Jan 20, 2014

Hoooolaaaa!!!

Well, it´s been a week, and how is everybody doing? I thought I´d keep the tradition and add something about the weather. But really, the most common thing I hear here is, ¨Que callor, no?" You can hardly have small talk without mentioning the heat. ¨Como paso su Navidad?¨ -Lindo, con callor.- -Como anda?- Bien, con callor.- Right after that, when asking about where I´m from, people tend to make a big deal about how cold it is in North America right now. I hope you all know that all of Argentina is concerned for your well being and are convinced that you are all experiencing another Ice Age. (Like, pour water and it´ll freeze cold)

Enough of that. Well, in respects to the time and to ignore aspects that are rather tedious to write, I shall launch into my highlight of the week.

Well, there have been a couple, and can I just say that when an investigator progresses it is really the best thing ever. Lourdes is progressing very well. Ricardo has fallen off the wagon, unfortunately, but Lourdes really has the desires to change her life. I love how inquisitive she is, her honest questions. Ricardo took her to the iglesia evangelica, and she was able to recognize the absence of the Spirit there.  I look forward to the day I can tell you all about her baptism.

We also encountered somebody new the other day. Her name is Mariana. She recently went through a divorce, so things have been stressful lately. She´d Catholic, but told us we could stop by and talk. Wow. At first she was just curious, basic questions about our beliefs and our purpose (to clear the air, we are not Jehovah´s Witnesses, and we are allowed to get married). Eventually, it got to the point where many of her questions led to talking about the Restauration. She seemed interested, and we closed with a prayer. She offered the prayer and at some point she got really quiet, and when she closed she had tears sitting in her eyes and a lump in her throat. She explained that when she prayed she felt a real peace in her heart that she couldn´t explain. We helped her to recognize that what she was feeling was the Spirit. We left her with a Book of Mormon and told her to read the intro.

The second time we came by we talked more about the Book of Mormon and explained it a bit (it is a new book of scripture that takes place in the Americas, not an interpretation of the Bible) It was really quite cool, she mentioned that when she read the name Joseph Smith that it felt really familiar to her, and she couldn´t explain it. We asked if it was similar to the feeling when she prayed. Very excited, she replied that it was. Again, we explained that it was the Spirit talking to her. She says that everytime we are with her she feels very peaceful, and would like us to come by more. She isn´t quite convinced at this point, we´re kind of fighting against Catholic tradition here, but I have a testimony that there really are people out there prepared to recieve the gospel.

Well, gotta dash! Love you all, and please, bless me with your questions and let me know what´s going on! (and if you are really experiencing another ice age) Chao!

January 13, 2014

I´ve lost track, oh no! Oh well, in any case, I know that I have had three months in the mission now, and that is just crazy! I´m already a sixth of the way through!!! It really just blows my mind.

I can´t decide if it feels like forever or no time at all... The mission is weird like that. Despite all of the scheduling and watching the clock time really doesn´t make sense.

Whelp, I got ten minutes to write this baby because I was busy replying to emails, so here we go...

Wow, now I can´t think of what to write... Well, Lourdes is progressing pretty well, she came to church and it was good because her baby (Pia!) was calm basically the whole time, so that was good. One more attendence and she can get baptised! Yay!

We met a family the other day, and oh wow, the way they just leaned forward while we told them about the first vision just reminded me of how much of a miracle the restoration is.

I really don´t have much in specific to share, so I think I´ll just open it up to... A Q&A session!

So go on now, send me questions and I shall endevour to answer them next week! Love you all! Chao!

Tornado or was it?

Well, hello again everybody. I apologize that my emails have been kind of spasmodic and frantic lately. Don´t have much time, so I´ll keep it brief.

First of all, I love you all very very much.

Second, this week has been crazy, but unfortunatly fairly uneventful missionary wise. This is why. Basically the same as the week before. The holidays, and we have a sick Hermana in the apartment, and need to help take care of her. Also, we had a tornado.

Well I´m very excited about one of my investigators right now. Her name is Lourdes, we´ve been working with her husband for a while, and he´s pretty hard, but we have faith he can change. Ah, but Lourdes, I love love love her enthusiasm. We came by the other day and she was very animated, talking about how she´d been reading the scripture references on the back of the pamphet about the gospel, and wants to start a study journal, bless her baby in sacrament meeting... We hope to baptise her soon and that Ricardo will soften up.

... Oh, do you all want to hear more about the tornado?  Well, I´m not 100% sure it was actually a tornado, but that´s what everybody has been saying. We couldn´t leave the apartment for the storm. We didn´t have water or light until the next morning (others in the neighborhood weren´t so lucky). We had a lot of rain and wind. The street was a river. My companion was very anxious to work, so when the rain let up with left, rainboots about us, and started for our area... Oh man, what a disaster! Signs, large trees, lightposts, all fallen down, everywhere! About fifteen minutes after leaving it started to dump rain again. So we frantically returned to the apartment, not wanting to end up like the trees, soaking wet. Then we left again later but had to go back because there was no electricity and therefore no light in the streets. Yeah...

So we had a blessed day of chill. It´s back to searing hot again. Love you all and hope to have more to report this coming week. Chao!

Dec 30, 2013 First Baptism

Oh my, pardon for all of you who may or may not have been worrying that I killed over or some such when you didn´t receive a letter this last time. The thing is, with Christmas we had P-day the day of. Also, I got to talk to my family, but I didn´t get to email, so yeah.

Thank you for all of your holiday wishes, they made me happy! I do really enjoy hearing from everybody.:)

These past two weeks have been insane. To be brief, everybody in my zone was dying of heat stroke. Everybody is amazed at how I am holding up in this ridiculous heat.  I spent some time in a sketchy hospital (with Hermana Brown) and now we have a rule that we can´t be outside for a certain part of the day.

Yup. Enjoy the cold you lucky ducks, while I melt and burn in the Argentine heat... But really, everything is great, and guess what?

I HAD MY FIRST BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup, his name is Braulio. He was actually in Santiago Central being taught by some of the Elders with his girlfriend, but we found out that he lived in our area. So basically he was our Christmas present. The baptism in itself is a miracle.

When we got to the chapel the font wasn´t filled and the water wasn´t working, so, we had to go behind the chapel with buckets and fill it by hand with water that wasn´t exactly clean. But hey, we can baptize in rivers, so that´s not the most important part anyways!

Later, Braulio sent us a text that said he was really busy and it was possible that he would need to postpone his baptism... Not to mention we already had to move his interview to the day of the baptism because he was sick the day of the interview. So we called him and convinced him to come a little later. The interview and the baptismal service all passed in about an hour total. And it was crazy, but great.

We didn´t really get to bask long before we had to rush to the hospital again to see Hermana Brown who was not doing to hot. That and I went on splits with another new missionary. It was really cool, while we were in her area we were talking with a guy who really wasn´t interested in religion. But, by the end of the lesson he was asking where the chapel was and set up an appointment. Just goes to show how the Spirit can really touch hearts.

I´ve really discovered this week how sometimes the Lord works in our lives in ways we sometimes can´t see. The other new missionary I mentioned was really stressing out because it was her first time without her senior companion. She confided her fears and I discovered that her concerns were the same as mine when I was thrown into the fire my first few divisions, because of that I was able to help her. I may be having challenges now, but I know that there is a purpose to all of it.

You shall all be interested to know that I am struggling to speak English. When I called my family my mouth couldn´t decide if it wanted to speak Spanish or English! Crazy. Gift of Tongues. Best thing ever.

It was weird, Christmas just kind of came and went. It really isn´t a very grand affair here. Maybe because everybody is hiding from the sun?

Well, not much time to talk about two weeks... But love you all, until next time!

Dec 16, 2014

Hola, otra vez.:)

Well, this week just kind of flew by! Not too eventful, unfortunately. One of our investigators finally came to church! (Ricardo Miranda) His wife (Lourdes) has a lot of questions, and seems very receptive, and she likes the concept of a baby blessing, especially with the main church here being Catholic and therefore having infant baptisms.

I am again struck by how much we as missionaries need the members. People often think that we go knock on doors and what not, and all in all, it´s missionaries that do all that missionary work stuff... Not so! We would make little progress without references. Investigators are a little more receptive when there is a member present for the lesson, puts the church on a more relatable level. If new members are to stay in the church, join it, etc, then it is important that members befriend them and strengthen them. The church is a whole new world for them. If you look in the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and even the Bible, you find missionary work EVERYWHERE. Everyone is encouraged, even commanded to share the gospel.

Remember the invitation of Elder Ballard? To invite somebody to church before Christmas? Heh heh well, there is still time! Do not hesitate to share the gospel and pray for missionary opportunities. Don´t be afraid!!!!

We recently had a conference with a member of the seventy, and I am feeling pumped to improve and work hard. Sorry, I don´t really have much more for you other than it´s Christmas time...:)

Love you all, and love hearing from you! Chao!

Dec 9, 2013

Holaaaaa otra vez everybody!

In case anybody hasn´t figured it out yet, my new P-day is a Monday.

Man, oh man, is it hot. How are you all enjoying winter? Or at least temperate weather? Heh heh Hermana Aguirre is always after me about using my umbrella when we are out and about during the day, so I don´t get heat stroke.

Whelp, I´m learning, still learning. A lot of the routine stuff still hasn´t clicked, but I´ve still improved in the language and everything else. Phew.

Teaching lessons is by far the best part of my day, generally speaking. And, ah, what an emotional roller coaster ride it can be! Joy when your investigators keep their commitments and progress, then the opposite when they don´t. Agh, you get so frustrated when they don´t read the Book of Mormon, or attend church (we must contend with the early hour, the ridiculous heat, and often times distance with that one), praying, and other commitments. Because when they don´t they aren´t progressing, aren´t recieving the blessings of these simple tasks...

That being said, ha ha, don´t forget to do those simple things everybody! Reading, praying, church... These are the little things we tell investigators to do everyday to help them come to the waters of baptism and endure to the end. These are basic gospel principles, primary answers. The fact is, if you are not doing these things, you aren´t going to progress. These three things are the doorway to personal revelation! So, do it! Let it be a compromise for you.;)

The progress of Yesica is coming along nicely, she is usually very willing about keeping her commitments. We hope to baptize her and her husband soon. 

I have a testimony of asking for references. One day we asked Yesica and encountered a family of eight women with lots of questions. During the first discussion, Fanny, the abuela, said something along the lines of, ¨Oh! I feel such peace, what these chicas are saying is true!¨

We have a family, the familia Miranda, who finally attended church this Sunday. The bishop had asked me to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting that day. I really really hope it touched their hearts and they continue to progress.

Ha ha my companion is wonderful, and I really hope to be able to help her out more as I learn. Her name is Hermana Aguirre, and she is from Peru. She is very funny, but also very responsible and collected.

I almost have a full month in the field now! Luck to me, and luck to all of you. Love you all! Hasta luego!

Traveling to Argentina

Hola!

Well, everybody, I´m alive!!! My goodness, travel is exhausting! First, a rundown of my last few days in the MTC. Let´s see... To be brief and because this keyboard is difficult, we cried a lot. We cried with our teachers, we cried because we´ll miss each other, the elders were thoroughly unphased at least outwardly. I managed to get the flu, which I got over a little bit after I arrived here. We had the best closing devotional EVA! I don´t even remember the lady´s name, but she was hilarious and left me thoroughly excited for the mission.

You know, it is so weird for me to be in places without mountains! Utah has mountains, Hawaii has mountains... So as we hopped from Utah to Georgia to Argentina, I was taken aback by the stark lack of mountains! Georgia has a lot of big, pretty trees, so I liked seeing that. As we passed through Buenos Aires I got my first glimpse of the Atlantic ocean. There were lots of statues and trees with purple blossoms that I liked. It is very very very very busy! It actually reminded me a little bit of Honolulu, albeit the part that tourists seldom see. So, I was fairly at ease other than my struggles with luggage. We went to what I think was a church office building and there were welcomed and had our first meal. I love empanadas!!! We also ran into some departing missionaries. They were very loathe to be leaving. One of them was a former companion of Elder Landon Willey! So that was neat. After taking care of some paperwork we then made our way to yet another airport, where we boarded a plane (that we almost missed) to Salta. There we met the mission president and his fabulous wife.

The mission president´s voice is sooo deep!!!! Apparently Salta is a tourist town. So, it was pretty nice. The climate is a lot like St. George, and there were mountains, so I felt at ease. We went to the home of President Levrino and had a great dinner. Then we were spirited away to a hotel for the night, all exhausted and in desperate need of a shower! My shampoo bottle broke on the plane, so I had the interesting experience of scooping shampoo out of a plastic bag.

The next morning we again began rushing around to get visa stuff done. Then we went to the chapel and were basically orientated. We were given our new companions and then whisked off to our areas. The area I´m in is I believe the Banda in Santiago. More on that in a minute. My companion is Hermana Aguirre, and she is from Peru. Ha ha she is my mama and I am her hija! She takes very good care of me. According to a lot of people here we speak pretty well for having just come out of the MTC (we being the people from my district), so that is good. I feel bad for others, in which case, because I still feel so lost!!!

Santiago is really, REALLY hot!!! It makes me feel silly to have all of my winter-friendly attire, period. I think it is supposed to get colder in the winter, but for now it is exceedingly hot. We do all of our study in the middle of the day, because that is when it is hottest and everybody is home for siesta. There are lots of dogs and cats, and I am unsure as to if any of them really belong to anybody. They are usually pretty chill. I almost wonder if the people just let them wander inside their homes. Maybe not a bad idea, they keep the vermin at bay I suppose. Our apartment is quite nice. Ah! My first time out of the apartment, we went to go get ice cream, and a puppy got ran over by a motorcycle and died right there! It was horrid! Needless to say I am very cautious about crossing the street. There are no discernable traffic laws here. People stop at intersections and drive on the right side of the road, that´s about it. Here in Santiago you see everything from the really nice house to houses with walls literally made from paper mache. It truly is humbling, you realize that you take for granted your everyday necessities, like washers and dryers, certain food, floors, walls, clean water...

The people are very friendly. Everybody says hi and will always offer you water or something when you visit. I´m glad I lived in Hawaii, because it allowed me to get used to the whole kiss on the cheek greeting, ha ha. I love my investigators! A lot of them are children over the age of eight, which can sometimes be hard because they are very indecisive. I want to be baptised! Eh, not today.

You know, the fact that missionary work is even effective truly testifies of the truth of the church. From day one I was participating in the lessons. It is amazing how receptive everyone is. Just the other day we approached a girl named Dalma. We started talking to her, she knows nothing about the church despite living adjacent to the chapel. And she was so receptive. She seemed down when we first contacted her, but as the lesson went on she seemed more and more upbeat. She agreed to a baptism date and wants to know more. Part of me can´t help but be in shock. This gospel is so different from anything else in the world. Weird even. But after five minutes with the missionaries people find that they want it. They aren´t sure why, but they want it. Because whether they realize it or not, they have heard it before. It is familiar to them, and even if they don´t remember, it is something they once knew and can know again. Think about it. Logically, why would anyone listen to and believe a bunch of 18-20 somthin year olds about something like this? Only if it is true.

Well I survived this first week, love you all, talk to you soon. Really, feel free to blather to me about your lives, like a journal, I really enjoy hearing from you. Love you, hasta luego!