Elder Derek Vincent: Family

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great week. We've been busy here in Chile!

I've learned recently that my attitude greatly influences my relationship with my companion. If I treat him like a kid when he makes an immature joke, then he acts like a kid. But if I say something like "hey, good one!" then change the subject, he starts talking about something more mature. So, I realized that I really have the responsibility to make sure our relationship is good. I wish I would have seen this earlier.

I got robbed last week while writing at the cyber cafe. Luckily we chased the guy down and got everything back!

We had two awesome highlights this week... First, Diego was baptized! It was a special experience for him and I'm so happy for him. His dad isn't a member but was there to support him along with 10 other family members.

Second, is an even better experience, and something I will remember for the rest of my life. I received a call requesting me to go to the police station at 4pm to translate English for the police. We got to the little plaza where the police station is and there were police waiting outside for us to arrive. We made this huge entrance as they escorted us into the station while everyone inside was staring at us. They put me and my companion into a room with a computer, tables, and lots of chairs.

The police officer said "Elder Vincent, this is Cristobal, he lives in Belgium and only speaks English and German. He was born in Chile and was put up for adoption 29 years ago because his father lost his legs in an accident and couldn't provide for him. We were able to find his biological family and they are going to meet him for the first time in 29 years and we need you to translate." Then the family came into the room. Mom, dad in his wheelchair, his 7 brothers/sisters and all of their kids. There were about 20 in total. Every single person in the room - family, police, etc - was in tears. I was able to translate for them and talk about their lives, jobs, families, etc. It was incredible to see Cristobal's joy every time I said "this is your next brother" and with the biggest smile he would say "I have ANOTHER brother?!

Nobody can argue that family is not the most important thing in the world. I am so grateful for my family and the opportunity I have to help unite other families. This is something I will never forget.

I hope all of you can remember the importance of family and that you can help others understand its power and importance too. It is the greatest gift we have from our Heavenly Father. I love my family and love all of you like my family.

There are 4 people that want to get baptized in the next 2 weeks. Please pray for Lici , Antonela, Genesis, Ana Maria, Sandra, Luis, Orillana, Sebastian and Marcelo.

Have a great week! All my love,

Elder Vincent