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Stories: THE LIGHT HAD GONE!

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THE LIGHT HAD GONE! 22 Oct 2006
Between the years 1990-1992 I was serving my mission in Chaitèn, Carretera Austral in the Chile Osorno Mission. My companion was Elder Brian Gibson who served later as a financial secretary at the office in those years. Well we couldn’t find a place to live because the pension where we were at, was quite bad due that the land lady was trying to save money out of our food. We decided to move to the house of an old sister who lived with her son. We thought she needed the money of the rented room and of course the company of two missionaries who might help her to go to the church. We were there and in the early mornings when we were supposed to take good showers we had a challenge due to the fact that we were taking showers out of melted snow from the mountain that you can see from the whole town of Chaitèn. Every morning we were about to put wood sticks in the chimney (cooker, you know!) but our mamita was out of bed doing it. She used to hot the water enough to warm up our cold bodies but just once, and then we had to use cold water anyway, to finish the shower. Once we were out, she used to give us “Milo” (like Swiss Miss but without milk) and a “Churrasco” which was a piece of baked flour mixed with water and salt, was flat as a plate and like the diameter of a plate as well. Then we studied the scriptures next to the cooker to get warm. One day we were reading the Doctrine and Covenants, in the section 61, very close to the cooker. Elder Gibson started to tell me stories about disobedient missionaries who had drawn in the water and there were some others who just took pictures in rare situations and the mission president had seen those pictures later on because some jealous member was the one who developed the pictures in the town. That day was a “P- day” and we had reserved a vhs movie to watch that day. The assistants called us and told us that from that moment and on we were not allowed to watch movies anymore due that Hollywood was doing a lot of films with nudity and missionaries could be spiritually weakened. So we had to cancel the movie. We planned to go to take pictures to the beach which was a deserted one. We packed our cameras and I took my missionary journal with me. We walked along the beach and we saw a big hill in the middle of the sand almost interrupting our way but there was enough way to pass by. The hill was really particular had a cave in the base, we tried to go in but we heard the ocean inside!! We took a quick look and we saw many little holes on the floor some of them were full with sea water that pulled up and down and could splash us a bit. So we didn’t go in. We kept walking along the beach and we’ve spot some rocks where we sat on. We saw the most beautiful sunset, that honestly I’ve never seen again, my companion told me that it was time to go and that it was close to 6:00 pm and we were supposed to getting dressed. I took a big breath and I recognized in me some right “the right of an old missionary” and I said: Elder, I’m always running and I’m always trying to keep the rules and I never have time to contemplate something like this. Once I’ve said such thing, the light went off like someone had turned off the light, well certainly someone did it, but that was ridiculous!!! I stood up and walked only with the senses and we were really amazed how we didn’t have any light at all. To our surprise the water had risen and we couldn’t pass to other side because the hill was in the middle! We had four options: 1. We had to climb the hill, but was really steep!!! No option. 2. To one side there was the forest, we didn’t know it and we had heard of little lions around. No way! 3. To swim. No we couldn’t. No option. 4. To go through the cave, full of holes on the floor!! Well it could be! So we grabbed our hands ready to go in but we couldn’t see inside, so we came out again carefully walking because we could fall into the holes and sink. We decided something really peculiar. To use our camera’s flashes but went blind!! We came out and magically little steps of rock on the water came out and we decide to go stepping on them through the other side!! Of course we fell down and started to sink I remember wearing a new raincoat, and Gibson was disappearing of my sight cause he was sinking and I took him out and I sank and he took me out and he sank etc many times, I asked Gibson what to do and he said: Let’s pray. The water looked alive for a minute, and knocked me a couple of times. Still in the water, I couldn’t see Elder Gibson and I felt guilty for that situation, and felt horribly. It went through my mind many headlines of Chilean Newspapers: Two Mormons die in the waters of the south!!! Suddenly I was out of the sea spit out by the tide, but I didn’t see Gibson I was afraid that I almost loose him, because he was coming out of the water we hugged and we laughed because we had another opportunity. Later we remember that the spirit was telling us the whole morning not to get into the water. Also we read that in D&C 61 says that if we are faithful and we repent of our sins the lord will allows us to keep going. In the name of our lord Jesus Christ, amen.
FERNANDO DANIEL ORTEGA Send Email
 
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