row: Ellsworths (Santiago East Mission) & Bakers (Santiago North Mission)
Front row: Kilgores (Santiago West Mission) & Bartholomews (Santiago South Mission) |
We had the chance to attend two baptism services on Sunday. The first was for Dante who was taught by Hermanas Mercado, Anderson and James. His story is pretty remarkable. Years ago he was struggling with severe addictions to drugs and alcohol, leading to involvement in gang violence and even some near death experiences. After one particular night ending up in the hospital and waking up days later, he decided he needed to change his life. He got into therapy and has worked so hard to be sober for 3 years now, but he still felt like something was missing from his life. His brother passed away a year or so ago and he kept having dreams where his brother would just smile at him and it felt like he was inviting him to come to where he was. When the hermanas knocked on his door, he could feel his brother's influence and knew he needed to listen. He was quick to accept the gospel and was so excited to be baptized. Given Dante's past, I had the opportunity to interview him prior to his baptism to ensure he was ready for this step. I had a great experience with him and he ended up asking me if I would baptize him. I told him, of course! He is already excited to attend the temple and be baptized for his brother and grandpa who have passed away and invited us to come with him to do that - so we'll look forward to that opportunity soon.
The other baptism we attended was for a girl named Fernanda. Her three brothers were baptized just 2 weeks ago in another ward, and one of the brothers, Vicente, was the one that was able to baptize her. He received the Aaronic priesthood earlier that day, and also gave a talk during the baptism service too. This young man will be ready to serve a mission in no time! It was a really special day to see all these siblings embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ together.
