CHICAGO CHRISTMAS

Chicago Temple

Service Selfie.  

This week has been so crazy but great at the same time! There were a lot of people gone  this week out of town, but all of our investigators came so it was great! We had four people there at church and two less actives came! The bishop in our ward is amazing! He is so funny and he loves the ward so much! We went over to their house on Christmas Eve and they did a big breakfast that night and it was so good! They had the egg casserole thing and then this cinnamon French toast that was amazing! It was a really good opportunity to learn more about the ward.

Then on Christmas we went up to President Woodbury’s house and it went great! It kind of sucked because all of the investigators we had who were going to go backed out but at least one of them came! It was so nice to enjoy with their family and we just had a great Christmas Day! After that we went to a dinner with one of the members and her family who are non-members and the dad is such a boss! He had tons of sports memorabilia and he had some of the sickest pictures of Wrigley Field! It was so fun to be at their house! Then after we went down to Rojas’ house and they are the best as always! It made me so sad I wasn't there with them the whole time, but it was so great just to see them because they always make me so happy!

We also found two golden investigators this week too! One of them his friend invited them to church and he is Mongolian and named Dash.   The next one put his name in the referral generator on mormon.org 6 months ago and nobody ever went and he saw some other missionaries on the bus so he talked to them and then they passed the info to us!  He is so solid!  We were in exchanges when they taught him but the stories they tell are amazing!  That same day while we were on exchanges I was down super south and we were tracking and we found this lady named Erica who is so ready for the Gospel. She let us right in and it was amazing because I have never had that happen before to me!  We made Bunnelos that day too that are like those little chips from taco time that are the bomb they are just bigger and round like a tortilla. It was amazing because that exchange was Spanish too :)

Yesterday we went to the Liconas (chi 4) too because the daughter Duvy is a YSA member so it was great to be back! Anyways, I hope you have a great day! Love you! 

These pics are Christmas selfies!

[Looks like they have on their new Christmas pjs]

Crepes at the Kris Kringle market

ZEBRA COMPANIONSHIP

MTC Reunion with Elder Larkin

Merry Christmas!!! Sorry that recently I have been so bad at emailing just recently we haven't been having very much time!

And can you guys talk at 1 here time?? We are going to the temple tomorrow though and I am so excited!! It has been so long since I have gone so I am ready to go in again! This week we have some great plans! So tomorrow in the morning we will go to the temple and then to the mission home afterwards! We will then just have our normal appointments.  On Christmas Eve we are all going to the bishop of our wards house with some of the members.  On Christmas we are going to the mission home and having lunch with the Woodburys and also a recent convert and some investigators from our ward! I am so excited! Then we are going to another dinner and then hopefully to the Rojas! 

So now I am in the Lake Shore YSA and it is so sweet! We are in a zebra companionship so my new companion is Elder Foster and he only speaks English. This ward is absolutely amazing but it is pretty intimidating because they are all in medical school or law school and are just all geniuses! They all talk about their missions and it's crazy how good of missionaries they all were! I love it though because we are meeting people who are so diverse. We are working with some people from West Africa like Bene and places like that! The ward is honestly so diverse! Anyways, everything here is going great! I love you mom and thank you for everything you do! I love you more than anything!

La Hermana Anguiano.  She has recently had some health issues.

The Guzmans!  I love this family so so so so much! 

Garcias

La familia Romero

Reyes (Oscar and Liz's family)

La familia Gonzalez

NEW AREA

Sorry I have no time today, I just wanted to let you know I love you

and everything is great!  I've been in a new area since Friday, but said bye to everyone on Sunday. We are now in the mission home though because we picked up all of the new missionaries today. I will try to send some pictures of saying bye to everyone. I love you mom and have a great day!

Elder Garrett Eichers

Illinois Chicago Mission

 

La familia Najera

The Rojas Family - The family I've been living with in Midway, Illinois.

Javier 

Martinez Family

 Omar and Idalia

The Alvarez family

A BLESSING FROM PRESIDENT WOODBURY

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Grandpa.  President Woodbury visited with me and told me that Dad had called in that morning and he gave me a blessing and everything. Earlier this week I was super stomach sick and so we had to stay in side but on one of the mornings we had to run up to the mission office and we were talking with one of the senior missionaries who is a nurse and she could just tell I wasn't feeling well. I honestly felt so sick, but later that day was when dad called into the office.   President and this senior missionary were talking and he had already felt the impression that he had to go down to our building today and then when she told him that I wasn't feeling too well it just made everything clear. But he came down there and he gave me a blessing which really helped. I have so much peace about grandpa passing away though like I thought it would have made me sad or something but just the knowledge that we have it is like nothing has even changed.  There is no doubt in my mind that we are going to see him again!! 

We had a pretty crazy week though just because there was no time to work being sick and everything but it was truly amazing! So Karina was baptized on Saturday with another hermana named Irais! Elder Perez baptized Karina and then I got to confirm her! It was such a cool experience because that was the first time I have ever done that! The spirit was so strong at the baptism because she has the strongest faith and she has battled for so long to get to this point and she finally got there!! She is one of my favorite people I have ever met and she is the best example to me! Their family is just so humble and loving and I love every minute that I get to be with them! She was telling us her testimony after though and she was like I have been waiting for this for years and finally the right people came along and let me have every blessing of it! It was so powerful!  Now we are working with her son Axel! He is like my little brother because we are into so many of the same things!! We are teaching him now and he said that he is the next one to be baptized! He acts just like our group of friends back in the day! (I feel sorry for him ;) just kidding hahaha).

But last week we went to a funeral too and we got to be the pallbarers or how ever you say that and we all took a picture. It was of a part member family so the first service was at our church and the second was at the Catholic church.  I was laughing so hard because I lost those little white gloves though and we were all driving and I was just freaking out like I am done for! I was thinking nope you guys are left alone but in the end we got some more, I left them outside of the church hahaha.  The funny but sad part was though that there was a less active/ active member there at the misa at the catholic church and he gets up there and is helping the priest and lead the congregation at the very beginning and we were just giggling because the other missionaries have worked so hard with him but he just didn't understand!

Anyways, I feel like I am learning so much out here and I am just loving it! It is so hard because there is so little time and so much to work on and do so its overwhelming at times but I wouldnt change it for the world! I love you so so so so much Mom! Have a great day and always remember to be happy!

Sea feliz, Sea Mormon

Elder Garrett Eichers

Illinois Chicago Mission

Fourth Ward pictures that I just got:

 

Elder Eichers is pretty funny...

SMILEY EMOJIS

This week has been great!  Today we have been downtown all day and we went shopping! I bought a new coat today from HM because I have just been having to layer up lately so I just got a good one!  

Anyways, we had a huge miracle this week with Karina and her family! So we taught them basically every day this week because the kids were out of school and we have been working with her and her family so closely! They even invited their neighbor to receive a blessing and to receive us too!  It was amazing! But on Friday we had a lesson with her and we have just started teaching her son, Axel, too.    He told her that he wanted to get baptized with her!  But we had a lesson with them and we asked him and he was scared to talk to his dad so now he is waiting but Karina got permission so she will be baptized on Saturday!! She has been so excited and sending us Facebook messages with tons of smiley emojis and she is so solid!! I am so happy for her and I love her family more than anything!

More will come next week!

BLESSED TO BE SERVING THE LORD

That is so crazy that all happened!  [Referring to Elder Chase Omana's accident].  The car is absolutely smashed! You have to tell Diane and their family that I will be praying for them and everything! That is so sad but it's a miracle that he is getting better and everything! And that is sad about Bapsie too! 

Everything here has been great though! We now have quite a few people on date and a few others were reactivated yesterday! This area is literally on fire now! It was so sweet because on Tuesday we had a lesson with Karina who is the daughter of Hermana Velez and we had it down stairs with Hermana Rojas and it was amazing! Hermana Rojas has a story just like hers so the spirit was so strong and Karina loved it! She has came to church the last 3 weeks with her 2 daughters and son and she is now on date for the 6th! Hopefully 2 of her kids will be baptized with her but we still aren't sure! I am loving everything here so much! 

We have another family who is a single mother and her kids. She loves church and she told her work that she couldn't do it on Sunday's because she had to go to church and the ward just loves her! We put her on date for Christmas Eve and she was so ready and she has such a strong desire to make the covenant! She texted us and told us she was going to Virginia for a week to see some of her family but she will be back soon because she has a promise to make with the Lord! We were so happy because she is progressing so well! 

Everything is going great here! But for Christmas I don't really need anything! I am happy with everything I already have here! It's the biggest blessing to be out here serving the Lord! For Thanksgiving we already have our whole day booked basically so it's going to be great! We may have to eat like 4 times so I am nervous but so excited at the same time! What are your plans for thanksgiving this week? Love you mom and have a great day! And did you ever get the pictures of Flors baptism??

Elder Garrett Eichers

Illinois Chicago Mission

TOO BUSY TO WRITE

Mom! I am so sorry that I didn't have the chance to write really today we just had some do some urgent stuff so the time that we planned to talk we had to leave and help some other missionaries! Everything is great though and I am loving Everything! I will write you a letter this week!

Elder Garrett Eichers
Illinois Chicago Mission

THREE HUGE MIRACLES

This week has been great! To start off Elder Perez and I will be staying together! I am really excited because we still have so much work together to do in this area! I am a little nervous though because three transfers is a pretty long time but I love Elder Perez so much! We have been having so much fun together but we still get tons of work done! 

There were three huge miracles that we have had this week though! The first is that this week we were over at the Guzman family's house and the Grandpa is active and the grandma is just reactivated and this week we had a lesson with them. The Parents are less active and their son just barely turned 9. We have been working with them so hard to return ever since I have been in this area! We have tried everything and we finally found the answer this week! It's a pretty direct answer so when I write you a letter I will share more about the experience with you! But anyways this family is on fire right now! They are inviting us in now an extra time a week and the son Steve has a baptismal date for the 29th.  They came to institute/mutual and everything this week and also to church! We are so excited for them because they are stepping up so big right now!

The second miracle this week was we have been working with the Huicochea family since I have been here and so the grandma in the family is named Hermana Velez and she is a member! So Karina is the mom and she has the strongest testimony of the church the only thing is that her husband is against everything. She has been trying to talk to him about letting her come and everything and take the lessons but she is scared something was going to happen. This week on Wednesday when we were in district meeting I just felt like we needed to offer her a priesthood blessing and so we went and we had an amazing lesson and then we invited her to receive the blessing and when we put our hands on her head and I said he name I just started crying. It was by far one of the most spiritual moments in my mission! After we walked out Elder Perez and I just looked at each other and we were just like I promise I wasn't crying just sweating out of eyes and we were laughing so hard but the lesson was just so amazing!! I felt how much the Lord has for her that day! Then she came to church with her 2 daughters yesterday and I was so happy!! It was so amazing!!

The last one was that there was a baptism yesterday in Chicago 4 so I got to go up there and see all of the members! I loved it and was so happy to see Flor get baptized and then we got to help in the confirmation! Elder Lee got to baptize her! I don't have the pictures right now so I will send them next week! 

I am so sorry to hear about Grandpa but everything will be okay. It's kind of crazy because we always testify of the plan of salvation but it has never been so real yet because nobody close has really passed away but it just makes the joy of the gospel that much sweeter! I just am loving the people here and this Gospel.

I love you more than anything though mom! I hope you have a great day!

ZONE HALLOWEEN ACTIVITY

This week has been great! Thank you so much for the packages! I am so grateful for you sending them it always makes my day! I haven't seen the one for Rojas yet but hopefully it will come today! 

We had a lot of great things happen right this week like today we are having a zone activity and we played a game called quittage like from Harry Potter and we did basketball while on broom sticks and the hoops were way up high! Then we carved pumpkins and we did Apple smashing today! I am exhausted but it is so much fun! We have been having lots of success but I will write you a written letter this week because I honestly have no energy right now! I love you more than anything and you truly are the best mom! I am so grateful for everything you do and seeing all of the people and families out here it makes me so grateful for the situation I have! Also, tell grandma that I love her and I am thinking about her! Also tell grandma and grandpa E that I love them too! I love you more than anything mom and thank you again for the packages! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

IT'S A GIRL!

This week has been great! Hermana Rojas had her baby this morning at 3!! Their baby is so cute we went and saw her this morning and she is tiny!! Her name is Mireya Isabella Rojas! Last night we were having a lesson with them and she gave us some of the food that she had made earlier and after we could tell that she was breathing pretty hard and then she went during the night to the hospital!! We have no time so I will try to email later but I probably won't have time! I love you more than anything though mom! You are amazing!

And also Hermana Rojas was talking about this candy that she loves that is from Utah that are called Utah Truffles. They used to sell them in the temple store! But please can you find a bunch of them for their family! Also if you want to send her something for her and the daughter do it! The moms name is Mireya Rojas and the daughter goes by Isabella Rojas!

A BUNCH OF NORMAL STUFF

This week has been pretty good so far! We haven't gotten the package yet but hopefully soon we will get it! And I haven't met Liz yet, where is she in Chicago because I would have to search for her because we only have Spanish wards in our building so we are not in contact with a lot of the English members. That's so great too that Amy is coming home from her mission! I feel like she just left!

This week was great though but there have been some crazy things that have happened! Our area and our ward are progressing so fast! We have a bunch of investigators in our area that we are working with that are close to being baptized they just need some more time so there are big hopes for this coming month! We have this new investigator who is 17 and her name is Eli and she came to church this week and we were so excited! The young women were so great with her and brought her right into their class and it was great! She is so funny but it is so sad because her parents are having tons of problems right now and she is in the middle of it so it has been rough for her but she said one of the most sincere prayers I have ever heard and we know that the Lord is blessing her! Then on Sunday we have been teaching a family and the youngest son went into the mental hospital and so we went and taught him and it was a pretty weird experience. The only visiting hours were right during church so we had to miss our two classes and we made it back just in time for sacrament!!

Also, this week we were on exchanges with the APs and I went up to their area so we were in the Lake Shore YSA so we were right near the city on the north side and it was so much fun! It was so different though because it was the first time in forever that we haven't had a dinner appointment! But we went out to dinner and we were eating and my companion at that time walked in the bathroom and he brought his iPad in there and then there was this super shady guy who walked in after him. You know he is shady when you feel scared around him and you're living in the south side of Chicago hahahaha. Anyways he walked in the bathroom after him and he saw the iPad and basically just took off because he found the iPad. The other elder remembered literally 30 seconds after he had gotten out of the bathroom but the guy had just walked out of there. He had stolen it so fast! I felt so bad for the other elder! So we were pretty bummed but we went and contacted and we got shut down by like 90 people on the train and the last one we met was amazing! She was talking about how she had something tragic happen recently and she has been praying for something in this last week and I straight up told her that God was answering her prayer right in that minute! I felt like such a boss saying that! We had so much happen that day and so it was a miracle that we got on that train because if we would have had the iPad we would have been somewhere else.

Nothing funny though happened this week though sadly, just a bunch of normal stuff!

ROUGH PASTS

I am so sorry to hear about Jo Rose, that makes me so sad to hear. I remember always going up there and swimming and then after playing play station in their basement.  But this just makes the gospel that much more important, that they can all know they will see her again.

That is great too that you went to DC. It looks like you had so much fun there and loved every minute of it!  Conference was great this year too! I felt like this year it was so direct and so simple for everyone to hear and to learn.

But this week we have seen some pretty great miracles, we started teaching this young couple who has had some of the hardest challenges in their life.  The wife has gone through lots of domestic violence problems throughout her life and her family has struggled from it for years. Now she is with her new boyfriend and they are about to have a baby. The boyfriend used to be a gangbanger but now he is trying to clean up his life. They talk about all of their friends and cousins that have died out on the streets so the plan of salvation and also repentance has been helping them so much.  He is even starting to get his tattoos removed because if he goes outside a lot of people will recognize him and the tats and they will try to hurt him. Anyways we got him a white shirt and tie and we have been teaching them.  They came yesterday to conference and they have also come to members homes with us to family home evenings and we promised him that if he came to the family home evening with us although it is someone else’s turf that we would all be safe.  They are progressing so well right now and they asked us about the marriage and the baptism deal and they were willing so right now we are trying to work on that.  I am so excited because that was always my dream to convert someone with a rough past ever since I heard Chicago.  They truly are children of God and I love that they don't have to focus on the things of the past.

I love you all so much and I hope that you have a great day!

FUNERAL SERVICES

It's great to hear that you are doing well! This week has been crazy here though! We have been running around all day every day and I am so tired today!

This Thursday we had a funeral that we had to run so it has been crazy! So last week our recent convert Silverio died and all of his family is Catholic but we were talking about setting up the funeral and everything so we offered that they could do it at the church. All of the main family was like oh yeah that is perfect and then the daughter in law who doesn't live there but was running it was talking to the lady at the funeral home who was also catholic and then they were talking a about the tradition. So in the end they ended up doing the viewing at the funeral home and then mass at the Catholic Church and then the meeting in our church. We were worried because we thought they were just going to do it all catholic and then Elder Perez and I just look at each other and we were like speak now or forever hold your peace. So in the end it was all good because we had an amazing service and after all of the family and friends were talking about how much they loved the service at our church. Also, part of their family just came in from Mexico and they hadn't seen them for 14 years and it was the 6 year olds birthday so we brought her over a little bag of goodies and a card and they loved it. It's sad that the recent convert had to die but the work is rolling in their house so we are excited. 

Also a funny story, we got our eyebrows threaded today ;) sorry I have no time, I love you though! 

THE LORD HAS A PLAN FOR US

That's amazing that you went to the temple re dedication. It is such a blessing to have so many temples within access of our house! That's so crazy that Daniel and Mark are already leaving! It's so crazy to think how fast time is going!

But this week has been full of blessings but it's been crazy! So we have a recent convert named Silverio Mendoza who we have been working with quite a bit lately who just died this last Friday.  We were so sad to hear it but we know that the Lord has everything planned for him. We were talking about how he was baptized and then the Lord was like I need my son back right now because he is too important. We gave him the sacrament in his house last week too so he went out perfectly clean. It was sad but we know the Lord has his ways and now it's opening up lots of missionary opportunity with the family. We love that family so much!

Sorry that it has taken me forever to email you today it's just that one of the missionaries in our zone cut his hand really bad today so we had to go and pick him up and take him to the hospital so we have been running around all day helping with that. But everything is great here! Just enjoying and taking things day by day! Love you mom!

OUR AREA IS LITERALLY ON FIRE!

Yes we got our packages and thank you so much for sending them!

Being a zone leader is great though, I love being able to serve with all of the other missionaries! Don't make it a big deal though to other people, all of us are missionaries working together so I don't want people to just be thinking zone leader all of the time because that's not what it's all about! But I love being able to be with all of these great missionaries, our zone is truly amazing and progressing so much! Our area is literally on fire! We are having so much success here it's amazing! We still haven't baptized but I have never felt better as a missionary! We are teaching so many less actives and recent converts right now and our ward is becoming so strong! I feel like the area was set up perfectly for me to come into!  A few members just recently were reactivated and there are more that are so close to coming back! There are a few families who are working towards the temple in our area like the Romero family and we are excited for that! We are teaching so much in this area so I am excited! We are still working on finding new people but they will come soon!

The weather though here is freezing though already! The other day it was 46 degrees when we were driving home, I heard the winter here is supposed to be a freezing one too!

But funny story of the week was that this week we are helping the Rojas move some furniture and my companion bent down to lift it up and his pants shredded down the middle! I was crying I was laughing so hard and I was already bending down so I just fell down laughing!

Also this week the Puentes family came down and took us out to dinner so that was so much fun! Anyways it was a great week!   Below is the Rojas boy that lives downstairs.   And it's so funny because he is scared of cake!  It's the funniest thing!